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

"No, that's not true!"

Miss Ais's eyelids slowly drooped halfway down. Although her expression was no different from usual, I've recently begun to understand her, and this reaction indicates that she's actually quite frustrated.

Seeing Miss Ais seemed disheartened, I quickly comforted her, while in a corner of my heart, I tasted a strange, inexplicable feeling. So high, so unattainable, so far yet so far.

That much hasn't changed, but I'm interacting with this person so closely, like this. Seeing a side of this person beyond the [Fiora] archetype.

I can't describe it, but...yes, it just doesn't feel very real.

However, she was supposed to be a beautiful and somewhat sublime being, but she looked like an ordinary girl who was just a little unique... I couldn't help but feel that way at that moment.

Seeing her so frustrated over such a small thing, I couldn't help but think that.

"...May I ask you something?"

"what?"

Just as my thoughts were drifting further and further away, Miss Ais's whisper pulled my consciousness back to the present.

I looked at her, and Miss Ais no longer seemed dejected, but was looking at me intently.

"How did you become so strong all of a sudden?"

"Become stronger...?"

What she asked me almost made me roll my eyes.

The word "strong" doesn't seem to suit me at all.

For a moment, I couldn't help but think of my embarrassing blunders, and I wished I could dig a hole and hide in it. But Miss Ais's eyes were fixed on me, so I decided to think about it seriously.

I became stronger because... no, I still want to become stronger because...

"...Uh, there's someone I really want to catch up with. I chased after that person desperately, and before I knew it, I'd grown into who I am today, and then..."

I can't organize my thoughts, and I don't know how to express them.

Moreover, it would be incredibly embarrassing for me to say these things in front of the person I want to catch up with.

I stammered as I spoke, and finally managed to conclude with this sentence:

"...I think it's because there's a state I desperately want to reach, no matter what."

My answer made Miss Ais open her eyes slightly wider.

She gazed at me silently, then slowly raised her head.

"Is that so..."

She gently hugged her knees, gazing up at the sky.

Right before my eyes, right in front of my nose, a gentle breeze was combing through her long golden hair.

"...I understand."

Hearing her soft words, I couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh?"

"I also……"

The rest of the conversation was blown away by a gust of wind.

The strong horizontal wind made me involuntarily close my eyes tightly.

A strong wind, almost suddenly rising, was a cool breeze from the west. The sound of the wind, like a flute, swept across the massive city walls. Soon, I opened my eyes and saw Miss Ais still in the same position, gazing up at the sky.

“Um, um…”

"?"

"Ah, no... it's nothing."

Seeing Miss Ais tilting her head with a detached expression, I swallowed my words.

What good would it do to ask? I told myself, recalling the look in her eyes that I had never seen before.

Our conversation ended there, as I began to feel uneasy.

From the eastern end of the city, the great bell tolled to mark the noon hour.

As I listened intently to the sound, loud yet clear, reminiscent of church bells, I heard the neighing of horses coming from the opposite direction of the city, outside the city walls. Merchants and others intending to enter the labyrinth city (Orario) were probably being questioned by the guild.

Our location, atop the city wall, is a wide stone-paved road flanked by somewhat high low walls. Looking inwards from the low walls, one sees an urban landscape, while looking outwards, one can gaze upon endless grasslands, forests, and mountains.

Listening to the city bells and the hustle and bustle of the outside world... I think the weather is really nice today.

The brilliant sunshine poured down from the white clouds and blue sky, making me squint.

"Um……"

"...?"

The breath I heard beside me made me turn my head and see Miss Ais covering her mouth with her hand.

Her small lips parted slightly... as she yawned.

Bathed in the warm sunlight, she hugged her knees again and casually returned to her original posture.

Then, after a while...

"Let's practice taking a nap."

"Huh?"

The suggestion, which seemed completely unrelated to training, left me momentarily stunned.

Miss Ais looked ahead and said calmly:

"Because in the dungeon, you have to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere."

"..."

"It's very important to recover your strength in time."

She's probably right.

I currently only go to the dungeon and return in a day, but when I go deeper into the dungeons, I may have to stay in the labyrinth for a longer time. At that time, whether I will be attacked by monsters or there will be no soft bed, I will have to find a way to rest my body, otherwise I can't be considered a qualified adventurer.

Miss Ais, with a serious expression, explained the necessity of sleeping immediately without choosing a location.

However, I couldn't help but ask her, whose expression was complicated and who refused to look at me as she spoke:

"Um...are you feeling sleepy?"

"..."

After I said that, Miss Ais, who was staring ahead, slowly turned to me.

"This is training."

"Uh, yes."

Miss Ais's face suddenly loomed closer, making me nod repeatedly while sweating profusely.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, making a serious expression, but... her cheeks were slightly flushed.

My chest...it hurts so much...! Am I an idiot...?!

"Um, um...would you like to sleep here?"

"Um."

Miss Ais nodded in response to my question, moved forward a little from her original backrest position, and lay down without saying a word.

The roads on the city walls were paved with stone slabs, which were, of course, very hard. And they weren't exactly flat; they were uneven and bumpy. Seeing Miss Ais lying nonchalantly on the stone slabs, I felt as if I were witnessing the skill of a first-level adventurer (?). For them, who had ventured deep into the dungeons and had no choice but to rest, sleeping in places like this—which they didn't seem to care about at all—was probably commonplace.

Aren't you going to sleep?

"Ah, okay, okay..."

As she looked up at me, I thought: How did things turn out like this? But at her urging, I moved to her side, leaving a little space between us.

Seeing Miss Ais lying on her side, completely unguarded, I momentarily wondered if she wasn't worried I might try anything—though that was utterly impossible. But then I saw the hilt of my saber flash beside her, and I gave a dry laugh, changing my mind. Anyone who dares to lay a hand on me should prepare to be beheaded.

Moreover, rather than saying she was unsuspecting, it might be more accurate to say that she was showing some sincerity by taking care of her short-term apprentice.

...After all, it's nominally training.

"My apologies..."

I lay down nervously next to Miss Ais.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't want to sleep at all. The sound of my heartbeat was too loud.

I glanced to the side, and Miss Ais's face was right in front of me as she lay on her side. I quickly looked away. I squeezed my eyes shut, my brows furrowing.

While lying on my back, I kept telling myself, "Go to sleep, go to sleep."

"...?"

Before long, I heard soft breathing sounds.

Peeking through my eyes, I saw Miss Ais with her eyes closed, fast asleep.

Wow, so fast...

She said restoring her strength was important, and it seems she really has gotten used to sleeping too much.

Or is she so tired that she can fall asleep the moment she closes her eyes...?

"...Ah, Bell."

……Um?

"Go, Bell!"

……Uh-huh?

Suddenly, a nostalgic voice echoed deep within my mind.

I couldn't be mistaken… the voice of my grandfather, who raised me, inexplicably entered my mind. The increasingly loud voice made me wonder if I was hallucinating…

(…wait, that’s strange?)

Miss Ais, you're so close to me...?

Was it just my imagination? I half-opened my eyes and squinted to get a better look.

I clearly left enough space for two more people to lie down, so why...?

"Hurry up, Bell!"

The next instant, her face was even closer to mine.

"!"

At this point, I finally realized something was amiss.

As we seemed to be gazing at each other, the distance between us was indeed shrinking.

Miss Ai, Miss Ai is still half asleep and is leaning towards me... No, no, she didn't move an inch at all!

Could it be...?

"Go!!"

—It was me who got closer to her!

The unexpected emergency nearly stopped my heart. I broke out in a cold sweat.

No, no mistake, my body is getting closer to Miss Ais!

Why! How could this be! Did I really want to grope her?!

I'll be killed!

"Hurry and do it while she's asleep—"

(Eeee!)

We're getting closer.

Miss Ais's face, with her eyes closed, grew larger and larger, revealing every tiny detail of her innocent, sleeping face. Her delicate, fair skin, her slender neck... and her small, endearing pink lips.

The vivid and intense scene that was approaching made my face turn bright red at an alarming speed.

(Wait, wait, wait!)

All I could do was scream in my heart.