"Aiden, he actually..."
Lefiya's cheeks violently flared red once more, threatening to instantly revert back into a steaming kettle. The re thought of Aiden rocketing past them at high speeds entirely underwater made her skin crawl with absolute discomfort.
"I don't believe he did it on purpose," Ais said, remaining quietly subrged in the water. Lowering the arms she had used to cover herself, a faint, adorable blush lingered on her doll-like, exquisite face, but she still chose to speak up in Aiden's defense.
"Well, I also highly doubt Little Aiden is that kind of guy! But ssing with him was honestly super fun! Did you guys see that 'Who am I? Where am I?' look on his face? It was absolutely priceless!" Tiona chid in, entirely unbothered by the situation, giggling happily to herself.
As Amazons, the twin sisters might not have been as utterly shaless as so of their kin, but they were still wildly passionate and completely uninhibited. Their reaction to the entire ordeal was far less dramatic than the rest of the girls.
"Whether he did it on purpose or not, we absolutely can't just let him get away with taking such a massive advantage of us, right!?" Anakitty, the Cat Person, protested. Placing her hands firmly on her hips, her slender tail lashed back and forth in clear, undeniable agitation.
"Exactly! Even if we ignore ourselves, he still saw Lady Riveria! We absolutely cannot just let this slide!" Navi, a human girl with short red hair, echoed her anger fiercely.
"Yeah, exactly! And he was so incredibly rough with Miss Alicia too! To just violently throw soone like that, it's way too much!" Lakuta, a rabbit-person with short green hair, also spoke up indignantly on Alicia's behalf, her rabbit ears twitching furiously.
"But... his swimming was seriously amazing. He was as agile as a fish underwater. Even with all of us trying, we still couldn't catch him," Elfy, a human girl, whispered, her face still bright red. When Aiden had shot past her in the water, the intense current he generated had left her with lingering palpitations even now. Heaven only knew if that man had seen anything he absolutely shouldn't have while he was down there.
"Lady Riveria, are you entirely unhurt!?"
Completely ignoring the lively discussion around her, Alicia quickly hurried back to Riveria's side, asking with deep concern. After all, Aiden had practically dropped directly out of the sky right in front of Riveria.
Riveria looked up at the waterfall that was still roaring loudly in the background. Suddenly, she let out an amused chuckle. "It seems I'll have to post guards at the top of the falls next ti. I was far too careless. I truly never expected an airborne assault tactic."
"Lady Riveria, are you not the least bit angry?" Alicia asked, utterly astounded. She had never expected Riveria to actually have the mood to make jokes at a ti like this.
"Well, I suppose I am a little annoyed," Riveria admitted, closing one eye as she leaned back lazily against a rock at the edge of the pool. "However, he likely didn't do it intentionally. I possess at least enough judgnt to see that much."
"Eh!? Even Lady Riveria is defending him? Are we really just going to let him completely off the hook!?" The rest of the girls imdiately voiced their dissatisfaction.
"Of course not," Riveria replied, opening her eye. A glint of sheer amusent flashed through her erald gaze. "Regardless of whether it was an accident or not, he still took advantage of us. That is an undeniable fact. I will personally handle this matter myself. Until I have finished dealing with him, none of you are allowed to secretly seek him out to cause trouble. Understood?"
"...Fine, since Lady Riveria has commanded it."
"Then... we'll temporarily forgive him."
Hearing Riveria lay down the law, the girls reluctantly nodded their heads, even if they were still harboring so lingering bitterness.
Honestly, when they actually stopped to think about it, what kind of pervert would choose to execute a 'mighty drop from the heavens' straight off a ten-ter waterfall, perfectly planting himself directly in the middle of a heavily ard squad of Level 4, Level 5, and Level 6 adventurers? That wasn't the behavior of a pervert; it was the behavior of an absolute idiot with a death wish.
"Ryuu, I truly owe you for that one. If it weren't for you, getting away would have been incredibly difficult."
Deep in the forest, Aiden glanced back nervously, still terrified that the fiercely aggressive girls of the Loki Familia were actually hunting him down. Just thinking about the terrifying, suffocating 'aura of murder' radiating from that hot spring sent a cold shiver racing down his spine.
Ryuu cast him a highly peculiar look, seeming to be violently holding back laughter while simultaneously trying to deliver a stern warning. "Forget it. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but if sothing like this ever happens again, and you dare disrespect that esteed lady... even I absolutely will not forgive you."
Her words carried a subtle, entirely unmistakable tone of deep respect.
Aiden wanted to cry but lacked the tears. "I really couldn't have predicted they would be bathing there! The roar of the waterfall was so loud it entirely drowned out their voices. This was a complete, 100% pure accident!"
He was finally beginning to understand that sotis, having too much fan service was a genuine health hazard—one that could easily cost a man his life.
Thankfully, Riveria and Ais hadn't made a move, and the Amazon twins, Tione and Tiona, seed content to just sit back and watch the chaos unfold. Otherwise, trying to escape from an encirclent of that many First-Class Adventurers would have been a straight-up nightmare difficulty challenge.
As the massive crystals in the ceiling of the 18th Floor slowly dimd their radiant light, the subterranean paradise transitioned seamlessly into a tranquil "night."
As highly experienced adventurers, Daphne and Cassandra imdiately volunteered to take the first watch for the night.
Aiden erged from his tent and sat down beside the crackling campfire, the warm light dancing across his features.
"Are you two getting used to things yet?" he asked gently. "After all, you've just transferred to a brand new Familia. As your Captain, it's my job to make sure you're both settling in okay."
Poking the campfire with a stick, Daphne let out a soft chuckle. "Getting used to things? We're far more than just getting used to things, Captain. The atmosphere in the Focalors Familia is lightyears better than anything we ever experienced in the Apollo Familia."
She paused for a mont, carefully choosing her words. "I used to think that internal conflict was absolutely unavoidable in any Familia, whether it was the Loki Familia or the Freya Familia. But things are completely different here. Maybe it's just because we have so few mbers, but there's no scheming, no backstabbing. More importantly..."
Daphne's expression turned slightly complicated. "...The personalities of the mbers in this Familia are just so unbelievably wonderful. It's entirely beyond anything I ever expected."
She thought for a mont before adding, "Even our patron deity, Lady Focalors... she isn't the type of god who constantly creates trouble for her Familia just for the sake of her own amusent. How should I put this? She actually feels more like... a mascot?"
"Mhm..." Cassandra chid in from the side, expressing her own feelings in a quiet, hesitant whisper. "Everyone is just so incredibly kind to . I... I feel so very safe here."
"I'm glad to hear it," Aiden said, a deeply warm smile spreading across his face. "If you ever run into any problems or need anything at all, you can co talk to or Robin at any ti. Alright, you two keep watch for now. I'll take over the second half of the night."
With that, he stood up and headed back into his tent to get so rest.
The night deepened, the rushing stream babbling softly beneath the faint, moonlight-esque glow of the crystals.
Ryuu hadn't returned to her tent. Instead, she sat entirely alone on a large rock by the stream, hugging her knees to her chest. She stared silently at the rippling water, looking exactly like a deeply lancholic statue.
Hyacine, Robin, and Ryuu shared the sa tent. Having a Level 4 adventurer like Ryuu present was more than enough to handle the vast majority of unexpected nocturnal ergencies.
"Miss Ryuu, are you having trouble sleeping?"
A gentle, lodious voice suddenly drifted over from behind her. Robin had quietly approached without Ryuu noticing, taking a seat right beside her.
"Yes, I was just thinking about a few things. You should go get so rest. You really don't need to worry about ," Ryuu replied without turning her head, her tone carrying a distinctly distant, isolated edge. Stripped of her usual sharp, business-like deanor from the dayti, she currently looked incredibly fragile.
"Miss Ryuu, I am actually quite skilled at singing, you know," Robin said, blinking her beautiful lake-green eyes with a soft, comforting smile.
"Oh?" Ryuu paused, slightly confused by the Focalors Familia's Vice-Captain's sudden offer.
"Therefore, allow to sing a song for you."
Before Ryuu could even formulate a response, Robin parted her lips. An incredibly ethereal, profoundly gentle lody flowed gracefully from her mouth, moving as smoothly as the moonlight dancing upon the stream.
At first, Ryuu was rely bewildered, completely unsure of what Robin was trying to accomplish. But very quickly, she found herself entirely captivated by the utterly magnificent voice. This singing... existed in an entirely different dinsion compared to the catastrophic, ear-shattering performances of a certain cat-eared waitress back at the pub.
It was crystal clear, profoundly warm, and so breathtakingly beautiful that it was entirely intoxicating. It felt as if the lody possessed the miraculous power to gently smooth out every single wrinkle and scar upon her very soul.
Without even realizing it, Ryuu found herself completely forgetting her past sorrows, her deeply ingrained hatred, and every single ugly, broken, hollow, and lonely aspect of her entire existence.
The heavy, suffocating shackles known as "revenge" that tightly bound her heart seed to quietly, miraculously loosen.
She felt as if she had been transported straight back to that bright, sunlit afternoon, walking down the bustling streets alongside Alise as they passionately upheld the justice burning in their hearts.
She was back to the days when she would bicker endlessly with Kaguya over the most trivial matters, only to quickly make up monts later.
She was back to the monts when Lyra would flash her that cunning, mischievous grin while teaching her how to play poker. She was back to whining to her Goddess, back to tasting the incredibly sweet, painstakingly prepared als made by Maryuu that ward her straight down to her core...
A single, scalding tear slid silently down her cheek, landing softly on her knee. Yet, a long-lost, deeply relieved smile blossod upon her face.
Not too far away, Daphne and Cassandra, who were currently on watch, also heard the magnificent song. Without a word, both girls completely stopped their conversation, entirely imrsed in the lody. It was as if they, too, had recalled sothing incredibly beautiful from their own pasts, the corners of their mouths involuntarily curling upward into soft smiles.
As the song ca to an end, the final, lingering notes seed to echo eternally in the air.
"Thank you, Miss Robin... That was an incredibly beautiful song." Ryuu gently wiped the tear from the corner of her eye. Her voice was slightly hoarse, yet saturated with profound, absolute sincerity. "I have truly never heard a voice so magnificently beautiful in my entire life. I have no doubt that even the gods themselves would offer their highest praises for your song."
"Thank you. I am incredibly happy to receive such high praise from you, Miss Ryuu." Robin gently clasped Ryuu's slightly cold hands in her own. "While I may not know exactly what heavy burdens you are carrying, Miss Ryuu... regardless of what they may be, as long as you hold onto your courage and never give up, there will absolutely always be hope. And you will absolutely find your own peace and happiness one day."
"The road ahead is still very long. I truly hope that you will be able to fulfill your own wishes."
Ryuu stared blankly at Robin. In that singular mont, gazing deeply into Robin's gentle yet completely unwavering eyes, she felt as if she could see the boundless compassion of the Goddess Astrea. She saw the pure, unconditional kindness of Syr, and she saw the blazing, passionate justice of Alise.
And then, with a delayed sense of realization, she noticed that Robin was currently holding her hands.
Robin was the fourth person—after Alise, Syr, and Aiden—whose touch she didn't instinctively reject.
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