Labyrinth City, Orario.
A spring morning.
At the famous pub on West Main Street, the Hostess of Fertility, although not yet open for business, the waitresses were already busy.
"It's unfair, meow! Why does Lunoire get to take a day off today?! I want to go out and play too, meow!!"
"I'll say it again, you stupid cat, I'm not going out to play, I have official business!!"
"Oh my, is going on a date with a handsome boy also official business, meow?"
"This has nothing to do with you, Chloe!!"
Early in the morning.
Two cat-person girls, who were also pub employees, surrounded their coworker Lunoire and kept arguing.
"Speaking of which, what exactly happened last night, meow? Lunoire suddenly got out of bed, shouting 'Lady Demeter!' and rushed out, meow."
"I don't know either."
Lunoire shook her head.
She was originally a bounty hunter, but due to various circumstances, she was now a pub waitress.
But ever since she came to Orario.
Lunoire had joined Goddess Demeter's Familia.
Of course, she wasn't an official Familia member; she merely relied on her divine power to update her status board.
But even so.
Lunoire felt deeply grateful to Goddess Demeter. Therefore, last night, upon realizing something had happened outside the city, her first thought was to rush to the Goddess's side.
As a result...
As soon as she got there, she found the Goddess intimately hugging a handsome white-haired boy.
"Since Lunoire isn't willing to join the Familia, I have no choice but to find a new love~"
The Goddess had said such strange things.
And then she introduced the guy who claimed to be from Empyrean.
Huh?
Empyrean?
Lunoire couldn't understand it, but in her confusion, before returning, she accepted a request from Goddess Demeter.
That is.
To protect this boy named El and help him complete his first "adventure" into the Dungeon.
The Goddess seemed to value him quite highly.
Asking a high-level adventurer to accompany someone on their first trip to the Dungeon—Lunoire didn't get it, but she agreed anyway.
Asking for a leave of absence went smoothly.
Although the pub's boss, Mama Mia, was strict, they did have to go to the Demeter Familia every day to buy ingredients.
"Anyway, that's how it is. Got it, you stupid cat?!"
"Hmph, hmph, hmph, so you're not going out to play, meow!!"
Anya came to this conclusion.
"..."
Hard, her fists were getting hard!!
A popping vein mark appeared on Lunoire's forehead as she wanted to punch this idiot's head.
And then...
"Ah, good morning."
The pub's doors were pushed open. The white-haired boy wearing a purple trench coat tilted his head slightly, looking over with a smile.
"So tall, meow!"
Anya had never seen such a tall human boy before. He was at most seventeen or eighteen, right?
But he was at least 1.8 meters tall?!
And...
"What is that flying round ball, meow?!"
"This is called a mechanical assistant."
"Mechanical assistant, meow?"
"A mechanical assistant is a mechanical assistant."
"Meow?!"
El smiled, ignoring Anya who had fallen into a state of mental crash. He didn't plan to give an in-depth explanation of a Mechanic's most important tool either, because it would take forever.
He just greeted the two catgirl maidens looking his way.
And...
The green-haired elf sweeping the floor, and the gray-haired human girl wiping the tables.
"Can we go?"
"Let's go."
Lunoire put on her gauntlets.
The brownish-red scarf around the girl's neck fluttered. Paired with a white short-sleeved shirt and dark shorts, she looked capable and heroic.
"Is it okay to dress like this to go to the Dungeon?"
"Of course!"
"I see."
El thought they would need more rigorous protection.
He looked thoughtful.
On the other side, after the two left the pub, the gray-haired girl who had been wiping tables suddenly ran outside, staring at El's back for a long, long time.
"What's wrong, Syr?"
The green-haired elf came to her friend's side and asked softly.
"Nothing, Ryuu."
Syr shook her head, not planning to tell the other what she was thinking.
Because.
"Isn't that child's soul way too murky?"
The girl, who was searching for an incomparably pure and shining soul, was simply in disbelief at what she had just seen—the soul of the boy named El.
It was simply... like someone who had walked out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Had there been such a tragic war outside of Orario recently?
She quickly withdrew her gaze.
Syr felt that this child was the exact opposite of the kind of person she would like and love.
Too filthy.
No, even a boy with such a heavily scarred heart could still put on such a gentle smile just now.
This world is truly interesting...
...
The entrance to the Dungeon labyrinth.
El and Lunoire followed the crowd and walked inside together.
"So many people."
El couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
"You even have to line up to enter the Dungeon?!"
Orario was a city built entirely with the Dungeon as its center, not just to fend off the endless stream of monsters emerging from within.
More importantly.
The magic stones obtained after defeating monsters were also an extremely vital resource.
Orario's development could not be separated from magic stones.
Therefore, entering the Dungeon, eliminating monsters, completing Guild quests, and gathering rare materials were the daily life of an adventurer.
"Is that what the Guild Advisor lady said?"
El had almost memorized her words verbatim.
In fact.
Early this morning, before heading to the Hostess of Fertility to meet up with Lunoire, he had first gone to the Guild to register as an adventurer.
"El, you're LV1, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, even though I'm by your side, it's better to stay in the beginner's area. Lady Demeter asked me to protect you just to prevent any accidents, but you have to do the fighting against the monsters yourself."
Lunoire was a LV4, second-tier adventurer.
In Orario, that could definitely be considered one of the very few powerhouses. You have to know, nearly half of all adventurers were at the lowest LV1.
"So, for our goal this time, let's head towards the 3rd floor first!"
"Alright!"
For rookies who had just become adventurers, the Guild recommended exploring floors 1 to 4.
Because generally speaking.
From the 5th floor onwards, monsters that were difficult for rookies to handle would appear.
Because monsters weren't fixed to act on a certain floor, occasionally, accidents would happen where deeper floor monsters came up to higher floors. Therefore, generally speaking, for the first time entering the Dungeon.
The 2nd and 3rd floors were the safest.
Lunoire had clearly given this suggestion after careful consideration.
Following the spiral staircase along the stone walls continuously downwards, the two soon arrived inside what looked like a crisscrossing cavern.
After a long time...
...
"Prepare for battle!"
Lunoire shouted, alerting El to the monsters appearing not far away.
It was a few goblins holding clubs.
"Where's your weapon?"
It was only at this moment.
Lunoire finally realized that ever since entering the Dungeon, El had been empty-handed. The only things worth noting were the two mechanical assistants flying beside him.
"Waaaaaah!!"
The goblins, raising their wooden clubs, yelled and charged forward at this moment.
Lunoire was a little nervous.
After all, it was her first time bringing someone to the Dungeon. She thought El was scared silly and was just about to dispatch the monsters first.
Then, she saw the boy pull out a metallic-gleaming...
Thing?
Bang bang bang bang bang bang!
A series of sounds rang out. El calmly reloaded his automatic pistol while looking at the goblins that had turned into cold corpses after being shot in the head.
He thought to himself, this thing really does work best.
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