"Our apologies! That was rude of us!"
The leader of the group of adventurers apologized and lowered his head in recognition of their error. He then led the adventurers away in another direction.
"Hmph hmph! Koro is mine! Nya nya nya!"
Seryu, acting like an adorable young girl (which she essentially was), even made a face at them. She then hugged Koro tightly, burying her head into its warm fur.
After finishing the cleanup, Lin Feng led Hayasaka Ai and the others toward the surface. Since they had so much loot, the enlarged Koro was tasked with carrying some of it.
Just as they were about to reach the surface, the sound of many adventurers running suddenly echoed from the distance.
"I need to use Little Megumi's magic, Concealment. I will follow you out after you leave."
Lin Feng quickly told Hayasaka Ai and the others, then immediately used magic to conceal himself. If he, a god, were discovered sneaking into the Dungeon, especially after an incident like this, he might very well be blamed for the entire monster stampede.
This was why Lin Feng didn't want to be discovered. If the Lin Feng Familia were slapped with that accusation, anything they did in Orario, big or small, would be adversely affected.
So, Lin Feng wanted to remain undetected as much as possible.
"You! Are the adventurers trapped below safe?"
A large group of adventurers rushed toward Hayasaka Ai's group. They paused in surprise when they saw them, then quickly asked, as they were currently on an urgent mission.
"The trapped adventurers? Are you talking about... that monster stampede?"
Hearing the adventurer's question, Hayasaka Ai pressed her index finger against her fair cheek, feigning an adorable expression of thought, and spoke slowly.
"Yes!"
"If I'm not mistaken... we were the ones who were surrounded..."
Hearing Hayasaka Ai's answer, the adventurers present were completely stunned. Four cute and delicate-looking girls had managed to escape such a dangerous incident completely unharmed! It was utterly shocking.
"Then you must hurry to the surface and rest! Let us deal with the monsters down below!"
"Oh! Ohh!!!"
"Um... excuse me, but those monsters are already gone. They were completely annihilated by us."
Just as the adventurers' spirits were rising with excitement, Hayasaka Ai poured a bucket of cold water over them, chilling them to the core.
"What?!"
"No way!!!"
"I remember they just became adventurers; how could they eliminate a monster stampede of hundreds of monsters!"
The adventurers present all gasped in astonishment, some even dropping the weapons in their hands without realizing it.
After all, what the adorable girl in front of them said was truly unbelievable.
"A few of you, go down and check!"
"Isn't that unnecessary, Sir? Look how abundant our haul is!"
Hayasaka Ai had Seryu bring Koro over. The adventurers saw Koro's large stature, which suggested considerable strength, but the bags hanging all over its body also made them chuckle slightly.
"Mmm... indeed... but I apologize, we are on a mission from the Guild, and we must confirm the facts."
This adventurer was not someone who would believe things easily. After all, it was a Guild-issued mission. If they went back now and something happened below, what would they do?
So, investigating thoroughly once was the best course of action.
"No problem, then we'll head up first!"
Hayasaka Ai felt that caution was fine; after all, smart people wouldn't confirm something was true based only on one-sided information.
"Whoa! Miss Hayasaka Ai! Are you alright?"
The moment Hayasaka Ai's group emerged, they heard a voice they had become familiar with recently. It was indeed Miss Eina from the Adventurer's Guild.
"We're fine! We had a full harvest today! Hehe."
Hayasaka Ai held up her bags, which were visibly stuffed, and the bags carried by her teammates were the same. The surrounding adventurers waiting to watch the show were astonished.
"You... could it be?!"
Eina was the quickest to react, instantly thinking of the rampaging monsters. She couldn't believe they had actually been dealt with by these few people.
"Mhm! It's exactly that 'could it be.'"
Smart people didn't need to say much; they understood each other.
Wait... where is Lord Lin Feng?
Eina stood on her tiptoes, looking behind Hayasaka Ai's group, but she couldn't find Lin Feng's figure, which made her confused.
Did the messenger misremember?
There were only four girls, no one else.
"Miss Eina?"
Hayasaka Ai called out the half-elf's name with a look of feigned confusion. Inwardly, she knew it was highly likely that Eina knew her Lord God had been in the Dungeon.
This was a bit troublesome; she had to stall and deceive her for now.
"I am truly sorry! This is due to poor management by our Guild, which almost caused your newly established Familia to..."
The worried Eina felt half the weight lift from her heart when she saw Hayasaka Ai's group return safely.