Taiyaki, takoyaki, grilled squid...
"How about some chocolate bananas and candied apples too? They look pretty tasty."
Loki was loading up on strongly flavored snacks, while Alice picked out some sweet fruits.
Loki was just taking a break. As noon approached, Alice prepared to meet up with Ais and Lefiya, planning to stroll around the streets some more in the afternoon.
She'd just bought a whole bunch of sewing materials. In the afternoon, she could look for some special ores or similar things—materials that could serve as a framework or be used for crafting weapons.
As for Loki...
Well, Loki wasn't exactly the type to suggest clothes shopping. If left to plan the afternoon, she'd probably just linger around the food stalls.
So it was better to have Loki tag along with her. At worst, when buying things later, Alice could just use her 'Gap' to store all the purchases, saving Loki from carrying anything.
After buying the snacks, Alice turned back.
But halfway there, the crowd erupted into chaos. The residents of Orario were running in panic.
Seeing the flustered citizens, Alice frowned.
The direction they were fleeing from... was exactly where she had left Loki.
'Something better not have happened...'
A wave of worry washed over Alice. Here in the lower world, Loki's physical abilities were no better than an ordinary human's.
Forget facing monsters; even just getting caught in a stampede could be disastrous for her.
Normally, Loki always had at least one familia member of level 4 or higher by her side for protection.
But today, for this 'date' with Alice, Loki had given strict orders: no one was to show their face. She wanted to fully enjoy her alone time with Alice.
So now, Loki was completely unprotected. You could say she was at her most vulnerable.
If, because Alice had left her side, Loki ended up getting 'sent back' right here in Orario... well, that would be a fine mess.
So, ignoring the surrounding chaos, Alice immediately took to the air, flying swiftly back towards where she'd left Loki.
"Alice-chaaan!!! Save me!!!"
Halfway there, while carefully scanning the ground, Alice suddenly heard that all-too-familiar voice—Loki's.
Looking down, she let out a sigh of relief.
There was Loki, sprinting at full speed, with three green plant-like monsters hot on her heels.
The scene looked terrifying, but as long as Loki was still unharmed, everything was manageable.
Alice dove rapidly towards Loki. Simultaneously, a dozen or so fireballs materialized around her and shot towards the plant monsters chasing Loki the instant they formed.
'Grrrr...'
The green plant monsters, their forms like tangled vines or serpents, let out low, guttural growls.
The next moment, the three vine monsters were completely engulfed in the flames Alice had unleashed.
Loki, noticing the commotion behind her, glanced back and saw the monsters writhing in the fire, with Alice descending from the sky.
Spotting Alice, Loki sniffled, then rushed towards her with a cry, throwing herself into Alice's arms. She clung tightly and began wailing loudly.
"Waaahhh!!!"
"It was so scary, Alice-chan! I thought I was gonna get sent back today! Waaahhh!!!"
Loki had thrown herself into her embrace, and Alice didn't push her away.
In fact, a pang of guilt shot through Alice's heart.
The fact that Loki could safely cry in her arms now was just pure luck. If their luck had been just a little worse, those three plant monsters might actually have finished Loki off.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I should have been more careful." Alice felt deeply apologetic. While monster appearances inside Orario were almost unheard of, and these three plant monsters were undoubtedly due to some anomaly, that was no excuse.
Orario wasn't usually this dangerous.
But that wasn't a valid reason for having left Loki alone. This was her mistake.
"No... it's fine." Loki clearly sensed Alice's remorse and guilt.
Her expression instantly shifted, becoming light and carefree. "I'm at fault too. You're not my child, Alice, and this 'date' was my idea in the first place. I should have just stuck by your side earlier."
Loki said this because she didn't want Alice to dwell on it too much.
Besides, the most important point was that no one could have predicted monsters appearing in Orario.
"These monsters... I've never seen anything like them before..." Loki intentionally steered the conversation away from Alice having left her side.
She stared at the plant monsters, still struggling against the flames, and asked with a furrowed brow, "Alice, do you know what these things are? Did you encounter anything like them, or similar, during the expedition?"
"No..." Alice shook her head. "While there are many monsters that look somewhat similar, I can feel that these are quite different from the Dungeon's monsters."
Sensing the aura of the plant monsters, Alice was suddenly reminded of their experiences in the Dungeon.
"You know, these monsters give off a very similar feeling to the ones we encountered on the 50th floor, the ones with highly corrosive fluids."
"New monsters from the 50th floor..." Loki's headache seemed to intensify upon hearing this. She lifted a hand to rub her temple. "Is the Dungeon undergoing some abnormal change?... I wonder if Ouranos knows about this."
The plant monsters gradually burned to ashes under the assault of Alice's fire magic.
Seeing the monsters vanish, Loki breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, if we can kill them, then it's not a huge problem. This city has no shortage of adventurers, if nothing else."
"What a shame, Alice-chan. It seems our shopping trip is cut short. Who knows if more of these monsters have appeared elsewhere."
"For now, let's go find Ais and the others. Monsters bursting right out of the ground... that's a major incident for Orario."
"Sticking together is probably our safest bet now."
"What do you think, Alice?"
Loki looked at Alice, who nodded. "Let's go find Ais and them."
"Mm." Loki took the lead, guiding the way.
Alice followed behind her, a persistent, uneasy feeling gnawing at her insides. She lifted her head and gazed at the sky. In that moment, the very heavens above felt... threatening.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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