Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

Quest 72- The Masked Prince

After the match, everyone was talking about the fight. Zephyr was undoubtedly the second-strongest adventure in Orario. Many started to call him the Little Prince. Many even suggested that if they fought again, the result would be different.

Some days later, at the Freya Familia home.

"So what do you think of the fight with Ottar?" Freya said, swirling a glass of wine.

"… I felt he was not showing me his fangs. He said he had shown too much of what he could do, as there were people of Evilus in the stands. "

"Hmm… so he’s stronger than you?" Freya gave a glance at Ottar.

"Yes, I know it. In time, he will reign upon the top of Orario as its strongest adventurers out in the open."

"Fufu… well, it wasn’t as though our predecessors had it easy as well."

"Hm, I will be leaving Lady Freya."

"Going to go train?" she said in a bit of a teasing tone.

"Yes, the next time we fight, I will make him show his true strength and win."

Ottar leaves the room and Freya makes a big smile.

"I can see that light inside of you growing bigger! Much like when those two were still around." She drank some of the wine and looked out the window. "Ah~♥ I wonder what you will taste like… Cirrus Zephyr."

Walking through the halls of his home, Ottar walks out to the courtyard to find several of his Familia engaged in intense fighting with Mia, looking over them.

Walking towards her, she noticed him from her peripheral.

"Ah, kid! Are you going to the dungeon?" Mia asked.

"Hm, I need to refine my fighting. Are you training more of the Familia?"

"They asked me. It seems that fight lit a fire in them! It seems being shown up by a kid younger than they really got on their nerves!"

"… I will be in the dungeon for a while."

Back in Eupheme’s workshop.

"So why didn’t you tell me!" Ai said, watching as Cirrus was helping Eupheme at the forge fixed up Brilliant Nightmare.

"You have seen the city, Ai. There is crime everywhere. The least amount of people who know who I am, the less likely my friends and family will be attacked to get to me."

"But what about those from that Familia you’re in? Or your smith!"

"They aren’t level 1 there, all level 3 and reaching the qualification to get to level 4 in a year or so. Eupheme is part of the Hephaestus Familia, and if you didn’t already know, they are pretty big!"

"Mm… so were you ever going to tell me?" she said with a pouting face.

"No," he said flat out.

"… Is there anything else I should know about?"

"Umm…"

Cirrus looks at Nox, who is currently being petted by Ai. Nox also looks at him.

‘Do you?’

"Haa… uh well, Nox, do you wanna… you know?"

"Nox? Why does your familiar have to do with any—"

Nox flapped her wings, getting out of Ai’s hands and flying before her and shining.

"Waaah!!"

"Fufu hello there, Ai-chan!" Nox said in her human form.

Amazed by her beauty, Ai was starry-eyed.

"You were a person!!" and hugged her immediately.

"It's nice to hold you after so long of watching and hearing about you."

Eupheme looked at Cirrus.

"Was I like that?" she said.

"A little."

Some days later, Cirrus and the Artemis Familia finally went out to find the Loviatar Familia. Around this time, the Denatus came around again.

"So with that, Artemis and her Familia, along with Zephyr, are out to find and bring down the Evilus member of the Loviatar Familia. Other than that, there is nothing else," said Astraea.

"Now we can get to the best part! The Naming Ceremony!" Loki shouted with glee, looking at Freya.

"Well, there has only been one child that has leveled up in the past 3 months," Dionysus said.

"Yeah, Astraea’s Little Prince." a god said

"The one that gave Ottar a good run for his money!" Loki said, with glee on her face. "How about the name Sleipnir? He slipped through several of the Warlord’s attacks!"

"Yeah! He was very agile, able to dodge out of his sword swing!" said a god.

"Yeah, he was pretty quick on his feet!" said another.

"Sounds like a good name to me!" said another god.

"Fufu… I was thinking of Vanadis Odr." Freya said with a calm, gentle smile, looking at the other gods. "I think it suits him rather splendidly!"

"I agree!"

"Yup, sounds like a great name!!"

"Anything for you, Lady Freya!!!"

As always, the male gods were enamored.

"What do you think, Astraea?" asked Hermes. "He is your child now."

"…" Astraea had on a smile that wasn’t too fake nor too real. "I think the name Masked Prince will suit him better! After all, he does always wears masks. Besides, calling him something that means slippery is a bit too slimy for my liking. And he is far too young for the name of Vanadis Odr!"

The meeting went on for a bit longer, but her suggestion was the one that made more sense.

"Masked Prince isn't half bad," Freya said. "And the prince suits him well for such a young boy. What say you, Loki?"

"I’m fine with it, but are we going to settle this so quickly?"

"Well, most of us have things to do," Hephaestus said. "We have businesses to run."

"Yeah! We all have a business to run!" said a god.

Then let's end it here!" said another.

"Fine! fine! Let’s get it over with!"