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

All adventurers gathered in this plaza surrounded by crystals and street vendors.

"If we can find a Level 1 adventurer other than you, the murderer will be obvious..."

"That person must have wanted to cause a commotion from the very beginning. Maybe they disguised themselves, or lied about the official LV... In short, they must have had one or two strategies that wouldn't easily arouse suspicion."

"That means the other party isn't stupid either."

Finn and Perth looked around at the adventurers beneath the Twin Crystals.

A quick count revealed a total of five hundred people, including the town's residents. "Rivera Town" is a base within the labyrinth, always bustling with people, and this number is neither too many nor too few compared to the town's average population.

"Checking all these people seems exhausting..."

"Hmm, but... the number could be reduced a little more."

Tiona looked at the adventurers gathered around Finn and the others. Just as she was being taken aback by the sheer number of people, she heard Ais's reply and exclaimed, "Huh?" Her eyes widened.

"Because the person who attacked Mr. Hassan was likely a woman..."

"Ah, right! All we need to do is investigate female adventurers!"

"You should know about such a small thing, right..."

"If I had to add one more thing, it would be having a sexy body that can arouse men's desire."

Hearing Ais's answer, Tiona laughed with sudden realization. Tione was at a loss with his little sister, and Riveria added, "Isn't that super easy!" Tiona continued, while Lefia couldn't help but smile wryly.

"The fastest way is to confirm the [ability value]... that is, the LV, but that would be a serious violation of the rules of information confidentiality."

"Besides, openly checking someone's privacy will only provoke resentment from all the [Familia] in the city."

After Riveria finished speaking, Rafia echoed her words.

Soon, under the watchful eyes of Ais and the others, the adventurers were divided into male and female groups. Many of the approximately two hundred female adventurers were Amazons. Just like in "ancient" witch hunts, they were gathered in one place, surrounded by a large group of men.

Some female warriors (Amazons) stood tall and proud, indicating that they had a clear conscience, while some cat people (cat girls) awkwardly shrugged their shoulders, their thin tails twisting nervously.

The 18th floor is currently in "daytime".

The giant hourglass set up in the plaza—a manual mechanism that indicates the approximate time periods for floors such as "daytime" and "nighttime"—is ready when there is very little sand left to fall.

Under the watchful eye of the blue sky below, they began their attempt to find the murderer.

"Let's start by checking your physical condition and luggage according to the normal procedure."

"Hehe, in that case..."

Having taken Finn's advice, Perth, with a lewd grin, looked up and shouted to the female adventurers:

"Fine, you women! I'm going to search every inch of your bodies, take your clothes off—!!"

"Ugh ugh ...

Upon hearing Perth's request, all the male adventurers cheered enthusiastically.

Seeing these stinky men raising their hands with great enthusiasm, the female adventurers cursed and complained, "Stop joking!" and "Go to hell!"

"Those people are talking nonsense. We'll examine you few."

"Yes—", "Hmm.", "How come those men are so united?", "I...I understand!"

Leaving the shouting man aside, Rivera stepped forward and volunteered to conduct the inspection. Ais and the others followed her lead.

Despite the boos from the male adventurers, Ais and the others simply lined up horizontally, ready to check on the female adventurers.

"Please line up here..."

Just as Rafia was about to ask everyone to line up in front of her, her voice abruptly stopped.

In front of her, the female adventurers didn't even glance at Ais and the others, but instead formed a long line in front of Finn.

"Finn, hurry up and check me!" "Please!" "Every part of my body!!"

“…………”

Several teenage enthusiasts (women) approached Finn, whose eyes were vacant.

【Braver】Finn Dimna.

He is one of the most popular female adventurers in Orario, ranking as a first-class adventurer.

"Those...those...harlots...!"

"Wait a minute, Tione—"

"Let me go! The captain is about to be molested by those perverts!?"

Seeing the women charging towards Finn, Tiony was furious. Tiona desperately held her sister back from the brink of losing control, shouting:

"Look at yourself in the mirror—!"

"Finn's been knocked down—!"

"No, I mean I was taken home—!"

"—Ughh ...

The male adventurer's screams echoed all around, and then the little boy was kidnapped.

Enraged, Tiony shook off his sister's hand, plunging the town square into chaos.

"Uh, um..."

"Ugh, it's all a mess..."

The scene was so chaotic that no one cared about catching the criminals anymore, and Ais and Lefia were both very troubled.

Riveria and Tiona quickly intervened to stop the fight, and the tense atmosphere at the scene immediately disappeared.

"...?"

Inadvertently.

Ais, her eyes darting around in exasperation, finally spotted a figure in the crowd.

It was a medium-sized pouch carried by a chienthrope girl.

His wheat-colored skin was now deathly pale, like that of a patient.

"Miss Ais?"

Ais stopped what she was doing and stared intently at the girl, while Lefia also noticed who she was looking at.

The dog-woman stood out conspicuously alone in the noisy crowd, staring in astonishment at the center of the Twin Crystal Plaza, trembling with fear.

After taking a few steps back, she took advantage of the chaos and quickly escaped from the square.

"Let's go."

“Okay, okay!”

She couldn't possibly leave such a suspicious person unattended.

Ais called out to Lefia, who nodded, and the two quickened their pace to catch up with the girl.

*

(Things have gotten complicated...)

That person was talking to himself.

Gazing into the distance at the center of the plaza where a struggle was taking place, centered around a young dwarf, the man suppressed a sigh of frustration that nearly spilled from his mouth.

(I was too impulsive; I shouldn't have killed him... But since he saw it, I have no choice but to keep quiet... That's what Enyo ordered me to do too.)

The feeling of twisting a man's throat and breaking his neck remains on my hands to this day.

The person slightly twitched their fingers and gently opened and closed their right hand, feeling an overwhelming and uncontrollable emotion welling up inside them.

(What should I do next... This is difficult to do... No, maybe that thing is no longer in this town... But I still feel like it's here...)

That person kept secretly thinking about it.

Mixed among the crowd, the one who remained calm and focused kept an eye on those who controlled the situation in the center of the square, while simultaneously thinking things through.

(Besides that, there's also the "Arya" thing... Ugh, so troublesome...)

The man grew increasingly agitated, and in a moment of despair, he even had the thought of "just killing everyone here"—at that moment, that scene flashed past his sight.

An orc adventurer ran through the crowd, pursued by a blond swordsman and an elven mage.

One was being chased, and the other was chasing; they exuded an extraordinary aura as they ran away from the square without regard for anything else.

"..."

With a "click" sound, the person changed the direction of their feet.

The man silently walked through the crowd, chasing after the girls while enduring the astonished looks of those around him.

Large crystal flowers bloomed on the ceiling above the building.

As the crystal light source gradually dims, "Nightfall" is about to visit the town.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 2 Chapter 4: The Orb

Passing through the entrance to the guild headquarters, Loki stormed into the spacious hallway.

It was late afternoon, nearing dusk. Most of the adventurers had probably gone to explore the labyrinth; the number was much lower than at peak times. At this moment, someone was fawning over a beautiful waitress. Loki admired the person and simultaneously surveyed his surroundings.

Compared to the adventurers gathered around the huge notice boards displaying their quests and the meeting rooms, the guild staff waiting in the lobby were more noticeable. Among these men and women dressed in sharp black suits and trousers, some had already noticed the goddess's presence. Loki waved to them, and they smiled and gracefully bowed.

Loki strolled through the beautiful marble-lined foyer as if he were just killing time.

"Oh, Missia, you're working really hard."

"Ah, Loki."

Upon seeing a familiar face, Loki walked toward a corner by the window.

She cheerfully raised her hand to greet them, and the human waitress responded with a slightly effusive smile.

The girl's name is Missia Flott, a waitress at the guild. She met Loki just two days ago at the Monster Festival. She works with Loki, who is helping the guild solve problems, and runs around providing him with information about the streets.

She was petite, only around 150cm tall, with rosy-pink hair and a childlike face that made her quite adorable. Most of the waitresses were beautiful women, so her baby face was rather rare.

"Is there a problem?"

"Well, there's something I'd like to ask you about."

When faced with her occasional unclear pronunciation, Loki rested his elbow on the window.

She asked with a smile that seemed to reach out to him:

"Is Uranus there?"

The moment her name was uttered, Missia froze.

The harmonious atmosphere of the foyer seemed to isolate only her and Loki, creating a quiet and peaceful space.

Soon, Missia, her eyes wide open, became visibly panicked.

"Uh, ugh, Uranus? Uh, well, that...!?"

"Missia, you can't. Everyone's busy, you have to do your own things."

Just as she was about to turn to others for help, Loki gently took her hand and whispered something in his ear.

The other waitresses seemed to have just left, and there was no one else at the window except Missia. The staff, watching her disheveled appearance from afar, assumed the womanizing goddess was out picking up girls again. Missia was all alone and helpless.

Before Loki, she gave an expression that resembled one entwined by a snake.

"...I...I'll go contact higher-ups (superiors), please...please wait a moment..."

"That's too much trouble, no need. How about this, Missia, could you just answer one question for me?"

Missia tried to break free, but Loki held her hand tightly, gently stroking it with his fingers.

Trembling like a small animal, she looked up at Loki with trepidation and said, "Please, please speak..." Loki, with his ever-present smile, asked her:

"Is Uranus in the same old spot?"

"..."

The baby-faced waitress could neither agree nor disagree, so she could only quietly look away.

Seeing her expression, which betrayed her secret, Loki broke into a smile.

"Thank you, Missia! I'll treat you to a drink next time."