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

As Ais approached, Revis, who had raised one knee, slowly stood up.

Steam rose from her bleeding body—particles of "magic"—as she began to heal her wounds. As Ais's eyes widened slightly, she spoke:

"...It seems I can't beat you now."

Those green eyes showed no emotion; they simply spoke in a flat tone.

She stated that even after consuming the "magic stone," her power was still inferior to Ais, who was entangled with "wind." Now, she had neither companions nor any monsters left, yet she still possessed an inexplicable calmness and composure.

Ais looked suspicious and kept a distance from Rives, who was facing her directly. She saw Rives looking up at the quartz behind her.

"This main pillar is the central hub (heart) of the grain depot. If this is destroyed... do you know what will happen?"

「!?」

—Could it be that she…?

Ais tried to stop Revis from touching the quartz surface, but it was too late.

Rives clenched her fist, twisted her waist, and punched the main pillar horizontally.

The quartz pillar, emitting a fragile red glow, immediately developed huge cracks resembling the claw marks of a demonic dragon. The cracks shot all the way to the top, followed by a sharp, piercing cracking sound. The main pillar, worn down by the passage of time, finally collapsed.

Then, like a chain reaction, the ceiling of the grain depot began to collapse.

"...!"

"If you don't run away quickly, you'll be buried alive! Especially your companions who need help."

Looking at the battered and bruised Asphie and the others, Lefia who was paralyzed on the ground from using magic, and Bert whose leg bone was broken, Revis told Ais this.

Hearing the sound of rocks falling, Ais bit her lip. Revis had likely planned this all along, deliberately taking the final blow and letting herself be blown under this great pillar.

Heavy rain poured down on the rocks.

The adventurers were in chaos, desperate to retreat.

"Help the wounded! Leave your belongings behind, escaping this place is the top priority!!"

Despite her physical limitations, Asifi gave instructions, and the Hermes Familia was thrown into a frenzy.

"I'm not as pathetic as you dog-people. Who needs your help?"

"Ugh—what a nuisance! That's why I hate werewolves!"

Bert yelled at Lulu, the dog who had bumped into him.

They cursed at each other as they headed toward the exit.

"Viridis!?"

As for Philweis, she wanted to pick up Lefia, who had collapsed on the ground due to mental exhaustion.

However—her outstretched hand trembled and stopped.

As if afraid to touch it with dirty hands, she was unable to move. At that moment...

Rafia took her hand.

"...!"

"No...it's alright..."

Seeing the girl's weak smile through her hazy eyes, Phil Weiss's eyes widened.

After clutching her clothes tightly in distress, she made up her mind and lifted Rafia's body.

Phil Weiss let the girl's small body lean against her as they left the scene.

"..."

Seeing the adventurers supporting each other as they made their way to the exit, Ais also decided to retreat.

She felt she should also help the injured, and decided to prioritize her companions over the woman in front of her.

"Arya, go to the 59th floor."

Just as Ais turned to leave.

A comment from the other person made Ais look at her.

"Now something interesting has happened, and you'll be able to find out what you want to know."

"……What's the meaning?"

"You should have felt something of it by now, right? Even if what you're saying is true, your blood should tell you something."

"..."

"If you can go by yourself, it will save me trouble."

What Ruiweis meant was that forcibly bringing the current Ais over would not be an easy task.

She looked at Ais, her eyes narrowing.

"Those people on earth are trying to use us... well, we can use them too."

After saying a few words that sounded like she was talking to herself, Rives stopped speaking and just stood there.

"Hey, Fiora!"

"Ais, hurry up!"

When Lulu and Bert called out to her, Ais looked away from the green-eyed girl.

They gathered at the exit that hadn't yet been blocked by the collapsed rock mass, and Ais ran toward them.

As she was about to leave the Great Hollow, Ais turned around and looked back once more.

The red-haired woman stood motionless at the deepest part of the space. Ais kept her eyes locked with hers until her figure disappeared behind the falling rocks.

Soon, everyone helped the injured escape from the collapsed maze.

On that very day, the grain warehouse on the 24th floor collapsed.

The adventurers barely escaped with their lives.

■

Having survived the fierce battle unnoticed, Lefia and her companions passed through "Rivera Town" and returned to the surface within the same day.

Upon returning to headquarters, Ais was scolded for worrying Loki and had to participate in a punishment game, but since all the members of the Loki Familia were physically intact, they were mostly fine. Bert's fractured foot was treated at the Dean Clan's clinic and fully recovered; Lefia, who had suffered from mental exhaustion, slept for almost a day and was also much better.

Philvis didn't say much as she left, only smiled, and returned to the Dionysian Familia. Lefia clearly felt the distance between them had shortened, and sincerely hoped to see her again and talk about many, many things. According to Loki, her god Dionysus seemed quite remorseful about the incident and was deeply troubled.

As for the Hermes Familia, several members had died. Lefia didn't know what to say, but Asfie and Lulune smiled at her and offered to lay flowers at the graves if she wished. They explained that everyone had chosen this path of adventure voluntarily and was prepared to face death, both their own and others'. Although Lulune, who had accepted the adventurer's commission, seemed somewhat sorrowful in profile… Lefia couldn't get too involved and wasn't entirely sure.

Each member of the [Family], bearing the many claw marks left by the incident, returned to their daily lives.

"Although a lot has happened..."

Two days have passed since that incident.

Lefia had finally fully recovered and was idly spacing out on her bed in her room. The room, shared with the female members of the group, was quite spacious, but perhaps because she was alone, she felt a little lonely.

"Arya..."

A precious fetus, remnants of a dark faction, and a strange man.

Although a series of shocking events have come one after another, leaving Lefia unsure of where to begin her thoughts, what she cares about most right now is this name (vocabulary).

In that great void, Olivas called Ais by that name.

The same thing happened during the Rivera town attack; that red-haired woman… Revis also called her “Arya.” At the same time, the tone of Revis and the others’ voices was as if they were constantly searching for Ais—searching for “Arya.”

Lefia was eager to know what connection the girl she admired had with them, so she mustered up the courage to ask her, but received no answer. What happened in that great void, what Ais and Revis talked about, and what "Arya" was—Ais refused to explain any of it.

Ais herself didn't seem to have grasped the situation yet, and said, "I'm sorry..." She just apologized to Lefia because she felt bad.

"Hmm... digging into other people's privacy is wrong, but... umm~"

She lay down on her back with a soft "thump".

Lefia let her thick golden hair fan out and fall onto the bed. "I care so much..." she murmured to herself, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Lefia, are you alright—?"

"...Miss Tiona?"

Hearing someone calling her through the door, Lefia stood up.

When they opened the door, they found Tiona there, with Tione beside her.

"Are you alright?! I heard you encountered something very serious, right?! Are you able to get out of bed and walk around now?!"

"Yes, yes, I'm feeling much better..."

As Tiona continued to close in, Lefia took a few steps back.

It wasn't until her older sister smacked her on the back of the head that she finally calmed down. Seeing this, Lefia couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed that Tiona and the others were worried about her and had come to visit her in the hospital.

Yesterday, due to severe mental exhaustion, Rafia spent almost the entire day holed up in her room.

"I heard a little bit from Ais and Bert—but I still don't quite understand."

"That's just because you're a fool, you idiot Tiona."

"Ahaha... By the way, Miss Tiona, you went to the sewers, right? How did it go there?"

After inviting the two into the room, Lefia casually remembered something and asked a question.

When Lefia and the others went to the 24th floor, Tiona and the others must have gone with Finn to investigate the city's underground waterways.

"We found a few of those man-eating flower monsters, but didn't get anything. It was a wasted trip for us."

Tiony said, shrugging.

Lefia witnessed those people trying to transport monsters from the food depot to somewhere, and wondered: Could the man-eating plants in the sewers also be the work of the dark faction...?

After thinking for a while, the things I had just been thinking about suddenly came to mind.

"Um, Miss Tiona, Miss Tione... have you ever heard of the name 'Arya'?"

Although doing so seemed like secretly prying into Ais's affairs, which made Lefia feel a little guilty, she couldn't continue to pretend that she knew nothing.

Tiona and Tione have known Ais longer than she has, so they might know something. Lefia decided to ask them anyway.

"Arya? I've never heard of her..."

Tiony tilted her head and said she had no recollection of it.

"Arya? I know her!"

Tiona's reply was straightforward.

"Huh!? Really!?"

"Yes, really—"

To be frank, Lefia didn't actually expect Tiona and the others to know anything, and she was quite startled when she heard their answer.

Lefia leaned forward and said, "C-Could you please tell me?!" "Yes, sure!" Tiona replied as easily as ever.

Then, for some reason, Tiona started walking outside.

"Miss Tiona? Where are you going?"

"Hmm—the library!"

"Huh? Why do we need to go to the library?"

While Lefia and Tiony were both surprised, Tiona said, "It's faster to see than for me to explain!" and then walked lightly down the headquarters corridor.

Soon, the three of them stepped into the [Family] archive room, which all members of the group could freely access.

This room, filled with the scent of wood, had several bookshelves lining one wall and the center. The bookshelves contained books about dungeons, reference books categorized by profession such as mage, and other ancient books that Loki had collected on a whim—all shared property of the [Familia]. Sometimes, used grimoires would also be tucked in.

"I used to watch it a lot when I was little, so I still remember it...sigh—"

Tiona traced her memories, looking around among several specific bookshelves.

Lefia and Tiony, who came with her, watched her search for books from behind, seeing her wandering between the bookshelves, from one place to another.

"I remember seeing it here... Ah, I found it!"

Tiona exclaimed happily and tiptoed to pull a book from the top of the bookshelf.

The book was quite thick, and the binding made it seem very old.