After easily kicking the Killer Ants that appeared on the 7th Floor to death, Zephyr looked at Lefiya and Lili behind him.
He shook his head, his tone full of emotion. "To explore brand new areas, we have to at least wait until the Familia expedition ends. Speaking of which. when will they be able to return?"
Lefiya didn't know either. Facing the question, she chose to shake her head gently. After all, since coming to the Loki Familia, she had never personally participated in a complete Familia expedition.
On the other hand, Lili, this true native from Orario, after browsing through the Loki Familia's exploration records, answered calmly, "The time required for a Familia expedition usually starts at a month. Unless some special accident occurs, it won't be earlier."
Zephyr's face slumped a bit when he heard this.
After all, those were his partners in the Loki Familia whom he had never met. Surely he couldn't hope for special accidents to happen, right?
He shook his head, counting that it had been half a month since he transmigrated to Orario, and calculated based on the average Familia expedition cycle...
"Then I guess they will be back soon."
"Probably."
Knowing what he was thinking—relying on the strength of his Familia companions to explore unknown areas—Lili didn't pour cold water on him.
As Zephyr gathered his thoughts, he prepared to continue moving towards the next floor.
But just at this moment, he felt a faint, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps coming from behind, the frequency so light it was almost swallowed by the echoes of conversation in the cave.
This was definitely not an illusion!
Perhaps due to the absorption of Gourmet Cells, his perception had been enhanced, to the point where he could even distinguish the soft sound of water droplets falling from above.
'Could it be a monster?'
Zephyr had just had the thought, but he dismissed it.
The Dungeon's monsters instinctively hate Adventurers. As soon as anything appears within their field of vision, those monsters almost indiscriminately charge over to attack.
Lurking?
The monsters' intelligence couldn't support that level of complexity, and it was even less possible for a Gourmet Creature to approach quietly without leaving any traces.
In that case, it could only be an Adventurer. Encountering Adventurers in the Dungeon was actually quite normal. After all, the side paths branched out in every direction, so there was always a possibility of running into someone.
Zephyr didn't turn around directly to investigate the situation, continuing to maintain a skeptical attitude.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Zephyr shook his head slightly, gazing at the path ahead that had no side roads.
If they were just passing by, they would diverge at the next intersection. If they kept following him, it would confirm their obvious intentions.
Thinking of this, he didn't stop his footsteps, nor did he remind his companions. Deliberately stopping would easily alert the enemy, and instead, it would make the person hiding in the shadows vigilant.
Moreover, he mused that after leaving the Soma Familia, he rarely had contact with outside Adventurers, so he shouldn't have offended anyone.
Most importantly, he was a member of the Loki Familia after all. Even if an Adventurer wanted to keep an eye on him, it shouldn't be this blatant.
It couldn't be that they came because information about the Gourmet Creature was leaked, could it?
"Let's continue forward."
Zephyr maintained his original pace, smiling and reminding Lefiya and Lili beside him, but his peripheral vision was paying attention to the movement behind him.
The sound of the other party's footsteps still existed, and they consistently maintained a distance of over 20 meters. Up to this point, he could conclude that this guy was definitely following him.
However, the environment was complex now, with side paths and corners layered upon each other. Exposing his intentions too quickly would only take him further away from the answer.
Canoe from the Soma Familia was a typical case. If someone wanted to completely hide their tracks in the Dungeon, searching for them would be very troublesome.
Following that, Zephyr, Lefiya, and Lili arrived at a straight section of the cave passage, where fluorescent fruits provided dim lighting.
As for that guy following behind, their footsteps were quite light, even maintaining the same rhythm as the group. At the very least, Lili and Lefiya hadn't noticed and were still chatting idly.
Just as they were about to reach the end of the straight passage, Zephyr suddenly stopped his footsteps, ignoring the somewhat surprised gazes of his two female teammates.
He turned his head and noticed the figure of an Adventurer wearing a brown cloak following more than 20 meters away. Although the silhouette under the cloak was deliberately kept low, the body shape was inexplicably familiar, the height proportions looked like those of a female, and he felt like he had met them somewhere before.
Good news: the other party wasn't carrying any weapons. Otherwise, if they wanted to launch a sneak attack, they could have done so during his battle with the monsters just now.
Zephyr's expression gradually became serious, and he questioned them, "Who are you?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you've been following us for a long time, right? Even if we're just taking the same route in the Dungeon, it wouldn't be this coincidental."
At the same time, while speaking, he activated Dynamic Vision, and the edges of his vision stretched out. The originally dim cave passage became visibly clear. The water droplets seeping from the rock crevices, the tiny dust particles floating in the air, and even the subtle movements of the Adventurer's body—every detail was captured precisely by Zephyr.
He saw clearly, from the bit not completely covered by the cloak, the extremely familiar leaf-colored hem of a skirt.
During this time, Zephyr had been slipping into the Hostess of Fertility whenever he had the chance, whether to promote Gourmet Creature meat or expand his connections. His impression of those waitresses' uniforms couldn't be deeper.
So, ultimately, was it because of the special nature of the Gourmet Creature that those girls became interested in his secret?
"Huh!"
Even though she was hiding in a corner while tailing them, when she heard Zephyr's sudden questioning, it was actually Anya who got startled.
She froze on the spot, the fluffy cat ears on top of her head bristling a bit, and the hood of her cloak was also nudged back due to her shoulders heaving violently.
No! How was she discovered?
Anya had considered her movements to be hidden cleverly enough. At least for the first half, she had kept her distance and hadn't been discovered.
"This is... why, nya?"
She racked her brain but couldn't figure it out. When she came to her senses, she finally realized she needed to run.
But just as she took a step, preparing to turn and leave, she heard Zephyr's question.
"Um... is that Anya-san?"
"..."
At this moment, Anya felt her head buzzing. She had clearly been cautious enough.
Wanting to hide from an Adventurer of the same level might be a bit difficult. But Zephyr was currently only a Level 2 Adventurer, why would he possess such keen perception?
Most importantly, not only did he discover her sneaking around, but even her identity was exposed.
She grabbed both sides of her hood and covered her face. While playing the ostrich, she avoided the gaze Zephyr was casting over, unable to help but quibble.
"Zephyr, you've recognized the wrong person. It's not me, nya."
"?"