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

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(I need to put an end to this confusion and trouble.)

She received no answers to dispel the darkness within her heart. Perhaps she will never receive any answers in her lifetime.

So Ais decided to cut off this meaningless period of time.

She asked herself what she wanted to do now, and how she could make herself simpler.

Be honest about your feelings.

"Rivia... do you know how the Hestia Familia is doing now?"

"...? Their relationship with the 'Heretics' hasn't been exposed. They seem to be keeping a low profile, waiting for things to calm down. Now that we've established relations with the god Uranus, our [Family] has no plans to make contact with them..."

Since the day of the incident, Ais has been lost in her own thoughts and is unaware of Orario's current situation.

Although Riveria looked surprised, she still explained it to her.

"Public hostility or negative opinions about Bell Craney seem to have almost completely disappeared. Although I didn't witness it firsthand, I heard that the fight against the Black Bull changed the direction of public opinion."

"Is that so..."

She nodded in response while glancing to the side.

Looking up at the vast, desolate night sky and the moon outside the window, Ais made up her mind.

To find the answer to this confusion.

In order to move forward.

Ais decided to go see him.

Illustration 51882

early morning.

In the dark dawn hours before the sun has risen.

Behind the city walls, the faint outlines of the mountain ridges were shrouded in shadow, while further back, the crimson dawn began to peek through.

At this moment, Rafia had already woken up from her sleep.

To be precise, she saw a figure outside the window, which prompted her to run forward in the corridor of the base camp.

"...Miss Ais."

She arrived at the sky bridge connecting the towers of the base camp.

A blonde, golden-eyed girl stood there.

She stood beside the handrail, her profile turned towards Lefia, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

"I'm asking you, Lefia..."

"……What's up?"

Ais was no longer burdened by the gloomy atmosphere she had felt until yesterday.

Instead, she exudes a cool and refreshing aura.

I don't know if it was the unusually cold morning air that defied the summer season that gave Lefia this feeling.

However, Rafia couldn't help but feel as if she were facing a "fairy spirit" that would vanish with a single touch.

"'Armed Monster'...I think it was called 'Heretics'?"

"Yes……"

"I feel... those monsters... make me very uncomfortable. ...No, that's what I want to think. So that I won't be confused, so that I can wield my sword and fight."

"..."

"What does Lefia think of those monsters?"

Ais confided in her and asked for her opinion.

This was perhaps the first time Ais had consulted Lefia about a problem.

When Ais encountered difficulties in her daily life, she would ask her for advice and help. But in a true sense, Ais never confided her troubles to Lefia.

The Sword Maiden, more beautiful and stronger than anyone else, cried out for help.

This made Lefia both happy and sad.

This was for the sake of this opportunity.

"……I--"

When Ais asked for her opinion, Lefia was about to speak, but then she shut her mouth.

With the man-made maze conquest imminent, she couldn't afford to let the [Familia] fall into disarray. She had intended to utter such a self-evident statement, but stopped herself.

The fate of the city has nothing to do with this.

The girl realized that the other party was seeking the advice of the fairy Lefia Veridis, so she used words of returning to the origin to tell Ais her thoughts:

"I... actually, I'm also very afraid of those monsters. I'm afraid that the existence of those monsters will overturn the common sense of the lower world."

"..."

"However, if someone is willing to risk danger to make a demand, please accept 'their' way of being... I think we should also listen to 'their' perspective."

She couldn't genuinely trust or believe in the "monster." This was her true, unadulterated feeling.

However, she could try to trust those who were willing to vouch for that "monster"—the boy.

Lefia had witnessed the boy's unwavering protection of the dragon girl, regardless of the insults or harm he suffered. She believed that turning a blind eye to anything detrimental to humanity was a despicable act. This was her perspective as someone who had personally experienced such a profound emotional impact.

At this moment, Ais must also be thinking of the same person.

Although Lefia was very reluctant to admit it, she had a feeling about it.

"I see."

After a long silence, Ais nodded.

Her beautiful blonde hair swayed gracefully. The bewilderment completely vanished from her profile.

Her own words led her to make a decision.

They gave her the final push to make up her mind.

This made Lefia feel inexplicably guilty.

"...I'm going out for a bit."

Ais turned her back to her and walked forward.

Lefia didn't ask her where she was going.

"Okay... Be careful on the road."

She simply watched that figure disappear into the distance.

Ais walked along the street, still half asleep.

There wasn't a soul in sight. The monster had only recently appeared on the surface, turning the city upside down. Even the adventurers who had been drinking all night or the drunkards who had passed out on the roadside were nowhere to be seen.

Ais felt as if she were the only person left in the world as she walked alone through the silent city.

Dawn is approaching.

The eastern sky begins to lighten, gradually turning blue from beyond the horizon.

Soon, she arrived near the northwestern outskirts of Orario. The massive city walls were right before her.

Ais slipped into a hidden entrance, climbed a long staircase, and came outside.

"..."

The wind is blowing.

It is the morning breeze blowing from the eastern sky.

Before her stood an adventurer bathed in the morning sunlight.

White hair, deep redThe pupils of the eyes.

The boy stood there, gazing at the white-walled giant tower in the center of the city.

"Miss Ais...?"

"Hmm... Good morning."

Ais silently walked forward, and the boy, Bell, immediately noticed her.

"...Why are you here?"

"Because I don't know why... I always feel that as long as I come here, I will see you."

This is the truth.

Having witnessed his battle with the black bull and heard Riveria's account, she felt that the boy before her would come to this city wall.

They arrived at the place where Ais and I had trained hard many times, trying to make ourselves stronger.

"Is that so..."

"Um."

"..."

There was a brief silence between them.

But this transparent time didn't make her feel embarrassed at all.

The wind blew through their hair.

"Miss Ais."

"?"

"Could I ask you for some more advice on combat techniques?"

"...That kind of thing has happened?"

"Yes."

His bowed profile showed no bewilderment.

It seemed to be thinking of the majestic white-walled tower that soared into the sky—and the underground labyrinth that lay dormant beneath it.

It's as if one's thoughts are drifting towards the "promise" or the "final battle".

At this moment, Ais couldn't help but feel a little abandoned.

He was left behind by a boy whose current strength was far inferior to his own, someone he should not be able to reach and could only look up to as a flower on a high mountain.

"...You're so cunning."

"……sorry."

Therefore, Ais honestly revealed what was on her mind.

"……Can."

"……May I?"

"Hmm...you have the same eyes."

"?"

"It's the eyes I always see when I look in the mirror."

But Ais was reassured.

"Ah...but...you're not as strange as me, your eyes look prettier, uh..."

"……puff!"

"...What are you laughing at?"