Anya had been provoked by Cecil.
Perhaps it was a case of "idiots repelling each other," but for the Cat People girl, the one thing she absolutely could not stand was being looked at with "concern" by an idiot like Cecil.
It was a humiliating disgrace, meow!!
So...
...
On a warm spring afternoon, after delivering the fruits, vegetables, and meat, Cecil drove the carriage, taking Isagi and Anya out of the city to the vast fields outside Orario.
Green seedlings were planted in the fertile soil, flocks of birds danced in the air, and in the distance, vast fruit orchards could be seen.
In the fields, scantily clad farmers were hard at work. Some had simply gone bare-chested, but even so, most of them wore the emblem of the Demeter Familia on their clothes or headscarves—
A beautiful woman with long hair like harvested wheat ears.
The land outside Orario belonged almost entirely to the Demeter Familia.
As Orario's largest production-type Familia, they were responsible for the food supply of the entire city's population. Although the Familia's combat power was practically zero—comprising a large number of ordinary farmers who had not received the Falna, and adventurers who were almost exclusively Level 1.
Yet, in terms of influence alone, they were an existence comparable to the strongest Familias in the city, like Loki and Freya.
After all, no matter how strong an adventurer is, they still have to eat.
Soon enough, after Cecil returned the carriage to the people of the Demeter Familia, she followed their directions and found an empty clearing.
Green grass, interspersed with tiny flowers, swayed in the gentle spring breeze.
Anya stood solemnly a short distance away. Her goofy appearance made it a bit hard for Cecil to keep a straight face.
The Cat People girl wanted to prove to the two of them that she was indeed a powerful Level 4 adventurer!!
To be honest.
Isagi and Cecil were both quite skeptical about this.
It was normal for Anya to say she was an adventurer. With so many deities in Orario, anyone who received Falna counted as a Level 1 adventurer. In reality, as long as a Familia lowered its standards enough, there was no one who couldn't become an adventurer, only those who didn't want to.
But claiming to be Level 4 was just too ridiculous, right?!
One had to realize that Level 5 and above were designated as "First-Class Adventurers." There were fewer than a hundred such powerhouses in all of Orario. In Isagi's terms, they were equivalent to the "Heavenly Prides of the Sect."
Level 4... that should at least be "Elder's Direct Disciple" level, right?
In Orario, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them experts among experts. And such a powerhouse was actually an idiot like Anya?!
However.
Just now, when they left the city, Isagi and Cecil had seen it!
The Cat People girl had actually been stopped by the Ganesha Familia guards watching the city gate, and was only allowed to leave after they repeatedly confirmed her pass.
This was truly incredible!
Isagi knew that the Guild in Orario had explicit regulations: adventurers Level 3 and above were not allowed to leave the city casually; they required a certificate and procedures issued by the Guild.
This was because high-level adventurers were extremely scarce in other nations outside Orario.
Since the monsters on the surface were all creatures that had escaped from the Dungeon a thousand years ago, before Babel was built, their continuous reproduction over such a long passage of time had caused their strength to degrade significantly.
The most direct evidence was that the magic stones inside surface monsters were much, much smaller than those in the Dungeon.
This meant that adventurers outside the city found it very difficult to achieve the "Great Deeds" required to level up.
For example, the Kingdom of Rakia, controlled by the War God Ares, only had a few Level 3 generals. Therefore, if high-level adventurers were allowed to leave the city and go elsewhere unchecked, it could lead to unimaginable accidents.
Anya was clearly well-prepared.
It seemed she intended to show this off to him and Cecil on purpose.
She had been clamoring to leave the city from the start, and now that she had gotten her wish, she was preening smugly in the distance, shouting loudly at him.
"Hurry up and start, meow! I'm already ready, meow!!"
To demonstrate her power.
Anya requested that he throw an object anywhere he liked.
So, Isagi picked up a large stone from the grass, wound up his arm, and threw it into the distance with all his might!!
The fist-sized stone erupted with a whistling sound as it tore through the air, flying towards the distant woods in an instant. Yet Anya remained unhurried, even speaking proudly to him and Cecil with deliberate provocation.
"Watch closely, meow!"
Then...
...
So fast!!!
Isagi hadn't even noticed when Anya disappeared, nor when she returned to stand before him.
The Cat People girl's speed was even faster than his intuition.
Not being able to see the opponent's movements with the eyes was one thing. In combat, relying on "intuition" and "the flow of air" was often enough to judge the trajectory of an enemy's attack.
Isagi had already grasped this technique during the high-intensity battles of the past few days.
But Anya's speed was too fast.
It was as if she vanished into thin air and reappeared just as suddenly, without even a sound.
Is she really Level 4?
Isagi could feel the gap in levels here.
Among adventurers, there was a chasm of difference between each level. A Level 2 adventurer could easily defeat dozens of Level 1 adventurers, and at a level like Level 4, "numbers" became completely meaningless.
"Anya is so strong."
"Heh heh heh, now you know how amazing I am, meow!"
"I didn't see it clearly just now. Can we do it again, Anya?"
"Of course, meow! After all, I am the greatest, meow!!"
Coaxing the stupid cat.
Isagi picked up a stone and threw it into the distance again, while staring at Anya with utmost seriousness, watching the Cat People girl's movements—how she started, her posture as she left, and her return.
"Again, Anya."
"Rawr!"
...
"I'm throwing two stones this time. No problem, right Anya?"
"Don't underestimate me, meow! I am the greatest, meow!!"
...
"Anya really is the greatest. Let's do it a billion more times."
"Bring it on, meow!!"
...
The boy kept throwing stones. Slowly, although he still couldn't see the Cat People girl's movements clearly, he began to sense something—the touch of the wind.
Although Anya's movements were silent and completely undetectable to the naked eye, wind was indeed generated.
Even if only a little bit.
But with the rise and fall of the wind, Isagi could already judge when the Cat People girl started moving and when she stopped.
However, this "academic inquiry" that was so professional and serious...
In Cecil's eyes, as she watched from the side, it looked exactly like Isagi was playing fetch or Frisbee to tease a dog.
But Anya was a Cat Person among the Demi-humans, not a Dog Person!!
And why was the person involved enjoying it so much?
With that smug look of "I brought the stone back again, aren't I amazing!"
Stupid cat, what are you so proud of?!
Soon.
A good part of the afternoon had passed. Anya, having proven her strength to the boy, was in an excellent mood. Thinking that since it was her day off and she didn't have to work at the pub tonight, she still had plenty of time to play!
And so, she made her request to Isagi.
"Isagi, are you going to the Dungeon tonight, meow?"
"Yeah, I'm going."
Since he had promised Lefiya that he would take her to the Dungeon today, Isagi thought he would go at night after she finished her conversion this afternoon.
"Then I want to go with you, meow!!"
Anya crossed her arms and announced very proudly.
Proving her strength was only the first step of today's goal, meow! That idiot Cecil said that Isagi encountering those messy things on the 1st Floor of the Dungeon was definitely because he was too stupid and got tricked, meow!!
Anya had seen Isagi coaxing Cecil before. Heh heh heh, so this time she would go with the boy, meow. And when they returned, she could mock Cecil for being the idiot, meow!!
If I've been there myself, meow, could my words be false, meow?!
Kukuku.
Starting tomorrow, I won't be the stupidest one anymore, meow!!
___
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