They kept walking through the tunnel, but no one spoke a single word after hearing Arvia's story. They just glanced at Arvia, who seemed to be crying in the water while holding her still-unconscious adopted sister inside the aquarium. Shel and Marle could feel what Arvia was feeling, while Lilin, who couldn't remember anything, also slightly felt the same way as Shel, Marle, and Arvia, even though she didn't understand why.
Dash didn't exactly grasp their feelings, but he knew the meaning of loss and grieve, which allowed him to understand what the four girls around him were going through. Dash then looked at the little girl with a fish tail who was still lying at the bottom of the aquarium. Arvia noticed Dash watching her sister. She brought her head back up out of the water. Dash saw her and immediately asked,
"Where should we take your sister? Is there an ocean nearby?" Dash asked.
"We'd have to go to the Nilfaria Kingdom first if we want to get to the sea, but I heard there's an underground lake in the Golddale mine that connects to the ocean. That's where the mermen who escaped slavery are staying. I plan to take my sister there," Arvia said.
"Where did you hear that?" Marle asked.
"From the slaves who were with me before they were taken to the nobles' houses... they said a lot of the merman slaves run away there," Arvia replied.
"I see," Marle muttered.
"Can we get permission to use the mountain pass from Golddale?" Shel asked.
"We should be able to, although it would actually be easier to get it from the guild branch in Eastfoot," Marle replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Hmm... I see. How about we escort Arvia and her sister first, finish the job, and then head back to Eastfoot?" Dash asked.
"So, we'll be going back and forth, but what can you do? We're already heading for Golddale underground, I guess it's fine," Marle answered, shrugging both her shoulders.
"I'm fine with it, as long as the trip is fun," Lilin chimed in.
"Um... you guys want to escort my sister and me?" Arvia asked, confused.
Dash, Shel, Marle, and Lilin all turned to look at Arvia, who was perched on the side of the aquarium.
"Of course. Why else would I ask?" Dash said.
"That's right, no need to worry, Arvia," Shel added.
"We're all the same here, victims of those Grandias Kingdom nobles," Marle added.
"Yep, exactly... even though I still don't understand why I hate them," Lilin added, thinking.
Seeing Dash, Shel, Marle, and Lilin looking relaxed and genuinely wanting to help her, Arvia gave a small smile with tears running down her cheeks. She looked down at her sister sleeping at the bottom of the aquarium.
"Th-thank you," Arvia stammered.
Dash, Shel, Marle, and Lilin just smiled but didn't say anything else, continuing to walk forward, pushing the wheeled aquarium toward the underground bar beneath Golddale City where Arvia had come from. After 30 minutes of walking, they finally reached the edge of an underground chasm. To their left was a very deep ravine, causing them to walk close to the wall on the right, even though the path was quite wide.
They kept walking until they saw a lamp in front of a long, single-story shabby building that was the only structure there and was attached to the wall on the right, right in the middle of the tunnel and across the ravine. Arvia stuck her head out of the water.
"That's the bar," Arvia pointed to the building ahead.
"Wow... that? In a cave like this, and it's the only one? Who goes there? Doesn't he lose money?" Lilin asked.
"Hey, why are you asking here? Ask the owner later," Shel scolded.
"Oh, right," Lilin replied.
"Even though I'm an A-rank Hunter, this is my first time in a place like this," Marle muttered.
Suddenly, "Groaaaar," a huge animal roar echoed through the cave. Immediately, everyone became alert. Arvia jumped out of the aquarium and drew her sword. "Crash," the building in front of them suddenly exploded into ruins. Miners of various races—like orcs, humans, elves, and demons—were seen running out. Behind them stood a giant gorilla with horns on its head and four arms.
"Well, what a coincidence. Our target just showed up," Marle said.
"Is that an Asura Ape?" Dash asked.
"Yep, that's our target. You stand back, this is my job," Marle replied, enveloping both her arms in an ice aura and forming two ice swords.
"I'll help too," Shel added, wrapping her body in a yellow aura.
"Okay, I'm in," Lilin added, pulling out her spear, releasing a red aura on her arm, and then rubbing her spear with the red aura until the blade glowed as if covered in fire.
Without delay, the three of them immediately ran and shot forward while Dash just watched, folding his arms across his chest. Arvia stood next to Dash, watching Shel, Marle, and Lilin charge.
"Graaaah,"
The four-armed gorilla immediately struck, using both of its raised upper hands. "Boom," Shel caught the gorilla's fists from above with her own two hands and smiled. Then the gorilla swung from the side using its two lower hands toward Shel's waist. "Boom," Shel caught both hands using her armpits. After that, the gorilla struggled to free its four hands, which were locked in place by Shel, who didn't move at all.
Shel looked over at Marle and Lilin, then nodded. Marle threw her two ice swords toward the gorilla's legs, where they pierced its thighs. The entire lower half of the gorilla's body immediately turned to ice and became stiff, leaving the gorilla unable to move, only roaring in pain. Lilin jumped high up, then swooped down with the spear tip aimed at the gorilla's head.
"Splat," Lilin's spear split the gorilla's head in two from left to right. Then Shel lifted one of her hands and formed an axe made of stone. "Crasss," she chopped off one of the gorilla's arms, then kicked the gorilla's body, sending it plummeting into the chasm.
"Groaaar,"
Shel, Marle, and Lilin saw another giant gorilla emerge from inside the ruined building. Shel tossed the severed arm to Dash, then the three of them charged again to attack the newly appeared gorilla. Dash, who caught the arm, examined it, then stored it in his dimensional backpack. Arvia, watching the three fight, felt amazed.
"They... can use magic?" she asked.
"Yep. I'm curious, not everyone in this world can use magic, right? You were a former noble; you must know and understand that, right?" Dash asked.
"Yes, not everyone. Only the 'children of the heavens' or 'children of light' can use magic... while the 'children of the underground' like us can't use magic. Only the Demon race, among all the underground races, can use magic," Arvia replied.
"But you, Shel, Marle, and Lilin can use magic," Dash muttered.
"I'm the exception, like the story I told you earlier: if a merman has legs, they can use magic. Shel is a half-orc, so she's half-human; of course, she can use magic. Marle is a white wolf, or Snow Wolf, a rare species among the beastkin... and Lilin is a demon... no doubt about that," Arvia said, observing their fight.
"Marle and Shel said Lilin is a succubus," Dash stated.
"Oh... a succubus? A race of demon that's extinct? Wow... no wonder I've never seen anyone like her, even though I barely leave the house... because of my lower body," Arvia replied, looking at her two legs.
Dash glanced at Arvia standing next to him, then looked back at the fight in front of them.
"If you think about it, she was also shunned by her own kind because of her body... just like me, who was always isolated because my body was different from everyone around me," Dash muttered to himself.