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

"Uh, one serving of regular fries and..."

"One red bean cream."

She ordered almost at the same time as Loki, and soon a small, deep-fried pastry coated in batter was served. Ais had ordered one with added butter.

She paid no attention to Loki's curious gaze as to whether it tasted good, and simply ate quietly and enthusiastically.

"Ais, Ais."

"?"

As soon as she turned her head with mashed potatoes on her lips, Loki immediately took a bite of his own fried potato ball.

Then, quite rudely, she licked her lips several times, then smiled broadly and held the potato ball in front of Ais.

"Come on, ah—"

"don't want."

Refuse immediately.

"Why?! Didn't I say I wanted you to stay with me until I was satisfied?!"

"don't want."

"Feeding Ais is my dream! Please!"

"don't want."

Ais refused outright, but Loki pleaded with her repeatedly.

But Ais persisted in her refusal. Even when the main god resorted to tears, Ais repeatedly rejected him with her unwavering, steely will.

"Then Ais-chan will feed me, please feed me—! That way you won't have any objections, right?"

"..."

"Just one bite, one bite is enough!"

Ais first looked down at the potato ball in her hand, then at Loki's desperate face. Seeing her god pleading so desperately, disregarding the stares of others, she tremblingly handed him the half-eaten potato ball.

She immediately took a bite.

Loki held Ais's hands, took a big bite of the potato ball, and chewed it like an ugly squirrel with his cheeks puffed out, savoring it carefully before swallowing it.

"Hehe, hehehe... an indirect kiss with Miss Ais..."

Ais deeply regretted her actions.

And they couldn't wait to turn their heads away immediately so they wouldn't have to look at that god (thing) anymore.

"Gods, gods! Please, have mercy on me!"

"Hey, don't be shy! It's my turn to feed you this time! Come on, open your mouth—!"

The screams that came from somewhere (in the dialogue) made Ais realize that she wasn't the only one suffering like this, which gave her a little comfort.

"Come on, Ais! Let's keep shopping!"

Later, Loki took Ais's hand and led her through all the stalls along the way.

Besides food, there were also roadside stalls selling freshly squeezed juice and various trinkets; the wide variety of goods was dazzling. Loki's mischievous teasing and the shop assistant's desperate explanations were somewhat comical, making Ais smile several times.

Loki's quirky behavior made Ais unconsciously enjoy it.

"..."

"Hmm, what's wrong, Ais?"

What inadvertently drew Ais to stop was a roadside stall selling weapons.

Perhaps it's a phenomenon unique to labyrinthine cities—a haven for adventurers—that this stall is filled with weapons, primarily swords. Decorative swords inlaid with gems and crystals are particularly eye-catching, but there are also practical weapons for sale.

Perhaps it was because Ais had personally appraised countless swords by this day that her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the displayed weapons, as she looked for any unexpected treasures.

Seeing Ais's most enthusiastic look of the day, Loki gave a wry smile.

"I wish Ais could be a little more girly... Alright, time to go."

"……yes."

"Don't look so reluctant. There are vendors like this everywhere all day, it's not just here."

Ais was persuaded by Loki to leave the roadside stall.

Loki, seemingly still wanting more, enthusiastically led Ais through the bustling streets.

▲

Drip, a drop of water falls, splashing gently.

The soft sound of dripping water from the ceiling vibrated the air, echoing quietly all around.

The creature slowly woke up.

It slowly trembled all over, turning its body slightly in the narrow cage.

A heavy stillness enveloped the space.

All around was endless darkness, devoid of light. A chilling cold air caressed my skin.

Perhaps I stumbled upon this place by mistake, for a mouse appeared out of nowhere with a faint squeak, but the moment I looked up and saw it, it scurried away.

The creature did not immediately begin to move.

It was as if it had just woken up, its consciousness blank, or as if it was peering around to assess the situation. It remained silent, temporarily surrendering itself to the dim silence.

It noticed it unintentionally.

The black cage that imprisoned him was freed.

And one more thing.

That is, it senses its compatriots are close at hand, also holding their breath in the shadows.

It slowly slipped out of the open cage door.

It made a series of crawling sounds as it left the suffocating cage. As if in response, other creatures also began to slip out of their cages.

outside.

Let's go outside.

It stirs in the darkness.

Regardless of intelligence, an innate instinct ignited a flame, reminding him of the meaning of his existence.

Move forward.

Escape the darkness and head towards the direction where you can hear sounds.

Proceed directly above where you can sense the presence of many creatures.

Go to the surface.

▲

"Oh no—it's already started!"

Hearing the cheers coming from the arena, Loki cried out in alarm.

"Is this the right path?"

"It's fine! It's much faster here than on the main road!"

It's all their fault for having so much fun browsing the stalls that they lost track of time.

Ais and her friends had greatly missed the start time of the most important monster festival, and were now hurrying on their way.

Led by Loki, who was familiar with the terrain, the two ran into a narrow, deserted back alley. In the alley, which was surrounded by buildings and thus blocked from sunlight, the magic stone lamps installed on the walls were not lit at this moment, quietly dormant.

Ais and Loki headed toward the arena facilities that were gradually coming into view in the distance.

"...?"

Along the way, Ais showed a surprised expression.

In an instant, my ears caught a sound like the howl of a ferocious beast.

She thought it might be the roar of a monster battling a tamer in the arena, carried by the wind, but she couldn't help but show a suspicious expression.

Just as Ais felt that something was not quite right, the two passed through the narrow path and arrived at the square where the arena stood.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted from running... Hmm? What's this atmosphere?"

As Loki caught his breath, he noticed the atmosphere around the arena was extremely tense.

The guild staff, busy and noisy in their efforts to tidy up the festival environment, created an atmosphere of unease. In contrast to the arena, where cheers still resounded, the disarray and chaos only intensified.

The most obvious sign was the sight of the Ganesha Familia members scattering from the plaza, carrying weapons; this was enough to indicate that something unusual had occurred.

Ais glanced at Loki, and after receiving her approval, she headed towards the south entrance of the arena. Ais found several guild members gathered in a circle and approached them to ask for information.

"...Excuse me, could you tell me what happened?"

The guild staff turned around abruptly, and their eyes widened immediately when they saw Ais and the others.

"A...Ais Wallenstein..."

They stood there stunned for a moment, then a male employee quickly approached Ais and hurriedly explained the current situation to her.

According to him, some of the monsters captured for the festival seem to have escaped from their cages beneath the arena and scattered throughout the surrounding eastern area.

This accident was likely caused by outsiders. According to them, some guild staff and members of the Ganesha Familia guarding the cage were distraught, as if their souls had been ripped out, and they were unable to recover.

"We don't have enough manpower to suppress the monster uprising, we desperately need your help...!"

She had no reason to refuse the other party's request.

Ais turned around and looked at her god.

"Loki."

"Yeah, I heard you. Looks like it's not time for a date. Well, I'll do Ganesha a favor."

The guild staff were overjoyed. Loki spoke with them to confirm the number and types of monsters, as well as the availability of personnel.

We'll think about why the monster was allowed to escape later.

Faced with a situation that could shake the eastern part of the city, Ais gripped the hilt of the slender sword that emitted a soft glow.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria Chapter 5 - War Begins

A thunderous chorus of applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

On the arena stage, the beast tamers of the Ganesha Familia had just tamed a monster.

This is the circular arena built on the east side of the city. The enormous structure, which is taller and larger than the surrounding buildings, is now enveloped in a jubilant frenzy that stretches to the sky.

"Ganesha's side is really impressive—they tamed the monster so easily. I could never do that."

"Exactly. The success rate of taming is already low, and then to perform on such a big stage..."

"And the performance was excellent. It wasn't just about taming the animals; they also made moves that entertained the audience. No wonder they dared to charge money."

Tiona, Lefia, and Tione, who came to enjoy the Monster Festival, each shared their thoughts. Having arrived early in the morning, they witnessed the various amazing skills performed by elites from other factions and frankly expressed their admiration.

After responding to the audience's applause, the beautiful female animal trainer, dressed in gorgeous attire, left the stage with the now docile tiger monster. In their place, a strong and muscular male animal trainer appeared from the east and west gates with a large dragon whose body length, including its tail, was nearly seven meters.

As the audience erupted in commotion, the monster bared its mangled fangs and let out a low growl.

"Was that huge one also brought up from the dungeon?"

"How could that be? It was brought in from outside the city. If it's a dragon-type monster, even if it wasn't born in the dungeon, its power shouldn't be much weaker."

In the stands surrounding the venue, Tiona and her friends sat near the middle.

The moment the battle began, a deafening roar erupted from the stands. "Ouch—," Tiona cried out, shrinking back and closing one eye. Beside her, Lefia, covering her ear, shouted at the top of her lungs:

"But! Don't you think that's a little strange? I felt that monster should have been the grand finale!"

Hearing Lefia's question, which she raised loudly to avoid being drowned out by the surrounding cheers, Tiona also felt that it made sense, and looked at the beast tamer and monster who were fighting.

Such a massive monster and its imposing presence should have been the highlight of the day. It seems unnecessary to unleash it now and steal the spotlight from the other monsters.

Or perhaps something happened that forced them to change the program order—the monster that was originally supposed to appear couldn't take the stage.

"And... those people from the Ganesha Familia have been busy running around since just now."