We ate dinner, the smell of soup wafting through the camp, when Lydia spoke up, "From what I know, the monsters are going to be far tougher in comparison to earlier floors."
"Eh, even tougher than now!' Alise said with her mouth full, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel hoarding nuts.
Kaguya sighed. "Why are you asking newbie questions? Obviously, they'll be stronger the further down we get—or rather, don't speak when eating,"
Alise swallowed, "I was just hoping for a different answer."
"Even if that is the case, I believe we have enough might to traverse those floors," Ryuu said, taking a small bite of bread, her mask removed for the meal. "Besides, Ais and others have gone to those floors before, haven't you, Ais?" she asked.
Ais sat between Lefiya and Riveria, silently stirring the soup, her gaze fixed on the bowl. She looked up and nodded, "Yes… The monsters there are strong, but we should be stronger…"
"That's good to know," Asfi sighed in relief. I guessed she was worried, since the Amazon sisters, she, and I were the only level-4s who would be venturing further with the group. Although Raul, Anakitty, and Lyra would also be there, they would act more as supporters than vanguards like us.
"Riveria-san, what does the floor down there look like? I heard some bizarre things about those floors." Lyra asked, as Riveria touched her chin thoughtfully.
"It's like a maze," she said, looking at everyone.
"Maze?" Several voices echoed.
"Yes, and after entering the fifty-second floor, we would need to keep moving continuously," she said as Alise leaned forward and spoke.
"And what if we don't move, then?" she said, looking at Riveria for an answer.
"Then you would be sniped," Riveria answered.
"Sniped?" Neze asked, following her captain's example, and leaned forward.
"Yes, the Volgang dragons on the fifty-eighth floor would keep releasing their breath attack targeting us, carving straight through the floors," Riveria spoke in a calm, low voice, creating a heavy atmosphere around the group, as several adventurers gulped.
"Oh! Sounds exciting!" Alise cried, breaking through the heavy atmosphere with her usual cheerfulness.
"I think the word you are looking for is "terrifying", Alise…" Asfi's words fell on deaf ears as Alise's eyes shone, and she started pestering Riveria for more details. Riveria sighed, overwhelmed by Alise's energy. Riveria began to explain everything about the floors below.
We kept talking for a while before calling it a night. One by one, people returned to their tents.
"Asfi, would you like to join me for a short walk?" Asfi was the last to leave, but before she could enter her sleeping tent, I called her out.
Asfi spun around, "A walk?" She paused, "Sure."
And with that, we started walking and made our way outside the camp area, stopping near the cliff, which provided a view of the silver forest below. Above us, the "night stars" shone, casting a gentle light on the ground, giving the forest a mystical feeling.
"So, you want to talk about what's worrying you?" I said, breaking the serene silence that had settled between us.
Asfi's eyes widened, "You noticed?" she said,
"Pretty sure Lydia noticed as well," I said, "Your frown was not hiding anything." Asfi touched her face as if to confirm my words.
"...It's nothing much, I am just worried that I won't be able to help much on the floors below," she said, pouring her feelings out. "I don't have any special skills like yours, which put me above my level. Ryuu, Ais, and Riveria are much more helpful and stronger than I am."
I stood still, surprised by her sudden outburst. She must have misunderstood my silence as she stopped, realizing she might have said too much, her head lowered, "Sorry, I am just complaining…" she spoke, her voice quiet.
Ah, I messed up I thought observing her disheartened form, somewhere in my heart, I had the impression that Asfi was the same logical, always analytical woman that I had watched and read about in the story, which she honestly is.
But I had forgotten that the "Asfi" in front of me now was the one who was still a young girl, who was still learning the way of life.
It's only natural, seeing Ais and others fighting on the frontline, while being only able to support them would make her lose some confidence in herself. I also knew it was just a momentary thing. But I also feel that it is just an unfair comparison, like comparing a mango with an apple.
And so I decided to support her through what I thought was right, stepping closer towards her and wrapping my hands around her.
"Eh, A-Arin?" Asfi let out a squeak as I held her in my arms. She put up a small, almost non-existent struggle as I spoke.
"Asfi, while, I understand where those feelings come from," I said, hugging her tighter, "but I truly do think you are just overthinking it, you are a level 4, very few can reach that, not to mention you are the Perseus, one of the extremly few item maker in the whole of Orario," I stopped to take a breath as Asfi very slowly wrapped her hands around me as well, returning my hug.
"On top of that, your combat skills are no less than a top-tier one at this level. And… it might be my bias speaking, but in my opinion, you are the best item maker out there. So, including all that, if another level-4 heard your complaint, they might cry a river." I said, completing my thoughts with a joke, which seemed to have worked as Asfi gave a small laugh, not unlike a child.
"Hehe, you're right. Guess I was just being too hard on myself," she said, her expression brighter than before. "Do you mind if we hug a little more…?" she said, pushing her blushing face deeper into my chest.
That's a surprise, Asfi usually gets too embarrassed with this type of skinship, but I wasn't about to deny her the comfort she sought.
And so I kept hugging her, my left hand wrapped around her thin waist, and patted her head with my right, deep in thought as I looked at her peaceful expression.
I had thought that I knew everything there was to know about these girls, but this incident with Asfi made me painfully realize there was a lot I still didn't know about them. But it's fine, I just need to find their new sides from now on.
Shortly after, I felt her squirming and looked down to see her whole face up to her ears had gone red, as she spoke, " Um... I'm fine now, so can you release me?"
After confirming that she wasn't feeling down anymore, I answered, "Nope."
"Eh? Wh-why?" She said.
"I just don't feel like it, it's not every day I get to hug you, so we are going to stay like that for a while longer," I said.
"Don't be stupid!" She said, trying to push me harder this time, but I didn't budge and continued to hug, understanding that I wasn't going to release her. She quieted down. Only after I was somewhat satisfied did I decide to free her from my embrace.
"You are impossible…" she complained, making me crook an eyebrow.
"Oh? Did I hear that you want to be hugged again?" I said and started walking closer to her, while Asfi took several steps back.
"No!" she cried and took a flight in the "sky," making her attempt to escape.
"Do you really think I will let you escape?" I said, and chased after her.
"Arin, stop! Stop! This is not the time to play around!" she said, while accelerating her speed even higher, but even with her flying sandals, her speed was not faster than mine. As soon as the game of tag started, I quickly closed the distance between us.
Our game of tag continued for a while longer, stopping only after I had noticed her mood had gotten better.
And seeing it was getting late and we had to wake up early, we decided to go back to the campsite.
"Good night, Arin. See you tomorrow," she said.
"Yup, good night," I said as she entered her tent, and I also made my way back to my own and settled down on my sleeping place, remembering Asfi's smiling face helping me sleep better.