After informing Freya of the necessary arrangements, warning her to keep an eye on the Mage in Ishtar Familia who could temporarily raise an adventurer's level, and chatting with Ryuu for a while at the Hostess of Fertility, Shiro finally left the tavern with Wiene.
The moment he stepped through the door, however, he ran straight into someone unexpected.
"Ais? You're not going to the Dungeon today?"
"There are fewer monsters now. Riveria told me to rest for a day."
Hearing Shiro's question, the blonde swordswoman lowered her eyes and looked somewhat disappointed.
Because Shiro had taken away the Divinity from the deepest part of the Dungeon, things had been anything but peaceful there over the past few days.
The Dungeon had produced large numbers of enhanced species far stronger than ordinary monsters of the same type, sending them rampaging through the Upper Floors.
To deal with this once-in-a-century abnormality and protect the lives of ordinary adventurers, the Guild had asked exploration Familias with significant combat power, including Loki Familia, Ganesha Familia, and Freya Familia, to take turns guarding the Dungeon and eliminating the enhanced species as soon as they appeared.
Although it was not a Mandatory Mission, the Magic Stones dropped by enhanced species were worth significantly more than those of ordinary monsters. Combined with the considerable Excelia they provided, most Familias were quite happy to accept the Guild's additional reward.
Freya Familia, which Shiro had specifically warned beforehand, was naturally an exception.
"Riveria told you to rest?"
Shiro gave Ais a suspicious look.
"Don't tell me you saw that all the monsters around you were enhanced species and charged into the middle of them by yourself again."
"Sorry..."
"Why are you apologizing to me? You should be saying that to Riveria."
After spending so much time around Ais, Shiro could already imagine Riveria's expression when she saw the girl diving headfirst into a swarm of enhanced monsters alone.
Angry.
Anxious.
Probably both at once.
Ais normally looked like an obedient, expressionless girl, but in reality, she was easily the biggest problem child in Loki Familia.
Shiro sighed.
"Forget it. Want to walk around together? I don't have anything to do for the moment either."
"Or were you planning to visit Goibniu Familia and get your equipment maintained?"
"I need my equipment tomorrow. No maintenance."
Ais's gaze shifted toward Wiene standing behind Shiro.
Beneath the cloak, she caught a faint glimpse of pale blue-green skin.
'Pale blue-green?'
Before Ais could think any further, Shiro's next words pulled her attention away.
"Then I'll have to trouble you to show me around Orario."
Shiro smiled.
"To be honest, I barely know anywhere besides the potion shops and the Guild."
He deliberately added,
"I'm counting on you, Ais-senpai."
"Mm. Leave it to me."
Perhaps because she was always treated as the junior within Loki Familia, Ais froze for a moment at the half-joking "Ais-senpai."
Once she processed it, her mood visibly improved.
She even managed a few more words than her usual single "Mm."
And then...
A sight capable of leaving countless adventurers throughout Orario speechless appeared.
The [Sword Princess] of Loki Familia.
The beautiful but perpetually expressionless [Doll Princess].
Ais Wallenstein was openly walking side by side through Orario with a man...
While smiling.
That faint smile captivated countless adventurers.
At the same time, Shiro received an equally countless number of jealous and envious stares.
Many of them desperately wished they could drive away the man beside the [Sword Princess] and take his place themselves.
Those thoughts vanished the moment they noticed Shiro's unmistakable white hair and golden eyes shining like the sun.
There was only one adventurer in Orario with those features.
Another member of Loki Familia.
A man who had advanced at a speed so absurd that even the gods had never heard of anything like it, rising from a completely inexperienced Level 1 to a Level 4 standing above countless adventurers in only two months.
The feat had even shocked the gods.
Those troublemaking deities at the Denatus, who normally loved giving their children ridiculous titles, had actually spent unusual effort thinking of an appropriate one.
In the end, they gave him an epithet symbolizing a monstrously powerful being born at the boundary where Orario's darkest night met the dawn.
[White Night Desperado].
The surrounding adventurers immediately threw away every trace of resentment and jealousy.
What would being upset accomplish?
What would jealousy accomplish?
Were they supposed to walk over and challenge him to a duel?
What a joke.
That was how people actually died.
The more experienced adventurers quietly turned their eyes away, terrified that Shiro might notice the hostility they had shown earlier and decide to confront them over it.
One thing was certain.
Tonight, countless adventurers secretly in love with Ais were destined to howl toward the night sky in grief over their broken hearts.
Others would probably wrap themselves tightly in warm blankets and shed silent tears alone.
Not that any of this affected the two people who had unknowingly become the center of attention.
...
"Haah..."
Shiro sighed.
His tone carried the unmistakable disappointment of someone realizing he should have known better.
"I really should've guessed."
They were now on North Main Street, standing in front of a shop that sold Jagamarukun.
The aroma of fried food drifted gently past his nose, yet Shiro ignored it completely and focused on the blonde girl standing across from him with her head lowered.
"Sorry..."
Ais pressed her lips together and clasped both hands in front of herself.
She looked exactly like a child who had made a mistake and was waiting for her family to scold her.
"No, this one's my fault."
Shiro immediately abandoned whatever criticism he had been about to give.
"I assumed Riveria would take you around the city sometimes."
"I completely forgot to consider whether you were actually interested in sightseeing yourself."
Seeing Ais looking like an injured little animal made it impossible for him to continue.
Besides, it was hardly a serious problem.
Ais had said she would show Shiro some of the places in Orario he had never visited.
Yet they had walked for half an hour without Ais saying a single word.
Worse, her pace had gradually increased until she was almost walking as quickly as some Level 2 adventurers moved when hurrying somewhere.
When Shiro finally looked at her in confusion, he noticed that cold sweat had covered Ais's forehead.
Whenever their eyes happened to meet, she immediately looked away, refusing to maintain eye contact.
Combining her strange behavior with some of the stories Riveria had told him about Ais as a child, Shiro reached a conclusion.
Ais felt guilty.
Eventually, under the pressure of Shiro's stare, she finally stammered out the truth.
In reality, Ais was exactly like Shiro.
Her daily life consisted almost entirely of traveling between the Dungeon and her Familia home.
Even when she occasionally went shopping, it was usually because Tiona and the others dragged her along.
She never paid attention to scenic spots or interesting places around the city.
So despite living in Orario for many years, when it came to serving as a tour guide, Ais was probably not much better than an adventurer who had arrived only a week ago.
Aside from places related to fighting, the only location in all of Orario she genuinely knew well...
Was this Jagamarukun shop.
And so, after wandering around in circles for half an hour...
They had somehow ended up right back here.
…