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

The demands that followed made me doubt my own ears.

"Ajan...the people in the town (Riverra) died so unjustly! Even a 'rogue town' has reason to have some sense of loyalty, right!?"

“Mmm…”

Perhaps enraged by the murder of a familiar face from the same town, the werewolf who first discovered the body blushed and began to rattle off a string of words. As his fervent emotions gradually spread to those around him, Mr. Perth, with his burly arms crossed, hesitated with difficulty.

"What you say makes a lot of sense, but... what I value most is my own life. I don't care whether other adventurers live or die. [Swiftwind] is a wanted criminal on the blacklist, and I don't want to lay a hand on a Level 4 monster..."

"Speaking of wanted criminals reminds me, I remember [Swift Wind] was a wanted target, right? I wonder if a portion of the merchant guild's bounty is still valid?"

"Ah, right, I remember the bounty was... eight million falies?"

"—Guys, form an expedition team!!"

Upon hearing his subordinates' voices, Mr. Perth suddenly raised his hand violently.

"We'll avenge our comrades in town! Nobody will take [Gale's] head! And the bounty is ours too!!"

"Ooh o ...

Seeing Mr. Perth's obvious self-interest—his eyes turning into two falcon-sized gold coins—my face twitched. His commands only fueled my anxiety, as did Welf, Miss Life, and the others. The adventurers gathered at the scene, each with their own hidden agendas, roared with youthful vigor.

Judging from many testimonies, the most suspicious one is [Swift Wind].

Unfortunately, that's true.

Moreover, after listening to what Mr. Perth said, I had some ideas, which was also one of the reasons for my confusion.

Miss Liu once told me this:

"Driven by a burning passion of resentment, I embarked on a campaign of revenge."

That's beyond what can be called justice.

When Miss Ryu discovers the unforgivable "villain," if her ruthless desire for revenge is rekindled... perhaps she has a motive.

(Is the culprit behind this really Ms. Ryu...?)

I imagine an elf standing amidst blood and corpses.

Imagine the cold, ruthless gaze and the figure of a shrewd fairy, tormented by dark passion.

I immediately kicked away the unpleasant scene that flashed through my mind.

"Please wait a moment!"

The sentence I finally uttered made everyone turn to look at me.

She... Miss Ryu would never do such a thing.

At least I, who have heard her confession, cannot doubt her innocence!

I still remember her eyes, which held both emptiness and loneliness.

"Isn't it too hasty to conclude that [Gale] was behind it?"

"What do you mean? Are you saying I'm lying?!"

Moreover, there's something else that's on my mind.

I faced off against the werewolf adventurer who was causing me trouble.

"How did you know that was [Gale]?"

"I told you! I've seen [Gale]! The murderer who killed A-Jian looks exactly like the guy I saw before!"

"When did you start living in this 'Rivera town'?"

He had been talking nonstop, but when I suddenly changed direction and asked a strange question, he looked surprised.

"Huh? I've been here for years! You just didn't notice. I've passed you by several times in town, you're such a newbie!"

"So, you were present when that incident happened four months ago, right?"

"Yeah, so what!"

Yes, there is something that concerns me. No, after hearing what he just said, my suspicion has turned into clear certainty.

That doesn't make sense.

To be precise, it was three and a half months ago, when that incident—the "Black Goliath"—occurred, that Miss Ryu was with us, fighting alongside the townspeople. This person asserted that he was also present when the incident happened, yet he didn't notice Miss Ryu's presence, a contradictory statement.

With fierce fighting raging throughout the entire floor, it was impossible to remember all the adventurers. However, Miss Ryu and Miss Asifi fought side by side, consistently suppressing the floor master and even single-handedly inflicting heavy damage on the enemy with powerful "magic." It's impossible to say they had no recollection of them.

Given the special circumstances, it's possible that no one will come forward to identify her. However, even after the incident, Miss Ryu's true identity was not revealed. Judging from Mr. Perth and the others' current reactions, no one has realized that [Swift Wind] is the adventurer who fought alongside them on the 18th floor.

Even if Miss Ryu's disguise was perfect, it's possible that she didn't notice when she was fighting her opponent, but only found out now that information is limited...

If I could, I wouldn't want to doubt it.

Although I don't want to doubt it, but...

(This person is lying...!)

I stared back at the werewolf man who was menacingly threatening me with his fierce gaze.

This person doesn't recognize [Swift Wind].

A sense of adventurer's intuition murmured to me.

"...【Rabbit Foot】, you mean the culprit isn't 【Swift Wind】?"

There were many adventurers around me, looking at me with suspicion.

The townspeople, perhaps trusting the werewolf man who was also a resident, all looked at me with suspicion. Mr. Perth, who asked me the same question, had the same expression.

On one side is the wanted criminal "Swift Wind," and on the other side is the story of the residents of the same town.

It's self-evident which side we'll believe. No one's helping me defend [Swift] on the dangerous list.

Say what you want to say clearly. Many eyes surrounding me are saying the same thing.

Although I was a little hesitant, I still refused to back down.

Miss Ryu won't do such a thing again. I believe that.

I want to make it clear to everyone that she is not a criminal.

"【Swift Wind】──"

"Stop talking."

Miss Aisha reached out her hand to stop me from doing this.

"Varied……!?"

"Sorry to spoil your fun, please continue your conversation."

Miss Aisha stepped forward in my place, crossed her arms under her chest, and urged everyone around her onward.

The pose emphasized her full breasts and deep cleavage. Seeing the seductive smile on her moist lips, Mr. Perth and the other men immediately adopted lecherous expressions. The women's disgusted gazes and gasps brought them back to their senses; after a deliberate cough, they nonchalantly resumed their discussion, seemingly forgetting my presence.

Miss Aisha, who handled the brutes with ease, silently raised her chin. She was giving me a coded signal to leave, but I couldn't help but press her for an explanation as to why she was stopping me.

Just as I was about to ask Miss Aisha for clarification, someone gently tugged at my right shoulder.

"Calm down, Bell."

"Welf..."

Welf also tried to dissuade me.

His older brother-like eyes, looking at me from a head taller than me, made me shut my mouth and reluctantly nod.

Everyone in the team was present and left the circle where Mr. Perth and the others were discussing how to defeat [Gale].

"What are you doing, Captain!"

After we were far enough away, Miss Aisha spoke to me like that the first thing she said.

"It's not a good idea to protect that woman now."

"Lily feels the same way. Now that things have come to this, we should avoid offending other people."

"Miss Aisha, Lily, but...!"

"If things go wrong, people will suspect that Lily and we are also involved in this."

"!"

When Lily got to this point, I shrugged.

My mind was completely preoccupied with Miss Ryu, and I hadn't considered this possibility.

Miss Aisha is right, I am not fit to be the team leader.

Even if I wanted to speak up for Miss Ryu, I should have handled it more calmly. I almost got Welf and the others into trouble.

I can't help but feel ashamed of my own lack of ambition.

"Seriously, I thought you'd matured a bit, but you're still just a little brother."

"sorry……"

My gaze fell on the ground, and after I dejectedly apologized... Miss Aisha smiled.

"Well, it's not so bad, just stay true to yourself."

"what?"

"Being able to get excited for a comrade (best friend) who isn't from the same [familia]...that's what other guys like about you, right? But I'm definitely not one of them."

Her words jolted me back to reality.

Looking around, one can see Miss Haruhime and Miss Mikoto smiling broadly, Mr. Sakura with his eyes closed and lips curved in a smile, Miss Daphne shrugging her shoulders, and Miss Cassandra with her face bowed shyly.

Lily and Welf also broke into a wide grin.

"And besides, if that straightforward little sprite were here, I think she would say..."

Finally, Miss Aisha curled the corners of her lips and said in a voice that sounded completely unlike her imitation:

"Your temperament is a virtue."

*

On the 18th floor ceiling, the chrysanthemum-like clusters of crystals lost their luster, and the labyrinthine layout omitting the setting sun—"night"—arrived.

We'll return to Rivera town for now and meet up in our hotel room.

The place we're staying at is called "Willie's Inn," a cheap inn built inside a cave. Although the price is low, it's considered a high-class hotel in the inn town. The large room we're in now can comfortably accommodate more than ten people. Ms. Chigusa, who has been parasitized by the "Parasitic Tree" of the "Enhanced Species (Moss Titan)," has been resting quietly until now, and has joined us.

"From an environmental evidence standpoint, the most suspicious one is [Gale]... Unfortunately, that remains unchanged."

Surrounded by the exposed rock surface and small pieces of furniture such as magic stone lamps, Lily recounted her story to us.

"However, just as Lord Bell said, there are some things that concern Lily. Putting aside the question of Lady Ryu's motives... while Lord Bell was arguing with the other party, Lily and Lady Daphne secretly examined the corpse."

"Oh, right, that's what you did..."

"I don't want to do that kind of thing either, okay?"

I found it strange that Lily disappeared from my side when Miss Aisha stopped me from speaking; it seems they quickly discussed what everyone would be responsible for. Seeing Welf's dumbfounded look, Miss Daphne sighed, seemingly very reluctant.

Lily meant that my actions helped them attract attention and did them a favor... However, when faced with these shrewd girls, I realized that I was indeed no match for the team's strategist (brain trust).

"The body was stabbed to death by a hail of knives... to put it another way, amidst the chaotic knife wounds, there was a sharp wound on the hands and feet. I'm not so keen on calling it pretty, but... it seems to have been inflicted with lightning speed."

"So that means..."

"As for that wound, it must have been done by [Gale], right? I also took a look from afar and it's almost identical to the wound I saw that woman made with her katana (weapon) before."

Lily's words made Miss Ming look nervous, and Miss Aisha followed up with her explanation.

"It's likely that the tendons in the limbs were severed to prevent the target from escaping."

Why...why did she do that?

"Here's my speculation... Was that woman interrogating the adventurer?"

Upon hearing the shocking news of severing tendons, Miss Haruhime, her fox tail twitching, asked, "What's going on?" After Miss Aisha answered, Welf and Mr. Sakura, who had been listening nearby, suddenly snapped back to reality:

"Could it be that the elf only managed to extract some information from the man?"

"After obtaining the information, she left the scene and headed to the grasslands... just like the townspeople's testimonies, went to the lower floors?"

"Well, it's also very possible that after getting the information, we'll just take them out."