"Hehe... you're still thinking about what happened yesterday, huh, Lion?"
Lyra teased with a sly grin.
Hearing her words, the tips of Ryuu's ears couldn't help but turn red.
They were now on the 27th floor, walking through what adventurers refer to as the Water City, making their way up to the surface after their party had reached as far as the 29th floor.
"Judas, I can't believe you actually gathered the courage to grope Lion. You seemed like a gentleman, but in reality, all men are nothing more than beasts."
Lyra added, her amusement visible on her face as her eyes curved into crescent moons.
Throughout the dungeon dive, the girls had noticed that Ryuu and Judas had been subtly avoiding each other, creating a slight tension within the group.
Thankfully, this didn't affect their teamwork, and their entire dungeon exploration had gone smoothly.
"Tsk, I can't believe I missed out on something entertaining."
Kaguya spoke with a voice full of regret.
She had been passed out drunk when it happened, and only found out because the other customers had explained everything.
"Lyra... Kaguya, please shut up."
Ryuu's voice was hoarse as her head hung low.
Surprisingly, Alise... who was usually the loudest and most obnoxious of the group... was quiet.
She walked ahead of the party, showing only her back toward them.
As for Judas?
He followed a few steps behind, keeping his distance.
'That Xenos mermaid... she's been following us for quite some time.'
Judas thought as he turned his head to the right, spotting a cute pair of eyes peeking out from behind a rock.
The moment their gazes met, the mermaid flinched and hid herself beneath the water.
'Those eyes... they didn't have a hint of hostility, unlike the monsters I've seen so far. That's definitely a Xenos.'
'Thankfully, it seems Alise and the others haven't noticed her yet.'
Although he hadn't made contact with the Xenos, as far as he was concerned, they were not enemies.
Not on good terms but not on bad terms either.
'After remembering how Ais reacted to the existence of talking monsters back in Season 3... although Alise and the others are trustworthy...'
'I don't know what they'll think if they find out intelligent monsters exist.'
Still, he could easily imagine Alise being accepting toward them.
Since Lyra and Kaguya trusted their leader deeply, they'd most likely follow suit.
'There's no need to rush things. Whatever happens to the Xenos has nothing to do with me right now.'
He put those thoughts aside and stared at the giant waterfall in the distance... the Great Fall, a massive cascade estimated to be 400 meters wide and twice as long.
It started from the 25th floor and stretched all the way to the 27th.
When Judas had first stepped foot into these floors and saw it... the intrusive thought of diving off the waterfall had crossed his mind more than once.
'Maybe in the future.'
"Mister Spade."
The sound of Ryuu's voice cut through his thoughts.
He turned to see her looking straight at him.
"Don't stay too far behind. This is still the dungeon... we don't know when monsters might ambush us."
Before Judas could reply, Ryuu quickly cut him off.
"Don't worry, I'm not angry about what happened. I know it was an accident. Please don't act so distant because of me."
Ryuu's sky-blue eyes met Judas's purple ones.
"Right... sorry about that."
Judas said, offering a light smile as he rejoined the group.
"Apology accepted."
Ryuu nodded in satisfaction.
Alise, who overheard their exchange, sighed in relief before breaking into a bright grin.
"That's right, everyone, let's stay vigilant!"
Just as she said that, the river beside them stirred violently.
A high-pitched screech filled the air as a fish monster burst from the water, jaws wide.
"A Voltimeria... I finally get to see one."
Judas muttered, recognizing the blackish-purple, stone-scaled body that Rose had shown him in one of her lessons.
Despite visiting these floors several times before, this was his first encounter with that type of monster.
A rare creature found only in certain parts of the 27th floor, where deep waters and strong currents met.
It was also one of the strongest monsters on the floor.
"Hmph."
But that didn't matter, because the moment it appeared, Kaguya had already sliced the monster to pieces before it even touched the ground.
"More incoming!"
Lyra shouted, pointing at the water.
Sure enough, Judas saw the surface ripple violently before a swarm of fish monsters burst out toward them.
"Woohoo! Now this is more like it! Judas, watch how this beautiful maiden slices these fishies down!"
Alise shouted excitedly, clearly eager to show off.
"Hey! The person with the least kills has to pay for dinner tonight!"
Lyra added, hurling several bombs with a grin.
Of course, the monsters on this floor were no match for the group, and they wiped them out with ease.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing after hearing that, can I?"
The corner of Judas's lips curved upward as a magic circle appeared over his palm, joining in on the fun.
...
The next day, atop the city walls, three figures could be seen engaged in a spar.
But if you asked Judas, it wasn't much of a spar... it was a one-sided beatdown, as Alfia relentlessly struck with fists, feet, and weapons without mercy.
"Argh!"
"Urgh!"
The sound of flesh hitting concrete echoed through the area.
Two bodies hit the ground.
Alfia looked down at Judas and Belle, both gasping for breath and looking worse for wear.
"Judas... a-are... you... alright?"
Belle panted between breaths.
"Yeah."
He replied, chest heaving up and down.
"All right, that's it for today's training."
Alfia said calmly, opening a healing potion and splashing it over both of them without even looking.
"There'll be no training tomorrow, so enjoy your rest day."
She hoisted Belle onto her shoulder with one arm.
"What? A rest day? You actually give rest days?"
Judas stood abruptly, eyes wide... only to immediately regret it as pain exploded through his body.
"Hm? What? You don't want to rest and would rather train more?"
Her tone was flat, but her gaze was sharp.
"No... a rest day is good."
Judas closed his eyes, exhaling in relief.
"I'm not that harsh. I only let you experience the brink of death a minimum of ten times a week," she said.
"Besides, too much training can be bad. If you don't rest once in a while, your body will break."
With that, Alfia leapt off the wall and disappeared from sight.
Used to her abrupt exits by now, Judas took his time healing himself before standing back up.
...
On the 50th floor of the dungeon... another safety point where no monsters spawned, similar to the 18th floor.
A flag bearing a joker symbol waved proudly in the air.
Finn Deimne, the Pallum captain of the Loki Familia, raised his voice across the encampment.
"We're returning to the surface!"
The words echoed like a battle cry, carrying with them the weight of triumph and fatigue alike... a solemn herald of the return of one of Orario's greatest Familias.
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