Three days had passed since we set out on the expedition. We were hanging out at the tavern called The Golden Hole in a back alley of Riveria Town, the safety point on the 18th floor. According to Lulune, the person we requested was supposed to send reinforcements here.
Honestly, I was relieved. Over the past three days, I'd been using my natural knack for gathering information to learn about the 24th floor, and it was worse than I expected. The 24th floor is considered the late middle layer, and apparently, sometimes monsters from the lower layers spill over too. These monsters have stats roughly around the latter half of Level 2, and on top of that, they come in overwhelming numbers.
No matter how elite the rest of our Familia are, there were only about sixteen of us. If such a swarm came crashing down, it definitely wouldn't end well.
So yeah, I was a bit scared. Though, it seemed like nobody else cared much, which only increased my respect for them.
But who exactly was this figure in black planning to send as reinforcements?
"Ah, yes! Another win for me!"
"Damn it! Again?!"
"You're too strong!"
By the way, right now, I was playing a gambling card game with Sein and Nelly. I was on a 12-game winning streak.
Then, I felt someone enter the tavern. I glanced sideways and was stunned.
Golden hair, golden eyes. There was something almost divine about her presence.
The Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein.
Could it really be her as the reinforcements? No, maybe she just happened to know this tavern and wandered in. Calm down, don't get your hopes up too high.
"Hmm? Hey, isn't that the Sword Princess? What a coincidence to see you here!"
"...Lulune-san?"
Ais approached the only empty counter seat in the corner, where Lulune, the very person who brought this whole mess to us, was sitting. She mentioned before that they had temporarily teamed up during that red-haired woman's attack in this town.
"Thanks for your help back then. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here today. I want to thank you again."
"No, are you okay? Your body?"
"Ha ha, I'm perfectly fine."
Ais politely declined Lulune's offer to buy her a drink. Seriously, Lulune, stop it. I've heard that when Ais drinks, she becomes uncontrollable.
"Exploring alone today? I didn't expect the Sword Princess to know this place."
Wait, if she's supposedly weak to alcohol, why is she here alone?
"What will you order?" the dwarf tavern owner asked.
"'Jagamaru-kun Matcha Cream Flavor,'" Ais replied.
Suddenly, crash! Lulune overturned her chair and fell onto her backside. I had to fight the urge to jump up. This woman is our reinforcements!
"…You're the reinforcements?"
Everyone in the tavern stood up simultaneously, eyes locked on Ais. I stood up too. And Sein just said"Alright", was that about the reinforcements? Or about our game ending inconclusively?
"Are you sure it's really her, Lulune?"
"A-Asfi…"
Our Familia leader, Asfi, stepped forward.
"Seems so…"
"…Did you accept the quest too?"
"Yes. This whole Familia has been troubled by that greedy mutt."
"A-Asfi~"
Lulune whimpered under Asfi's merciless words, while everyone else gave her side-eyes. I should defend her a little.
"Now, now, Asfi-san, let's take it easy."
"Ugh, Toki~"
"…Huh?"
"Hello, Ais-san."
Ais looked surprised to see me suddenly appear.
"Toki, you know the Sword Princess?"
"Yes, she saved my life. Anyway, Asfi-san, about Lulune, I think it couldn't be helped given the circumstances."
"Huh?"
"The other side already knew we were faking our levels. If we'd outright denied it, we might have faced serious penalties. That would have made this whole situation worse, maybe impossible to fix."
"Hmm, that does make sense…"
"Tok-Toki!"
Asfi nodded thoughtfully, and Lulune looked at me with gratitude. But it's not over yet.
"Besides... Lulune's a thief-type rogue, but she's terrible at these kinds of verbal negotiations."
"That's true."
"Also, if we're going to accept the quest, she should have demanded a bigger reward or at least extracted the name of the culprit."
"That's right, Lulune. Even the lowliest member like me can think of these things, you need to step up your game."
"Ugh, sniff…"
"Oh, and here, some headache and stomach medicine."
"Thanks, this will help."
Asfi opened the medicine bag and took a pill. She looked pretty exhausted.
"Um… about what comes next."
"Oh, sorry for showing you a shabby sight."
Asfi's expression softened a little before she composed herself and returned to discussing the adventurer quest.
"Let me confirm the details of the request: The destination is the pantry on the 24th floor. The mission is to investigate the cause of the massive monster outbreak and eliminate it. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Next, I will brief you on our forces. Including myself, there are sixteen of us, all members of the Hermes Familia. Most of us are Level 3."
Asfi and the others went over the mission details and confirmed their manpower. They discussed weapons, item stockpiles, and assigned roles. Then, despite knowing it might be a bit forward, I decided to make a suggestion.
"Um, Ais-san…"
"…Yes?"
"When we encounter the massive horde of monsters on the 24th floor, could you take charge of handling them?"
"Wha, "
Asfi and Lulune both caught their breath in surprise.
"We'll escort you until then. So, would you please accept this?"
"Toki, what are you saying all of a sudden?"
"Sorry, Asfi-san, but I heard the sheer volume of monsters in that outbreak is tremendous. If we handle it ourselves, we'd likely suffer heavy losses. That's why I thought it best to have Ais-san, a first-class adventurer, deal with it."
"What are you saying, "
"Alright."
Asfi was about to scold me, but Ais interrupted.
"I'll accept that proposal."
"But Sword Princess, "
"I just ranked up yesterday and want to test my new strength."
At those words, even I was taken aback. So Ais is currently Level 6.
"Thank you so much!"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
"We'll pay you accordingly."
"What kind of reward?"
"I'll buy you as many Jagamaru-kun snacks of any flavor as you want."
At that, Ais's eyes lit up.
"As many as I want?"
"Yes. I'll pay out of my own savings, so I guarantee it'll be a lot."
"Alright, I'll do my best."
"Hey, Asfi, isn't the Sword Princess fired up now?"
"Yeah, her motivation is totally different from earlier."
With that, the meeting and introductions wrapped up.
"There's no helping it now. Everyone, give your all on this mission. Especially you, Lulune, you better work yourself to the bone."
"Alright…"
Everyone nodded, and Lulune responded with a somewhat discouraged voice.
"Having the Sword Princess with us is reassuring. But are you really okay with that proposal?"
"It's fine. Leave it to me."
"Understood. We'll be a small party, but let's do our best."
"Please take care of us."
"But remember, under no circumstances should you reveal anything about us. If you do... I'll order Toki to wipe you out."
"Y-Yes."
Wait, isn't my reputation a bit off? There's no way Loki Familia would be so harsh, right?
With that, Ais officially joined our party. After our last resupply in town, we set off toward the 24th floor.
-----------
Note: Here I wrote a slightly more age-appropriate Toki. Even with his skills in information gathering and moderate combat ability, he's still only fourteen. He doesn't want to see his comrades get hurt.
A quick one-shot idea:
"Um, are you okay?"
I met a boy with white hair and red eyes.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine…"
I met a girl with golden hair and golden eyes.
"I'll carry half."
She looked kind, but there was a hint of loneliness in her eyes.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine…"
She was strong, but somehow her eyes looked lonely.
"Why do you try so hard?"
Her pure spirit was dazzling to me.
"Because I have to be strong."
She was strong, and I envied that.
"Why do you push yourself so recklessly?"
She was so straightforward.
"You don't understand how I feel!"
She was desperate.
"I want to be your hero, only yours!"
That encounter was by chance.
"Bell…"
That encounter was fate.
--------
As a note: Ais and Bell are the same age in this setting. Sure, there are lots of plot holes, Hestia hadn't recruited the Familia yet, what happened to Zeus... cough, cough, what about Bell's grandfather, how Bell was born, and so on, but please overlook those.
If you guys want to read up to 20+ chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on Patreon. You can read up to chapter 49 there! Patreon.com/Veltoria