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

All that remains now is endless emptiness.

Ryu couldn't find any meaning in living.

She knew her gaze was utterly empty, and she simply stared back into the girl's eyes.

"that."

In contrast, Seele had a confused expression on her face, and smiled with her eyebrows drooping.

"When I saw someone lying injured in the pouring rain, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."

"..."

This is a perfectly legitimate reason. If Ryu and she were in the same position, they would probably do the same thing.

But after learning her true identity, will Seele still say the same things?

Ryu is "Swift Wind," a Class A wanted criminal who brings chaos to the city.

Ryu looked away and asked:

"I collapsed in that kind of place...don't you find it suspicious?"

"Orario has been very turbulent lately, and I'm already used to people with secrets."

...You've been used to it for a long time? And you're someone who has something to hide?

With suspicion in her heart, Liu couldn't help but shift her gaze back to Xi'er, only to find that she had placed the medical tools she had been holding in her arms on the cabinet in the room, then knelt down and looked up at Liu.

"Miss Elf, may I ask your name?"

Then ask this question.

"...What do you plan to do after you find out?"

"I want to call your name."

Faced with Seele's candid and honest words, Ryu fell silent.

This girl is really difficult to deal with. She makes me feel uneasy. Who is she anyway?

Ryu had no will to live; she knew she looked no different from a dead person. Even so, Seele's insistence on approaching her gently only made Ryu feel more and more embarrassed.

Ryu looked away, trying to shut out the girl's innocent, sun-like kindness.

However──

(...she was the second person.)

Liu did not slap the other person's hand away.

The first person is Aristotle Rofer, the leader of the Astrea Familia and also Ryu's confidante. She was also the one who invited Ryu to join the Familia.

Before this, she was the first and last person to treat Ryu like this.

If someone tries to shake hands with Ryu when they first meet her, Ryu will reflexively slap their hand away.

But on that rainy day, Seele took Ryu's hand in the dimly lit alley.

This elf, tainted by bad habits, did not reject Seele's hand.

(She doesn't look like Alexandra at all, but...)

Ryu looked at the smile that still lingered on Seele's face, and at her hand.

Then, not knowing where to look, Ryu's gaze wandered. After a short while, she finally opened her lips.

"Liu...Liu Liang."

Upon hearing the name, Seele's face blossomed into a radiant smile.

"Miss Ryu...what a beautiful name."

Ryu still felt she wasn't very good at dealing with the cheerful and laughing Seele, so when she decided to hide her gaze behind the blanket—

"Ahem, well then..."

The girl cleared her throat affectedly.

Then──

"Miss Ryu, please recover your spirits quickly! Please recover your spirits quickly!"

...She extended her index finger and began to draw circles in front of Ryu's eyes and the tip of his nose.

"..."

"Miss Ryu, quickly put on your smile again~~"

The finger continued to draw circles. Liu, the person involved, was as stiff as a stone statue.

--What is this?

What kind of ceremony is this?

Am I being subjected to some kind of psychological attack?

"Hey."

「!?」

As if announcing the end, he placed his fingertip against Ryu's nose.

"This is a spell that can lift people's spirits; I often use it on the children I know."

After speaking, Seele smiled as if she had completed a task.

(illustration)

Ryu, who couldn't even manage a counterattack, sat dumbfounded on the bed.

"Huh, how come? Didn't you want to smile? That's really strange..."

Seele was genuinely quite perplexed by the still-dumbfounded elf.

Ryu, whose brain had finally started working, squinted at Seele, her eyes accusing her of "What are you doing? How rude." Seele, on the other hand, forced out a dry laugh of "Ah, ahahaha..."

Liu, with a sour face, is still completely unaware of it.

Her once empty and lifeless eyes gradually began to reveal emotions after her interactions with the girl.

"Has the sleeping elf awakened?"

At this moment, another person entered the room.

The newcomer was a tall female dwarf. Such a height was quite tall for a dwarf, even much taller than Ryu, who was an elf; the word "enormous" would be more appropriate to describe her.

With her brown hair tied up, her appearance is undeniably powerful, and even without speaking, one can sense her forthright and generous nature.

"Yes, Mom, she said her name is Ryu Rion. Miss Ryu, this is the owner of the shop where I work, her name is Mia."

(Miya...?)

The name that Seele said when she stood up caused Liu to react immediately.

A piece of information popped into her mind, but Ryu thought it was impossible, so she immediately dismissed the thought and shook her head.

"Honestly, we're already short-staffed right now, and you're adding to my troubles. It's not like you just picked up some stray dog ​​or cat. The important thing is not to bring back this kind of elf that looks like a hot potato."

"But, Mommy Mia, didn't you agree in the first place?"

Mia complained softly as if she were sighing, but Seele responded with a smile.

Just as the dwarf, who was born to be at odds with elves, said, when Ryu frowned, the shopkeeper also looked down at her.

"I checked your clothes and luggage... You're [Swift], right?"

Upon hearing this, Ryu's expression changed drastically.

His gaze became as sharp as a blade.

Seele also showed a surprised expression after hearing the name "Gale".

"If that's the case, what do you plan to do? Hand me over to the guild?"

As a wanted criminal, Ryu is naturally aware that he is a troublesome person. To be honest, he has already given up on himself.

Compared to Ryu's provocative tone, Mia simply snorted coldly, uninterested in dwelling on the matter.

"Why would I do something so troublesome? You idiot."

“Eh!”

"Now that you're able to get up, you can do whatever you want with it. But I'm letting you stay for three days, so you have to pay your lodging fees before you can leave."

Faced with this unexpected answer, Ryu was speechless.

"Miss Liu, if you don't mind, why not stay here a little longer? It's safe in this bar. You can leave after things calm down."

What nonsense are these two girls spouting? After learning that the other party is a top-level wanted criminal, a normal person would feel scared or be blinded by greed and plan to tip them off—even if the two of them wanted to set a trap to deceive her, Ryu was powerless to resist in the first place, so doing so was really meaningless.

Seeing the two people's indifferent reactions, Ryu's mind went blank.

Moreover, my mind is in complete turmoil.

"Miya's mother is very capable; I believe she can protect you, Miss Ryu. Also, I'd like to get to know you better, so—"

Shut up, stop talking.

Stop looking at me with that smiling face.

Don't disturb my peace of mind anymore.

Stop offering me that smile that reminds me of my friend (Alice)—

Ryu could no longer bear the painful screams welling up from the depths of her heart, and her throat trembled.

"I—I already!"

When she came to her senses, Ruo had already shouted loudly to dispel the doubts in her heart.

"I...I have nothing left, neither companions nor a place to go...I should have died back then for my foolish act."

"Miss Ryu..."

Ryu's fingertips dug into the blanket, as if in repentance, shouting out all the feelings buried deep in her heart.

Seeing Ryu's reaction, Seele, who had offered her help, looked very sad, a forlorn expression on her face.

"Ugh, that's enough, that's why I can't stand elves. You're all so neurotic and inflexible, you're just too difficult to deal with."

In contrast, Mia completely disregarded this, and spoke sharply:

"You would have died if no one had helped you, so why not just consider it good luck? Besides, what are you saying? Since when did elves become such rude people who don't thank their saviors?"

"...What do you know, you rude dwarf!"

Liu almost forgot the pain in her body and shouted angrily.

Since she joined the Astrea Familia, her stubborn nature as an elf had softened considerably, but it has resurfaced now.

"I have no reason to live anymore!"

At the moment when Ryu suddenly roared—

Suddenly, a "gurgling" sound came from inside.

That lovely sound came from Ryu's abdomen.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ryu was stiff with shock, Seele was dumbfounded, and Mia was completely dumbfounded.

Contrary to what she said, the proud elf, who was honestly making empty stomach noises, quickly blushed crimson.

"Your body seems to still want to live."

“Hmm…!”

That was a huge embarrassment.

Liu recalled that she was already exhausted, and after sleeping for three days straight, her body would naturally be extremely eager to absorb nutrients.

In the past three years, she had never experienced such a humiliating disgrace, and a wave of shame washed over her. Coupled with Seele's inability to suppress a soft laugh, her long, elven ears turned completely red.