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

"Okay, okay!"

"Behave yourself!"

"!"

「!?」

However, Tiona, Tione, and Ais moved with lightning speed, catching up with the monsters in an instant and standing in front of them, blocking their attacks with punches, kicks, and parries.

Lefia, protected behind them, then clutched her stomach and bent forward.

The monster's tentacles shot out from the ground like a forest of guns.

The impact swept across her legs, shoulders, and ears.

Despite the bleeding, Lefia successfully avoided a fatal wound. She raised her azure eyes and finished the chant in one breath.

"[Snowflakes fall heavily, three harsh winters have passed—my name is Alfre!]"

The magic circle expanded.

Then her lips uttered the name of the magic.

"[Ecstasy: Fimbulb Winter]!"

Three blowing snow.

Ais and the others were off course when they saw pure white ice, capable of freezing even the atmosphere, strike the monsters directly. Their skin, petals, and even their screams were frozen solid. Finally, the three carnivorous flowers were completely covered by frost and ice, their movements coming to a complete stop.

Three ice sculptures stood. The monsters were imprisoned in a perpetually frozen cage, and the entire street entered a world of ice, turning into blue and white frozen soil.

The ice crystals dancing in the sky reflected the sunlight, sparkling brightly.

"Well done, Rafia!"

"...You've caused me a ton of trouble, you stinky flower!"

Tiona cheered, while Tione was furious and landed with a thud in the arms of the two three-headed monsters.

The two of them glided smoothly and without any hindrance, as if they had agreed to do so, using the same movements to glide towards the deep blue ice sculpture.

"!"

"Let's go—!"

A perfectly executed, all-out spinning kick.

The brown, bare feet unleashed their power at the center of the monster's body, instantly creating countless cracks, and the carnivorous plant's entire body was indeed pulverized.

"Ais!"

"...Loki?"

As Tiona and the others crushed the monster, Ais heard someone calling her and looked up.

Two figures stood on the roof of the half-ruined shop. It was the crying orc girl they had seen earlier, and Loki was holding her around the waist.

Ais's god shouted "Hey!" and threw the sword to her.

"This is……"

"Yeah, I borrowed one from over there."

Loki pointed in a direction where there was a roadside stall that had been destroyed by a monster.

The swords and knives reflected the sunlight, gleaming brightly; it was a weapons stall.

It's the same type of shop as the one they saw while shopping this morning.

"Then I'll have to trouble you—"

Loki smiled at her. Ais wanted to ask her when she had rescued the little girl, but she didn't say it and smiled herself.

"..."

The entire road was frozen and shrouded in cold air.

Ais slowly walked towards the remaining ice sculpture of a monster.

The frozen carnivorous plant remained silent.

Facing the azure sculpture where even time seemed frozen, Ais drew her sword and swung it with a flick of her wrist.

The statue is engraved with countless slashes.

While giving the opponent a final slap, the sword is flicked with a "whoosh".

The ice cubes slid down in an off-center manner.

It lost its balance and then shattered and scattered with a cool sensation.

A clear melody begins, fine ice flutters, and long golden hair, accompanied by azure light, flows in the wind.

■

"Lefia, thank you! You've really helped us a lot!"

"Miss Tiona?"

Without considering the injury, Tiona hugged Lefia.

Her face was flushed, and she seemed to be squinting her left eye because of the pain in her body, but her cheeks were beaming with an undisguised smile.

Seeing that she seemed to have calmed down, Ais sincerely expressed her feelings.

"Thank you, Rafia."

"Miss Ais..."

"You looked a lot like Rivera just now... That's amazing."

She widened her eyes slightly, revealing an expression that seemed to be both touched and shy, and lowered her head involuntarily. She let Diona hug her from the side, her face as red as an apple.

"Alright, alright, we still have work to do—"

Loki clapped his hands and interrupted.

Upon closer inspection, they saw guild members bustling about. Not all the monsters that had escaped from the arena had been defeated yet, and the situation didn't allow them to be careless.

"Tione, could you please make a trip to the underground? I feel like there's still something wrong."

"Alright, alright, leave it to me."

"Is Lefia still holding on? If not, how about we get the guild members to heal you?"

"Okay, I understand."

The crimson eyes then turned to Ais.

"Ais, go find the remaining monsters. I'll go with you."

"Understood."

After giving his instructions, Loki parted ways with Tiona and the others.

"Then, let's go."

"OK."

Ais and the others began to move forward, and soon,

A shout that sounded like cheers came from afar and reached my ears.

They didn't have time to pay attention; they only glanced over and realized that it wasn't in the direction of the arena.

Instead, it's located to the southeast of this place, on Daedalus Road, also known as the Labyrinth Street.

▲

The setting sun was about to sink behind the city walls.

As the streets began to take on the colors of dusk, Ais and Tiona were walking down North Street.

"Sigh—so many things have happened, I feel so tired."

"Today has been full of unexpected events."

Lefia gave a wry smile at Tiona's words. Aside from the scars from her injuries, her clothes were tattered and torn, a pitiful sight to behold.

The incident has been temporarily brought under control. Thanks to the swift response of the Ganesha Familia and the guild, there were no civilian casualties, and the number of victims was reportedly minimized. The only problem is that the perpetrator has not been apprehended. Whether this commotion was merely for amusement or had some other purpose remains unknown.

"Now the guild and the Ganesha Familia will probably be unable to hold their heads high for quite some time. The people will definitely hold them accountable for their safety and management responsibilities."

"Could today's commotion also be for this purpose...?"

"Maybe."

Listening to Tione and Lefia's conversation, Ais looked down at her own body and remained silent.

Tiona noticed her appearance and leaned closer to look at her face.

"What's wrong, Ais? Is something the matter?"

"...Tiona."

Ais lowered her eyebrows apologetically and said "I'm sorry" to her.

"I've ruined my clothes like this..."

"..."

Although the damage wasn't as severe as Lefia's, Ais's clothes were still torn at the hem, and the white fabric had become dirty.

This outfit isn't the kind of battleclothes that emphasize flexibility and durability for exploring dungeons; it's basically just casual wear, so of course it would be torn after such a fierce battle.

Just as Ais was feeling guilty, Tiona grinned.

"Shall we go buy it next time?"

"……Um."

Tiona smiled beautifully in the maroon light, which allowed Ais to respond with a smile in return.

Her cheeks were also tinged red by the setting sun.

"..."

Touched by Tiona's warmth, Ais slowly remembered the white-haired boy.

The boy did indeed attend the monster festival.

After parting ways with Tiona and the others, Ais and Loki chased after the remaining monsters and discovered that he was the one who defeated the last one.

Although it was only a fleeting moment when they brushed past each other, Ais was able to see the boy.

(Bell...)

She unconsciously murmured a name from her memory.

Now she was certain that she wanted to apologize to him and was determined to see him again.

On the other hand, she was also pleased to find that he, a newcomer, had defeated a monster stronger than herself.

They rushed to East Street.

A large crowd had gathered at the crossroads leading to Daedalus Road, and there was a fervent cheer for the return of an adventurer.

Many people were overjoyed.

It is said that the young adventurer disregarded the danger and defeated the monster for the people.

Knowing about what happened at the tavern, hearing the citizens praising him made Ais even happier.

She gazed expressionlessly at the sky tinged with the colors of the sunset, her eyes narrowing.

"By the way, where's Loki?"

On her way back, not far from headquarters, Tiona finally thought to ask.

Tiony, standing beside her, shrugged and replied:

"It seems like something urgent came up. She also said it would be very late and she wouldn't be home for dinner."

"Going drinking again? After something like this just happened, you've got real energy—"

"Perhaps it was just a social interaction among the gods..."

The sun slowly sets in the west.