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

The destination is the bar "The Abundant Mistress" to which "Swift Wind" was sent.

Runova, having quickly finished her preparations, pushed open the door to the bar.

"【Asteria Familia】... Faction Rank B, eleven members in total, all of them are Rank 2 adventurers. They arrived at the 41st floor, and the floor master has been defeated twenty-one times... Meow~ The deeper I investigate, the more I feel that these people are no different from monsters."

Dressed in lingerie, Chloe lay on the bed, muttering to herself.

In this stone-built room without partitions, one can see excessively luxurious plush carpets on the floor, a bed with an attached canopy, a crystal chandelier-style magic stone lamp, a magic stone heater, and so on. Everywhere the eye can see is decorated with the utmost extravagance. It's practically a castle designed specifically for Chloe, but this kind of vulgar interior decoration can also be described as a prime example of wasteful extravagance.

This room, which cost a lot of money to renovate, is quite comfortable to live in... but the only problem Chloe is having right now is the occasional sound like something being hit coming from the next room.

This little-known residence is home to the infamous "Black Cat," a figure feared throughout the underground industry.

Chloe lay on the bed, propping her cheeks up with her hands. Her tail, which peeked out from her sexy black panties, writhed and swayed like a snake as she looked down at the parchment.

"Just from the official information from the guild, you can tell how troublesome these guys are, meow~ It's really amazing that the dark faction dared to kill such a [Familia], meow."

The documents spread out on the pillow were not personal information about [Hayabusa], but detailed information about her faction—the now-defunct [Asteria Familia].

"According to the guild's records of [Swift]'s personal information, she should be Lv.4. However, judging from the fact that she single-handedly destroyed the final stronghold of the dark faction, the [Rudra Familia]... even if she is Lv.4, she is still one of the best."

Sigh... I really don't want to assassinate someone like this—Kroy buried her face in the pillow.

Lv.4 opponents are quite formidable, and you might even end up losing to them.

Now, a feeling of regret welled up in Chloe's heart.

"...It doesn't matter, this is my last job anyway, meow. Once I receive this big sum of money, I'll fly away from the labyrinth city and live a carefree life served by handsome boys, meow."

Krooi let out some frivolous fantasies and let out a wicked meowing laugh.

After enjoying her daydream, the cat-person girl first stretched and leaned back, then raised her slender hand to the light of the magic stone lamp.

"I will end [Swift Wind] with this, thus bringing my assassination career to a perfect close."

Chloe jumped out of bed and put on her clothes and robe, which were lying on the floor.

Facing an equally matched opponent head-on would be suicidal, hence her resort to assassination. She employs methods such as poisoning and setting traps to take her target's head at the opportune moment. To achieve this, she must first understand her target's habits and activity range.

Never letting her guard down in gathering intelligence on her targets—that's the style of the assassin Chloe Rollo.

The destination is the bar "The Abundant Mistress" that [Swift Wind] escaped into.

Krooi, wearing her hooded cape for her transformation, immediately pushed open the door.

""Um?""

The sound of two doors opening overlapped, and Roy and another person—Lunova—looked at each other.

Both of them were dressed as if they were going out.

They are neighbors in a multi-family housing complex who are meeting for the first time today.

(Who is this human with absolutely no femininity, meow?)

(Who is this cat person who's practically a psychopath?)

The two of them freely expressed their first impressions of each other in their hearts.

Chloe found the unadorned human ridiculous.

Runova gave the mysterious cat people, who had their hoods pulled low, a suspicious look on her face.

(illustration)

"..."

"..."

Without saying a word, they locked the room and then each left to the left or right of the corridor.

The two girls naturally understood that they were kindred spirits whose origins should not be revealed, and that getting too close would only bring them unnecessary trouble.

Koroi and Lunova, back to back, set off from their room on the third floor of the apartment building, embarking on two completely different paths, but ultimately heading straight for the exact same destination.

○

“No way…”

Liu stood in front of the dressing mirror, dumbfounded, muttering to herself.

Reflected in the mirror, Ryu was wearing a waitress's uniform. It was a knee-length emerald green dress paired with a white apron. For Ryu, who was feared by all as "Ryo the Gale," dressing up in such a cute way felt strangely incongruous.

If the deceased members of the [Family] were standing here, they would surely burst into laughter. Even the chief god (Asteria) would probably hide aside and chuckle if she saw Ryu like this.

Her once lustrous golden hair had been dyed a light green.

"It suits you so well, Ryu! You're so cute! Just in case, I dyed my hair too, now no one will recognize you as Miss Hayate."

Beside the dumbfounded Ryu, the person overjoyed was Hiel, who no longer used honorifics.

Several days have passed since the day Ryu was destined to work at the bar. Now recovered, she has transformed into a waitress at "The Abundant Mistress." The entire transformation was primarily done by Seele, and it was entirely forced upon her.

The smile on Seele's face, which offered a fair compliment, was something that Ryu hated to the core.

Although Ryu had an impulse to rip off the maid's headdress and throw it on the ground, however—

"Then you'd better work hard and find a way to pay off your expensive meal debt."

“Hmm!”

Mia, with a sly grin, reminded Ryu, preventing him from acting impulsively.

The elves' inherently loyal nature had become a burden to Ryu. The two women had not only provided her with food but also taken meticulous care of her. If she were to be ungrateful and turn away, it would tarnish the noble reputation of the forest tribe.

However, faced with this bullying treatment, Ryu, who is usually well-behaved, couldn't help but throw a tantrum.

Even among the eccentric Astrea Familia, she had never been treated like this before.

"I'll introduce Anya and the others to you later. First, I'll guide you on how to work."

"Hey, what should I say when receiving guidance from someone?"

There is nowhere left to escape.

Surrounded by the smiling Seele and Mia with her arms crossed in front of her chest, Ryu suddenly realized what had happened.

Suppressing her anger caused her cheeks to flush, and she whispered in a trembling voice:

"Please give me your guidance..."

Ryu's life of suffering began from this point.

One of the daily tasks of the "abundant mistress".

Peel fruits and vegetables.

"The cat is saying, 'Newbie meow, you can't even peel fruits and vegetables properly, meow?'"

"...In my previous faction, these matters were handled by the catering staff."

"Your movements are unbearable to watch, meow. Listen carefully, meow, this is how you hold a kitchen knife—"

"—Don't touch me!"

"Meow!?"

"Aaaaaah! Anya, sent flying by Ryu, crashed headfirst into a pile of fruits and vegetables—!"

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!"

“Hmm!”

Because he violated a forbidden rule of the Pokémon, Ryu punched his colleague, sending him flying and ruining the job.

The second part of the daily work of "the bountiful mistress".

Go out to buy supplies.

"Listen up, Ryu, when you're buying groceries, wear a sweet smile and try to charm the customer."

"A sweet smile... and a coquettish manner."

"Yes, that's the only way to bargain. Don't worry, the shopkeepers are all very kind! Come on, give it a try!"

"I understand... Boss."

"Oh, judging by your uniform, you must be a sales clerk at 'The Abundant Mistress'? What would you like to buy today—"

"Please give me a discount on these fruits."

"what?"

"I said, please give me a discount."

"Uh, that."

"Hurry up and do as I say, or are you planning to make me suffer further humiliation?"

"Ee, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!? Have mercy—!"

"Ryu! That's not being cute, that's a threat! Besides, your expression is so stiff, it's not a smile anymore, you look like a killer!!"

“Hmm!”

Because he was blacklisted by the fruit and vegetable stall he usually buys from, Liu messed up again.

The daily work of "the bountiful mistress," part three.

Serving guests.

"...This is the menu."

"Oh my, is that the new waitress? She's a real beauty! But her expression is too cold."

“Hmm!”

Because the customer disliked her for looking too serious, Ryu messed up again.

Ryu's subsequent attempts at various jobs all ended in a series of failures.

It was like being caught in a storm of failure.

"You're such a glutton, I never imagined you could be like this...sigh~"

“Hmm…!”

Summoned by Mia and subjected to a deep sigh of humiliation in front of her, Ryu could only grit her teeth and bear the insult.

This is different from the past. That's right, because it's all things I'm encountering for the first time. I'm just too nervous because I'm experiencing the "unknown." Even seasoned adventurers can lose their composure when faced with the "unknown."

Ryudae insisted that he was by no means a good-for-nothing. Of course, all of the above was his true feeling.

(...No, a similar situation occurred when Alexie and the others were still alive.)

When Ryu first joined the Astrea Familia, her stubbornness often caused trouble. She constantly caused problems for the goddess Astrea and her friend Alyssa.

During the period when she was not yet settled in, she kept messing things up.

"If you keep doing this, you won't be able to pay off your food debts; instead, you'll just keep increasing your debts."

"Ugh...!"

Despite feeling deeply ashamed, Ryu's trials continued.

●

(Why is [Swift Wind] working as a waiter here...?)

It was a clear blue sky outside the window on an afternoon.

In order to investigate the enemy's situation, Lunova disguised herself as a customer and infiltrated the "Fertile Mistress". She was puzzled by what she saw.

Before her stood an elf in uniform, wearing a sour expression as she greeted customers and cleared away dishes.

(A wanted criminal listed on the guild's blacklist suddenly starts working at a bar... Wait a minute, this is too bizarre.)

The elf perfectly matched the portrait and information provided by the merchant.

Despite having dyed hair, Lunova was certain this person was her target.

The problem is that "Gale," who strikes fear into the hearts of the city's villains, has taken off her blood-stained combat uniform and hooded cape, and put on a waitress's uniform and maid's hair accessories...

What kind of outfit is that? Even if it's really ridiculous, it's not funny at all.

With her mind in complete disarray, Lunova struck up a conversation with the cat people employee who brought her the food and looked rather silly.

"...Hey, waitress, is that elf waiter new?"