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

(Although I don't know who did this, once the truth comes out... let me settle the score.)

Unable to break the status quo.

However, when circumstances change, there are still 'strategies' that can be employed.

Finn vowed revenge against the Lord of the "Miniature Garden" who had imprisoned them. A silent flame of rage burned within him for trampling on their dignity. He was determined to make the other party understand the utterly condemned actions he had committed.

If Loki were back to normal, he would probably say "I'd beat her to a pulp" to show his agreement.

Finn will never forgive such a twisted and morally bankrupt act.

"Should I say that while it may not be perfect, it's not far off? I'm secretly planning a rehearsal of the 'Expedition.' It's also possible that we'll directly conduct reconnaissance of the territory we haven't yet reached."

"I see...?"

"I don't want to upset Tione and the others too much, so please keep it as secret as possible on a small scale. This matter can only be handled by someone who is discreet and tactful... I trust you, Raul?"

“Yes, yes!”

Finn closed one eye with a smile, while Raul straightened his posture with a proud expression.

Watching his departing figure, which suddenly became excited, a bitter smile with a hint of apology appeared on her face.

No matter how distorted it becomes, the core of one's personality will not change.

Even though meeting the conditions would turn them into "enemies," Raul's unwavering faith in himself brought a smile to Finn's face for that very moment. Though it was a tiny thing, it did give him a sense of redemption.

(As for other things I can do—)

Just as he was preparing to continue struggling and carry out further pranks.

There was a knock on the door that Raul had just left.

"!"

Have their actions been discovered?

Did you unknowingly break the rules?

With nowhere to escape, Finn remained seated in his chair, tensely staring at the slowly opening door.

"...It's a sunny day."

Ais stood on the city wall.

A massive city wall encircling the city. To its northwest.

Some time passed after the sun peeked over the eastern mountains. At a time when she would normally have already retreated into the underground city, Ais, with nothing to do, simply stood there alone, gazing at the vast scenery and azure sky beyond the city.

"...It's a sunny day...but it feels cloudy...?"

A murmur that even he himself found incomprehensible.

Ais herself didn't know why she said those words. But whenever she stopped gazing beyond the city walls and looked back at the labyrinthine city of Orario, this thought inexplicably intensified. Even though everything seemed the same, the current cityscape looked like a perfectly imitated fake. Ais, who was not good with words and couldn't organize her thoughts, couldn't express in words that this was merely a meticulously crafted "miniature garden."

"Lady Hestia...why...why did you say...those things?"

Several days have passed since the strange conversation with Hestia, the goddess who works at the potato ball shop, and the request not to meet with [White Rabbit Swift Foot].

Ais recalled the scene from the northwest of the city where she was now, looking towards the southwest.

There was a faction's stronghold there.

It is a battlefield where resilient warriors, feared by many, slaughter each other.

Even a first-level adventurer could probably see the vast wilderness within the walls.

However, Ais no longer looked closely.

After all, she had made an appointment with Hestia, and she could almost hear the clanking of chains. She couldn't look, she couldn't look for anyone, she thought.

It was as if I heard someone's painful cry, and for some reason, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

"..."

Ais did nothing but gaze at the scenery from the city wall.

No matter when, always.

When I came to my senses, the sun had already passed its zenith, and dusk was falling as the sun began to set in the west.

Ais was startled when she suddenly noticed the crimson hue illuminating her vision. It was a reminder of the passage of time, and of herself standing there the whole time. It felt like these moments had been happening more and more frequently lately.

Ais, standing motionless in a daze, reluctantly began her journey home.

If she doesn't return before dinner, her [Family] companions will worry. Even though Ais is a first-class adventurer. Why she's staying here—or is she waiting for 'someone'—she hasn't fully grasped these questions yet.

Clatter. Clatter.

The sound of restraint echoed from the abyss of unconsciousness.

Puff puff.

Unlike this unconscious restraint, she clearly hallucinated the sound of something jumping.

The former is the sound of 'chains'.

The latter was the sound of a rabbit's footsteps.

Unable to recognize the sound of the 'chains' binding her, Ais can only hallucinate the hopping footsteps of a 'rabbit'. The term 'clear auditory hallucination' may seem contradictory at first glance, but it is the only way to describe it.

In the dim, dark depths of her heart, the white rabbit hopped and skipped past Ais.

Ais was unable to move, but the 'other little girl (Ais)' living inside her made a sound and chased after the fluffy round tail.

Oh no, I'm late!

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

A dog and a person walk forward in a dark garden.

Even in the darkness, the white rabbit resembled the outline of a lamp.

The other little girl (Ais), who hadn't missed the white campfire, innocently followed behind.

Standing motionless, Ais felt an inexplicable envy for this scene.

It will be a little while before I realize that after hearing this "footsteps," I have also transcended the mental world and am wandering around the labyrinth city (Orario).

Splash, splash, splash.

Puffy puffy, puffy puffy.

Deep within the girl's heart, two voices that would never intersect resonated today.

"Good morning."

the next morning.

Ais staggered toward the direction from which she heard footsteps.

"Oh my god, Warren so-and-so!?"

The fried potato ball stall located on a side street of Beidajie.

Hestia, who seemed rather listless, looked up at Ais with a "Huh?" and immediately leaned back sharply. Ais was puzzled by this reaction and tilted her head slightly.

"W-Why are you here?"

"Here to buy... potato balls?"

"I see...that's true..."

Ais tilted her head as she answered, and Hestia accepted it as if she were talking to herself.

Ais still found it unbelievable, while the goddess cleared her throat and brushed it off.

"Ah—...what would you like to order?"

"...Fried potato balls with red bean cream flavor, two servings."

Puffy puffy, puffy puffy.

Deep within her dark heart, she could hear a voice coming from afar; she was squatting with her knees drawn up in front of the lush green grass.

Ais, who was investigating the rabbit footprints left in the grass with another young girl (Ais), waited a while before revealing her order.

As for why she ordered two portions, Ais wasn't quite sure either.

Judging from my current stomach condition, one should be enough to fill me up.

Hestia said, "You really love eating potato balls, huh...," looking completely bewildered.

“…Hmm…”

The goddess who was preparing freshly fried potato balls seemed to suddenly want to take action.

Just as when divine blood is bestowed upon those deemed to be members of the family.

But Hestia's eyes darted around for only a moment before she gave up.

She didn't do anything extra, and was about to hand the potato ball to Ais with a gloomy expression.

"Are you being monitored?"

"Eh?"

"Are you being monitored?"

"Wa ...

Upon hearing Ais's direct question, Hestia leaned back again, striking a strange pose.

"W-How do you know?!"

"Because I've been monitored recently?"

"—!? You, you know!? No, you're a Level 1 adventurer, so it's only natural that you would know…! Then, why are you still able to show the same expression as usual!?"

"Because I am Loki's [familia]... I've been keeping an eye on the city's largest faction (us) ever since..."

"This is really dangerous... You [Familia]...! Regardless of the current situation, you'll always be seen as a thorn in our side!"

Bathed in Hestia's sarcastic shouts, Ais's thoughts wandered off onto a different path.

While the Ishtar Familia was still alive, and when Androctonus (the "Man Killer") Frini Jamil was still around, she would keep a close eye on Ais for days on end. The fact that she no longer feels "afraid" of this shows that Ais has completely become an adventurer in Orario.

(But looking at my surveillance footage now... I have a strange feeling.)

There were no signs of them wanting to harm me. I felt no danger.

It seems they were really just monitoring Ais's movements and reporting to someone.

There were two lines of sight, and the observer was probably a level two adventurer—Ais suddenly stopped what she was doing after analyzing this.

As he received the potato ball from Hestia and traded it for 80 Faris, the "rabbit's footsteps" seemed to rise in intensity.

For some reason, Ais had a feeling of déjà vu.

"...Lady Hestia..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Lady Hestia, have you... roared here before?"

"Roar? To you? Not just here, I'll definitely be furious whenever I see you with 'that child'! Ughh ...

Hestia gave Ais a suspicious look at her question and then suddenly started to stir.

She was yelling as if she were arguing with someone who was watching her, saying, "I'm not planning on doing anything weird!" Nearby residents cast impatient glances at her, but Ais's attention was elsewhere.

—What exactly was I trying to confirm?

No one answers the voice of their own heart.

Ais was all alone, except for the noisy Hestia fooling around in front of her.

The "child" who was scolded by the goddess and desperately begged for mercy is nowhere to be found.

Puffy puffy, puffy puffy.

Only the sound of the rabbit's footsteps still echoes now.

"Sword, [Sword Maiden]!?"

"It's Fiora! Why is she on such a shallow floor?!"

Ais would frighten any lower-level adventurer she passed by, and that's how she made her way through the 'upper level' of the dungeon.