Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"About Alexandra and the others?"

"Yes. It wasn't appropriate to ask back then in the dungeon... but I'm really curious about what kind of people Ryu-san's [Familia] is."

Recalling that parting still brings a pang of pain to my chest.

But more than the pain, Ryu was pleased when Bell asked about Alyssa and the others.

"...Okay. So, where should I begin...?"

She turned her face slightly upwards, looking at the night sky.

The brilliance of the stars stirred up Liu's memories. "It's embarrassing to say..." she began, starting her story in detail.

She recounted the detailed process of her arrival in the city and who she met there.

The boy listened quietly.

Sometimes he would smile, and Ryu would smile back.

In the alleyway where the night sky watches over them, they linger for a while, surrendering themselves to time that belongs only to the two of them.

Volume 15, Chapter 6: Encounters and Vows

Liu Liang was once a village girl living in the Elf Village.

To call her merely a village girl would be somewhat inaccurate. Her family were guardians of the sacred tree of their village for generations, and she began her education to become an elven warrior shortly after her birth. When enemies invaded the village, she would stand shoulder to shoulder with the adults to fight them. Even without receiving the "blessings" of the gods, they could repel monsters that merely inhabited the earth with bows and arrows or swords.

On that day, as usual, Liu and the other warriors drove away the foreign merchant caravan that approached the village.

"A bunch of filthy orc merchants."

"See their ugly faces? It must be the ugliness of their hearts showing on their faces, unlike us."

When Ryu returned to the village with her face veiled and the coat covering her small body swaying, the adult elves were laughing at those who had been driven away.

This is an elven settlement covered by dense foliage. In the modern era when the gods descended to earth—in the "Age of Gods" where humans and demi-humans interact more closely—some elves, proud and arrogant, refused to mingle with other races and lived in seclusion deep in the forest, detached from worldly affairs.

The deepest part of Liu is home to a sacred tree, and the "Liumiluya Forest" is one of them.

"..."

They're ugly inside and out.

Unlike myself and my fellow countrymen, who are so beautiful and charming, I am utterly filthy.

Ryu always remained silent, watching his compatriots criticize foreigners in such a way.

Elves are especially known for their beautiful appearance among the inhabitants of the lower realm.

They are proud and have obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness, and only allow people they approve of to touch their skin.

However, looking at these people who should be beautiful, Ryu couldn't help but have a thought.

—Perhaps we (elves), with our beautiful appearances, are the ugliest.

The various mockery surrounding her beauty, and the flowery words of praise among her fellow beings... As Ryu observed the words and actions of the male and female elves, this question arose in her mind during her interactions with them.

She doesn't remember what started it.

Eleven years have passed since my birth, and this doubt that sprouted in my young mind has grown bigger and bigger with the years.

Then, doubts even turned into disgust.

Among elves, where a strong sense of kinship prevailed, this was undoubtedly a heretical idea. However, once she had this thought, she could no longer stop herself. The arrogant words uttered from her mouth, regardless of gender, exacerbated Ryu's shame and disappointment, and even gradually caused her to lose her self-esteem.

Young Ryu knew nothing.

She never stepped out of her village, living in a world that was too small.

However, she was certain that the scene before her was abnormal.

Her heart grew more and more distant from her family and fellow villagers.

She felt ashamed of her fellow villagers and also ashamed of herself as a spirit.

She walked forward with her back to the elves, and came to a clear forest stream. After scooping up some water to moisten her throat, she saw her reflection in the water.

Pointed ears, sky blue eyes.

He had long, blond hair and features as regular as those of his fellow villagers.

Liu looked down at her small palms and made up her mind on that day.

"……Bye now."

In the dead of night, as darkness fell, Ryu betrayed and left the land of spirits.

She took a small amount of "white holy stone"—a mineral she could obtain from the village—as her travel expenses and left alone.

The beautiful starry sky of her beloved hometown, and the sacred forest tree that had protected her since birth... Ryu bids farewell to all of this and sets off for the world beyond her hometown.

They have boundless imagination about the vast outside world.

Hoping to break free from the shackles of being called an elf.

Who knew—

*

The rain kept falling.

Gray clouds covered the sky, and a light drizzle soaked the hood pulled low. Ryu stomped her feet on the ground, making a splattering sound, and gazed helplessly at the deserted streets shrouded in mist and rain.

The labyrinth city of Orario.

Having left her hometown, Ryu traveled a long way to Orario, known as the "center of the world." Confused by the outside world she was encountering for the first time, she set her sights on the labyrinthine city whose fame had spread far and wide, and after a difficult but fulfilling journey, she entered the massive city gate.

She heard that in Orario, there were no racial barriers between gods, humans, or fairies; they coexisted and prospered together.

Here you might find something invaluable—no, perhaps you can meet foreign friends you wouldn't make in the Elf Village, and irreplaceable companions.

Ryu has high hopes for this city where a demonic underground city slumbers.

However, Ryu's expectations were easily shattered.

It was none other than her own hands that destroyed it.

—Don't touch me!

No matter who approaches Ryu, she always keeps them at arm's length.

The human who invited her to join the [Family].

Drunken beastmen.

A dwarf merchant with a lewd smile.

An Amazonian prostitute with outrageous words and actions.

The pitiful dwarf adventurer.

Regardless of whether their intentions were good or bad, Ryu knocked their hands off.

It is in the nature of elves that they only allow those they approve of to touch their skin.

Deeply ingrained racial traits compel Ryu to be a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder related to cleanliness. This is the price she must pay for living among her fellow countrymen who have a sense of racial superiority, and for never having corrected her underlying racial traits throughout her life.

Most importantly, Ryu couldn't stand the curious looks from those around her.

The interest, envy, and lustful glances she had never received in the village confused her and instilled fear in her. The reason lay entirely in her beautiful, elfin appearance.

Now, Ryu can't even leave the house without wearing a hood to cover her face. The gaze from outside the village is such a "terrifying" thing to Ryu.

The only remaining option for Liu is to seek help from her own kind (elves), whom she has never met before.

But she didn't do it. Her youthful pride prevented her from doing so.

The girl's feelings of shame and rejection towards elves, including her own, completely cut off her escape route.

"...What a joke."

When I came to my senses, I realized that Ryu had started wearing a coat that covered all her skin and had covered her face with a cloth.

She left her hometown because she was fed up with it, but now she feels apprehensive and uncertain about a world different from her hometown, building a high wall around herself. This version of herself makes Liu unable to laugh; she can only mock herself.

She is so pathetic.

How ridiculous.

She felt an urge to trample on the ground where she had stopped, on her reflection in the puddles on the paved path.

Strangers terrified her, bringing her an incurable sense of unease. Ryu was gripped by a doubt, questioning whether she herself was the one judging others with prejudice. Her dislike for the elves returned to her.

She stood alone in the cold rain, lost in thought in the middle of the back alley.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Some people have spoken out to show concern for Liu.

She turned her head with a sway of her shoulder, and there stood a beautiful woman.

Her appearance, seemingly at the prime of her youth, was even more refined than that of Ryu, an elf. Her long, walnut-colored hair was elegantly tied back. Her eyes were a deep blue, like a starry sea, and she wore a simple, round outer skirt—a long skirt—like that of a virtuous lady.

The faint divine aura emanating from her made Ryu realize that she was a being beyond existence.

She was probably on her way home after shopping; she was wearing a rain cloak over her head, carrying bags, and smiling at Liu.

"goddess……"

Liu muttered to herself, her face contorting involuntarily.

Ryu didn't have a good impression of the gods.

The gods she first encountered in Orario were all frivolous—saying nonsensical things like, "The young fairy is here—!" and "Damn it! If only she were a little younger…!"—leaving her utterly bewildered. She simply couldn't turn to them for help.

At this point, she couldn't help but think that it was perhaps right for those fellow villagers to live in seclusion in the deep forest, treating not only foreigners but also the gods as objects of ridicule.

Disillusionment and disappointment seemed to deliver the final blow, disrupting the girl's already fragile state of mind.

For Ryu, who is currently in a bad mood, the gods who crave entertainment are nothing more than sources of annoyance and impatience.

"You'll catch a cold standing in a place like this."

The goddess' voice is as soft as a feather, with a gentleness that embraces you.

However, just as he did when facing other gods, Ryu couldn't help but feel disgusted with the woman before him.

"...How wet I get in the rain is none of your business. Please leave me alone."

"Oh, of course it's related. I would be very sad if a young and lovely girl like you got sick."

I'll regret leaving that child alone back then.

The goddess spoke softly to Ryu, maintaining a gentle smile, and then continued:

"If only I could be your shelter from the rain. Right now, you look like a lost child."

A lost child.

Upon hearing that word, Ryu felt as if some emotion within her snapped.

—Who do you think caused this?!

This idea is definitely wrong; it's just a child's tantrum.

However, at this moment, Ryu didn't know how to suppress his anger.

"It's all the gods' (you) fault!!"

Liu roared out a sound he had never made in his life.

Faced with the slightly astonished goddess, she allowed her raging emotions to run rampant.

"It's all your fault for creating the Elf race! Creating a race that can't accept others, a race that's all show and no substance!!"

Humans and demi-humans in the lower realm are creations of the gods in the heavenly realm.

In the distant past, long and boundless to children, countless beings were born into the mortal realm, born of racial differences and hierarchies, at the behest of the gods' personal interests, whims, and mischievous thoughts. The beings of the mortal realm firmly believed this.

A burning heat, unable to be released, welled up within Liu's eyelids, and she spoke with an accusatory tone:

"Why were we made into this kind of being!?"

The sound of weeping echoed in the passageway where there were only two people.

Faced with the frivolous elf girl, the goddess remained silent.

The rain intensified, as if it were rebuking Liu for her inappropriate remarks.