Afterward, Eina began explaining all the critical knowledge a new adventurer needed:
What levels suited what floors, monster behavior, weaknesses, and strategies.
As someone who specialized in training rookies, her focus was on floors 1 to 12.
For beginners, this info was vital—sometimes even life-saving.
Even though these monsters were nothing to Hajime now, he listened carefully.
After memorizing the key points she emphasized, he waved goodbye and made his way toward the dungeon.
That's when he ran into an unexpected pair—Ais and Lefiya—standing near the dungeon entrance, seemingly waiting for someone.
As Hajime approached, Lefiya's eyes lit up and she tugged Ais toward him.
Clearly, they were here for him.
Maybe she wanted more training tips?
That's what Hajime guessed.
But to his surprise, the first thing Lefiya said was:
"I'm sorry for bothering you yesterday!"
"…???"
Hajime blinked in confusion.
Just yesterday, she was chasing him for help—now this sudden 180?
Something strange was going on.
So they really came all the way just to apologize?
…
…
Let's rewind to that morning.
The night before, Ais and Lefiya were reprimanded by their senior, Riveria.
After reflecting on their actions, the two realized their rudeness.
They decided to apologize to Hajime the next day. They couldn't let others think the Loki Familia lacked manners.
So they got up early and went to the shopping street.
However, even after searching from one end to the other, Hajime was nowhere to be found.
All the other stalls and shops were already open and doing business, but the fried rice vendor—Hajime—who was there just yesterday, had vanished.
After asking around, a helpful passerby informed them that the food stall owner had gone into the dungeon.
Only then did the two girls finally learn his name.
They headed straight for the dungeon entrance, hoping to catch him there.
While waiting, Lefiya and Ais discussed how to properly apologize.
"Riveria-sama told us we must be completely sincere when we apologize," Lefiya reminded, glancing at Ais. "So Ais-sama, if you still want to ask him how he got stronger, it might make him angry."
As Ais's devoted admirer, Lefiya knew her personality well. She tried to phrase it as gently as possible.
Still, if Ais insisted on asking about his secret to becoming strong, Lefiya honestly didn't know how to stop her. She knew better than anyone how obsessed Ais was with getting stronger.
She wasn't confident Ais would really let it go.
But to her surprise, Ais nodded without hesitation.
"Mm, I understand."
"Huh?"
Lefiya was stunned. She asked cautiously, "Ais-sama… you don't care about how he got stronger anymore?"
As soon as she said it, Lefiya regretted it. She felt like slapping herself.
If that question rekindled Ais's obsession and she ended up demanding answers again, wouldn't she be making things worse?
But Ais calmly shook her head.
"Yesterday I asked Loki-sama and Riveria about it. They both said I must've remembered wrong."
"They told me there's no way someone could go from a complete novice to Level 2 in less than a month."
"Also, based on my observation… when he used Level 2-level power yesterday, he still had energy left. At the very least, he was at the top tier of Level 2. Riveria said that possibility is absolutely zero."
"Even if a miracle happened and someone could level up that fast, there's no way they could accumulate the experience to reach the upper ranks of Level 2 in such a short time."
Her gaze was calm. It was clear that Riveria and Loki had convinced her.
She didn't really understand how rare miracles were, or how difficult they were to achieve. But she trusted Riveria's judgment deeply.
If Riveria said it was impossible, then Ais accepted that she had simply remembered wrong or misjudged what she saw. After all, her memory of that day wasn't crystal clear.
"I see… that's good," Lefiya breathed in relief.
If even Ais had been convinced she was wrong, that meant she wouldn't ask about any secret training methods again.
The apology would go smoothly now—at least that's what Lefiya believed.
Feeling optimistic, Lefiya thought to herself, Riveria-sama really is amazing. I knew it—if even a genius like Ais-sama needed a full year to reach Level 2, how could anyone do it faster?
While quietly admiring Ais, Lefiya waited for Hajime to arrive.
About half an hour later, they finally saw him.
Lefiya quickly pulled Ais along and approached him.
"We're sorry for bothering you yesterday!" Lefiya bowed deeply and apologized with her head down.
She tugged Ais's sleeve, reminding her of the plan. Ais was supposed to bow and apologize too.
But… nothing happened.
There was only silence.
And even as Lefiya tugged at her sleeve, Ais didn't move an inch.
An uneasy feeling crept over Lefiya.