What kind of decent person sends out a date invitation right after just meeting someone?!
In any case, Ron felt that he himself was a decent person.
Amid the strange looks from the people around him, he could no longer remember whether Ryuu had agreed or not—only that this troublesome elf had gone to the back kitchen with her ear tips reddened.
The result might be a good one?
Thus, in this peculiar atmosphere, Ron quickly filled his stomach.
When he went to the bar counter to settle the bill with the dwarf Mia, he glanced toward the back kitchen out of the corner of his eye and saw a crowd of young girls peeking through the crack in the door to watch the excitement.
"That'll be 2,700 Valis."
"Thanks for the meal."
And when the onlooking crowd witnessed the entire process—and even rarely saw a flustered expression on Ryuu's face—the tall, broad-shouldered shop owner Mia clicked her tongue in amazement.
She put the cleaned glass into the cabinet and couldn't help giving a thumbs-up.
"I've never seen an adventurer like you. You must be a newcomer who just arrived in Orario, right? If you can come back safely, I'll treat you to a drink!"
By the end of her words, Mia's smile was bright and hearty.
"You kid—you're really interesting!"
"…"
He had the vague feeling that his cheeks were a little warm.
But faced with the goodwill Mia expressed, Ron hurriedly nodded. He really couldn't stand this strange atmosphere of being stared at like some rare species.
He decisively chose to withdraw.
Today's dungeon exploration ended here. After returning to the communal dormitory, he saw Mikoto, who had been specially waiting for him, wearing a strange expression.
"I'll just say it was a misunderstanding—forget it…"
Ron really wanted to explain, but when he saw that look—as if she were looking at a fickle heartbreaker—he chose to go along with it.
"Miss Mikoto, what is it that you wanted to see me about?"
"There is something."
The girl had no intention of teasing Ron.
Her tone carried a hint of regret as she shook her head.
"Starting tomorrow, for a period of time, we probably won't be able to team up to explore the Dungeon together."
"Our Familia is about to begin a new exploration plan."
After these two days of team activities, Mikoto understood very clearly that exploring with Ron—whether in terms of overall gains or the rate of ability value growth—was far more efficient than exploring with her own Familia.
But in the end, a Familia still had to develop normally. She also wanted, without any misgivings, to become Ron's partner—but the way to resolve that lay only in that one option.
'Changing Familia.'
Between companions, the god she believed in, and improving her own strength, Mikoto found it very difficult to make a choice. With a serious smile, she said, "Still, I think we will definitely have chances in the future to team up and explore the Dungeon together."
Why did it feel like she was setting a flag?
Ron didn't say anything. With different Familias, this kind of teaming up was hard to keep stable; it just meant having one fewer Lv.2 adventurer assisting during exploration.
That would indeed have some impact on progress.
He spoke in a bright, straightforward tone: "Of course. I also want to work hard to catch up to you, Miss Mikoto."
"I believe you definitely can."
"Maybe before long, you'll almost be a Lv.2 adventurer yourself."
The girl's tone was more solemn than ever.
As he watched Mikoto's departing figure, standing in front of the dormitory building and looking at the scorching midday sun, Ron felt that simply resting like this would be a waste of time. The amount of Soul Shards he possessed was quite considerable—more than enough to exchange for Revival uses.
"I really do need to work harder."
"Solo exploration is slow to begin with; I have to adapt to the environment of the new floors as soon as possible!"
With that thought, Ron slung his pack over his shoulders once more. After organizing the various pieces of armor and equipment needed for exploration, he set off again in the direction of the Central Plaza and Babel Tower.
However, this time he had informed Hestia of the situation in advance, to avoid a repeat of the same mishap as last time.
"Why does it feel like…"
Only when Ron once again stood before the towering circular tower that pierced the clouds did he sigh to himself: "The things I have to deal with are just getting more and more, aren't they?"
...
At midday, there were quite a few adventurers who chose to head into the Dungeon.
And Ron, setting out alone for exploration—with a heavy brass shield on his back, wearing a full set of armor, and carrying an unusually wide variety of weapons—naturally stood out among the crowd of adventurers.
What was more, all the adventurer equipment Ron carried bore the conspicuous ornamentation of the Hephaestus Familia, symbolizing the ultimate source of those weapons.
"Boss."
"Which Familia is this newbie from?"
Among the adventurers clustered together in the Central Plaza, several adult male figures stared at Ron in line with the look of people appraising a fat sheep.
On their shoulders, the emblem of a crescent moon intertwined with a wine cup clearly indicated their identity: members of the Soma Familia. After being alerted by his companions, the scar-faced man at the front—Bruno—narrowed his eyes as he observed Ron's movements.
There was no obvious insignia on him to prove his identity, which meant this guy was very likely someone with a wealthy background who had joined a rather low-tier Familia.
A fat sheep.
He split into a grin, the scar at the corner of his eye looking extremely ferocious.
"Which Familia a newbie belongs to—does that really matter?"
"We only need to know that this guy is rich. All the equipment he's wearing comes from the Hephaestus Familia—it should be worth quite a lot…"
"Isn't that enough?"
The scrawny young man who had been the first to set his sights on Ron had an eager look in his eyes. Yet when he thought about robbing a passing adventurer, he hesitated.
He said to Bruno, "Is it really okay to do this?"
"If it weren't for the fact that there's no oil to squeeze out of that Liliruca brat, and that abnormal conditions have appeared in the Dungeon, would we really be taking such a risk!"
His Familia companion's objection made Bruno's face darken.
He let out a cold snort, his tone turning strange.
"Besides…"
"We're just helping a newbie adventurer. If he really runs into danger, helping him would be a good deed—wouldn't it be normal for him to thank us?"
"Then if he—"
"There are no 'ifs'!"
Just thinking of the taste of divine wine caused the desire in his heart to spread without limit.
Bruno made a swift decision, giving the short sword hanging at his waist a shake.
"With a Dungeon anomaly going on, even if this guy dies down there, it has nothing to do with us."
"You need to understand—"
"The rules of Orario don't reach into the Dungeon. The set of equipment he's wearing— even sold secondhand—would be enough for us to drink divine wine for half a month!"
"If any of you want to back out, I don't mind."
"But if anyone dares to leak this matter, I will absolutely settle accounts with you."
At that point—the members of the Soma Familia looked at one another, as the emotion known as greed continued to spread among them.
The pros and cons were already laid out before their eyes. As long as they kept their hands clean, no one would be able to trace it back to them—the outcome was obvious.
When the captain issued his final ultimatum, they exchanged glances without speaking. Yet their decision to remain where they were already made their final choice clear.
As the captain, Bruno looked at everyone and decisively said, "That's about enough."
"Stretch your bodies. It's time for us to start today's Dungeon exploration—and make sure we catch this fat sheep we've finally run into!"
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