While the two of them were casually strolling through what was practically their own backyard—
Deep beneath Guild Headquarters, inside the subterranean altar chamber known as the Prayer Room—
On the crystal orb held in a skeletal hand, the figures of Xien and Ryu were clearly reflected.
Fels watched the little adventure between the two of them with great interest, utterly lacking any self-awareness about how much of a voyeur he looked like.
But the next mont, the solemn voice from beside him made his body twitch slightly and pulled his mind back to reality.
"How is it, Fels? Are things progressing smoothly on their end?"
"Ahem... very well. Much more smoothly than expected, in fact. At this rate, it won't be long before they make contact. Based on the amount of supplies Astraea purchased before, even if they only bring half of it, it should still be enough to support them for quite so ti. If that's the case, things on that side should remain stable for a while..."
"I see. Good."
Ouranos quietly let out a breath of relief.
The facts had proven that his judgnt was correct. That boy truly could beco the catalyst for this matter. If this worked, then they would gain yet another ally.
As if to cover up the little calculations in his own heart, the forr sage changed the subject.
"By the way, Ouranos... that power really wasn't sothing you bestowed on him?"
"...You know very well that would be impossible..."
The great god fell silent for a mont before answering.
To be honest, even he had complicated feelings about it.
He truly had not expected that the boy possessed that kind of talent as well.
That power was without question the power of space.
He hadn't expected that the boy not only had the talent for it, but had also developed it into sothing usable.
It wasn't impossible for a child of the lower world to be born with an affinity for spatial power. If that weren't true, then the gods would never have descended to begin with. Among the infinite "possibilities" that mortals possessed, spatial ability was rely one among many. There were even more extraordinary talents than that.
But having talent was one thing. Developing it was another.
That was why this boy was so astonishing. Not only was he one of the very few blessed with such aptitude—he had managed to refine it.
Put that way, he really was a boy of talent. Perhaps... it would not be inappropriate to give him so guidance.
"Yes. Precisely because of that, it's so surprising. The power of space... can that really be sothing a human being can master?"
Fels sighed softly. Even he, a sage, had never succeeded in grasping that kind of might through magic.
"Once this matter is settled, make arrangents. I want to et him."
"Of course. The ritual has already been prepared. It will most likely pose no problem."
"And what about that other matter? What are you planning?"
Fels paused, then his tone changed slightly.
"...You an... bringing him along? ...That would make sense. With what he's accomplished now, he should indeed qualify as a 'hero.' If so, there shouldn't be any problem awakening her."
"This may be the single most important turning point. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes. I'll handle it. An elf paired with a hero... Whether the script of the ancient heroes still holds any aning in this age—now that is sothing worth looking forward to..."
Fels was in an excellent mood.
Everything was advancing along the lines he had hoped for.
Nothing made him happier than that.
Now, the more he looked at the boy in the crystal orb, the more he liked him. Ever since Xien appeared, everything had begun to move more smoothly, as though soone had poured oil onto the rusted gears of Orario itself.
It was almost miraculous.
Dungeon
With the two of them working together in perfect rhythm, it didn't take long for them to arrive at the Eighteenth Floor.
After a short rest, they set out again.
In the upper floors, Ryu still had to expend so energy getting through them.
But for Xien, it was no different from strolling through his own back garden.
"Are we really going straight into the Water Capital? Isn't that going a little too deep for just the two of us?"
Ryu rembered Xien saying that he had t them in the Water Capital. For a two-person party, those floors were still dangerous.
"No need. They gave a way to find them before. And it's sowhere around these floors. They do have a base in the deeper levels too, but they don't stay there often."
In truth, the main reason was that Xien could track Miao'er's location directly through the system, thanks to the necklace he had given her.
And according to Orange Cat, the reaction from the necklace was currently sowhere around the Twentieth Floor, and it was moving steadily toward them.
Which ant the others had probably already learned he was coming, told Miao'er, and sent her to guide him.
That wasn't surprising. This was the Dungeon, after all. As monsters, it was undeniably their ho turf.
Even if they noticed his arrival, there was nothing strange about that.
Besides, even if he really did have to go down to the twenties—or even deeper into the deep floors—for the current him, it wasn't much of a problem. With these eyes and his current strength, getting to the Fortieth or Fiftieth Floor would probably be manageable.
So all he had to do now was keep moving forward.
When the ti ca, Miao'er would guide them with her song.
And just as he expected, the mont they reached a cavern where they had to choose between several paths, a faint lody drifted into his ears.
"She's here."
Xien exchanged a glance with Ryu, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Without hesitation, they ran toward the source of the singing.
He recognized the voice imdiately—it was Miao'er's.
And the tune...
It was one he had taught her.
Feeling the emotion woven into it, he smiled faintly.
She really had taken his words to heart. Compared to the first ti, she had improved beyond asure.
Following the song, they soon arrived once more at a similar kind of unexplored area.
Ryu, who had followed Xien the whole way, felt as if her horizons were expanding all over again.
For the first ti, she had reached a place outside the map—a place where water existed on a floor where water absolutely should not exist.
Just as she was looking around warily, unsure of what she was seeing, a weak but tentative voice rang out.
"Xien?"
And Xien imdiately answered:
"It's , Miao'er. You can drop the disguise."
Even though his eyes could already clearly see Miao'er's concealed figure, Ryu could not.
"Ahahaha! It really is you, Xien! You finally ca to see !"
The next mont, right before Ryu's widened eyes, a figure suddenly appeared in the small lake beside them.
It was a rmaid.
With the sa smile as a human girl, she threw open her arms and dove straight at Xien.
Xien had expected it. With perfect timing, he caught her without hurting her.
Seeing that there was no danger, Ryu slowly took her hand off her weapon.
"Oh dear... be careful. That sort of thing is dangerous."
"But it's you, Xien!"
"I really, really missed you...!"
Hearing that, Xien couldn't help but smile.
The trust this girl had in him was utterly pure and genuine.
That was exactly why he cherished it so much.
He walked to the water's edge, set her back down in it, then sat beside her and gently patted her head.
"How have you been during this ti? You didn't run into any danger, did you?"
"Mhm! The gift you gave is amazing. Nobody can find at all. I haven't been hurt even once."
The girl was visibly thrilled and excited.
As if to prove her point, she even spun around in the water for him to inspect.
"I see. That's wonderful."
Then Xien turned and motioned for Ryu to co over.
"Miao'er, let introduce you. This is my companion, Ryu. She's soone you can trust too. You'll probably end up seeing each other quite often from now on."
Seeing the unfamiliar face, Miao'er clearly grew nervous.
But after catching the encouraging look in Xien's eyes, she bravely stretched out her hand.
"I trust Xien. Hello, Ryu. Nice to et you. I'm Miao'er."
It seed she had specially prepared for this eting.
Her nails were no longer sharp weapons—they had been filed down.
Catching that detail, Xien felt warmth spread through his chest.
For the sake of this eting, this girl had clearly given up quite a bit.
Ryu, seeing the sa thing, no longer hesitated.
She took the small, pale hand in hers.
"Hello, Miao'er. I'm Ryu—Xien's companion. As you can see... I'm an elf."
Warm words, spoken with warmth behind them, soothed Miao'er's fear.
And the temperature of Ryu's hand—so similar to Xien's—told her that this person, too, would not reject their existence.
Before long, with Xien as the center of their conversation, the two girls gradually beca more familiar with one another.
Once she learned why Xien had co this ti, Miao'er brightened even more.
"Xien, Ryu, co on! I'll take you to our hideout!"
"Hm? You're the one handling that now?"
Xien was a little surprised.
This girl had only been born not that long ago, and yet she already seed to be holding such an important role among her kind...
"Yep! I've grown a lot, you know. I'm one of the main people helping everyone now."
She put her slender hands on her hips proudly, like a child waiting eagerly to be praised.
"That's wonderful. You've worked really hard."
"All right, let's get moving. We're going through underwater again, I assu?"
He stood back up, already prepared to keep going.
"Mm-hm!"
"Okay. Ryu, get ready. You'll need to hold your breath. Do you know how to dive?"
"Yes. I can dive."
"Good. Then let's go."
As soon as he said that, both of them began making preparations.
Or rather—only Ryu did.
With a re thought, Xien's equipnt had already quietly transford itself into dive-suit mode.
Ryu stared.
Xien grinned and showed it off a little.
"Well? A brand-new application of my ability. If you want one, I could make you a set too. It adjusts itself to suit the environnt, so it saves a lot of trouble."
"...An application of your ability? What exactly do you an?"
Unlike the starry-eyed rmaid at their side, Ryu looked completely baffled.
"I pour my healing power into it," Xien explained. "And once I do, it can change in accordance with what I want."
"..."
"You an... it's alive?"
Ryu looked genuinely shocked.
Could such a thing even be possible?
To use power that could restore life to transform equipnt into sothing alive—
She had never heard of anything like it.
A strange chill suddenly ran through her.
The domain of life was not sothing one could approach carelessly. Not even gods of life dared to casually create living beings. Any reckless act in that realm would eventually be swallowed by that very arrogance. It was both a warning and a natural taboo built into life itself.
As a natural child of the world, an elf's instincts were acutely sensitive to such things.
And learning that this power could so easily grant life to objects made her recoil instinctively.
She looked at Xien with obvious concern.
Xien understood exactly what she ant from her expression and responded with a sowhat bitter smile.
"Don't worry. I know what kind of power this is, and I know the sort of unimaginable harm it could cause. That's why I've always been extrely cautious. I've only been feeling my way through it bit by bit, turning it into sothing I can actually control. This is just the first result."
"...That does sound like you. You always think things through more carefully than anyone else."
Only then did she rember the peculiarities of his magic during the expedition.
Those flexible, wildly growing plants...
Now that she thought about it, that hadn't just been the effect of his spell. He had been experinting with this power.
She rembered clearly how, with a wave of his hand, those plants had rapidly withered and vanished. So those actions had all been tests?
With that realization, Ryu's worry eased considerably.
And with it ca a renewed sense of trust.
Xien was always dependable.
That feeling of security was almost intoxicating.
"Even if it does look convenient, I'll pass. Wearing sothing alive on my body feels... unsettling."
As she spoke, Ryu adjusted her equipnt one last ti.
Xien chuckled in understanding.
An elf was still an elf.
After that, the two of them leapt into the water.
Miao'er skillfully took both their hands, then pulled them swiftly through the depths.
A little while later, in a dim and silent space, three heads burst through the surface with a splash.
It was a cavern like a listone cave, with most of the surroundings made up of black stone. Only the quartz growing from the ceiling and walls emitted light.
There was no trace of monsters nearby.
The vast open space, the softly glowing coral—purely in terms of scenery, it was a quiet and beautiful place, one perfectly suited to peace and solitude.
Ryu could hardly believe that such a view could exist inside the Dungeon.
"All right, we're here! Everyone, you can co out now! I brought Xien!"
As soon as Miao'er called out, pairs of crimson eyes began lighting up one after another in the darkness.
If he hadn't already known what they were, the sight would have been more than a little creepy.
"Woooaaahhhhhh—!"
....
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