"..."
Honestly, I think you're the suspicious one here.
Still, Ron didn't say that out loud. Looking at the black-haired girl standing before him—the one with the cold expression and beauty so unreal it felt like something out of a fairy realm—those long, slender elf ears already made her identity obvious.
She looked familiar... but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before. Still, since she didn't seem openly hostile, and had even helped wipe out those Evilus cockroaches, Ron chose to remain respectful toward the kindhearted adventurer.
Ron lightly shook his head.
"No."
"This is our Familia's temporary camp. We haven't seen any suspicious adventurers come by."
"..."
"Understood."
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Mainly because Filvis herself wasn't good at building relationships. Her crimson eyes landed on the handsome young man standing not far away.
She tried to convey her thoughts through her gaze alone.
But—all the elf girl saw in Ron's eyes was deep wariness.
"So..."
She decided to break the silence.
"I'm an adventurer from the Dionysus Familia—Filvis. You've heard my name before, right?"
"If I remember correctly—"
"You're Ron from the Hestia Familia. The super rookie known as the 'Tarnished,' the one said to possess talent comparable to a Creature..."
Afraid Ron might not understand the implication, Filvis deliberately emphasized the word "Creature," trying to catch even the slightest flaw in the handsome boy's expression.
"..."
As it turned out—that simple, direct probing was effective.
In that brief instant, the black-haired elf girl caught the subtle change in Ron's eyes.
Case closed!
This guy really was her fellow Creature...
...
Case closed!
No wonder the name "Filvis" had sounded so familiar. So it was the beautiful elf girl from the Sword Oratoria side story.
Her true identity... was a Creature with strength at Lv.7.
Toward Filvis, Ron's feelings were fairly complicated. She was just a pawn manipulated by the god Dionysus. If one really had to say she did something wrong—then maybe it was joining that rescue operation six years ago.
'Damn it...'
'The one spying on me on Floor 17 couldn't have been her, right?'
Only someone with an overwhelming gap in strength could evade his perception entirely. And the Evilus attack in Rivira had clearly been real.
As for why she had approached him—her probing attitude was obvious.
Could it be... that after seeing his practically unkillable talent during the battle against the Floor Boss Fire Giant, she had mistaken him for a fellow Creature?
At that thought, Ron's eyes flickered faintly.
Filvis wasn't a bad person. Otherwise, she never would have formed such a deep bond with Lefiya.
Still, standing face-to-face with a Lv.7 Creature in the flesh—it was impossible not to feel nervous.
Faced with the black-haired elf girl's questioning, he didn't evade the topic at all. Instead, he subtly answered: "When it comes to talent, I really can't compare to a senior like you."
"Even now..."
"I'm still just a Lv.3 adventurer."
He was stalling for time.
At the very least, once the Hiryute sisters from the Loki Familia returned, this crisis could temporarily be resolved.
Though there was also an extremely slim possibility—that Filvis had approached him with genuine goodwill.
Yeah right.
The moment that thought appeared in his head, Ron immediately rejected it.
Though admittedly—he really did seem to have unusually good luck with elf girls.
But it hadn't reached the level of an "elf succubus," right?
And from an outsider's perspective, this conversation with no clear beginning or end looked completely like Ron and the adventurer named "Filvis" speaking in riddles.
Mikoto and Cassandra exchanged glances.
The tension in their hearts finally eased considerably!
"..."
Faced with Ron's openness, Filvis was instead caught off guard.
Being extremely sensitive about her identity as a Creature, she immediately picked up on the hidden meaning behind the boy's words.
This guy—it seemed the ability he possessed allowed him to see through her true strength!
The elf girl lightly shook her head, her tone filled with genuine emotion as she sighed: "Ron, I believe it won't be long before you surpass me."
"I'm looking forward to it..."
More accurately—Filvis was truly happy.
It felt as though, in the vast sea that was Orario, she had finally found another lonely boat capable of understanding and relying on each other.
The corners of the girl's cold, untouchable face even curled into a rare smile.
Thinking that, as a senior, she really should offer some simple support to a fellow "Creature," she said: "I'm very glad I met you in the Dungeon."
"If... you ever run into trouble you can't solve, come find me."
Six years ago, Filvis had failed to protect her Familia companions.
Faced with the attacks of the Corrupted Spirit, every member of her Familia had been wiped out in the lower floors.
And now—after inheriting all the memories of this body and walking through Orario under the identity of a "Creature," she had finally found a companion whose identity resonated with her own.
No matter what—the girl had already made up her mind.
She would protect the handsome boy standing before her.
As for the god Dionysus, who assigned her all kinds of missions—she knew very well that, in his eyes, she was nothing more than a tool for carrying out tasks.
Only true companions—could huddle together for warmth!
"No matter what kind of trouble it is..."
"I'll find a way to help you solve it."
Noticing the two Loki Familia adventurers rapidly approaching from afar, Filvis frowned slightly, irritation flashing across her face at being interrupted.
There were many things—she wanted to ask Ron about.
But clearly, now was not the right time.
The girl wasn't worried about Tiona and the others seeing through her disguise.
Right now, what she needed to do was track down those remaining Evilus survivors.
If she wanted to protect the companion she had finally found with such difficulty, then Filvis intended to eliminate every Evilus member who knew about Ron within the Dungeon itself, preventing any information from reaching the gods.
This was also—the greatest form of protection she could think of for Ron.
With the "Creature" talent Ron possessed, surpassing her was only a matter of time.
Which meant that before his identity was exposed, she had to hold up a protective umbrella for him.
"..."
Watching the black-haired elf girl's departing figure, Ron honestly still felt completely dazed.
This was a development he had never expected before.
Filvis was no longer merely showing goodwill—this was outright trying to get close to him!
The weight contained within the emotions Filvis had proactively offered couldn't truly be described with words.
It was a sense of belonging born from recognizing someone as a "companion."
'Did I somehow become an elf succubus in the Dungeon?'
Most likely... it was his ambiguous answers that had completely convinced Filvis—who had already suspected his "Creature" identity—to make her final judgment.
'Damn...'
'But from another angle, the concept of death has already been separated from me—so barely counting as a Creature doesn't really seem that unreasonable?'
"..."
Ron suddenly felt like he was frantically testing the boundaries of death itself!!
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