The casino lay shrouded in a torrential downpour, the storm wrapping it in a suffocating stillness, cut off from the world.
Bell moved forward cautiously.
The battered door creaked under his touch. With a gentle push, it swung loose and toppled backward.
A desolate sight greeted him.
The stench of decay mixed with the dust in the air. Broken tables, chairs, and fixtures littered the floor, shrouded in spiderwebs.
The silence was unnervingly complete. Even the sound of rain against the windows echoed clearly through the empty space.
Had they moved their base?
A faint light answered him.
Crossing the dim, vacant foyer, he spotted several Magic Stone lamps hanging from the corridor ceiling. His vision widened as he advanced.
"Where'd this brat come from? If you don't want a beating, get lost."
A figure appeared in the middle of the corridor.
Bell said nothing.
He tightened his grip on his dagger and suddenly charged forward.
The move caught his opponent completely off guard.
Before the man could even draw his weapon, Bell's dagger struck him head-on.
In the glow of the Magic Stone lamps, Bell saw the cocky grin on the man's face.
"Jumping me out of nowhere—gave me quite a scare. Too bad we already know all about you, rookie Adventurer."
The thug's flashy clothes matched his arrogant smirk.
Without armor to protect him, Bell's surprise attack hit home—but the cut was shallow, barely breaking the skin and drawing a few beads of blood.
"What's wrong? Did you think I was some fragile Goblin? This little scratch is nothing—a nick from peeling an apple hurts more."
The thug laughed shamelessly.
Bell stepped back, silent, keeping his distance.
From the look of him, this man was just a sentry. The real threat was elsewhere—especially that mercenary. With him around, Bell needed to conserve his strength.
Seeing no reaction, not even a counterattack, the thug grew bored.
"Hey, hey, hey! Giving up already? Usually I only deal with those filthy vagrants. Finally get someone who fights back, and you're not even trying? Come on, let me have some fun!"
He drew a curved blade, grinning wide.
Whenever someone came near the place, he would rush off, panting, to report to the merchant. After doing this a few too many times, even the merchant began looking at him with disgust. The others mocked him for being cowardly and weak.
But this time was different.
The bully, who'd always preyed on the weak and groveled before the strong, finally saw his chance.
He looked at the white-haired boy standing still before him, wondering how best to torment him. Since they'd already crossed blades, cutting him a few times shouldn't be too much, right?
"What's the matter? Scared stiff after seeing my weapon?"
His mocking laughter echoed down the corridor, twisting and blending with the dim light of the Magic Stone lamps until it turned into a blur of shadow and haze.
The thug never understood what happened next.
Why had the boy suddenly moved?
No—he realized too late—it wasn't that the boy had moved. It was that he himself had fallen.
His consciousness drifted like a kite with a broken string, struggling to make sense of anything.
"Could it be... that blade..."
His voice trembled with confusion and disbelief, fading bit by bit until it was swallowed by silence.
Bell didn't glance back at the fallen man. He stepped over the body and continued forward.
"Sorry. I'm short on time."
But those sincere words reached the fainting man's ears as pure scorn and mockery.
The brief clash—hardly a real fight—ended in mere seconds, leaving behind only silence.
Only the Magic Stone lamps bore witness.
No one noticed that a blade had already pierced into the casino's heart.
From deeper within the corridor came faint, muffled laughter.
Bell glanced down at the sky-blue dagger in his hand, remembering the one who had entrusted it to him.
...
After explaining everything to the Elf girl, the black cat Chloe approached the two of them.
"Young man, are you planning to go out with Ryuu, nya?" she asked.
"Sorry, but I don't think I can take you along," Ryuu replied before Bell could answer.
"I know, nya. This is what they call a date, nya. I would never interrupt you two, nya."
Chloe spoke with a mischievous grin. Despite her beautiful face and perfectly styled short black hair, the cute cat-eared girl gave off an oddly devious air.
Ryuu, unfazed by her teasing, remained indifferent.
"No matter what you say, I won't allow you to come with us," the Elf girl replied coolly.
"Eh? Didn't think Ryuu was more possessive than I am, nya. But lending me the young man for just two minutes should be fine, nya?"
Chloe's light smile remained as unreadable as ever.
Ryuu frowned slightly, reacting to some part of her words. "Do as you please—it's Cranel-san's choice. However, we have urgent business. Please refrain from wasting time on trivial matters."
"Of course, nya. I understand the boy's in a hurry, nya."
Ignoring the protests and complaints of the other employees, Chloe grabbed Bell by the arm, pulled him into the break room, and shut the door with a firm thud.
Bell pushed down his confusion.
Once they were inside, Chloe's playful expression faded into seriousness.
"Bell, you're out of weapons, aren't you, nya?"
Her words hit the mark instantly.
During his fight with the mercenary, Bell's cheap dagger had shattered into countless fragments. No matter how desperate he was to rescue someone, going unarmed was out of the question.
He had planned to stop by a weapon shop on the way, buying a sturdier dagger on credit—or, failing that, another cheap one like before.
"Instead of wasting time going there, wouldn't it be faster to take one from me, nya?"
Chloe seemed to see straight through his thoughts as she made her offer.
"Take one... from you?"
Though Bell could feel the aura of strength radiating from Ryuu, he didn't sense that same kind of presence from Chloe.
"That's right, nya. We've even got military shovels, nya."
Bell refrained from questioning who would even use something like that and replied politely, "I don't know how to handle that kind of weapon."
"Just saying, nya."
Chloe crouched down in front of a wardrobe, pulling out a long wooden box.
When she opened it, rows of neatly arranged short blades gleamed within.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone else, nya. Pick one that feels right in your hands, nya."
Staring at the dazzling array of blades, Bell was briefly taken aback before quickly regaining his composure.
He still didn't know who Chloe really was, but one thing was certain—she genuinely wanted to help him. There was no reason to question her intentions.
"Yeah. I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Nya—then let me introduce you, nya."
Whether it was the gleam in Chloe's eyes or the reflection off the blades, she seemed almost cheerful as she pointed at a dagger.
"This one's forged from the shell of a Killer Ant, nya. It's coated with poison that kills instantly, nya."
"This one's made from ore mined in the Middle Floors, nya. The poison's weaker than the last one, but it'll still knock someone out cold, nya."
"And this one..."
Bell stared at the catgirl in front of him, at a loss for words.
Why are all of these poisoned?
Some of the monster names she mentioned, he hadn't even heard of before.
In the end, among the collection of lethal weapons, Bell chose the sky-blue short blade forged from ore. Compared to the others, its poison merely caused sleep—it was the most harmless option.
He didn't choose it for any deep reason. He simply didn't know how to handle poisoned blades, and if something went wrong, this one would cause the least harm.
"Are you sure this one's enough, nya? I actually recommend the other one more, nya."
"Thanks, but this will do."
When Bell fought the mercenary earlier, he'd instinctively gripped the broken dagger fragments, ready to counterattack. If he had been holding one of the blades from this box instead, the result would've been far uglier.
This blue-hued short blade was the one best suited to him.
Chloe closed the box with a touch of disappointment, her ears drooping slightly as she slid the wooden case back into its place.
But once she stepped out the door, her expression turned playful again.
"What a shame it was only a few minutes, nya. When the boy gets back and it's time for me to collect payment, I'll make sure it lasts a bit longer, nya."
Bell hid the dagger just as promised.
Before he could say anything, Syr approached Chloe with a flushed face, and Anya followed right behind, radiating hostility.
Chloe pressed a finger to her lips, giving Bell a teasing smile and a small wave.
Bell returned the gesture, then turned and left.
Before departing, he thought he saw it—dark clouds beginning to gather over the tavern that was supposed to be safe.
He'd have to thank Chloe properly when he got back.
Gripping the dagger tightly, Bell silently made his way deeper into the corridor.