Winter departed, and spring arrived.
For some reason, Isagi felt that Ryuu-senpai had been pushing herself a bit too hard lately.
Some time had passed since their return from the Dungeon. The falling snow of deep winter had quietly vanished, replaced by tender green shoots sprouting alongside parks and streets. Outside the city, the farmlands were bustling once again.
Goddess Demeter and the members of her Familia worked from sunrise to sunset, entering their usual, incredibly fulfilling days. Isagi was here helping out today, accompanying Ryuu-senpai to deliver a carriage filled with fruits, vegetables, and grains to the Beol Mountains north of Orario.
Located halfway up the mountain forest, there were many secret granaries established here by the Demeter Familia.
Every year, the Goddess would store a portion of the crops here. The purpose, of course, was to serve as "emergency reserve supplies" in case an accident befell the city, ensuring a continued food supply for Orario.
Over the past thousand years, the Labyrinth City had experienced various incidents, big and small, including the most dangerous period of the [Great Feud]. They had relied on the supplies in these secret granaries to tide over those difficulties.
The mountain forests were tranquil, filled with birds and various wild animals everywhere. There were also monsters, which was the reason Isagi and Ryuu were asked to come.
Although the monsters outside the city weren't strong, they were still quite troublesome for the Demeter Familia, whose members were mostly farmers. It was said that in the past, the Ganesha Familia or Lunor would come to help.
The girl, transforming into a [Gale], swiftly dealt with a group of approaching Orcs and Goblins.
Afterward, she returned to sit in front of the carriage where Isagi was riding.
The gentle breeze carried the girl's unique, incredibly natural scent, always tinged with the faint milky aroma of body wash and the fragrance of aloeswood.
Ryuu-senpai seemed very worried.
Recently, she always looked thoughtful like this, appearing to be seriously pondering something, immersed in her own inner world.
The Elf girl was thinking!
Having witnessed Ais's rapid growth during this period, she began to realize something. Compared to constant practice, would it be better to calm down and think properly about the future, to seriously analyze her current self?
Her positioning within the team;
How to continue growing;
She had clearly agreed to research a unique technique like Tiona's before, but she still had no clue;
Even...
That's right! Ryuu was actually somewhat anxious now. She discovered that not only was she no match for Ais, but she also seemed on the verge of being unable to beat Tiona—the Amazon girl had already upgraded to Level 5. Without the level gap, the difference in strength was naturally night and day compared to before.
Thinking about how Isagi and Lefiya were also about to upgrade to Level 5, Ryuu couldn't help but think: Could it be that I'll be the one at the bottom of the team in the future?
No matter what, I'm still the senior!
She wasn't that competitive, she just felt... mmm... still the same as before, the Elf girl was somewhat lost. And it was difficult to come up with an answer alone.
Before long, the convoy traversed the winding roads through the mountain forest and finally arrived outside the granaries, completely concealed by branches and leaves.
In the past, this was a place where few people were ever seen.
But today, there were guests here.
It was Miss Riveria, and one of the leaders of the Xenos, the former Siren, Ray.
Possessing the appearance of a tall, slender, and beautiful woman, yet with hands and feet that remained wings and claws, the Xenos wore a rather revealing top, her body covered mostly in golden and pale green feathers. She smiled and waved at them.
She was always gazing at the azure sky, her eyes filled with some indescribable color of happiness.
The Xenos wanted to see the sky. It was said that this was also the wish of the Dark Mother (Dungeon).
Ever since the conclusion of the previous Artificial Labyrinth operation, Isagi and Riveria, who had returned to the surface, received an invitation from Fels. Subsequently, Fels explained the ins and outs regarding the Xenos.
Isagi still didn't feel much about this, completely unable to understand what was so "abnormal" about it that it required such a solemn explanation.
Riveria took it reasonably well. She had a vibe of having seen so many strange things in the Dungeon with the boy already—including that [Incarnation of the Dungeon]—that thinking about it this way, monsters that could speak, possess wisdom, and even communicate weren't all that rare anymore.
Ouranos and Fels's idea was, of course, to help the Xenos come to the surface. Ideally, to coexist harmoniously with people.
But this matter had to be taken slowly.
For the residents of the city, the sudden appearance of intelligent monsters would likely still cause panic. Thus, to express goodwill, a portion of the Xenos were temporarily allowed to come to the surface and hide among the secret granaries of the Demeter Familia.
This fulfilled their dream of wanting to "see the sky," and since this place was rarely visited by people and the Beol Mountains already had many monsters, if they were really seen, they could just pretend to be monsters.
They could even help out by acting as granary "security guards" or the like. It was simply killing three birds with one stone.
Ray had come over first to take a look.
Accompanied by Riveria, the Siren woman spread her wings, bathing in the pale golden glow of the sun, breathing in the fresh air of the mountain forest to her heart's content. Her mood was visibly very, very good.
While helping to move supplies into the granaries, Ray also spoke about the follow-up regarding the Artificial Labyrinth—
The collapsed labyrinth was undergoing repairs.
The Guild wanted to take over management. Mainly because someone proposed an idea: to build an "Elevator" and treat it as a shortcut from the city to the 18th Floor Under Resort.
"The Guild seems to want to continue downwards and take over the construction work of the Artificial Labyrinth," Riveria added.
"Of course, not to carry out the large-scale construction of the original design, but only to excavate the [Elevator]. That way, whether it's exploration of the Deep Levels or expeditions in the future, it will be much more convenient."
For the current city, this was already an epoch-making idea.
Because the most important part of an expedition was actually the difficulty of logistical support. Especially after the 18th Floor—although there were Safe Floors, there were no camps established by adventurers. This was also due to the difficulty of supply lines.
For example, the Safe Floor on the 28th Floor, the "Elf Garden."
To reach there, one had to pass through the Great Falls of the 25th to 27th Floors. As the Lower Levels, a team had to be led by an adventurer of at least Level 3 to step foot there for adventure. This was too difficult for ordinary merchant caravans.
The difficulty of supply was simply not on the same level as Rivira on the 18th Floor. But if the Artificial Labyrinth project could continue, that would truly be wonderful.
Isagi naturally expressed his support. Because this was a good thing for him too... right?
Speaking of which, the large hole at the bottom of the Artificial Labyrinth that connected to the Dungeon, originally caused by the collapse, had already been repaired. He had gone to see it once a few days ago and it hadn't triggered any anomalies. Presumably, once the [Elevator] was built in the future, he could use it too.
"Building the elevator requires a large amount of the hardest metal, [Orichalcum]."
Since its main function would be transporting supplies, it was more appropriate to call it a "cargo lift" rather than an "elevator." Naturally, it required a very, very high load-bearing capacity.
"The Guild has already sent people to the [School District] to negotiate. I estimate there will be a result soon," Riveria said.
The School District was the main production site of [Orichalcum], as it wasn't a natural creation but something concocted by alchemists.
"There shouldn't be any problem."
The Elf woman spoke with certainty. The School District itself was a subordinate institution of the Guild, and could even be said to be one of the city's Familia. Its administrator, the God Baldr who governed "Light," was also a benevolent god who was easy to talk to.
Riveria cared about this matter deeply because the appearance of the [Elevator] would naturally make her Familia's adventures much easier and simpler. As the exploration Familia that launched expeditions most frequently in the city, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was the biggest beneficiary.
Aside from this, Isagi had heard from Miss Heith earlier that the Freya Familia's expedition force was coming back soon.
Overall, it went smoothly, but it seemed they didn't meet their expectations.
They destroyed a massive Corrupted Spirit avatar on the 59th Floor but didn't continue exploring down to the 60th Floor. Instead, they chose to return to the city.
As for why she knew so clearly, it was naturally because Freya said so. The Goddess used Divine Power—much like the Oculus created by Fels. The gods could use Divine Power to condense a "mirror" to see distant scenes, or rather scenes from anywhere in the world, including inside the Dungeon, at any time and place.
Of course, this kind of Divine Power was also prohibited.
It was only used as a "television broadcast" during special moments, such as the War Game or some large-scale city events. But Goddess Freya was obviously a guy who didn't follow the rules that much.
And it was correct for the members of the Beauty Goddess's Familia, the strongest in the city, not to continue down to the 60th Floor.
According to the intelligence Revis revealed previously, the 60th Floor was the location of the Corrupted Spirit's main body, and its level was at least Level 8 or higher. Even with the full force of the Freya Familia, it would likely be very difficult to subjugate it.
Furthermore, according to the investigation by the Xenos:
The Corrupted Spirit avatars that originally fell from the Artificial Labyrinth to the Deep Levels—including the God of Death and God of Wine who were parasitized by the Jewel Fetus—seemed to have all gone towards the 60th Floor.
Ray came to the city this time to bring this extremely important intelligence.
As monsters, they were especially sensitive to auras, particularly the aura of "their own kind." The aura of the Corrupted Spirit was even more special, so there would be no mistake.
The Guild seemed to be already preparing for the subjugation of the Corrupted Spirit.
It was said they hoped the Loki and Freya Familias would join forces to go. As for the Astrea Familia's side, the others could go help, but Isagi couldn't—he had created an [Incarnation of the Dungeon] starting at least at Level 8 on the 37th Floor before.
60th Floor.
If he really went there, Isagi didn't know what kind of ghostly state the Dungeon would turn into.
Regarding this, the adventurers of the Loki Familia, especially Riveria and the others, were particularly concerned. Since they originally planned to lead an expedition to explore the area beyond the 50th Floor, the Corrupted Spirit had to be subjugated.
"Isagi."
Unknowingly, the Elf woman had come to the boy's side.
It was completely subconscious. Although somewhat embarrassed, Her Royal Highness indeed needed to borrow his aid to improve her strength as quickly as possible, and even to level up.
During this period, she had already accumulated enough combat experience in the [Dark Hall] within the boy's dreams, improving her strength visibly by a large margin. Then next, using the boy's special Dungeon to accumulate Excelia and [Excelia] to upgrade to Level 7 would naturally not be a difficult task.
Riveria blinked her eyes. She never expected that one day she would actually have to ask for help from such a young "child."
After all, Isagi was only a few years older than Ais! Of course, in terms of an Elf's age, she was also still at the age of a blooming young maiden!!
Suddenly feeling something was wrong!
After finishing moving the supplies in the granary, Riveria, who had suddenly come to Isagi's side, noticed Ryuu sitting on a haystack in the courtyard, still deep in thought.
It felt a bit strange.
Because usually at this time, the Elf girl should have run over hurriedly with some kind of vigilant gaze.
Riveria certainly knew what that meant. She was even slightly "shy" about it, because she really didn't have that kind of intention! It was Ais who had that intention towards Isagi!! She was just...
But it was hard to explain. After all, this kind of thing became more complicated the more one explained. Her Royal Highness felt that as long as she had a clear conscience, it was fine!
But why did she feel a bit guilty? Especially now, with Ryuu showing no reaction over there, it made her feel even more guilty!!
"What's wrong?"
"Ah..."
Following Riveria's gaze, Isagi also looked at the Elf girl not far away.
"Earlier when we were in the shop..."
Actually, it was just a matter from last night.
Isagi's burger shop had recently started serving alcohol. There was no helping it; there were very few adventurers who didn't drink when eating. If you didn't sell it, they would buy it from outside and drink it there, so it was better to earn that money himself.
And providing alcohol naturally meant encountering drunk customers.
Last night, while helping out in the shop with the girls, they heard an adventurer party seemingly scolding a junior mage in their team.
It was rare to see a Dwarf uncle and an Elf man in the same team, and drunkenly, they said together:
"Magic Swordsmen are the most useless! They know everything, but they're good at nothing! In the end, they just become guys whose magic is half-baked and whose swordsmanship is also half-baked!"
"Isn't saying that a bit too hurtful to her?" Riveria said.
Although, in reality, this prejudice did indeed exist in the city. And how should one put it... it had a certain basis in fact.
Among the top adventurers of the Loki and Freya Familias, there were no perfectly balanced "Magic Swordsmen." Leaving Riveria and Ais aside, on the Beauty Goddess's side, the Level 6 [White Elf Staff] Hedin Selland still leaned towards being a ranged output mage.
And the [Black Elf Magic Sword] Hogni Ragnar leaned towards being a melee swordsman.
An "all-rounder" who was equally powerful in both melee and magic output, capable at both range and close quarters, and proficient in everything—such a person did not exist in the city.
One always had to focus on something.
And now, Ryuu was distressed about this. She was thinking: Am I a 'Swordsman' or a 'Mage'?
Regarding this, Isagi felt there was no need to be distressed at all. Because adults—no, even minors—should choose to have it all!
Why couldn't one become an all-rounder, a guy who knew everything and was number one in everything?!
"But there are no such adventurers in the city at all," Ryuu said somewhat dejectedly.
She was the type of person who found it difficult to walk and run alone.
"Who said there isn't? I am!" Isagi said.
Although he couldn't do it yet, he would do it in the future.
Just let me become the target Senior chases after. Not just a teacher, but also... I want to become her longing!
____
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