Elsewhere.
"Sword Princess, this way!"
Ais followed silently behind Heith, the two of them weaving through the dense woods one after the other, their movements quick and nimble.
"Why are we going this way? The passage to Floor 18 is over there."
Hearing the doll-like girl's cold, skeptical tone, Heith's delicate features broke into a sly grin, though her feet never slowed.
"Well, that's because..." She tilted her head and winked playfully. "There's backup this way. You heard those explosions just now, right? A mage who can make that kind of noise is no amateur. Roping him in for a temporary team-up makes handling this Irregular a whole lot safer, doesn't it?"
Ais was unimpressed with the explanation. She spoke coldly:
"Hmph. I can kill all those monsters by myself."
Heith snorted, mockery undisguised:
"Kill them all? Easier said than done. And after you kill them? You got the energy left to drag that busted-up rust bucket of armor back up to the surface?"
Her tone dropped, heavier than before:
"Besides..."
"That's not just a plain Monster Party. It's an Irregular. A man-made Monster Dispatch stacked on top of a Monster Party. Double layered."
"What?!"
Heith's words cracked through Ais's composure. Her golden pupils shrank, disbelief plain on her face.
At that same instant, the two burst out of the woods and reached their destination.
...
"Rustle."
The bushes were yanked aside.
Just as Leon was wavering, wrestling internally over whether he should follow that unspoken rule between the Guild and Adventurers and go stick his nose in...
Two figures leapt out from the brush beside him without warning.
Leon: "Huh?"
Ais, Heith: "Huh?"
After a brief stretch of dead silence, all three let out startled exclamations almost in unison:
"You!"
Leon: "..."
Heith, Ais: "..."
For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkwardly delicate.
The awkwardness was mainly between Ais and Leon, of course. Their past few brief encounters hadn't exactly been friendly, and the one time Ais had been successfully lured in by Leon's Monster Hunter Special, Riveria had swooped in and poached it right out from under her.
Results-wise, her "foster mother" had taken the hit for her, sure. But Ais still hadn't gotten to taste that legendary Monster Hunter Special.
As for Heith, she stood off to the side with her arms folded, eyes full of amusement.
Leon was wrapped up tight as a stuffed dumpling, all secretive and mysterious, but she'd recognized him on sight as the fire mage who'd scorched the place clean back on Floor 17.
"Tsk. And you two said you didn't know each other."
Heith let out a light, teasing laugh:
"Look at this vibe. Pretty cozy to me."
Ais's delicate face twisted in an instant. She shot Heith a venomous glare, but in the end it came out as nothing more than a cold huff, and she stubbornly turned her head away.
Leon, unbothered, raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze to the pink-haired girl with twin tails:
"If I'm not mistaken, you'd be the Freya Familia's Vana Mardoll, Heith Velvet?"
"My, my."
Heith feigned surprise, covering her mouth, though the glint in her eyes was pure smug delight:
"To think my humble little title has already spread far and wide. I'm not one to brag, but yes, I am the Vana Mardoll."
"..."
She seemed quite pleased with that title.
Well, fitting for a fanatical devotee of that particular goddess. The devotion was practically spilling out of her eyes.
"Leon Hart, Demeter Familia. Just a nobody."
Leon extended his hand and gave hers a polite shake.
"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Vana Mardoll."
Noticing that Leon's etiquette was measured and tasteful, not a hair overdone, a flicker of surprise crossed Heith's eyes.
She'd assumed that apart from being strong, he'd be cut from the same coarse cloth as other Adventurers. Apparently she'd misjudged.
Leon withdrew his hand and got straight to the point, no small talk:
"What do you two want with me? By the unwritten rules between Adventurers, you're supposed to keep a safe distance, not come barging up to me like this. This is Floor 19. If something goes wrong and you two end up taking the blame, you wouldn't be able to explain it even with a hundred mouths."
Faced with his blunt, unvarnished questioning, Heith sighed and spread her hands:
"As you can see, something's gone sideways on Floor 19."
Her tone grew serious, and she pointed in the direction of the screams:
"You heard that noise just now, right? We happened to be nearby and overheard a group of suspicious types plotting."
"They're planning to drive the monster surge up toward Floor 18 and create a Monster Party and Monster Dispatch stacked on top of each other. A double disaster."
"The poor sods on Floor 19 are just the appetizer. Their real target is Rivira on Floor 18."
"And..."
Heith's eyes turned sharp:
"I'd bet money they've got accomplices waiting on Floor 18 to receive them. Maybe... they've already started moving."
"Now, do you understand how urgent this is?"
As Heith laid it out, Leon's expression visibly darkened.
He raised his head, met her eyes, and ground out through clenched teeth:
"Evilus?"
Heith put a hand on her hip, tilted her head cutely, and gave a crisp little hum of confirmation through her nose:
"Mm-hm."
"..."
Leon drew in a deep breath and let it out as a heavy sigh.
"I just wanted to quietly hunt monsters, grind some Excelia, farm some Valis. Why is that so hard?"
He rubbed his temples, voice thick with resignation.
"We just wrapped up a big one on the surface yesterday. Not even a full day has passed, and now they're pulling something down here in the Dungeon."
"Evilus's internal grind is absurd. By standard protocol, shouldn't there be a rest period after finishing a major operation? Why the hell is it never-ending? Are they chasing KPIs?"
"Or... is it that yesterday's battle was such a big win for us that Evilus got their confidence cranked up and decided they need to ride the momentum for a counter-push?"
Heith pinched her smooth chin, nodding thoughtfully.
"Oh, confidence cranked up? Nice way to put it. Based on the intel we have, that's exactly it. More specifically, they got a taste of something sweet."
"And this scheme of theirs is really nasty."
Heith continued her analysis, voice calm.
"They know perfectly well that after yesterday's lesson, the Order Faction will have dramatically beefed up surface patrols. Launching another head-on raid would be too risky. Not worth the return."
"So..."
She held up a finger, driving the point home:
"They've shifted their target to Rivira on Floor 18."
"It avoids a head-on clash with us on the surface, weakens the Adventurer force gathered in the safe zone, and deals another heavy blow to the Order Faction's prestige and credibility. One stone, three birds."
Leon clicked his tongue, a note of wry appreciation in his voice:
"That plan... really is despicable enough."
Then his tone shifted, and he turned a helpless look toward the depths of the forest behind him, raising his voice:
"Since the situation is urgent, Lady Riveria, how much longer do you plan on hiding?"
"Huh?"
Leon's sudden words put Ais and Heith on instant alert. Almost by reflex, the two of them snapped their heads around to follow his line of sight.
"Riveria?"
"Nine Hell?"
After a brief stunned silence, two incredulous cries rang out at the same moment. Then, in a flash, both girls' cheeks went scalding red.
She had... she had been tailing and watching them the whole way here, and neither of them had noticed?!
This... this was absolutely humiliating!
As if to confirm Leon's call-out, a light, faintly surprised sigh drifted from deep in the woods:
"Oh? You managed to spot me?"
With those words, the tall, elegant figure of the elven royal stepped calmly out from the swaying tree shadows.
Powerful magic and a natural affinity with the forest radiated from her, as if she were woven into the woodland itself.
She gave Leon a small nod of acknowledgment first, then let her gaze sweep over the flustered, red-faced Ais and Heith before settling back on Leon. Her cool voice carried an unmistakable weight:
"Heith is right. That's why we have to stop Evilus's scheme. We cannot let their plan succeed."
...
...
[Read 60+ chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/NiaXD]