Seeing that Ryu was no longer paying attention to her, Kaguya could only shake her head in disappointment and look away.
The other two, with the same mindset, turned away with an expression that seemed to say, 'After all that anticipation, everything suddenly feels meaningless.'
Unbeknownst to Kaguya and the other two, the moment they looked away, the blonde elf's cheeks, exposed outside her mask, instantly turned bright red, and countless circles appeared around her eyes, as if steam was about to rise from the top of her head.
No, no, I feel like I'm going to faint if I look at that person again.
She quickly turned around, covering her face tightly with the cloak, and deeply inhaled the fragrance, gradually calming down. Ryu also found it strange. Even though she would feel extremely flustered whenever she saw that person, smelling this scent that was so closely associated with him could inexplicably calm her mind.
However, my own actions...
Loosening the cloak, Ryu breathed in the fresh air, looking at the last glistening droplet on it, realizing it was her own saliva…
Wow!! What a filthy thing I did!
Then, a strong sense of shame struck! Feeling like she was about to faint, Ryu quickly covered her face and took deep breaths. Then…
breathe, calm down.
breathe, calm down.
On the other side, although Riveria did not reprimand him, she still carefully examined Noah's body. Not only did Riveria cast a healing spell, but she also pinched Noah's chin with one hand and poured a bottle of potion into his mouth with the other before she finished. It should be considered punishment...the bitter taste of this vial of potion almost sent Noah's soul to heaven.
Noah, struggling to control his expression as he tasted the sourness in his mouth, was about to deal with the Goliath magic stone and drop items when he saw the blonde elf's strange behavior.
Noah stopped in his tracks, even forgetting the bitter taste in his mouth, and tilted his head in confusion.
What is this elf doing? Getting high? Oh no, this one is different from Ais; it seems like her brain was really damaged in the explosion. But it was Goliath who made the move; I was merely reacting passively. I shouldn't need to make any compensation, right? I'm still a penniless wretch with 40 million in debt!
"Hello! Swordsman!"
As Noah was intimidated by the blonde elf's aura, which was even more terrifying than Goliath's, a bright red figure burst into view with the overwhelming presence of a fierce bear.
"I am the captain of the Astraea Familia! Pure, righteous, and beautiful, I am the Level 3 adventurer, Alise Lovell! Thank you for saving my Familia members!"
Meeting those bright, vibrant eyes, Noah listened to her self introduction, then secretly glanced at the blonde elf, only to find that she had already turned away.
What on earth is going on?
Confused, he extended his hand without changing his expression. "I'm Noah Sifel from the Loki Familia. It was my mistake just now that caused you to be affected. I am very sorry."
Before Alise could answer, she was pushed aside by another girl with short, dark brown hair. No, she was knocked away literally.
"How can you blame yourself?! It's all because the Dungeon and Goliath are too cunning! They resort to underhanded tricks when they can't win! Speaking of which, how did you train your swordsmanship? It's amazing! Can you teach me? Oh, and what other training methods do you have? Like, what do you like to eat? How old are you? What are your hobbies?"
Noah's expression stiffened as he looked at the girl who was holding his hands and talking excitedly. "Um, excuse me?"
"Me? My name is Noin! Noin Unic, you can just call me Noin! I'm fifteen years old! Ah!!"
The final scream came because Noin, like Alise who had been knocked away by her earlier, was also knocked away. However, the person who arrived was tall girl. Judging from her appearance, she seemed a little older than Noah. She had the tallest stature among the Astraea Familia, only half a head shorter than Noah, and her limbs, covered in brown skin, are flexible and agile. Her short, fluffy hair, which was white like Noah's but had a more mineral like texture, was framed by towering wolf ears.
"My name is Neze Rankett, and I'm probably a bit older than you. You can also call me Neze! Hey? Sir Swordsman, your hands are surprisingly small. I thought you'd have strong, muscular arms like a dwarf. You'd better eat more!"
It would be quite difficult for humans to have arms as thick as those of dwarves, wouldn't it? And isn't your focus a little off?
This time, Noah didn't even have time to speak before this girl was stopped. However, she was lucky, unlike Alise and Noin, as she wasn't knocked off her feet but was simply stopped.
"That's enough, Neze, you're scaring him!"
Wearing a kimono that was completely out of place in the Dungeon, the beautiful girl bowed to Noah, revealing a dignified and serene smile. "I'm Gojouno Kaguya, vice-captain of the Astraea Familia."
However, Noah would not be fooled by her appearance. Whether it was the intuition brought by his skills or the bloodline within him, both were telling Noah that Kaguya was a very dangerous woman. It was dangerous not from the perspective of an adventurer's strength, but from the perspective of a woman. It was as if Noah was being told that underestimating her would come at a terrible price.
"Yeah, Neze! Even for you, this is way too brutal!"
"Noyin! How dare you talk about others like that!"
Seeing the group members fooling around, Lyra walked up to Riveria, shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Lady Riveria, our Familia members are just that unreliable. After all, our captain is like that."
"...No, there's no need to apologize." Seeing Noah surrounded by the Astraea Familia girls, Riveria couldn't help but tighten her grip on the staff in her hand.
This matter might not be entirely your fault.
Urged on by the rather authoritative Riveria, and the reliable Lyra and Kaguya, the group finally set off towards the surface. The spacious hall quickly fell silent, with only the scattered rubble, not yet restored to its original state, silently testifying to the fierce battle that had just taken place.
Until, in a very inconspicuous corner, a distorted light and shadow flashed by.
"That guy is even more despicable and shameless than Finn!!" In a distorted, endlessly deep corridor, a furious roar filled with malevolence echoed.
It felt as if the Dungeon was eagerly sending away its unwelcome guests...Noah and his companions didn't encounter any monsters on their way back. However, due to the uphill climb and the need to orient oneself, the return journey did not save much time. Upon reaching the surface, the sky was, unsurprisingly, completely dark.
The Astraea Familia's home was also located in the north of the city, facing the Twilight Manor across the street, so the two groups headed north together. Despite being bathed in the biting winter wind, everyone felt a sense of relief. The girls of the Astraea Familia began chatting again, talking about having a good meal, taking a bath, or buying some clothes.
However, there was one thing that bothered Noah.
Hmm!?
Noah kept his head facing forward without changing his expression, but suddenly glanced at a corner of the group out of the corner of his eye. That was at the other end of the group, the furthest from Noah, stood the blonde elf named Ryu. After Noah glanced at her, she seemed to notice, and her head twitched slightly as she looked ahead.
At first, Noah naturally thought it was his imagination. But as he walked along, the recurring sense of being watched made him certain: the blonde elf was spying on him.
What exactly is she planning? Is she brewing up the idea of punching me?
As Noah pondered this question, he felt someone approach him. It was Noin. She looked at Noah with eyes similar in color to her hair, an expectant look shining in them. "Hey, Noah, why did you use that fighting style?"
Because this kind of battle is so exhilarating.
Just as Noah was about to answer, he noticed that the other girls were also looking at him. Although some, like Noin, had a similar look of curiosity, such as Alise, Neze, and Celty. But there were also less friendly stares...mainly from Asta, and Ryana. It wasn't malicious and more like seeing someone with bad habits but not having the right to correct them.
It feels as if they had some kind of argument and decided to let an outsider like me make the decision. What happened? I have a feeling a very important argument took place while I was distracted. It's like closing your eyes during class and then opening them again to find that Riveria's magic notes have suddenly expanded by several pages.
Within three seconds, Noah had thought it over. He decided to tell the truth. When you don't know what happened, lying often makes things worse. Noah only gave his answer after he could already see the distinctive tower of the Twilight Manor.
"...Because I used to be physically weak and had low strength, I could only fight by using tricks and techniques. So recently, after receiving the Falna, I've been wanting to try the feeling of defeating an opponent entirely by strength... that's all."
Upon receiving this answer, Noin's expression became somewhat complicated, as if she were disappointed or perhaps confused. It was similar to a struggling student asking a top student for help, but finding the top student's solution, such as A is obviously wrong, B doesn't fit, C can be eliminated, so it's D, was too advanced, but they were too embarrassed to ask again.
The other girls were the same. However, this had nothing to do with Noah. He just wanted to find a place to have a big meal, so he parted ways with them.
The girls walked in another direction until they were almost Home, when Alise, at the front, suddenly stopped and stared blankly ahead.
"Hmm? Alise? What's wrong?"
"Just now, did Noah say after recently receiving a Falna?"
Silence enveloped the girls, followed by screams that pierced the night.
"...Could it be that..."
"No way?"
"Are you kidding me?"
...
As the last rays of sunset faded, stars and the moon appeared in the night sky, and dazzling lights overflowed from the buildings, interspersed with joyful noise.
When Noah and his two companions returned to the Twilight Manor, the Familia's dinner had already ended, and the members were all busy with their own things, so no one came out to greet them. However, no matter how busy the Familia was, there was one person who always seemed to be very leisurely.