I followed Frieren's steps for a while. She stayed with the members of the Loki Familia for almost two hours, and I watched everything. They got along well.
Frieren managed to win them over. They saw her as a child who knew very little about the world, so they felt the need to help her. Especially Tiona, who seemed to see her as a younger sister.
During all the time I observed what was happening through Frieren's eyes, I noticed that everyone around her kept staring. And I understand why—she's an elf with a very youthful appearance.
She draws attention.
But despite standing out, people didn't try to talk to her. Frieren started thinking they didn't like her, or that there was something off-putting about her appearance.
But that wasn't the case.
I explained to her that people probably found her very beautiful and cute, and she didn't need to worry.
[Master, I liked those people. They're nice. I just didn't like that blonde girl named Ais. She doesn't like to talk and was staring at me weirdly.]
'Don't worry about her. She was probably just concerned about you.'
[Really? Didn't seem like it.]
'Yeah. She's not very talkative, so it's normal for her to act that way.'
[Do you know her, Master?]
'I do.'
[I see. Should I keep interacting with them? They told me where they live, though I don't know exactly where it is.]
'Didn't I tell you before? Make friends with them. If possible, try joining their Familia.'
[Master, but I didn't understand something.]
'What is it?'
[They mentioned something called "falna" that the Gods give to Familia members. But… I'm a clone.]
'Are you afraid you won't be able to receive one?'
[Exactly. And if I can't get a falna, I'll probably be seen as a freak, right?]
'They'll be very suspicious of you. I'll run a test before putting you at risk, so don't worry.'
[Okay. Thanks, Master. I think I'll head back to the dungeon now. Or should I stay in town?]
'You don't have a weapon to use, right? Don't worry, I'll acquire some new abilities. Stay in town a bit and have some fun.'
[Alright.]
I cut off my connection with Frieren and then switched to Berserker's vision to see what he was doing.
To my surprise, he was talking to Hestia.
####
POV: Berserker
"Excuse me." I approached the cute girl Master told me was a Goddess. A Goddess... I'm really curious about her.
"Huh?" The girl turned to look at me. Our eyes met, and I smiled at her with the biggest smile I could manage. "Who are you?" She took a few steps back, looking startled.
"Sorry if I scared you. Hehe." I scratched my head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I didn't mean to scare you—I just wanted to introduce myself. You're a Goddess, right? My Master told me about you."
"Huh? Master?"
Crap, I wasn't supposed to mention Master!
"'Master' is my brother's name."
"Oh, right. That's… an unusual name."
Wait, she believed that?
[Master, Master, help me.]
'Just keep going. I'm intrigued.'
[Master!]
"Hey, are you okay?" The Goddess still looked cautious. Maybe my appearance is a bit intimidating. What do I do? Master doesn't want to help, so I have to do my best.
"Ah, yes, sorry. My name is Berserker. It's a pleasure, Goddess… Goddess…"
"Hestia?"
"Yes, yes, Goddess Hestia. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure's mine. I'm busy right now, so I think I should go." Goddess Hestia started to walk away. Seeing that, I started to panic.
[Master, she's scared—what do I do?]
But Master didn't respond.
"Before you go, could I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Do you want to be my friend?" I asked her.
"..." The Goddess stared at me for a few seconds without saying anything.
After a few moments of silence, I heard a voice in my head.
'Pfft… Hahaha! Really? That's what you're asking her?'
[Master! I can't take it—she's looking at me like I'm an idiot!]
'Because you are an idiot. Who just walks up to a Goddess and asks if she wants to be friends?'
[...]
I didn't know what to say.
"Excuse me."
"Uh, yes?"
"You said your name was Berserker, right?"
"Yes, that's right." I gave her my biggest smile.
"Of course I'll be your friend." Goddess Hestia smiled at me.
I didn't know what to say.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Of course." The Goddess kept smiling. "But please, don't follow people around like that. You'll scare them."
"Am I scary?"
"Well… you're not scary, but… you're very tall and built, so people might feel intimidated. Especially with the way you were following me. You think I didn't notice?"
She noticed? She didn't act like she knew when I first talked to her.
But if she says so, it must be true.
"Oh, I see. Sorry about that." I scratched my head again.
"Don't worry."
After a moment of silence, the Goddess said, "Like I said, I'm a bit busy now. Take care."
"See you later."
The Goddess skipped away, humming.
I kept smiling, standing there in the middle of the street, not caring about the people around me.
"My first friend! And it's a Goddess!"
'Hey, you idiot. Can't you try acting a little more mature?'
[What is it, Master?]
'Nothing. I just hope you grow out of that behavior soon. It's annoying.'
"..."
####
POV: Third Person
While Frieren wandered through the city looking for something to do, and Berserker celebrated his first friendship, Zoro was causing a bit of trouble near the Tower of Babel.
After leaving the tower and exploring the city for a bit, he returned to the tower—he found everything outside too boring. At first, it was interesting, but two hours later, he was already fed up.
But just as he returned to the tower, he bumped into someone unfamiliar.
The person was a woman with a katana at her waist. Zoro glanced at her sword, then at his own.
Suddenly, an argument broke out because Zoro started saying unnecessary things.
People nearby began siding with the woman, which only made Zoro more annoyed.
After several minutes of arguing and Zoro throwing insults, he and three people from an unknown Familia were on the verge of fighting.
He was ready to take all three of them on by himself.
But in the end, they gave up and walked away, leaving Zoro alone at the dungeon entrance.
Tsk!
Zoro clicked his tongue and went back into the dungeon.
[Master, I'm back at the dungeon.]
'Huh? Already?'
[Yeah, nothing interesting outside. I'd rather be in here killing monsters and training. Do I need to use the mask?]
'Not necessary. Just do what you want.'
[Alright.]
'Something happened? You seem angry—I can feel it.'
[Some people outside the dungeon tried to intimidate me. There was almost a fight, but they backed off.]
'I see. I wasn't watching, unfortunately. Do you remember what they looked like?'
[I only remember a girl with a sword. She had black hair and purple eyes. Her outfit was purple too.]
'Wait, that must be Mikoto.'
[Mikoto? Who's that?]
'The woman you saw. How did you end up in a fight with her? What did you do?'
[I bumped into her by accident, and then we started arguing. That's it.]
'Are you sure?'
[Maybe I got too irritated and said some things I shouldn't have. Sorry, Master.]
'It's okay. But if you see her again, apologize and try to be friendly. She's important.'
[You're kidding, right?]
'I'm not.'
[Fine, fine. Got it.]
Zoro sighed and cut his connection with Zane.
After disconnecting, he found some goblins on the first floor. He got into position and gripped his sword with both hands. Though it wasn't a katana, he wielded it as if it were.
He stared down the three goblins with sharp eyes, a smirk curling at the corner of his lips.
SWOSH—
With a swift motion, the heads of all three goblins were severed. Their magic stones and items were transferred to the inventory.
"This is way more fun than trying to get along with those people outside." Zoro rested his sword on his shoulder and calmly walked through the dungeon paths, unconcerned with anything else.
####
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Next chapters: Chapter 26 - Equipment for my clones. / Chapter 27 - Magic Skills. / Chapter 28 - I have a mission for you. Fang Yuan. / Chapter 29 - Acting.