Goblins.
The dominant creatures prowling the seventh-floor labyrinth of the Dungeon.
These monsters moved in packs, wielded weapons, and always showed up in groups—at the very least, a squad of five.
Though, even the larger goblin bands rarely exceeded fifteen.
Call it one of the Dungeon's little rules, I suppose.
Shanghai and Hourai had been withdrawn by Alice into the Gap, and her little army of dolls had reached their limits. Not a single puppet remained by her side now.
Back when she was with Asfi, most of the monsters they'd run into had been handled by the two of them along the way.
Asfi would toss out alchemical tools like they were spare change.
Alice would fire off magic bullets like she had endless mana.
They made quick work of every monster they encountered, and Asfi handed all the magic stones they dropped over to Alice.
Alice couldn't help but envy Asfi's seemingly bottomless resources, while Asfi herself was deeply curious about Alice's own staggering reserves of magical energy.
But now, Asfi wasn't here.
Without someone more vigilant around, Alice's own guard had slipped just a bit. Goblins possessed no magical energy, and against creatures like that, her senses weren't nearly as sharp.
By the time she realized she was being ambushed—
Five or six goblins were already leaping through the air, weapons aimed straight for her.
Though her awareness might've been lacking, Alice's reflexes were anything but slow. A Spell Card instantly materialized in her hand, and she was just about to crush it when—
A dazzling figure swept in, swift as the wind, and in the blink of an eye, dispatched every goblin surrounding her.
Seeing that help had arrived, Alice stayed her hand—though the Spell Card remained at the ready.
Both had golden hair, but Alice's was a deeper shade, with just a hint of curl at the ends. The woman before her, however, had lighter, brighter gold hair that fell all the way to her waist.
Alice had once considered growing her hair out long, if only to distinguish herself from the version of her that lived in her memories of Gensokyo. But after two or three months in Orario, it still hadn't grown much. If she wanted hair as long as this woman's, it'd take years.
A long time, sure—but Alice was genuinely curious about how she'd look with long hair.
"Are you all right?"
Her rescuer held a sword that looked expensive just to glance at, and wore lightweight armor. From that wind-swift movement earlier, it was clear she was an exceptional swordfighter.
As grateful as Alice was for the help…
This particular woman spelled trouble.
Even though Alice had never dealt with her directly, she'd certainly crossed paths with one of her ardent admirers.
After all, Alice had made plenty of Ais dolls.
Ais Wallenstein. Currently Level 5. The "Sword Princess" of the Loki Familia—and incredibly powerful.
"I'm fine, thank you for stepping in," Alice said, offering her gratitude.
She knew she wouldn't have been in real danger, but the woman had acted out of kindness. That deserved thanks. Of course, if this same woman tried to apprehend her later, Alice wouldn't hesitate to make a run for it.
"Good. That's good." Ais's face remained expressionless, her voice cool and detached. She gave off an air of total aloofness.
But every time Lefiya came to place an order for Ais dolls, she'd end up preaching to Alice about Ais's virtues—so Alice knew better. The Sword Princess was actually a very simple-hearted soul.
In Lefiya's words: a total airhead.
So, chances were, she still had no idea Alice was the one Loki was after.
"Are you exploring the Dungeon alone?" Alice asked curiously.
"No. I came with my companions," Ais replied, shaking her head.
"I see," Alice nodded. If she was with her party, that might be okay—but if Lefiya or Tione were among them, things could get complicated.
"What about you? Are you here alone?" Ais asked in turn.
"Yes, just me," Alice answered with a faint smile.
"I see…" Ais fell silent for a moment, blinking slowly before adding, "The Dungeon is dangerous… alone."
"I know. But it's alright."
"Oh."
The two of them just stood there, staring at each other.
An awkward tension hung in the air. Ais didn't seem to know what to say, and neither did Alice. So they remained at a standstill.
Finally, Alice broke the silence.
"I was actually about to head back. Did you just get here?"
"Yes. We're preparing for an expedition, so I came with my companions to earn some money for supplies."
"I see," Alice nodded.
The affairs of the Loki Familia were troublesome for her, yes—but ultimately, just a minor inconvenience. And in the grand scheme of things, her own situation was probably nothing more than a trivial matter to them.
Expeditions were far more important to the Loki Familia.
Compared to whatever was going on with her, preparing for the expedition obviously took priority.
"Well, you should probably get going. Your companions are likely looking for you, and I need to be on my way," Alice said.
"Okay. Be careful," Ais replied, a hint of concern in her voice.
"You too," Alice nodded.
With that, she turned and left.
"Lefiya, let's go," Ais said, watching Alice's figure disappear into the distance. Then she turned around—only to find no one there. She tilted her head, confused.
"...Lefiya? Where are you?"
Elsewhere in the labyrinth, a green-haired elf had just rescued a party of four adventurers. She turned to them and asked:
"Have any of you seen the Sword Princess of the Loki Familia?"
"Nine Hell…" one of the adventurers stammered, utterly stunned to be speaking face-to-face with Riveria of the Loki Familia.
"We haven't seen the Sword Princess, but about five minutes ago, we caught a glimpse of a golden-haired girl heading that way. It was only for a second, so we can't be sure it was her."
"But if it was anyone, it might've been that 'Golden Ghost' girl everyone's been talking about lately."
"Is that so? Thank you."
Riveria's eyebrow twitched slightly.
Ordinarily, as a Level 6 adventurer, she wouldn't have lost track of Ais.
But Aiz had wandered off when Riveria wasn't paying attention—and Riveria could tell the girl still hadn't even realized she was lost.
After hearing from Bete about the magic used by that girl Loki had taken an interest in, Riveria had been preoccupied. Her mind had wandered, and so had Aiz.
"Golden Ghost," Riveria murmured, frowning. "It couldn't be… that child, Alice, could it?"
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