Torches flared to life, and with them appeared somewhere between twenty and thirty monsters.
Besides the half-bird Harpies, there were Gargoyles and Griffons circling overhead, Lamias coiled along the ground, and more besides...
Their species differed, their appearances differed, but they all shared one thing in common:
the intelligent, inquisitive look in their eyes as they watched the two of them.
Standing at the very front were four figures. Besides the stone dragon and the siren Xien already knew, there was also a bird-person and a lizardman. When Xien saw the lizardman, he more or less understood the situation.
So it wasn't that he hadn't been born yet. It was just that they hadn't let all their decision-makers come out for the first meeting.
Which made sense. If they all got wiped out in one go, wouldn't that be a total disaster?
Climbing up onto the shore, with his clothing shifting back into its usual form, Xien looked at the stone dragon, Gros, and smiled as he always did.
"Yo. How have things been lately? And you too, Rei. Any trouble?"
His casual greeting caught the other two off guard. To be honest, their impressive formation had been meant to test his reaction.
But his response was completely different from what they had expected.
There was no fear, no disgust. Only the ease of an old friend meeting old friends again—so natural that it made them feel a little at a loss.
Seeing that, the stone dragon shut his eyes without drawing attention to it. The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
"Ahem. Thanks to your kindness, we haven't run into any major problems. It's just that a few floors started shaking strangely a few days ago."
Rei looked a little embarrassed. He'd been thinking about them all this time, and they had responded by testing him.
"Oh, that. We caused that. Ran into a troublesome enemy..." Xien said, then glanced at the other two. "So these are your other leaders?"
"That's right. This lizardman is Lyd, and this bird-person is Fels."
"Nice to meet you, Xien," Lyd said. "I've been wanting to meet you for a while now. It's a rare opportunity."
Then the lizardman stepped forward and extended his scaled, clawed hand.
At once, every sound in the cavern vanished.
Everyone watched in silence, waiting to see how the boy would react.
Xien understood at a glance. He stepped forward and took the dangerous-looking hand without hesitation.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Xien."
"Yeah. Let's get along."
Lyd bared his fangs in what was unmistakably a grin as they shook hands.
A roar of cheers erupted instantly.
It was a historic moment. Through that single handshake, the distance between both sides visibly eased.
"If we're friends now, then let's throw a feast!"
A wave of howls and cries answered him.
Xien couldn't help noticing how innocent they all were, despite the fangs, claws, scales, yellow eyes, and monstrous faces.
Redcaps clapped their hands. Bird-like girls leaped into the air in delight. Beastmen slowly raised both hands overhead. Almirajs bounced up and down.
The cheers went on and on.
It was almost as if they were celebrating the meaningful first step in a friendship between monsters and humans.
Then, from somewhere at the edge of the circle of magic-stone lanterns, someone called out loudly:
"Rei, sing for us!"
A portion of the monsters was now fully swept up in the mood, clamoring for a song.
The siren beside Miao'er sighed, then glanced at Lyd. He seemed amused and gave a small nod.
Rei smiled and rose to her feet.
"Can't be helped, then. I'll sing. May it add a little color to this banquet. Miao'er, you too."
"Okay..."
She had only taken a few steps forward when she suddenly leaped, landing lightly atop a cluster of magic-stone lamps like a feather.
Turning back toward Xien and the others, Rei smiled.
"With both our kin and our human guests here, I'll have to put a little extra heart into it."
Then she took a light breath and closed her eyes.
In the next instant, a melody utterly unlike anything of this world flowed from her lips.
"Wow...!"
The clear, graceful song made joy immediately bloom across Ryu's face. Hearing the familiar tune, Xien took a sip from the drink in his hand and smiled.
There was no mistaking it—it was one of the songs he had taught Miao'er.
Looks like they'd had a very pleasant exchange.
So Miao'er had been getting along quite well with them after all.
Bathed in the glow of magic-stone lamps and quartz light, the golden-winged songstress pressed one winged hand to her chest and sang with joy, delight, and a smile.
With Miao'er's accompaniment woven into it, the melody—lacking both instruments and lyrics, made only of pure voice—captivated the soul in an instant.
Xien could feel it clearly: the joy of reunion hidden in the song.
At the center of the circle formed by humans and monsters alike, the songstress stood singing with her eyes closed.
That figure, bathed in magical light, was so elegant and beautiful that it scarcely seemed earthly.
It was a scene that had no business existing in a monster den deep underground—
or perhaps it was exactly the sort of mysterious, dreamlike instant the Dungeon occasionally allowed one to glimpse.
The song echoed through the labyrinth.
It was a beautiful sound no one there had ever heard before.
Even Ryu lost track of time listening to it, smiling without even realizing it.
Then, just as the song reached its climax, the songstress descended in front of Xien.
"Dance with me, my partner from the surface! Please, one dance!"
Xien responded with his usual confident smile.
"Then I'll do my best."
The two figures stepped out into the center of the circle. The curious monster girl took his hand, and as she began to move, Xien smoothly matched her steps.
For the current him, understanding and following such simple movements was no challenge at all.
The singing siren smiled in surprise, then mischievously changed the tune dramatically.
The graceful melody shifted into something brighter and livelier, a rhythm not quite like a waltz but just as spirited.
Song, cheers, and laughter filled the cavern.
Watching the dreamlike sight before her, Ryu found herself speechless.
Then, without noticing, she smiled.
At that moment, race did not matter, nor origin.
The only thing anyone had to do was enjoy it—to enjoy the warmth and happiness of that instant.
Still, watching the two dance, Miao'er couldn't hide the trace of envy on her face.
She wanted to dance with Xien too.
The siren's singing and the cheerful voices all around caressed the ear.
The banquet continued, though soon it was Ryu who found herself pulled into the center. Judging from the panic on her face, however, keeping up was not easy for her.
Xien watched with amusement and thought, As expected of my hopeless elf. If she would just be a little more honest, she'd do just fine. But to trip herself up out of sheer embarrassment? Far too entertaining.
"Oh, right. This is for you."
Xien took a bag-like item from his waist and tossed it to Gros.
"What is this?"
"The supplies I mentioned before. Didn't you say you needed things? And there just happened to be a Guild commission to deliver goods to you, so we brought them. That was the main reason we came down here this time."
"I see. Thanks."
The word made the others nearby stare at Gros in shock.
After all, this was the one among them most prejudiced against humans. None of them had expected to hear him thank one.
Before Gros could flare up at the strange looks he was getting, Xien smiled and went on.
"It's nothing. Even if we're different species, as long as you have hearts, and as long as you truly want peaceful coexistence with us, then I'll support you. My companions will too. Astraea is the same."
As he said that, Xien patted Miao'er's head. He had already noticed her little sulk, and from the way she kept glancing toward the dancers, he could more or less guess why she was unhappy.
"Still, our attitude doesn't represent all of Orario. So for your own safety, you still need to be careful in your contact with humans. Outside of normal encounters in the Dungeon, if you ever discover traces of people specifically hunting your kind, tell us. We're looking for those scum too."
"And be careful. Those people have no bottom line anymore. They use filthy methods even against their own kind, so they won't hesitate to use them against you either. Traps, poison, drugs—anything despicable is possible..."
As they listened to Xien calmly and seriously analyzing the dangers from their perspective, the surrounding Xenos gradually fell silent.
What they felt from him was something very close to the sense of safety they felt from their own leaders.
He was genuinely thinking for them.
"If that's the case, then I think we have seen a group like that before," said Fels. "A bunch of people who seemed to be searching for us. No idea how they managed to move around so unpredictably..."
"That's probably the artificial labyrinth," Xien said after rubbing his chin and thinking it over. "The legacy of the descendants of the craftsman who built Orario and Babel long ago. It seems to have been taken over by people with bad intentions. No one knows how many hidden entrances there are throughout the Dungeon. It's like a network of attached unexplored zones. Since we don't know the full map, enemies could appear on almost any floor. Be careful."
"...That's incredible. It's the first time we've heard of anything like that."
"It's more like a secret buried in history. I only learned about it by chance myself. That said, that's all I know. But if you have the spare energy, you could try investigating it. Since it's man-made, if you use the different strengths of your various races to identify likely entrances and mark them down, you should be able to reduce the risk a little."
"That really helps..."
Good times never lasted forever.
The banquet ended, everyone had grown more familiar with one another, the task had been completed, and after a while longer of chatting, the two of them rose to leave.
This meeting was a historic first contact between Astraea and the Xenos. It had also laid the foundation for future cooperation, communication, and intelligence exchange.
If this relationship held, Astraea would gain a new set of allies in the Dungeon.
For hunting down the hidden forces of Evilus lurking below, that would be an enormous help.
The Xenos would benefit as well. Their existence had, to some extent, been acknowledged, and they would now have access to information that could help keep them safer.
After all, given the special nature of Astraea Familia, many of the human degenerates who threatened the Xenos' lives were also the sort of people who worked with Evilus—in other words, Astraea's enemies.
If they paired that with transmitting urgent information through communication magic items, a great many casualties could likely be avoided.
It was a true win-win.
That was also one of the things Xien had discussed with them during this meeting.
They still could not change the Xenos' situation overnight.
But if total peace was not possible yet, then the next best thing was to help them live a little better.
Those practical words moved the Xenos far more than any grand, vague promises about one day achieving harmony between humans and monsters ever could.
That realistic, problem-solving attitude was exactly why Gros, who distrusted humans more than anyone, had come to think so highly of Xien.
Because he was truly standing in their shoes, examining their problems, and working backward from there to find solutions.
He did not indulge in unrealistic fantasies that everything could be solved at once.
Nor did he lose hope because the tasks ahead were difficult.
Listening to his plans felt like watching someone patiently build a house brick by brick.
Solid. Grounded. One piece placed after another.
Even the Adventurers' Guild—who had been in contact with them long before—had never made them feel that way.
When it came time to part, more than just Miao'er was reluctant to see their "different kind" of friend go.
Most of the newly born Xenos were still simple and sensitive at heart. For someone like Xien, who so genuinely cared about their welfare, it was only natural that their affection for him kept rising.
In the end, it was Miao'er who escorted them back out once more.
But before he left, Xien made up for her one lingering regret.
After whispering a few things to Ryu, he turned back alone.
And just as expected, he found Miao'er still waiting underwater.
At his signal, the two of them surfaced together.
"Xien? What is it? Did you forget something?"
Miao'er looked puzzled, and a little guilty. She'd planned to secretly watch him one last time after he was gone.
The boy before her smiled.
"Of course. Didn't I still owe my little princess a dance? How could I possibly forget something that important?"
"!!!!???"
"So then, my princess—would you grant me the honor of a dance?"
Miao'er felt her heart beating faster and faster. Warmth spread through her whole body, filling her with energy. Without even thinking, she answered at once:
"Of course. I'd love to."
"Then, my princess—this way."
Taking Miao'er's little hand, the two of them sank beneath the water, beginning a dance meant for them alone.
And when he finally left, Xien was rewarded with the sight of that small face wearing a smile from the bottom of her heart.
....
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