Danmachi-Hell's forge

I kept this in mind for the rest of the night and in the morning when I set off for the hostess to rip the band aid off as it were. The streets were busy as always as everyone went about their morning routines and there was even a purse cutter that made a small commotion before escaping into the seedy shadows of Daedalus street. When I arrived at the hostess the girls were all cleaning or preparing the place for their later business while a couple of people ate at the tables, a slow morning from the looks of it.-

"Here to freshen up our ingredients or do you have any more of that delicious monster meat nyah?" Anya asked with a smile when I walked in.

"A bit of the former as well as talk to Syr for a bit." I said with a smile of my own.

"Nya haha! At this rate you might as well make it official nyah." Anya said with a playful wink and a laugh.

I rolled my eyes at this as I knew she was just messing with me as every girl in the restaurant knew I left romance alone if I could even if some had shown interest in it. Ironically my "unobtainableness" despite being single had made them want me more rather than less. While there was a sort of tacit understanding that Syr was the closest to me that didn't mean the others hadn't shown any interest either. Anya and Lunoire had both flirted with me more than once though in Lunoire's case it was because she wanted a husband who was nice to her, rich and would let her laze about all day. Admittedly I sort of fell into this category so even if she wasn't really all that attracted to me physically she still gave it a shot when she could.-

The only four who hadn't flirted with me were Mama Mia, May, Ryuu and Chloe. The first two because they were not interested in romance at all and the last two because they had their eyes on someone else *CoughBellCough*. Syr flirting with me openly was the most uncomfortable for me because sometimes it was Freya and other times it was Horn who also had the hots for me via second hand contact from her connection to Freya.-

Today it was Freya who looked like she was expecting me when I walked into the kitchen. 

"Alright what's the deal?" I asked bluntly as I went to work improving the ingredients for the day.

"She would break if I took her, simple as that. My familia is not a place for someone so frail and would shatter her if she was put there." she said casually as she chopped onions after I improved them.

"That's surprising to hear coming from you." I said genuinely surprised.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Perhaps you haven't noticed but you don't exactly radiate compassion and empathy. The real you I mean not this persona you've built for yourself." I say while working on some tomatoes.

She looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding in agreement "I suppose I can be a bit heartless and cruel but that doesn't mean I am entirely without empathy or compassion." she says easily.

"I never said you lack them, merely that you don't show them very much. It would do wonders for your public image if you did. Still with how bright and pure Haruhime's soul is I am just surprised you didn't keep her is all, even if only as an ornament." I say honestly.

"I admit I was quite tempted but I realized she would likely shine oh so much more brightly in your familia so even if I couldn't possess her myself I could still admire her radiance. Speaking of radiance I image you want to discuss the favor you owe me hmm?" she asked with a mischievous smile.

I sighed "Was it that obvious?" I asked.

"Soul gaze remember? You seem to absolutely hate being indebted to someone else, it's almost adorable really." she said with a giggle.

"I'm paranoid alright? Cut me some slack. People have a bad habit of asking for repayment at the worst times and I would prefer not dealing with that nonsense if I could." I said frankly.

"While the idea of you waiting with baited breath for my request thrills me I won't make you suffer unnecessarily long for my own pleasure. My request is quite a simple one, I want a date. As Syr of course as I know how much you enjoy the vague relationship we share when I am in my true form." she said with a cheeky smile.

"Ugh! You have any idea how hard it's going to be to get Hephaestus off my back once I do this!?" I asked with an exasperated look.

She just giggled with a smile "Oh I know, that just makes it all the better for me." she says with an amused look.

I finished my work with the ingredients after that while setting the date for our date for the next day she had off which was to say in three days. I of course had to make all the arrangements in a "surprise me" manner because Freya wanted to see what I'd do, I took that as a fucking challenge.-

I booked one of the finest restaurants in the city, that's right the whole damn place. I then spent a good day cooped up in my workshop preparing a surprise for Freya since I knew the restaurant wouldn't impress her much given how rich she is. Finally I sought out every spiderweb I could find in the city in order to craft two pieces of clothing from them. The first was an amethyst colored dress that was covered in depictions of flowers and spears that you wouldn't notice unless you really paid attention.-

This was my way of cheekily pointing out who Freya was which only she was likely to understand and find amusing. The second piece was a full tuxedo with a sapphire blue coloration that had a copy of all of my tattoos on the outside in black outlines. Both pieces of clothing were special cursed tools however that had the unique property of causing others perceptions to slip over us subconsciously, naturally this effect was toggleable. Neither I or Freya were shy or anything like that but getting stared at constantly gets annoying after a certain point.