Heimdall looked at the girls, their faces already flushed with the satisfaction of food and drink, their eating pace noticeably slowed.
It was time.
...
"By the way,"
"I've been listening to Tsubaki go on and on about your performance all this way."
"I forgot to hear your own thoughts."
"Your first time in the Dungeon, and fighting monsters."
"How did it feel?"
Heimdall spoke softly.
At these words,
Kirukiru Amou was the first to put down her knife and fork.
Then, casually wiping the grease from the corner of her mouth, a palpitation-inducing glint flashed in her narrow, phoenix-like eyes.
"Amazing."
Brief.
Forceful.
Kirukiru Amou licked her lips, her voice carrying a barely suppressed excitement. Her slender fingers traced a light arc in the air, as if still savoring the earlier battle.
"That feeling of resistance when fingers pierce flesh."
"The sensation of warm blood splattering on your cheek."
"And the crisp sound of a monster's bones breaking as it dies..."
"Every moment, every second."
"Makes me feel"
"that I'm truly alive!"
"Compared to those restrained matches of the past!"
"This kind of all-out, uninhibited slaughter!"
"And the thrill of life hanging by a thread."
"It intoxicates me utterly."
"I'm starting to believe I was born for this."
An expression of near-rapture appeared on Kirukiru Amou's face.
These words
made several Adventurers at the next table shiver involuntarily, looking over as if at a lunatic.
Heimdall, however, took it in stride, nodding approvingly instead.
"That's good."
"Only those who enjoy battle can go further in the Dungeon."
"I believe you won't lose yourself to it either."
"What about the others?"
Heimdall then looked to the other side.
"Tsukiyo doesn't have that particular feeling like Amauha does."
Inaba Tsukiyo tilted her head slightly, her face with tightly closed eyes facing Heimdall's direction, her voice soft.
"It's just that Tsukiyo feels very fulfilled here."
"The movements of those monsters, even their killing intent... Tsukiyo can feel them clearly."
"And thanks to this sword granted by Lord God."
"And the blessing of the gods."
"Without these, Tsukiyo absolutely couldn't have reached this level today."
Inaba Tsukiyo reached out and gently stroked the famous sword named [white egret] placed by her side, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"That's right!"
Rin couldn't help but interject, nodding vigorously with a look of complete agreement.
"My [black crow] is the same!"
"If it weren't for that sword, plus the grace bestowed by Lord God..."
"I might have been completely surrounded by those Killer Ants long ago."
Rin touched the hannya mask hanging at her waist, which had already been repaired, revealing a slightly embarrassed smile.
"In the end..."
"It's all thanks to Lord God."
"Indeed."
"If we had to fight those monsters with the scrap metal we brought ourselves..."
"It's hard to say if we could even be sitting here eating whole right now."
It seemed the alcohol was taking effect.
The girls chimed in one after another, suddenly talking much more, nodding in agreement like chicks pecking at grain.
In their eyes,
The reason they could rampage through the Dungeon today as if cutting vegetables,
That divine artifact capable of slicing through iron and mud, and that blessing of the gods surging within their bodies, absolutely accounted for ninety-nine percent of the credit.
As for themselves,
They were probably just lucky enough to cling to this Lord God.
Hearing these words, the expressions of the surrounding Adventurers, who had initially just been watching the excitement, also changed.
At first, they were only surprised by the composition of this party—a beauty, a beast, and a god.
But after a few rounds of drinks, their attention finally shifted away from the two bears and landed on the weapons carried by the girls.
The air in the hall noticeably stagnated for a few seconds.
"Hey... look at the sword on the waist of that samurai girl wearing the mask..."
At the next table, a seasoned Adventurer covered in stubble lowered his voice and poked his companion with his elbow.
"That forging pattern... and the material of that scabbard..."
"That's high-grade gear from the Hephaestus Familia, right?"
"Maybe even one personally crafted by Tsubaki herself?"
"Hiss—"
His companion gasped, forgetting to bring the wine cup to his lips.
"Are you kidding me..."
"What's the background of these newcomers?"
"Even Adventurers above Lv.3 might not necessarily be able to afford weapons of that caliber, right?"
"They each have one?!"
Envy, jealousy, and deep reverence.
This was the most basic value system of Orario—equipment often represented strength, or perhaps an even more terrifying background.
However,
Facing the gazes from the surroundings that were almost scorching them, and the girls' babbling, attributing all the credit to themselves,
Heimdall's expression finally began to settle down.
He shook his head helplessly in the end, then raised his hand and made a gesture to stop them.
"Stop."
As soon as he spoke, the girls, who had been excited, immediately quieted down.
Heimdall set down his wine cup and calmly swept his gaze over the faces of his girls.
The girls exchanged glances, unsure if they had said something wrong.
-------------------------------
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