Danmachi: A Despicable Stranger

Chapter 58: We have undergone rigorous training...

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"Meow~ You annoying guy, come play again next time, meow~"

Anya's eyes narrowed into crescent shapes, her tail swaying happily behind her as she watched Izzy being scolded by Mia.

Though every time Izzy came to the tavern, it inevitably turned into a battle of wits and banter (at least in her mind), she couldn't help but feel a little satisfied seeing him get his comeuppance.

The moment she saw Mia send him off in such a "friendly" manner, Anya felt an extra thrill of joy.

Of course, the best moment came when Izzy actually pulled out money to pay.

Maybe it was a different form of rivalry, or perhaps this cat-girl simply had a talent for reveling in her victories. Regardless, the sight made her day.

Izzy, meanwhile, regarded the smug cat-girl with a calm expression, as though he were sizing her up. After a moment, he smirked disdainfully.

"Oh, just Anya," he said, his voice dripping with mockery.

With that, he turned and walked out, the door shutting softly behind him.

Inside, the previously gleeful Anya froze, a sudden sense of wrongness creeping up on her.

Why did her name sound like an insult when it came out of Izzy's mouth?

"Pfft… Anya has officially become a derogatory term, meow~," Chloe remarked with a sly grin.

"Just Anya… Pfft~"

Lunoire, who had been silently observing, couldn't hold back either and began laughing as well.

"Meow!! Don't laugh, meow!!!"

Anya's indignant yells only added fuel to the fire.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said, holding her sides as she struggled to suppress her laughter. "We've been strictly trained. Normally, we don't laugh…"

"…Unless we absolutely can't help it," Lunoire chimed in, her voice shaking as she tried to hold back.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

The two of them doubled over, their laughter growing louder and louder. The sound echoed through the tavern, loud enough to reach the kitchen—and possibly even outside.

"Chloe! Lunoire! You two!!!"

Before they could enjoy their joke much longer, a thunderous voice cut through the chaos.

Instantly, the pair froze in place. Their laughter ceased, replaced by cold sweat trickling down their faces.

Ryuu, who had been quietly retrieving her tools in another part of the tavern, sighed as she took in the scene.

In a sense, Mia was absolutely right—Izzy's presence in the tavern really did disrupt everyone's workflow.

Case in point: here they were, making a fuss over something he said, while the rest of the staff abandoned their tasks entirely.

Even Syr had skipped out on her duties earlier just to chat.

Though… now that she thought about it, Syr had come out because of her. That one wasn't on Izzy.

---

After leaving the Hostess of Fertility, Izzy headed towards the North District with his belongings in tow.

If he was honest, all he wanted to do right now was collapse onto his bed.

Not to sleep, necessarily.

He just wanted to lie down.

Whether to daydream or take a quick nap, Izzy had already decided there would be no dungeon crawling for him today. He was taking a break—one or two days off to rest properly.

Walking through the high-end residential area in the North District, Izzy navigated the streets with practiced ease. It didn't take long before he arrived at the familiar gates of the Dusk Hall.

"Hey! Izzy, you're okay!?"

The voice startled him. Simon, the gatekeeper who was stationed there every day, had spotted him immediately. Simon's initial surprise quickly gave way to a broad smile.

"Uh… huh?"

Izawa blinked, completely baffled.

What did he mean by you're okay?

I had just returned, and the first sentence I heard wasn't a friendly greeting but something that could even be considered a curse depending on the perspective.

Brother, are you secretly hoping something bad will happen to me?

"Oh, sorry! That's not what I meant," Simon said quickly, noticing Izzy's stunned expression. "It's just that the Goddess was worried about you today. Did you go deep into the dungeon? You've been gone for a few days..."

Hearing this only made Izzy more confused until Simon elaborated further, recounting what had happened after the expedition team returned.

Apparently, Diona had spoken rather openly at the time, and her words were overheard by several nearby members, who believed them to be true.

After all, although Loki later issued a clarification, the explanation was only shared with a select few higher-ups, leaving the rest of the Familia genuinely believing something terrible had happened to Izzy.

They even discussed forming a rescue party to dive into the dungeon and save him.

Good grief…

After listening to Simon's explanation, Izzy could only think about how gullible his clanmates were.

Could everyone please stop taking every rumor as fact?

Feeling an inexplicable headache brewing, Izzy walked into the Twilight Manor with an expression caught somewhere between exhaustion and disbelief.

---

At the moment, the Twilight Manor wasn't particularly chaotic.

The expedition team had just returned, and everyone was preoccupied with exchanging dungeon loot for money or prioritizing the delivery of materials to allied clans like Goibniu and Cecht for crafting weapons and potions.

In short, there was no rest yet; the Familia was still bustling with activity. Even the celebration banquet planned for the expedition wasn't until later that evening—Loki had reportedly reserved seats at the same tavern Izzy had just left.

Despite the relative busyness, plenty of Familia members lingered in the hall.

Unfortunately for Izzy, nearly everyone he encountered greeted him with the same wide-eyed surprise as Simon. He had to repeatedly explain himself, and with each interaction, his stomach churned with increasing irritation.

---

Meanwhile, in the Central Tower meeting room, most of the senior members were away handling various tasks.

Bete was busy preparing and organizing the supplies, while Ais and Tiona, along with a certain elf, had gone to deliver dungeon harvests to allied clans.

This left only Finn, who was diligently buried in a mountain of paperwork, and Loki, who was predictably lazing around nearby, sipping on a crimson drink chilled with ice.

"Oh? Look who's back! I just saw little Izzy~" Loki said, lounging on the couch with her drink, gazing through the window.

Finn glanced up from his work, his blue eyes following her gaze toward the hall. Sure enough, he saw a blond figure stepping through the gates.

"Izzy's back? It seems your worries were unnecessary, Loki," Finn said with a small smile, setting his quill down briefly.

"Well…" Loki purred, swirling her drink lazily. "The kid still doesn't seem to know what's going on. Looks like the others really took Tiona's words seriously. Honestly, there's something wrong with that bunch~"

"What exactly did Tiona say?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"She might've implied Izzy got into trouble in the dungeon," Loki replied with a teasing smirk. "And the kids bought it hook, line, and sinker. Raul even dragged Anakitty to discuss organizing a rescue mission~"

Finn chuckled lightly at the absurdity of it. "I see… Poor Izzy. It looks like he'll be quite busy explaining himself to everyone today."

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