Ais Wallenstein stood silently in the empty corridor.
Golden eyes blinked once.
Twice.
"…Fast."
Behind her Bete's irritated voice echoed down the hallway.
"Tch, what're you standing around for?"
"He disappeared."
"Hah?"
Ais looked down the corridor again.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No sound.
No presence.
Just a few drifting particles of ash from monsters slain moments earlier.
Bete clicked his tongue as he approached.
"He probably ran off scared after realizing who he was mouthing off to."
Ais tilted her head slightly.
"…No."
"Hah?"
"He wasn't scared."
The werewolf frowned.
Before he could continue however Riveria's calm voice called from farther behind.
"Ais."
The swordswoman gave the corridor one final look before silently returning to the group.
Riveria, and Finn on the otherhand immediately bumped collecting information about the adventurer Neme up a couple notches in their mind.
Afterall Ais was their fastest adventurer, so if she could spot the kid, that meant he was possibly faster than her, which put him on par with their own level.
~
Far above them meanwhile—
I emerged from the Dungeon entrance into the open morning air so quickly several adventurers near the stairway startled as wind rushed past them, and questioning just where i had come from since i wasnt standing behind them a moment ago.
The city was loud again.
Alive.
The earlier panic had already transformed into excited gossip.
Not so much about the monster parade or the escapee's, but more on the news brought back from the retreating adventurers, mainly that they had seen the Loki Familia members, which meant they would be emerging from their Raid sometime today.
Which meant, a parade, a party, and tommorow the dissemination of all the monster drops and loot they picked up in the deep floors.
Adjusting the food bags still somehow miraculously intact in my hands, I moved through the streets toward the agreed upon meeting place with Lili.
By the time I pushed open the door and entered the interior—
"Neme!"
A tiny blur launched toward me.
I shifted sideways just in time.
Lili slammed face-first into empty air and nearly tripped over her own feet before spinning around furiously.
"You dodged on purpose!"
"Yes."
"That was mean!"
"That was funny."
"It was not funny!"
"It was extremely funny."
The pallum puffed out her cheeks in outrage while I calmly walked past her toward the old wooden table.
Sunlight filtered through cracks in the wall that hadn't been patched up, illuminating drifting dust through the empty room.
The place still looked... well not that great.
Broken benches.
Old stone.
Worn floors.
And somehow despite all that—
It already felt more like home than most places I'd lived in across two worlds.
This of course was our new home, having decided to share a new base rather than living endlessly out of the inn.
Not really my choice but when Lili stated she would take care of things... well i just couldnt find the words to refute her, and with her rising status her stamina and speed for doing things like chores was almost laughable.
Lili followed behind me grumbling under her breath while I set breakfast down.
The moment the smell spread through the room however her ears twitched instantly.
"…Potato balls?"
"Potato balls."
Her irritation vanished with frightening speed.
Truly the strongest survival instinct in Orario belonged to food-motivated pallums.
Lili quickly sat down across from me while I unpacked everything.
Fresh fried potato balls.
Meat skewers.
Soup.
Bread.
And a small wrapped dessert I'd grabbed impulsively from another stall.
Lili stared at the spread with unconcealed delight.
"…Did you rob a noble?"
"No."
"…Did you kill one?"
"Not today."
"Hm."
She accepted that answer disturbingly quickly.
Then again after seeing me come home covered in monster blood almost daily, perhaps her standards had simply deteriorated.
Or her mind had completely been overwritten knowing i was the cause of the fall of one of Orario's divine beings.
Lili grabbed a potato ball first, taking an aggressive bite before immediately relaxing.
"…Still hot."
"Obviously."
"How?"
"I bought them recently."
"You were gone awhile though…"
Right.
The whole "crossing multiple floors at superhuman speed" thing probably complicated time perception slightly.
I shrugged.
"Fast feet."
Lili narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"…That sounds stupid."
"It is stupid."
That seemed to satisfy her enough.
For a while the room settled into comfortable silence.
Not awkward silence.
Just two adventurers eating after a long morning.
Outside faint city noise drifted through the broken church walls.
Merchants shouting.
Wagons rolling past.
The distant roar of celebration near Babel.
Lili sipped her soup before glancing at me carefully.
"…So?"
"So?"
"What are we going to do next?"
He little ears waggled a bit but the look upon her face was one of relative concern.
Since binding her to me making me her effective familia patron now, it was almost as if i were now her living god.
One she could not betray no matter what.
But knowing what i had already done, she instinctively knew more of what i was going to do in the future.
And that well it scared her a little.
She knew i was strong, stronger than most others, but just being strong wasnt enough cause Orario had plenty of strong people, and all it took was someone stronger to come along and... Poof.
There goes her support wall keeping her from falling apart.
I finished the last of my soup before standing.
"Come on."
Lili blinked.
"…Come on where?"
"Dungeon."
Her shoulders immediately stiffened.
Not from fear exactly.
Anticipation.
Because unlike before—
Now she knew what followed me into the Dungeon wasn't cautious adventuring.
It was slaughter.
Relentless and efficient.
And profitable.
Very profitable.
Lili quickly began gathering her equipment while I checked my weapons.
The familiar weight settled comfortably against my body.
Axe.
Sword.
Knife.
Armor.
Potion pouch.
Backpack.
The comforting tools of violence.
Once ready we exited the building together and headed back toward Babel.
The closer we got, the louder the city became.
Because now the Loki Familia expedition had fully emerged.
The avenue near the tower had transformed into a festival.
Civilians crowded both sides of the streets.
Children shouted excitedly.
Adventurers watched with admiration and envy.
The strongest familia in Orario had returned victorious once again.
At the center of it all—
Finn walked proudly beside Riveria.
Tiona waved at crowds enthusiastically.
Tione looked annoyed by existence itself.
Bete remained aggressively hostile toward oxygen.
And Ais—
Ais moved silently through the cheers like a golden phantom.
Even surrounded by celebration she somehow felt detached from it.
As if she existed slightly apart from normal people.
Lili grabbed my sleeve instinctively.
Her little heart feeling if it weren't for herself perhaps, someone like Neme would belong to a strong Familia such as Loki, but if that happened... she would be all alone... or worse.
The crowd surged loudly as Loki Familia continued toward their manor.
Using that exact moment of distraction, I grabbed Lili lightly by the hood of her cloak.
"Move."
"Wah—"
We slipped through the crowd fast.
Down the avenue.
Past the Guild workers.
Through Babel's entrance.
And into the Dungeon before anyone important noticed.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Noise vanished behind us.
Warm sunlight gave way to damp stone and glowing blue walls.
The familiar scent of minerals, blood, and monsters returned.
Lili exhaled slowly beside me.
Quickly adjusting her mind to become that of an adventurer, one of the people she used to hate, but now she only pretended to be one, she may have a falna, and may still accumulate excelia like everyone else so to speak, but she knew just like Neme her Falna was different.
After collecting herself, she looked across at me and nodded her head, which was the signal for us to kick off and begin our hunt for the day.
We descended rapidly.
First floor.
Second.
Third.
The upper floors passed quickly now that our pace had become absurd compared to normal beginner adventurers.
Monsters spawned.
Monsters died.
Goblin heads rolled across stone before they even fully emerged from the walls.
Kobolds split apart under my blade.
Lili efficiently gathered stones and drops behind me while occasionally firing crossbow bolts into weakened targets.
Our teamwork had already become smooth enough to feel natural.
By the tenth floor fewer adventurers appeared.
By the eleventh the atmosphere shifted entirely.
The Dungeon walls darkened.
The air thickened.
The sounds changed.
Fewer voices.
More distant growls.
Lili slowed slightly as we entered the lower floors.
Her lowest point.
The deepest she had ever gone.
Though not alone, she had the ability to advance further on her own, but she relished the moments we got to hunt together so instead she would only 'cleanup' areas we'd already been to when alone, and wait for moments like this when we could team up and dive together, getting to experience new things i could show her.
The feeling was nice, though i knew of course this was all for her own benefit as it let her hold onto the fantasy that i was protecting her, or that she wasnt really as strong as she actually was and needed me there to hold her hand to advance deeper.