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The familia completely cleared out every food storage area on the 7th floor. Even as they stared at the pile of rare drop items stacked like a mountain, they still felt reluctant to leave.
In the end, it was only because of Lyra's firm insistence that they reluctantly began their journey back.
Maryuu kept sneaking glances at Dan walking beside her, then let out a subtle sigh.
"This is honestly the first time I've ever felt like I didn't want to leave the dungeon…"
She was usually the one being protected by her familia… but maybe because Dan was a guy this time, her heart was beating a little faster than usual…
Neze smacked her lips and nodded hard.
"Honestly, just this one haul could probably fund us for five or six years!"
Celty looked at Dan, who was walking ahead of them, seemingly deep in thought, and her gaze softened.
"Maybe Dan is the good luck charm of our Astraea Familia. I don't know why, but ever since he joined, that weird, ominous feeling I had pressing on my chest just… disappeared."
"Well, what we really need to think about now is how we're gonna spend all that cash!"
"Because we could carry so many magic stones and drop items thanks to Dan, we agreed to give him one-third of the profits. Alise and the goddess will definitely be okay with that split!"
"As they should! One-third for Dan, another third for the familia's development, and the final third we split among ourselves."
"I'm getting a new wand!"
"My shield's practically falling apart…"
"Updating our armor should be the top priority, obviously!"
"Uh… am I the only one who just wants to pig out at The Hostess of Fertility?"
Neze patted her stomach and pouted slightly, making the girls laugh out loud.
"Hahaha… Well, beastmen do eat more, huh?"
Lyra shook her head speechlessly, but for once, her eyes sparkled with rare ease as she raised her voice cheerfully.
"Fine, when we get back, let's all treat ourselves to something fancy!"
The girls kept chatting and laughing about their future plans as they made their way up to the 5th floor.
Just when everyone thought this dungeon trip was finally wrapping up, a violent tremor rumbled in the distance.
Ryuu's gaze sharpened instantly, one hand moving to her wooden sword.
"Someone's coming! No—there are tons of monsters too!!"
Lyra immediately grasped the situation and cursed loudly.
"Damn it, just when we were all in a good mood, this crap happens."
"It's a Monster Delivery! Everyone, formation!"
The Astraea Familia snapped out of relaxation and immediately shifted into battle mode.
Maryuu stood in the center of the familia, preemptively chanting her magic and readying a spell. That way, she could instantly cast healing magic the moment someone got hurt.
Their most important battle rule, as Alise had always said: "As long as we protect Maryuu, we'll always have a way through!"
Asta stood at the front, squinting into the approaching dust cloud. She sighed a little in relief.
"Looks like just a few dozen. Shouldn't be too big of a threat."
"Hahahaha! Lucky me! I'll leave these annoying monsters to you pretty girls!"
The first figure to emerge from the smoke was a short, muddy beastman. Behind him were a swarm of enraged monsters.
He caught sight of Lyra's familia and immediately sprinted straight toward them, ignoring everything else.
A few exhausted, pale-faced adventurers trailed behind him.
Neze glared at the beastman and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Ugh, gross. I can smell him from here. Reeks of booze!"
Ryuu held her wooden blade across her body and barked sharply.
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
The beastman recognized Ryuu's face and instantly broke into a cold sweat.
"W-what?! Gale Wind?!"
Damn it, just my luck! I thought I could make a quick fortune with a familia this size…
If they realize what kind of mess my familia's in… our captain's gonna kill me…
As he hesitated, one of the adventurers behind him suddenly chuckled darkly.
"Iska, yeah they're strong… but don't forget—they're a justice-based familia. We're just a bunch of poor adventurers being chased by monsters. There's no way they'll just stand by and watch us die~"
Iska's eyes lit up, a nasty smirk spreading across his face.
"Hahaha, you're right. Who cares about their threats? Keep leading the monsters straight to them!"
"If those naïve, fake goody-two-shoes die, we can inherit all their loot."
"And if they don't die, we'll come back and split the magic stones. No way a 'justice' familia would fight us over profits, hahaha!"
Laughing at the very idea of justice, Iska ignored their warnings and charged ahead.
"Hey! Justice warriors! Time to risk your lives protecting us!"
Lyra clicked her tongue, visibly annoyed.
This… was the kind of dilemma one had to face when trying to uphold justice.
She'd climbed out of hell itself—this kind of moral crossroads was something she'd been ready for long ago.
It wasn't about knowing the right answer—it was about accepting that way worse trials would come.
But… their familia still had that stubborn little idealistic elf, after all…
Suddenly, a familiar chant rang in her ears.
"—Come forth, wandering wind, nomadic traveler. Fly through the skies, dash across the wilds, outrun all with unmatched speed. Let the light of stars punish our foes!"
A glowing orb shot out and blasted Iska and the others into the air.
"W-what the hell?!"
Iska groaned, crawling to his feet, glaring at them furiously.
He thought moral guilt would work, but reality had clearly not gone the way he planned—now he was both angry and humiliated.
"Attacking us?! So much for your 'noble justice,' you damn hypocrites!"
The adventurers behind him rushed to help each other up, one of them cradling a dislocated arm as they stared in horror at the approaching horde of monsters.
"W-we should run… deal with them later once we're out!"
Iska spat on the ground, scowling, and unwillingly turned to flee. Just before vanishing, he cast one last hateful glance their way.
Bastards. Couldn't you just let us screw you over in peace?
"Just you wait—I'll report this to the Guild! I'll say you attacked us for no reason, bullied us poor weak adventurers!"
"Let's see how you'll keep bragging about being righteous when the public turns against you!"
Lyra ignored their nonsense and turned around, her expression lighting up in surprise as she looked at Ryuu.
"Ryuu, color me impressed! You didn't even hesitate to attack—though your blast was a bit weak. Out of mana?"
But Ryuu's face was blank with confusion, clearly caught off guard.
"N-no… That spell wasn't mine."
The smile froze on Lyra's face.
No way… don't tell me…
Please no. If that's true, how the hell are the rest of us supposed to keep up?
Her eyelid twitched uncontrollably. She really didn't want to believe it, but she reluctantly turned to look at Dan in the crowd.
Dan was slowly lowering his hand, brows furrowed—apparently not satisfied with the spell he'd just cast.
He stared at the fleeing figures, eyes narrowed, with a dangerous glint.
Lyra gave up completely.
Of course it was him…!!!
He can copy magic now too? Dan, what the hell are you?!
"....."