I woke up expecting to be surrounded by the concrete wall that I should have collided with, but instead of the cold, hard wall or the road, what I felt was softness and warmth surrounding me, particularly on my back.
I opened my eyes to observe the situation I was in, and what I saw brought me slight shock but immense happiness as Ryuu held me in her arms. Yes, the proud, noble elf was holding me in her arms, maybe she did it unconsciously, but that does not matter to me, I just wanted to stay like this and rest some more. Maybe I should pretend to be unconscious?
That thought came up in my mind, but I had to discard my evil plan since the champion of justice already saw me waking up.
"Arin-san, are you ok?" Ryuu asked, her voice full of worry.
"I think so. Just a little exhausted, do you mind if I rest for a little while like this?" I asked her. And I knew my plan B would work, given how much more innocent and pure Ryuu is right now compared to canon. Sorry, Ryuu, I am such an evil person.
There was a brief pause, and I could almost feel her internal struggle before she said quietly, "Of course. You should rest after using such powerful magic."
"Aww, how sweet," Alise's voice cut in with a playful tone. "Look at our Lion being all nurturing."
"He's injured," Ryuu replied simply, as if that explained everything.
"Right, injured," Alise said with a small smirk. "Nothing to do with the fact that you could have just propped him against the wall instead." Alise, please just shut up, I don't have a plan C right now.
I looked at her a little resentfully, and she just smiled more.
Ryuu paused for a moment. "...The wall is dirty."
Ais nodded seriously. "Hygiene is important."
"See? Ais-san understands," Ryuu said, sounding relieved to have support.
Alise just shook her head with an amused smile. "You two are something else." She gave me a smile that seemed to say that she would let me savor this moment, and turned back to pick up something from the ground.
"I will contact the others and see how it is going on their side." She did not mention Ryuu being particular about who she touches or letting someone touch her. Maybe she was also happy Ryuu was growing closer to someone out there familia. Though I am pretty sure Ryuu just did it in the heat of the moment.
"Yes, that would be better, since the other teams were also fighting a first-class adventurer," Ryuu added the information.
"So they have two first-class adventurers in their ranks? Then, after this battle, Evilius' fighting strength must have been reduced by a great margin." Alise said as the contact was made with Lyra.
"Frontline team reporting. We've taken down a Gorran Veltz, a first-class adventurer this side."
"Another one, huh? The other teams have also taken down a first-class adventurer, thanks to Riveria-san. The mission is complete. Regroup at the agreed spot in 10 minutes, everyone." Lyra processed the information and gave further instructions.
"By the way, who was this Gorran person?" I asked, still resting in Ryuu's embrace.
"He is one of the core members among Evilius." Ais gave the information. A core member? I don't remember someone with his name. My memory is also very foggy, so maybe I just forgot.
I just rested in Ryuu's arms for another 5 minutes, and finally had to get up to regroup with the rest of the members.
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Things were pretty easy after that. We did a final check to see if someone was still hiding in there. The support team gathered up all the documents that were there. By the time everything was completed, the sky was starting to brighten up. The orange hue of sunrays pushing the dark night back.
"Huaaah..." I saw Ais yawn.
"We should get back now, I think everything is under control for the most part. The Ganesha familia should be coming now to help out as well." Riviera announced to everyone.
Ganesha's familia did not take part in the battle as they were protecting all the deities of our respective familias.
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After getting back to my room, I drove straight to my bed. I was really sleepy, especially after the magic I used. That magic has very bad cost-effectiveness. I only used it for a few minutes, and almost all of my mind was drained.
But at least I awakened my magic. Now I can learn other spells as well. And I am pretty sure after fighting that tank of a man, I will be able to level up as well. And most of all, I get to rest in Ryuu's embrace. Hehe. I sound like a pervert. I should stop.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
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"Arin, wake up." I heard a soft, familiar voice calling me and a hand shaking my shoulder, trying to wake me up.
Waking up in a daze as I usually do, I just grab the small hand with both of my own putting them under my cheeks. Still trying to sleep.
"Wha…!" I heard a similar voice again, but I ignored it. I was just too tired to get up.
"2 minutes more. Asfi…." I fell asleep. I can feel the hand that was struggling before going still.
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"Arin, 2 minutes are already up." This time, I woke up completely. Realising her hand.
"You sure have some nerve using my hand like a pillow." Although Asfi complained, I can feel that she was just pouting rather than being truly angry.
"Sorry, I am usually a little dazed when I just wake up," I explained my habit.
"Then you would have a lot of problems sleeping in the dungeon."
"Nah, it will be fine. I was dazed exactly because I felt safe with you here. In the dungeon, I won't do that. Adapting is one of my strengths, you know." Hearing that, Asfi stood still for a moment, her white cheeks turned a little red.
"Haa…" Before long, she just sighed. "Anyway, if you have woken up, then let's go, everyone is having a meeting down in the hallway."
Ah, that's why she was here huh.
"Alright, just let me wash my face." I got up and walked to the small washroom attached to my room.
As my back was turned against Asfi, I missed the moment when she just stared at the hand that was on my cheek.
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When we approached the hallway, I was able to see a lot of people there, including the gods and goddesses, Loki, Astraea, and Hermes. As well as the familia members including Riviera, Ryuu, Ais, Alise, Kaguya, Lydia, Shakti, and several others.
When we got near. Shakti, who was talking with the gods, looked in my direction and stood up.
"You must be Arin Kael, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I am." I simply answered. And suddenly she bowed towards me.
"I wanted to meet you and thank you for saving my subordinates from the infant dragon." Oh.. I completely forgot about those guys.
"Thank you, if you had not saved them, they would have surely died in there."
"Please raise your head. I only helped a little. Goddess Astraea familia was the one who defeated it."
"Even if that is the case, the one who saved them was you, Arin-san."
"Besides, I don't think severely injuring that dragon counts as small help, Arin." Astraea chimed in.
"Haaa…. Ok, Shakti, I accept your gratitude." I know Shakti won't budge on that, so I just accepted her thanks.
"Thank you, if you ever need our help, just say the word and we will be there, Arin-san."
"Ok, and please just call me Arin, Shakti." Well, having Ganesha familia owing me a favour is not a bad thing.
"Now it looks like everyone is here. Let's talk about the main topic. Lyra-tan, please report your findings." Loki spearheaded the conversation. Both Asfi and I took our seats on the empty chairs near Ryuu and the others.
"How are you feeling now. Arin-san?" Ryuu asked me as I took my seat.
"After some rest, I feel much better." We stopped our conversation as Lyra stood up to report.
"Yes, firstly, all the documents we recovered from the hideout gave a lot of evidence against some of the merchants' involvement in evilius activities. And against some familia's as well." Lyra looked towards everyone. And continued.
"We also found that they are planning something in the dungeon. As for what they are planning. There was no concrete plan or any clue about it." Everyone looked slightly disappointed at that.
"Even in that case, we have still reduced their fighting capabilities by a large margin," Alise said, trying to uplift the mood.
"Yeah, we have taken down two of their first-class adventurers and found evidence against the merchant, which will reduce their financial resources as well," Astraea spoke next. "I say that is more than worth celebrating."
"Yea! Party time!" Loki jumped out of her seat.
"Loki, calm down. The others will return from their expenditure soon as well. We can celebrate then. For now, focus on the talk." Riviera, as usual, had to scold Loki to control her.
"Haaai…." Loki slumped in her chair.
"While I do think it is a good thing. But that also means they will start getting desperate soon." Asfi gave her opinion, which many of us also shared.
"We will have to be extra careful from now on. And keep an eye on their activities, I will inform our informant to keep an ear out for any information against Evilius." Lydia said, her playful attitude nowhere to be seen.
"That will be for the best. We will also increase our patrols around the city." Shakti informed since it's the Ganesha familia who work like a guard or a police force around the city. Sometimes Astraea familia joins them.
The talk continued for some time. After which, everyone stood up and started walking out of the manor.
I promised to meet up with Alise, Ryuu, and others to accompany them on their next mission. As agreed upon before. Her team members also did not have any objection.
Loki also started to stand up to walk toward her room.
"Loki, do you mind updating my status?" I called out to her.
"I think I am ready for a level up."