Ais recognized the boy in front of her—Qianshuo.
Based on Lefiya's description—katana, black hair, about the same age as her, and frighteningly good with a blade—everything matched up perfectly.
Even if there was an enormous "gap" in their status and stats, Ais was a swordsman herself. With a single glance, she could tell that Qianshuo's understanding of the sword went far beyond ordinary skill.
Ais knew her own swordsmanship was more about using the sword—using it as a means to become stronger, to reach a goal.
Qianshuo was different.
His sword was… beautiful.
Not "pretty" in appearance—beautiful in the sense of being clean and decisive.
No wasted movements. No wasted strength. Every cut landed exactly where it should, as if he had known from the start how the monster would move.
Ais wielded a sword to become stronger.
This person's sword felt like it existed for the sword itself.
That was the "evolution" of her vision after reaching Level 5—she saw more than most people, more directly, more deeply. And she could faintly sense something like sword intent around Qianshuo—only a little, but it was there.
"…Was that a bit rash just now?"
Ais started to regret blurting out, "Can we fight?" She immediately remembered Riveria's warning.
"Ais. Challenging someone without thinking, or probing their abilities, is extremely rude. If you do that, you'll bring shame on me—and on our familia."
Those were Riveria's exact words.
Ais felt a chill run down her back.
Riveria… she wouldn't know, right? It was just her and Qianshuo here.
Meanwhile, Qianshuo came back to himself after the initial shock and instinctively studied Ais.
Why did she look… unfamiliar, yet somehow a little familiar?
And that earlier line—"Can we fight?"—he could feel it: her sincerity. She truly wanted to fight him, purely to fight. No ulterior motive at all.
This is battle-hungry on a whole different level… even worse than me.
"Wait…"
Qianshuo's gaze sharpened as he looked her over more carefully.
Same age as him—twelve or thirteen. Blonde hair. A sword at her waist.
In all of Orario, there was only one person with that image.
"Ais Wallenstein?"
He asked cautiously, testing her with her real name.
Ais froze. Her clear eyes went wide.
What the—? I got found out instantly?!
And then her mind caught up.
If she admitted it, then that "Can we fight?" line could reach Riveria—
Riveria would look at her with that Ais, you did it again stare…
…and then she'd be punished with writing self-reflections.
A hundred times.
"No. Absolutely not. I can't be recognized."
"I'm… I'm called…"
Her brain spun at full speed.
Riveria? No—too famous.
Tiona? No—she's an Amazon.
Then…
"Alicia Forestlight."
She delivered the name with a perfectly blank face, while internally applauding herself at maximum volume.
Perfect.
Alicia was an elf—Qianshuo shouldn't know her. Flawless plan. No holes.
"…."
But what she got in return was Qianshuo's silent, unwavering stare.
If he didn't already know Alicia, he might've actually been fooled.
There was no doubt about it—this blonde girl was Ais.
That realization made Qianshuo genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected to run into the youngest Level 5 in Orario here.
She also looked… kind of spacey. If he remembered right, Ais was even a year older than him—but she was this airheaded?
That was unexpectedly… impressive, in its own way.
And judging by how guilty she looked, she clearly didn't want her identity exposed. Qianshuo couldn't help it—he laughed.
Meeting like this… fate was weird. And the first thing she did was ask to fight. Yeah—she was definitely a battle maniac.
Since she didn't want to "reveal her identity," Qianshuo naturally didn't poke the hole in her act. He just smiled.
"Then I must've mistaken you, Miss Alicia."
"But earlier—"
"That wasn't me talking."
"…No. My brain just… glitched for a second."
The moment she heard "earlier," Ais immediately cut him off, speaking with absolute certainty. Her dusty little face was filled with deadly seriousness.
Qianshuo sighed and decided not to tease her anymore.
He walked over, pulled out the handkerchief Heith had packed for him, and offered it to her.
"Wipe your face."
He held it out. "You look pretty rough right now."
Ais looked down at herself.
Her clothes were splattered with monster blood. Her hands were gray with dust and dirt. Her face…
She touched her cheek, and her fingers came away with something sticky.
…Yeah. She was definitely dirty.
She took the handkerchief, then stared at it—deep in thought.
Qianshuo waited a few seconds. "What's wrong?"
Ais lifted her head and looked at him with an extremely serious expression.
"I don't really know how to wipe my face."
"Rivi— my friend usually does it for me."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Can you help?"
Qianshuo honestly wondered if he'd misheard.
A Level 5 first-tier adventurer. Orario's youngest genius.
Asking him—in the most matter-of-fact tone imaginable—to wipe her face for her.
And her eyes were painfully sincere. Sincere enough that refusing felt almost cruel.
Qianshuo let out a breath. "…Fine."
He took the handkerchief back and carefully wiped the grime from her face.
Up close, her face really was beautiful.
Skin pale as if it had never seen sunlight. Eyelashes so long they looked fake. Golden eyes right in front of him.
Ais didn't blink. She just stared at him, expression unchanged.
Is this girl seriously not embarrassed at all?
Qianshuo looked away and focused on wiping, forcing himself not to think about anything else.
"Okay. Done."
He stepped back, returned the handkerchief to her, and said, "You can wipe your hands yourself. You can handle that, right?"
Ais looked at the handkerchief, then at her hands, and nodded.
"…Probably."
Qianshuo fell silent.
So the Sword Princess has zero life skills. Got it.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Miss Alicia, are you alone in the Dungeon? You're carrying so much."
He'd noticed that bottomless backpack—something usually only supporters carried.
Of course, for a Level 5, that amount of weight was basically nothing.
"Mm. I need money to fix my weapon… or I'll get scolded."
Ais nodded lightly.
This time, Riveria had forbidden anyone from giving Ais financial help, so she had to earn it with her own hands.
Seeing her slightly aggrieved look, Qianshuo almost laughed out loud. He never expected the legendary prodigy to have this side to her.
But just as he was about to say something more—
A deafening roar shook through the mist.
The ground trembled once.
A huge half-beast burst out of the fog.
Qianshuo's eyes narrowed in surprise.
A mutated boar-headed half-beast?
It was clearly bigger than the ones from before—about three meters tall, even a bit taller than a Minotaur.
…An unexpected bonus.
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it