After three days of lessons, Tizmilly had already reached the level where she could easily cook a soup without my mother watching over her. She was still far from the skilled chef she was aiming for, with her current cooking skill, she at least could help my mother in the kitchen later if the restaurant was too busy and my mother couldn't handle all the orders alone.
Since I had nothing else to do today, I decided to go to the dungeon.
But Tizmilly saw me with my spear and my diving gear.
"You wanted to go out?"
Since I wasn't sure why she was asking, I nodded.
"Um? Yeah..."
"To a Dungeon?"
"That's right."
"Then bring me along with you."
"Eh, it's dangerous, you know?"
I tried to persuade her, but as the Villainess, of course, she was stubborn.
"I also wanted to make money. It felt wrong to keep depending on your family without doing anything. I am skilled in using a sword and also possess magic, so I'll make sure not to pull you back."
She looked so determined, so I couldn't just reject her and told her to stay at home and continue practicing her cooking skills.
I scratched my cheek and sighed.
"Alright then. You still have the gear from the Academy, right? For the sword, that's right, I'll just buy you one later."
She smiled, her eyes filled with confidence and gratitude, hearing me agree to bring her with me.
"Fallburn didn't seize it when they took my stuff back then, so don't worry."
With that, Tizmilly went to her room to change into her combat outfit. I only waited for 4 minutes before she was ready, with her long auburn hair single-braided so that it wouldn't hinder her movement later during the heat of battle.
"Then let's go."
"Yes!"
...
Dungeon City, as the name suggested, was a city surrounded by numerous Dungeons. There were a lot of types of Dungeons around this city. Some were filled with undead, others were filled with goblins and their variants, and more.
The one I often dive into was a Dungeon called The Beast Mountain. Inside that Dungeon, there were a lot of beast monsters: from wolves, bears, eagles, and even monkeys. They called it The Beast Mountain because not only was it filled with beast monsters, but it also used the terrain of a mountain by default. The deeper you went into this Dungeon, the bigger the mountain you are in.
After we bought a new sword for Tizmilly, we immediately headed toward our final destination
"The Beast Mountain? I never tried this Dungeon before..." Tizmilly muttered as she followed me to the entrance of the Dungeon post of The Beast Mountain.
"Oh, Mister Roost, good morning!"
The moment I entered the Dungeon post building, one of the receptionists immediately greeted me.
There were other Dungeon Divers in the post today, but she focused on me since I had visited this Dungeon many times and we had grown to know each other well. It was to the point of almost turning this receptionist, Lady Risa, into my exclusive receptionist. At least other Divers saw us that way. I heard rumours about that often around here.
"Good morning," I replied to her greeting.
"Hm? How rare, you actually brought someone else with you, Theo. Who is this young lady?" Lady Risa asked after she saw Tizmilly walking beside me.
"This is Tizmilly, my friend," I said.
Tizmilly nodded politely toward her.
"Nice to meet you," she greeted Lady Risa.
Lady Risa smiled in response.
"Nice to meet you too. Hmm... Aren't you a charming little one? Why did you end up with this Dungeon Junky?"
My reputation around the circle of Dungeon Divers, suffice to say, was rather unique. Since I was the only Diver left who never used Gemgun during the dive, they saw me as a hardcore Diver who loved risking my life and enjoyed hard battle or something.
They were completely wrong, of course. I just picked the most efficient and affordable option I had at that moment. I had also thought about buying a Gemgun for emergency measures before I saw how Tizmilly was thrown away by her fiancé and her family.
But I know that they wouldn't listen to me even if I told them all of that, so I would just leave them to their devices. I knew whatever I said would be pointless since I had tried to clear the misunderstanding before.
Tizmilly tilted her head toward me, silently inquiring. Unfortunately for her, I wouldn't explain it to you, Miss Villainess. I would never.
After registering our names on the list, I immediately led Tizmilly into the gate connected to the 'mouth' of the Dungeon.
The surroundings changed the moment we stepped into the first floor.
Just a moment ago, we were at the heart of the city. Now, we were standing on a small hill. It was a hill and not a mountain because it was still on the 1st floor.
"The first floor is peaceful overall. There was only Kicking Rabbit here, so even a newbie could easily defeat them," I explained as we trekked the hill.
"You might already know about this, but in The Beast Mountain, we have to reach the peak point of each floor before we can continue or return to the surface. We can skip the fight and descend to the floor, but I want to see you fight first. That's okay, right?"
"No problem."
Tizmilly didn't just nod; she shifted into a low, focused stance. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the sword I had bought for her. She wasn't taking this lightly.
Soon enough, the grass rustled. A Kicking Rabbit—a creature the size of a medium dog with unnaturally muscular hind legs—sprang from the bushes. It launched itself at Tizmilly like a fuzzy cannonball, aiming a powerful strike at her chest.
She didn't panic. With a grace that whispered of years of elite tutoring, she stepped to the side, letting the rabbit's momentum carry it past her. As it soared through the air, she brought her blade up in one fluid motion.
*Schwing*
The rabbit didn't even have time to squeak before its head parted from its shoulders. It fell to the grass with a dull thud, dissipating into mana particles and leaving a small, glowing gem behind.
"Swift and clean," I muttered, genuinely impressed. "As expected of a Villainess..."
"Did you say something, Mister Roost?" she asked, wiping an invisible speck of dust from her blade.
"Ah, nothing! I was just admiring your form," I replied with a grin. "By the way, I forgot to ask. What kind of magic is your magic, Tizmilly?"
Tizmilly knelt to pick up the dropped gem before looking back at me. "Ice Rose. I can manifest roses made of frozen mana."
To demonstrate, she extended her palm toward another rabbit that was creeping up from the shadows.
"Ice Rose: Entwine."
The reaction was instantaneous. Instead of slow growth, jagged pillars of crimson ice erupted from the earth like crystalline thorns. They twisted and coiled around the rabbit's limbs in a heartbeat. As the 'petals' blossomed, they weren't soft—they were razor-sharp shards that shredded anything they touched.
The rabbit went limp almost immediately, trapped in a beautiful yet macabre sculpture of red ice.
I whistled, clapping my hands. "Whoa. That's more than just a pretty spell. It's perfect for crowd control and lethal up close."