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"So you're Frank, I guess this is our first… Like, um, formal meeting and all?" Elfina muttered, feeling embarrassed around handsome young men.
Frank, Sol, and Matsuo were all very attractive young men, and Elfina who was a girl still growing up and developing and all of that, was naturally infatuated and embarrassed by their casual presence everywhere.
Although she had grown used to Sol and another of her male friends she usually hanged out with, they usually wouldn't just be right by her side all the time…
And now that everyone was eating at Matsuo's place, they only had two tables, so the place was tight, they had to sit very close to each other.
Matsuo's family was big, with three little sisters, his mother and his father! So naturally, the place was full of people.
"Nice to meet you, Elfina…" Frank said. "A lot happened indeed… You were a really formidable opponent. And… well, sorry for what happened to you." Although he had never talked with them before, to Frank, it felt like he knew them much more than he should.
"F-Formidable? Was I?" Elfina wondered.
"Yeah you were really strong," Harumi nodded. "Maybe mostly because of the spears you summoned."
"Can you summon those awesome spears again? Are they gone?" Erika wondered.
"They disappeared after we rescued her," said Matsuo. "Seems like they were "unsummoned" until she could summon them again."
"Can you summon them again?" Frank wondered.
"I-I have no idea how to do that…" Elfina muttered. "I seriously don't know… When I was possessed I was a different person, it wasn't really me…"
"I see… W-Well, it's fine," Said Frank. "You don't need to hurry about it… Take it easy, Elfina."
"Take it easy you say… with how everything is, can I really do that?" Elfina sighed. "I'm worried… about my family, and what if I get attacked again…"
"Well, you got us here," Matsuo said. "Let's… eh, let's hang out then. We can protect each other."
"Members of our clans roam all these areas constantly," Erika explained. "It won't be easy for that to happen again… I hope."
"At least not if you don't go specifically to a dangerous location for a mission…" Harumi looked at Matsuo.
"Hey… I mean, we had to do it…" Matsuo sighed. "And things ended well at the end, right? We got a lot of Contribution Points."
"…Young Lady, do you want me to cut the fish for you into smaller pieces?" Fiere wondered, looking at her with the care and delicacy of a maid that has been taking care of her forever.
"E-Eh? I-I can eat the fish just fine, Fiere… It's embarrassing if you try to help on doing something so simple," Elfina sighed, looking all red.
"So simple? But you always request me to-"
"S-Shut up…!"
Elfina covered her maid's mouth while looking all nervous and panicking.
She couldn't possibly let everyone know just how spoiled she truly was!
Now that she was going to have to interact with all these new friends, strong people that saved her life, she had to change things a bit.
"Sorry if they're a bit awkward, they're still trying to get used to everything," Sol apologized to Matsuo's family.
"Ah, it's alright, don't worry, Sol-kun," Matsuo's mother said with a gentle, motherly smile. "Please feel right at home. Matsuo's friends are also this family's friends, right, dear?"
"Of course!" Matsuo's father nodded while raising a little cup with sake. "We're celebrating today that Frank is awake as well! The big hero of that day! You've become quite the talk around the clan, did you know Frank?"
"H-Huh? Really?" Frank was surprised.
"Yeah! Everyone is talking about you!"
"You've become popular as someone that almost gave away his life to protect his friends."
"It was a very noble sacrifice; everyone admires you now."
Matsuo's sisters didn't waste any opportunity to tell Frank everything.
"I-Is that so? Wow… W-Well, I'm grateful. But… to be honest, I couldn't really save anybody," Frank sighed. "If it wasn't for everyone else that arrived in time, I don't know what we could have done to survive. I think they're the real heroes, and you too, sir." He looked at Matsuo's father, lowering his head. "Thank you very much for saving our lives…"
"A-Ah! Calm down now, Frank, you don't have to lower your head!" Matsuo's father laughed a bit. "You did save their lives, you know? Your battle against Medea managed to buy us enough time to get there. Without you putting your life on the line for them, we would have gotten there too late."
"Indeed, your sacrifice was not in vain!" Matsuo's mother nodded. "Ah! Do you want more rice? It seems you've eaten it all already."
"Oh? Ah, I guess I was hungry…" Frank realized he had already eaten his entire plate, which he did almost passively while he talked. "If you don't really mind…"
"Of course we don't mind! I cooked a lot today, so you better eat up, we don't want the food to go to waste!" Matsuo's mother very nicely served Frank a lot of food. "Eat up! You must be starving after sleeping for three days."
"I-I kind of was, yes, thank you so much," Frank thanked her, beginning to eat again.
After hearing the entire conversation, Elfina, Fiere, and Sol slowly felt slightly bad. They were one of the primary causes of why they almost died.
However, this feeling of guilt also helped them regain some of their resolve.
"We have to get our shit together…" Elfina sighed.
"Well said," Sol nodded. "Let's keep training hard, alright?"
"Y-Yeah…" Elfina nodded.
"I wonder what will it be of Brunhild, Eriant, and Ariant though? Should we tell them?" Fiere wondered.
"I wouldn't recommend that for now… There's no point, we shouldn't drag them into this world," Sol said. "They're still living in the bliss of ignorance… and maybe that's for the better."
"Hmm…" Elfina nodded while listening to her friends. "Um, sir?"
As she asked Matsuo's father about that subject, the man rubbed his chin while snacking on some tempura shrimp.
"Hmmm… For now it's better to keep this a secret from them, yes… I understand that they're your close friends and all, but don't get them involved if possible. Things might change if they have innate powers though. We might have to investigate them further later on."
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