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

Liu suddenly lowered her head, utterly disgusted by the body's physiological reactions.

"Miya's mom."

"Um?"

Therefore, Ryu, who was busy hiding his embarrassment, did not notice.

Having made up her mind, Seele winked at Mia.

Mia looked surprised at first, then smiled and responded.

"I really can't do anything with you. Leaving a starving ghost to die without helping would ruin my reputation. Come on, I'll make you something to eat."

"Wait, wait! I never said I wanted to eat anything—"

Faced with Ryu's continued denial, Mia decided not to let her finish speaking.

She glared at him angrily, then grabbed Ryu's head with one hand.

「!?」

"You stubborn little sprite, you never stop chattering. Now you'd better behave."

"...!?"

Mia's enormous hand pressed down on Ryu's head with a force that was just barely safe, as if she were about to crush a piece of fruit.

Although Liu was injured, she couldn't escape Mia's grasp. No, she didn't even have time to react.

Moreover, she was completely unable to break free from the other party's control.

Faced with this enormous dwarf who could subdue him with a single hand, Ryu was already sweating profusely.

In just a moment, Ryu realized that the difference in strength between the two sides was like heaven and earth.

"Come over after you've changed your clothes."

"Ugh—!"

Miya finally released Ryu, turned around, and strode out of the room.

Ryu's shoulders heaved as she gasped for breath, wiping the sweat from her brow. Seele whispered in her ear:

"Miya's mom can be really scary when she's angry, so you'd better just do as she says, okay?"

With a slightly regretful expression, Liu looked at the smiling girl.

Perhaps I have been taken to a very unusual place.

Even though it was too late, Ryu couldn't help but have the above thoughts.

Reluctantly, Liu followed Xier into the separate restaurant building.

The room, though not spacious, was quiet and peaceful, and currently only Ryu and her two companions were present.

After walking into the area that resembled a kitchen for a while, Mia came back carrying a steaming plate.

This is a rice dish (risotto) with various colored root vegetables and shredded boiled chicken.

"Here, eat it while it's hot."

"Miya's mom's cooking is delicious!"

"..."

Ryu observed for a moment and felt that she seemed to have no right to refuse. Moreover, if she didn't think it through and resist, it wasn't hard to imagine that someone would grab her little head again.

Forced to sit at the dining table, Ryu gave a reproachful look before resignedly picking up her spoon.

Then she scooped up a spoonful of the risotto and vegetables in front of her and put it into her cherry-like mouth.

"..."

First, the sweet taste of the rice soaking up the broth spreads in your mouth.

Then comes the aroma of root vegetables, melting in your mouth along with the soft rice, bringing warmth to your palate. At the same time, the chicken melts on your tongue.

The natural flavors of the ingredients intertwine, thus highlighting each other's deliciousness.

Liu remained silent, looking down at the rice dish (risotto) that exuded a rich aroma.

"...The flavor is too strong. I prefer dishes with a lighter taste."

"That's it."

"Dwarves are just too careless when they cook. Elves, with their superb culinary skills, would prepare dishes with much more care and attention to detail."

"I'm really sorry."

Mia completely ignored Ryu's cold criticism and let it go in one ear and out the other.

Standing to the side, Seele silently observed Ryu's well-proportioned profile.

After the elven girl finished complaining—

A slight blush rose to her cheeks, and she let out a sigh, as if in a sigh of relief, before whispering:

"However... this dish brings warmth and is very delicious."

Mia smiled smugly. Seele smiled back.

As if the warm sunshine had descended upon the snowfield, Liu, who had always had a tense expression, finally relaxed.

The dwarf shopkeeper spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Enjoy a delicious meal. Forget about the meaning of life or the reason for living, that alone is enough."

For Ryu, who has a rigid personality, the gentle taste of this dish brought her warmth, making her feel that it was a wise saying.

Indeed, perhaps a person's reason for living is simply this simple and enough.

Ryu picked up the spoon she had put down again and put a mouthful of rice dish (risotto) into her mouth. Then another mouthful, and then another mouthful.

In the blink of an eye, the entire dish was gone.

"Hehe, I've finished it all."

"...I am truly, deeply grateful."

Ryuu, with a mix of emotions, expressed her gratitude to Seele for helping to clear the table.

Then, blushing, she looked down at her bandaged hands, and her lips parted slightly.

I always felt a small sense of happiness flowing through my body, which was originally so empty.

"So—you've finished eating."

At this time.

Miya, who was standing to the side looking down at Ryu, suddenly changed her tone completely.

"My hard work was not in vain; I added all sorts of precious ingredients to it."

“…What do you want to say?”

"Do you think there's such a thing as a free lunch? Since I specially cooked for you, I have to charge you. I won't allow you to renege on your debt."

Realizing something was amiss, Ryu's tone became extremely stiff. Upon seeing this, Mia's lips curled into a malicious smile.

"As for the amount... it's a total of fifty million fali."

"This is outrageous!!"

Upon hearing the price, which sounded like a hallucination, Liu slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

Mia continued calmly:

"Judging from your appearance, you probably can't pay. Well, there's nothing I can do then. For the part you can't pay, you'll have to stay here and work to pay off your debt."

"Huh...!"

"That's perfect, we've always been short-staffed here anyway."

Faced with the dwarf shopkeeper who spoke fluently as if he had planned it all along, Ryu was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

Liu, who had been speechless, realized that she had already shouted at the top of her lungs when she came to her senses.

"You're being too unreasonable! No, this is fraud!! Don't try to use this excuse to argue your point...!"

Liu completely panicked and lost control in a way that was unimaginable from her usual self.

In the past, Ryu would have fought back against such atrocities long ago, but she simply couldn't do it now because her opponent was far too strong.

Ryu was so angry that his fists trembled uncontrollably at the unreasonable giant wave that came crashing down on him because of a moment of carelessness.

"This is the labyrinth city (Orario), you know? It's the same both on the surface and underground. Who knows what we'll encounter?"

Mia, with her steady steps and condescending attitude, remained unwavering in her convictions.

Liu quickly turned to look at Xi'er.

"In this shop, you have to obey everything Mia's mother says... Waaah~"

Seele covered her face with her hands, pretending to cry as she fell to the ground. That cunning little girl…!

Seeing Ryu's face frozen in shock, Mia immediately announced her conclusion.

"As Seele said, I represent the 'law' here. If I say it's white, then even if it was originally black, everyone has to treat it as white."

The tall, dwarf wore an incredibly wicked smile.

—After some time, when Ryu reflected on the whole incident, she realized that this whole farce was just to get her to cheer up again. It was because Seele and Mia wanted Ryu to live no matter what that they conspired to come up with this plan.

But at that time, Ryu couldn't possibly understand this.

—I've been ambushed!

The elven girl screamed inwardly.

"Then it's settled. You'll work as a waiter in my shop from now on!"

From that day on, Ryu was forced to work at the bar "The Abundant Hostess".

◆

Eight thousand Dharmas—

This is the rent for the apartment building (housing) where Lunova lives.

"In the end, I still accepted that request... Let's just consider it the last request~"

This location is in the seventh district, in the northwest of the city. The massive city walls surrounding the city are right in front of you; this is the edge of the city.

This three-story apartment building receives almost no sunlight throughout the day due to the city walls, and being constructed of stone, it becomes quite cold inside after nightfall. However, Lunova was still very satisfied with her room. Firstly, the location was excellent; few people approached this place. Secondly, most of the tenants who did live here were either destitute or, like Lunova, people whose backgrounds they wished to keep secret.

The dwarf landlord was quite frank, stating that "as long as the rent is paid on time," and Lunova was very grateful for his tactless attitude towards others' pasts. The most significant advantage was the tranquil environment. The only drawback was the occasional mutterings or chilling laughter that drifted from the next room…

Because she is a bounty hunter, a profession that easily makes enemies, Lunova has never revealed her address to outsiders.

"Since this is going to be the last request, let's end it with a victory. So... information about [Gale]."

This stone room, devoid of any other compartments, contained only the bare minimum of furniture: a rough wooden table, a bed, and a magic stone lamp. The only noteworthy element was the complete set of work equipment piled in the corner of the room—gloving gloves and combat suit for battle, and handmade striking training gear (sandbags).

Using the magic stone fire starter she had purchased, Lunova heated the milk in a pot, causing the chair to creak as she plopped down on it.

Then I started to look through the documents containing information about the target.

"Aside from the hiding place, there are absolutely no clues. Even if she's an adventurer concealing her identity by wearing a mask, it's strange that even her full name is unknown. Shouldn't everyone register as an adventurer at the guild?"

The information obtained from the trading company contained almost no personal information that could be considered related to [Swift Wind].

"What a useless fellow," Lunova frowned.

"Judging from this situation, the guild is deliberately playing dumb and refusing to disclose information..."

The guild intends to protect [Swiftwind]. To safeguard this last survivor of the [Asteria Familia], who has always cooperated with them to maintain order and peace in the city.

No, describing it as "covering up" is probably not quite accurate.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a final act of mercy.

【Swiftwind】, burning with vengeance, personally carried out acts of retaliation against merchants and adventurers who collaborated with their enemies, and even guild employees who colluded with them, leading to her arrest. The reason for stripping her of her adventurer status and placing her on the dangerous list was simply to maintain the proper structure of the organization.

"It seems there's no way to extract any more information from here... I guess I'll just have to rely on my own eyes to identify the prey."

Making a decision and acting immediately—that's the style of bounty hunter Lunova Fast.

She grabbed her favorite scarf and got up from her seat.