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

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Watching the figure running away down the corridor, Grace stroked his beard.

Back in the office, Rivera twisted her upper body to prevent Finn and the others from seeing her face, her gaze falling helplessly on the floor.

"...How would you describe this situation using Far Eastern terminology?"

"Oh, I remember that."

Finn and Grace locked eyes and swallowed a sigh, which made a sound in the now quiet room.

This is called "children not knowing their parents' hearts".

Ais escaped from the headquarters through the back door.

She let a variety of expressions flash across her doll-like face as she ran, swinging her thin arms. Her steps were not aimless wandering.

Ais is heading to Northwest Street, commonly known as "Adventurers' Street".

(I'll go find the weapon myself!)

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she kept blaming Finn and the others for being heartless.

Since that's the case, Ais decided to find herself a sword that she liked.

Although Ais has been described as a "doll" lately, she also possesses a superficial way of thinking and the "willfulness" typical of children. This is especially evident when it comes to Rivera and the others; Ais cannot disobey them, and if they refuse her, she easily becomes self-destructive, or one could say, sullen. Her temper is so bad that she has actually attempted to run away from home several times.

This time was no exception; Ais acted on impulse.

(It would be best if a blacksmith-type [Family] could tailor-make it for me, but...)

This might be a child's nature. Ais once pressed her forehead against the window of a weapon shop, staring intently at the weapons on display, but when she saw that the price tag had more than seven zeros, she was so frightened that she almost fell flat on her face.

The biggest problem is that Ais doesn't have any connections in the field of [Familia], so this idea is completely impractical.

(I guess I'll have to go to a weapons shop...)

Her second good idea was to go treasure hunting at the weapons shop.

Ais didn't know how to appraise weapons, but over the past six months, she believed she had learned to judge which weapons were sharper or more durable. For adventurers, finding a good sword that suited their hand feel was also an essential skill.

Northwest Street is a shopping street exclusively for adventurers. As its name "Adventurer's Street" suggests, it's lined with specialty shops catering to fellow adventurers. Of course, weapon shops are also plentiful.

As for payment, simply showing the [Family] badge that your adult gave you to wear can serve as a substitute for a receipt in most adventurer's shops. The [Loki Familia] badge is especially useful. You can pay the rest later with your own savings after you get the sword.

In hindsight, it becomes clear that Ais was no different from a child wanting a toy. Although her goal distorted her values and tainted her with the colors of an adventurer, the seven-year-old girl simply wanted something special that was uniquely hers.

Unable to get permission from the adults, the little girl huffed and puffed as she hurried on her way.

"...Is it raining?"

However, the weather turned against them, and raindrops began to fall from the sky.

The sky, covered by gray clouds, suddenly began to bring torrential rain to the city. Normally, Ais wouldn't care at all if her clothes or hair got wet, but being in the downpour that was almost lashing her horizontally, she really didn't want to force herself to move forward.

She was caught in the wind and rain, so she gave up her journey and fled under the eaves.

Ais, annoyed by the water dripping from her hair and her soaked clothes, glared at the sky with a sour expression.

"Ugh, this is unbearable! I knew it would rain, but I didn't expect it to rain this hard!"

Just then, a woman ran into the eaves of a building on the street where Ais was taking shelter from the rain.

This person has brown skin and short black hair, and a devilish figure that little sister Ais can't even compare to. From the open front of her top, you can clearly see her full breasts wrapped in a bra.

"I have to rush to the Lord God's place... What an unexpected disaster!"

The most striking feature is the black eye patch covering the left eye.

(Human... no, semi-human?)

Ais couldn't determine the other person's race from their aura and features. As she stared at the other person, the woman who was taking off her shirt and wringing it out noticed her.

"Oh dear, there's a guest who arrived first. And I didn't expect her to be such a lovely girl. I'm sorry you saw me in such an unseemly state; you're so small, I didn't even notice you!"

"...I'm not a kid."

The woman, who had unceremoniously stripped off her clothes, leaving only a breast wrap on her upper body, burst into laughter. Her blunt manner annoyed Ais, who couldn't help but retort despite it being their first meeting.

"Please forgive me, please forgive me!" The woman, who had been smiling, then narrowed her right eye (which wasn't covered by a blindfold) and stared intently at Ais. Just as Ais was about to put on a stern face, "Oh!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up.

"Blonde hair, golden eyes, and that arrogant, sour face! Could you be one of Grace's little girls?!"

"!"

Ais opened her eyes wide.

"You know Grace...?"

"Of course, I have a contractual relationship with him. Oh, I see. You're the Ais Wallenstein that Grace mentioned..."

The woman drew her own conclusion and even gave her name.

"My name is Tsubaki, and I am a blacksmith from the Hephaestus Familia."

A second shock came to Ais. Ais was shocked by the name she gave—not the name Tsubaki, but the faction she belonged to.

"I've heard how much trouble you've caused. I heard you slaughtered countless monsters and were called the 'Puppet Princess,' isn't that right? Hahaha! Although you are indeed as beautiful as a doll—"

"Please!"

"Hmm?"

Ais interrupted Chun's stroking-chin-as-speaking voice and called out.

She turned to the puzzled blacksmith, who was tilting his head, and pleaded:

"I would like to ask you to forge a sword for me!"

The Hephaestus Familia is currently the largest forging faction in the labyrinth city, renowned throughout the world. Even Ais, who is oblivious to worldly affairs, has seen the Hephaestus trademark.

If we could get her, a member of a major forging faction, to forge a sword...

Ais looked at her with hopeful eyes.

“Hmm…”

Seeing her like this, Chun quickly narrowed her right eye.

Why do you say you hope I will do it?

"Because...because I think you're a very skilled blacksmith...!"

Why do you want a sword?

"Because all the swords I use break... so I want a sword that won't break...!"

Ais answered haltingly, unaware of Tsubaki's gaze.

He didn't notice her gaze was fixed on the little girl's body: her thin, bony hands and feet, her dry, peeling skin, and her rough hair.

"Now that you have the sword, what do you plan to do?"

"I want to become stronger."

The woman's right eye finally met Ais's murderous gaze.

Looking at the golden eyes that were possessed by black flames.

After a moment of blankness.

Chun smiled.

"I refuse."

Chun looked at Ais, who was completely astonished, and clearly told her:

"I have no weapon to give to someone like you."

"Why……!"

"I'm not in the mood."

"Varied……"

"No, it would be more accurate to say it doesn't suit my taste. Oh well, just give up. Craftsmen, including myself, are the kind of people who won't do anything unless they're in the mood."

Hearing Chun evade the question and refuse to even give a reason for not accepting the commission, Ais was about to press for more information when...

"Besides, you say you want a sword that won't break? That's a mistake."

Upon hearing the next sentence, Ais felt as if time itself had stopped.

"If you want a sword that hasn't broken, isn't there one right here?"

Chun stretched out her finger and pointed at Ais.

“Eh…”

Ais became unable to move.

The straight, outstretched finger was indeed aimed at Ais.

What is she saying?

At this point, Ais wasn't even wearing a sword belt, let alone a sword.

He didn't have a sword on him...

wrong.

She was pointing at...