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

The city's strongest mage (Rivia Rios Alfre)'s "All-Around Annihilation Magic".

Its special feature is "Complete Targeting," which allows it to instantly distinguish friend from foe within a wide-ranging magic circle. This ultimate move, which only kills the enemy, burns away the roars of monsters and turns the great cave into a red lotus domain.

"...Nano".

“Ah—”

A hand reached out to the girl lying on her back, her gaze drawn to the brilliance of this world of crimson flames.

This hand belongs to the wounded elf mage.

It was an adventurer senior whose inner gloom instilled fear in Nano.

However, having shaken off the gloom, she gently swayed her thick golden hair and smiled slightly.

"Thank you for protecting me... I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart."

Seeing the elf's beautiful smile, Nano, still lying on the ground, burst into tears instantly.

Ignoring the discomfort caused by mental exhaustion, she didn't reach out to grasp the outstretched hand, but instead, like a small animal, she quickly got up and hugged the person in front of her.

Ignoring the bewildered Lefia, Nano buried her face in her neck and burst into tears.

"Wa ...

"Nano? Nano? I'm perfectly fine! You're the one who's more seriously injured, so don't push yourself too hard..."

"Waaaaaahh ...

Nano was like a little girl throwing a tantrum at her mother, wailing and sobbing incessantly.

"That's great, that's great~" she said, choking back tears, which soaked Lefia's clothes.

Just as Lefia was at a loss for what to do, Luke and the others, covered in wounds, walked over and smiled at the two girls. Unable to hold back any longer, Mililia burst into tears and went to embrace Lefia.

-- Sigh~ It's obvious that even places like these don't need to be so similar.

Lefia couldn't help but overlap her past self, who had been saved by her idols (Ais and others), with the present-day Nano and others. Unconsciously, a smile appeared on her face, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

*

"We fought our way up to the 17th floor! But is this really a good idea? Maybe they're waiting for rescue on other floors?"

"That's what Tiona said as she ran at top speed, gripping the large double-edged sword (Ulga) in one hand," Tione, who was running ahead, replied.

"Searching each floor one by one would be endless! Lefia surely understands this! Therefore, she should stay in an area where she's easily found!"

"Hmm... Knowing Lefia's personality, she'll definitely choose the safe floor (here)..."

"I-I think so too...no, but you guys are running way too fast!"

Ais, who was following diagonally behind Tione, nodded in agreement, while Elfie, who was a little further away from the three, shouted breathlessly. Tiona looked at Elfie, who was barely keeping up with the pace of the first-level adventurer, and with a "whoosh," she hoisted her onto her left shoulder, startling Elfie into a scream.

Because Ais and the others had been working for a long time clearing fallen rocks and dredging roads, they were covered in dust from head to toe.

Before Grace and her team could finish clearing the proper route, the four of them had already reached the 17th floor.

"Let's head to the 'Wailing Wall' first!"

Suddenly, a strong tremor interrupted Tiony's words.

Faced with the earth-shaking tremors that were clearly caused by the detonation of "magic," Ais and the others, unable to hide their astonishment, exchanged glances and quickened their pace.

Since they did not encounter any monsters along the way, they quickly arrived at the main passage.

Just as we were about to reach the deepest chamber at the top of the floor—

"!"

"Huh...who's that?"

"Someone actually arrived here before us?"

Ais, Tiona, and Tione were once again surprised when they saw the figure in front of them with his back to them.

The man was tall and wore a silver-white armor covering his upper body, and held a large longsword in his hand.

As Elf climbed off Tione's taut shoulders, Ais's eyes widened at the sight of the brown hair and the "knight-like" silhouette.

"It's the Knight of Knights..."

Having probably heard someone mention the title, the man in front—Leon—immediately turned around.

Recognizing Ais and the others, he for some reason maintained a smile on his face, then stepped aside.

He made way for Ais and the others to see the interior of the large cave.

"ah……!"

"Lefia~!"

"We can rest assured for now... the students seem to be alright."

"Thank goodness everyone's safe and sound! But I really think it's wrong of Lefia to leave me, her roommate, and get along so well with other girls!"

Ais and Tiona's faces were filled with joy, Tione couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, while Elphie, as usual, made a ruckus, swallowing her tears.

The students surrounded Lefia, and she hugged one of them, gently patting his back.

"...Lefia, you can finally smile again."

"Um……"

Tiona smiled brightly, like the rising sun, and Ais, who squinted her eyes, nodded in agreement.

For quite some time, Ais and the others stayed at a distance, watching the girl who looked slightly troubled—but with the smile that "the real Lefia would have."

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 13: The Final Chapter - My Ordinary Conclusion Because of You

After defeating Goliath and a large number of monsters, and calming down Nano and the others who couldn't stop crying—

Lefia, together with Ais and others who came to her rescue, managed to clear the connecting passage blocked by falling rocks and decided to stay on the 18th floor for a short rest.

Although Lefia had expended a lot of energy, all the members of the "Seventh Squad" were even more exhausted. In order to give them a full rest before returning to the surface, the group headed together to "Rivera Town".

In addition to the Seventh Squad's tragic death, the Third Squad also went missing at the same time in the "school district." Lefia was initially worried about this, but in the end, it was all for naught.

"So, why are you here?"

"Ah, hahaha..."

Lefia encountered a human boy in the town of Rivera she arrived at—she rolled her eyes at Bell Crane, whose combat suit provided by the "school district" was tattered.

Based on certain inside information, Bell disguised himself as a student and traveled with the "Third (bottom-of-the-class) Squad".

The rabbit-man I ran into in the courtyard of the "Guild Headquarters" last time was actually Bell in disguise.

The Third Squad, which entered the dungeon earlier than the Seventh Squad, managed to escape by taking refuge on a safe floor earlier thanks to the judgment of the Level 1 adventurer (Bell). However, they were still chased down by the floor master (Goliath) who had been defeated by Lefia and the others.

As for Bell's reason for disguising himself and infiltrating the "school district," it is said that Bald and others were also involved—otherwise, Lefia would have already killed him with her staff on the grounds that "you are a low-level pervert who is lustful to students and a public enemy of mankind." It is probably because Lefia and others had also experienced an "adventure" before arriving, and after noticing that the half-elf girl in the team was constantly glancing at Bell with a blushing face, Lefia still felt a surge of anger.

"This perpetually horny rabbit! Please, don't go after the female students from my alma mater!?"

"No, no! I absolutely didn't do anything like that!! So please, Miss Ais, don't ask Miss Tiona and the others questions like 'What is a perpetually rutting rabbit?'"

"The point is, why did you scream the moment you saw me when we passed by the 'Guild'?! That's incredibly rude! I'll roast you!"

"Eeeeeee!? I'm sorry! But it's because you always treat me like this that I reflexively get startled!!"

Faced with the girl's loud questioning and the boy's tearful pleas for mercy, the students of "Squad Seven" and "Squad Three" were stunned into silence. Luke and Nano, in particular, who had been treated as mature mentors by Lefia until now, were quite frightened.

On the other hand, Tiona, witnessing this scene—

"As expected, Lefia immediately becomes very energetic whenever she sees Argo, the little hero!"

He joked like this with a big smile.

Ais and Tiony were amused by this remark.

Seeing that Lefia and the others all showed expressions befitting their age, Leon also squinted his eyes in delight.

As planned, they rested for about a day in the inn town (Rivera) before escorting the "Seventh Squad" and the "Third Squad" back to the surface.

Thanks to Grace and the Ganesha Familia who entered the dungeon, almost all the passages were reopened, so the group returned to the surface in no time.

The long "mini-expedition" of Lefia and the others has finally come to an end.

"Welcome back, Rafia."

Lefia returned to the "school district," and after finishing her report, Bald smiled happily.

"I'm finally able to see the real you (Lefia) again," he added with a smile.

For some reason, Arisa suddenly hugged Lefia.

In addition, the "Special (Dungeon) Internship" of the "Seventh Squad" has come to an end, and all four members have earned academic credits.

This also means that Rafia's mentorship has come to an end.

As Lefia was about to leave the "school district," all the members of "Squad Seven" tearfully promised, "We will definitely join the Loki Familia." Nano hugged Lefia and cried uncontrollably, while Miria held Lefia's hand tightly, her eyes brimming with tears. Although Lefia felt they were making a mountain out of a molehill and responded with a wry smile, as someone who had guided them, she was genuinely touched.

Influenced by the other two, Cole, despite having tears in his eyes, still smiled and thanked Lefia.

Luke seemed to want to say something but hesitated, then maintained his usual indifferent expression—

"I will definitely catch up with you and become an even better adventurer than you."

He made that announcement.

"I'll wait for you. But I won't lose."

Rafia smiled and encouraged the other person.

Then──

Lefia has finally returned to the Loki Familia.

*

Lefia looked up at the sky.

Even though this blue sky was the same sky that the person she had just lost looked like, for some reason, it seemed especially blue to her now.

But she also had a strange feeling that her heart, like the cold yet clear sky, was no longer clouded.

"You're finally back! Hope your skills haven't gotten any slower."

"...Mr. Bert."

Bert appeared from the side and walked toward Rafia, who was waiting in the courtyard of the headquarters.

Training resumes today; hone your "Magic Swordsman" combat skills through sparring with Bert.

However, the "anxiety" I felt before receiving the guidance has disappeared.

Bert approached Rafia, whose mind was no longer so tense, but could not be categorized as relaxed either, and whose expression seemed to indicate that she had finally resolved her inner conflict. He gave her a cold laugh.

"It's back to normal."

"..."

"It doesn't matter what choice you ultimately make. No matter which path you choose, you'll regret it anyway. In that case, I just need to knock you down so you can no longer make that annoying cry."

Bert probably figured it out too.

I can see the inner demons that Lefia harbors.

Despite knowing this, Bert still agreed to train with Rafia. As he declared at this moment, it was to give Rafia the power to never lose something precious again.

Lefia finally understood why Loki had sent her to the "school district".

That was a journey that transformed Lefia into Lefia Viridis.

This leads her (Lefia), who is constantly chasing after the phantom of someone (Philwis), onto a long road to remember who she is.

Suddenly realizing what had happened, Lefia blurted out something she hadn't expected.

"Did Mr. Bert also become stronger because he had lost someone in the past?"

This was just a question that suddenly popped into Rafia's head.

She knew nothing about the werewolf's past.

Did he have a similar experience?

Bert fell silent for a moment when asked this question, then gave a wry smile.

"That's not true. Let others die, I am who I am."