Chapter 46 - Food

Crossing the city streets, Ethan was thinking about what to buy exactly.

'Knowing where a place is from an anime can be intuitive, but it's easy to get lost here..'

With his knowledge of Orario's map, Ethan could approximately move in the city but, the fact he wasn't a citizen from a long time was still evident.

Although nobody could see him, he was still insecure about the situation. The principal reason was that the 'mistake' in the bathroom wasn't just a show, for him, someone was still watching on his back..

'I don't know why, but I feel observed'

Recognizing something familiar with this sensation, he thought about Freya's passion for Bell.

'Maybe she's watching me even now..waiting for something good to happen'

Gulping, he tried not to think about it while going towards the Hostess of Fertility. This because it was the only place he could remember at the moment.

"Yes! That level 2 adventurer will be at tomorrow's special event!! This boy is everywhere!!"

Laughing, another one said

"I'm sincerely curious to know why he decided to do this now that he's observed by so many people"

Without reply, another man with brown hair and bluish grey eyes, spoke.

"Isn't it obvious? He wants to make things clear. The situation is hurting Loki-sama, so the only thing he can do is help."

Hearing a well-known voice, all the other men looked at him.

'I-It's the Apollo Familia's uniform!'

Scared, the man that previously talked went away.

'Oh, interesting...'

Although Ethan knew he shouldn't interact with him, he couldn't help but be curious about him.

'The Captain of the Apollo Familia, Hyakinthos Clio'

Seeing his conflicted look, Ethan thought about it as he walked away from the area... He knew that they were spreading the news but, seeing so many people interested in the event, made him feel happy.

'I'll have the opportunity to face so many people. Although thinking that they will become my future income makes me feel bad somehow, the fact that the quest rank increases the more people I'll need to beat is obvious'

Satisfied with this conclusion, Ethan headed in the Hostess of Fertility. Understanding that appearing in the middle of the room like nothing would become troublesome, Ethan opted to take off the cloak in a nearby alley.

Seeing one, Ethan went towards it. In the dark, he managed to take it off without anyone seeing it, but, before he could turn around and enter the Hostess of Fertility, he saw a man chasing a girl who was running away.

Before he knew it, Ethan was already behind the man. With a hit on the neck, he knocked him out.

'Using [Boost Magic] in my hand is so useful...maybe I'll unlock some kind of Assassination technique!?'

Losing himself for a second, he didn't notice that the 'little girl' was someone he knew well.

"E-E-Ethan-sama!?"

"Lili? Is that you?"

Seeing her nod with tears on her eyes, Ethan looked at the man again.

'Someone of the Soma Familia... I see..'

Without hesitation, Lili asked

"I-Is he dead?"

Shaking his head, Ethan remembered the first time he met her. Although he was considering that time as past, he understood it wasn't. Smiling at her, he placed his hand on her head, saying

"I just knocked him out. You don't know how strong I become from the last time we saw each other...!"

Hearing these words, Lili felt happy, this because the day when she could start go in the Dungeon with him was closer than before. With a smile of her own, Lili replied

"Ethan-sama, I'm really happy that you saved me again..."

"You must call me Ethan, otherwise I won't bring you with me in the Dungeon"

Going from a smile to a depressed expression, Lili saw the determination in his eyes, different from before. Looking down, she felt extremely shy but, repressing it a bit, she managed to say

"E-Etha..n"

Nodding, he looked at the adventurer knocked down on the floor, muttering

"I'll make your life even worse than death..."

Before she could reply, Ethan removed the hand from her head. With the warm sensation going away, she felt slightly disappointed.

"After I'm done with the Dungeon, I'll make you strong enough to never be targeted by these people again"

With this, the two made their way towards the Hostess of fertility. This because Ethan asked if she wanted to be taken home but, she just replied

"I want to stay with you...if possible..."

'Should I bring her to train with Ais and Lefiya?'

Deciding to directly ask her, Ethan stopped for a moment. Stopping with him, she stared at him, ready to ask if there was something wrong.

"I wanted to ask you, do you want to train with me and my group? Training with Ais will allow you to increase your strength and, if you'll train enough you'll be ready to enter the first floors of the Dungeon"

Hearing his question, Lili wanted to ask who this 'Ais' was but, remembering the nickname of one of the main members of the Loki Familia, she felt shocked by his question.

"T-Train with the S-Sword Princess!?"

Nodding, he explained to her his situation. Listening to what happened in these few days, she was surprised by the amount of 'interesting' things that happened. Although she knew he would participate in an event, the fact he already had a lover brought her to tears.

'W-Why... The Sword Princess is Ethan's g-girlfriend!?'

Sighing, Ethan understood that he still promised to take Lili and Hestia to a date. Patting her head again, he said

"Don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm inaccessible right now. The fact she has a special place in my heart will never be changed, but she said she's fine with me having other girls..."

With this, the two resumed their walk towards the Hostess of Fertility.

'It will be troublesome to bring her with me, but I can't remain the situation like this. I'm so furious with the Soma Familia members... I can go to Soma, drink his wine and ask him to not disturb us again but, I don't think any of my magic can help me face that wine... Maybe trying to ingest poison and then use [Boost Magic] to boost my immune system...'

Thinking about future uses of his Magic, Ethan didn't even realize he had Syr in front of him. With a smile, Syr said

"Ano.. Ethan-san?"

Returning his attention to the 'real world', Ethan answered

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else..."

Without her smile fading, She added

"I see... Do you want to eat? Mama Mia have a special menu just for today, you know?"

Even if he wanted to taste it, he decided it was not the time. With a smile, he asked

"My request is..particular. I wish to have 4 warm meals at your choice... If possible, I would like to have them where nobody can see me..."

Hearing him whisper the last part of his sentence, she felt confused.

"I'll ask Mama Mia if it's possible..."

Nodding, he waited for Syr with Lili. After some minutes, she returned to him.

"She said it's okay, although Mama Mia chose the most expensive ones..."

Without minding it, he was brought in a room for VIP Guests. After some seconds, Syr returned with another girl. She had brown hair and eyes with cat ears, something that intrigued Ethan. He saw cat people in the city, but he had never stopped to look at someone in particular, not even in his familia.

Staring at her tail for a second, he immediately looked away. This action brought the cat girl to grin. Although Syr didn't mind his action that much, she was still surprised.

"Ara~ you never saw a cat person Ethan-san?"

Shaking his head, Ethan looked at the girl he knew well, saying

"I never got to look at a cat person's features so closely. In my home town, There were only humans..."

Understanding he replied honestly, Syr let the matter lay while Lili pouted in silence. This, brought the cat person to place the food on the table while.

"Nyahaha ~ I'm Arnya, Nice to meet you nya..."

Smiling, he replied

"I'm Ethan, Nice to meet you too.."

With this awkward presentation, Ethan stored the items away in his inventory. Seeing the food disappear, everyone was surprised but, without minding it, he added

"It's the reason I had to be somewhere alone... I trust all of you..."

Feeling confused, Anya snapped out of her shock. Pointing her finger at herself, she asked

"Me too? We just met nya..."

Nodding, he said

"Syr brought you here even though I asked to be alone, so I trust her judgment.."

Although all of them wanted to ask something, they were stopped by him.

"I'll answer every single question next time, now I really need to go and train..."

'I hope nobody was seeing my ability. Even if someone wanted to follow me they would have seen even more easily if I was in the middle of a street. So...'

Trying to comfort himself with this, he paid the price for food and VIP room, quickly promising to Syr and Anya to explain better the situation. They knew the rumours on him but, while Syr chose to ignore them, Anya simply didn't care.

After this, Ethan exited the Hostess of Fertility with Lili. Returning to the alley, he took out two [Phantom's Cloak]. Seeing the strange cloak, She wanted to ask its use but, before she could, Ethan said

"It will make you invisible. We'll use it to return.."

Although the questions she wanted to ask increased even more, she trusted his judgment.

'I'll protect every secret you wish to tell me...Ethan-sama!'

---

(I have a discord server. discord.gg/cpVr5X8 If you enter it, you can choose one of Ethan's future powers from the pool I created, but that's not all! On the server, you can see the reference on some things that will be present in the story! Right now you can freely see some things like the [Twin's Digimon] and [The Devoted Heart].)

(A/N: Before you comment me, saying the fact he showed her his magic so easily is ridicolous, I can answer you here. Anya is someone that doesn't really care about most things and, the fact he has a rare magic isn't that interesting for her. She just wanted to know the person who managed to make Syr acting so sincere. You can say she doesn't love him(Syr), but, the fact he's so sincere makes her wanting to protect his secrets. The fact he needed to absolutely go and continue his training made him chose to 'reveal' and explain to them his power...As you can see, he isn't randomly showing his power to anyone.)

(Alternate Titles: "Nya, I want her in the harem nya~", "*Staring at that cute tail*" , "Ethan is scared of alcohol!? Although Lili managed to remain it was because of her love for Bell! Ethan isn't in love with Lili! not yet! so we need countermeasures")