Ten minutes earlier.
Tonight, the Hostess of Fertility was unusually quiet, with only a handful of tables occupied.
At the entrance, Anya waved goodbye to the last few regulars. "We hope to see you again soon, meow~"
She had just bounced back inside, tail swishing, when she spotted Ryu clearing a table.
She paused what she was doing, her brows drawing together as she looked toward the table in the corner.
Anya sidled up to Ryu, then followed her gaze.
At that very moment, she saw Syr carefully push a freshly filled mug of beer in front of Thor.
Thor gave a slight nod and said something to Syr, probably a polite "thank you" or the like.
"Meow~" Anya gently brushed Ryu's leg with the tip of her tail. Tilting her head, she murmured, "The mood seems pretty good, meow?"
From her perspective, Syr was making the first move, and Thor was responding. Wasn't that a good thing?
Only then did Ryu realize that the foolish Anya had somehow appeared beside her.
A trace of worry flickered deep in her eyes. She quietly repeated, "The mood seems pretty good...?"
She saw things far more clearly than Anya did.
On the surface, Thor responded to almost everything Syr did.
But on closer inspection, his responses were almost entirely out of politeness. Not an ounce of warmth passed from him to Syr.
What truly worried Ryu was the smile on Syr's face—
It was flawless, yet her gray eyes, fixed on Thor's profile, were filled with so much disappointment and indescribable sorrow that they seemed ready to spill over.
That smile was like her last suit of armor, trying to hide the fragile hope crumbling beneath it.
Ryu sighed silently in her heart.
She understood Syr's determination, and she knew this gaze would probably never be returned.
She forced herself to look away and refocused on the work in front of her.
Picking up a cloth, she scrubbed the newly vacated table harder, as if she could wipe away the worry she felt for her friend.
But she had barely finished cleaning the table and hadn't even caught her breath when the commotion in the corner drew her attention.
Thor and the others seemed to have finished eating. They stood up, ready to leave.
Just as Thor was about to take his first step—
"Mr. Thor, please wait."
Syr's voice rang out clearly. It wasn't loud, but it broke the silence in the restaurant.
The staff's attention was quietly drawn toward them.
One by one, they pricked up their ears, curious about what was happening.
Was Syr going to confess?!
Now? Here?!
"You mentioned last night that you hoped to recruit new members for your Familia. If... you don't mind, Mr. Thor, could I join your Familia?"
"CRACK!"
A sharp, startling snap exploded through the silence!
Behind the bar, Mia, who had been quietly polishing a mug, had crushed the sturdy wooden beer mug in her hand! Splinters trickled down between her thick fingers.
The entire restaurant seemed to have been caught in a time-stopping spell.
Anya's lively cat eyes widened, her mouth forming an "O." The fur on her ears and tail sprang straight up, freezing her in place like a startled, bristling cat statue.
The plate in Ryu's hands slipped and clattered onto the cloth-covered tray with a dull thud.
She even forgot to pick it up. She just stood there, emerald eyes full of disbelief for the first time, staring at the gray-haired girl who had made such a shocking request.
The kitchen curtain was suddenly flung aside!
Chloe, Lunor... face after face appeared, each wearing the same look of shock and astonishment.
They had clearly been "eavesdropping" behind the curtain, and now they could no longer hold back. Every one of them looked as if she had just heard that the world was about to end.
The air froze completely.
Thor was clearly surprised by Syr's bold request. He raised his brows slightly and gave a short, meaningful "Oh?"
For the first time, he truly looked at the gray-haired, gray-eyed girl standing before him.
A god of this world was asking to become a member of my Familia?
This...
Could get interesting...
A little while later, the bustle returned to the first floor of the restaurant.
The doorbell rang as several adventurers, weary and hungry after a full day of exploring, walked in.
They headed for their usual seats near the bar, their eyes instinctively sweeping around in search of the familiar, lively faces.
"Huh?"
A dwarf adventurer carrying a heavy battle-axe was the first to voice his confusion.
He looked around and saw only a white-haired boy standing awkwardly behind the bar, wearing an apron that clearly belonged to the restaurant.
The boy was Bell.
"Hey, kid!" the dwarf called out in a booming voice, sounding confused and impatient. "Where's Miss Syr? And Anya and the other waitresses? Why are you the only one here?"
He was used to seeing the place brightened by all the sweet or capable young women who worked there. The deserted scene felt strange to him.
The other adventurers chimed in.
"Yeah, where did all the cute girls go?"
"Did they all take the day off? But it's not a holiday."
"Hey, kid, are you new here? I've never seen you before."
Under the scrutiny of several questioning gazes, Bell felt his back tense.
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his nervousness. Imitating Syr and the others, he managed a smile and tried to keep his voice steady.
"Good evening! The proprietress and the other staff... um... they're taking care of something upstairs for the moment. Please take a seat. I'll serve you!"
He hurriedly picked up the menus and handed them out to the adventurers. His movements were still a little awkward, but he was sincere.
The adventurers muttered things like "What's going on?" and "That's unusual," but they sat down as asked and began looking through the menus.
As Bell carefully memorized their orders, his gaze kept drifting involuntarily toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
It was silent up there, as if it belonged to another world.
Would he finally have a companion?
The thought churned in Bell's mind, stirring a powerful sense of anticipation and an excitement he could hardly put into words.
At last, the Familia had taken its most important second step!
He couldn't help worrying about what was happening upstairs.
All the staff had gone to the employee dormitory on the second floor. Bell remembered the shocked expressions on their faces just moments ago.
He couldn't help but feel worried.
Would Miss Syr's joining really go smoothly?
The narrow corridor outside the employee dormitory on the second floor was packed so tightly that there was barely room to move.
Ryu, Anya, Chloe, Lunor... every female staff member in the restaurant was squeezed together at the doorway, holding her breath as she stared inside in disbelief.
Their faces were a mix of suspicion, astonishment, and a hint of worry.
Ais and Lefiya, the two "outsiders," could only stand at the very edge of the crowd.
Lefiya stood on tiptoe, trying to see what was happening inside. Ais looked at the nervous staff in confusion, not knowing why they were so tense.
The atmosphere inside the room was entirely different.
The proprietress, Mia, stood to one side with her arms crossed, watching over everything with a steady air.
Her brows were knitted together, and no one could tell what she was thinking.
She felt as if she were witnessing the beginning of some kind of forbidden ritual.
Syr sat quietly on the edge of the bed, seemingly unaware of the heated gazes trained on her from outside.
She took a deep breath, and a glimmer of determination shone in her gray eyes.
She reached back and slowly pulled down the zipper of her dress.
The fabric rustled softly, the sound unusually clear in the silent room.
The zipper slid down, gradually revealing the smooth, pale skin of her back and its elegant contours.
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