All of us traversed back to our camp on the fifth floor. When we returned, everyone welcomed us with cheers, while some sighed in relief seeing no one was missing among us, and Leifya ran up to Ais and Riveria's sides.
"Miss Ais, Lady Riveria! Welcome back! I am so glad to see you safe!" She said, hugging Ais.
"Hm… We are back… Lefiya," replied Ais, returning the hug.
"Oh? So I am not going to get a welcome back, am I?" I spoke from the side. Lefiya looked up.
"Hm, yes, I guess it's good that you are uninjured as well." She spoke.
"What's with that low energy? Do you want a beating again?" I said, raising my fist, Lefiya jumped behind Ais, trying to shield herself.
"Miss Ais, save me!" She said, her head peaking out behind Ais.
"Arin… bad…" Ais said, holding Lefiya's shoulder protectively.
"N-no Ais, I am just correcting her behavior, that's all." I protested, lowering my fist. "It's called proper discipline!"
"Discipline?! You just threatened to beat me up!" Lefiya accused from behind Ais.
"I wasn't going to actually do it!"
"That's what all bullies say!" She said, glaring at me. This girl really gets gutsy when she's around Ais and others. I thought, already thinking of how I am going to bully—I mean, tease her later.
"Haha, it's good that you guys still have the energy, because tomorrow we will start making our way back up to the surface," Finn said, and everyone gave a nod and returned to their resting spots—me included.
____________________________________________________________________________
The next day came, and we made our way through the dungeon, reaching the thirty-ninth floor—Under Bridge, and rested there. And departed the next day.
"So, do you think you will level up again?" Kaguya, walking beside me at the rear end of the group, asked.
"Yes, I am plenty sure, the challenges we faced were enough for me to get some high-quality excelia," I replied. Hearing my answer, Kaguya scoffed.
"Enjoy this last rapid level up, you have now, because starting from level-5 it's going to be really difficult to level up even for you," she said.
"Jealousy is an ugly thing, Kaguya," I replied, a smirk playing on my lips.
"Ha! Why would I be jealous of you? You, sorry excuse of a man." She bit back, bitter words leaving her mouth one after another.
"Maybe because I am just so amazing—oh wait! Don't tell me, did you start falling for me now?" I said, with a mock serious expression, "Crap! I don't know how to react to that, Kaguya," I said, shaking my head, "Ha… I am such a sinful man… hm? What's with that pitiful look?"
Kaguya gave me a side eye before speaking, "I can see that Alise is having a bad influence on you."
"...Wait, really?" I asked, completely serious. That's no good. Alise being narcissistic works because she is a cute girl; no way in hell would that work with me. I shook my head at that possibility. No, no, I am not narcissistic! At least I don't think so…
"Oi, you dolt, now is not the time to contemplate, we are still in the dungeon, you know?" Kaguya's snarky remark brought me out of my stupor, and I could see some monsters starting to emerge from behind us.
While they numbered in the dozens, it was not something Kaguya and I couldn't handle. Our several training sessions have given us enough time to familiarise ourselves with each other's fighting style.
Sometimes I would create an opening for Kaguya, and she slides right in front of the monster, severing its neck, while others time, Kaguya would distract the monsters, letting me finish them off.
We made quick work of the monsters while making our way up the next safe floor. The exhaustion of being in the dungeon for so many days was starting to show on everyone's faces, especially with the second and third-class adventurers.
So we picked up our speed slightly, tearing through the horde of monsters that attacked our group. We spend another day on the twenty-seventh safe floor of the dungeon before reaching the eighteenth floor the next day.
We have set up our camp in a clearing near the lake, and several tents were set up all over the place. And everyone had gathered around the bonfire to eat our dinner, when Finn stood up to announce our next course of action.
"Well, Everyone, we are very near to reaching home. Tomorrow we will again split into two groups and meet at the entrance of the dungeon." Finn laid out the instructions, and everyone started to sit down and finish their dinner.
"Finally, we will be back home!" Alise cried, stretching her body, "It feels like forever since we entered the dungeon."
"Yes, and I'm really glad we were able to complete our objective without anyone getting severely injured," Ryuu added.
"Right, and Arin! Your magic was also awesome, though not as awesome as mine, of course, He-hem!" Alise said, with her usual smug expression, pushing her modest chest out.
"Thanks, though the latter part was unnecessary," I said, which she obviously ignored.
"Still," Lydia stretched her arms above her head, "I can't wait to get back to proper beds and real baths. I feel like I've got a layer of dungeon grime permanently attached to my skin."
"Tell me about it," Tiona groaned. "I think I've got dried monster blood in places I didn't even know existed."
"That's what happens when you charge headfirst into everything," Tione sighed.
"At least I don't smell like a Valgang dragon's armpit!" Tiona shot back.
"Neither do I!"
"Do too!"
"Oh!" Alise suddenly perked up, the Amazon twins' attention turning towards her, Alise's eyes sparkling with excitement. "The lake! We could go take a bath in the lake!"
"The water here is clean as well," said Kaguya.
"Then it's settled!" Alise jumped to her feet. "All the girls, we're going for a bath! Right now!"
"Right now?" Lyra looked uncertain. "Shouldn't we wait until—"
"No time like the present!" Alise declared. "Besides, if we wait, we'll all just get more tired and lazy. Come on!"
"Captain, you can't just decide things unilaterally," Kaguya protested, though she was already standing up.
"Too late! I already decided!" Alise was already dragging Ryuu to her feet. "Lion, you're coming too!"
"I... suppose a bath would be nice," Ryuu admitted.
Alise turned to Ais. "What about you, Ais? Want to join?"
Ais looked at the lake, then back at Alise. "...Yes. A bath sounds good."
"Excellent!" Alise clapped her hands together. "Okay, all girls, gather your bathing supplies! We're taking over that section of the lake!" She pointed to an area on the far side, hidden by trees and rocks.
As the women began gathering their things and heading toward the designated bathing area, though some girls formed a perimeter to keep an eye out, mostly elves since Riveria was there as well. Their hands resting on their weapons and staffs told the whole story; if any man dared to approach that area, they would regret ever being born a man.
Though I was also going to keep an eye out for our group as well, even if I don't think any of them are stupid enough to risk their life.
Settling back down by the fire, Gareth spoke. "In the meantime, anyone up for some cards?"
And so we settled in for an evening of cards and quiet conversation.
After the girls returned from their bath, big smiles plastered on their faces and their shoulders relaxed, it was finally our turn. I gathered my things along with the other men and headed toward a different section of the lake.
"Finally," Bors, a member of Hermes' familia, groaned, already pulling off his armor. "I've been smelling like a wet barbarian for three days straight."
"Only three days?" Gareth chuckled. "I'd say it's been at least five for you."
The banter continued as we all waded into the lake. I let myself sink beneath the surface, feeling days' worth of tension wash away.
"Arin," Finn called out from where he was scrubbing his hair. "You've been pretty quiet since we left the deeper floors. Something on your mind?"
I surfaced, wiping water from my face. "Maybe the same thing you have, along with some other things as well."
"The level up?" Gareth asked, misunderstanding our exchange.
"Among other things," I admitted. The excelia I'd gained from this expedition was substantial—perhaps the most I'd accumulated in a single dive.
"Though I'll admit, your growth rate is... unprecedented. Even for someone with your potential." Finn added, deciding to go along with our conversation.
"Unprecedented and mildly infuriating," Cruz added with a grin. "Some of us have been stuck at our levels for years, you know."
"That's because you spend more time drinking than training," Gareth pointed out.
"Hey! I train plenty! Just... between drinks."
The conversation drifted to lighter topics as we finished washing up. After some time, Raul spoke. "Should we go back now?"
"You guys go ahead, I am going to remain for a while longer," I said, leaning on the shore of the lake.
"Sure, then we will go on ahead," Finn said, and everyone went back to the camp.
I just relaxed at the lake. The water really did work wonders—I felt almost human again by the time I climbed out and dried off. I heard rustle of grass and tree branches. I narrowed my eyes, thinking it must be a stray monster. I prepared my magic, but what emerged from beyond the trees was no monster, but a human girl with blonde hair.
"Ais?" I called out, her eyes met mine, before a surprised expression came upon her face. Clearly not expecting me to be here.
"Arin… I thought everyone returned to the camp…?" she said.
"Yes, I decided to stay back a bit longer. Why are you here, though?" I asked, to which Ais just shifted uncomfortably, her fingers meeting in nervousness, which confused me more. Ais was silent for a moment before she took a deep breath and spoke.
"I wanted to try swimming…" she said.
"Eh?" I let out a weird sound despite myself. "I mean, why so suddenly?"
Ais came closer and sat down near the lake shore. I also decided to sit together with her, our shoulders touching.
"Just when we were taking a bath, Tiona and others decided to help me learn to swim," she said, her voice quiet.
"And?" I asked gently, caressing her hair.
"... I got scared and failed, they said it was alright… but I want to overcome this fear, to let them know their efforts were not useless." She said.
We were both silent after that, until I decided to ask her the question I always wanted to ask. "Do you resent Riveria for giving you this fear?"
Ais suddenly looked up, shaking her head furiously. "No! I said really hurtful things to her back then, I deserved that punishment." She said, without any hesitation. I don't know if she deserved it or not, but I am glad she isn't holding any kind of resentment.
"I see, good, then let's work together to overcome that fear," I said, petting her head. "And I have the perfect method to do that." Ais just tilted her head at my declaration as I thought the perfect method to do that, looking over at the lake.