Adventurers' Guild.
Adam and his companions had just returned from the Sage's Dungeon and were submitting their report at the Adventurers' Guild.
This step was essential to receive the reward for completing the quest. Even as a Lord or Hero, Adam couldn't bypass the rules.
"...That's everything we encountered in Sage's Dungeon. Miss Luna?"
"Yes, I understand."
While Adam recounted their Dungeon experience, Luna kept her head down, writing quickly to record his account.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, and Adam's gaze followed their movement.
"Well then, I'll relay this information to guild management. Once we confirm the details, you can collect the kingdom's reward."
"...Oh, thank you."
Careful not to let Luna notice his distraction, Adam paused briefly before responding, then turned away from the counter toward his waiting team.
They had encountered yet another problem.
"What is this thing? It's so annoying!" Aqua tugged at the rope wrapped around her body, complaining with such dramatic displeasure that one might suspect she secretly enjoyed the attention.
The Chains of Fate showed particular fondness for her, eagerly clinging to her body. Like fulfilling its master's lifelong wish, it relentlessly constricted around her.
Kazuma, fearing he might get caught in it, sat across from Aqua.
Not just him — Megumin, Darkness, and Yunyun had all instinctively positioned themselves opposite her, leaving Aqua isolated like an outcast.
While the others remained silent, Kazuma couldn't resist making cutting remarks.
Sipping his tea, he taunted mercilessly, "You know, you deserve this."
Hearing this, Aqua immediately shouted, "Huh?! I already apologized, didn't I?! What more do you want from me?!"
This rope was specially designed by the Sage Shoichi Hasegawa to deal with Aqua.
For revenge, he had set the rope to react exclusively to "Divine Water Attributes".
Adam and Aqua had experimented with it. The more divine power she used, the tighter the rope bound her.
This clearly showed the depth of resentment the Sage held toward her.
To dedicate an entire lifetime to revenge — was this a testament to his extraordinary perseverance as a researcher, or proof that he lacked the magnanimity expected of a man?
And really, was being called "pure-hearted" such an unbearable insult?
Adam found this question difficult to answer, having only recently lost his own purity.
But one man had a particularly strong reaction.
"You don't think a half-hearted apology can fix everything, do you?!" Kazuma, inexplicably furious, shouted at the unrepentant Aqua, "You idiot! I thought you only mocked me and would at least act like a proper Goddess around others, but you're just as venomous to everyone else, you incompetent Goddess!"
"In-incompetent... I... I'm really a Goddess... I'm genuinely a Goddess, and yet... to be called such things by that Scumzuma... Waaaah!!! Adam!!!"
Stung by Kazuma's "incompetent Goddess" remark, Aqua burst into tears and threw herself into Adam's arms seeking comfort.
Instead of consolation, she received another scolding.
"Aqua, your mockery went too far." Adam pinched her cheek and looked into her teary eyes, "You shouldn't mock anyone for maintaining their purity. It violates your standards as a Goddess and diminishes your dignity... And worst of all, you completely forgot about it!"
That was what truly angered him.
Aqua, that fool, had freely belittled a pure-hearted man's innocence, then completely forgotten about it!
Her behavior was thoroughly villainous, even for a Goddess — the kind of villain destined to fall before the protagonist. Even her eventual apology had to be forced out of her by Adam.
But the Sage was already dead and could no longer hear it.
"But... but! Even though I apologized, this rope is still binding me. I'm a Goddess! I don't want to be humiliated like this!"
Kazuma, being a pure-hearted man himself, sympathized with the Sage and snapped at Aqua, "You should never have mocked him in the first place!"
"Alright, enough. Let's put an end to this. Further arguing won't help." Adam clapped his hands, stopping their bickering, "Aqua, suppress your divine power, and I'll try to remove it."
"Mm, I'm counting on you, Adam!"
The Chains of Fate wrapped around Aqua had recognized Adam as its new master the moment he cleared the Dungeon.
However, due to its initial programming, when it encountered a Goddess like Aqua with pure water elements and divine power, the rope escaped his control, automatically entangling and binding her.
Fortunately, with Aqua desperately suppressing her divine power and Adam's effective control, they could restrain the rope.
Otherwise, he wouldn't know what to do.
These Chains of Fate weren't actually the most valuable acquisition from the Sage's Dungeon, even if the Sage himself considered them his greatest creation.
Adam was more interested in two other things. One was The Sage's Book — not a spell book, but simply a record of all Shoichi Hasegawa's knowledge.
And the other was the Sage's Dungeon itself. This newly discovered Dungeon — he had other ideas for it.
He envisioned combining the three levels they had explored with the entertaining holographic combat system at the end.
These elements were the most valuable rewards from the Dungeon exploration for Adam and Beatrice. They offered considerable entertainment without any real danger.
Adam planned to partner with Vanir to transform the Dungeon into an adventure attraction for beginners visiting Axel.
But there was more!
The final level's most appealing feature for party members with Falna was that it required no fighting, no vigilance, and posed absolutely no danger.
Could there be a more perfect place to grind excelia?
✧✧✧
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