Is It Wrong For Me To Start With Three Skills In Danmachi ?!

Ais didn't know who this mysterious robed figure was, but Fron wasn't unfamiliar at all. In fact, within the fragments of his memories, this was one of the very few individuals who had left him with a deep impression.

---------------------------------------------

[Sage/Fool]Fels.

The Guild's or rather God-King Ouranos' personal retainer, an individual who has lived for 800 years.

Fels hails from the [Great Magic Nation], and in the past pushed "Mystery" to its limits. The one and only person in legend said to have created the [Philosopher's Stone], that sage was him.

Although the [Philosopher's Stone] was shattered by his patron god at the time, the dissatisfied Fels did not give up, but instead developed another secret method of undying immortality.

However… the side effects were truly terrifying.

The [Philosopher's Stone] came from the hands of the [Sage] 800 years ago.

By that calculation, Fels has already extended his life by another 300 years.

The most experienced magician of the present age, a scholar who has driven Mystery and Magic to the extreme!

As one of only five bearers of "Mystery" in Orario, and the highest ranked among them, Fels possesses the ability to produce "Grimoires."

Most of the Grimoires that appear at auctions in the Labyrinth City are his work.

From this alone, one can imagine just what a great treasure this [Sage] is.

To Fron, he is practically like an untapped gold mine, waiting to be developed.

But… to obtain something good from the hands of the [Sage] is extremely difficult.

First, the relationship between the [Loki Familia] and the Guild, other than superficial matters, the two sides are almost entirely non-interfering.

Second, for some unknown reasons, the Guild conceals many secrets.

Loki, having been misled by someone, shifted the blame for Lefiya's injury onto the Guild. Normally this would not be an issue; as long as Ouranos clarified matters when speaking with Loki, it could be resolved.

But the problem lies in this, Ouranos himself has secrets that cannot be spoken of. And these secrets concern not only the stability of the Labyrinth City Orario, but also, on a larger scale, the entire world.

On top of that, with a third party stirring up trouble from the shadows at this critical moment, both Loki and Ouranos remain wary of each other.

And the [Sage] Fels before them is from Ouranos' side, making it even less likely for him to straightforwardly yield…

But now, the opportunity had arrived.

Ais glanced at Fron with questioning eyes, and upon seeing his nod, lowered her silver rapier that had been pointing at the other, though… she did not return it to its sheath.

Clearly, the girl still held considerable wariness toward him.

"First, allow me to introduce myself, I am called Fels, nothing more than a mere insignificant magician. Perhaps saying so makes me sound unfamiliar to you, but… as long as you know that I have had contact with Lulune Louie recently, you should recall something."

"Lulune?"

Ais' golden eyes narrowed, recalling that time.

The canine girl from the [Hermes Familia], Lulune Louie.

'I accepted a commission from a mysterious person, '

'The other side possesses an intelligence network that holds our familia's information, '

'What they gave me was simply too much, '

Those lines of information that demanded vigilance immediately resurfaced, sending a chill down her spine.

"It looks like you remember. That makes things much simpler to explain. The reason I've come this time is to hand you an adventurer commission. Don't be too quick to refuse, won't you hear the contents and the payment first?"

Adventurer commission? Thinking again of Lulune's pitiful look at that time, Ais instinctively wanted to refuse… but Fron instead spoke words that surprised her.

"A commission? Can we choose the reward ourselves, as long as it's equivalent to the difficulty of the task?"

"Fron?"

Ais felt she could not follow his line of thought.

The other's goal was still unknown, and yet he was… already discussing payment with him?

The girl was bewildered.

And so was Fels. What was this? He hadn't even explained anything yet, and the other party was already negotiating rewards? Wasn't this far too fast? Why were these [Loki Familia] people always breaking the usual script?

After a short silence, Fels spoke.

"Very well, then, what do you want? A Grimoire? No… from what I know, in certain respects you are even more outrageous than the [Thousand Elf]. You must possess some kind of skill that allows you, under certain conditions, to learn others' magic without limit, even across races. In that case, a Grimoire would be useless to you."

The moment he said this, a bolt of lightning flashed in Fels' mind. Under his dark hood, his "eyes" widened.

"He… wants to learn my magic? No, impossible. I've never once revealed myself before members of the [Loki Familia], let alone used magic. So… what exactly is his goal?"

Truly befitting a [Sage], with just a glance, combined with Fron's request, he immediately inferred the other's purpose.

And he was right. But because of the gap in intelligence, he instantly denied the very conclusion he should have accepted.

Fron, of course, had no knowledge of the other's tangled thoughts, and spoke directly:

"The payment will be to let me witness your magic. As a magician, you should at least have one powerful magic. No… one would not befit your status. At the very least, you must have two magics."

"…" Fels fell silent once more. He now was certain beyond doubt: the other was after his magic.

But… this request caused him no real loss. And in order to resolve this troublesome matter, he needed the other's strength, so he had no reason to refuse.

"This reward is acceptable. Quite reasonable. But don't you want to hear the details of the commission first?"

Fron nodded. Since the payment was agreed upon, naturally it was all smooth.

"Let me guess, it concerns the monster riot occurring at midnight on the 24th floor of the dungeon, doesn't it?"

"…"

Another silence. This back to back correct guesses punch from Fron left him utterly dumbfounded, even sinking into deep self-doubt.

'How do you know everything? Can't we just have a proper conversation? Can't you at least let me finish explaining?'

The [Sage] was momentarily bewildered. Since when was the Loki Familia's intelligence network so formidable? This time, he had intercepted the information only just in time himself.

Could it be… they had learned it from some adventurers' mouths?

Unable to make sense of it, and pressed for time, he simply gave up on thinking further.

"Listen well. The abnormal monster riot on the 24th floor, I want you to investigate the cause. If you can suppress this riot, then all the better."

Hearing the commission's contents, Ais shot a surprised look at Fron. It really was that matter.

But… she hadn't heard a word of it within the familia. Just how had Fron known?

"Of course, I won't send you to investigate blindly. I already have some clear leads."