At the entrance to Orario's dungeon.
Lefiya and Ais had arrived early, waiting for Alice.
Since Alice needed to return home first, the two who came straight here clearly made much better time.
Knowing that Alice wouldn't arrive for a while yet, the pair sat by the edge of the fountain.
Lefiya pulled out a delicate little box from her backpack. Opening it revealed some delicious-looking sandwiches.
"Miss Ais, Alice's place is a bit far. She probably won't get here for another ten minutes or so. Why don't we have a bite to eat now? Once we're in the dungeon, we might not get another chance."
Lefiya took one of the sandwiches from the box and handed it to Ais.
"I made these myself. Go on, try one, Miss Ais. I hope they're good."
She watched Ais expectantly.
Normally, it would be better to wait for Alice and eat together. But right now, this was a rare chance to be alone with Ais.
Compared to a good friend, the person she admired was far more important.
If Alice got upset later, Lefiya would just apologize properly. She was sure Alice would understand.
"Sandwiches, huh…" Ais's train of thought was straightforward as ever. She wasn't picking up on Lefiya's intentions at all—right now, she just wanted Alice to hurry up so they could head into the dungeon.
If Alice could make her stronger, that would be even better.
As for eating together with Alice…
Wait, were they eating now? Wasn't this just a snack?
A few sandwiches couldn't possibly fill anyone up.
Taking the sandwich from Lefiya, Ais took a few small bites, then praised, "It's delicious, Lefiya."
"Really?" Hearing Ais's compliment, Lefiya's heart swelled with joy. She lowered her head and giggled softly. "Hehe."
Another ten minutes passed. The two finished the sandwiches Lefiya had prepared, but Alice still hadn't arrived.
"But honestly, Alice is so slow today. I wonder if something happened?" Lefiya frowned, puzzled, and glanced in the direction of Alice's home.
"Very slow…" Ais agreed. Then she recalled something. "Now that you mention it, Loki said Alice seems to have a talent for attracting trouble."
"Ah… You don't think something really did happen, do you?" Lefiya sounded worried.
"Don't know." Ais shook her head.
Just as Lefiya was debating whether to go to Alice's house and check on her—
A group of about twenty adventurers entered the dungeon entrance, meeting up with their companions who'd been waiting. They were apologizing—looked like they'd kept their friends waiting for a long time, too.
"Hey! You're late!"
"Sorry, sorry! We saw something interesting on the way."
"Something interesting?"
"Yeah. Apollo Familia's got their eyes on another kid. This time it's a super pretty girl, and crazy strong too. Rumor has it she's from Loki Familia."
"You kidding? Apollo Familia, of all people, daring to mess with Loki Familia?"
"Well, well. It's just a 'maybe.' She might not actually be from Loki Familia. Remember that short-lived search Loki Familia had a while back? It died down pretty quick, but I've got a feeling the girl they were looking for is the one I saw today."
"That so?"
"Yeahhh—she was incredibly beautiful. And strong, too! She cast magic without any chanting at all and took down Hyakinthos from Apollo Familia just like that. My guess is Apollo's so-called 'Sun's Darling' is licking his wounds back at their home base right now."
"Huh… So what's the girl's title?"
"Well… that's the weird part. Apollo's captain said she isn't part of any Familia, but she used magic and took down a Level 3 like Hyakinthos like it was nothing. How could she not be in a Familia?"
"So, what's her name and title, then?"
"That's the thing—seems like nobody's heard of her. I asked the other adventurers who were with me, and none of them had ever seen her before either. My guess is she's some kind of hidden ace for Loki Familia."
"I see. So what's her name?"
"No idea."
"Huh? No idea?"
"Yeah. She didn't introduce herself, and Hyakinthos didn't say it either. So nobody knows what she's called. But it might be Alice. Hyakinthos mentioned 'Alice the Puppeteer,' so maybe she's the dollmaker who created those Alice Dolls a while back."
"If that's true, then Loki Familia's about to get even stronger. Wonder what would happen if they went up against Freya Familia now."
"Who knows? Not our problem, anyway. So, what floor are we aiming for today?"
"The 14th."
"That's pretty deep."
"Yeah. My basic stats are nearing their limit. Gonna train a bit more, then take on a Great Feat."
"I see. Level 2, huh? You're about to get a title of your own."
"Yeah…"
Chatting and laughing, the adventurers gradually disappeared into the dungeon.
Lefiya and Ais remained seated by the fountain, still waiting for Alice. But now, they both understood—Alice had definitely run into some kind of trouble that had delayed her.
"Apollo Familia, huh? Alice really has attracted trouble from a troublesome Familia," Lefiya murmured, furrowing her brow with concern for Alice's future.
"Hm? What trouble?" Alice's voice suddenly came from behind Lefiya.
"Eek!" Startled, Lefiya jumped to her feet and turned to look. There stood Alice, looking perfectly calm and composed.
"Alice! You're here! Are you okay? Nothing happened to you, right?" Lefiya asked worriedly, examining Alice closely.
Hyakinthos was Level 3—a second-tier adventurer, and a skilled one at that. Lefiya was fairly sure she couldn't beat him one-on-one.
Alice might be stronger than her, but probably not by much.
No-chant magic was powerful, sure, but it was useless if it didn't hit.
Though she didn't know exactly how Alice had won against him, as those adventurers claimed, in Lefiya's mind, even if Alice had come out on top, it couldn't have been easy.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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