"So… you are saying a troll, which doesn't span the upper middle floor, was present on the 19th floor," Finn said.
"And not only that, but you it was an enhanced monster never seen before?" Lydia mentioned.
"And on top of that, it has the strength of a level 6 monster?" Alise's comment summarized all the information we had provided them in our report.
Right now, we are in the main hall of the Twilight Mansion with all the executives and captains of all our allied familia present. Finn was sitting in the middle, beside him sat Alise and Lydia, as the captain of their respective familia, followed by the executive and the vice-captains. The gods of our familias were also present, looking over the discussion.
"Yes, and its regenerative abilities were abnormal as well," I added.
"Ha… Look, I am not doubting your words since the adventurers you saved have also reported the same; they even witnessed the monster killing off several second-class adventurers. But… It's just hard to believe."
"What?" The information about the troll killing several people was new to me.
But I guess that was understandable since the troll must have come from the lower floors, and most likely killed off all those that it came across.
But, even if I was familiar with death, more so after the great conflict, which took almost 10,000 lives, but even after knowing that it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. Now is not the time to get philosophical. I shook myself off that thought and focused back on the conversation.
"And just like you told those adventurers, they went straight to the guild and asked to close off the dungeon, and after hearing the full story, they contacted us," Lydia explained further.
"Oh, so that's why all of you were present at the guild entrance." Just like Ryuu mentioned, when we got out of the dungeon, Finn and others were also on their way to help us out.
"Yes, all of us were already gathered here to plan for our next expedition when we got the news," said Alise.
"I see, then I think it would be better if we are extra prepared, although I believe it was most likely just a one-time abnormality that the dungeon made, but we never know when a similar monster might appear."
I was confident that we won't encounter any monster like that any time soon, since the magic stone of the monster looked just like any other, rather than the murky brown it was shown in the Sword Oratorio anime.
"I second Arin's opinion; we should make every preparation possible before the expedition."
"This time, even more so than before, since we are planning on going deeper than any floor we have gone to.
"Maybe we should ask for some extra magic weapons from Hephaestus Familia, or better yet, ask some of their smith to come with our party to the expedition." Astraea showed her support, with Loki and Hermes agreeing as well as putting forth their own suggestion.
"Now, as all three of you must want to rest after that intense fight, so you can take your leave now and rest properly, after that, the guild will most likely ask for a report as well."
I was grateful for Riveria's suggestion and decided to leave Ais, and Ryuu also went to their respective rooms, with Ryuu going towards one of the guest rooms. The mind it took to create that devastating magic was far more than I thought. But at least that gave me a chance to practice that attack in a real fight. The encounter with that troll gave me some insight into my magic, like how I wasted a lot of mind, and how I should be able to cast the same magic faster and much more.
I thought all this as I made my way to my room to get some shut-eye. I will think about all this later… I thought lying on my bed, the softness of the mattress covered my tired body, and I was fast asleep in a matter of seconds.
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"Arin... Arin, wake up." A familiar voice called out to me through the haze of sleep.
I felt something gently shaking my shoulder, but my body felt like it was made of lead. The exhaustion from the troll battle had settled deep into my bones, making even the simple act of opening my eyes feel impossible.
"Come on, you need to get up. We need to go to the guild for your report," the voice continued, and I recognized it as Asfi's.
Her hand moved from my shoulder to gently brush the hair from my forehead, and without thinking, I reached up and caught her wrist. But instead of just holding it, my drowsy mind seemed to have its own agenda. I pulled her hand back down, this time pressing it against my chest, right over my heart.
"Arin!" Asfi's voice carried a mix of surprise and something else I couldn't quite identify through my sleepy haze.
"Just..." I mumbled, my fingers loosely intertwining with hers. "Just... a little longer..."
I felt her go very still, and even through my semi-conscious state, I could sense her internal debate. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, almost tender.
"You're making this very difficult," she whispered, and I was vaguely aware that she'd moved closer, probably having to lean over the bed to maintain the position I'd pulled her into.
I seem to remember a similar situation had happened before, but I was far too sleepy to think about anything deeply. My consciousness again started to drift towards sleep,
"I guess the guild can wait another few minutes," I heard Asfi's voice just before falling asleep again. "But only a few minutes."
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And exactly after seven minutes, my eyes opened, and I released Asfi's hands, getting up from my bed.
"Are you done being lazy, now?" I heard Asfi's sarcastic voice, but decided to ignore it entirely.
"Let's go, Asfi. Why are you sitting? Don't we need to go to the guild to report on today's incident?" I gave her a look to see if one of her eyebrows raised upwards.
"Haa.. sure sure, let's go now, Ais and Lion are also waiting." Asfi walked away without looking back, and I followed after her.
We went down the stairs, and I could see Ryuu and Ais standing near the main gate. The moment Ryuu's eyes landed on me, she spoke.
"Arin-san, have you had proper rest?" So she is not going to call me by just my name now?
"Yes, I had, what about you and Ais?" I asked back and decided to approach her on the name subject later.
"Um, yes, though, Ais and I were not as tired as you, Arin-san."
"Yes… You used up a lot of your mind, so you needed more rest." Ais added.
"Now we should get going, or else Royman himself will come here," Asfi added, pulling the gate open.
"Haha, I can imagine that." I laughed at the thought of Royman running inside the manor, his belly flapping this way and that, and so that such a situation doesn't come to be, we made our way towards the guild.
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Just as we entered the guild, Eina took notice and ran over towards us.
"You are here for the report, right? Please follow me." And so Eina guided us to the second floor. We started walking up the stairs when Eina touched the subject.
"I heard the report and am really glad none of you were seriously hurt."
"Yes, we are fine. Though the monster was tough as heck." I answered.
"Yes, I was having doubts believing those adventurers' words, but when they mentioned you and Miss Lion fighting that monster, I decided to let everyone know."
"Thank you for that, Miss Eina."
"No, at the end of it, you were able to defeat that monster alone, and saved a lot of lives as well. Now then, this is the guild master's office."
*Knock Knock*
Eina knocked on the door, and a grumpy voice answered from the room. "Come in."
"Now, I will excuse myself. All of you, please go ahead," Eina gave a bow of her head and descended the stairs.
"Should we?" I asked the girls who were silently observing my interaction with Eina, and they nodded their heads.
I opened the door to see that Royman was sitting on his chair with a stack of paper on both sides of his table. He looked up from the paper he was signing and motioned us to take a seat.
After that, it was just us recounting all the tales we had already mentioned to Finn and others.
"Hm… A new type of enhanced monster, with strength of anywhere between mid-level 6 to high-level 6? Even if what you thought of this monster being a one-time abnormality, we would still need to give it a name."
Seriously, out of all the information, you want to focus on its name?
I wanted to say that, but held myself back; but I guess a name is also necessary for future incidents. Royman thought for a long while and then came up with a name.
"Since you described it as a monster bathed in blood, how about Blood-soaked Troll—No—how about Crystal Troll, Yeah, that's a good name?"
"Yes, sure, why not?" My reply came dryer than I expected, but Royman didn't seem to care and only rubbed his fat chin like a wise sage.
"Anyway, if that was all, then we will be leaving now," Asfi announced and stood up from her chair.
"Yes, you may go now," Royman also announced,
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As we walked out of the guild, I noticed it was just early evening, which means a good time to get some snacks.
"You girls hungry? I know a good place around here that makes good food." I suggested.
"Oh, I would like something to eat as well." Ryuu agreed with my suggestion, with Ais also raising her hand.
"I think I would like some light meal as well." With Asfi also agreeing, we made our way towards the restaurant located near the guild.