In the Guild's break room, Liang Yue took a slow sip of the steaming tea before him, savoring the rich flavor of the black tea.
The warmth soothed his weary mind.
Looking at the half-elf sitting across from him—her expression stern but her eyes filled with concern—he suddenly felt much lighter.
"Thank you for the tea, Miss Eina. It tastes wonderful."
Even with his praise, Eina's brows remained furrowed. Only when she saw the fatigue fade from his eyes did her expression relax a little.
But the reproach in her gaze remained.
She didn't know what exactly he had been through in the Dungeon, but for someone as mature and composed as Liang Yue to look this drained…
She knew all too well the heavy burden this young man carried. Eina couldn't bring herself to scold him—her feelings leaned far more toward worry.
"Liang Yue… have you run into any trouble lately?"
"No."
Sinking back into the plush sofa, with a cup of tea prepared by Eina in hand, his physical exhaustion eased bit by bit.
But seeing the worry in her eyes, and her hesitant, almost pained expression, brought to mind something she had once told him at The Hostess of Fertility:
"Don't make the people who care about you worry."
That advice seemed fitting now.
His smile softened, and he explained seriously, "It's just that the Dungeon environment can be a bit stifling. I've been running into a lot of monsters… so I guess I've grown a little numb to it."
That was the truth. Leveling up meant venturing into the Dungeon, and when that became a daily grind, fighting monsters turned into nothing more than clocking in at work.
The ones he spent the most time with every day were, ironically, monsters.
The only difference from prison was that good behavior in prison got you time off your sentence—good performance in the Dungeon only got you overtime.
A flicker of confusion passed through Eina's eyes. On the upper floors of the Dungeon, with talent enough to defeat a Minotaur, he should have had no problem handling the so-called "newbie killers" like War Shadows and Killer Ants.
"…Liang Yue-kun," she said, raising her gaze, "you're not going deeper than the middle floors, are you? Which floor are you operating on now?"
"The 7th floor," he replied without hesitation.
Her brows didn't ease at all. "With your skill, War Shadows and Killer Ants should be no problem, right?"
"Of course. And the monster density isn't even that high."
But as she glanced at the bulging pouch of valis at his side, a bold thought struck her.
Could he be using the Killer Ants' instinct to call for reinforcements… to train himself?
Her eyelid twitched at the thought. No sane adventurer would do something so dangerous—
But this was Liang Yue.
His very first foray into the Dungeon had pushed all the way to the 5th floor, and when faced with a Minotaur, he hadn't thought of retreating. He'd chosen to fight.
Her expression grew complicated as she looked at the handsome young man before her.
"…Don't tell me you've been using the Killer Ants' behavior to draw in huge swarms on purpose, just for training?"
"Of course," he said frankly—and then added, "I have you to thank for explaining that to me so clearly."
"Hunting for monsters can be a hassle. Using their own instincts makes things much easier. It's just that… the numbers get a little overwhelming sometimes."
"…"
Eina's professional smile stayed fixed on her face as she said politely, "Has it occurred to you… that what I meant was for you to avoid that kind of risk?"
——
After several cups of tea and some light conversation, Liang Yue felt far more relaxed.
But he didn't forget his main task.
Exchanging his Dungeon haul from the past two days brought in a total of 41,120 valis.
After deducting daily expenses—most of which were for meals, plus the lunch money he always left for her before heading into the Dungeon—his savings were approaching 60,000 valis.
Only he knew how hard it had been to save that much—mainly thanks to the sheer number of low-level monsters he hunted.
Leaving the Guild, he ignored the faint, hostile stares that followed him. He didn't have to guess the reason—Miss Eina was the most popular Guild employee, after all.
Looking toward Orario's bustling streets, he already had his earnings planned out.
"Hestia-sama's debt will be cleared in a few days."
Thinking back on recent days brought a quiet sense of accomplishment.
Tomorrow's Dungeon plan was the same: push his Sword Soul class to level 20, learn a new skill, and then move deeper.
Lingering on the 7th floor would only wear down his motivation—and the deeper floors offered better experience gains anyway.
"When the time comes, I'll have to trouble Eina again… to ask about monsters."
No thoughts of taking a break for now—at least not until he reached Level 2.
Walking through Orario's streets, he made for West Main Street, where The Hostess of Fertility awaited.
He hadn't forgotten his promise to Syr that morning—he'd have dinner at her place.
With his spirits lifted, his thoughts felt clearer, and he could more easily guess at the "real reason" behind her invitation.
"…Guess I can pack something for dinner later, too."
Standing at the entrance, he saw that the place was still bustling even near evening. Stepping inside, he scanned for an open seat.
Syr, having just finished taking an order, spotted him almost immediately. Without calling out, she padded over quietly, wooden tray in hand.
Her gray hair framed her pale cheeks, and the eager gleam in her eyes radiated an unshakable girlish charm.
Her beauty was self-explanatory.
Smiling gently, her eyes curving like crescent moons, she still insisted on calling him "adventurer-san" even though she knew his name.
"Adventurer-san, you came!"
"A promise is a promise. And besides, that bento at lunch was really good."
His eyes lingered briefly on her face before shifting away, steering the conversation back to the bento from earlier. Then he pointed toward a seat near the bar.
"No one's sitting there, right?"
"That's a seat I saved just for you," she said, winking mischievously. "If you hadn't shown up tonight, Syr would have been so hurt."
"And also…"
"My name is Syr Flova. What's yours?"
"Liang Yue."
"So, Liang Yue-kun, I'll go take care of the other customers now. If you need anything, just call me."
"…Alright."
Smiling, he nodded. Just as he was about to order, the restaurant door opened and someone barged in.
A glance from the corner of his eye was all it took to recognize the person.
Setting the menu down, Liang Yue's earlier suspicions were confirmed. His brow furrowed ever so slightly.
"So… this is the real reason Syr invited me here for dinner?"
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