"Ah, Miss Elise!"
"You're here! Please, come in!"
The receptionist's eyes lit up with excitement the moment she saw Elise.
After all, a bombshell of news had swept through Orario yesterday.
A beautiful blonde, blindfolded female adventurer had single-handedly confronted the Floor Boss Goliath on the seventeenth floor of the Dungeon—and emerged victorious.
With such obvious features, combined with the recent popularity of the book The Saintess Who Saved the Kingdom, almost everyone had guessed her identity.
A member of the Astraea Familia—Elise!
She had only just arrived in Orario, and her publicly declared level was merely Lv1.
In other words, someone officially listed as Lv1 had defeated Goliath, whose strength the Guild evaluated as comparable to Lv4?
As the receptionist led Elise into the Guild reception room, countless gazes followed her.
Only after the two of them had completely disappeared inside did the onlookers finally avert their eyes.
The hall soon erupted into discussion among the gathered adventurers.
"That's the one from the justice faction, right? She's really beautiful!"
"Yeah, I heard her name's Elise Holiness?"
"I kind of want to court her. What do you think?"
"Ha! Take a look in the mirror first. You think she'd agree to that?"
Some adventurers, after seeing Elise's appearance, clearly entertained thoughts that were less than respectable. Of course, there were also those paying closer attention to her strength.
"So she's the one who soloed the Floor Boss on the seventeenth floor yesterday? Lv1 with that kind of power? Or did she lie about her level?"
"That's unlikely, right? She's from the justice faction..."
"She already had the strength to kill monsters in ancient ruins before coming to Orario. Beating a Floor Boss alone doesn't seem that strange to me..."
"If she grows smoothly, she'll definitely secure a place in Orario's future."
"Yeah... times these days are really something."
Back inside the reception room.
"The way everyone was looking at you just now—it was like a pack of starving wolves, Miss Elise!"
"Your charm is overwhelming! Even I can't help feeling a little moved!"
The receptionist had clearly heard about Elise's deeds from yesterday. There were practically stars shining in her eyes.
She probably hadn't expected that the person assigned to her would turn out to be this Lady Saintess.
"Don't tease me."
Elise replied with a light smile.
"Ahem... very well. In that case, let's get down to business." The receptionist straightened her posture before continuing. "Miss Elise, what brings you to the Guild today?"
"I'd like to exchange the magic stones I've collected these past few days for valis."
"Magic stones?"
The receptionist looked Elise up and down, her expression tinged with confusion.
Elise said she wanted to exchange magic stones, but...
She didn't seem to be carrying anything.
"Are there too many of them? Do you need the Guild to send someone to your familia residence to collect them?" the receptionist asked curiously.
"There are quite a few, but there's no need to go to the residence. I already brought them with me—using a special skill of mine."
A special skill?
The receptionist was startled. Could it be some kind of advanced storage ability?
Still, as a Guild employee, she knew better than to pry into someone else's skills.
"In that case, I'll arrange an open space. Please take out the magic stones you're carrying."
"Alright. But you might want to prepare a rather large area. It's about three or four stories tall."
The receptionist: ???
...
"Isn't this a bit too big?"
A group of Guild staff stood frozen in shock, staring at the massive magic stone occupying the open space.
This was far beyond anything they had imagined.
They had long heard that Floor Boss magic stones were enormous, but seeing one in person like this was a first.
The exit set up by the Guild in Babel was at most nearly two stories high. To enter the Dungeon, one had to descend via a staircase.
As a result, magic stones brought out were usually limited in size—never larger than a person. Otherwise, whether carried by supporters or expedition teams from large familias, transporting them would be extremely inconvenient.
If a magic stone was too large, it had to be broken apart before being brought out of the Dungeon.
Even in the past, the Zeus and Hera Familias had been unable to retrieve complete giant magic stones. Thus, Guild members had almost never seen an intact Floor Boss magic stone.
But now, thanks to Elise, they finally had.
After all, an intact Floor Boss magic stone was far more valuable than shattered fragments.
"Miss Elise, you're incredible!"
The receptionist's eyes gleamed. She was responsible for handling Elise's transaction. With such a massive magic stone, perhaps her salary might increase just a little... maybe?
In addition to the enormous Floor Boss magic stone, countless smaller fragments were piled up, nearly filling the entire open space.
"Miss Elise, there are simply too many magic stones!"
"It will take us some time to calculate everything. For the safety of your familia, once we finish the appraisal, we'll have someone deliver the valis to your residence."
Recently, Orario had been somewhat unsettled. Petty thefts were common at night.
Even during the day, one might encounter troublesome adventurers lurking in alleyways. The Guild itself was already overwhelmed trying to deal with these matters.
Such a vast sum of valis would naturally attract unwanted attention.
After a moment's thought, the receptionist added,
"Don't worry. I'll personally make sure you won't be shorted even a single valis!"
"So I just wait at home for the money to be delivered?"
With that, Elise stepped out of the Guild's doors.
But in that very instant, as if sensing something, she glanced around briefly—then swiftly departed.
In the shadows.
Several masked figures hid in the darkness, watching Elise as she left the Guild.
The next moment, they saw her figure rapidly disappear from sight.
"Hey! She's running!"
"Quick, after her!"
Elise had already become something of a celebrity in this labyrinth city of Orario.
Her exquisite beauty and sacred aura gave anyone who saw her the feeling that their very soul had been cleansed.
But among the masses, there were always certain kinds of people...
People unmoved by such noble beauty—
Instead, they longed to see something sacred...
Gradually fall into corruption!