The Guild's main hall was the same as always: adventurers lined up, attendants busy behind the counter, voices blending into a constant chorus.
Among them, one figure stood out. A warrior clad head to toe in plate armor, imposing and heavy, each step echoing across the polished floor. The closed helmet completely hid his face, turning him into an enigma for any curious gaze.
He advanced toward the counter, the heavy steps of his armor resounding through the Guild hall. Eina, who was reviewing a stack of reports, lifted her eyes only out of courtesy.
— Welcome. May I have your name, please? — she asked politely, showing no interest beyond what was necessary.
Luki tilted his head, as if amused by her formality.
— Have you already forgotten me? And here I thought I'd left a good impression…
Eina blinked, surprised. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
— Huh? Do we… know each other? — she muttered, trying to evaluate the imposing figure before her. — Sorry, but… with that armor, it's impossible to recognize you.
Luki let out a muffled chuckle, his voice echoing through the helmet.
— Two months and I'm already forgotten? That hurts, Eina-san. I thought you paid closer attention to the adventurers you counsel.
She frowned, crossing her arms.
— Wait… how do you know my name?
He leaned a bit closer to the counter, as if trying to create suspense.
— Well, maybe I'm someone hard to forget. — He paused dramatically. — Or do you really have no idea…?
— What…? — Eina stepped back slightly, caught between irritation and curiosity.
Only then did Luki slowly lift the visor of his helmet, revealing familiar eyes and a faint smile.
— It's been a while, hasn't it, Eina?
Shock flashed across her face instantly, replacing all tension with pure emotion.
— L-Luki-kun?!
Eina covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. For a moment she seemed paralyzed, but then something inside her simply burst.
— One moment! — she exclaimed, pushing her chair back and hurrying from behind the counter.
Papers flew, colleagues widened their eyes, and even a few adventurers in other line turned to watch the scene.
— Eina-san…? — someone muttered, confused.
She didn't care. She vanished through a side door, as if she had disappeared from the world, leaving Luki standing in silence.
'There she goes…'
Seconds later, hurried footsteps echoed down the hall. Eina reemerged from the side of the reception, running as if her very life depended on it. Her boots struck the floor in a frantic rhythm, her braid bouncing behind her.
— Luki-kun! — her voice came out trembling, yet full of relief.
Before he could react, Eina closed the last few steps and, without a second thought, literally threw herself at him. The impact was strong enough to make the metal of his armor resonate through the hall, drawing murmurs and even quiet chuckles from nearby adventurers.
— Hey, look at that… — someone commented.— I've never seen Miss Eina like this. — another replied in a near whisper.
But none of it mattered to her.
Eina's arms wrapped tightly around Luki, ignoring the cold iron plates that separated her from him. Her embrace was firm, almost desperate, as if trying to make up all at once for the two months of absence.
Luki, restricted by his armor, couldn't fully return the gesture and had to be careful not to hurt her with the metal.
'I only ever saw this kind of scene in sappy stories… and yet, here I am.'
With her face hidden against his chest, Eina whispered softly:
— I was so worried… so worried about you…
Luki sighed lightly, resting his hand on her head as if trying to calm her down.
— Sorry. Sorry. My fault. I guess I ended up making you anxious without meaning to.
— It's not just that! — she lifted her face, eyes damp but full of relief. — You simply disappeared for two months! Two months! No news, no visits… I even thought the worst…
He held her gaze for a moment, then smiled faintly.
— Well… I kinda missed you too, ok?
Her cheeks flushed, and her embrace tightened even more.
— Then why didn't you come see me? Not even once?
Luki scratched the back of his neck, awkward despite still being held.
— To be honest… I don't even know where you live. Makes it kind of hard to visit, don't you think?
The words hit like a bucket of cold water. Eina blinked, surprised, suddenly realizing the contradiction: they were never exactly close.
Their relationship could be summed up in the few minutes whenever Luki needed her services as a receptionist.
And yet, here she was, clinging to him in the middle of the hall as if they were lovers separated by fate.
A deep blush spread across her face. Awareness of the surroundings returned in force: colleagues staring, adventurers whispering, curious eyes everywhere.
— A-ah… right… — she muttered, voice small.
Embarrassed, Eina slowly released him, her feet touching the ground again. She avoided looking to the sides, trying to ignore the reactions around her.
— I'm sorry… I… I got carried away a little.
Luki only smiled, showing no discomfort.
— No need to apologize. I understand.
In his mind, it was easy to imagine what had gone through her head: she had probably assumed he'd died in the Dungeon, like so many adventurers before him. A fate so common it was almost banal.
Luki sighed. In the end, it wasn't worth clinging to such a small detail. He had other reasons for being there.
Eina took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Her face was still flushed, but she adjusted her glasses and adopted her usual professional tone.
— Alright… I'll go back to my counter and… — she started to turn away.
— Wait. — Luki interrupted.
She stopped, confused, looking back at him.
— I'd like to reserve a room. Just the two of us.
Her heart raced. Her imagination ran wild in every possible direction, each one making her even redder.
— A-a room… just the two of us? L-Luki, don't you think that's a bit… too fast?
He raised an eyebrow behind the lifted visor, not understanding.
— Huh? I just want to catch up. It's been a while since I last entered the Dungeon, and I imagine a lot has changed. I need your guidance.
Realization crashed down on her like a stone. Eina froze, eyes wide with embarrassment.
'What was I even thinking?!'
If there had been a hole nearby, she would have buried herself without hesitation. She forced a smile, trying to mask her disaster of a reaction.
— A-ah… of course. Yes, you're right. I'll arrange that right away.
She quickly turned, guiding him through the corridors to a Guild meeting room. Outwardly, she maintained the composure of a competent receptionist; inwardly, she writhed in pure secondhand shame, wishing no one had heard her blunder.
'Idiot, idiot, idiot…!'
…
The metal boots echoed against the cold stone with each step Luki took down the spiral staircase that connected the surface to the Dungeon's first floor.
This time, however, he wasn't alone.
Large groups descended together, eight to ten people in well-defined formations, talking loudly, laughing, adjusting weapons and armor as if preparing for a festival.
In the middle of the flow, even caravans pulled by horses or other large beasts moved slowly, clogging the narrow staircase.
That kind of resource was usually reserved for large-scale expeditions led by powerful Familias. Yet lately, this had become increasingly common.
Luki slowed for a moment, observing the scene with strangeness.
'When did this staircase turn into an avenue?'
At first, the crowd seemed absurd. For him, the Dungeon had always begun in silence, only his own footsteps echoing all the way.
But thinking it over, this was probably the normal way of things. He had simply never experienced it, since he always insisted on descending at dawn.
When he finally reached the Dungeon entrance, he stopped at once.
The difference compared to two months ago was striking. Instinctively, his mouth opened, ready to voice his surprise, but he held back, noticing the sheer number of adventurers around him. It wasn't a good idea to disrupt the flow, so he swallowed the shock and moved on in silence.
Rush-hour adventuring was a completely new experience for him. In all the time he had explored the Dungeon, he had never seen it so alive, so crowded.
'So this is how most people see this place…'
That crowd stripped away some of the solitary, suffocating atmosphere that usually surrounded each floor. The weight of being dozens of meters underground, surrounded by monsters at the very gates of hell, always carried with it a shadow of terror.
Now, among so many voices, footsteps, so much life, the place felt different.
And at the same time, it only made clearer the strangeness of the world he lived in. A place that could be an absolute nightmare had turned into a scene of routine.
It was almost like an MMORPG: a vast universe, full of grand stories and unimaginable dangers, reduced to a server with thousand of players crossing corridors, hauling loads, not giving a fuck to roads, doors and limits, treating the absurd as everyday life.
After a long thirty minutes walking among the mass of people, Luki finally managed to get far enough away from the beginning. The flow of adventurers thinned, voices faded, and silence reasserted itself.
Now, at last, he could stop.
He drew a deep breath, inhaling the Dungeon's dense air, and opened his eyes to calmly observe what had changed during the time he had been gone.