The next day.
When Isis opened his eyes, he immediately felt the improvement brought by his updated status.
"So this is what it feels like when your status increases."
It was as if someone had turned up the resolution of his senses by one level. The world itself had not changed, but the precision with which he perceived it had.
There was really only one way to describe it:
He had never felt anything this wonderful before.
Right now, Isis felt many times stronger than he had been before.
If he had to face another monster feast now, there was no way he would end up as battered as he had the first time.
That made him even more eager for another day of fighting in the Dungeon. In fact, he was already thinking about heading down to the tenth floor today just to see what it was like.
"Though… before that, I should really deal with all these materials. Otherwise I'm seriously going to run out of space."
Looking at the pile of monster materials stacked in the corner of his room, Isis fell into thought.
Metal Rabbit fur, Killer Ant claws, War Shadow talons, Blue Papilio wings stored in bottles, Violet Moth powder, plus all the Goblin and Kobold drops—
He had only entered the Dungeon twice so far, but for some reason his luck was absurdly high, and he had ended up with an entire backpack full of materials.
"I need to sell some of this off. Otherwise the next time I come back from the Dungeon, there won't be any room left."
Murmuring to himself, Isis slung the bag over his shoulder and headed out the door.
When he got to the door of the divine chamber, before he could even knock, he smelled alcohol.
From inside came a rhythmically outrageous snoring sound.
"Riveria… don't… don't let me drink…"
Isis stood outside for three seconds, then silently turned around.
When he reached the stairs, he glanced back once at the tightly shut door.
At times like this, there was only one thing to do.
First, food.
He had not even had breakfast yet.
Besides, this was also a good chance to gather some information. The Hostess of Fertility was the kind of place where news tended to circulate quickly.
And Syr and the others had been in Orario far longer than he had, so asking them should not be a problem.
…
After leaving Twilight Manor, Isis headed straight for the Hostess of Fertility.
Since he had arrived rather early, the tavern had only just opened and was not yet fully in business. A few figures were outside arranging tables and chairs.
"Too early?"
He muttered to himself, then spotted a familiar figure and called out softly,
"Good morning, Miss Syr."
When she heard his voice, a pleasantly surprised smile appeared on Syr's lovely face.
"Good morning, Isis."
Clearly, Syr had not expected him to show up this early.
"Are you open yet? If not, I can wait a while. I'm not in a hurry."
Looking at the staff who were still busy setting things up, Isis asked politely.
The sign outside still had not been flipped to indicate they were open, so he had not wanted to just walk in uninvited.
"We've already started. Come inside with me. After all, Isis is our very first customer today."
With a cheerful smile, Syr walked over, took Isis by the hand, and led him into the tavern.
The sudden hand-holding made Isis freeze for a moment. Instinctively, he almost pulled away. Other than his mother and his aunt, he had never really held the hand of another woman before.
This completely caught him off guard.
"Ah…"
Syr let go of his hand more quickly than when she had taken it.
"Sorry, I forgot that elves don't like being…"
Her fingertips still held the warmth of his palm, but she had already taken half a step back, both hands behind her like a child caught doing something wrong.
"N-no, Miss Syr…"
Now Isis looked even more flustered than she did.
Because that little step back of hers made him instantly realize she had misunderstood.
"It's not like that, Miss Syr… I just don't really have the habit, that's all. Really, please don't… you don't need to apologize."
He hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head, looking utterly panicked.
Syr tilted her head and looked at him.
At just the right angle, a strand of her silver-white hair slipped off her shoulder.
"Then…"
Her voice suddenly became very soft, so soft that it was almost like she was talking to herself.
"You didn't shake my hand off just now, Isis."
"So does that mean I'm someone Isis approves of?"
After hearing his explanation, Syr first gave a small sound of surprise, then smiled beautifully as she spoke.
When she had touched him just now, Isis had not flung her hand away. He had only frozen for a moment and instinctively tried to free himself slightly.
Did that mean he approved of her?
When Isis heard that, he paused for a moment, but after thinking it over carefully, it did seem true enough. Among elves, after all, they generally allowed only those they recognized to touch their skin.
"I suppose you could think of it that way."
He hesitated, but considering Syr's feelings and not wanting to hurt her, he nodded.
"So I hold that kind of place in your heart, Isis? That makes me very happy."
The moment she heard his answer, Syr's face bloomed into a sweet, gentle smile, and she looked genuinely delighted.
That bright smile left Isis dazed for a moment.
For some reason, Syr's smile had a kind of magic that made people want to sink into it completely.
It was not a stunning, heaven-defying beauty like his aunt or Miss Ais.
Nor was it the fresh, ethereal elegance of Alicia or Lefiya.
It was more like the charm of a girl next door, the kind that made people instinctively soften toward her, as if they were seeing her through a warm filter.
That was the most direct way Isis could describe it.
Still…
Did she really have to be this happy about it?
He did not quite understand Syr's delighted smile, but he still let her lead him further inside by the hand.
From the kitchen serving window, one could see the main hall clearly.
Anya happened to pass by carrying a basket full of freshly washed glasses. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something, and her steps abruptly stopped.
She set the basket down on the counter. Both cat ears stood straight upright as she squinted through the opening.
Syr was smiling.
That in itself was not unusual. Syr smiled all the time while working. It was practically part of the Hostess of Fertility's income.
But the way she was smiling now was wrong.
Usually, Syr's smile was the kind that said, What would you like to order, sir?—sweet, evenly measured, the perfect temperature distributed fairly to every customer.
But this smile…
This one was definitely different.
Especially those eyes, gentle as rippling water, fixed on Isis as though they wanted to draw him completely into their depths.
And sitting in that direction was a black-haired elven boy, staring at the menu with a conflicted expression on his face, completely unaware that he was under a very particular kind of observation.
Without a word, Anya picked up the basket of glasses and retreated deeper into the kitchen.
Then she grabbed a fellow catgirl nearby who was chopping vegetables and lowered her voice.
"This is bad. Syr's got something going on. I'm going to keep an eye on this, nya!"
-------
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