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

Seele's murmurs gradually faded away in the silent shop.

*

"Are you alright?"

She remembers that warmth.

I remember the girl with light gray hair, and the hand she reached out.

When she was driven by passion, lost her sense of justice, and after completing her revenge, she lost her reason to live. It was that girl who brought her back to the world of light.

It was that girl who saved her.

They were the ones who helped her.

The tavern was filled with an unreasonable and domineering dwarf shopkeeper and mostly cat-people employees. She felt the noisy but pleasant atmosphere of the tavern as she washed herself.

He washed his body clean, which was stained with blood and mud.

The sky-blue eyes, burned and reduced to ashes by the flames of revenge, have been cleansed.

Now, if someone were to ask her what is irreplaceable to her...

She would surely answer, "that bountiful tavern."

Their daily lives are so precious.

However, even so, the "pain" did not disappear.

The loss of her companions (familia) who were just as cherished as the tavern caused her a sense of loss.

Unwittingly, a distinct feeling of loneliness can suddenly turn into pain.

She also knew that the black embers she avoided looking at were burning smoldering in her heart.

She still dreams to this day.

A deafening scream erupted.

The screams faded and died.

Tears stained the blood red.

The tragic deaths of these once beautiful and noble young women are now being revived beneath their eyelids.

The morning after her dream, she had to endure a terrifying emotional storm and a painful sense of emptiness.

Passion is barking.

The companion's resentment turned into auditory hallucinations, scorching this body.

She would hug herself tightly, her nails always digging into the flesh of her upper arms.

The tavern, bathed in warm light, illuminated her, yet a small patch of darkness lurked in the shadows. She lived through those five years carrying two conflicting emotions within her.

and so.

Given the right opportunity, these things can easily break down and turn into an unstoppable monster; perhaps that's all too clear.

A dark underground labyrinth.

A lingering chill.

A "sinful" cesspool that even sunlight cannot reach.

What she witnessed there enraged her.

"—Rigid, Riang…"

A tone of despair.

My own name, uttered with a terrifying, tearful voice.

The trembling eyes of the men.

When the moment of condensation exploded, the "monster" lurking within broke its chains and roared.

"Rion!?"

She heard the voice calling her name again.

That might be the last thread that held him back.

However, she ignored the voices of her comrades and let her body obey the dictates of her passion.

The men scattered in panic, but she clung to their retreating figures.

Will roared: No matter where you run, no matter how complicated the maze you hide in, I will catch you.

The black embers spread like wildfire.

In an instant, it turned into hellfire.

*

【Swift Wind (you)】will return again.

Someone told me this in their heart (Ryu).

That's right.

As long as we haven't crossed that "past"—

Volume 13, Chapter 1: The Case Files of Young Crani

"That's terrible..."

The adventurers who saw it all frowned.

Red and black dye was splattered everywhere.

Lying in the middle like a doll was a corpse.

It was a tragic murder—no, it was the body of a fellow professional who had been stabbed multiple times.

The sight before me left me speechless, frozen in place.

"Hey, really?"

Among the adventurers who rushed over after hearing the commotion, Welf and the others, who arrived a step too late, frowned and pondered.

The location is on the 18th floor of the underground city.

We, the Hestia Familia and the Faction Alliance, encountered an anomaly called "Irregular" in the "Lower Level" of our expedition site. We narrowly escaped this crisis and returned to this safe point to treat our wounded. Just now, we were discussing with Mr. Ruvis and others from the Modi Familia, whom we met along the way, and Mr. Dorumur and others from the Manny Familia, whether we should hold a celebration banquet to mark our safe escape. The atmosphere was quite lively.

However, the appearance of a body caused everything to take a sharp turn for the worse.

"I see... It was indeed a 'murder.' And it wasn't done by a monster, it was done by a human..."

As the adventurers gathered on the outskirts of Rivera—the flat part of the huge "island" floating in the swampy area—a commotion arose, while Mr. Perth, the head of the inn town (Rivera), stood beside the corpse, looked down at it, and clicked his tongue.

As he said, the cuts on the corpse were sharp wounds that monster claws couldn't have left—knife wounds from adventurer's weapons. The fatal wound was probably the bloody piercing mark on the neck.

The corpse testifies to the ferocity of the attack, its body covered in wounds. Bones were shattered, and there were signs of blunt force trauma to the limbs. The victim's bloodshot eyes were wide open... as if he had encountered something terrifying, helplessly and brutally murdered.

“Ugh…”

"Please don't look, Lady Haruhime..."

Miss Chunji covered her mouth and ordered her maid to hold her shoulders to block her view of the corpse.

Blending into the crowd that had gathered after hearing the commotion, Lily and Miss Aisha cast stern glances at the scene. Not far away, Mr. Sakura pursed his lips, while Miss Daphne frowned. Miss Cassandra, the healer, looked more ashen than anyone else.

"Hey, Bell, are you alright?"

“…………”

Welf seemed worried about me and spoke up to express his concern.

I couldn't answer him, my eyes darting around as I stared at the adventurer's corpse.

An unsettling heartbeat resounded in my chest.

Of course, this was due to a sense of unease. Witnessing the corpses of my colleagues, the "death" of people had a tremendous impact on my mind and body.

However, the "worry" that was just as intense as the unease made my cheeks sweat unbearably.

"It's [Gale]! That guy appeared! It was him who did this...!"

This conversation gave me a jolt.

That's right, the adventurers are still in a state of chaos and unease, and the reason for this is none other than the word "Gale".

"I saw a hooded elf...like he was possessed, stabbing Arjen several times before running away!"

The first resident of the town to discover the body—a werewolf male—shouted loudly.

He called out the names of deceased acquaintances while trying to attract the attention of Mr. Perth or other adventurers, and hugged himself tightly.

"I've seen [Swift] before. She was with the [Asteria Familia], a group of people who were as strong as monsters. She was an elf who always wore a veil... I saw those sky-blue eyes under the veil... They're the same eyes I saw today!"

The werewolf adventurer was probably recalling memories from that time, and his whole body was trembling.

He did indeed have a good grasp of her physical characteristics.

But I can't believe it.

I refuse to believe it.

I can't believe that Ms. Ryu, the "Wind," would do something like this!

"There's no mistake, A-Jiang was killed by [Gale]!"

Hearing his assertion, I was about to say "Please wait a moment" in my haste, but...

"That reminds me... I also saw a guy running across the prairie with a cloak covering his body."

"Ah, I saw it too! That person ran straight towards the central tree... and disappeared into the lower floors!"

One eyewitness testimony after another left me no chance to speak.

Built on a cliff with a panoramic view, in the town of Inn, many adventurers have reported seeing a figure resembling [Swift Wind]. Besides me, Lily, Welf, Miss Mikoto, and Miss Haruhime also know Miss Ryu's true identity, and these words made their expressions stiffen.

For some reason, Miss Aisha didn't say a word.

"...But didn't Lord Leon of the Gale pass away five years ago? Even if he were still alive, why would he cause a commotion now?"

Miss Mei was also one of those who were deeply fascinated by Miss Ryu's fighting style. After she made up her mind to ask a question...

"...According to the rumors I've heard, the 'Guild' and the [Loki Familia] are about to engage in a large-scale battle. Apparently, they've found the hideout (secret base) of the remnants of the Dark Faction."

Mr. Perth answered in an unusually serious tone.

I can guess where Mr. Perth's place of residence is.

"Knossos, the artificial labyrinth".

It is the lair of the "evil forces" that uses the brutal hunters who hunt down "heretics (Zenos)" like Winnie as their base, and it is also the breeding ground for "evil".

As a member of the righteous faction (Asteria Familia), Miss Ryu did indeed have a past with the "evil forces" that were rampant in Orario until five years ago. I heard her say it herself, not anywhere else, but right here on the 18th floor.

"If [Gale] survives and plans to launch another operation during this 'guild' battle... then that makes sense."

"...!"

"【Swiftwind】is consumed by resentment over the destruction of her faction, and without hesitation, she eliminates all suspicious individuals. She's a crazy adventurer. She'd rather kill a hundred innocent people than let one guilty person go free... This includes merchants and guild employees."

Mr. Perth crossed his arms and looked around at the adventurers.

"The residents of this town are mostly bad guys. No, it's more accurate to say that everyone here has done something wrong. We only started operating a 'rogue town' in a place like the dungeon because we couldn't make it on the surface where the governing body (guild) had banned it."

Rivera Town is not easily controlled by guilds. It's rumored that they not only prey on adventurers and charge exorbitant prices, but also function as an underground market. Rare items such as "status thief" made from the blood of the gods, as well as illegal goods, are traded here. Of course, these transactions teeter on the edge of illegality.

Leaving aside adventurers like us who only came here on the way to attack the floors, the residents of this inn town are all involved in that kind of dangerous and evil deeds. Perhaps Mr. Perth hit a nerve, because almost everyone around—the residents of "Rivera Town"—reacted and swayed.

"Perhaps [Gale] has judged us, or Ajang lying there, as guilty."

"What, are you kidding me, Perth! We may have done countless wrong things, but to be killed just for being suspected? Who can stand that?!"

"Exactly! Even we've never dealt with the dark factions before!"

The orc innkeeper and the Amazonian merchants all let out screams that sounded almost like roars.

This sparked a commotion among other residents.

In the blink of an eye, everyone's excitement... no, their anger towards [Gale] skyrocketed.

"Perse, let's take her out!"