"Ais! How are you?"
The familiar figure blended with the image of her mother in her memory, causing Ais to tilt her head in a daze and move her dry lips.
"...Mom? Mom?"
The soft murmurs reached Riveria, who could no longer control herself. Her eyes suddenly grew hot and blurry, and she fought the urge to rush forward and hug the bruised and battered Ais.
Noah widened his eyes slightly, looking hesitantly at the girl's back.
Tsk, did she hit her head? Why does she keep seeing her parents everywhere?
But when Noah saw the elf's eyes filling with tears, her lip bitten tightly, he began to waver.
Wait, are they really mother and daughter? But I can't see the resemblance at all. One is an elf, the other is human. One has green hair, the other is blonde.
Unable to figure it out, Noah gave up thinking and simply pushed Ais toward the green-haired elf, not wanting to look like some villain preventing a family reunion.
"Ais!"
Caught off guard, Riveria subconsciously let go of her staff to catch Ais with both hands.
With a crisp "clang," the staff fell to the ground, and its nine expensive-looking gems were covered in dust.
A faint glint of light from the gems almost looked resentful to Noah.
After urgently checking Ais's condition, Riveria quickly took out a potion she carried with her.
She fed half the tube to Ais before pouring the remaining half directly onto her wounds.
As a magical mist with a strong medicinal scent rose and dissipated, the many hideous injuries on the girl's body healed at a visible rate, covered by the faintly glowing, colorful liquid.
Noah raised his eyebrows as he watched, confirming once again that the level of magic in this world was far higher than he had imagined.
However, as he watched, his attention was drawn to the elf's pale neck.
Because she was leaning forward while holding the girl, the conservative high collar of her robe had opened slightly, revealing the curve of her collarbone.
The lines of her neck were slender and graceful, like a swan's, and her skin was so translucent that you could vaguely see the blue veins beneath…
The blood of elves must be sweet, right?
At the thought, the weakened Noah couldn't help but swallow, a deep craving stirring within him.
Strictly speaking, Noah was not a pure-blooded human. This was common in a magical world where various races coexisted.
Half-elves, half-orcs, and half-dwarves were numerous, and there were even a fair number of half-dragons.
But perhaps because it had not yet fully awakened, Noah didn't know what the other blood in his veins was.
Aside from his magic being more active at night and in natural environments, the most unique trait was his ability to obtain magic through the bodily fluids, especially blood, of women with exceptional latent qualities.
Noah knew it sounded a lot like a vampire, but he wasn't afraid of the sun; in fact, he rather liked it.
Nor did he have other vampiric abilities like fangs or turning into mist.
Therefore, he didn't worry about it, simply regarding it as the reawakening of a bloodline from some special race that had disappeared in ancient times.
After receiving two doses of the potion, Ais's breathing and pulse stabilized, and Riveria finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she realized she seemed to have forgotten something.
Riveria looked up and immediately met a pair of blue eyes.
Silence hung between them until Riveria came to her senses, let out a small scream, and snatched her staff from the ground to take a defensive stance.
But before she had raised it halfway, she stopped herself.
Although she didn't know where this stranger came from or why he was with Ais, the fact that he had handed Ais over and hadn't attacked while she was distracted made it clear he was a friend, not an enemy.
If that was the case, then her behavior was obviously inappropriate.
Realizing this, Riveria, known to the world and her companions as a calm and composed leader, couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush.
However, she was a mature adult and has learned to hide her embarrassment. After all, if you aren't embarrassed, then someone else will be.
"Hello, I am Riveria Ljos Alf, vice-captain of the Loki Familia. May I ask who you are?"
Looking at the female elf who had regained her composure, Noah thought for a few seconds and chose not to answer.
Until he recovered his strength and understood the situation in this world, he wanted to avoid contact with others as much as possible.
Even if the other person was good, it was hard to predict how they would react after learning he was from another world.
Judging others by his own standards, Noah knew he would definitely place such an individual under surveillance, if not detain and interrogate them first.
The silver-haired boy didn't answer.
After a final glance, he simply turned and walked away, sword in hand.
This was not what Riveria had expected.
That look was certainly not polite or friendly, yet she couldn't sense any malice or rejection from it.
If she had to describe it, it was like a traveler seeing wild deer in a forest and giving them an indifferent glance before moving on.
Tsk, why do I feel that way? It must be my imagination.
Perhaps this young man is a member of a Familia from outside Orario, so he doesn't know of the Loki Familia?
Thinking of this, Riveria looked at the boy, whose injuries were no less severe than Ais's, and took out her last tube of potion.
Potions were precious, with a starting price of over 500,000 Valis.
Now, due to obstructions in Dungeon exploration and a shortage of raw materials, the price had been rising steadily.
Even so, these potions were sold out as soon as they became available; they were priceless treasures.
In this turbulent era, where one could be attacked just walking down the street, any adventurer with a shred of sense wanted a potion that could save their life in a critical moment.
If they couldn't obtain them directly from their allied production Familias, even a major power like the Loki Familia wouldn't be able to acquire many.
This supply was a drop in the bucket for a Familia constantly fighting on the front lines against monsters and Evilus.
Riveria had brought these three vials with her when she went looking for Ais, having a premonition that something dangerous might happen.
"Here. If you don't mind, please accept this."
Noah turned his head and saw the same tube of medicine that had just healed the little girl being offered to him.
After a moment's thought, he took the potion. He hadn't forgotten his poor sense of direction, and he was still in this bottomless Dungeon.
He didn't want his magic to run out before he could find his way out. Having a restorative potion would make things much easier.
Seeing him accept the precious potion, Riveria breathed a sigh of relief.
"Our Loki Familia's headquarters is the Twilight Manor, in the northern district of the city. If you have the chance, please pay us a visit so we can properly express our gratitude."
Holding the potion, Noah looked at Riveria one last time, then left without looking back.
Watching the silver-haired boy disappear into the dust and gloom, it took Riveria a long time to come to her senses.
"A mysterious boy..."
Just as Riveria was lost in thought, Ais let out a moan and slowly woke up.
"Ais! What's wrong? Are you still in pain? Does anywhere hurt?"
Seeing the usually calm Riveria so flustered and concerned, Ais's eyes filled with warmth, affection, and guilt.
The girl opened her arms and hugged the elven royal, pressing her face into her robes.
"I'm fine, Riveria."
Looking at Ais, who was showing the soft attachment of a normal little girl, Riveria finally relaxed and couldn't help but gently stroke her soft, golden hair.
"Honestly…"
When Ais finished enjoying the hug and raised her head shyly, Riveria's expression changed.
"Now that you're okay, I think we can have a little talk about you running off..."
Looking at Riveria, who had a blank expression but exuded a terrifying aura, Ais's face turned pale.
"R-Riveria..." she whispered softly, but it could not bring back the motherly love in the high elf's heart.
Somewhere deep in a dark corridor, light reflected off a huge, distorted, ominous shape as roars echoed everywhere.
"Go find Valletta! Tell her to tear that vile human to pieces, get the key back, and avenge my hair!"
---
"Finally out!"
Noah walked out of the ground floor of Babel among teams of other adventurers who were also blood-soaked and exhausted.
Looking at the dark night sky, still shrouded in rain, which made it a little depressing, but far more spacious than the underground caverns, Noah almost wanted to roar in triumph.
Unsurprisingly, after leaving the 12th floor, Noah had quickly gotten lost in the maze of tunnels.
It took him half a day to find another group of adventurers who looked like they were heading back, and he followed them from a distance until he reached the surface.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have acted so cool. I should have at least followed them out. Next time, I'm definitely finding someone who knows the way before I go down!"
After washing the dust and blood from his body in the icy rain, Noah weighed the pouch in his hand, listening to the crisp sound of coins shaking and colliding.
While lost, Noah had inevitably encountered many monsters and killed them all. Though it was another world, collecting materials after a kill was an ingrained instinct.
To his delight, the monsters in this world automatically dropped materials upon death, no manual dissection required.
It was clean, hygienic, and simply awesome. Noah had exchanged all the materials for money on the third floor of Babel.
So, the next step was to find a place to have a good meal and get some rest.
Thinking of this, Noah looked around the spacious circular plaza and finally found a street that seemed to have more pedestrians.
Perhaps due to the continuous cold rain and the late hour, there were few people on the streets, and the ones he did see had gloomy expressions.
There were also uniformed, armed men patrolling, who occasionally looked warily at Noah, covered in wounds and carrying a weapon.
Noah had experience with this. He just stood blankly on the street and stared back at the guards.
Those who seemed like they might approach to question him eventually just shouted something like, "Rookie, go home and rest!" before turning and leaving.
The air was filled with tension and vigilance, and Noah couldn't tell if this was the city's normal atmosphere or if something major had happened recently.
He didn't really care, but the problem was that after looking around, he found that most of the pubs and restaurants were closed.
Even though it was past dinner time, in a city full of adventurers, shouldn't taverns be bustling until dawn? Was the public safety here really that bad?
He walked along the street until he reached the towering city wall, then found another path back.
Before he knew it, he was almost back at the plaza under the giant tower again.
Just when Noah was about to give up, he finally caught a glimpse of warm light illuminating the darkness.
The Hostess of Fertility?
Well, this will have to do. If I don't eat soon, I'll starve.