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

The town of Rivera, built on an island in the lake on the western side of the building, is about to be shrouded in a vast darkness.

"Huff, huff"

As darkness deepened, the blue crystals growing at her feet still emitted a faint glow as the orc girl ran through the intricate rocky alleyways.

She turned around, panting, and saw a swordsman with dazzling long golden hair and a mage with flowing thick golden hair chasing after her. Her trembling eyes caught sight of the two pursuers, and she almost panicked, running forward frantically.

Centered on Crystal Plaza, a corner of the neighborhood near the northwest city wall.

She sprinted up the slope and steps, kicking the exposed rocky ground with the agility typical of orcs. She swung the bag slung over her right shoulder and looked back again; her pursuer was still hot on her heels.

However, the only one desperately chasing after him was the elven mage wielding a staff. Someone vanished without a trace.

Despite her surprised expression, the orc girl turned the corner and fled into the path.

This is a long, narrow, straight road that is sandwiched between a huge blue crystal and a rock wall, resembling a valley.

As she ran along the long, flat road, the blonde swordswoman Ais suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Eh!?”

The orc girl was taken aback when she saw Ais standing in the middle of the road as if blocking her way.

She left the pursuit to the elven mage Lefia, and then used astonishing speed to circle around to the front, waiting for the orc girl to walk right into her trap.

Ais walked slowly from the front, while Lefia ran up behind her. Surrounded, the orc girl collapsed to the ground in the middle of a narrow alley with nowhere to escape.

"Drink, drink... We finally caught her. As expected of Miss Ais."

"No. It's because Lefia helped."

Ais and Lefia, who were struggling to breathe, looked down at the girl sitting on the ground from the front and back.

She was an adult, with animal ears hanging down from her black hair. Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and her slender hands and feet possessed a soft, orcish grace.

The girl wore lace-up boots and a thin combat suit, without any protective gear.

"It's better to leave the questioning to the commander and the others than for us to do it ourselves."

"Okay, let's go back to the square."

Ais and Lefia considered her suspicious and wanted to take her to Finn and his group—however.

"don't want!"

The girl's drooping ears twitched, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked up pleadingly:

"Please! Don't do this! Don't take me there! If we go back there, I'll be next, it'll definitely be me...!"

“Um, um…”

"Wait, wait a minute, what are you doing?!"

The dog-woman clung to Ais, grabbing her arms and looking up at her from below.

Ais panicked, and Lefia hurriedly tried to pull the girl away, but she just kept saying "Please, please..." with her face down and shaking her head, refusing to let go of the arm she was holding.

Seeing her desperate appearance, Ais and Lefia looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What should I do?"

"...Let's take it somewhere where there's no one."

"Is this okay?"

"Yes, because she seems very scared... Let's wait until she calms down before asking her what's wrong."

Looking at the terrified girl, Ais made a suggestion.

Lefia seemed to understand that things couldn't continue like this, and finally nodded. She took the girl's hand, and the three of them headed elsewhere.

Ais and the others headed to a location near the northwest city wall, which served as the town's warehouse.

Countless crates used for transporting supplies were piled up around the area, along with pickaxes, shovels, and timber in the corners. These were probably the tools used for building the town, stored here in a concentrated manner. Perhaps because everyone in town had gathered in the square, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Some of the modular cargo crates, which were taller than Ais and the others, were placed side by side, while others were stacked high, looking like castles made of building blocks.

The two led the girl deeper into the warehouse, to an open space surrounded by cargo boxes, where Ais and the others talked face to face.

"Can I speak now?"

"……Um."

Lefia found her portable magic stone lamp and lit it.

The light hanging from the pointed corner of the cargo box illuminated the dark surrounding space, and the adult and the girl nodded in response to Ais's question.

What is your name?

"Lulune...Lulune Louis."

"Could you also tell us about LV and the faction it belongs to?"

"Tier 3, LV2. Belongs to the Hermes Familia..."

With her head slightly lowered, Lulune seemed to have regained her composure as she answered Ais and Lefia's questions. Although her cheerful face was now clouded with gloom, she answered clearly.

Looking into her eyes, Ais asked her what was going on.

Why did you try to escape the square?

"...Because I felt someone wanted to kill me."

Why do you think that?

Seeing her remain silent, Ais pressed on pointedly:

"Because you were carrying Mr. Hassan's personal belongings?"

Lefia and Lulune both widened their eyes, while Ais's golden eyes were fixed on the handbag.

Lulu reflexively reached for the medium-sized handbag still hanging on her right shoulder, and finally nodded stiffly as if to confess.

"How did you get Mr. Hassan's belongings... Could it be that you stole them?"

"No, no! I... accepted the commission."

Hearing the word "commission," Lefia's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Ais, who also recalled the bloodstained parchment she had found in Hassan's bag. Ais asked urgently:

"What are the details of the commission?"

"Collect the goods in this town and deliver them to the ground...and give them to the client."

"So, the delivery person?"

"Yes," Luluni affirmed Lefia's words.

"We agreed to meet the person who brought the goods at a designated tavern. Although I didn't know him, he had told me about the characteristics of the equipment beforehand, so when the adventurer in full armor came to the shop, I recognized him immediately."

Next, simply approach him casually as a stranger and use the code words.

Hassan, the adventurer clad in full armor, immediately realized that Luluni was the client, and Luluni instantly took the goods from him. Their contact must have been so brief that the robed woman, who was about to steal the goods, didn't even notice.

Hassanna then became complacent, thinking the mission was accomplished, which led to him being seduced by a woman and tragically murdered.

"They actually assigned the job to two people, and even hired people from different factions..."

The fact that the client hired both a pickup person and a delivery person shows that they had considered everything very carefully. Even if the pickup person is identified, once the goods are transferred in "Rivera Town," which is frequented by many high-level adventurers, tracking their whereabouts will be extremely difficult.

The fact that this mysterious client carried out the operation in complete secrecy and took many precautions amazed Lefia.

"Who is the client?"

"I don't know... It's true! A while ago, I was walking on a deserted night road when a strange person suddenly appeared..."

Luluni recalled the situation and answered Ais's question.

"That person was completely covered in a black robe, so it was impossible to tell whether they were a man or a woman. At first, when that person commissioned me, I also found it suspicious... but because the reward was very generous... and the deposit was also very generous."

Lulu touched her neck and looked away, a little embarrassed.

Ais couldn't help but imagine herself wagging her tail incessantly in front of the mysterious man in black robes who had taken out gold coins.

"But that's strange... Miss Lulu, you're LV2, right? From what you've said, it seems you accepted the request alone... Isn't it dangerous for you to travel back and forth to 'Riviera Town' alone?"

The LV2 ability item required to reach the middle area of ​​the middle level of the 18th floor of "Rivera Town" is G to D.

Therefore, if a Level 2 adventurer were to travel to and from the 18th floor alone without a party, their strength would need to be at the upper level among Level 3 adventurers—conversely, Level 2 is not yet at a truly safe level.

Ultimately, would a client who seems to be very meticulous ask a Level 2 adventurer to deliver goods?

After Lefia expressed her doubts, Lulu became visibly flustered... and then stammered out her confession.

"Um... the chief god (Hermes) asked me to hide the fact that I've leveled up... I'm sorry, I'm actually level 3."

“…”

Ais and Lefia wore indescribable expressions as they looked at Lulu, who was curled up in a ball, filled with guilt. She should be a year or two older than Ais, but now she looked like a scolded child.

However, this led to the discovery of one thing.

That is, the mysterious client has a wide enough intelligence network to know that Lulu is LV·3.

"If only I hadn't dawdled and had just gone back to the surface, everything would have been fine. Seeing the familiar armor on the plaza, I knew the guy who gave me the goods had been killed... The thought that the killer's target might have been this cargo made me..."

Then Ais and the others saw Lulu's unusually terrified expression in the square.

Faced with the soft-spoken adults and girls who had bowed their heads again, Ais and Lefia remained silent for a long time after hearing the whole story, then exchanged a glance.

"Miss Ais, I think it would be better to inform the captain..."

"--no!"

Rafia said that the two of them couldn't handle this, but Lulu interrupted her sharply.

"I'm afraid of places where there are people! The guy who killed Hassan is definitely still there! If it's discovered that the goods are on me, then it'll be my turn...!"

Lulu hugged her bag tightly to her chest and cried incessantly.

Just as Lefia was racking her brains, Ais gazed at Lulu's profile and her handbag, then spoke:

"Give us that cargo."

Lulu was speechless upon hearing this request.

Despite her emotionless expression, Ais's golden eyes asserted this stance firmly.

[Sword Girl] Lulu hesitated for a moment because of her resolute gaze, but she seemed reluctant to give up the client's reward.

After weighing the large sum of money against her life, she finally understood the principle of "as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn," and nodded, suppressing her desires.

"Although they told me not to ask any more questions and that I absolutely couldn't show it to anyone..."

She placed the medium-sized handbag containing the goods on the ground and opened it.

She removed the partition from the bottom compartment and took out a bag with the opening tied shut.

Luluni nervously took out the items from the bulging bag.

"...!"

"What...what is this thing...?"

Luluni handed Ais a sphere about the size of two hands.

A green orb. A transparent membrane envelops liquid—and a bizarre fetus.

Large eyes, disproportionate to its small, round body, gazed upwards at Ais and Lefia. The fetus possessed hair that seemed to symbolize femaleness, curving from its head to the front of its spine. The mysterious infant remained motionless and silent, yet a faint, thumping pulse could be heard.

Dropped items?

Or is it a new type of monster from the dungeon?

Lefia let out a sound that was almost a groan, while Ais's eyes remained fixed on the jewel.

(This feeling...)

A strange feeling washed over her.

As if resonating with the pulsating jewel in his hand, his heartbeat quickened.

Her eyes met those of the fetus, and the blood in her body began to surge with alarming force.

010

(What is this?)

She didn't know what the precious pearl in front of her was.