In fact, she had been standing here for far more than an hour.
When she brought the already drunken, nearly unconscious Loki back to the Familia, she heard from the gatekeeper that William had returned.
So she decisively dumped Loki on Raul, who had just happened to return, and came alone to William's studio.
But when she saw that the curtains were drawn and the door was locked—
The girl immediately understood what was happening inside. Not daring to disturb them, she blankly waited outside.
"Is that so? Haha!"
Scratching the back of his head again, William took two steps forward and came before Ais.
"Why don't we chat in the reception room for a while? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
Ais blinked, her expression unchanged as she nodded.
And so, the two of them walked almost shoulder to shoulder to the Familia's reception room.
Even though he had not been here in a long time, William still easily found the tea leaves a certain elven royal had stashed away here and brewed two cups without the slightest hint of reluctance.
This tea was a special privilege reserved for Riveria as elven royalty, a premium product offered to her every year by the branch of the elves skilled in tea cultivation.
Once they were seated, William began asking what Ais had done during the ten days he had been gone, and whether anything had changed within the Familia.
Her answer was the same as always!
Ais had simply entered the Dungeon every day for her usual training, while most of the other members had been relaxing and preparing for the next expedition.
Ais did not ask where William had gone after vanishing without explanation for over ten days.
In the girl's eyes, it was enough that