2 Dinner...

I felt the gaze upon my soul strengthen for a moment before it turned away. A moment later it returned full force, taking no caution in probing every corner of my soul, analyzing every piece of my essence with hungering fervor.

But we all know the Freya loves it when people play games with her. So after giving her only a few seconds to gaze upon me, I deactivated the skill and whatever she could see inside me disappeared from her view.

The skill 'Vanadis Odr' literally meant husband of Freya. This meant that my existence resonated with her own. it was only a matter of time before she sought me out. And I couldn't wait for tht either.

I didn't have to wait long either, for as soon as I turned my gaze back towards the Hostess of Fertility, there she was.

Danmachi's most infamous maid and waitress, Syr Flova. Many don't understand the connection between Freya and Syr. But I'll put it like this.

Syr Flova was the name of a bedraggled and helpless girl whom Freya stumbled upon one day as she did Ottar years before. After reaching an agreement with her, the full contents of which remain anonymous to this day, Freya gained the ability to transform into Syr and vice versa. This new relationship also linked their minds together.

Whatever Syr saw and felt was also experienced by Freya and vice versa.

And when the real Syr joined Freya's Familia, she gained another name, Horn or Helun in some iterations.

So put simply, Syr and Horn were the same person. And she and Freya can switch appearances with each other at any given time.

Coming back to the point, the one before me now was most definitely the real Syr. Because according to my [DISCERNING EYE], the racial class of this person was human, not goddess.

She stepped forward to me, just outside the pub, her cheeks darkening as she opened an arm in the universal gesture of welcoming. To a normal person it would have gone unnoticed, but to someone like me armed with foreknowledge and enhanced perception, I could see she was examining me more intently than you usually would when meeting a stranger for the first time.

Part of that may have been because of my current appearance, but knowing who shared her vision, it was possible that Freya was keenly studying me through her eyes.

"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility! The best tavern in all of Orario. We have fine booze, delicious food and exceptional service for adventurers and citizens alike! How may we serve you good sir?" She asked in a cheery voice.

She was every bit as adorable in canon. And it was a first seeing somebody with natural silver hair. Back home, the only way that could be accomplished was through the use of hair dye. Just another thing I would seemingly have to get used to, unusual hair colours. though Syr's was definitely more on the exotic side.

'Hold up, isn't my hair silver now...?'

...

"A nice dinner would most certainly be appreciated Miss...?"

Taking the hint, she replied.

"Syr Flova, good sir."

"Garth. Garth Ragnar." Cliche? Stereotypical? Say whatever, but I was not keeping my name Gareth since there already was one here. Plus Ragnar is a cool name so I stuck with it. Plus it was the new name I'd chosen for myself when Nekros allowed my to create my own avatar which I now blissfully inhabited.

"If you could come right this way sir, I'll show you to a table and you can place your order."

"That would be lovely, but please call me Garth."

"Then call me Syr."

"Of course Syr." she gave me that smile with the closed eyes thing. might I remind you that that is not a normal thing in real life, but in anime, its all too common. Again something I would have to get used to.

She led me to a large table in the middle of the tavern. As big as it was, it was the only one in there that was empty. Something about it was ringing bells in my head though...

meh. Whatever it was, I'd deal with it when the time came. For now, all that mattered was getting something down me as I hadn't had anything to eat since the night I died. And it was time to see if the food here was really as good as they kept emphasizing.

I looked up to the counter to see what was supposed to be the most terrifying woman in all of Orario. Or at least one of the most terrifying which really isn't far fetched considering she was once a level six adventurer and the captain of the current strongest Familia in the world. The unusually tall dwarf woman Mia Grande, or Mama Mia as most took to calling her.

She looked up to meet my eyes, before they gained a predatory glint. Not the weird kind mind you, but one that spoke of an opportunist who would make money wherever they could. And she saw lots of potential in me clearly.

I'm honoured.

Though I'm not going to start trembling and stuttering like a wimp simply because she gave me a bad look. That is beta male anime character behaviour. My existence defied physics itself. Not even the gods could get rid of me by my estimations. Though if they could, i was not going down without a fight.

She flashed a grin at me and with a flick of her wrist, she sent a menu spinning towards me. With surprising speed as well, although not surprising considering she is still a level six. But to Saitama's senses, it was slower than a leaf falling from the tree in Autumn.

Keeping eye contact with her, I lifted my left hand and caught the projectile between my index and thumb. Her eyes widened a little bit at my nonchalance before she gave me an even wider grin and a thumbs up. She then turned to bellow at a couple of adventurers who were spilling drinks on the floor.

I opened the menu, and skimmed over my options. The language was not hard to read considering that they were not that far from English characters and that I had already used Orlen to give myself understanding of this world's literacy and and numeracy system.

I know, I'm a dirty cheat. But I didn't come to this world to climb the rungs to ultimate power. I just simply started near the top. I wasn't yet ready to challenge a primordial in an all out battle. I had things to do first.

Like eat this boar head and beef soup (Do you eat soup or drink soup?). And a tankard of ale to wash it down. Time to test Saitama's tolerance.

I gave my order to Syr and she skipped away to deliver it to who ever was in the kitchen.

While waiting for my food to arrive, I leant back in my chair arms folded behind my head and gazed around the tavern. It didn't really look much different inside than from a modern pub minus the lanterns hanging around.

Adventurers were laughing with flushed faces and waving tankards around. The atmosphere was altogether very cheery. I caught sight of a group of burly men in a corner looking at me with scowled faces.

i internally rolled my eyes as I recognized the typical spineless men that went around intimidating young kids in groups. I narrowed my eyes at them, releasing a small bit of my mana in their direction. My pupils gained a dangerous glint, and I stared them down with a slight frown as their own scowls lessened a bit and they took on wary expressions. They turned back around in their seats visibly sweating a little but still keeping an eye on me out of their peripherals.

Nothing like the innate sense of danger to ward off trouble makers. but considering that we men can get a little too proud, they might find a way to get at me later on. Oh well, if they did, Orario would find splattered bodies on its walls. I was not above using my power on a human unlike Saitama, a true hero. If anyone tried to puff their chest at me in a wrong way, I was going to cave their faces in.

Food came at last, and with fervor, I dug into the meal.

Now an honest critique. Compared to modern roasts and broth, it was lacking. But that's to be expected since they don't have electric powered ovens and all the fancy kitchen tools that you would find in a normal household in the 21st century. But nevertheless, it was delicious.

A shame I didn't get to enjoy it to its fullest.

Halfway through my meal, there was a commotion at the door. Engrossed in my eating I didn't look behind me to check what it was, but I still paid enough attention to hear Anya Fromel, the brown haired catgirl call out.

"The Loki Familia have arrived for their reservation Mama Mia ~Nyah~".

That was when I realized why my table was setting off alarms in my head earlier. It was the table that the Loki Familia would almost always sit at when they came to eat.

Well I was here first, so I was staying here.

Sure enough the Loki Familia members began sitting at the table. First came the elf princess Riveria. Another culture shock to see green hair on a person. Then came kid who I knew was no kid, but in fact a forty something year old Pallum, Finn who was the Familia Captain. After him skipped into my view the trickster goddess herself, Loki. And true to every depiction of her, her eyes were closed almost to the point where her eyeballs were almost unseen. But I could still see the glimmer of a cornea under the eyelids which indicated she was well capable of sight.

Following her were the two Amazoness twins, Tione and Tiona. They sat closest to me, already eyeing me up and down in confusion and wonder. i could already see the excited scrutiny in their expressions. Amazons were trained to sense strong men wherever they saw them. Although I hadn't even done anything yet, they were already on my case.

Well they could come later. For now, only one individual was on my mind.

Gareth sat down after them, his diminutive yet heavy sature plopping in his chair with a sigh as he also looked to me in confusion and a tinge of amusement. Next to him plopped down the most famous member of their party, Ais Wallenstein. The secretive demi-spirit, the emotionless Sword Princess and a focus of bell's obsession. I could see the appeal, especially in the blue dress. Tailing behind her like the love-sick puppy she was came the elf that really ticked me the wrong way for some reason was Lefiya.

Prat made no effort on her part to hide her disdain of me. Typical elf.

I suddenly realized that all seats in front of me were taken now. I sat in the only other chair. And there was only one member of the Loki Familia executive missing...

Immediately my mood darkened and my nerves tightened as my teeth grit behind my lips.

Sure enough, the object of my displeasure piped up behind me.

"Hey Jackass! You're in my seat! Get lost!"

I purposefully ignored him and carried on eating. naturally his raised voice attracted the attention of all the other patrons. They looked towards us and instantly began whispering amongst themselves.

"Did you not hear me?! I said move over weakling!" his annoying voice grated behind me. I gripped my tankard a little tighter, unknowingly making indents in it with my fingers.

A hand slammed down on my shoulder, gripping it tightly. Clearly the perpetrator was ready to fling me aside.

"You litt_"

He didn't get to finish as I slammed my tankard on the table with a resounding bang. My other hand shot towards the arm, locking my fingers around it so tightly, audible creaks were heard.

This action was met with a hiss of pain. In symphony with that, I allowed my irritation and anger to manifest itself. Immediately every single person in that place felt the air become heavier. Even Mama Mia, who was about to yell out and tell us to break it off stopped as her words caught in her throat.

The Loki Familia were instantly on alert.

And me?

I slowly stood up, still holding the offending arm and turned towards my soon-to-be victim.

Bete Loga.

I held up his arm high in the air for everyone to see as I stared down at him from my greater height. He stared back at me, anger and pain written all over his face.

"Flea-bitten strays must learn to respect their superiors...you mangy mutt!" My voice rang out loud and clear for all to hear.

I gripped his right arm even harder...before promptly snapping it with a resounding SNAP! that was blissful music to my ears.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to support me, go to this link here :

https://ko-fi.com/vulkizarozoromi

Tips are absolutely not necessary whatsoever, but massively appreciated. If you want to commission a chapter, leave that in the message that comes with the tip. You can use it to request certain things in this fic and I will wholeheartedly consider them based on their content.

And if you can find it in your hearts, check out my pat.reon:

https://www.p@treon.com/user?u=80317004