Chapter 23 - Riveria's Laughter

About ten minutes later—

Raven Eltharion gradually regained consciousness and slowly woke up.

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was... a strange ceiling.

And—

Three female faces peering curiously down at him.

"…Where am I?"

"Am I dreaming?"

He reached up to rub his eyes, thinking he might be seeing things.

The three girls each had distinctive hair colors:

Emerald green long hair, light orange ponytail, and golden blonde hair.

"Are you alright?"

The one who spoke had long pointed ears, a slender and graceful figure, and an absolutely stunning face;

Her flowing emerald hair framed a pair of bright green gem-like eyes.

Her fair skin glowed with a soft radiance, and her elegant features radiated the grace unique to elves.

There was an air of sharp intelligence and nobility around her.

But after a while—

Seeing that he wasn't reacting at all,

Lefiya leaned in close and asked softly,

"Mr. Raven…?"

At such close distance—

Her soft voice carried a faint tea-like fragrance that wafted straight into his nose.

Beside her, Ais Wallenstein silently stared at him with her clear golden eyes, blinking twice.

Raven groaned and covered his face with one hand, quickly sorting through his thoughts.

"Riveria!?"

"Lefiya… and Ais too!?"

"What the hell's going on? Why am I here?"

"Wasn't I just in the 17th floor of the Dungeon?"

"…Damn it, this is so embarrassing…"

That thought made his face turn red.

He'd always considered himself thick-skinned, someone who could shamelessly mooch food and drink without a care in the world.

But now—

For some reason, he couldn't handle Riveria's gaze.

After a moment—

Raven nervously peeked through his fingers, cracking them open just a little.

He saw Lefiya's fair little hand waving back and forth in front of his face.

"Crap!"

He immediately yanked the covers over himself and buried his face in them, refusing to meet their eyes.

"…Pfft…"

Suddenly, Riveria's shoulders began to shake—

She couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Lefiya blinked in surprise and turned around.

She had never seen the noble royal mage laugh like that.

Even Ais, who had known her for a long time, had never seen her like this before.

Usually, Riveria was always composed and stern, never showing such an expression.

Hearing her laugh, Raven felt even more flustered.

"I mean, why the hell is a guy from Hestia Familia… lying here?"

"Did something get mixed up…?"

He had no idea what was happening.

At that moment—

The laughter stopped, and he felt a gentle hand softly stroking his head through the blanket.

"Who's… who's patting my head?"

"Lefiya? Or Ais?"

"…Could it be Riveria!?"

His heart skipped a beat—

Yet, strangely, he enjoyed the warm touch, like a mother's affection.

"All right now, come out," Riveria said calmly.

"Lefiya and Ais have already left."

"I just want to ask you a few things."

After a brief pause—

Raven slowly lifted his head from under the blanket.

Just as he thought—it was Riveria.

"You can ask," he replied, trying to stay calm.

Riveria looked at him with a cool, composed gaze.

"How did you end up on the 17th floor?"

"To take out the floor boss—Goliath," Raven replied honestly.

At that—

Riveria raised a delicate brow slightly, clearly unconvinced.

From what she knew—

This boy had only joined a Familia yesterday, most likely.

And earlier today when she'd seen him—

He hadn't even been carrying a single weapon or piece of armor.

A total rookie adventurer—

Who then went and defeated the "Labyrinth Lonely King" Goliath in the same day?

"Did you encounter any first-tier adventurers?"

That was her second question.

She didn't interrogate him—

Her tone was calm, like she genuinely wanted to understand.

Raven shook his head. "No."

Then he suddenly threw off the covers and bowed slightly.

"Thank you for helping me."

"I'll definitely repay this favor one day."

With that, he looked toward the open window—

And with a swift leap, jumped straight out.

The room was only on the second floor, after all.

He'd jumped across over a dozen Dungeon floors with Alfia before.

Compared to that, this was nothing.

Raven landed lightly on the ground—

Then immediately took off running, leaving the Loki Familia's base.

"Wait!"

Riveria's voice rang out from the window.

Actually, what she had wanted to say was:

"You forgot your magic staff."

She looked down at the staff, still wrapped in cloth beside her.

Riveria fell silent, staring at it.

She could feel it—

This was no ordinary staff.

It was a supreme-quality weapon—

Even greater than her own "Great Elf" staff.

Northern District – Orario

The magical stone lamps lining the streets flickered on one by one;

Their warm glow illuminated the never-sleeping, bustling city.

Adventurers returning from the Dungeon filled the streets.

All around—

Humans and demi-humans laughed and drank heartily in the taverns, cheering and celebrating.

"Ugh… that was so embarrassing…"

"No— I have to get stronger!"

"First things first—head to the Guild and exchange all the monster drops."

Raven glanced toward the northwest street.

"…I'll buy some clothes for Alfia while I'm at it."

That northwest area—also known as [Adventurer Street]—

Was the most crowded place in all of Orario for adventurers.

The Guild Headquarters that managed the Dungeon was located there.

Along its roads stood endless rows of weapon shops, item shops, inns—

Everything an adventurer could ever need.

Even the old, narrow alleyways off the main street were packed with strange and mysterious stores.