"So we're really eating here."
The restaurant 'Hostess of Fertility' was beloved by countless adventurers in Orario—so much so that even familias would choose it as the venue for their celebration banquets.
There was, without question, a reason for that.
The first time he had encountered Lefiya in the Dungeon, it had been because of a Goblin guard incident that she treated him to a meal here. At the time, however, he had been too busy.
He hadn't carefully savored the taste.
Now, relying on his own efforts, he was finally able to afford a meal at this restaurant.
To Ron, this was not without meaning—it was a kind of pilgrimage after transmigrating into the DanMachi world, because if one were to be precise, most of the story's developments had extended outward from this very place.
As for Syr Flova.
This goddess of beauty who worked part-time at the restaurant to experience ordinary life—he did not avoid her as if she were a venomous snake.
As a soul from the modern world, having endured the bombardment of overwhelming amounts of information, there was no way he could possibly draw the attention of the goddess of beauty Freya.
Besides—
The combat arts he currently possessed had basically all originated from the 'Lord of Blood.'
Ron felt that this thing was absolutely repainting the originally plain and unremarkable glow of his soul with a shade of madness that belonged exclusively to the indescribable and unnameable.
"Leave the treating to me."
"If not for Lord Takemikazuchi's guidance, and Yamato-senpai's practical combat training, I wouldn't have adapted so quickly to the rhythm of Dungeon exploration."
"…"
"It was really just too enthusiastic…"
They even invoked the name of a god, leaving Mikoto with no reason at all to refuse. Yet when she thought about the exploration gains from these past two days, she hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself.
From a remuneration standpoint, she was absolutely the one taking advantage of Ron.
Including today's exploration gains, the total had reached nearly five hundred thousand Valis—and that was with the drops from the Goblin guards still not yet processed.
When divided to her share, it came to nearly two hundred thousand Valis in total.
In the past, Mikoto would never have dared to imagine that she could earn this much money in such a short period of time!
"Then I… won't stand on ceremony with you."
"Thank you, Mr. Ron." Compared to Mikoto, Chigusa even used an honorific when expressing her thanks. She had never been good at handling interpersonal relationships to begin with.
And after Ron's guidance, she was now thinking seriously about her future path.
Since it had not yet reached the lunchtime rush, Ron quickly found an empty table. Just as he was considering what to eat for lunch—
Not far away.
A brown-haired catgirl named Anya, wearing a leaf-green dress paired with a white apron, stepped lightly forward, her target clear as she came straight up to Ron.
The girl held a menu in both hands.
Curiosity flowed through her light-gray vertical pupils as she openly sized up the refined-looking young man. There was nothing particularly stunning about him, yet he was very easy on the eyes.
It seemed as though those brown eyes carried a depth of experience that did not belong to his current age.
"Adventurer sir, how should Anya address you, meow?"
"…"
Why did even eating require asking for his name?
Ron was puzzled. But after clearly recognizing Anya's highly distinctive cat-person racial traits, he suddenly felt that this was, instead, a very reasonable thing.
That idiot Hakimi is just like that.
Most importantly, that guy is actually a Lv.4 adventurer, with the title 'Vana Alfi.' And purely from an appearance standpoint, she really is a beautiful young girl.
He did his best to keep his expression calm.
"Um, I'm here to eat. That shouldn't have anything to do with what you call me, right?"
"Of course it does, meow."
The girl's tone suddenly turned firm.
After all, it had been a long time since Ryuu had cast so many glances at an adventurer. There was definitely something worth pondering here—but before she could speak—
What awaited Anya was a crisp knock to the head.
Thunk.
Standing beside Anya, the elven girl's already cool and detached face now exuded an even stronger 'keep strangers away' aura.
As the instigator...
Ryuu ignored the idiot cat who was clutching her head, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.
She turned her head and complained to Mia, the dwarf shopkeeper who was busy behind the tavern counter: "Anya is harassing customers who came here to eat again."
"Mm."
"She was even slacking off in the back garden earlier."
"What?!"
"Anya, what exactly are you trying to do?!"
Anya showed no anger at all. Instead, she slipped away before Manager Mia could fully erupt: "Anya's head hurts a little. Anya is going to the back kitchen to find Miss Syr for comfort, meow."
"…Sorry."
"We disturbed your normal meal."
The elven girl was extremely polite. Despite her cool expression, she apologized sincerely for the trouble Anya had caused.
The reason she placed more of her attention on Ron—
Was simply because, while tracking remnants of Evilus in the Dungeon, she had encountered this new adventurer before. In her view, that was entirely normal.
"It's fine."
Ron smiled and shook his head. He didn't feel that Anya had caused any real disturbance—yet when his gaze lingered on the stunning face of the girl before him, he was momentarily dazed, something rare for him.
Of course, he could recognize her identity.
Ryuu Lion.
Compared to the appearance depicted in the original anime, when set against the girl standing right in front of him, there was clearly no comparison at all.
She was simply beautiful.
The girl's already cool and detached temperament, combined with her elven identity, made her seem even more ethereal and unworldly.
Although the leaf-green maid uniform was loose-fitting, it still could not conceal her excellent figure. The brown one-piece stockings perfectly outlined the curves of her legs.
Ron decisively withdrew his gaze.
"We'll have two grilled fish set meals, a chicken stewed noodles dish, honey-glazed roast chicken, and three bottles of orange soda. That will be all for now."
"Sorry to trouble you."
"Alright."
"The total comes to two thousand seven hundred Valis."
Ryuu nodded lightly.
She wrote down all the dishes Ron had ordered, partly out of consideration for the disturbance Anya had caused, and partly because of the young man's status as an adventurer.
Before leaving, the girl hesitated for a moment, then offered a reminder: "You should be adventurers, right? I've heard that—the Dungeon hasn't been particularly peaceful lately. Please be careful during your daily explorations."
"Thank you."
No one understood the Dungeon better than he did, because all of those disturbances had been caused by himself.
Ron was somewhat surprised by Ryuu's goodwill. Perhaps the tavern's well-informed information channels allowed her, even after retiring from adventuring, to grasp part of the situation.
After all, this concerned secrets tied to himself—the more information he could gather, the better.
He tentatively asked, "Um, may I ask, miss—do you have any other information regarding the Dungeon's abnormalities?"
"…"
"There isn't any particularly special information."
After hesitating, the girl explained in a cold voice, "Whenever the Dungeon shows abnormalities, it's almost certainly inseparable from that bunch of Evilus scum."
"Just be careful."
"These matters—someone will take care of them."
Tracking Evilus traces was her own business. Ryuu did not wish to involve unrelated adventurers.
Yet the sheer amount of information contained in those words, along with the chilling coldness in her tone, made Ron—who had been quietly spectating—feel increasingly strange.
For once, he remained silent.
'Damn it!'
'Watching my own drama is one thing, but how the hell did I end up becoming Evilus myself?!'
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