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The little girl was a beastkin, looking around fourteen or fifteen, cute and sweet-faced. The cat ears on her head and tail swaying behind her added a touch of wild charm.
"Come on in," Alex said, stepping aside. Once they entered, he closed the door behind them.
"Sir, same arrangement as yesterday?" the Amazon girl asked.
"Yeah." Alex nodded, took off everything, and lay down on the bed.
The beastkin girl caught sight of him and instantly went bright red.
The Amazon girl quietly pulled out a blanket and draped it over his lower half.
Alex found that a bit funny. He glanced at the beastkin girl. "Aren't people in your line of work used to this? No need to pretend you're shy."
The beastkin girl puffed up with indignation but couldn't figure out how to retort.
The Amazon girl stepped in to explain. "Sir, Little Bell hasn't started that part of the business yet. I'm only bringing her along today to observe."
Alex perked up instantly. "So this is her first time here?"
The Amazon girl blinked, then nodded. "It is."
"Not bad." Alex nodded again and didn't push the topic.
The Amazon girl looked a little disappointed, then kicked off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and sat across his lower back to start the massage.
The beastkin girl's face reddened again as she watched.
Alex melted under the massage. The fatigue of the entire day slowly faded away, and before long, he drifted off to sleep.
Since he had already paid in advance, the Amazon girl didn't wake him when she finished. She just left quietly.
Alex woke naturally at six in the morning.
The sky outside had already brightened. He stretched, feeling refreshed.
He had to admit—getting a massage before bed really improved his sleep. It washed away all that lingering tension. Absolute bliss.
His skin was still slick with the massage oil, so a shower was mandatory.
After washing up, he dressed and went to knock on Merlin and the others' door.
They were already up.
But all three of them were staring at him strangely… more like they were judging him.
"What's with those looks?" Alex asked, annoyed.
Merlin didn't hold back. "Captain, did you have fun last night?"
Alex froze for a second, then realized what they were imagining.
"Don't be ridiculous. It was only a massage." He hurried to explain.
"Really just a massage?" Merlin didn't sound convinced.
Morgan looked even more dismissive, like she was staring at literal trash.
Artoria didn't say anything, but her cheeks reddened as she looked away.
"Believe what you want." Alex gave up. The more he explained, the less they'd believe him.
Down at the inn's front counter, he checked out.
He planned to head into the deeper levels of the Dungeon today. He'd be down there for several days, maybe more than half a month, so keeping the room would be a waste.
He might not be short on money, but that didn't mean he'd just throw it away.
After checking out, he bought breakfast for Merlin and the others to take back to the church. Then he went to buy supplies for the expedition.
Food, water, camping tents, weapons, armor.
And of course, potions.
He could cast healing and anti-poison magic, so he didn't need healing or antidote potions. Stamina and mana recovery potions were enough.
After one big round of shopping, he had spent more than three million.
When he returned to the church, everyone had already finished breakfast and was waiting for him.
Hestia had also returned from Miko's world.
Alex immediately asked, "How's Miko? Did you seal her eyes?"
Hestia grinned proudly. "With a goddess on the job? Please. Easy."
"That's great." Alex felt genuinely happy for Miko—no more being terrified by ghosts.
"Oh, right—Merlin said you went shopping for supplies. Planning a Dungeon expedition?" Hestia asked.
"Yep. The girls in our Familia are strong, but their levels are low since they just joined. I want to take them to the lower and deep floors so they can fight above their rank and build achievements quickly. That'll help their levels catch up to their actual combat ability." Alex nodded and explained his plan.
As he spoke, he pulled the supplies out of Unlimited Blade Works.
Piles of food, water, weapons, armor, potions.
He could project weapons with his ability, but the others couldn't. The deeper floors were extremely dangerous, so everyone needed proper gear.
The girls lit up with excitement as they saw everything.
"Two sets of combat outfits each—one to wear, one to wash. And one set of armor per person," Alex said.
The girls instantly gathered around to pick their gear.
They'd been in Orario for quite a while, but most were still wearing clothes from their original worlds.
Roxy was fine—her style fit this world's fashion well enough.
Merlin, Morgan, and Artoria too.
But Saeko, Irisviel, Sella, Leysritt, and Maiya all still wore modern clothing, which stuck out badly.
Before long, they each had their outfits sorted.
Even Roxy, Merlin, and Morgan picked two sets each.
Butterfly Shinobu and Miko, who had gone back, also had gear prepared. He'd leave it for them in the basement.
When the girls came out after changing, Alex's eyes widened.
All of them wore practical, fitted combat gear with light armor layered over it.
Irisviel had the biggest transformation. Her long, silver hair was tied into a high ponytail. Combined with the fitted armor and the spear-staff in her hand, she looked sharp and heroic.
A spear-staff was a hybrid weapon—good for melee and channeling magic both.
Sella carried an enormous greatsword, the kind that looked straight out of Final Fantasy.
Leysritt wielded a halberd-like axe-lance, similar to a decorated guandao with an added axe blade beside the spear tip.
Maiya, who was used to firearms in the Fate world, preferred long-range combat. Since this world had no guns, she had switched to a bow.
Saeko stayed with her beloved katana.
Roxy, Merlin, and Morgan all kept their usual robes, but now had armor pieces protecting their chest, shoulders, wrists, and knees.
And finally Artoria wore full armor. Once she had it on, she looked almost like a Lancer-style Lion King.
Once everyone was geared up, they all turned to Alex.
"Your turn, Alex," Hestia said expectantly.
"I don't need anything." Alex shook his head.
With Unlimited Blade Works and mastery of various magic, he didn't need armor or weapons at all.
"No way. A family has to match. You're changing too!" Hestia refused on the spot.
"Alright, alright, I'll change!" Alex surrendered with both hands up.
He pulled out the Moonspirit Essence, focused for a moment, and the liquid flowed over his whole body, hardening into a full suit of armor.
The shape of the armor was exactly the Leo Cloth from Saint Seiya.
"So cool!" Roxy's eyes instantly filled with sparkles.
"Captain, this is way too flashy," Merlin said, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"No matter where you go, you'll be the center of attention like this," Busujima Saeko added with a sigh.
"Stop, stop, I'll change it!" Alex cut them off before the rest could pile on. With another thought, the Moonspirit Essence shifted again.
This time it turned into something much simpler: a black and white fitted outfit, a layer of light armor on top, and metal boots replacing the leather ones.
It wasn't as over-the-top as the Cloth, but it made him look sharp and battle-ready.
With that handsome face of his, he basically looked like one of those cool, aloof male leads from anime.
Alex summoned a greatsword using Unlimited Blade Works and spun once in front of the girls. "How about this?"
"Perfect!" Hestia nodded with eyes glued to him, practically drooling.
Merlin's cheeks were unexpectedly pink as she said, "Not bad. You really have a bit of Arthur's vibe like this."
"Tch, I'm obviously more handsome than him," Alex scoffed.
For a moment, every girl present was completely drawn in by how good he looked.
Even the artificial humans, Sera and Leysritt, were staring.
Hisau Maiya, who normally couldn't stand him and carried some resentment, turned away with a blush and refused to look again.
Hestia snapped out of it, saw all the girls staring, and puffed up like a mother hen guarding her chick. "Alright, eyes off. All of you get your stuff together and move out to the Dungeon!"
The girls booed at her obvious attempt to keep Alex to herself.
After the playful chaos settled down, Alex packed up the supplies and led the entire Familia toward the Dungeon.
Everyone was buzzing with excitement along the way.
Roxy even opened a group livestream, recording everything from the start of the expedition.
She titled the stream: The Hestia Familia's First Expedition.
Inside the chat group:
Yotsuya Miko: "Seriously? I left just last night and you all go on an expedition without me."
Shinobu Kocho: "Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable."
"..."
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