"I see. Thank you for letting me know."
After getting her answer, Ais nodded in gratitude and turned to leave.
Lefiya called out, "Wait for me, Miss Ais!"
She hurried after her companion.
To be honest, their departure made things simpler.
Adam resumed what was supposedly a rescue operation but was actually a search for his belongings. He soon found them tucked under a corner of the bridge.
"Found it, found it, phew~" Opening the package to find his belongings intact, he nodded with satisfaction, "Well then, let's leave."
After a quick survey of his surroundings, he made his decision.
Several injured Adventurers were preparing to return to the surface for treatment, and Adam decided to join them.
Rivira lay in ruins, its inns collapsed and uninhabitable. Moreover, after defeating the monster, he sensed he must have broken through his limits — advancing in rank shouldn't be an issue now.
It was time to return.
"Six days... counting travel time, about seven days." He calculated, "Well, I'll claim the title of 'Fastest Dungeon Legend' then."
Indeed, if his Rank Up went smoothly, he would become the fastest person in all of Orario to reach Level 2.
Breaking records, huh. A flutter of excitement stirred in his heart.
After bidding farewell to the innkeeper, he shouldered his backpack and set off with the injured group.
However, at the passage, he encountered the Captain of the Loki Familia again.
"Adam, are you heading back?" Noticing his backpack, Finn said regretfully, "You're our savior, but unfortunately we can't hold a feast right now. I'm truly sorry."
"No need for such ceremony." Adam shook his head, declining, "I'm not one for fame, so let's skip the feast."
"Is that so."
"Besides, Finn, shouldn't you be pursuing that culprit? Why are you still lingering here?"
"Mm, so you also think we should pursue them?" Finn nodded in agreement, "Actually, we're about to go after the culprit now. We were thinking of inviting you to join us, but it seems you're not interested."
"Ah, indeed I'm not." Adam shook his head with clear disinterest, "After all, I was just dragged into this — I'm a victim. If possible, I'd like to distance myself from this mess, if that's acceptable?"
"Of course. We can certainly grant this much to our savior." Finn replied understandingly, "Not just you, but other Adventurers too were attacked by sudden monsters — they're all innocent bystanders who got caught up in this."
"...I see, let's leave it at that then." Adam fell silent for a moment.
If he hadn't heard the culprit call Ais 'Aria', if the culprit hadn't recognized that crystal, he might have actually believed this.
Clearly, Finn wasn't as straightforward as he appeared. This was merely an attempt to distance his Familia from the incident while positioning them as rescuers and helpers to the Guild. Once word spread, those who saved the Adventurers would certainly gain significant prestige.
As expected of a major Familia's captain — he was quite adept at such political maneuvering.
"By the way, there's something I'd like to ask you, Captain Finn." Adam said.
"What is it? If I can answer, I certainly will." Finn replied.
"That crystal... the monster embryo inside it — what exactly was that?"
He recalled the crystal ball floating from Lefiya's waist pouch, the monster breaking free as the crystal shattered, then merging with the flower-type monster to become a massive creature that threatened the entire 18th Floor.
Without question, that monster embryo was the source of everything.
"That..." Finn hesitated, "How should I put it? Sorry, but I actually don't know what it was either."
His troubled expression seemed genuine.
"Is that so?"
"It's true." Finn added hastily, "I never saw what it looked like, but Ais and Lefiya said they got it from a member of the Hermes Familia. Apparently, someone had asked Hashana to pass it on to her, and even she didn't know anything beyond that."
Hashana Dorlia — the name of the Level 4 Adventurer who was killed.
"Hmm, I see." Adam closed his eyes thoughtfully, "So someone gave this crystal to Hashana, who passed it to a Hermes Familia member before being killed. Then the Sword Princess received it and gave it to Lefiya, after which it transformed into that giant monster. Is that right?"
The complex web of clues suddenly fell into place.
"That's right, exactly as you said." Finn confirmed.
"Alright, I understand." Having learned what he needed to know, Adam turned to leave without hesitation, "Well then, I'll be going first."
His decisive attitude gave even Finn, the Braver who had seen it all, pause.
"Adam, don't you want to ask anything else?"
"Never mind — you probably don't know either, Finn. Besides, this has nothing to do with me. Asking more would just drag me deeper into troubled waters." Adam waved dismissively.
"Is that so? But I should tell you one thing — I don't think that culprit will let this go." Finn licked his thumb, his expression grave, "That person... I have a feeling we'll meet them again."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Finn." Adam said lazily, "No matter how much we think about it or try to guard against it, we'll meet when we're meant to meet. If you're worried, just defeat her when you do."
"Indeed, you're right. When the time comes, we just need to defeat her." Finn showed no fear of the powerful enemies lurking in the shadows.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. It's been a week since I went back, and going solo in the Dungeon has left me mentally exhausted."
Adam headed toward the passage leading to the upper floors.
After a few meters, Finn called out from behind, "Adam, thank you for teaching Ais earlier."
"Does your Familia have some strange etiquette? Why does everyone like to say thank you?"
"Haha, now that you mention it, I realize I've been thanking you constantly these past few days."
"That's why I'm saying there's no need for thanks."
"No, this absolutely deserves thanks."
"No, no, really — I just mentioned it in passing. The Sword Princess is talented enough that she would have figured it out eventually. And... you didn't remind her yourself because you wanted her to grasp this principle on her own, right?"
"That was part of our thinking." Finn admitted, explaining his reasoning, "For some reason, she always seems like something's chasing her. She won't be able to grow if she stays that way."
"So you chose to let her figure it out herself, learning through experience."
"Yes, exactly." Finn nodded.
"Then wouldn't that mean I interfered with your plans?"
"Not at all. In fact, your timing couldn't have been better."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Well... that's Familia confidential information — I apologize, but I can't say more."
"Say no more, then." Not wanting to pry into Familia matters and make things awkward, Adam said, "Well, now that everything's settled, I should head back."
"Alright, have a safe journey."
✧✧✧
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/770985