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

Lefia shifted her gaze to the window, looking at the clear, cloudless sky that was also clear today—the sky to which people would return after they died.

I am not qualified to be called a "noble spirit" at all, and far from qualified.

It is nowhere near as good as "Pure Fairy (Philweis)".

She is stronger, more beautiful, and more heartbreaking.

Lefia loved her just the way she was.

“──!”

When Nano saw the look in the elf's eyes, she was completely speechless.

She was trembling all over, and her face turned pale.

Lefia, however, was completely unaware of this.

*

"Is Lefia alright?"

Tiona murmured to herself.

This is the headquarters of the Loki Familia – the Twilight Mansion.

As Lefia's business trip to the "school district" was about to reach its tenth day, Tiona lazily lay on the sofa in the reception room, her gaze fixed on the southwest of the city, the location of the port city (Mellen) where Lefia was located.

"Unlike us, Lefia is very knowledgeable; she can handle it. Besides, that's her stronghold, right? She must know the rules there very well."

"Hmm... after all, Lefia gets along well with everyone..."

Tiony and Ais, who were also sitting on the sofa, responded.

But Tiona continued, her expression still grave:

"I'm not worried about that part... but I'm afraid she might never come back?"

"How could this be...! It can't be possible, right?"

"But Rafia... went to Mr. Bert's place earlier..."

"Hmm!"

After Ais finished speaking in a depressed mood, Tiona and Tione also looked very disappointed.

The trio of little girls always looked like this while Lefia was away.

To put it bluntly, there's nothing to do.

Of course, Ais continued her training, Tione diligently assisted the captain (Finn) with official duties, and Tiona accompanied the other members (Navi and others) to the dungeon. But how should I put it? Perhaps it was a backlash from life becoming too peaceful; they often found themselves lost in thought like this.

Since they were busy fighting until the end of the man-made labyrinth (Knossos) raid, this was considered "the adventurers' rest time"... But when they just sat there doing nothing, they couldn't help but think of Lefia.

And they fall into a vicious cycle called excessive worry.

(Because we've always acted together in the past, it's become a given...)

That's why I feel so lonely.

Ais stared at the empty sofa, lost in thought.

"Relax, Tiona, if that idiot principal (Bard) dares to prevent Lefia from returning... I'll immediately rally all the members to tear down the 'school district'."

"This is going too far... There's no need to destroy the 'school district'."

"And if we're really going to dismantle it, we'll be the ones actually doing the work, right?"

The last person in the meeting room spoke.

Tiony and the others watched Loki, who had been drinking since early morning, with cold eyes.

"Hey Loki, why did you send Lefia to the 'school district'? I can understand why Lefia's drastically changed behavior is worrying~ Would it be inappropriate for us to stay by her side?"

"Oh my, oh my~ Tiona, you hit the nail on the head without warning~ As expected of the innocent and carefree girl I've certified! The pure-hearted Amazons are definitely a great type~!"

"Don't try to bluff me!" Tiona pouted angrily.

Loki first drank the rest of the wine in one gulp, and after a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Hmm... The so-called 'instructed person' is someone who gets forgiven even if they make a mistake."

"?"

"Because the 'mentor' will step in to reprimand them, and even help clean up their messes. Saying that they 'can be indulged' might be a bit of an exaggeration... In short, as long as the 'mentee' is full of enthusiasm, they can charge forward headlong, and even if they really go astray and fall flat on their face, they will be forgiven."

"...Does this refer to Lefia?"

Tiona tilted her head in confusion, while Tione asked a question, but Loki didn't answer and continued speaking on his own.

"However, from the perspective of the 'guide,' this approach is not feasible. Moreover, the 'guide' who must be guided by the guide will also become a 'mirror.'"

""Mirror"……?"

Ais turned her head and saw Loki staring intently at her reflection in the empty wine glass.

"When a person stands in front of a 'mirror,' sometimes they suddenly realize that there is a knot in their heart that no one can untie no matter who advises them... I hope that such a situation will occur."

"What do you mean? Does that mean you can't see it by continuing to stand in the 'position of the one being guided'?"

"Not necessarily. But when acting as a 'mirror,' nothing reflects the mirror itself, right?"

"I don't understand what Loki is saying!"

Loki merely smiled in response to Tiony and Tiona's reactions, offering no clear answer.

Then she calmly changed the person she was talking to.

"Ais, as the number one troublemaker among your seniors, what do you think of Lefia~?"

Loki grinned and pounced on the seat next to Ais, sitting down.

Then, while saying "I'll poke, I'll poke~", he gently poked Ais's soft cheek with his index finger. Just as Ais was about to stop Loki—

"Well, compared to Ais's situation, Lefia's is nothing."

"That's right, she's definitely the most troublemaker!"

Tiony sat on Loki's other side, lightly poking Ais's cheek with her finger, while Tiona, who had moved around to the back of the sofa, tossed Ais's long golden hair into the air. Caught in a three-way attack, Ais was unable to refute, reduced to a puppet at his mercy.

Ais, who was being teased from the left, right and back, was like a little animal (hamster) who didn't know what to do, but at the same time she felt that Loki and the others were right.

Lefia's current situation is not as bad as Ais's was back then.

All four of them agreed on this.

However──

"Lefia isn't in that serious condition right now... but she's still frightening."

Ais looked down at her hands and whispered this to herself.

"Fear? What do you mean, Ais?"

"I'm worried that Rafia... is no longer herself."

"No longer herself?"

"Well... after all, I have a clear 'goal,' but Lefia doesn't."

Tiony and Tiona asked questions, while Loki silently watched Ais.

Because the current Lefia is exactly like her former self, there are some things that only Ais can see.

Although it was just an intuition, which Ais could hardly put into words, she was convinced that she had not seen wrong.

It was precisely because her past self was so foolish and so fundamentally different from the current Ais that Ais used the word "fear" to describe herself.

"Because Lefia has no 'goal,' she will never be satisfied. Even if we comfort her by saying that everything is fine now... she probably won't stop."

Now, there is probably only one person who can stop Lefia, but unfortunately, that woman is no longer alive. This is Ais's conclusion.

But she couldn't express herself clearly, unable to put her thoughts into words. Ais was disappointed in her inarticulateness and lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry... I don't know... how to explain this..."

"It's alright, Ais. I understand what you mean to some extent, and the point is, you are indeed thinking about others (Lefia)."

Loki, abandoning his previous frivolous attitude, reached out and gently patted Ais's head.

"My main reason for sending Rafia to that lousy school district was to 'go back to basics'... Your so-called 'alma mater' can be surprisingly inspiring."

"Back to square one...?"

"Yes, I hope this helps Lefia remember her own experiences. That's what I think."

Under the watchful eyes of Ais and the others, Loki leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

"Even though it's said to leave it to fate... what will the outcome actually be?"

*

“Huh!”

Lefia covered her mouth and sneezed.

"Oh dear, Senior Lefia, do you have a cold? You must have caught a cold!"

"Um, that shouldn't be the case..."

"Senior Lefia, you looked so cute when you sneezed just now! Someone must be secretly talking about you because they want to see how cute you are!"

"Please don't make fun of me, Nano."

Faced with the laughing and joking Mililia and Nano, Lefia closed her eyes to hide her flushed cheeks and tried her best to appear calm.

This is in front of the giant shipyard on the west side of the port city (Meren).

The "school district" has now been secured.

The super-large ship (Lingchuan) that can land from the sea by raising its buoyancy device to its maximum output—"School District"—is currently undergoing comprehensive overhaul, as it only travels by sea to avoid long-term overuse of the buoyancy device and to protect nature.

The Orario technicians, who usually work in the city's "industrial zone," are all mobilized to replace and repair the ship's hull equipment and armor. Despite it being winter, the dock is so hot that the technicians are drenched in sweat. Seeing the burly men, led by dwarves, walking around in only trousers and sleeveless shirts, one can't help but feel as if they've stumbled into an industrial city. Listening to the "thump, thump, thump," a sound unlike the hammering of an ironworks, Lefia feels a strange sense of unease.

"Getting back to the main topic, today we will begin a 'mini-expedition' in the middle level of the dungeon, with the destination expected to be the safe floor on the 18th floor."

During the comprehensive overhaul, the control floor, residential floor, and school floor will be repaired in three phases in sequence.

The control layer is currently undergoing repairs.

The main residents of this floor were sailors and magicians, who had all been asked to leave and find temporary accommodations on their own in the residential floor or the port city (Melen). Meanwhile, Lefia, who had left the academy floor, was leading "Seventh Squad" on their way to Orario.

"Is it 'Maze Park'...!? Wow~ I can't wait~!"

"It's located in an underground city, yet it has fantastical floors with 'day and night' cycles... I've always wanted to go see it!"

"I heard that only a small percentage of students in the 'school district' have ever reached the 18th floor!"

"But it seems that this small number of people not only violated the rules, but also almost risked their lives to barely get there."

Nano, Cole, and Miria all seemed very excited. Although Luke remained calm and composed as always, it was clear at a glance that he was also quite looking forward to it.

The school district has agreed that the deepest floor students can access is the "cave maze," and the deepest level is only the 15th floor.

Although the "Seventh Squad," with two Level 3 members, could easily break through the middle levels in terms of combat strength, "students" ultimately could not compare to "adventurers." This was because the "experience" students accumulated in the "upper levels" of the dungeon was far less than that of adventurers. The biggest evidence of this was that every time a "special (dungeon) internship" was held, countless students returned battered and bruised, sometimes even dying from their injuries.

Despite the ability bonus, Lefia believes that the "school district's" decision to limit students to the 15th floor is absolutely correct.

Speaking of Lefia during her student days, she was one of those who almost lost her life.

"It's okay to have expectations, but we're definitely not going on a long hike."

Lefia adopted an instructor's expression, reminding the students to stay alert.

"Your progress this week has been remarkable, and you've adapted to the dungeon. I can assure you that you won't be at a disadvantage when facing 'mid-level' monsters, but—"

"We must not be careless or underestimate our opponent."

"No one can guarantee what might happen inside the dungeon."

"Great, since everyone is okay with it, let's set off."

Seeing Luke, Cole, Nano, and Miria answer in unison, Lefia nodded in satisfaction. Other students could be seen around; some were heading to their faction internships, while others, like the "Seventh Squad," were preparing to challenge the dungeon. They all departed from the dock, heading towards the labyrinth city (Oario) for their respective purposes.

Although some students were tired of traveling between Orario and the port city (Melon), each time they passed through the city gate, they still felt as if it were their first time visiting Orario, and couldn't help but look around excitedly. The reason was that during their stay in the "school district," Orario was more prosperous than ever before, thanks to the influence of merchants who saw the "school district business opportunities" and the [Family].

Trendy snack shops, such as those selling special nougat and honey.

A café with rare books available for people to browse.