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

The roar echoed in the maroon sky.

The only sound at the scene was Bert's heaving shoulders and panting.

Ais opened her eyes wide and then twisted her body a few times.

She shrank back apologetically.

"Um, I'm sorry..."

"what?"

Bert looked surprised, but it wasn't Ais who answered his question, but Loki.

She smiled maliciously, truly wickedly, and used her hand as a megaphone to shout:

"That seems to be it—! Did everyone hear that—!"

Just as I saw her shout loudly in the direction of the empty space—then shadows appeared one by one on the rooftops of several buildings in front of her.

The members of the Loki Familia have appeared.

"...Huh?"

Bert stared blankly, his mouth half-open, a look of utter stupidity on his face.

"I heard it perfectly clearly—!"

"Who told him to yell so loudly, didn't he?"

"I heard it, but I don't know whether to be happy or embarrassed... Ah, hahaha."

Ignoring the werewolf frozen in place, Tiona called him back. Tione shrugged, and Lefia smiled bitterly, her cheeks flushed. Besides them, there were also Raul, Anachiti, Alicia, Kos, Navi, and even the lower-ranking members of the group. Everyone's reactions were roughly the same. The humebunny Sakta and others, who had been rescued by Bert multiple times in the artificial labyrinth (Knossos), even had tears in their eyes.

Everyone heard Bert's confession in its entirety.

"You really cause trouble for others..."

"If we could be more frank, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

"Hahaha! Bert, whose personality has become so frank, can no longer be called Bert!"

Riveria, Finn, and Grace emerged from the shadows of the rubble near the square.

The werewolf, now a living stone statue, turned its eyes to look at them with movements that seemed rusty.

"Ais came to me and begged me to let the Familia return to normal. So, I gave her an idea, to put on this show... I don't need to explain further, right?"

"Um... I'm sorry."

Loki looked smug in front of the stiff, motionless Bert, while Ais apologized again with guilt.

In other words, that's the gist of it.

The group members carefully hid just short of Bert's sense range, while Finn and the others perfectly concealed their presence, waiting for Bert to reveal his true feelings under Ais's urging.

"What, huh, you guys, what...!?"

Fragments of incoherent sounds kept scattering.

Bert's face twitched, his mouth opening and closing; Tiona and the other members of the group came to his side in droves.

They gathered before Bert, their malicious smiles surpassing even those of the supreme god. At this moment, Tiona and Tione spoke:

"Hey, Tione? Do you know what someone like Bert is called? I've heard Loki mention it."

"Yeah, I know. It's called 'tsundere,' right?"

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!?"

Bert's face turned bright red.

Starting with this, the group members immediately became very lively, with Raul leading the way as they all shouted to Bert:

"‘No one is allowed to cry or scream in front of me anymore!’ I was completely numb, Brother Bert!"

"I've always believed in Mr. Bert!" "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have misunderstood you, brother!" "This is what the gods meant by 'cute attribute,' right?" "'Spoiled brat'!" "Tsundere!!"

"Greetings to the proud and arrogant Brother Bert!"

"That arrogant Bert is so cool!"

"—You guys, Oooooo!!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, please forgive me! Waa ...

Bert unleashed a furious tirade on the smug members. Starting with Raul at the front, many were sent flying into the air by his punches. Tiona and the others, laughing heartily, joined in, and the group erupted in a noisy, chaotic commotion.

Seeing this, Ais smiled, while Finn and the others narrowed their eyes.

Tiona and Tione were arguing with Bert, and Lefia and the others rushed to mediate, making everyone laugh.

The Loki Familia, which the girl had hoped for, has returned.

"Alright, then..."

at this time……

Rivera let out a heavy sigh, as if a big task awaited her.

She gave Finn a reproachful look as he shrugged, then, seeing that it was about time, walked toward the circle of Bert and the others.

"Bert, first of all, let me apologize to you. I'm sorry."

"What!?"

"I have something to tell you about Lina Tully."

Bert, who was originally so excited that his face turned red, changed his expression drastically when he heard Riveria say the name.

The tattoo on his cheek twisted in frustration, and his expression turned indifferent.

"There's nothing much to say."

"No, I have something to say. Listen, Bert."

"I already said, there's nothing more to say! That woman is dead, what's the point of bringing up a dead person again!"

Bert ignored Riveria's calls and said gruffly, however...

"Yay!"

A figure emerged.

The Amazonian girl who emerged from the shadows of the rubble brought Bert's time to a complete standstill.

"Oh ho ho, Bert Roca!"

The Amazonian girl, named Lina Tally, waved to him with a smile, as if nothing had happened.

"………………………………"

"Let me state upfront that this is not a hallucination."

Rivera closed her eyes and explained to the bewildered Bert:

"On the day of the attack, Amid completed the antidote. It was a secret medicine distilled from the blood of a cursed saint (Amid), designed to resist a specific curse. However, as you can imagine, the quantity was limited."

"………………………………"

"On our way to the scene, Alicia and I each brought some medicine, which we gave to the female warriors (Amazons)."

"………………………………"

"When I found Lina Tully here, she was on the verge of death. I barely managed to lift the 'curse' and took her to the clinic. Although she survived, her injuries are still under observation, so I didn't tell anyone."

"………………………………"

"Including her, the people of the Amazon are still at risk of attack. In that case, I thought it would be better to let her fake her death and hide until the storm passes... That's how it is."

Rivera spoke with an unusual awkwardness, as if recounting her feelings, explaining in an overly detailed and lengthy manner, as if she were making a defense.

"...I apologize to you again. I'm sorry that I kept it from you when you were so upset."

The elven princess glanced at the genuine Lina out of the corner of her eye and apologized in a somber tone; but Bert remained unresponsive.

"Let me clarify first, we only found out after many problems were resolved~"

"Unfortunately, I didn't fully grasp the situation either. Because this was Rivera's own decision and action. After I handed the matter over to you, Bert, she complained to me, saying that I had caused her a lot of trouble."

Tiona and Finn sounded like they were making excuses, but Bert just let it go in one ear and out the other.

His eyes were fixed on the smiling girl in front of him, just like before.

"I'm so sorry, Bert Roca! I made you so sad! But, but! When I heard that Bert Roca was lonely, my heart ached too! Bert Roca must have been so moved he couldn't speak, right?"

Seeing Lina's bright and cheerful smile as she nuzzled over like a kitten, Bert lowered his head.

He quickly extended his right hand and placed it on Lina's head.

"Ugh! How dare you suddenly give me a hug? Bert Roca is so bold, doing this in front of everyone!"

Lina burst into laughter, but Bert silently raised his leg.

Immediately afterwards, a loud "Boom!!" was heard.

"Gurgle!?"

It's the knee.

The knee, which had sunk into Lina's abdomen, squeezed out of her body with a strange cry, folding her body into a U-shape.

After that, the "thump!!" "thump!!" sounds continued to ring out.

Bert's knees kept rising, relentlessly delivering a series of knee strikes to the girl whose orange, pearl-like eyes were almost popping out of their sockets.

"Wait... Mr. Bert!?"

"Idiot! You're going to die! You're really going to die!?"

"Who cares about you? Go to hell! Aa ...

Bert ignored Raphia and Tiony's shouts and roared.

He unleashed a fury far greater than before, brutally beating the Amazonian girl. Tiony tried to stop him, but he wouldn't stop. Seeing the enraged werewolf break free even from the grasp of a first-level adventurer, Raul and the others screamed in pain, and the entire party rushed forward to stop him.

Just as the chaotic battle erupted, Tiona ran towards Lina, who had fallen heavily to the ground.

"Hey! Are you alright!? Are you okay!? Are you still alive—"

"Hehehe, hehehehehe...! My belly has received another great blow...! This time I'm guaranteed to be pregnant...!"

(It's so scary how much I hate this girl.)

Seeing her compatriot drooling and grinning in a daze, Tiona stepped back without saying a word.

Ais and Loki, left standing to the side, were stunned by the scene that was beyond repair.

Before long, Loki started laughing heartily, clutching his stomach, and Ais was also amused, covering her mouth with her hand—she actually laughed too.

This might be the girl's first laugh, which even surprised Finn, Riveria, and Grace.

How comical it was to see the young man, his face flushed red, cursing loudly.

The girl was so cute, running around dodging his punches while desperately apologizing.

How amusing it is to see their companions frantically trying to stop them.

How blissful this entire scene before my eyes is!

"Don't be angry, Bert Roca! Although I feel shy too, I'm also very happy!"

"What does this have to do with me?!"

"I'm so happy to see you again... I almost cried!"

Bert, his face flushed, reached out to grab her.

Lina closed her eyes and smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The roars of the youth and the laughter of the young girl continued for a long time.

Sword Oratoria 8: The Final Chapter as a Substitute for Farewell —

A bright morning in the eastern sky.

In the southeastern part of the city, a group of people were walking in the first cemetery, commonly known as the "Adventurers' Cemetery," where no one dared to approach.

They were dressed like dancers; they were a group of Amazons.