The exploration went on for hours.
We descended through the floors quickly, and before we knew it, we had already reached the 10th floor. But then, I noticed something — they weren't moving forward much because of me.
They're strong; they could go much deeper, but they were holding back for my sake.
I really am dead weight.
Does any of this even make sense? Why would they let someone like me join their group in the first place?
Eventually, we turned back to leave the dungeon. We didn't go any farther than the 10th floor. But even without going that deep, I still had the chance to see some really interesting monsters, like:
Killer Ants, Purple Moths, War Shadows — and even an Orc.
Of course, all of them were defeated easily.
The one that gave us the most trouble was the Orc, but Ais took care of it by herself with graceful movements. In just a few moments, her sword sliced through the Orc's neck, killing it. I was honestly surprised — the Orc was a pretty huge monster.
It was one of the few monsters that intimidated me just by looking at it.
War Shadows were also frightening because of their appearance, but I felt more fascinated than scared. They're truly interesting creatures.
Once we left the dungeon, we headed back to the restaurant Hostess of Fertility to eat and drink. When we entered, I immediately looked for the same waitress from before. She's not here?
I sat down next to Tiona, and she asked, "What's wrong? You look worried about something."
"Isn't that waitress here today?"
"Waitress?" Tiona tilted her head, not understanding my question.
"The waitress who served us last time. The one with short hair."
"You mean Syr?"
"Oh, so her name is Syr…" That's the name she uses as her cover, huh? Interesting.
"Hm? You've seen her plenty of times before. Did you forget her name?" Tiona asked. "Did you actually hit your head or something?"
"I didn't hit my head…" I said with a smile, continuing to look through the menu.
That's when I noticed everyone at the table staring at us.
My eyes met Tione's, and I asked, "What? Is there something on my face?"
"No, not really…" Tione averted her gaze. After sighing, she said, "You two seem pretty close lately, don't you?"
When she asked that, Tiona's body went stiff. I looked at her, and she looked back at me as if saying, Say something! I can't come up with anything! I smiled and replied,
"Tiona's just been helping me with my swordsmanship, that's all." I continued, "I wasn't satisfied with my sword skills, so I asked her to help me improve."
After hearing that, Tiona quickly added, "Yeah, that's it! Yesterday, Luan came to my room and asked me to train him! We've just been planning things out, that's all! Hahaha."
Her laugh was so forced that anyone could tell she was lying.
Still, Tione seemed to buy it.
"You're training Ethan? You of all people? Do you even understand what she's trying to teach you?"
"Well, we haven't really trained yet. She's just been giving me some advice… Like how to hold my sword and how to move during a fight. Stuff like that."
"Oh? What did she tell you? Now I'm curious," Tione said, placing a hand on her chin, looking at us with interest.
What do I even say? Should I just make something up? But I don't know the first thing about swordsmanship!
Luckily for me, a waitress interrupted us.
And when I looked up at her, I froze.
It's her…
Feeling nervous, I avoided eye contact as she took our orders. I quickly ordered my food, and as she walked away, Bete asked,
"Why are you so nervous?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."
Seriously, why am I so nervous?
I know her true identity — but what would she even do to me?
Shouldn't I be happy that a Goddess like her is interested in me?
From what I remember of the artwork I've seen before, she's incredibly beautiful.
'She's already gorgeous even in this disguise, actually…'
####
When dinner was over, Tiona and the others left the restaurant, while I stayed behind, sitting at the table with a cold beer. 'The beer in this world is even better than the one in my old world…'
Adventurers slowly started to leave the restaurant, but I stayed and kept ordering more drinks.
Before I realized it, the world around me started spinning.
"Did I really drink that much?" I muttered as I stood up. The moment I did, I felt like I was going to throw up, so I went to ask a waitress where the bathroom was.
But when I got closer, I realized it was her. Freya.
"Where's the bathroom? I really need to go, or I'll end up making a mess here."
I tried to act as normal as possible — even if it left a bad impression, that was fine.
The waitress — Freya — smiled and said, "The bathroom's over there. Are you all right? You look a bit pale."
Seeing her act so sweetly made my heart skip a beat. Why is she so cute?
'Stop it… It's just the alcohol…'
I swallowed hard and went to the bathroom.
As I opened the door, a system message appeared in front of me.
[ Freya's affection toward you has increased! ]
[ 20 → 21 ]
Startled by the notification, I almost threw up right there.
After finishing up in the bathroom, I started to feel a bit better — though there was still a horrible taste in my mouth.
"Are you leaving already?" Freya asked as I came out.
"Ah, yeah. I'm feeling better now. Thanks."
"Come back anytime~~"
She waved at me sweetly as I left the restaurant.
What a terrifying woman.
I'm certain she's hiding her true personality.
I can't read her at all.
####
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Next Chapters: Chapter 10 - Tiona naked. / Chapter 11 - They are beautiful. / Chapter 12 - Trying to land an attack on Tiona. (This is very difficult)
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