Early morning.
When Isagi woke up, he saw that almost at the same time, Ryuu-senpai, Ais, and Riveria were also leisurely waking up from his body.
"..."
Having tossed and turned for the whole night, the "mother and daughter" pair were particularly exhausted. They seemed completely unaware that there was anything wrong at this moment; both of their faces were full of drowsiness, and they almost went limp to fall back down and continue sleeping.
Fighting in Isagi's dream was obviously something that consumed a significant amount of "energy".
Both their bodies and minds were exhausted to the extreme.
And since Ryuu had only been watching from the side and hadn't participated much, she was still fine.
At this moment!
The Elf girl grabbed the two fellows with a very serious expression to prevent them from falling down again. That look, with her pretty face puffed up—not to mention, was actually quite cute.
It was just that the atmosphere was wrong!
Isagi had obviously realized something as well and quickly climbed out of bed.
Subsequently, not knowing where Riveria and Ais's room was, he could only let the two drowsy fellows continue sleeping on the bed, while he and Ryuu-senpai quickly "retreated".
Just like that—
A large part of the day passed quietly.
When Riveria woke up in a daze, aside from feeling a headache to the extreme, her body still felt considerably exhausted, similar to the familiar feeling of having her Mind hollowed out in the past.
She was somewhat familiar with this.
Therefore, the woman also quickly adjusted her own state.
Outside the window, the dim winter sun was about to set. The dim, dusky yellow light sprinkled between the large swathes of houses and long streets of the city.
All around was quiet and still.
To the side, Ais was sleeping quite soundly. Looking at the girl's tender sleeping face covered with a faint blush, Riveria smiled slightly, always feeling that the girl before her eyes was still that cute little child from a few years ago.
It wasn't until a moment later that she seemed to suddenly remember something. She propped her body up from the bed and looked left and right for a long time.
Her consciousness finally gradually recovered.
The great battle with the Tiger Vanguard in that dreamscape, the fragments of memory that could be vaguely recalled from the morning daze, and the fact that purely due to extreme exhaustion, she had passed the entire day in the blink of an eye without even dreaming—
When the time and process were slowly sorted out.
Riveria finally noticed the most important point: that she and Ais had actually slept prone on the boy's body for a whole night?!
Fortunately, no one else knew...
No.
Someone else knew!
Riveria obviously recalled the fact that Ryuu was also there last night!!
[What should I do?]
She was completely unprepared for why such a thing would happen.
But following her train of thought, before the Elf woman had time to be shocked and shy, she recalled the adventure among the floating islands under the sky full of stars last night.
The brow that was originally slightly furrowed suddenly became more urgent, and her fists slowly clenched tight!
Riveria remembered an even more important matter.
That was, last night's dream came to an abrupt end shortly after she defeated the Tiger Vanguard!
What about after that?!
She hadn't killed those few rats in the tunnel yet!!
Her breathing gradually became heavier, and she almost didn't catch her breath.
This certainly won't do!
It wasn't even finished yet, so how could it end? Next time, next time absolutely—
Amidst the warm orange lights, inside the "Old Castle Little Burger" shop that had already started business, Isagi was behind the counter, guiding the newly arrived Chloe and Lunor in their internship!
This was originally supposed to be Demeter and Astrea's job. Because when he was adventuring in the Dungeon with the girls earlier, the two Goddesses had already started trial operations, and the results were quite good; it could be said there were numerous customers and the place was packed.
"Got it meow, got it meow. Two hash browns, then put on lettuce, put on a beef patty, and sauce, pickles... Da-da-da-dan! Finished meow!!"
It felt like spreading sauce on the burger was like administering poison—
Tomato, peanuts, wasabi, black vinegar, coriander, and a little more... Hahaha, fresh out of the oven! This is the "Witch's Little Burger"!!
It truly is "extremely delicious" meow~
As a former assassin, the Cat Person girl covered her small mouth, snickering continuously, causing her companion aside to roll her eyes wildly.
The former bounty hunter girl with short brown hair was concentrating very hard on scooping fries!
Immersing the fries placed in the iron mesh basket into the hot oil.
Counting silently in her heart, and scooping them up exactly on time—only then could she obtain "French Fries" that were golden in color, crispy outside and tender inside, simply perfect!
This was the insight Lady Demeter taught her yesterday!!
She also hadn't expected that this shop would turn out to be the store the other party had mentioned operating before.
That's right, Lunor was very familiar with Goddess Demeter.
As an adventure from outside, the girl had actually secretly "affiliated" herself with the Demeter Familia before, and would occasionally go to the Goddess to update her Ability Scores.
Of course, there were some small stories within that, but those were all things of the past.
And precisely because of this.
Lunor decided to come to the fast-food restaurant to work part-time. As for Chloe, the Cat Person girl had nowhere to go for the time being, so she also stayed.
There was no helping it; recently, "jobs are getting harder to find" in the city.
The more the Dark Familia turtled up, the more the guys related to them who wandered on the gray edges trembled in fear. Under these circumstances, where would anyone still publish any "assassination" jobs!
The previous thought of kidnapping a "Dark Familia Executive" also went up in smoke, because Revis was captured by Ais in the end.
But it had nothing to do with them, so they could only be waitresses for now...
Life is not easy, cat sighing.
However, Chloe was actually quite happy. After all, the boss was such a handsome beautiful youth meow; it even made meow want to touch his butt meow~
Seeming to sense the "danger" in the Cat Person girl's eyes beside him.
Isagi also hadn't expected that the burgers this guy made would be such terrifying things!
Even more unexpectedly.
They actually sold quite well. Tonight, there were already several customers who ran over specifically designating that they wanted to eat the "Witch's Little Burger" made by Chloe. What the hell, are adventurers all guys with such heavy tastes?!
He didn't know whether to say the two girls were naturally gifted or something else.
They actually did quite a decent job. Guys who could possibly upgrade to Level 4 wouldn't be idiots no matter what... No! Anya is an idiot!!
And also—
Following the crisp sound of shattering coming from the back kitchen, not long after, Isagi saw Ryuu-senpai being chased out by Lefiya and the others.
Sigh.
For a moment, words were no longer needed. Isagi silently waved to the Elf girl, preparing to call her over to stay put first and stop causing destruction everywhere. For Ryuu-senpai, just standing behind the counter doing nothing was already her greatest utility!
Opening a shop was indeed different from running a stall before.
Isagi calculated accounts behind the scenes for the whole night. The paper pages were filled with densely packed numerical formulas, making the other girls dizzy just looking at them, looking like they couldn't understand at all.
Like this, until the evening business ended.
Because they didn't provide alcohol, most adventurers still viewed the burger shop as a place to eat dinner. After nightfall, the flow of people gradually decreased.
Isagi and the girls finished cleaning together inside and out, then closed the shop and prepared to return to the [Garden of Stars].
Because there were still plenty of rooms, Lunor and Chloe also moved in.
He was a conscientious boss; of course, he would provide room and board services for employees!
And, this was also a link in "poaching" them...
When they returned to the Familia station, Astrea still hadn't come back.
The Goddess seemed to have been called over by the Guild early this morning, seemingly also including Loki, Demeter, Goddess Freya, and others.
Obviously, it was because of the intelligence Revis spoke yesterday (she had also been transferred and detained in the Guild's prison).
In the Deep Floors of the Dungeon, there existed monsters named "Corrupted Spirits." They seemed able to occupy floors, continuously absorbing the Dungeon's power, and using those "Corrupted Magic Stones" to cultivate new monsters...
These things Revis spoke of were too sensational, making it difficult even for the gods to understand.
Furthermore.
Through her confession, it was confirmed that Dionysus was related to the Dark Familia, and even that Filvis was a member of the Creatures.
Lefiya only felt this was unbelievable, but because she could be considered to have had "mental preparation" beforehand, she was okay.
Dionysus and the Elf girl were no longer in the city. It was unknown if they had sensed something in advance or had long been prepared.
The Ganesha Familia that mobilized today only brought back all the Familia members, including Vice-Captain Aura, who had been hypnotized by the Divine Wine. Unknowingly, they had been converted to the Goddess of Poverty's Familia.
According to the Goddesses' speculation, Dionysus's original plan was likely to participate in the crusade against the Artificial Labyrinth, and then "fake his death" inside.
By sending back the Goddess of Poverty, causing the Familia members to lose their Falna, he would create the illusion that He had already been sent back to Tenkai.
Subsequently, he would hide.
As for the goal, it was probably so that even if this plan didn't succeed, he could continue to lurk in the Lower World, preparing for the next conspiracy.
One could only say he was indeed very "cautious".
Besides this.
Revis also revealed a large amount of intelligence regarding the Artificial Labyrinth. The most important of which was the "Mysterious Orb" item that acted as a key, capable of controlling its entrances, exits, and mechanisms.
She actually carried this thing with her.
Isagi heard that Miss Asfi had also been called over. Together with Fels, the two "Item Makers" who both possessed the [Mystery] Development Ability were preparing to replicate it, so that when the time came, everyone in the general offensive team could have one.
The intelligence problem that originally caused headaches was completely resolved. Looking at it now, the general offensive on the Artificial Labyrinth was already in a state of "arrow on the bowstring".
It was estimated to be within these few days.
Late at night.
After returning home, bathing, and changing clothes, he went to the garden to take care of the small Golden Tree and watered it.
Isagi wasn't very sleepy, and furthermore, he intended to make some preparations for attacking the Artificial Labyrinth.
Foremost among them.
Was that Tiona was about to upgrade to Lv.5. Currently, she only lacked some [Excelia]. Isagi was thinking about taking the Amazon girl to the Dungeon before the crusade against the Artificial Labyrinth, using "Divine Wine" to summon a BOSS, and then killing it to upgrade first.
As for the target—
The "First Miracle (Infant Dragon)" that had turned into a "Zombie Dragon" and wasn't in its complete state previously would be good.
It just so happened that Ais also always wanted to hunt Dragon-type Monsters. The girl wanted to verify the theory of changing to a large-scale weapon that he had discussed with her before.
At the same time.
Isagi had a new idea, one he only realized after waking up this morning, regarding the application of his Divine Power... In the [Dark Hall] last night, he had groped out a tiny bit of insight on how to use Divine Power.
Dots of light lingered around his fingertips.
Among them, he could see many, many "images" from within. But they weren't like in the dream, explicitly images of fighting powerful opponents.
Rather, they were certain small, fleeting "concepts," or perhaps—
[Inspiration].
Carrying them, Isagi walked quickly toward Cecil's workshop.
The red brick house located in a corner of the courtyard still had its lights on. Through the window, he could see the girl's busy figure inside. And now, he was going to verify some conjectures in his heart...
Isagi stayed in Cecil's workshop for quite a few days in a row.
In the blink of an eye, time passed hurriedly.
It was still a sunny deep winter; the weather was fine, and the night breeze was gentle. Ais, fully armed, ran over to the [Garden of Stars] very actively.
Because Isagi told her that before the crusade against the Artificial Labyrinth, he planned to go to the Dungeon to kill a "Special Infant Dragon" first, to help Tiona accumulate the Excelia to upgrade to Lv.5.
Regarding this.
Ais was naturally duty-bound!
But before that, she needed to try a new weapon!
"?"
What is this?
This is too big, isn't it, Isagi?
The girl, whose height was currently only about 1.6 meters, looked at the giant weapon before her eyes, simply somewhat unable to believe it—
Not to mention the Desperate Sword she originally used.
Even the drills and chainsaws Isagi let her try using before seemed like children's toys in front of it.
Isn't this too exaggerated?!
"This is a weapon for hunting Great Dragons."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. This is one of the equipment provided specifically for hunters who crusade against Dragon-types—"
She always felt the boy was talking nonsense. After all, she had completely never heard of "Hunters" or anything like that!
However.
The weapon before her eyes, shaped coolly like the kind of "Tachi" used by swordsmen of the Far East—actually, it was indeed called by this name.
It was just that compared to a normal two-handed Tachi, it was much more massive.
The length of the blade alone was at least over two meters. While requiring two hands to hold, the weight it brought was something even she, as a Lv.5, could feel sinking in her hands.
And, not only that.
At the boy's signal, she began to wave it in the courtyard.
Ais had actually never used such a two-handed long saber, but inexplicably, she felt it was very "handy," as if she should have been using such a heavy and huge weapon originally.
Furthermore.
Following the girl's magnificent sword dance, the dark blade edge that was originally just flashing with cold light actually gradually floated up with a halo of light.
At the very beginning, it was white, then gradually turned into golden yellow, and finally turned into an incomparably deep crimson color.
Following closely.
Was that Ais felt the Tachi in her hand becoming lighter and lighter, and the speed becoming faster and faster. It even gave her a hallucination that no matter what was before her eyes, she could cut it in two with a single slash.
Undoubtedly, even though she was just waving it toward the air right now.
But the girl could feel that its sharpness had also increased greatly, and it could even be said to have reached a certain extreme.
This is exactly—
"Spirit Blade."
Isagi spoke.
The Tachi before her eyes was a "Hunter Weapon" he had originally asked Cecil to forge, preparing to let Ais try it out. It was just that originally, it only had the appearance, and did not possess the true "Mechanism".
But just a few days ago, he groped out the method to use Divine Power.
And then he discovered.
Through those light dots of "Fragments of Memory" or "Fragments of Inspiration," he could endow certain mechanisms he knew onto weapons, allowing them to possess similar "Traits".
[Through continuous attacks, or specific attack methods, one can accumulate the Spirit Gauge, and after filling it, activate the Spirit Blade (Open Blade), increasing attack speed, destructive power, and unlocking more powerful moves].
This was an attempt.
It was also one of the ways to use Divine Power that he had just groped out. However, Isagi could feel that the things Divine Power could do were far more than this. Perhaps, there were even more magical uses.
It was just that this still required accumulating more Divine Power.
Realizing that he now had an additional "Side Quest," which was to go adventuring in the Dungeon to charge the "Dark Covenant Ring," and then return to the city to let other adventurers enter his dream to suffer.
Thereby obtaining more Divine Power from the Dungeon.
Ai ma (Oh my).
It didn't conflict at all with the main quest of "Exploring the Dungeon" anyway.
"How is it, this new weapon?"
"Mn... Very... very good... Thank you!"
The golden-haired girl stammered. Clearly, as an adventurer, she should be considered the senior, but for some reason, in front of Isagi, Ais always had a feeling that she was the "child."
This made her always appear at a loss, just like when she was facing Mama Riveria.
____
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