When Ron returned to Orario, the time was already close to noon.
Compared with other adventurers, his daily exploration routine could no longer be described as merely fulfilling; to be precise, he was risking his life on a knife's edge every single day.
The price he gained in return was this:
as long as he returned safely, his abilities would see effective improvement every time.
And this dungeon exploration, because Chigusa had joined as a supporter, did not require consideration of drop collection issues, and the pace clearly increased.
The resulting chain reaction was, naturally, an abundant harvest.
Feeling the warmth brought by the sunlight pouring over him, Ron's gaze turned toward Mikoto, as well as the short-haired girl beside her whose eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Let's do it the old way."
"I'll go take care of all this armor. You handle the magic stone exchange, and then we'll gather at the communal dormitory to distribute today's exploration gains."
"Alright."
No special monsters were encountered on the return trip.
Mikoto naturally took note of this, but knowing clearly that it was Ron's secret, she did not ask further questions—just as, before truly encountering danger, she herself would not reveal the existence of the magic Futsunomitama.
But that did not mean she had lost interest in the various secrets Ron carried within him.
On the contrary, after witnessing all manner of unbelievable methods, that interest only grew stronger.
An outrageous seppuku-style fighting method.
Yet it was able to stack damage onto a Floor Boss he himself could not defeat, all the way until death.
Even if the body was torn apart, there was a unique method that still allowed it to be restored, as well as encountering monsters in the shallow layers of the Dungeon whose strength was comparable to that of the middle layers.
It is often said that gods all like to pursue the "unknown."
In Mikoto's view, that was not actually the case—an adventurer who could personally witness a miracle occur and yet feel no curiosity at all truly existed in this world.
Just before leaving, the girl, as if possessed by an impulse, stopped her steps. Hope was in her eyes as she took the initiative to ask, "In the future… will we still have chances to form a party together?"
Even though these were all floors she had already explored.
When faced with special monsters she had never seen before and the exhilarating battles, Mikoto had already grown somewhat reliant on that feeling, yet she knew very clearly in her heart.
Belonging to different familias, such a party relationship absolutely could not be maintained.
"If Yamato-senpai has time, I'm available anytime."
What answered her was Ron's firm reply delivered in a relaxed tone.
Only—
At this moment, the girl had yet to realize that this conversation would fall into her heart like a seed, and as time continued to pass, would eventually take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree.
She smiled and nodded, waving as she said goodbye. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
As Ron watched Mikoto's tall, slender figure depart, and noticed that Chigusa was nowhere to be seen, he subconsciously turned his head and saw the timid girl beside him.
Chigusa's height was only about the same as Hestia's.
Carrying the massive backpack on his back did not place any burden on the girl's shoulders at all—no wonder she could occasionally fill in as a supporter within the familia.
However, recalling the scenes in the Dungeon—when Chigusa had mistakenly believed she was dead, collapsed onto the ground, and cried uncontrollably—Ron's expression grew somewhat awkward.
He had absolutely pulled off a terrible stunt.
Honestly speaking...
He did not know how to explain it either, and was afraid that, given Chigusa's personality as it was, it might leave a psychological shadow on her in future Dungeon explorations.
Ron did his best to remain calm.
"These armor drops—I have my own way of handling them, so just leave it to me."
"But those things are very heavy."
Chigusa was merely somewhat timid in personality.
That did not mean she could not understand the meaning behind Ron's words, nor did she feel that—under the special circumstances back then—Ron had been playing a trick on her.
A kindness received must be repaid.
If not for Ron killing the Floor Boss at the cost of his own severe injuries, the girl knew very well that there would have been absolutely no chance for her to return to Orario. She raised her head, her tone more serious than ever.
"Um…"
"I actually also wanted to tell you… tell you thank you."
"If Mikoto-senpai were here, I… I'd be a little embarrassed to say it, but without you, there's absolutely no way we would have been able to return to Orario."
So it was just an expression of thanks!
Ron's sense of guilt lightened considerably. He smiled and shook his head.
"There's no need to say thanks. Since we teamed up, we're companions. In the Dungeon, helping each other when danger comes is only natural."
"Without you holding them back, it would have been very difficult for me to kill the Goblin Guard."
"But…"
The girl hesitated, wanting to speak yet stopping herself.
As she looked at Ron's firm attitude, the thought that had sprouted in her heart found no chance to be voiced. All she could do was nod silently under the young man's gaze.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes."
Chigusa gathered her courage.
"I want to ask Mr. Ron… how you were able, in such a short amount of time, to grow to the point where… I now have to look up to you."
Even Ron, who had only just become an adventurer, had quickly pulled far ahead of her.
She did not want to become a burden to her familia companions—especially in the harsh circumstances where the Dungeon environment had undergone abnormal changes—so she made her request in a solemn tone.
"I hope… I hope Mr. Ron can teach me!"
"??"
After clearly hearing the girl's earnest request, Ron did his best to keep a calm expression.
Yet the twitch at the corner of his mouth had already betrayed his current feelings.
Seriously…
You even want to learn the Soulslike fighting style?!
...
The Dungeon.
At the stairway passage leading to the second floor, the fierce battle that had taken place not long ago had caused the walls to collapse, but now the damaged walls had been completely restored.
However, the stench of blood lingering in the air had not dissipated.
The dark-red stains smeared across the ground and the ceiling were all telling—this battle was absolutely not something that ordinary adventurers and monsters could have caused.
"The bloodstains haven't completely dried yet…"
Draped in a grayish-brown cloak that concealed her entire figure...
Only a few strands of green hair at her temples slipped down along her cheeks.
The figure whose face could not be clearly seen bent down and crouched on the ground, using her fingers to trace across the bloodstains.
This stench of blood.
The girl could identify it—it was absolutely the aura of a monster!
According to the distribution of monsters within the Dungeon, the goblins and kobolds in the shallow layers were all existences that even novice adventurers could deal with.
Judging from the blood splattered around the area, she quickly reached a conclusion: the size of this monster was absolutely enormous!
"Just who is it?"
At this moment, her pale blue eyes were filled with icy coldness.
From the information she had obtained through tavern patrons, combined with the Adventurers Guild's intelligence, it was clear that the news of abnormalities occurring in the Dungeon was not a rumor.
What exactly was the cause?
As a survivor of a Dungeon anomaly, she understood better than anyone that it was absolutely the doing of that group of Dark Faction vermin who simply refused to stay dead.
She had finally managed to find time to go to the Dungeon to investigate.
Yet the girl did not discover anything unusual—she did not even find the slightest trace of the Dark Faction remnants. Just as she thought she would be returning empty-handed.
She never expected that—
the so-called Dungeon anomaly had actually quietly appeared in the first-floor area while she had gone to investigate the deeper floors, causing her to miss it completely on her return.
A sense of loss surged together with intense hatred in her heart.
It made the girl's already cold features turn as cruel as an asura's. Catching the sound of approaching footsteps, she moved lightly and vanished from the spot in a flash.
"I will definitely dig you out from the corners of Orario!"
"Definitely…"
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