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

Lunova's nickname is "Black Fist".

She was given this nickname not because she wore black boxing gloves.

Rather, it was because she often beat her opponents so badly that their skin was torn open, bones were broken, and skulls were shattered, and her fists were stained red and black with a lot of blood—those in the industry who witnessed this gave her this terrible nickname.

Runova couldn't help but hallucinate, seeing her own hands, which had turned black from hitting someone too hard, and her fists, stained with blood.

"Whether it's wheat, vegetables, or fruits, after careful cultivation, they will all be eaten, right? They will all bring joy to many people, right? If I were involved in it... well, just imagining it makes me feel like I can't swallow it."

Runova kept her distance from the Demeter Familia for this reason.

Another reason is that if the world knew that Demeter and his group were involved with him as a "black boxer," it would inevitably affect their reputation.

After meeting Demeter, Lunova refused to accept any requests from those whose targets were Demeter's supported faction—that is, the "Familias" under the guild. However, this was a trivial matter that meant nothing to others.

Bounty hunters like Lunova, who make money while the city is in chaos and are no different from mercenaries, are naturally despised.

"Excuse me, Lady Demeter, I must take my leave now. Thank you for the pie and cookies."

"Lunova, we..."

"Don't worry, I really intend to quit after I finish this job."

Lunova stood up from her chair and forced the brightest smile she could muster for Demeter, who looked sad.

Runova couldn't bear to see Demeter worry like this. Perhaps abandoning the final request altogether would be a good option.

However, Lunova did not do that.

This commission was probably a ritual for her to sever ties with her bounty hunter self, a way to end things and also to vent her anger.

Runova, like a child, wanted to vent her anger on [Gale], who should be living in blood like her but has now found refuge alone.

Runova gave a brief, self-deprecating smile, and as she left the room, she forced a strong smile as she looked at Demeter.

"Besides, if I were to hang out with people, I'd rather find a bunch of idiots who are about my level than Lady Demeter."

●

The magic stone lamp emitted a light that rivaled the starry sky.

In Orario, the city that never sleeps, it's not easy to see stars.

Chloe, who had been stranded in the labyrinth city for about four years, already knew this.

"...She's changed, meow."

This is West Street, shrouded in the twilight.

Chloe gazes out at the bar "The Lush Hostess" from the rooftop of the building, bathed in moonlight.

As for the person she was observing, it was the elven waiter who had just chased the adventurers out of the shop.

(【Hurricane】She...is completely different from how she was a little while ago, meow.)

Because the adventurer was about to make unwanted advances towards her colleague, [Swift] valiantly tossed her out of the shop, where she is currently receiving cheers from onlookers. Although the person involved seems somewhat bewildered, the smile she gives to the pale silver-haired girl she rescued is like a flower blooming from melting snow.

(Ah... wait, no... I guess she's found herself again, meow.)

Whether or not they sensed Chloe's gaze, the elf looked up with her sky-blue eyes.

Cloy, pulling her hood down to cover her eyes, turned and left like a wildcat. She passed several rooftops and silently jumped into a dimly lit alley.

"She's found a place for herself, meow?"

Kroy twitched her cat ears that bulged out of her hood and muttered to herself in the deserted alley.

She pulled out the wanted poster for "Swift Wind" from her pocket. This portrait of an adventurer, whose identity is concealed by a mask, is not issued by the guild, but is mainly commissioned by adventurers and merchants.

Because of [Swift Wind]'s rampage and the many enemies he has made, he has been listed as a bounty target.

Koro thought indifferently, "Since you can make that face... if you can find a place to hide in the sunlight, you should have handled things more tactfully in the first place."

She exhaled a breath that sounded almost like a sigh, and then walked forward with light steps.

"If she's like an unattended plant, constantly withering away, it'll be easier to take advantage of her, meow..."

People with a strong will to survive can be quite difficult to deal with. This kind of "job" is often very tricky. Chloe came to this conclusion based on her extensive experience accumulated since birth.

Chloe Rollo is the daughter of a member of a criminal organization (familia) lurking on this continent.

Before being named "Koroi," the girl was already obliged to join a criminal organization (a familia). Poisoning skills and resistance, as well as dagger combat techniques, were all forcibly instilled into her brain shortly after birth. Given this environment, expecting this young girl to possess a normal moral compass was simply unrealistic. She would pretend to be an innocent child, approaching and killing unknown targets, and receive praise; she would also receive praise for surviving the agonizing struggle after being forced to ingest poison… Perhaps those moments, in her dazed state, were the happiest of her life.

The criminal organization (the clan) she belongs to is, frankly speaking, scum.

The god who founded the organization insisted that this was just a role-playing game. "Since some people want to do filthy work, I will reluctantly take on the filth for everyone"—this god said such thoughtless words with a gleeful expression, bringing blood and death to the underworld. He was nothing more than a scumbag in charge of killing.

Chloe's hatred for the criminal organization (the Familia) stems from the fact that the assassin she admired like a sister—her mother who gave birth to Chloe but never told her the truth, only silently protecting her—lost her life during a mission. At that time, she had defied the organization's rules to protect Chloe and thus lost her life.

After learning the truth, Chloe realized for the first time that tears were salty. From then on, she harbored doubts about the organization, felt aversion to the commandments, and eventually asked the Supreme God to let her leave the organization. To this day, Chloe still vividly remembers the Supreme God's malicious smile from that time.

Faced with the ritual of leaving the guild bestowed by the Supreme God—a series of rigorous trials—Roy was almost prepared to die. When she learned that she could only assassinate a Level 3 high-ranking knight of a certain empire with a single dagger, she nearly fainted on the spot. However, she successfully completed the mission, and it was thanks to this trial that she was able to level up. Although the Supreme God was a scoundrel, she was ultimately a goddess who upheld the blood pact and kept her word.

Chloe accepted the condition of leaving the group that she could not reveal confidential information such as the organization's base or members, and finally broke away from the criminal organization (familia).

However, what I am doing now is exactly the same as what I did in the past.

Having gained her freedom, Chloe is now at a loss as to where to go.

She didn't know what she wanted to do, nor how she should live. For a girl who only knew how to kill, this was both a drawback and a flaw.

The reason Chloe imitates the main god and speaks in such a frivolous tone is, in essence, her own way of dealing with the world.

If she couldn't get used to this unrestrained speech and personality, Roy would have given up on survival long ago. The most authentic version of her, never seen by anyone, is actually a cowardly snot-nosed girl.

In the end, Roy's livelihood still depended on assassination.

Killing someone for a fortune—that's the fastest and most efficient way for her to make money.

Because there are more scumbags in the world than one imagines, it's not surprising that Chloe rarely feels heartache over assassinations. Sometimes, she even idolizes herself as a righteous thief, a hero to the orphans. She finds it incredibly satisfying, especially the soft touch of a little boy (a young boy) in her arms. It was from this time that Chloe developed this twisted and vulgar sexual fetish.

Chloe gradually came to believe that no one in the world could beat her (the cat).

She recalled that back then, in her overconfidence, she chose to go to this very place, Orario.

Chloe entered Orario with the mindset that it was the most lawless city at the time, and that she would never have to worry about work again. This marked the beginning of her downfall. Orario back then was a den of monsters, a fortress that kept adventurers isolated within its massive walls. Chloe, in particular, was a frog in a well. Because this wildcat had never experienced the abyss known as the dungeon, she was quickly subjected to the trials of the monsters that honed her there.

—The thought "Ah, the cat's doomed, meow" popped into my head when I accepted a request related to the Ganesha Familia, meow.

Chloe had her eye on an adventurer from the Ganesha faction, but ended up being brutally killed by her opponent. She barely escaped with her life from the heroine known as the "Staff of Ganesha".

For Chloe, who had never failed outside the labyrinth city, this was her first failure and her first taste of setback.

The strength of Orario adventurers is vastly different from that of the outside world, and cannot be measured by the capabilities of the criminal organization (familia) that nurtured Chloe.

Chloe remembered the fear that made her curl her tail, and from then on, she no longer accepted any request.

Therefore, she established several rules for assassination commissions.

First and foremost, she wouldn't kill children. Especially little boys (young boys), they are the treasures of the world, how could she do something to destroy such treasures?

In addition, the target must be a scoundrel or someone who should be prepared to be killed. If the target does not meet the above conditions, Rosie will return the entire deposit to the client and simply walk away.

Whether she should be thankful for it or not, Chloe has never encountered a request she had to abandon since arriving in Orario (though she has failed once). In this turbulent era known as the "Dark Ages," the vast majority of requests Chloe receives are either personal grudges between villains or instances of factional infighting causing them to sabotage each other. She carries out her work with a mocking yet deeply resigned attitude. Now she has reached Level 4, but she faces an endless stream of assassination requests as she kills again and again.

The reward is gold coins, the price is life lost with drops of bright red blood.

Just how many people's blood has this hidden sword sucked?

Kroy has lived by the habits she was raised with since childhood, and perhaps it is the slight sense of modesty in her heart that compels her to do so.

But now she is melancholy. Even though she is used to being alone because of her job, she now longs for a place to belong, just like [Swift Wind], to find her own refuge.

Under the starry sky, Chloe raises her assassination dagger toward the moon, lost in a moment of reflection that is contrary to her usual style.

"I feel so tired, meow..."

With a sigh, Chloe put away her dagger after sensing the presence of others.

Chloe walked through the alley and arrived at Southwest Street. She seemed lost in memories for a long time, and unknowingly walked a long distance south from West Street.

As she leaned against the wall, gazing intently at the bustling crowd—

"Hmm, meow?"

They happened to discover a celestial being.

The deity had his brown hair combed back, revealing a handsome and rugged face that could certainly be described as strikingly beautiful. Despite it being late autumn, he had taken off his shirt and was shirtless, giving one a slight resemblance to a "sea man." Beside him was a member of his retinue, helping to tow a cart.

"...Meow."

Koroi, recognizing the other person in the crowd, revealed a wicked smile.

Then she took off running and threw herself onto the god.

"Huh!? W-what's going on!? Eh... uh, Chloe Rollo."

The members of the kin who were helping out were shocked. The god, who was suddenly hugged from behind, awkwardly whispered Chloe's name.

Koro, who happened to spot the other person in the crowd, also revealed a strange smile and called out the name of the god before her.

"Long time no see, Lord Njord. How have you been?"

"Hmm~ How lucky meow~ To run into Lord Njord like this, and to have you treat me to a drink, meow."

"You forced me to come here, didn't you...?"

One of the rooms in a high-end bar located in the bustling southern part of Orario.

In the spacious, soundproofed private room, Kroy, who was alone with Njord, had taken off all her clothes except for her underwear.

"Speaking of which, why do you always strip naked when you undergo [ability stat] checks...?"

"How rude, meow! Cats wear underwear, meow! Besides, you're just as much of an exhibitionist as a cat, meow!"

Don't lump me in with you!

Chloe's situation is similar to that of a bounty hunter who converted to Njord and entered into a contract with him.

Njord is the god of fisheries who lives in the port city of Melon in the southwest of Orario.

The faction he led was, presumably, a fishing-focused [Family]. They primarily operated from the large brackish lake (Lake Roloro) adjacent to the port city (Melon), frequently setting sail to fish. The fresh seafood caught by the [Njord Familia] was also exported to Orario, playing a crucial role in supplying food to the Labyrinth City, much like the agricultural [Demeter Familia].

It seems that Njord also came to Orario from the port city (Melen) today to sell the catch with his family. Incidentally, the fisherman who helped him earlier has already left.

That said, why would Chloe form a contract with Njord, who doesn't belong to the Labyrinth City?

"Is it alright for you to talk to a cat like that, meow? Don't blame the cat for accidentally revealing your involvement in smuggling, meow~"

“Hmm…!”

In short, that's the gist of it.

Due to a commission, Chloe happens to witness Njord receiving goods from a suspicious group while infiltrating a suspicious location, and secretly transporting them to a place outside the labyrinth city.

According to Njord's explanation, he agreed to smuggle goods as a condition in order to obtain "items indispensable for fishing at sea." In short, Chloe didn't know much about it, but even if she didn't know, it was enough to constitute a handle to threaten him.

For the reasons mentioned above, Kroy obtained the perfect stat update target effortlessly. However, for Njord, who had been caught red-handed, this situation should have been unbearable.

"If the cat doesn't maintain this appearance, it won't be able to update its [stats], meow~"

Kroie, sprawled on the plush bench, felt like a queen. Njord had paid for all the expensive expenses at the upscale bar, so she was absolutely thrilled. Meanwhile, the handsome man beside her, responsible for updating her [ability stats], looked rather awkward.

(illustration)

A shirtless male god is in a secret room with a nearly naked girl.

If a waiter were to bring in the drinks at this moment and witness this scene, it would certainly lead to a misunderstanding.

"Because Lord Njord is such a handsome god, this cat is willing to appear before you in such an embarrassing manner, meow. This cat's slender figure, honed to the level of an assassin…you should feel your blood boiling, meow?"

"What do you mean by 'blood boiling'... your breasts are even smaller than mine."

"Meow!! The cat is just still growing, meow!!"

In assassinations, sometimes it's necessary to use a woman's body to seduce the target, but a target who succeeds using this tactic is definitely a fool. Truly wary men will always be on high alert—incidentally, because Chloe always scratches her partner's face before actually having sex with them, she is currently a virgin.

"Okay, that's all."

"Hmm... We'll see what happens to the cat then, meow."

Krooi snatched the updated information in a huff and started reading.

Chloe Rollo

Lv.4

力量：G267→F301　耐久：G222→279　灵巧：B711→751　敏捷：B737→776　魔力：W412→455