"I want to be like that too... to get stronger as soon as possible."
Ais's voice suddenly carried a hint of disappointment.
Her tone was low, filled with a quiet sense of envy and longing.
Not too long ago, she had held the record for the fastest level-up in history, yet she was still unhappy with her own pace of growth.
After seeing her fellow familia members become so much stronger all at once, she grew even more impatient.
"I cannot be this weak. Otherwise... I will be left behind again."
Noah watched Ais mutter to herself.
The fist he had been about to jokingly drop on her head slowly relaxed.
"Ais," he called out.
"Hm?" The girl turned to look at him.
With a completely casual tone and expression, Noah asked, "Do you see your past self when you look at me?"
"..." Ais's golden eyes trembled.
"You cannot say goodbye to your weak former self, can you?" Noah continued, ignoring her shock.
"You killed the old you and gave in completely to your desire for revenge. You now believe you are nothing but a weapon with bloodstained hands, right?"
"Wh-Why?"
The golden-haired girl was completely lost.
She had no idea how someone else could possibly know these things about her.
Noah did not answer her question.
Instead, he just kept speaking his mind.
"You only think about getting stronger because your heart is completely filled with hatred for monsters. That is why you only care about chasing power. You have started to realize how sad that makes you, haven't you?"
"I am not..."
"You think I am going to repeat your mistakes. That is why you are protecting me so carefully, treating me like I am made of glass. You are doing it to make up for the past self you killed off." Noah walked forward calmly, picking apart the girl's deepest secrets with a totally flat tone.
Ais Wallenstein was terrible at expressing her feelings.
She was a girl of very few words and her face was almost always blank, making it hard for anyone to guess what she was thinking.
She was a pure, straightforward person, and a little—no, not a little, but extremely—clumsy.
She did not even understand her own feelings, mostly because she never took the time to think about herself.
Every day, she would wake up, go to the Dungeon to fight monsters and when it got dark, she would go back to the Loki Familia manor to sleep and recover her energy.
Day after day, it was always the same.
Noah knew all of this.
He did not know this because of some past memory from a story, but because he had taken the time to actually understand her by talking to her.
This world was real and the people in it were real too.
Whether it was the strongest fighters of the Loki Familia or the street vendor selling jagamarukun, the moment you spoke with them, you instantly knew they were living, breathing people.
And people change.
Noah had figured that out even before he came to Orario.
In fact, that ability to change was the greatest trait of the mortal children of the lower world and it was exactly why the gods loved them so much.
Right now, Ais's golden eyes were shaking more than ever before.
Was she really that kind of person?
'Is that really who I am?'
Was it like that since their very first meeting, or did it start during the expedition after that?
Had she really just been looking at her own past self every time she looked at the boy?
Did that mean everything she had done to protect him was actually just for her own sake?
'That... seems incredibly selfish of me,' she thought.
"You want to protect me, and I am very grateful for that," Noah said, looking directly into Ais's eyes.
"So, I will give you some advice in return. It is something I heard from someone else, but I think it makes a lot of sense."
Ais felt like he was looking right through her soul.
This boy was easily digging up feelings that she did not even know she had.
And yet... he was still thanking her.
"Ais, hatred can give you power, but it is only temporary. Sooner or later, you are going to hit a wall. Besides, an emotion like hatred is way too hard to control. You have been a slave to it for a long time now. It has covered your eyes so tightly that you cannot see anything else around you."
Ais tilted her head in confusion.
She raised a hand to physically cover her eyes, then lowered it again.
She stared at the boy blankly, as if to say: 'I can see perfectly fine.'
Noah's mouth twitched.
'It is a metaphor! A metaphor!'
'This girl really knew how to ruin a serious mood!'
"I mean that your hatred has blinded your heart! It has narrowed your focus so much that you literally cannot see anything except your enemies!" Noah explained helplessly.
"Other things?" Ais asked.
Seeing that she still did not get it, Noah had no choice but to try a different approach.
"Ais, what is Riveria to you?"
"A Familia member. A senior..." Ais answered quickly, but then she hesitated and added.
"She is usually very gentle, but she is very scary when she is angry. She is someone who is always by my side."
"Do you like Riveria?"
"I like her. But... I am still a little afraid of her."
"What about Gareth?"
"He is strong, strict, and trains us very hard."
"What about Finn?"
"He is amazing. I always feel safe when we fight together. But he always likes to lecture me after the battle is over."
'That is because you never follow his orders!' Noah silently took the Pallum captain's side in his head.
"Then, what about Tiona?"
"Tiona..." Ais paused, thinking very seriously about her answer. "Tiona is... very strong. She is a little cute, and she asks me a lot of questions."
"Is it fun going on adventures in the Dungeon with all of them?"
"Fun? I do not understand. When I am with everyone, I can defeat more enemies and it is much easier to fight strong monsters."
"Alright. Then what if you replaced them with a group of total strangers who were just as strong, or maybe even stronger? Would you be willing to trade your friends away for them?"
"In that case—no."
This time, there was absolutely no hesitation in Ais's voice.
She gave her answer firmly and her golden eyes stopped shaking.
She was starting to get it, but Noah felt she probably had not fully understood the lesson yet.
For someone as dense and action-oriented as Ais, actually experiencing things with her friends was probably going to work a lot better than just talking about it.
"Getting stronger is important, but do not forget that you have other ways to live your life. And do not ignore the people who care about you. Stop thinking of yourself as nothing but a highly efficient killing machine. A sharp sword can hurt the enemy, but it can also hurt the person holding it, or even their friends. You need to rely on the people around you a little more."
Seeing Bete, Tione, and Tiona catching up to them from behind, Noah closed his mouth and stopped talking.
Looking at Ais's dazed expression, it was clear their talk had left a huge impact on her.
Though, he honestly did not know if it was for better or for worse.
...
After finally reaching the 18th Floor, Noah followed the four Loki Familia members into Rivira, a place famously known as "the town of the world's most beautiful ruffians."
"Well then, I guess the first thing we need to do is find a guide," Tione mumbled.
Noah looked confused.
"A guide?"
Did a tiny town that you could walk across in just ten minutes really need a guide?
"Tch, of course," Bete scoffed. "Do you honestly think a secret black market is just set up in a fixed spot out in the open, like a normal vegetable stand?"
"Uh." Noah felt a bit embarrassed.
That was exactly what he had thought!
Was the black market not actually a physical place or a single group of people?
Seeing the dumb look on Noah's face, Bete realized the boy was completely clueless.
Even though the werewolf sounded annoyed, he still took the time to explain it in detail.
"Listen closely. Even though we are deep inside the Dungeon where the rules from the surface are much weaker, that does not mean the city's guards do absolutely nothing. The Ganesha Familia acts as the city's military police, and they often run surprise raids down here. If they catch you doing something illegal, they will drag you right back up to the surface and throw you in prison."
"So it is basically like an illegal underground internet cafe..." Noah mumbled.
"Huh? What the hell is that?" Bete asked.
"No, never mind. It is nothing."
Noah finally understood.
The term "black market" was a broad concept, not a place.
Wherever there are shady people, there is an underworld.
And wherever there are illegal goods, there is a black market.
The problem was that Rivira was a lawless town.
No one dared to show off their wealth out in the open, especially not when trying to buy a priceless treasure like a Grimoire.
If people saw you flashing that kind of money around, you would probably get murdered and robbed before you could even leave the floor.
That was exactly why they needed a guide.
The guides were the middlemen who knew who was selling what in secret.
"Then how do we find a guide?" Noah asked humbly, knowing he was the rookie here.
The werewolf sighed. "You dont need to look for them. Just look over there."
Bete pointed toward the shady alleys on the edges of the small town.
There were already plenty of desperate-looking people hiding in the shadows, waiting to offer their services.
Noah nervously waved his hand at a few of the men standing over there.
Instantly, the men charged at each other and started a brutal street brawl right in front of him, leaving Noah completely dumbfounded.
After a quick knockout round, the last man standing was a middle-aged thug who had just beaten up two other guys.
He had shifty eyes and a sneaky, rat-like face.
He clearly did not look like a good person.
The man practically crawled over to them, greedily rubbing his hands together with a sickeningly fake smile.
"My lords and ladies! You are in need of a guide, yes? Are you looking for a safe place to sleep, or perhaps some secret information? Whatever you need, I can—"
"Cut the crap," the werewolf interrupted him, getting straight to the point. "We are here to buy something from the black market."
"Oh my, so that is how it is!" The man smiled greedily. "Then, you must all be aware of the current rates for a job like that."
The man held up his fingers, making a gesture for the price.
The ridiculous number instantly sent Bete into a rage!
"Are you kidding me?! What kind of scammer guide asks for such an outrageous amount of money?!"
Faced with the angry werewolf, the thug did not look scared at all.
Instead, he just gave a smug disdainful sneer.
"These are the current rates for the black market. If you do not like my price, you are free to wait for those guys over there to wake up and ask them instead." The man pointed his thumb at the unconscious guides bleeding in the dirt, looking extremely proud of himself.