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

On the other hand, Lefia's face showed a slightly confused expression.

"I left a note for Elfie in my room..."

"Huh! What!?"

Elfie, who was suddenly called out, was so startled that she cried out.

"Speaking of which, there seems to be a note on the table..." Elfie forced a smile, looking flustered under the gaze of her fellow members.

"Really." Lefia raised an eyebrow at her roommate, then bowed frankly to Riveria in apology.

"Because I received a letter from my familiar informing me that the equipment I commissioned the magician (Miss Renoir) to make was completed, I went out early this morning to pick it up. I apologize for taking such a unilateral decision."

Since she had humbly admitted her mistake, Riveria could no longer continue to reprimand her.

"Remember to be careful in the future." Riveria sighed and returned to her seat.

The group members, who had been watching intently from the sidelines with their bodies tense, finally relaxed.

Taking this opportunity, the once quiet restaurant returned to its bustling state.

"Lefia actually cut her hair all short in one go..."

"That's quite surprising. I've heard that among demi-humans, elves are a race that cherishes their hair very much."

"Perhaps this is what the gods meant by 'changing one's form'?"

Anachitti, Tione, and Tiona, who were eating at the same table, glanced at Lefia and shared their thoughts. Except for Tiona, who was stuffing her mouth full of bread and bacon, the other two, knowing the reason Lefia had cut her hair short, kept their voices down. Ais, sitting next to Tiona, also looked at Lefia with a worried expression.

Lefia, on the other hand, continued walking without changing her expression.

Breakfast time was coming to an end, and most of the group members had already finished eating, leaving only empty bowls and plates on the table. Lefia did not find an empty seat to sit down.

Ignoring the curious glances and worried whispers—as if she had already decided to do so—she walked toward someone.

"Mr. Bert."

"……What?"

The werewolf pricked up its ears, and its gray hair swayed in response.

Bert maintained his rude sitting posture and impatiently looked up at the girl standing beside him.

This combination has never been seen before at breakfast times.

Lefia usually dine with Ais and others or Elfie and the others; as for Bert, because he finds Tiona and the others too noisy, he always chooses the corner seat in the restaurant.

Bert never expected Rafia to come and talk to him, so he looked at her with a questioning expression.

Raul and Coss, who sat at the same table as Bert, wore their confusion on their faces.

Whether the girl could see through their thoughts or not, she slowly opened her lips.

"Please teach me combat techniques."

This request once again silenced the room.

"………………Huh?"

The exclamation came from Ais, but Ais couldn't be sure that she had made it herself.

The restaurant was completely enveloped in silence.

The scene was as if time had reversed, and everyone's eyes were once again focused on Lefia.

Some people stopped what they were doing, some wondered if they were hallucinating, and some just stood there dumbfounded.

While the other members displayed a variety of expressions, this time, even Finn, Riveria, Grace, and Loki couldn't hide their surprise.

The next moment—

"Eee ...

Tiona was the first to break the silence.

After letting out a gasp that shook the entire restaurant, she devoured the breakfast she hadn't finished and rushed to Lefia's side.

"Why!? How could this be!? What's going on!? Lefia! Why would you ask this stupid wolf for something like this!? Since you want him to guide you, does that mean you've decided to become his apprentice!? Could I have misheard!?"

Tiona asked a question in a state of confusion, but she essentially spoke for the other members.

Faced with such an agitated question, Lefia looked slightly confused.

"After all, I already have Lady Riveria... so I don't want to become Mr. Bert's apprentice, I just want to ask him for advice on close combat techniques..."

"If that's the case, why pick Bert of all people!? You have me, Tione, or Ais!"

"This is too much trouble, I refuse."

"Don't just reject Lefia's request outright, you silly wolf!! No, while I'd like you to refuse, you're not allowed to act so high and mighty!"

Driven by inner turmoil, Tiona yelled and screamed at Lefia and Bert back and forth.

Many of the group members nodded in agreement with Tiona's complaints.

The male members below the second rank all stared at Lefia with expressions of fear, terror, and trembling, wondering, "Is she serious?!" and "Why would she be so foolish as to choose someone like that?!" Even Raul and Kos, who were sitting at the same table, shook their heads frantically, trying to dissuade Lefia from doing something foolish.

"Lefia! It's not as exaggerated as Tiona makes it out to be, but if you want to learn martial arts, we can teach you. You can have as many sparring sessions as you want. You don't need to ask that rough, willful, and difficult wolf to instruct you!"

Tiony also left his seat and joined the battle.

It was entirely due to the older sister's unwillingness to see her beloved younger sister being taken away by someone else.

Of course, this probably also included his personal feelings of dislike for Bert. Bert, who was being severely criticized, retorted with bulging veins on his head, "You two stinking Amazons, don't go too far..."

In short, the two sisters approached Lefia with resentful expressions.

"After careful consideration, I believe that seeking advice from Mr. Bert is the wisest choice. It's not that Miss Tiona and you are inferior to Mr. Bert; it's simply that I need to do so now."

Lefia remained calm.

Those azure eyes remained unmoved by Tione and the others' pleas, quietly weaving words from their lips.

"Furthermore... I believe Mr. Bert is the least likely of all to show me any mercy."

"Hmm."

Tiona and Tione were both speechless.

As Lefia said, if they were to receive training from Tiona and the others, they would definitely go easy on them, because everyone would inevitably have to consider Lefia's feelings.

Bert, on the other hand, would definitely not do that. Rafia even dared to assert that when Bert was training, he would mercilessly punch and kick her, whether it was her face or her stomach. This was exactly the kind of rough, willful, and difficult wolf (Bert Roca) that Tiona and the others described.

Conversely, it was for this very reason that Tione and others prevented Lefia from accepting Bert's guidance.

Lefia bowed to Tiona and the others.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tiona, Miss Tione, I think if I don't change myself now... I'll never have another chance."

He could no longer accept the kindness of Tiona and the others.

Lefia poured out her heart without reservation.

Seeing this, Tiona and Tione could no longer try to dissuade them.

After hearing this resolute confession, the other elves, including Alicia, couldn't help but widen their eyes. Lefia raised her head under everyone's gaze, looking directly at Bert.

"Mr. Bert, I'm counting on you."

"I told you, I'm too lazy to make trouble for myself. Just like those two idiots (Amazons) said, you can go and cry to Ais."

Bert did not change his original answer.

After all, Bert was only focused on becoming stronger, and considering himself a lone wolf, he had no intention of wasting time on "minor figures"—and he arbitrarily believed that he, who couldn't cast "magic," couldn't guide Lefia—so he flatly refused Lefia's request. He didn't even look at Lefia, continuing to eat the rest of his bread.

If it were a girl from the past (Lefia), she would definitely have given up.

However, the elf (Lefia) standing there fearlessly retorted.

"Remember how much trouble you hate small fry? Now, with just a little time, you can get rid of one small fry, right?"

Elfie and the others, who had been listening intently to the conversation between the two, all gasped.

The reason is that Rafia's words were unprecedentedly provocative.

This is completely out of character for her.

After hearing this, the werewolf turned his amber eyes toward Lefia for the first time.

"I remember Mr. Bert also uses 'magic', right? Putting aside techniques like 'parallel chanting' and 'high-speed chanting,' I can still teach you some chanting techniques that even a vanguard can use."

"I don't use 'magic'."

"Really? Then do you want to take some magic shooting training? I'm sure you also need to check the output limit of your newly acquired silver boots (Frosvelt), right? My magical power should be second only to Lady Riveria."

"..."

"And I have another way to repay you."

Lefia promoted herself with an air of nonchalance, emphasizing incessantly the benefits she could bring.

The surroundings became silent without anyone noticing, and then Lefia uttered the following words.

"That means I will become able to 'come in handy'."

After a brief silence—

Faced with this insightful statement, the werewolf slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Then he grinned and stood up from the chair.

"Interesting. Since you dare to make such a boast, I'll keep you company for a bit."

"Okay, thank you."

"I'm not just saying this offhand; you'd better not regret it."

"I could never regret it."

Facing the werewolf who was looking down at him with a smirk, the elf glared back at him with a serious expression.

Although the group members witnessed the whole incident, their thoughts were still scattered, and they only knew that Rafia's attitude was sincere enough to persuade Bert to grant her request.

"How surprising, Lefia actually asked Bert to mentor her... Wait, Ais?! Ais!? You look strange!!"

"…………………………………………………………………………"

Annakidi, who had been watching Lefia and the others, screamed in fright when she noticed something strange about Ais sitting next to her.

The blonde, golden-eyed girl seemed to have time frozen, like a white statue gradually weathering away.

The junior she had once trained (Lefia) was taken away by someone else.

Ais, who had burned to ashes, could only think of this sentence.

Even though it caused a huge shock to all members of the [Family], Lefia and Bert still decided to start training each other.

(Illustration 008)

*

Make the most of your time.

Lefia, who decided to "change," first cultivated this idea into a habit.

Studying, exercising, taking risks, handling chores and personal matters—all these thoughts and actions consumed her, making her realize that even with plenty of time, it wasn't enough. Lefia understood this fact. Or rather, she finally came to understand it.

Time is finite. Even for long-lived elves, the value of time remains unchanged.

If a trial must be faced in the future, continuing in this way will inevitably lead to "someone's sacrifice." The only solution lies in how much effort one puts in. If effort can bring about "change," Lefia is not averse to investing her energy in it. Reflecting on the process through a firm goal will motivate her to take action and eliminate all unnecessary distractions.

If you regret the result after doing your best, at least you can give up and accept the outcome.

However, I cannot allow myself to suffer the regret that comes from laziness. I absolutely cannot allow it.

Regret increases or decreases proportionally with the passage of time. If, faced with an unacceptable outcome, Lefia were to reflect on the process and find that she was solely responsible for her laziness, she would absolutely hate herself.

Sacrifice, grief, weeping, tears—

These are things that must never happen again, and regrets that we can never accept calmly.

If you want to make a change, then the only way is in the present.

As I told Tiona and the others before, if Lefia chooses to run away now, she will forever remain just Lefia Viridis.

Therefore, she decided to adopt a "burning life" lifestyle.

Use the phrase "make the most of your time" to guide yourself.