The adventurers' gazes quickly shifted from Ais to the boy walking beside her.
Then, every single one of them froze.
He was a youth who looked to be fifteen or sixteen at most, dressed in cheap cloth clothes and light armor, with several visible scuffs and wounds on his body.
A rookie?
Why was the Sword Princess—one of Orario's top Level 6s—exiting the Dungeon with a total greenhorn? And judging by their appearances, they had clearly just survived a fierce struggle.
Even the Sword Princess herself looked somewhat disheveled.
"Who's that kid?"
"No idea, never seen him..."
"Why is the Sword Princess leading a rookie? And a guy, at that?"
The whispers were kept low, but in the quiet tunnel, they were exceptionally clear.
Lynn didn't care at all. He even flashed a grin at them, showing a row of white teeth. Ais, meanwhile, paid the gossip no mind; her entire focus was on digesting the insights gained from today's battle.
Under a barrage of suspicious and bewildered stares, the two walked straight out of the Dungeon.
Night fell, and the city lights began to glow.
In the taverns of Orario, there was never a shortage of fresh topics. Today, however, the most explosive topic was singular.
"Hey, have you heard? The Loki Familia's Sword Princess took a man into the Dungeon today!" a dwarf adventurer, his face flushed red with ale, shouted as he slammed the table.
"It's already all over town! They say he's a Level 1 rookie! Someone saw them with their own eyes on the tenth floor!" an elf added. "When they came out, both of them were covered in wounds. What kind of madness is that?"
"A Level 1? Partied with the Sword Princess? You've got to be joking! In a fight capable of wounding the Sword Princess, that kid would've been pulverized just by the shockwaves!"
"Who knows! My guess is she was protecting him the whole time."
The tavern erupted into an uproar. The rumor was so bizarre that most people dismissed it as nonsense, yet the witnesses were adamant, describing the details with vivid precision.
Thus, the rumors began to spiral in increasingly strange directions:
Version 1: Ais Wallenstein had found a long-lost younger brother and was personally training him.
Version 2: The youth was a secret weapon from a hidden Familia, sent to engage in "technical exchanges" with the Sword Princess.
Version 3: The Sword Princess had grown tired of muscle-bound meatheads and had developed a taste for the "shota" type—nurturing a younger "puppy" lover!
The speculations spread like wildfire among the adventurers. Before dinner was even served, Orario's gossip circles were in total meltdown.
The person at the center of it all, Ais, was currently alone in her room at the Twilight Manor.
She sat cross-legged on her bed, eyes closed, her beloved sword, Desperate, resting across her lap. Her entire mind was immersed in the memories of the day's combat.
The Tree Sentinel's every strike, the trajectory of its halberd, and Lynn's every shout... She realized just how crude her previous fighting style had been.
"So... that's how you can fight..." Ais whispered to herself. She felt it—the invisible barrier that had plagued her for so long truly had a clear crack in it now.
BANG—!!!
A loud crash echoed as her bedroom door was kicked open. A fiery red figure charged in, hands on her hips.
"Ais-tan—!!!"
The Goddess Loki, sporting her iconic red hair, hollered in her distinct Kansai dialect. "I've heard the talk outside! Did you find yourself a wild man in the Dungeon?! Tell Mama right now—which little brat dared to graze on our Familia's finest prize?!"
Ais slowly opened her eyes, her golden pupils regaining their calm. Looking at her Goddess's face pressed uncomfortably close, she silently raised her right hand.
THWACK!
A precise, efficient knife-hand strike landed squarely on top of Loki's head.
"Gwah!" Loki clutched her head, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.
Ais retracted her hand and calmly stated the facts: "He is not a 'wild man.'"
"Oh?" Loki was instantly revived. "Wait! Shouldn't you be saying 'there's no such thing'? Do you actually have a man now?!"
"You're being too loud."
By the time Lynn returned to Eina's apartment, the moon was high in the sky. He slipped into his room quietly, and with a single thought, he summoned his prize.
THUD—
A massive, almost exaggeratedly large golden halberd was unequipped from his back and placed on the floor, emitting a heavy muffled boom.
This thing was far more imposing than the Banished Knight's Greatsword. The shaft was made of thick golden metal carved with leaf patterns. Lynn weighed it; the heft was staggering.
"Faith requirement... tch, I can't use it yet."
A soft knock came at the door. "Lynn? Are you back?" It was Eina.
The door opened, and Eina walked in carrying a glass of milk. She froze the moment she saw the Golden Halberd.
"L-Lynn... what is...?"
"Oh, loot. Had good luck today and took down a mini-boss."
Eina hurried forward, touching the cold metal of the halberd. This was definitely a high-tier magical weapon! She then noticed the scuffs on Lynn.
"You're hurt?!"
"Just scratches."
Eina took a deep breath, staring at him. "Lynn, I heard a rumor today. People are saying the Sword Princess spent a long time on the tenth floor with a rookie male adventurer... So, was that rookie really you?"
"That was likely me," Lynn grinned.
Eina leaned against the table, trying to process this. The rumors outside were getting wild—some even saying Lynn was a "toy boy" being kept by the Sword Princess.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Eina's cheeks turned crimson. "I wanted to warn you that this is dangerous! Lady Wallenstein is an idol to countless people. You're going to attract a lot of jealousy!"
"Don't worry, Miss Eina. We just had a brief exchange regarding faith."
Early the next morning.
When Lynn arrived at the Tower of Babel, he found the atmosphere exceptionally eerie. Adventurers were pointing and whispering.
Lynn followed their gazes and saw Ais Wallenstein standing quietly beneath a stone pillar by the Dungeon entrance.
She looked like a golden narcissus blooming on a battlefield. As Lynn walked toward her, countless envious glares focused on him.
"You're here." Ais opened her eyes, her golden pupils lighting up.
"Morning. Been waiting long?"
"No."
The two walked side-by-side into the Dungeon. Behind them, the entire plaza exploded.
"It's over... my Goddess... my youth is officially over..."
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