Hedin's words were direct. There were no pleasantries, yet none of Allen's blatant disdain either.
It was simply a commander's necessary demand to control unpredictable variables on the battlefield.
"Understood."
Aiden nodded, his reply crisp and clean.
He was well aware of his own standing.
In a one-on-one fight, he had his trump cards.
But when it came to commanding and coordinating a team in the ever-shifting environment of the Dungeon, the White Elf standing before him was an undisputed expert.
Trying to be macho about something like this would be the height of stupidity.
Seeing Aiden submit so readily, the gaze behind Hedin's lenses seemed to soften slightly.
Just then, Hogni, who had been hiding behind Hedin the entire time, suddenly shuddered. As if gathering an immense amount of courage, he leaned halfway out of the shadows and spoke to Aiden in a trembling, incredibly chuunibyou tone:
"Th-Thou need not... be deceived by the darkness of the path... ahead. The Contractor of Twilight and the Arbiter of Dawn shall... sh-shall open a lightless... firmament for thee... There is no need... for thy blade to be stained with blood..."
His voice was halting, his phrasing completely bizarre and drenched in obscure metaphors.
Beside him, Allen rolled his eyes, wearing an expression that clearly screamed, Here he goes again. Hodin sighed out of habit, preparing to translate his comrade's headache-inducing chuunibyou speech into plain English: Don't be afraid, we're here, you won't need to fight, and we won't let you get hurt. However, before he could speak, Aiden beat him to it. He offered Hogni a gentle smile and a slight nod.
"Not having to fight is ideal, of course. But you don't need to protect me; I'm more than capable of handling myself. Thank you for your concern, Lord Dáinsleif."
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
The air in the alley instantly froze.
Allen's impatient scowl froze on his face. He stared at Aiden like he was looking at a monster.
Even the habitually silent Ottar felt a ripple of bewilderment cross his deep eyes for the first time. The glance he shot Aiden turned unprecedentedly strange.
As for Hedin, the translation caught in his throat.
He pushed his glasses up, and the corners of his mouth actually curled into a rare, highly intrigued smile.
The biggest reaction, however, came from Hogni.
His eyes, which had been constantly darting away, suddenly lit up brilliantly. He stared at Aiden in disbelief, an expression of sheer joy washing over his gloomy face—the look of a man who had finally found a kindred spirit.
"Th-The veil of the dark night... has acknowledged the radiance of the dawn!"
Hogni's voice still trembled, but he spoke much faster. He took a small step forward, using a deeply solemn tone as if conducting a sacred ritual. "From... from this day forth, thou art the... 'Ally' of I... Hogni Ragnar."
Aiden's smile deepened.
He nodded at Hogni again, responding with earnest sincerity, "To be friends with a top adventurer of the city, Dáinsleif, is my honor."
This time, Hogni didn't look away. He nodded vigorously, his gaze toward Aiden filled with friendliness and approval.
"Tch, another weirdo."
Allen clicked his tongue in displeasure, muttered under his breath, and turned his head away.
Two freaks finding each other only made him infinitely more annoyed, though this time, no one paid any attention to his complaints.
Because the rescue operation had officially begun.
With the rescue team assembled, under Hedin's command, this extravagant roster formed specifically for this mission blurred into shadows, instantly vanishing down the spiral staircase leading into the Dungeon.
At the very last second before entering the Dungeon, Hedin seemed to sense something. He paused slightly, throwing a deep, inscrutable glance back at the empty shadows of the alleyway entrance through his gold-rimmed glasses.
He adjusted his glasses, said nothing, and then turned, stepping completely into the bottomless darkness.
In the shadows of the alley entrance, the air rippled like water.
"Lord Hermes, I believe we've been spotted."
A cool, exasperated female voice rang out.
Asfi Al Andromeda, the Versatile, who had completely erased her figure and presence using Hades' Helm, looked at the equally invisible Hermes beside her.
"It's fine, it's fine. Hildr is just sharp like that. It'd be weirder if he didn't notice us."
Hermes waved his hand dismissively, his face plastered with barely contained excitement and curiosity. "Follow them, Asfi. How could Hermes miss out on something this interesting?"
With that, he eagerly took the lead, slipping into the Dungeon with a spring in his step.
Thanks to the perfect invisibility granted by Hades' Helm, the Guild staff guarding the entrance remained completely oblivious.
Asfi let out a long, heavy sigh in her heart.
She had no idea where her patron deity had gotten his information, but he had somehow caught wind of the highly classified intel that the Loki Familia was in mortal peril in the Water Capital, and that the Freya and Focalors Familias had formed a joint rescue team.
As a result, Hermes had sought her out like a cat smelling fish, pestering her relentlessly to escort him into the Dungeon.
He wanted to see for himself exactly what kind of crisis could push the mighty Loki Familia to the brink, to the point where Orario's other pillar, the Freya Familia, had to personally deploy a rescue team.
But Asfi knew very well what her god was truly calculating.
The Loki Familia was important, yes, but even more important was the wildcard Hermes had been secretly keeping tabs on—Flamescion, Aiden. And he was actually part of this rescue squad.
This had completely ignited Hermes's boundless curiosity, cementing his desire to tag along and watch the show.
Asfi thought this was both incredibly troublesome and dangerous—after all, if even the Loki Familia had stumbled, she certainly didn't have absolute confidence in keeping Hermes safe.
But her god was dead set on his course. What could she, a subordinate, do? She was completely powerless to stop a deity when he was this fired up.
In the end, she could only let out another helpless sigh and resignedly follow him, mentally lamenting her luck for serving a god who loved causing trouble.
Whenever she thought about it, she was incredibly envious of Aiden, who had a patron deity that could be bribed with a simple slice of cake.
----
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations