Loki's Renard

Arc 3 Chapter 11 - Supporter Day 1

Hey guys, Striker777 here with the next chapter of Loki's Renard. I just want to give a huge thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes in light of my dog's unfortunate passing, whether as a comment, review or even the few PMs I got. Thank you, truly. Anyway, onto the story!

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Akihide looked between the faces of his party, hoping for any sort of indication as to what they were thinking, but all three of them looked deep in thought, looking between Akihide and the young girl a little behind them. There was a small huddle, as the group decided their next course of action.

"I say no." said Ryuu, looking at the girl. "She's even younger than Akihide was when he first started. Not to mention, we can't exactly take a level 1 down all the way to Floor 16. If something goes wrong..." she said, looking at the girl.

"We do need a supporter though..." muttered Ardee, looking at her, and then her own backpack. "With the size of the magic stones we're getting now, we fill up our bags way too quickly and we can't get much out of our Dungeon trips. Mama needs a new set of armour, so I reckon we give it a shot."

"It couldn't hurt to try..." muttered Airmid, looking between the two. "We try it out today, see how it goes, and decide what to do at the end of the trip." said the young healer.

"I guess..." muttered Ryuu, looking down thoughtfully.

"So we're in agreement, we give it a shot." said Akihide, getting affirmative nods from the others, even if only reluctantly from Ryuu. Akihide smiled and turned back to Lili. "Alright, we're going to take you with us today, see how it goes and decide if we want to keep going at the end of the day."

"Oh, thank you, kind adventurers!" exclaimed Lili, smiling at them. "Lili will make sure to support you on your journey with all she has."

Akihide looked at the others with a thumbs up and a smile, and Kiddy Party shot uncertain glances back between him and Lili, before sighing and continuing on their journey. Akihide was the first to break the awkward tension. "So Lili, how far down into the Dungeon have you gone?" he asked the girl.

"Lili has been all the way down to Floor 11, but is willing to go as low as you adventurers want to. Lili is only here to feed off your hard earned scraps." she said, making her way to Babel. The group looked between each other, a little put off by Lili's demeanour.

Ryuu spoke next. "We're hunting on Floor 16 today, hoping to run into a few Minotaurs. I hope that isn't a problem for you, Ms Liliruca." said the elf.

Lili looked back and smiled. "It's no problem at all, Master Lion."

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Liliruca Arde hated adventurers.

They were selfish, money grubbing, narcissistic assholes who saw people like her as less than dirt. Constantly pissed Lili off every time she had to deal with those kinds of people. Whenever she went into the Dungeon with her Familia, they would refuse to pay her, beat her and steal what precious little belongings she had left. That only solidified her views, as she would sit at the table in the dining hall of her home with nothing to eat as she had no money to buy food.

Adventurers were the worst.

She continued to feel that way as Akihide held out his water bottle for her. "Oh, do you need a refill, Master Akihide?" she asked with a fake smile, a practiced one, a smile that could fool anyone, especially a child.

Akihide shook his head. "No, you look thirsty. Have a drink." he said, shaking the bottle in his hand to reveal that there was indeed more water in the bottle.