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

Ryu apologized in her heart to the girl who was her colleague at the bar, and decided to be more honest with herself.

And this feeling that makes me feel at ease.

"Well, but I might not be able to attend every day..."

"Of course, you can come again whenever you have time."

While chatting, Liu continued to gaze at the bustling area.

Admiring the colorful, shimmering avenue of the night, the elf and the boy stood in a corner of the alley and made this small promise.

●

The dark, indigo sky gradually revealed a pale, fish-belly white hue.

The morning that heralds the start of a new day in the eastern sky.

"So what happened to that big casino in the end, meow?"

In the kitchen of the bar "The Abundant Mistress," the cat person Anya asked this question while yawning.

Seele, diligently preparing the bento, answered while peeling the fruit:

"The Gran Casino itself hasn't changed; it's just had a new owner. It will continue to operate as usual."

"Those people from Entertainment City (Santorio Beja) are really shameless~"

"It's just a small matter; the high-ranking officials in that city won't be affected at all, meow."

Runova, a human who had just changed into the store's uniform, and Chloe, a cat person, also chimed in.

Terry Saibandis, who was originally assigned by the entertainment city (Santorio Beja) to be the casino owner, reportedly died in an accident before officially taking office. Ted seized upon this and impersonated the owner. All of this was thanks to the connections he had cultivated during his time in the city's dark underworld.

Ted spent a large sum of money to bribe the prosecutor from the entertainment city of Orario (Santorio Beja). As for those who knew the real "Terry Sebandis" but couldn't win him over, he would send his bodyguards to secretly eliminate them. After being exposed by the "lock-picking drug," Ted confessed everything under the guild's interrogation.

The higher-ups of the Entertainment City (Santorio Beja) naturally wanted to distance themselves from Ted, claiming they were innocent. In short, they intended to pin all the blame on Ted. Following the incident, Ted, seemingly fearful of "something," is currently imprisoned in a solitary cell within the guild. What kind of political deal was made between the Entertainment City (Santorio Beja) higher-ups and the Labyrinth City management (guild) is unknown to Seele and her companions, but the "Golden City Amusement Park," now under new management, continues to thrive as a gambling amusement park.

The beauties who were kidnapped by Ted seem to have received generous compensation from both the guild and the entertainment city (Santorio Beja), and have all been sent back to their respective hometowns.

"I heard the credit was all stolen by the Ganesha Familia. Seele, aren't you bothered?"

"After all, Ryu didn't offer help expecting anything in return..."

"Meow hehe, this is what they call a messenger of justice who must not reveal his true colors, meow."

The guild has publicly stated that it has yet to be able to track down the elf and human who were disguised as the countess and countess.

A small number of adventurers and gods who knew the true identities of Ryu and Seele remained silent. Nobles and wealthy people, unaware of the actual situation, however, discussed the matter with great interest. Eyewitness accounts, embellished and exaggerated, spawned various versions: some claimed it was a band of thieves targeting the casino's vault, others that guild agents were operating covertly, and still others that heroes of justice had returned… ultimately resulting in a host of baseless rumors. Furthermore, under the direction of someone unknown, even the Ganesha Familia abandoned their investigation into the incident.

Faced with the combined questioning from Lunova and Chloe, Seele couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Speaking of which, I really want to see those imposters who use the cats' names to swindle people~ I'll interrogate them properly and collect a fee for misusing the cats' names."

"Here we go again, you ruthless and cunning cat."

"You muscle-bound, stupid human who always solves problems with brute force, you should shut up, meow."

"What did you say?"

Anya ignored the two former bounty hunters and assassins who were glaring at each other with their foreheads bumped together, and asked Seele a question as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, what happened to that family? Did their daughter make it home safely?"

"Yes, the Krez family—"

Just as Seele was about to answer, a jarring crashing sound came from deep inside the store.

"Seele—!! Ryu knocked 'Rookie' flying again, meow—!!"

"I told you you went too far, meow! Your skills far exceed that level, meow—!!"

"Oh dear, there's just no way to deal with Ryu!"

The cat people colleagues screamed in pain, and Seele puffed out her cheeks and ran out quickly.

As for the place she ran towards, it was the courtyard of the bar where the elves and the boy would occasionally train.

Anya, Chloe, and Lunova all shrugged their shoulders and smiled as they followed closely behind.

"You bunch of silly girls! Where are you all going, abandoning your work?!"

Amidst the deafening roar of the dwarf shopkeeper, the bar "The Abundant Mistress" was bustling with noise from early morning.

7

"Oh, it's you... Long time no see, how have you been?"

In the gloomy, dimly lit bar—

The human man sitting in the corner of the shop gently picked up his half-empty beer glass.

"The 'Abundant Mistress'...? Ah~ You really went? How did it go?"

The voices of the patrons around him sounded deep and rough, yet strangely cheerful.

Amidst the men singing and laughing shoulder to shoulder, the man smiled.

"You got kicked out of the store?! Hahahaha! I warned you before, if you caused any trouble there, you'd get kicked out immediately!"

The man burst into laughter.

Then, as if to comfort the other person, he pushed the leftover bacon to the opposite seat.

"What did you do...? What? You were planning to lay a hand on Xiao Xi'er?! You bastard! That girl is the worst person in this bar to mess with! The others won't let this go!"

The man drank ale happily.

"I was kicked out of the shop by the dwarf shopkeeper, and I fell right in the middle of the street, almost getting run over by a carriage!"

The man's tone was the complete opposite of his terrified words; he sounded strangely cheerful.

The other drinkers, who were already enjoying themselves, seemed to be in sync with each other, laughing and making even louder noise.

"Huh? You're asking me where these scars came from? No, they weren't from the group at the bar. They were from... my wife and daughter scratching me. They gave me a good beating."

The man touched the scars that had recently appeared on his face and explained with an embarrassed smile.

He smelled faintly of alcohol, his cheeks flushed, and he squinted as he said:

"Because I did something stupid, I almost lost my only daughter, but in the end, someone helped me out. It was that bar... a serious, morally fastidious, and helpful sprite."

The man's tone seemed to mock the elf as a fool—and also to ridicule himself for calling himself a nobody—and he continued:

"She helped clean up the mess left by someone like me, and saved my house and daughter... I was so ashamed that I wanted to disappear, so I swore to my family that I would never gamble again and would be an upright person."

The man rubbed his nose with his finger shyly, then added a "but" and remained silent for the time being.

"...It shouldn't be a problem to have a drink like this behind my wife and kids' backs, right?"

The man, who had used a small portion of his day's wages to treat himself, wore a mischievous smile.

"—Dad! You've come here drinking again!"

"Anna!?"

At that moment, the bar door was suddenly pushed open.

The appearance of the flaxen-haired beauty caused a stir among the patrons, and the man immediately shut his mouth.

"You promised us you wouldn't drink anymore!"

"Ah! I'm innocent! Anna! I only had one drink, really only one! It's my only pleasure each month, please, just turn a blind eye!"

"No, I'm going to tell Mom! If it gets back to Miss Ryu and the others, I'll be so ashamed I won't be able to face them!"

The man, who had become a useless father in the blink of an eye, was pulled up from his seat by his daughter.

The man responded with a wry smile to the whistling and criticizing patrons around him, and finally turned his gaze to the guests who had been sitting on the opposite side.

"Here's my advice as someone who's been there: if you go astray, you still need to be careful not to go astray, but if you really get into trouble—try your luck at 'The Abundant Mistress'."

Of course, this only applies when there is truly no other way out.

Who knows, that elf might be willing to lend a helping hand?

After leaving those words with a smile, the man was pulled by the hand by his young and beautiful daughter and left the bar without looking back.

The Chronicles of the Kinship Episode: Ryu - Here's a bountiful bar ~Girl meets Girls~

1

"A request? Another one?"

Lunova Fast is a bounty hunter.

Since the chief deity of her [Family] was sent back to the heavens, she has led a nomadic life, moving between various factions. Hunting bounty targets is one of her means of earning money for her travels.

Runova, who lives a nomadic life, is currently staying in the labyrinth city of Orario.

Because of her brutal fighting skills, she was nicknamed "Black Boxer" in the underground industry.

"Because [Gale] went on a killing spree, the remaining forces of the Dark Faction were almost wiped out, right? Shouldn't the struggle between the various factions be coming to an end?"

Runova was in a very secluded, shabby bar. It was located in an alley, at the end of a staircase leading underground. In the dimly lit room, she could see menacing-looking demi-humans whispering amongst themselves.

Runova always uses this bar whenever she accepts a "job".

"Your target this time is that [Swift Wind]."

Lunova covered her mouth and nose with a scarf, and a male (human) merchant sat opposite her.

The man who was impressed by Lunova's exceptional skills and then introduced other clients to her for work was a long-time customer who was both grateful to Lunova and a headache for her.

"But I heard that [Swift Wind] perished together with his opponent."

"She's still alive, and she accidentally gave herself away in the end. Actually, after the dark faction's stronghold was destroyed, someone witnessed an elf covered in blood fleeing the scene."

On the table lay a meticulously drawn portrait. The image painted on this parchment likely depicted the person's haggard face, inadvertently revealed through a torn mask as they departed.

The drawing on the paper depicts an elven girl with rather vacant sky-blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair.

"I sent my men out to inquire everywhere, and finally found out where she was staying. The location was—'The Abundant Mistress'."

After explaining this, the merchant placed the money bag containing the deposit on the table.

"The commotion caused by [Gale] has affected our subordinates who are connected to us. To put it another way, it's hard to guarantee that she has already discovered that our Bruno Trading Company is colluding with the dark faction. You must eliminate her before this gets out."

After the man finished speaking meaningfully, he got up and left his seat before Lunova could give a reply.

After the client left the bar, Lunova let out a deep sigh.

"...Who told me that once I accept the payment, any target is within my grasp."

Runova has worked her way up to where she is today thanks to her exceptional skills.

In order to quickly earn a living, she has already defeated several bounty targets.

However, she has begun to feel tired of this kind of life.

"But the adventurers of Orario are honestly a bit too strong..."

The adventurers in this labyrinthine city become exceptionally powerful once their abilities surpass a certain level.

Even with a near 100% completion rate for her commissions, Runova would inevitably face a tough battle against adventurers of level two or higher. Not to mention level one adventurers, whose threat level would cause Runova to immediately reject any commission. Speaking of Orario, it's practically a demonic realm where monsters run rampant.

Runova was constantly engaged in combat. If she risked her life to defeat her target, it would only enhance her reputation, thus creating a vicious cycle of ever-increasing commissions. Over time, this left her physically and mentally exhausted.

She used to love the mead at this bar, but now she can no longer taste its deliciousness.

"Sigh... I'm so tired. I just want to find a place to settle down. Even if life isn't as carefree anymore, it doesn't matter. I just hope to find an employer who is considerate of his employees, so I can relax and unwind in this cramped room..."

Lunova Fast is seventeen years old this year.

The human girl, who spoke with an air of maturity but was actually quite young, gazed up at the ceiling and whispered:

"Should I retire from bounty hunting?"

●

"Another case? How many people have there been this month?"

Chloe Rollo is an "assassin".

She originally belonged to a criminal organization (familia), but grew weary of being forced to perform various tasks. She eventually escaped the organization after successfully completing a monumental challenge assigned by the main god. Taking on assassination missions along the way was one of her ways of earning money.

As a stray cat, she is currently located in Orario, which is known as the "center of the world".

Because of her high success rate in assassinations, she even became famous in the underground industry as the nickname "Black Cat".