You already know everything, so why put me on the spot!
This is between you two. Sort it out yourselves! I am not getting dragged into this...
Flora screamed internally, but on the surface she maintained her usual poker face, perfectly composed.
"Never mind."
"Did Persephone leave you with a message?"
Flora hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully.
"She... she said... that you should try not to wander around too much during this time, my Lady."
"She said all you need to do is stay at Wheat Manor and enjoy the Golden Moon's harvest in peace. As captain... she's the one who has to worry about the rest."
"That's exactly why she volunteered to join the expedition Leon organized. It's all to improve the combat strength of our Demeter Familia!"
Hearing this, Demeter actually laughed in disbelief.
"Since when did Persephone learn to talk her way out of things like that?"
"'Improve combat strength'? She has some nerve. She obviously just wants to level up herself."
That was exactly right. Watching Leon's level catch up to her own, Persephone, who hadn't leveled up in years, had finally started feeling the pressure.
Through gossip picked up by lower-ranking Familia members who'd bumped into Leon on the street, she'd learned that he and those women were preparing for an expedition. The moment she heard, she hatched her plan, which led to the current situation.
"Fine. At least she knows enough to be anxious about it. I'll let this one slide."
"Besides, with Leon and Jeanne and the others there, I'm not too worried about Persephone's safety. Hopefully she gets what she's after from this."
If the Demeter Familia had a Level 4 holding down the fort, that would certainly be a good thing.
With that thought, the goddess gazed toward Babel and prayed silently.
"Come back safe."
...
...
At the center of Orario, the great white tower of Babel stood tall, and the massive plaza at its base was greeting another busy morning.
A little past nine, right in the thick of the city's morning rush.
From above, eight main avenues radiated outward from Babel like arteries, each packed with dense streams of people.
Humans, elves, dwarves, Amazons, beastfolk... adventurers and supporters of every race formed party after party. Some wore full plate armor, others light leather, and still others wore the elegant combat robes of mages. Every adventurer was armed to the teeth, every supporter loaded down with massive packs, all converging from every direction toward a single destination: Babel.
In one corner of the plaza, near the familiar stone fountain, Leon's six-person party had gathered.
"No matter how many times I come here, this place never changes."
Leon looked up at the statue of the woman raising a torch in the center of the fountain and smiled at the girls beside him.
Laurier cupped some fountain water in her hands, took a small sip, and her eyes lit up.
"This taste... it's the mountain spring from north of the city!"
"That's right. A large portion of Orario's water supply is drawn from the spirit spring atop Sacred Peak to the north."
A gentle voice picked up where she left off.
"And it's not just the city. Most of the farmland outside the walls relies on the streams flowing down from Sacred Peak for irrigation too."
"Huh? Persephone?"
Laurier turned and saw the Demeter Familia captain standing beside her, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. She blinked in surprise.
Leon and the others turned to look as well.
What really caught their attention was that Persephone had traded her usual casual clothes for her magic swordswoman's battle gear and a dark cloak, something they hadn't seen in a long time. Everyone paused.
"Persephone, are you...?"
A guess formed in the back of Leon's mind. He wasn't sure if his hunch was right, but...
Her showing up at this exact time, in this exact place, didn't look like coincidence no matter how you sliced it.
Which left only one possibility...
Sure enough, Persephone answered without beating around the bush, confirming his suspicion.
"I'm here to join your expedition."
Knew it!
Leon's lips curved up just slightly, and he happily took her hand.
"That's great! One more fighter means one more layer of insurance!"
"And we're talking about a veteran Level 3 like you!"
Faced with his unabashed praise, Persephone let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"A veteran? One who hasn't leveled up in two or three years and is still stuck in the same spot?"
Jeanne and Rose exchanged a glance, instantly understanding the real reason Persephone had joined this expedition.
She was starting to feel the pressure.
It made sense. If they put themselves in her shoes...
Imagine the man you had a complicated history with. Back then, the gap between his strength and yours was an ocean, a chasm. You could handle him effortlessly, push him around however you wanted.
But then somehow, for reasons beyond comprehension... it was like the man suddenly figured things out. His level shot up faster than she could have imagined, and after barely more than half a year apart, when they met again... he was standing on equal footing with her.
It had all happened too fast, completely blindsiding her. Things weren't supposed to be this way.
For a proud, strong-willed woman with a deep need for control, this reality was almost unbearable.
Especially... when that man had shamelessly exploited her pride and forced her into all manner of "humiliation games." She still remembered vividly how she'd followed his instructions, dressed in a pencil skirt, blouse, stockings, and red-soled heels, kneeling on the floor, face burning with shame, serving him.
And he'd looked down at her from above, that brazenly satisfied look in his eyes, savoring her expression caught between humiliation and stubborn defiance... That scene was seared into her memory.
It was a nightmare.
For someone as proud as Persephone, this had utterly crossed the line.
She swore she would never let that detestable man have his way with her a second time.
Never.
And it was precisely this chain of events, all centered around those humiliation games, that had finally reignited the fighting spirit Persephone had let lie dormant for so long. Unable to hold back any longer, she'd decided to set out on the adventuring path she'd long since abandoned.
Her obsession with getting stronger had one sole purpose: to put Leon back under her thumb, to return to the days when she could control him however she pleased.
It was that resolve, that goal, that had driven her to hide the decision from Lady Demeter, act on her own, and quietly appear here.
Of course, she would never say any of this out loud.
And so, with everyone harboring their own private agendas, the group chatted and warmed up to each other for a while before finally entering the Dungeon.
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