"Yes. She's still too young. But special cases should be handled in special ways. Better to guide than to suppress. Someone of your caliber—a top-tier mage—should understand that principle better than anyone, Riveria."
The boy's words left the elven princess silent. It was not only because of the influence he had over her, but also because what he said was true.
Negative emotions needed an outlet and proper guidance. Otherwise, they became ticking time bombs, liable to explode without warning one day. Compared to simply suppressing them, perhaps allowing a little danger and giving them some positive direction would be the better choice.
Xi'en continued.
"Isn't this safer than dragging her back by force, only for her to sneak out again later? At least this way she's acting right under our eyes."
"And with me here, nothing will go wrong. Letting her see reality clearly—understand what level she's actually at, what she can and cannot do—would help no matter what. Whether it's to kill off these reckless thoughts or to encourage her growth, there's no downside, is there?"
Absolute strength was Xi'en's confidence. As long as he was present, no real danger could come to the little girl. Letting her suffer a little, on the other hand, would probably make the lessons afterward much easier to teach. After all, some things could never be understood without experiencing them firsthand.
After hearing all that, the little girl stared at the boy beside her in shock. She had not expected him to be thinking like this at all. She had assumed he was on her side. For a moment, her budding fondness for him dropped quite a bit.
But even that failed to shake her determination to go into the Dungeon.
As long as I can kill monsters, I can gain the power to grow…
The elven princess sank into thought. She thought of Xi'en's strength. She thought of the way things had been handled up to now. She even thought of her own past.
That's right… for stubborn people, if they don't crash headfirst into the wall, they'll never turn back. Otherwise, back then, I never would have left my homeland. Looking back on how I felt at the time… the people around me could have stopped me too, couldn't they?
Real understanding was something that only came with experience. Perhaps years later, looking back on what one did now, it would seem foolish—maybe even embarrassing. But in that moment, it was the most righteous conviction in the world.
"…I can't argue with that."
"So…"
"…"
"Fine. I agree. But on one condition—I'm coming with you. Even Adventurer registration requires someone from the Familia as proof."
After much thought, Riveria was finally persuaded by Xi'en. If this could teach the little girl something, then it would all be worth it.
Xi'en's next words also erased the last of her worries.
"Of course. Actually, I'd be more than happy to have you along. She belongs to your side, after all. I'd be in real trouble if I got mistaken for a kidnapper."
So, under the little girl's delighted gaze, the three of them headed to the Guild together.
Riveria's acquaintance there was a mature beastwoman with wine-red hair named Rose. How to put it… she gave off the unmistakable vibe of a workplace deadfish who had long since had all emotion ground out of her by endless overtime.
Still, seeing her friend made her genuinely happy. And with Xi'en—the current star of Orario—standing beside her, she even showed a rare bit of enthusiasm as she welcomed the three of them.
Once she understood what they needed, she did take the chance to tease them a little, wondering aloud whether the Loki Familia had already fallen so low that they were sending children this young into the Dungeon. Even so, out of trust in her friend, she completed the procedures without issue.
It was not only because of the peculiar aura on the little brat that she found somewhat unpleasant, but also because of her absolute confidence in her friend's strength.
Compared to such a minor matter as registration, what interested her more was the strange composition of this group.
If it were merely Loki Familia's internal business, that was one thing—but why was Xi'en, a member of the Astrea Familia, involved in all this?
No. Something definitely smelled off.
So she decided to make a little probe.
And as expected, the moment the topic turned to that boy, Riveria changed.
She lost the calmness she usually carried, transforming from a cold, untouchable queen into a maiden just beginning to understand love.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Riveria—you're defecting? Didn't we agree we were going to be proud single women together?
How could you run ahead on your own like this? And what was with that expression? Unrequited love? Haven't even gone to war yet and you're already completely defeated?
That was the conclusion Rose reached after observing the way the two of them interacted. The one hopelessly lovestruck was actually the elven princess? Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.
At that point she was almost grateful she had been forced to work overtime today. Otherwise she would have missed such a juicy piece of gossip. This was far too entertaining.
As for helping? Please. Not a chance. Not until she herself managed to stop being single. Besides, how was someone who had never even been in love supposed to advise a woman drowning in it?
So she happily savored every gap between Riveria's usual persona and this new one, all while finishing their preparations—and not forgetting to take advantage of the opportunity by asking Xi'en for an autograph too.
After the paperwork was done, Ais took the beginner equipment provided by the Guild and followed the two of them into the Dungeon.
On the first floor—slimes, goblins, kobolds—there was nothing there that posed any real problem for the little girl.
All one could say was that a genius really was a genius. Against the monsters of the Dungeon, she showed none of the awkwardness one would expect from a novice adventurer. After barely a dozen minutes of adjustment, she had already more or less grasped how to deal with low-level monsters.
Even the elven princess who had come along was left staring in surprise.
She had assumed Ais would perform a little better than most beginners, considering she had already undergone a decent amount of training.
But she had not expected her to perform this well.
The fear that novice adventurers had to confront and overcome seemed almost nonexistent in her. She was astonishingly adept at wielding a weapon.
And yet Riveria was worried.
There was no fear of monsters in those eyes, true enough—but in its place, she saw another emotion, one no less dangerous.
Hatred.
And that was a far more troublesome emotion than fear.
As though he had seen through Riveria's concerns, Xi'en smiled.
"Don't worry too much. We only need to stop her when necessary. She needs to let it out. After that, helping her slowly learn to control it will be your job."
"…I hope so. But for some reason, I can't shake the feeling that this is turning into more and more trouble."
Riveria could already sense that something was wrong. Looking at it another way, Xi'en did not actually need to do much at all, did he? Once the little girl's emotions exploded, wouldn't the mess be theirs to clean up?
This guy could practically just… sit back and watch the show?
"Haha. Would it, though? Probably not…"
Aware that he was slightly in the wrong, Xi'en forced out a laugh and tried to brush past it.
Riveria did not press the matter. Things had already reached this point. All they could do now was deal with reality as it came.
The little girl, for her part, paid no attention at all to their idle conversation—or rather, as the enemies grew stronger and stronger, the pressure she was under no longer allowed her the luxury of distraction.
To this child who did not yet know the height of heaven or the depth of earth, the Dungeon showed its cruelty without the slightest hesitation.
Her stamina gradually began to fail, but the enemies, drawn by her very obvious movements, kept gathering from all sides.
Seeing the girl on the verge of being surrounded, the elven princess unexpectedly began to lose her composure.
Just as she was about to act, Xi'en raised a hand and stopped her.
"She hasn't asked for help yet, has she? Besides, you know what kind of person I am. If this is meant to be a lesson, then it ought to be a deep one…"
Xi'en's words made Riveria's pupils widen. Looking into those brown eyes of his, she suddenly understood what he was aiming for.
"You want her to break? No. That's too cruel."
"Better to break here than when she faces an enemy she can't defeat, even with people at her side. Besides, I'm not taking it that far. I just want her to recognize reality…"
"Think of it as a kind of forging."
Riveria hesitated. Given all the little girl had already suffered, she did not want her to endure even more pain. What she needed should have been care and support.
But what Riveria failed to understand was that this "princess" had chosen to take up the sword and fight with her own hands after living through despair. In Xi'en's view, excessive protection would only be another kind of harm. It would be denying the choice she had made after all that suffering.
Compared with Xi'en's leisurely watchfulness, the little spirit girl was having a miserable time.
Her body was gradually slipping beyond her control. As her grip weakened, her mistakes increased, and the accumulation of those mistakes slowly pushed her into danger.
Like right now.
Her body was already near its limit, and there were now numerous wounds of all sizes scattered across her. Each injury only hastened her slide toward defeat.
The monsters had no intelligence, but they knew one thing well enough:
Their prey was weakening.
And once that happened, there was only one thing left to do—
Beat down the drowning dog.
The girl was in danger.
And yet she had no intention of asking for help. Her stubborn pride would not allow her to seek aid from others at a moment like this. She believed she could still endure.
Just as she failed to realize that, in her current state, that kind of persistence had already become meaningless.
At this point, she could gain nothing from continuing.
Finally, when the little girl was nearly unable to fight at all, Riveria could no longer hold back and stepped in.
This time, Xi'en did not stop her.
Just as he had said, her will was still fierce, but such things could never be changed in a single day. This lesson—this tempering—had already gone far enough.
With a casual wave, Riveria cleared out all the monsters around them and came to the little girl's side to heal her wounds.
Xi'en also strolled over, unhurried as ever.
"So, how did your first Dungeon expedition feel?"
"I can still… defeat more…"
Her words came out broken and uneven—a sure sign that her body had already reached its absolute limit. But hatred continued to burn through her will, driving her to force her body to start up again and again.
But how could a human body ever be as tireless as a machine?
"Hey, Ais, stop this—"
Unable to bear watching the child force herself any longer, Riveria tried to stop her—
But then—
"No problem. If that's really what you think, then keep going. However, before that, take a look at the weapon in your hand. It's already close to its limit. If you want to continue, you'll need a new sword."
Xi'en's reminder made the girl finally look down at the weapon in her hands.
Its blade was now full of chips, and several huge cracks ran across the entire sword. It would probably only survive a few more strikes before snapping into pieces.
Even she could do nothing without a weapon.
Raising her head, she looked at the sword hanging at Xi'en's waist, hope appearing on her face.
"Can't you lend me one of yours?"
"No."
Xi'en rested a hand on the weapon at his waist, soothing it before it could make a fuss. It had clearly taken offense at the little girl's ignorant request. In this world, only Xi'en could wield it.
"Leaving aside the fact that this one wouldn't allow you to use it… this is your responsibility. That sword shouldn't have worn out so fast. You were the one who pushed it to the brink. Since you caused that outcome, then you're the one who has to find a replacement."
The girl froze, then looked utterly shocked. She had not realized the consequences were that serious.
"What…? There's no new weapon for me?"
"Of course not. In Orario, no smith would forge a weapon for someone who doesn't know how to treasure one."
"I just wasn't careful…"
"That's not my concern. Weren't you the reason this happened? Your movements are full of waste. Every unnecessary impact multiplied the damage to the weapon in your hand. If Riveria and I weren't here right now, what do you think your fate would have been?"
"We gave you everything you asked for—equipment, opportunity, the chance to enter the Dungeon. And you failed to make use of any of it. All your performance has shown us is that you're just a child blinded by hatred."
"So this farce ends here. No one is going to indulge your nonsense anymore."
Xi'en had laid down the final verdict.
Children could fool around. That was one thing. But even that needed limits.
Even though she was just a little girl, he would not indulge her without end in a matter like this. That would not be kindness. It would be irresponsibility.
"If you still insist, then go ahead and find a way to sneak out here and die. Otherwise, go learn how to become a real adventurer. If you do that, then maybe Riveria will buy you another sword."
He did not completely close off the road ahead. Playing the villain, he dragged her expectations as low as he could—so that the elf beside him could step in afterward.
That was why, while speaking, he secretly flicked a glance at Riveria.
"Really?"
Hope returned to the little girl's eyes.
She looked at the elven princess with open longing.
"…Yes. As long as you complete your basic training, I'll buy you another sword."
"All right. I'll go back with you and finish the training. You promised—you have to buy me a new sword when the time comes."
Riveria nodded, thoroughly satisfied with the girl's state now.
"Then let's go back."
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it