Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 304.2- Dungeon Date, Getting To Know One Another

Waiting at Babel, Malion arrived with attire similar to what she wore 15 years ago.

"It seems you came well packed." Said Malion, looking at Cirrus with Artemis by his side. "But are you going to bring your daughter?"

Latched onto his leg was Callisto.

"I wanna go to!!" she shouted, getting many people’s attention.

"Sorry, but she is really attached to her father." Said Artemis, bending down. "Let go, sweetie." Artemis had to use a bit of her strength to pull her from Cirrus’s leg. "And um, nice armor."

"No!!" Callisto reached out to grab Cirrus. "I wanna go to!!"

"Thank you." Malion nodded. "It is similar to the gear I wore during my expeditions. The fabric is far better than my time."

"Yeah, time sure does wonders for improving clothing." She checks her clothes once more, admiring how well it fits and feels.

"Callisto," Cirrus said in a stern voice with an even sterner gaze. "Keep this up, and I’ll play with your brother more than you when I get back."

"!!" Her eyes widen. "Mmmmm!!!" she puffed up her cheeks in anger.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it." He gently tapped her nose with an earnest smile. "You think you can wait?"

"…Okay."

"Take care, Cirrus." Artemis then looked over at Malion. "And good luck to you, Malion."

"Hm, thank you, Artemis."

They waved their goodbyes and went into the dungeon.

1st floor.

"So, how far do you wanna go down?" asked Cirrus.

"The 62nd floor."

"That far!?"

"Yes, by then I am sure is enough."

"… Okay then, so let me ask you. What do you think of me so far? We have known each other for almost 3 years, so you know well enough of how I fight."

"Mmm…" Malion thinks about this.

‘He uses flashy moves that hide his true intention to weaken the opponent, but that’s only for human enemies. For the monster, he is always extremely efficient in how he attacks, with no excess of movements or hesitations. He simply slays those before him as quickly as he can…’

"You are a very astute, efficient, and tricky person. From what I have learned of you, I assume you must have fought extremely strong foes to create a style that relies on you chipping away at them without them even knowing it while minimizing your energy to eventually beat them out. You are also rather reckless in how you approach things, but knowing you, they are more like calculated risks to get the job done."

"…" Cirrus didn’t quite know what to say. He never really gave much thought to how he fought. He simply just fought using what he learned and applying it in different ways to catch his foes off-guard and win. Malion’s words made it sound like something grander. "I see. Well, can I ask you something?"

"My ears are free."

This was a question that lingered in his mind for ages, ever since Malion first confessed.

"Do you not find it weird that you want to be with the son of your captain? Or former captain? I also have her face, albeit it has changed as I grew up, but it is still the face one could see her and Hera."

"Mmm..." She stopped walking to think.

‘Did she really not give it any thought!?’

"Somewhat. I won’t lie and say I had no problem at first, but as I got to speak and interact with you, I could see the differences."

"Like?"

"Your cheekbones, your chin is a bit sharper, and your eyebrows are slightly thicker. I could go on, but I believe I proved my point."

"Hm… Okay, and what about the age difference between us?"

"To an elf, it is not that much of an issue considering our long life span." She walked forward again.

"Yeah… I assume the elves have some age-dynamic preferences... Mmm, now that I’m thinking about it, what constitutes an adult by eleven standards?"

"25," Malion said flat out. "Until then, they can be considered as a teen. Adults are 25 to 200 once, then they are an elder. So yes, I can see there would be an age-dynamic preference in looking for a mate in the age group of 17 to 100. From what I have seen, humans do not have a set preference for the ages of elves, but do for other races."

"Well, to a human, our natural lifespan is 120 in perfect conditions with no variables but drops drastically to either 60 to 86 or so years. That is, of course, when I’m not taking in the Falna into the equation, which extends that drastically."

"I see… with such a short-lived race, it would make sense to not have a set preference in a mate."

"Yup, plus our standards are different. Like I’m sure some humans prefer strong people like the Amazoness. That, and elves, also age like fine wine. No matter how old they get, they still look beautiful."

"So do you find me attractive, given that I have known your mother since she was 12?"

Cirrus and Malion stopped walking. He looks at her up and down.

"Well… You are very attractive, plus the age thing kinda means shit to me. I mean, I married a goddess who is, you know, older than both you and me."

"I did not consider that. Lady Artemis is a goddess, so my age of 117 looks like a child’s."

"Your 117!?" Cirrus said, surprised.

"Did you think I was older?" Her tone was a bit more aggressive.

"Well, um… So how did you come to Orario?"

They resumed walking.

"…" Malion didn’t pursue it any further. "When I was 29, I decided to leave home and explore the world. Given that I am a High Dark Elf and just like Dark Elfs in general, our kind is around as rare as the Renards due to our ancestors fighting off the monsters. Mostly due part to our race's higher affinity for combat. Not to say all other elves aren’t as good, but the Dark Elves are more inclined to physical forms of combat rather than magical."

"So I can guess it wasn’t easy to get away, huh?"

"No. I planned my escape long before when I was 20."

"I see… So, and not to sound offensive or anything, and I am sorry in advance if I am, but... Are you related to Hogni Ragnar of the Freya Familia? he is the only other Dark Elf I know of."

"We are distantly related, but our blood ties are as thin as bats and birds."

"Hmm, I see, so did you join any other Familia or just Hera?"

"I, of course, joined the Odin Familia as they were the closest Familia to my home forest."

"Oh, that’s interesting. How was it being part of that Familia?"

"Boring. I stayed only for 2 months before leaving after my family kept pestering me. After I left the Lionash Forest, I simply traveled around doing odd jobs here and there for a couple of years. I would eventually hear of Orario and travel to it."

"Then… You would meet my mom and Hera?"

"Well, more or less, I was walking when Hera and Freya came up to me."

"Oh? That must have been very tough."

"Not exactly. They asked if I wished to join their Familia, to which I said that I will choose on whatever side the coin lands on."

"You picked based on a valis!?"

"Yes, as that would be the fairest way to pick between two gods."

"This… I am learning a lot about you. So then you met my mom?"

"No. That would be a few decades later."

"Do you have any stories of your odd jobs?"

"I once wrestled a large boar and made it into a village's workhorse for plowing the fields."

"That’s pretty cool."

"Did you do any odd jobs?"

"Uhh… Not any that I am willing to share."

"That is fine—"

"Oh, no, wait, yeah, in Yamato, I was once asked to investigate a clan dispute, and it ended up with like the clan heads, their children, and a few servants sleeping around and selling each other off for more power, but none of them had the opportunity due to the other's interference."

"That is an odd job for you?"

"Well, I never had a job that required me to, like, catch a cat—actually, I wrestled some pigs!" Cirrus was a bit happy about that. "One summer, when I was teaching a class during the early start of the city's construction, a student asked if I ever wrestled a pig. Real fun. Everyone had a go at it!"

"Fufu. You sound happy about wrestling with a pig."

"Well it was pretty fun getting all muddy. Felt like a kid, you know?"

"There is something about playing in the mud that brings out the child in oneself."

They talked more about personal stuff.

"Alright, favorite color?" asked Cirrus.

"White. Before, it was black, but... That dragon ruined the color for me."

"That must have sucked."

"That is putting it mildly, but yes. I was… broken for a lot of years. I had to sleep with a light source for a few years."

"… How bad was it? For the other members, I mean?"

"Broken, Cirrus. They were all worse off than the disheartened Pallums that you see in the alleyways. Hera sealed most of their Falna so they couldn’t cause harm, but... They, like her, drank themselves to numb the pain and trauma."

"… Guess that explains her house when I first met her."

"Hm. So what is your favorite color?"

"Well, it changed, but it’s blue and white. Birthday?"

"April 2nd. Yours?"

"May 15th."

"Season?"

"Fall and Spring, you?"

"Winter and Spring."