*Click—*
With the soft sound of a door closing, Riezel stepped out of the office and gently shut the door behind him.
"...Riezel."
As soon as Riezel left, he heard a faint, almost hesitant voice calling his name.
Turning his gaze toward the source of the sound, he saw her—at the far end of the corridor stood a golden-haired, golden-eyed young woman, as if she had been waiting there for him all along.
A breeze happened to sweep through the corridor, stirring her waist-length golden hair—the movement lent a trace of mystery and grace to her otherwise cool demeanor, making her seem like a fairy descending from paradise—reminiscent of Morgan or Artoria.
Seeing such a sight, Riezel was momentarily left dazed, but he quickly regained his composure and walked toward her with a calm smile on his face.
"What are you doing here?"
Standing before Ais, Riezel asked softly, instinctively lowering his voice as if afraid that speaking too loudly might shatter the delicate beauty of the moment.
"I..."
Ais opened her mouth, but she couldn't form a complete sentence.
It was as though she didn't know how to express the tangle of emotions inside her—her expression caught between hesitation and embarrassment.
Seeing this, Riezel gave a faint smile.
"Let's talk while we walk. Otherwise, when Loki comes out, we'll never have a proper conversation again with all her noise."
Just like that, he took the first step, and Ais quietly followed.
*Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap—*
As they walked, their footsteps somehow fell into perfect rhythm, echoing through the quiet corridor and filling the air around them.
Neither spoke right away.
They simply walked side by side, the silence between them carrying a subtle yet comforting tension.
Despite the quiet, however, neither felt uneasy.
Instead, it was as though they both savored this moment of peace, their expressions unconsciously softening.
Finally, Riezel broke the silence.
"I heard you reached Level 6?" Riezel glanced at Ais and smiled. "Congrats. You finally made it."
"Mm, thank you..." Ais replied, sounding a little shy. "It's all thanks to you. Without your help, I couldn't have defeated Udaeus."
"Nah, that's not true." Riezel shook his head. "I never interfered in your fight. Defeating Udaeus was the result of your own strength."
"No, it's not like that..." Ais murmured softly, her eyes lowering. "If you hadn't healed and strengthened me with your magic, I never could've done it."
"You're underestimating yourself, Ais."
Riezel chuckled lightly, then met Ais's gaze.
"At that time, you were already at the peak of Level 5, so with Ariel, you could've fought a Level 6 on equal ground. You wouldn't have fallen far behind Udaeus at all."
"If you had faced him in perfect condition, you wouldn't have ended up as beaten as you did."
"The only reason you were in that state was that you pushed yourself to reach the 37th Floor. You hurried the entire way there alone and even used Ariel repeatedly. Your stamina and mind were both drained, and your body was overloaded from the constant use of that magic. Forget fighting at full strength—using even half your power was uncertain."
"When I healed and strengthened you, I only brought you back to where you should've been."
"In other words, even without my help, you still could defeat Udaeus."
Right after saying this, Riezel changed the subject slightly.
"So, after you came back, did Riveria say anything to you?"
Hearing this question, Ais averted her eyes, her expression subtly awkward.
"She did, huh..." Riezel chuckled again. "Figures. I mean, to level up, you dove into the Dungeon without telling anyone, rushed yourself to exhaustion, and challenged Udaeus in that condition. You really were asking for it. Good thing Riveria wasn't there. If she'd seen how beat up you were, she would've lectured you half to death afterward."
"...A whole day."
Ais's quiet reply drifted to Riezel.
"What?"
"When I came back... Riveria lectured me for a whole day..."
"…"
It seemed Mama Riveria really did worry about her daughter, as even without witnessing it herself, she still scolded Ais for a full day. Had she actually been there, Ais might've died — not from the Floor Boss, but from Riveria's wrath.
Instead of sympathy, however, Riezel only looked impressed.
"Honestly, you deserved that..." Riezel said plainly. "Who told you to be so reckless?"
"Muu..." Ais pouted slightly and glanced at him. "Didn't you do the same thing when you went to fight Goliath on the 17th Floor?"
Riezel instantly froze.
Now that Ais mentioned it, when he had reached the limit of Level 3 and wanted to ascend to Level 4, he had indeed done something reckless. He had gone to the 17th Floor alone, challenged Goliath without telling anyone, and returned barely standing, giving Finn and the others quite a scare.
'Wait… could it be that she was inspired by me and did the same thing?'
Riezel thought speechlessly, then protested weakly.
"…I'm not like you. I only went to the 17th Floor, which wasn't hard to reach. Besides, when I fought Goliath, I was in perfect condition. Even if something went wrong, there were other adventurers around who could help me."
"You're different. You went all the way to the 37th Floor, drained yourself dry, and there's almost no one up there. If something had happened, no one could've saved you."
Riezel's reasoning sounded solid, but Ais still looked unconvinced as she stared at him in silence, her wordless gaze radiating pressure.
"Fine..." Riezel sighed, scratching his cheek in defeat. "I guess I'm in no position to lecture you."
In truth, he was just as reckless—perhaps even more so, which was why, despite only being in the Loki Familia for a few months, he was already regarded as a problem child on par with Ais.
"Guess we really are alike in a lot of ways, huh..."
Riezel smiled faintly as he repeated the same line others had remarked many times before.
Ais, too, smiled—a small, subtle smile, barely visible yet unmistakably there.
"Anyway, congrats again on reaching Level 6."
"Thank you..."
"You're welcome."
As they continued walking, their conversation remained simple, but every exchange carried warmth.
Even with so few words, they seemed to understand each other perfectly.
Over time, their expressions relaxed further, and soon both were smiling—smiles that didn't fade.
As they strolled and chatted, Riezel and Ais passed several members of the familia, leaving behind puzzled looks.
It wasn't long before news of the two walking and talking cheerfully around the manor spread throughout the Loki Familia.
Before long, members began gathering nearby, watching from the corners, whispering among themselves about the pair's close atmosphere.
"…Do you guys think something's goin' on between them?"
"Mr. Riezel and Miss Ais?"
"They actually look kinda good together…"
"They're both calm, crazy talented, total geniuses—and they're both First-Class Adventurers, so... yeah."
"But still… why them? Like, the familia's first couple ends up bein' a rookie who just joined and the Sword Princess who never looked like she cared about love at all? No way! I'm not buyin' that!"
"Same here!"
"Man, that's Miss Ais we're talking about! How'd a rookie outta nowhere steal her away?!"
"Hey, what's that even supposed to mean?"
"You saying Mr. Riezel's not good enough for her?"
"Mr. Riezel's amazing, too, okay?"
Soon, the entire Loki Familia was buzzing.
Some were gossiping, some curious, some envious, others defensive—everyone taking their own stance.
Soon enough, when Tiona and Tione happened to pass by and heard the gossip—
"No way, they're actually together?"
"Riezel and Ais? I can't even tell if I'm surprised or not."
Tiona and Tione eagerly joined the discussion, trading opinions with other female members, but none of them noticed that a certain elf girl trailing behind them had gone completely still.
"Mr. Riezel… Miss Ais…"
Lefiya, who admired both Riezel and Ais, stood frozen, eyes lifeless, her soul seemingly drifting away as she stared blankly into space for what felt like an eternity.
By the time the gossip reached the familia's top executives and goddess, three of them were left staring at one another in silence—while one exploded.
"Damn Riezel! How dare he cuckold me like that?! I'm gonna kill him!"
Loki's furious shouts filled the office.
*Clang!*
Just as Loki was about to storm out, the sound of clashing blades suddenly rang through the Twilight Manor, echoing throughout the entire place.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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