Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - Synopsis:
--+--
"Your name?"
"Name..."
"Do you want to join a Familia?"
"Join a Familia..."
A warrior from another world brought new life to Orario as dawn drew near.
Orario gained a hero, and at the same time, it also gained a section chief packed to the brim with immersion.
Because of her, a Familia of justice avoided being wiped out. Because of her guidance, a blond, airheaded swordswoman saw the path of her life change.
And all of it began that night, with their first meeting in the Dungeon, and a conversation where neither side seemed to be answering the same question.
"Your name?"
"Name..."
"Your name is Name?"
"Called Name."
...
"Do you want to join a Familia?"
"Join a Familia..."
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 1
Chapter 1: No Log Out Button
--+--
"Where... is this?"
Hoshimi Miyabi stared blankly at the world wrapped in mist.
The ground beneath her feet was packed dirt, overgrown with weeds. A few scattered trees stood within sight.
White fog hung over everything around her, making it hard for Miyabi to judge where she was.
She looked up. Rock stretched overhead. There was no sky at all.
The fresh scent of grass, trees, and soil drifted into her nose. The fox ears standing straight on top of her head gave a faint twitch.
The taste in her mouth felt real. So did the damp touch on her face. Both told Miyabi that this place wasn’t some virtual world made of data. It was real.
Miyabi didn’t move at once. She held her chin and began to sort through the situation.
That morning, in order to avoid attending a duty report meeting, Miyabi had accepted an invitation from the HIA Club and gone to test a new combat mode called Endless Tower.
She had cut her way through every stage and soon cleared the highest point of the test: Floor 50.
After reaching Floor 50, Miyabi found the designer’s little hidden surprise: Floor Minus One.
Since entering it meant she could delay going back and avoid the duty report meeting, Miyabi stepped into Floor Minus One.
Amid all that noise, she killed the Ethereals on that floor.
But just as she prepared to log out, that noisy voice appeared again.
Compared to the voice during the test, this one sounded even louder, sharper, and grating. Even its tone had changed.
"Hahahahaha! Do you want to become stronger?" the piercing voice asked.
"No."
Miyabi answered without hesitation. Some unknown person who refused to show their face had suddenly asked her such a tempting question. Nine times out of ten, it was a scam.
Ignoring the racket, Miyabi called up the interface and prepared to log out, only to find there was no log out button.
"Hahahahaha! Want to log out? Sorry, the log out button’s gone. You made me lose face, so now I’m going to punish you."
With that harsh laughter ringing out, the scene before Miyabi’s eyes began to change at high speed. The sealed cylindrical space melted away like ice meeting flame.
Miyabi fell into darkness so thick she couldn’t see her own hand.
The tower vanished. The Ethereals vanished with it. Even the voice disappeared.
Miyabi didn’t act in haste. She gripped the handle of her blade, shut her eyes, and heightened every sense except sight, feeling for changes around her.
About three minutes later, Miyabi opened her eyes again and found herself in this cave-like place.
"Pop, pop..."
With the sound of dirt breaking apart, the ground around Miyabi began to loosen. A faint tremor ran beneath her feet.
Miyabi lowered her gaze. Green hands burst through the soil, one after another. About ten strange, green, human-shaped monsters appeared before her.
Orcs.
These monsters from the Dungeon’s Eleventh Floor bared their fangs at Hoshimi Miyabi.
The orcs were tall. If she didn’t count her ears, each one stood almost twice Miyabi’s height.
Faced with monsters she had to look up at, Miyabi gripped the handle of her blade in silence.
Whoosh.
Miyabi focused every nerve. Her thumb, covered by exoskeleton armor, gave the guard of her sword a light push.
Clang!
A cold flash of blade light swept through the air. The monsters that had just crawled out of the earth became corpses and returned to the soil’s embrace.
"Very weak monsters. I should look for a way out."
With one hand holding her sheath and the other waving away the foul smell coming from the monsters, Miyabi turned and left.
About half an hour later, she had reached the other side of the cave. A brown leather pouch now sat in her hand.
The mist was too thick, and the air around her was filled with unfamiliar scents. Miyabi hadn’t found a way out. Instead, while searching for an exit, she had run into several more groups of orcs.
After sending those orcs on their way, Miyabi found a leather pouch beside a pile of stones.
The brown pouch was made from some unknown hide and was about the size of her palm. Inside were test tubes filled with green liquid.
Though the pouch looked old, there wasn’t much dust on it. Its owner probably hadn’t lost it long ago.
Judging by the test tubes that looked like potions, Miyabi concluded that this place was likely similar to a Hollow. People like Hollow Raiders would come in to explore.
So Miyabi decided to wait where she was. If the owner came back to look for the pouch, she could leave together with them.
And even if the owner didn’t come, someone else might enter this place.
Compared with wandering around with no clear goal, waiting in place became the most efficient method.
"But it’s a bit boring..."
Miyabi touched her pocket, wanting to take out her phone to pass the time, only to remember that she hadn’t brought her phone.
Because she had entered a virtual scene created by a VR system.
But now, Miyabi had a real body.
Miyabi guessed that the owner of that final voice might have done something. Who were they? How could they send her here while she was inside a virtual scene? And why had her body been sent along with her?
At the same time, what had happened to her body at the HIA Club?
Miyabi had too many questions, but now wasn’t the time to think about them.
Staying here and waiting for someone to walk into her trap was a good plan, but the uncertainty was too high. Miyabi wouldn’t rely on that method alone.
For Hoshimi Miyabi, the most important thing right now was to leave this maze-like "cave."
"This isn’t a Hollow. There’s no Ether corruption... In that case, I’ll begin training by finding my way out of the maze while fighting monsters."
During the last half hour, Miyabi had walked through quite a few areas. A rough map appeared in her mind.
Along with that map came the monsters that had stood in her way.
There were small, black-bodied imps with ears like dogs.
There were hard-armored killer ants with tough shells, and then there were the orcs, at least ten of which Miyabi had already cut down.
As Miyabi fought the monsters in her mind, she thought back over the areas she had walked through and considered where the cave’s exit might be.
At the same time, a certain Level 4 girl from the Loki Familia ignored her guardian’s warning and, under cover of night, plunged straight into the Dungeon.
Ais Wallenstein, the eleven-year-old girl who could be called the darling of the Loki Familia, sliced through everything from the First Floor onward. Before long, she reached the Eleventh Floor, where Miyabi was.
"Monsters... so few..."
Confusion showed in Ais’s almost unfocused eyes.
Even if the monsters on the upper floors didn’t spawn that often, it still shouldn’t be so empty that she couldn’t see a single one.
Young as she was, she stood on tiptoe and looked into the distance, searching for any sign of monsters.
Sadly, the thick fog covering the Eleventh Floor blocked Ais’s view.
"Roar..."
All at once, a monster’s roar caught Ais’s attention.
"Monsters are over there..."
A sharp light flashed in Ais’s eyes. She broke into a run, her short little legs carrying her toward the sound.
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 2
--+--
Chapter 2: Her Name Is Name
--+--
ROOOOAR!
Swish, swish, swish.
ROOOOAR!
Swish, swish, swish.
Ais Wallenstein had slipped into the Dungeon late at night while the rest of her Familia slept, and there she saw a scene she wouldn’t forget.
At the center of the Dungeon’s tenth floor stood a fox-girl.
She looked about one and a half meters tall, with fair skin and crimson eyes. A short leek-green robe hung over her body, and on the back of it was a pattern Ais couldn’t understand.
She wore a black skirt on her lower half.
At her waist hung a katana in a black sheath. Near the hilt was some kind of device that looked strange to Ais.
Her outfit was a little odd, but odd clothes weren’t enough to catch Ais’s eye. Plenty of adventurers dressed strangely.
Only one thing could truly draw Ais’s attention.
Strength.
The fox-girl stood at the center of the eleventh floor, one hand gripping the sheath at her waist while the other rested on the hilt.
From a distance, she looked like she was spacing out.
But each time the Dungeon’s monsters spawned again and surrounded her, she only nudged the hilt with her thumb.
Cold air burst out around her in an instant. A sharp flash of steel followed, and the orcs around her fell dead where they stood.
Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t dig out the magic stones like other adventurers. She simply stood in place.
At least thirty monster corpses lay around her, and each corpse bore only a single wound.
Killing monsters on the tenth floor in one strike wasn’t rare. What shocked Ais was that she couldn’t see Hoshimi Miyabi’s attack at all.
For Ais, who was known for her speed, to fail to catch the motion meant the girl had to be at least Level 5.
“Who is she?”
Level 5 adventurers were rare in Orario. Ais knew the names of the ones she remembered, but none of them matched the girl before her.
Driven by curiosity, Ais stepped closer to Hoshimi Miyabi.
Hoshimi Miyabi stared ahead, her face focused. She paid no mind to the blond girl who had wandered in.
“Hello,” Ais said, testing the waters.
Aside from members of her Familia, she almost never greeted strangers first, so she felt a little uneasy inside.
“Hello...”
Hoshimi Miyabi answered in almost the exact same tone as Ais.
...
Silence fell between them.
Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t continue speaking. This way of talking left Ais at a loss. Since she rarely spoke with others, she didn’t know what to say next.
‘Riveria said that after greeting a stranger, you should introduce yourself.’
Ais decided to follow Riveria’s teaching.
“My name is Ais Wallenstein. I’m from the Loki Familia.”
“Familia...”
After saying “Familia,” the other girl fell silent again.
Most people would have understood by now that she was only repeating the last thing she heard without thinking.
But Ais was clearly not most people. Or rather, she became even more curious about the fox-girl before her.
“What about you? What’s your name?”
“Name...”
“Name?”
“Name...”
“Your name is Name?”
“Is Name...”
Ais understood.
Hoshimi Miyabi’s name was Name.
“What about your Familia? Which Familia are you from?”
“Familia?”
“Familia... You don’t have one?”
“Don’t have...”
A string of question marks seemed to float above Ais’s naturally blank face.
Someone with the strength of a first-tier adventurer didn’t have a Familia?
Could a human reach that level without a god’s blessing?
Or had her Familia already...
The white mist on the tenth floor grew thicker. While staring at “Name,” Ais suddenly remembered that she had been watching Hoshimi Miyabi here for three whole hours.
By now, dawn had most likely begun to break aboveground.
Ais had snuck into the Dungeon. If she was discovered...
Ais touched her own backside without thinking.
It was still springy right now, but after she went back, that might not stay true.
‘How can I avoid Riveria’s punishment?’
Ais frowned and thought hard. She had snuck into the Dungeon and stayed out this late. No matter what excuse she used, it seemed impossible to escape a spanking.
Then, all at once, a thought flashed through her mind. A faint light seemed to return to her unfocused eyes.
If she could bring this fox-girl with no Familia into the Loki Familia, wouldn’t that make up for her mistake and spare her from punishment?
After all, this was someone who could rival a first-tier adventurer. Any Familia would fight to recruit her.
Ais acted fast. She looked at Hoshimi Miyabi and asked, “Do you want to join the Loki Familia?”
“Join the Loki Familia.”
Hoshimi Miyabi still repeated part of Ais’s words like a machine, but to Ais, those words sounded like music from heaven.
Because Hoshimi Miyabi’s tone didn’t sound like a question, Ais took it to mean she had decided to join.
“Then let’s go. I’ll take you to our Familia home.”
“Familia home...”
Ais took a few steps forward, only to find that the girl was still standing in place and hadn’t followed.
She hesitated, then turned back and reached out to hold Hoshimi Miyabi’s fingers.
“I’ll take you out...”
Perhaps because Ais held no ill will, Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t resist. Just like that, Ais led her out of the Dungeon.
As Ais had expected, Orario’s sky was growing light. The sleeping city had just begun to wake. Thin mist drifted through the streets, and some merchants on both sides had already laid their goods out on the shelves.
Ais didn’t dare waste time. She pulled the girl straight to the Loki Familia’s home, Twilight Manor.
“Stop. This is the Loki Familia’s grounds... Ais?”
“Mm... I found a new member.”
Ais’s voice was as flat as ever, but a hint of pride hid within that calm tone.
“A new member?”
The Loki Familia member on guard turned his eyes to Hoshimi Miyabi behind Ais, puzzled.
‘Didn’t Lady Riveria say Ais snuck into the Dungeon? She even told me to keep an eye out. But where would a new member come from in the Dungeon?’
In Orario, only registered Familia members had the right to enter the Dungeon.
In other words, all adventurers in the Dungeon belonged to a Familia. Had Ais kidnapped someone from another Familia?
“A new member. A very strong new member,” Ais repeated, this time placing special stress on the words “new member.”
“This... All right. Oh, Ais, Loki and the others are waiting for you in the hall. You should... prepare yourself.”
If this had been before, Ais might have climbed over the wall and rushed back to her room. But now, Hoshimi Miyabi beside her gave her courage.
Ais believed that if she could get this “Name,” who had the strength of a first-tier adventurer, to join the Familia, then she would have done a great deed for the Familia.
She had earned credit. So what if she had snuck into the Dungeon for a little too long?
And so, without fear, Ais pulled the dazed Hoshimi Miyabi through the main gate with her head held high.
--+--
Twilight Manor’s hall.
After learning that Ais had slipped into the Dungeon late at night and still hadn’t returned, almost all of the Loki Familia’s top members had gathered there.
“So, like, did Ais ever come back this late when she snuck into the Dungeon before?” Loki asked, half-lying on a sofa with no sense of dignity, her eyes narrowed.
On Loki’s left sat an elf in robes with long green hair. On her other side sat a handsome, short man with blond hair.
The green-haired elf let out a long sigh when she heard the question.
“This is the first time.”
She seemed to be answering Loki’s question, but those simple words carried an anger no one could ignore.
Loki shrank back a little and muttered in her heart, ‘Riveria is scary,’ then looked toward the prum on her other side.
“Finn, if Ais still hasn’t come back in a bit, gather some people and go search for her.”
“I’m back!”
Loki had barely finished speaking when a familiar voice rang out from outside the hall.
Everyone turned toward the door and saw Ais walking in while pulling Hoshimi Miyabi behind her.
The elf’s anger flared almost at once. She shot up from the sofa, her emerald eyes fixed on the disobedient girl.
“Ais...”
Before she could finish, Ais ducked behind Hoshimi Miyabi almost by reflex. The proud air she had shown moments ago vanished at once, and even her voice sounded pitiful.
“Riveria, I brought a new member.”
Ais brought a new member?
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 3
--+--
Chapter 3: Such a Fast Blade
--+--
“What's your name?”
“Name...”
“Her name is Name.”
“Ais, be quiet. We'll talk about what you did later.” Riveria shot Ais a glare.
“Later...”
The girl who knew she'd messed up shrank at once behind Finn, who was about the same height as her.
Ais was already eleven, so Finn could no longer hide her whole body. To everyone else, it looked more like she had pressed herself against him.
Ais did not seem to notice the problem. She curled up as much as she could, hoping Finn would block Riveria's line of sight.
“Riveria, is there any chance she's under some kind of charm skill?”
Ever since Ais brought the person through the door, Riveria had been asking Hoshimi Miyabi where she came from. But Hoshimi Miyabi's eyes were blank. All she did was repeat the last few words of whatever had just been said.
That made Finn wonder if Hoshimi Miyabi had been hit by some kind of mind control in the Dungeon, something like a charm.
The members of the Loki Familia who had just woken up had also heard from the gate guards that Ais had brought back a “new recruit.” Shocked and curious, they all came over to take a look.
In their minds, Ais spent every day either looking for someone to fight or going down into the Dungeon.
Recruiting new members had nothing to do with her.
So in a short span of time, most of the adventurers in the Loki Familia had gathered there.
They stared at Hoshimi Miyabi with open interest, amazed by her strange state, where she only repeated the final words of the last sentence she heard.
“A Renard with a blade? That's rare.”
Renards were already scarce in Orario. Most of them lived in the Far East.
As a race with a gift for magic on par with elves, Renards were born with three magic slots.
Because of that, Renard adventurers were often called sorcerers or mystics.
A Renard like Hoshimi Miyabi, who carried a blade and looked like a warrior at a glance, was rarer than an endangered animal among the Renard adventurers of Orario.
“So what's this one's deal?”
A white-haired werewolf with a fierce face walked over with his hands in his pockets.
The werewolf's name was Bete. He had joined the Loki Familia one year ago and was now Level 4, making him a second-tier adventurer.
He looked vicious. Just standing there made it seem like the word “villain” had been written across his face. So the moment he appeared, the other Familia members moved away without thinking.
“I don't know. This child shows no sign of being under a charm skill, but she's clearly not fully conscious right now.”
Riveria found Hoshimi Miyabi's state hard to deal with. She was already wondering if they should take her to the Dea Saint and have her checked.
“She looks like she's just spacing out. Just wake her up. If that doesn't work, punch her.”
Bete's words made the Loki Familia members around him frown.
Even if she wasn't a member of their Familia, Ais had brought her here. They did not have to treat her like a guest of honor, but solving it with a fist was going too far.
This wolf handled things a bit too roughly.
Bete ignored the scornful looks from his Familia companions and reached out toward Hoshimi Miyabi's shoulder.
“Wait, Bete...”
Riveria had just started to tell him to stop, but what happened next left her frozen.
Just as Bete's hand was about to touch Hoshimi Miyabi's shoulder, the girl who had not moved until now moved.
Her armored hand gave the hilt a light push. In a flash, Tailless was drawn.
Bete was already Level 4, yet he did not even get the chance to react before Hoshimi Miyabi's Tailless was resting against his neck.
“Who... are you?”
A cool voice left Hoshimi Miyabi's lips. Her crimson eyes held no ripple of feeling, as if she had only done something too small to matter.
The malice Bete gave off pulled Hoshimi Miyabi out of her deep state of training in an instant. She also spoke her first proper sentence since arriving at the Loki Familia.
She was no longer repeating the last few words of someone else's sentence.
This was a real sentence, one that clearly expressed her own thoughts.
It proved that Hoshimi Miyabi had not been controlled by a charm-type skill. She had simply been spacing out.
Cold sweat slid down Bete's forehead. He lowered his gaze and tried to look at the bright, polished blade against his neck.
Hoshimi Miyabi had moved too fast. So fast that even Level 6 adventurers like Finn and Riveria had not seen when she drew.
That meant Hoshimi Miyabi's strength might already be at Level 6.
“So... so strong.”
Of all the members of the Loki Familia, Ais was the only one who wasn’t shocked by Hoshimi Miyabi's monster-like draw speed.
Because before this, she had already watched it for nearly three hours.
“Who are you? Where is this?”
Hoshimi Miyabi glanced around from the corner of her eye. This was no longer the cave she had been in before, but a building with an old-fashioned style.
The decorations in the room were not all that lavish, but they reminded Hoshimi Miyabi of the wealthy groups in New Eridu that liked retro interiors.
“You little...”
Bete had only said four words when Tailless moved closer to his neck. The cold edge made all the hair on his body stand on end.
The instincts of a wolf told Bete that this small fox girl in front of him was fully capable of killing him.
The mood grew tense. The other Familia members did not like Bete, but they didn’t want to see him killed either.
They stepped forward in silence, fists clenched. Some had even taken fighting stances.
In that charged air, Finn, captain of the Loki Familia, stepped forward.
“My lady, I believe this is a misunderstanding. We mean you no harm. Would you please lower your blade?”
Hoshimi Miyabi did not speak. She only looked at Bete's hand, which had almost touched her shoulder and had not yet had time to pull back.
Finn called Bete's name in a low voice. Bete pulled his hand back with clear displeasure.
Seeing that, Hoshimi Miyabi returned Tailless to its sheath, then explained to Finn.
“I mean no offense. I sensed a small amount of malice while I was training, and my body reacted on its own.”
Hoshimi Miyabi's tone was so even that Finn felt, for a moment, as if the words were not coming from a real person.
Finn raised his hand and licked his thumb.
“This was our fault. If not for Ais, none of this would have happened. I imagine you're just as confused about the situation as we are, so why don't we find a quiet place and have a proper talk?”
“Fine.”
Hoshimi Miyabi did need to understand where she was.
The style of the furniture around her, and the clothes worn by the Loki Familia, gave her a faint sense that this place was not the world she knew.
So she needed to grasp the situation as soon as possible.
And more than that...
She needed to figure out how she was supposed to get back.
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 4
--+--
Chapter 4: Join a Familia? I Refuse
--+--
The Braver’s office.
The first-tier adventurers of the Loki Familia, along with Loki herself, had gathered there.
Riveria the elf and Gareth the dwarf sat in the chairs on either side of the desk.
Their goddess, Loki, sat on Finn’s desk with no regard for her image at all, her eyes narrowed as she studied Hoshimi Miyabi.
“My name is Finn. I’m the captain of the Loki Familia. Right now, you’re in our familia’s headquarters here in Orario, the Twilight Manor.”
Finn folded his hands and gave Hoshimi Miyabi a brief explanation of the situation.
“My name is Hoshimi Miyabi...” Miyabi didn’t tell Finn where she came from. Instead, she searched her mind for anything she knew about Orario and the Loki Familia.
The result was... nothing. She’d never even heard of them.
‘Hoshimi Miyabi... The name has a strong Far Eastern style. Could she really be from the Far East?’
Finn kept that detail in mind, then went on. “Miss Hoshimi Miyabi, we both seem to want information from each other. Since we have the chance, why don’t we exchange what we can? Of course, anything private or secret to either side can be left unsaid. What do you think?”
Miyabi knew nothing about this city, and Finn wanted to know whether Miyabi had a familia.
Their needs lined up.
“Fine,” Miyabi said, her words brief and clear. She needed to know where she was.
“As your host, I’ll start by giving you a general outline of Orario.”
Finn gave her a short explanation of gods, familias, Orario, the Dungeon, and adventurers.
The information wasn’t detailed, but it was enough for Miyabi to gain some grasp of this strange world.
To put it simply, this was a story about gods who got too bored in the heavens, descended to the lower world, and invited mortals to join their familias.
Those who joined a familia could receive a god’s Falna. Through training, they could raise the stats within that blessing and grow stronger.
Miyabi pinched her chin in thought.
For some reason, after listening to Finn, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu, like this was a game where people fought monsters and leveled up.
Could this be a virtual world too?
Miyabi suddenly missed her deputy section chief, Tsukishiro Yanagi.
If Yanagi were here, she could likely draw a conclusion at once based on the known facts.
Miyabi steadied herself and began explaining her origins to Finn.
Hoshimi Miyabi. Section Chief of Section 6 under the Hollow Special Operations unit of the New Eridu Public Security. The youngest Void Hunter in New Eridu.
The world Miyabi belonged to was a post-apocalyptic world. New Eridu was the only large-scale city left in that entire world.
That world was filled with disasters known as Hollows.
Hollows were supernatural disasters caused by Ether energy. They appeared as ever-expanding spherical domains, and inside them, the structure of time and space became warped, chaotic, and unstable.
The two descriptions of their worlds were miles apart. Finn had mostly concluded that Hoshimi Miyabi came from another world, one completely different from theirs.
But to be safe, he still needed final confirmation.
So Finn looked at Loki.
As a goddess, Loki could tell at a glance whether a human was lying. She was, in a sense, the finest living lie detector.
“Hard as it is to believe, she isn’t lying.” Loki’s narrowed eyes opened.
Another world, completely different from this one. That was something even gods like them from the upper world didn’t know about.
This world was made up of the lower world and the heavens.
The lower world was where the gods and familias now lived. The heavens were the domain of the gods.
As for what existed beyond those two worlds, even the gods didn’t know.
Loki’s answer settled the matter. Everything Hoshimi Miyabi had said was true.
“Sssp...”
Gareth sucked in a cold breath and accidentally tugged out a few strands of his beard.
Riveria looked calm on the surface, but the hand resting on her leg quietly tightened around her cloak.
Finn gave a bitter smile and let out a long sigh. This had already gone far beyond what he expected, but a new opportunity now stood before him too.
“Miss Hoshimi Miyabi, I’m sorry to say this, but neither Orario nor the world outside it has a city called New Eridu. You’ve likely come to another world.”
Miyabi had already guessed as much. After hearing Finn’s explanation, she only gave a flat “Mm.”
The three of them looked at one another. Miyabi was far too calm.
Her face didn’t change at all, yet the words she spoke left them unsure whether to laugh or cry. If an ordinary person learned they’d been thrown into a strange world, even if they didn’t scream, they should at least look shaken.
Miyabi, however, took it with the same calm she might show after hearing what they were having for lunch.
“You’re not surprised at all?” Finn finally asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.
Miyabi’s face stayed calm, but her answer left them at a loss.
“Do you mean the situation where I was taking part in a test, then got sent by some being with poor taste to a world I know nothing about, with no idea how to get back?”
“I’m very surprised inside. But right now, I have no other choice, so I can only continue my training in ‘feeling restless inside, staying calm on the surface, and making sure no one can tell I’m shocked.’”
So she was surprised inside?
The three mortals and one goddess all thought the same thing as they watched Miyabi’s face.
Although Miyabi said she was “restless inside,” nothing showed on the outside. Even her breathing stayed perfectly steady.
After about a minute, everyone gave up trying to tell whether Miyabi was truly anxious or truly calm.
Finn pinched his chin, then a thought came to him. He spoke. “Miss Hoshimi Miyabi, you’ve arrived in a strange world. Everything here is new to you, and you don’t have a place to stay. Why not consider joining the Loki Familia?”
First-tier adventurers were rare in Orario. And Miyabi, in particular, seemed to have the strength of a Level 6.
Before the Great Feud, the only Level 6 in all of Orario had been Ottar of the Freya Familia.
If Hoshimi Miyabi could join the Loki Familia, it would cause a sudden rise in the familia’s strength.
So even if the proposal was full of practical interest, Finn still had to try.
“I refuse. I have my home and my companions... and I don’t plan to stay here for long.”
Miyabi’s answer was within everyone’s expectations. If they were in her place, they wouldn’t accept Finn’s sudden invitation so easily either.
Finn’s face relaxed. A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth, almost too subtle to see. In his deep-blue eyes, there was no discouragement from being rejected. Instead, they held a confidence that said he intended to win.
“But you don’t have a way back, do you?”
Finn’s words hit Miyabi like a sudden wake-up call.
No matter how urgent she felt, the fact remained that Miyabi couldn’t go back right now.
Her blade could cut through Hollows, but it couldn’t carve out a path between two worlds.
“Do you have a way?”
“No. But our familia has advantages. The Loki Familia is one of the strongest familias in Orario. If you join us, we can use our connections in Orario and beyond to help you search for a way back to your homeland. That would be far more effective than you asking around alone in a place where you know no one.”
His familia was the trump card Finn trusted most in persuading Miyabi to join.
Her black fox ears gave a small twitch, and her crimson eyes moved with the rhythm of them.
She had to admit, Finn had played a good card. Getting help from a local power would be far better than wandering around blind by herself.
Seeing that Miyabi seemed moved, Finn pressed while the iron was hot. “We can sign a contract under Loki’s witness. One year... For the next year, you’ll join the familia as a temporary member. I’ll use the familia’s connections to help you find information about how to return home.
“If we haven’t found anything after one year, you can leave or stay as you wish.
“Of course, if we find a way within that year, you can leave at any time. But on one condition... you must join the familia on one expedition.”
Rather than an invitation, it was more like a partnership. Finn’s request was reasonable... and Miyabi did feel tempted.
“Fine...”
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 5
--+--
Chapter 5: The Newbie at Lv.1
--+--
“Hoshimi Miyabi, my dear, show me your skin. I’ll take real good care of it.”
Loki sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at Hoshimi Miyabi’s soon-to-be-bared back with a lecherous grin.
All ten of her fingers wiggled with a steady, eager rhythm.
That smooth, pale back made Loki’s heart let out a villain-like laugh.
‘Hehehehehehe... My harem’s got a Renard now, a Renard! That’s a super rare breed...’
The thought of running her fingers over Miyabi’s smooth back, feeling every inch of that soft skin, made Loki feel like a fire had started burning in her chest.
Right then, she wished she could use her divine power to burn straight through Miyabi’s white shirt.
In fact... Loki felt like blue flames had already started burning on her hands.
Wait... flames?
Her octopus-like fingers froze in place. A bone-deep chill ran from her fingertips straight to her brain.
Loki screamed and flung her hand around, trying to shake off the blue fire clinging to it.
But the flames seemed stuck to her hand.
“Um... Hoshimi Miyabi, my dear, I know I was wrong. Please call off your power.”
As her body grew colder and colder, Loki could only beg Miyabi for mercy. If this kept up, her hand might freeze and fall off.
Miyabi raised her hand, and the flames on Loki’s hand vanished at once.
Loki blew a few breaths over the back of her hand, then rubbed it with her other hand, trying to get the blood flowing again.
Her narrowed eyes opened a little. There was no fear from being punished in them, only the thrill of having gained a powerful Familia member.
“Was that magic? You haven’t even received a Falna yet, but you can already use magic that strong. Hoshimi Miyabi, your talent’s scary high.”
“Magic? It’s just controlling ether energy. In New Eridu, that’s basic. Can we start now?”
“Sure. Let’s see what kind of magic Hoshimi Miyabi will awaken.”
After that warning, Loki no longer dared to have any thoughts about that smooth, pale back. She behaved herself and pricked her finger with a silver needle...
“Wait... why isn’t my finger bleeding?”
--+--
In Finn’s office, Loki had taken Hoshimi Miyabi to engrave her Falna, while the three executives of the Loki Familia gathered to discuss Miyabi.
“Finn, I really didn’t think you’d manage to pull Hoshimi Miyabi into the Familia.”
Even the Loki Familia couldn’t stay calm when a first-tier adventurer joined them.
Gareth kept stroking his rather sparse beard. Riveria raised her brows, lifted a teacup, took a small sip, then another, and let out a pleased hum.
“It’s only for one year, but she should greatly speed up our progress in the Dungeon.”
“Finn? What are you thinking about?”
Gareth and Riveria noticed Finn wasn’t as happy as they’d expected. Instead, he had lowered his head and sunk into thought.
“It’s about Hoshimi Miyabi’s position. A Lv.1 with Lv.6 strength... Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
Miyabi had never fully shown her strength in front of them, but from the speed she showed when she attacked Bete, they could tell enough.
In terms of Agility, Hoshimi Miyabi might even be above the three of them, despite all three being Lv.6.
If they made Miyabi start from the very bottom like a normal rookie, it would show far too little respect to someone so strong. But if they directly made her a high-ranking executive, the other members would be unhappy.
Gareth pinched his beard. His thick brows hid the light in his eyes as he stared out the window. From the courtyard outside the tower, the occasional clang and bang drifted in. The other members of the Familia were sparring.
And it was those training sounds that gave Gareth an idea.
“Why not arrange a fight and let all the Familia members watch? That should silence most of the doubts.”
Finn’s short blond hair shifted, and a long-missed smile returned to his face.
“That’s a good idea. Gareth, I’ll leave it to you.”
Gareth’s hand moved down by reflex, but his Lv.6 reflexes forced it to stop.
If he tugged again, there’d be no beard left on his chin.
“Finn, you bastard. You set me up.” Gareth realized it too late. With Finn’s brain, how could he not have thought of such a method?
He had simply wanted Gareth to bring it up, so he could go along with it and arrange a match between Miyabi and Gareth.
“Heh. Calm down, Gareth. As captain, it’s not easy for me to make a move myself. As for Riveria...”
Before Finn could finish, Riveria continued for him. “You’re not telling me to face a monster that fast, are you?”
Gareth placed a hand on his forehead. As things stood, the only one who could serve as Miyabi’s opponent was him, the one with the highest Endurance.
“Fine, I get it. Once Loki’s done, I’ll have a bout with Hoshimi Miyabi.”
Speak of the devil, and the devil appears. The moment Gareth finished speaking, Loki walked in, holding a slightly yellowed sheet of parchment.
To Finn’s surprise, Loki didn’t look happy about gaining such a powerful Familia member. Instead, she looked worried.
“Loki, did something happen?”
As he spoke, Finn’s eyes stayed fixed on the parchment in Loki’s hand. He guessed there might be some problem with Miyabi’s status.
“Sigh... See for yourselves.”
Loki slumped as she slapped the paper with Miyabi’s ability values onto the desk.
Gareth and Riveria leaned in and read Miyabi’s status together with Finn.
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi
Lv.1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
--+--
[Skill]
Isshin Dojo: Enters a state of deep meditation to train. The results of that training will be reflected in her ability values.
--+--
On paper, this was nothing more than a perfectly normal Lv.1 rookie’s status. Compared to other rookies, Miyabi simply had one extra Skill.
Everything looked normal. So why did Loki have that look on her face?
Was Miyabi’s Skill slot not what she had expected, or...
“So, Loki... what’s the problem?”
Loki stood up, grabbed the parchment, pointed at the Skill section, and explained loudly to the three of them.
“The Skill section has nothing except ‘Isshin Dojo.’ And there’s only one magic slot.
“Hoshimi Miyabi can clearly control those bone-chilling blue flames, but none of that appears here.”
Once Loki said that, the three of them also realized Miyabi’s status looked rather “thin.”
The divine Falna hadn’t recorded all of Hoshimi Miyabi’s abilities.
“Looks like Hoshimi Miyabi has a lot of unknowns about her.”
About a minute later, Miyabi walked in after putting her top back on.
“What now?”
There was no joy in her voice from receiving a Blessing, nor any curiosity about the ability values engraved on her back. To Finn, it sounded as casual as someone asking, “What’s for dinner today?”
“We’ll arrange your room first. Riveria... I’ll leave it to you. Anything else can wait until tomorrow.”
“I understand. Lady Hoshimi Miyabi, please follow me.”
“Okay.”
Miyabi didn’t object. She followed Riveria out like an obedient girl. But when she reached the door, she suddenly turned back and said to the people inside the room, “Since I’ve already joined the Familia, you can just call me by my name from now on.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Finn’s mouth. He knew this was the start of Hoshimi Miyabi accepting the Loki Familia.
“Of course... Miyabi.”
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 6
--+--
Chapter 6: Do Gods Understand Integrated Circuits?
--+--
“This is your room.”
Riveria pushed open the door to an empty room.
The furnishings were simple: a wooden single bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. Sunlight spilled through the window and fell across the carpeted floor, filling the room with a warm, soft glow.
The room wasn’t large. In fact, it wasn’t even as big as the walk-in closet at Hoshimi Miyabi’s home.
But while Miyabi had grown up in comfort, she wasn’t picky about where she slept.
“Good.”
After that brief comment, Miyabi sat down at the desk, removed the exoskeleton armor from her left arm, and placed it on the tabletop. Then, from who knew where, she took out something that looked like a small shrine and set it beside it.
Only then did Riveria realize the mechanical arm wasn’t Miyabi’s prosthetic.
Her gaze shifted to the small shrine-like object, and she asked, “What is that?”
“My bracer and W-Engine. Is there a box? I plan to put both away.”
Riveria paused for a moment, then answered, “There’s a storage box under the bed. Why put them away?”
Riveria didn’t know what a W-Engine was, but that gauntlet looked like it had solid defensive power. Equipment like that should be kept out and maintained often.
“Based on Twilight Manor’s decor, Orario’s level of technology can’t repair the bracer or the W-Engine. To avoid them failing at a critical moment due to damage, I’ve decided to seal them away for now.”
Both the bracer and the W-Engine used cutting-edge technology from New Eridu. Judging by the style of Twilight Manor and the equipment worn by the Loki Familia, Miyabi believed Orario didn’t have the ability to repair such high-tech gear.
Riveria understood the logic. Miyabi was worried that Orario’s technology couldn’t fix items from another world.
But why was Miyabi explaining it all with such a straight face and in such detail?
She sounded like she was giving a mission report.
“Our Familia has a long-standing partnership with the Goibniu Familia. They handle the forging and upkeep of our members’ weapons. Besides them, Orario also has top-class smithing Familias like the Hephaestus Familia. Daily repairs for equipment aren’t a problem.”
In Miyabi’s mind, an image soon formed: two craftsmen in aprons sitting before an anvil, swinging hammers.
“No need. I’m not that dependent on outside tools.”
Miyabi meant to explain that she relied on her own strength and didn’t make a habit of leaning on external gear.
But Riveria misunderstood. She thought Miyabi had killed quite a few monsters around the tenth floor of the Dungeon and had started to look down on it.
That was a mistake many newcomers made. They killed a few monsters with ease in the upper floors, then decided the Dungeon wasn’t that scary.
But the true danger of the Dungeon didn’t lie in how strong each monster was. It lay in their numbers.
“The real danger in the Dungeon isn’t individual monsters, but their numbers. The Dungeon often launches sudden attacks when adventurers let down their guard. For an adventurer, there’s no such thing as being too prepared. Since these two items can increase your strength, keep them with you for now.
“Even if ordinary smiths can’t fix them, Loki’s divine connections may let us ask a god for help.”
Riveria’s careful advice gave Miyabi the feeling that she was facing Tsukishiro Yanagi. She knew Riveria was trying to tell her not to feel burdened about using her equipment.
Which brought up a problem.
“Do gods... understand integrated circuits?”
Riveria fell silent.
Miyabi’s question had gone far beyond her knowledge.
She knew about magic circles. She had no idea what an integrated circuit was.
“Integrated circuits... What are those?”
Miyabi pinched her chin and began searching through what she remembered from her school textbooks.
“An integrated circuit is a type of tiny electronic device or component. It’s made through a certain process... then sealed inside a casing, forming a microstructure with the required circuit functions.”
It was still spring, but Riveria suddenly felt as though the weather had turned hot.
The cause wasn’t the air.
It was that Riveria’s brain had already overloaded.
Riveria had the greatest store of knowledge in the Loki Familia, but she had no idea what Miyabi meant by “integrated circuit.”
“You need to understand integrated circuits before repairing your bracer?”
“No. Integrated circuits are only the most basic knowledge. After that, you need to master ether dynamics, the laws of ether energy conversion, ether material production...”
A dozen technical terms poured from Miyabi’s mouth like machine-gun fire, striking Riveria’s worldview again and again.
Why did building a small house-shaped device and a bracer require learning so much?
Wasn’t smithing just hammering metal until it took shape?
At most, one could have someone with the Mystery Development Ability add a buff.
Why did it need to be so complicated?
Perhaps Miyabi’s words had struck Riveria too hard, because a thought she rarely had rose in her mind.
She wanted to leave.
“You should rest first. We’ll discuss the rest tomorrow.”
Riveria left in a hurry. She didn’t look like someone with urgent business. She looked more like someone fleeing because she couldn’t answer a question.
The door closed. Miyabi turned her attention back to the room. She placed Tailless on the desk, sat on the bed, and sank into thought.
“A smithing god... I should find time to take a look.”
--+--
After leaving Miyabi’s room, Riveria planned to go to Ais’s room, but halfway there, she ran into Anakitty.
The catgirl swayed her black tail and gave a small bow to show respect.
“Lady Riveria, Lord Finn is asking for you.”
“Now? Understood.”
--+--
In Finn’s office, Loki had already left at some point. Only Finn and Gareth, two of the Familia’s executives, remained, discussing something between themselves.
“You’re back? Is everything settled?”
“Yes. I placed her room next to mine.” Riveria’s mind was still full of “integrated circuits,” so she didn’t notice that she had sat down in Loki’s “exclusive seat”—the edge of Finn’s desk.
That strange behavior caught Finn’s attention.
“What happened?”
“Finn, do you know what an integrated circuit is?”
Finn: ?????
--+--
Miyabi opened the wardrobe. As expected, it was empty.
She looked down at her white shirt and soon understood what she had to do next: buy several sets of clothes to change into.
Then she touched her waist and remembered something at once.
She didn’t have Orario’s currency—valis.
“Riveria said the magic stones inside Dungeon monsters can be exchanged for valis. I should be able to handle the monsters on the upper floors...”
Miyabi was the type to act once she made a decision. She picked up Tailless and prepared to head to the Dungeon.
“It’s you... Name...”
The moment she stepped out of her room, Miyabi heard a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
She turned her head and saw a small child with long golden hair.
Miyabi remembered this child. It was the one who had hidden behind Finn in the hall earlier.
“Hello...”
That familiar phrasing made Ais feel as though she were still in the Dungeon.
“Hello... Name, where are you... going?”
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 7
--+--
Chapter 7: Going Into the Dungeon With Ais
--+--
“Name? Are you talking to me?” Hoshimi Miyabi looked down at the little girl who barely came up to her shoulder.
She had long golden hair and golden eyes, and her fine features made her look like a doll.
“Isn’t your name just Name?” Ais tilted her head. Her voice held a hint of doubt, but her face didn’t change at all, to the point that Miyabi began to wonder if Ais simply had no control over her expressions.
“My name is Hoshimi Miyabi. I’m a newcomer who just joined the Loki Familia. What about you? What’s your name?”
The almost familiar exchange made Ais feel as if she had gone back to the moment they first met in the Dungeon.
Back then, though, Ais had been the one asking the questions.
‘Did she not remember my name because I’m too weak?’
Ais felt down. Their meeting in the Dungeon had been the first time she had ever taken the lead in introducing herself and asking for someone else’s name. In the end, the other person had not only refused to give her real name, but had also failed to remember Ais’s.
Still, Ais could understand it. Bete had once said that weak people weren’t worthy of being remembered by the strong.
‘As long as I become strong, she’ll remember me for sure.’
Ais set a goal in her heart. No matter what, she would make this powerful older girl remember her name.
“My name is Ais Wallenstein. I’m a member of the Loki Familia. I’m Lv. 4 right now.”
As if to prove her strength, Ais even puffed out her flat chest when she said “Lv. 4.”
After receiving Loki’s Falna, Miyabi had heard Loki explain adventurer levels.
Lv. 1 meant a Low-Class Adventurer. About half of Orario’s adventurers were at that level.
Lv. 2 and above were known as High-Class Adventurers.
But after Lv. 2, there was a different numbering scale.
Lv. 2 was now considered Third Class Adventurers.
Among them, Lv. 3 and Lv. 4 were called Second Class Adventurers.
Lv. 5 and above were called First Class Adventurers.
Adventurers who could reach that level were rare even in Orario.
At present, only the two strongest Familias in Orario had multiple first-tier adventurers.
Miyabi saw that the girl in front of her looked only eleven or twelve years old, yet she already had the strength of a second-tier adventurer. She couldn’t help giving her a closer look.
Ais’s body didn’t look strong. In fact, she looked quite slender, but her lines were firm, and she seemed packed with explosive force.
A blue one-handed sword, about half as tall as she was, hung on her back. It looked a little out of place, but it also made the contrast around Ais even sharper.
At the same time, Miyabi noticed a faint wind circling Ais’s body. It seemed to be protecting her, but it was weak.
Miyabi guessed that Ais hadn’t activated that power, which was why the “wind” stayed dormant.
While Miyabi observed Ais, Ais also watched Miyabi’s every move.
She noticed that Miyabi’s stance was relaxed, but one hand stayed on her scabbard the whole time.
Back in the Dungeon, she had stood the same way.
Ais wanted to learn that stance, but she had no sword at her waist. With her height, if she wore her sword at her waist, it would drag on the ground.
Ais reached one hand behind her and tried to hold her scabbard, but it felt awkward. And so, the tall one and the small one stood in the hallway, staring at each other in silence.
Familia members passing through the corridor wanted to step forward and greet them, but the moment they thought of how fast Miyabi had drawn her blade, they pulled back.
Just now, Miyabi had nearly cut off Bete’s dog head while standing in that same posture.
Small fry like them, who weren’t even as high-level as Bete, had no business walking over to join the fun.
The sound of sparring outside the window slowly stopped, and Miyabi’s thoughts returned to the present.
“Do you need anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving.”
“Can you… fight me? Just a spar?”
A bit of excitement appeared in her lifeless eyes. Her voice was full of hope, far different from how she had sounded before.
Miyabi took in that change.
‘So she’s the type who likes fighting? Maybe I can spar with her and use it to analyze the strength of Orario’s High-Class Adventurers…’
“A spar is fine, but right now I’m training by going into the Dungeon to earn my first batch of valis. Once I finish that, I can train with you.”
The moment Ais heard that Miyabi was going into the Dungeon, her passion lit up.
“The Dungeon? I can go with you…”
Ais’s idea was simple. If she secretly went into the Dungeon alone and got caught, she would be put under house arrest for sure.
But Miyabi was a newcomer. As an “older” member of the Familia, Ais taking a newcomer into the Dungeon fit the Familia’s rules.
Even if Riveria found out, she wouldn’t punish her.
And Ais could get stronger by fighting monsters.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Miyabi agreed without any hesitation. This time, she only planned to move around the upper floors of the Dungeon. Once she earned enough valis to buy clothes and daily necessities, she would stop. She had no intention of going deeper.
Ais was a Second Class Adventurer. According to Loki, even the middle floors wouldn’t be dangerous for her.
Also… Miyabi didn’t know the way to the Dungeon.
“Then let’s go…”
The blonde girl and the black-haired Renard walked side by side once more.
The Familia member guarding the gate hesitated when he heard that Ais wanted to go into the Dungeon again. But Ais said she was taking a newcomer to the Dungeon, so he had no good reason to stop her. He only planned to tell Riveria about it later.
“We need to hurry…” Ais knew full well that if that person told Riveria they were going into the Dungeon, Riveria would stop them for sure.
Miyabi was the type to act at once. She didn’t know why Ais was in such a rush, but she happened to want to speed things up too.
So she simply tucked Ais under her arm.
“Point the way.”
Ais, caught off guard by the sudden loss of balance, wasn’t scared at all. Instead, she pointed in one direction with clear excitement.
Miyabi bent slightly and kicked off the ground with both legs.
The next moment, she shot forward at a speed of two hundred kilometers per hour.
It was almost noon, and Orario’s streets were packed with people. Vendors shouted their wares, gods wandered around, and adventurers moved in groups.
Miyabi seemed to have automatic evasion turned on. Even while moving at high speed, she avoided the passing crowds with perfect accuracy.
Ais, feeling such speed for the first time, shouted in excitement.
“So fast! My heart’s going thump, thump, thump! The speed’s going whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Amazing!”
Miyabi’s actions soon drew attention. Though she was fast, some High Class Adventurers could still barely follow her movements.
Among them was a small party of High Class Adventurers who noticed Miyabi racing through the street with Ais in her arms.
There were four adventurers in total: a red-haired human, a Yamato Nadeshiko dressed in a kimono, and a golden-haired, long-eared elf…
“Whoa, she’s fast. Ryuu, isn’t she even faster than you?”
The golden-haired elf called Ryuu frowned and said, “I’ve never seen her face before. And the one in her arms looks like the Sword Princess.”
“The Sword Princess? You mean the Sword Princess has been kidnapped?”
The red-haired girl’s thoughts jumped far ahead. From Ryuu’s simple sentence alone, she had decided that the other person had abducted the Sword Princess.
Running at full speed down a crowded street—what else could it be but a kidnapping? It wasn’t like she was in a hurry to get to the Dungeon.
“We can’t rule that out. And she’s a strong stranger. She might be someone from Evilus.”
When they heard the name “Evilus,” the adventurers’ expressions turned far more serious than before.
The red-haired girl drew her sword.
“Ryuu, let’s go take a look. Kaguya, please go to the Loki Familia and find out what’s going on. If she really is from Evilus, then we’ll make her face the judgment of justice.”
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 8
--+--
Chapter 8: I'm Afraid Your People Will Get Hurt
--+--
The adventurer hadn't exactly kept her voice down, so the adventurers and merchants around her heard everything.
After she left, the news that “the Sword Princess was kidnapped by members of Evilus” spread through every street and alley. Before long, it reached the Loki Familia.
“Ais-tan… Our Ais-tan… She got kidnapped by those Evilus bastards…”
The moment Loki heard that Ais had been kidnapped, she didn't bother checking whether it was true. She threw herself across the sofa and started wailing like a ghost at a funeral. Her sharp cries mixed with loud sniffling, and the sound grated on the nerves of the three senior members of the Loki Familia.
“So, wasn't Ais sent back to her room to reflect?” Finn asked. “Why was she seen in Orario again?”
As soon as Finn finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Riveria.
“I did tell her to return to her room and rest. I also warned the member guarding the door not to let her out…”
“Report…”
A knock at the door cut Riveria off. Finn raised a hand, signaling for her to stop for the moment.
“Come in.”
“Captain, I have something important to report.”
The one who entered was the Familia member who had just been guarding the door.
“Matthew,” Finn said. “What happened?”
“Captain, while I was on guard duty, I saw Ais leave with the new member. Ais said she was taking the new member into the Dungeon.”
With that one sentence, everyone in the room understood what had happened, and Finn realized this was all a misunderstanding.
“I understand. Thank you, Matthew.”
“It was no trouble, Captain. I'll take my leave.”
Once the door closed, the senior members of the Familia looked at one another.
“So the truth is that Ais took Hoshimi Miyabi into the Dungeon,” Finn said. “But how did that turn into Ais being kidnapped by Evilus?”
Two people walking together through the street toward the Dungeon. How had anyone looked at that and decided they were a kidnapper and a hostage?
Just then, Matthew, the member in charge of guarding the door, came back.
“Captain, Yamato Rindou of the Astraea Familia is here. She says she brings news about Ais.”
“Show her in.”
The air in the room grew tense. Even the Astraea Familia was involved now. Had Ais been kidnapped by Evilus after all?
Without enough information, even Finn, the brains of the Familia, started to doubt. In this kind of situation, Finn decided to rely on his “divine intuition.”
Out of habit, he licked his thumb. His thumb gave no response.
That meant the current situation wasn't too bad.
It gave Finn a little more room to breathe.
The meeting room door opened, and “Yamato Rindou,” dressed in a red kimono, walked in.
Her name was Gojouno Kaguya. She was the vice-captain of the Astraea Familia.
Before the senior members of the Loki Familia, Kaguya carried herself with the soft grace expected of a Yamato Nadeshiko, a proper woman of the Far East. But those who knew her understood the truth.
This vice-captain had a fierce temper, one worthy of the bold title “Yamato Rindou.”
The moment she entered the room, Kaguya skipped the greetings and said what she had seen.
“Today, on the main street, my Familia members and I saw someone holding the Sword Princess hostage, then sprinting through Orario at a speed even second-tier adventurers couldn't follow.
“According to Gale, the person had an unfamiliar face. Our captain suspects it may have been Evilus, or perhaps an enemy from outside Orario.”
Kaguya gave a clean account of what had happened, along with Alise's guess.
She had thought the Loki Familia would be in chaos over Ais's disappearance, but the truth caught her off guard.
They were far too calm. Finn, Riveria, and even Loki, the goddess who usually clung to Ais, showed no trace of panic or worry.
Kaguya had heard that the Sword Princess was the beloved treasure of the Loki Familia, but judging by their reaction, that rumor didn't seem to match the truth.
What Kaguya didn't know was that the information she gave had let Finn piece together most of the story.
Ais had taken Hoshimi Miyabi to the Dungeon.
Since they went through the front entrance, Ais was afraid Matthew would report it to Riveria and get them stopped, so she asked Hoshimi Miyabi to hurry.
Hoshimi Miyabi, who didn't know the whole story, thought Ais simply wanted to get to the Dungeon faster. So she picked Ais up and ran toward the Dungeon entrance.
While they were racing through the street, they happened to run into the Astraea Familia, and their captain, Alise, mistook it for a hostage situation.
In short, it was just a misunderstanding.
“Lady Kaguya, this matter is a misunderstanding. The person who was carrying Ais is a new member of our Loki Familia. She isn't some unknown dangerous figure. We'll explain the situation to the Guild later, and we ask the Astraea Familia to help us clear up the misunderstanding.”
“Huh?” Kaguya's eyes widened in shock.
She had thought they'd caught the tail of Evilus. She hadn't expected it to be a misunderstanding.
'Damn it, Alise. If you hadn't sounded so sure, I wouldn't have come here without thinking it through. Now that I think about it, that road really does lead toward the Dungeon. If we'd just thought a little more… Forget it. Once I get back, we'll hold a criticism meeting inside the Familia.'
After silently cursing her captain for a while, Kaguya could only say, “I see. Then we misunderstood.”
Finn waved it off.
“It's fine. Our new member is… how should I put it? Her personality is a little… unusual. Riveria, please go to the Dungeon. If I'm not mistaken, Astraea Familia's captain, Scarlet Harnel, has already led people after them. It'd be bad if someone got hurt.”
Kaguya thought Finn was worried the new member might be hurt by Alise and the others, so she said at once, “No need to worry. Before we split up, I made sure to warn Alise not to hurt anyone unless she had no other choice.”
The moment Kaguya finished speaking, she noticed the expressions around her turning strange. Loki, in particular, looked like she wanted to laugh but was holding it in, her shoulders shaking from the effort.
“Lady Kaguya, you've misunderstood. We're not worried about our members. We're worried about yours. After all, they're about to face those two monsters. Riveria, please make the trip.”
A Level 4 Sword Princess and a new recruit who had just joined the Familia could beat three Level 4 adventurers?
Kaguya wanted to snap at Finn and ask if he was still half-asleep, to say something that absurd. But when she saw his serious face, and when none of the other senior members refuted him, her heart gave a hard thump.
'Could he be telling the truth? Is the Braver not speaking without reason?'
Unease settled over Kaguya. She no longer had any interest in arguing with Finn over who was stronger. She only wanted to reach the Dungeon and stop the fight.
“I'll go with you.”
The two of them left the Loki Familia in a rush and raced all the way to the Dungeon.
They asked adventurers throughout the Dungeon for Ais and the others' whereabouts, only to be told that Ais and Hoshimi Miyabi had gone to the 17th Floor.
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 9
--+--
Chapter 9: The 11th Floor, Hoshimi Miyabi's Resolve
--+--
Twenty minutes earlier, Hoshimi Miyabi and Ais stood at the entrance to the Dungeon.
The entrance was easy to find. It sat at the center of Orario, right beneath the towering Babel that pierced the sky.
The entrance was usually guarded by members of the Ganesha Familia, who handled the city's public order. “Guarded” was the word, but under normal conditions, they didn't question adventurers who went in.
After all, no one without a Falna would enter the Dungeon just to die.
So Hoshimi Miyabi and Ais entered the Dungeon without any trouble.
Back at the first place she'd arrived in this world, Miyabi finally saw what this huge cavern was meant to look like.
Unlike the mist-filled swampy wetlands she had been in before, the 1st Floor had the plain structure of a cave. The passages were narrow, and glowing moss covered the walls.
Because of that moss, the cave wasn't dark. It was well lit instead.
Miyabi and Ais kept moving forward. They had only walked a few dozen meters when the walls around them began to shake. Cracks opened on both sides, and green humanoid monsters crawled out from within, small clubs in hand.
They dropped to the ground with strange cries, then shuffled toward Miyabi and Ais at a slow pace.
“Those are goblins. They're usually found from the 1st to the 4th Floor. They're very weak monsters. Even new adventurers can handle them with ease.”
For most new members who had just joined a Familia, goblins were still a fair match. They couldn't really be called “weak.”
But Ais wasn't like ordinary new adventurers.
She was a genius.
Miyabi didn't waste words. Her left hand pushed lightly against the hilt of her blade, and a cold flash of steel cut through the air. The newly born goblins turned into corpses in an instant.
“So fast...”
From the moment Miyabi touched the hilt, Ais had kept her eyes on her.
She wanted to see how Miyabi attacked.
Yet even with all her focus, all Ais saw was the afterimage of the blade. She hadn't seen how Miyabi struck. She hadn't even noticed when Miyabi moved.
“So... where are the magic stones we can trade for valis?”
The scattered corpses on the ground made Miyabi realize that these monsters were different from the Ethereals in Hollows.
Ethereals would scatter into ether particles once their cores were broken, but these monsters left corpses behind when they died.
“Different monsters have different magic stones. A goblin's magic stone is near its heart.”
Ais took out a small knife and began digging magic stones from the corpses.
Miyabi's blade had been fast and precise. Each goblin had died from one clean cut to the throat, so their bodies were still whole.
That meant the magic stones were whole too.
Ais, the beloved little star of the Loki Familia, became Miyabi's supporter and kept digging magic stones out from the goblins' hearts.
Miyabi didn't just stand there either. She used Tailless to dig out a few in a token effort.
After about ten minutes, Ais handed Miyabi a small bag of magic stones.
“How many valis can these magic stones be traded for?”
Ais tilted her head and answered with complete honesty.
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“Mm. I always hand the magic stones to the Guild staff, and then they give me valis with a clatter.”
Asking an eleven-year-old girl to explain the exchange rate between magic stones and valis was asking too much.
“Then are these magic stones enough to buy a set of clothes?”
Miyabi didn't care about the exact amount of valis. She only needed enough to use.
“No,” Ais answered with great certainty.
In truth, Ais didn't know much about the price of anything besides weapons. But Riveria had once taken her to clothing shops, and the clothes Riveria bought had cost at least tens of thousands of valis.
Young Ais, as a matter of course, believed all clothes in Orario were priced that way.
The magic stones she had given Miyabi would only be worth a few hundred valis at most. In Ais's eyes, that was nowhere near enough to buy even one piece of clothing.
“Then we'll keep moving.”
“How about going a little farther down? The monsters there have bigger magic stones, and they're worth more.”
Ais didn't want to stay on the upper floors at all. With her level, fighting here wouldn't raise any of her stats.
Only the middle floors could barely give her a little growth.
“That sounds fine. We'll set the 11th Floor as our temporary goal.”
“Let's go a little lower. Fighting monsters on the middle floors would be more efficient.”
“No. We don't know the route, so we can't rush ahead. I'm only buying one set of clothes and some daily goods. It won't cost much. We'll stay on the 11th Floor for half an hour, then leave.”
Miyabi rejected Ais's suggestion to enter the middle floors without hesitation.
Compared to the young Ais, Miyabi was more willing to trust Riveria. Besides, in New Eridu, entering a Hollow without preparation was a dangerous act. Even before entering the smallest Companion Hollow, one had to make full preparations.
Hoshimi Miyabi was the chief of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, and also the youngest Void Hunter.
With her own strength alone, she could solve most problems inside a Hollow.
But when carrying out team missions, Miyabi still made careful preparations. If no abnormal incidents occurred, she only completed the mission's assigned objectives. She didn't chase credit, and she didn't push ahead recklessly.
That was how she took responsibility for herself and her teammates.
So even if she herself was curious about the environment of the middle floors, she wouldn't enter them on impulse.
Ais gave a dull “oh” after Miyabi turned her down.
Last night, Ais had planned to go to the middle floors, only to meet Miyabi on the 11th Floor. Now that she finally had another chance to go, Miyabi had cut it off without mercy again.
At this rate, she wouldn't be able to get stronger today.
“Lead the way. The day is still early, so let's reach the 11th Floor soon.”
Those words, asking Ais to lead the way, gave her an idea.
Miyabi didn't know the Dungeon's paths. Ais could use that chance to go to the middle floors.
With Miyabi's strength, there was no need to worry about monsters on the upper floors.
Once she made up her mind, Ais's energy returned. She happily led Miyabi toward the 11th Floor.
Back on the familiar 11th Floor, Miyabi found a place with many monsters and began farming magic stones. Ais saw that Miyabi could handle herself with ease and relaxed completely. Then she found the right moment, moved her short little legs, and ran toward the lower floor.
After reaching the 11th Floor, the Dungeon's area became much larger. The moss swamp in particular was about the size of a small village.
So when Miyabi saw Ais run off, she thought Ais had gone somewhere else to fight monsters and didn't pay too much attention.
About ten minutes later, Miyabi had already cleared out the orcs nearby.
“Ais...”
Miyabi called Ais's name, but no one answered.
She looked around. There were no signs of battle nearby. She closed her eyes and began gathering information with her ears.
“No sounds of fighting. Where did Ais go?”
Just then, Miyabi sensed a hot presence filled with hostility.
Her hand moved to her sword by instinct, and from somewhere far away, she heard a loud shout.
“Firebolt.”
--+--
Hoshimi Miyabi, Enters the Dungeon! - 10
--+--
Chapter 10: Instantly Taking Down Two Lv. 4 Newbies
--+--
A scorching heat filled the marshland. The spot where Hoshimi Miyabi had stood had already turned into a patch of burned earth.
The grass had gone red from the flames. Small tongues of fire still drifted over it, and the burnt smell of plants mixed with the swamp’s rot, making the air hard to breathe.
Alise stood at the center of the scorched ground, graceful and bright. Red flames burned around her hands and legs, and her red ponytail swayed with the flow of the air, like a crimson flower blooming on a battlefield.
She gave the longsword in her hand a hard flick. The flames burning around her seemed to find their home, gathering toward the blade.
She looked around, but she didn’t see Hoshimi Miyabi anywhere.
The area had fallen into a frightening silence. Maybe the Dungeon was more than happy to watch adventurers marked with the grace of the gods kill each other, because no monsters showed up at a time like this.
Her companions hiding in the shadows wanted to come out, but Alise stopped them with a signal.
She knew how strong her skill was. Even if the target was a rookie adventurer, at worst it would burn them into charcoal. It wouldn’t reduce them to ash.
In other words, that last attack might not have hit the “kidnapper” at all.
“Ugh…”
A faint groan came from not far away.
Alise’s face changed at once.
Because that was exactly where one of her companions had been lying in ambush.
“Neze!”
Alise had just called her companion’s name when movement came from another direction.
This time, it was loud. The sound of weapons clashing rang out, mixed with Ryuu’s angry shout.
“Who the hell are you—”
Before the question could finish, Alise heard Ryuu cry out. The next moment, she saw the blond elf get kicked into a rock.
From within the mist, Hoshimi Miyabi walked out, slow and calm. The weapon in her hand pointed at Alise, who had yet to answer.
“Who… are you people?”
An unseen pressure spread from Hoshimi Miyabi. In Alise’s eyes, this Renard girl wasn’t tall, yet she carried a presence as heavy as a mountain.
The last time she had faced an enemy with this kind of pressure was three years ago.
But…
When Alise looked straight into Miyabi’s calm eyes, a thought rose in her heart.
‘This might be a misunderstanding.’
For some reason, she could sense that Hoshimi Miyabi wasn’t evil. There was also a kind of “justice” inside her.
Alise wanted to ask if there had been some mistake.
But just as she was about to speak, Hoshimi Miyabi moved. Miyabi appeared behind Alise at a speed Alise couldn’t even follow. The Tailless in her hand slashed sideways toward Alise’s neck.
Alise caught a glimpse of Miyabi from the corner of her eye and moved the flames to defend herself.
Hiss.
The temperature around them plunged like a roller coaster. One second, the air had been burning hot. The next, it was cold enough to cut into bone.
The flames around Alise froze at high speed, and the fire-imbued barrier failed with them.
A sharp blade came to rest against Alise’s neck. Hoshimi Miyabi’s voice, as cold as the air around them, entered her ears.
“I’ll ask one more time. Who… are you people?”
Alise shivered. She didn’t know if it was from the chill of the blade or the sudden drop in temperature.
“We’re from the Astraea Familia. We saw you holding the Loki Familia’s Sword Princess hostage on the street, so we followed you here.”
“Hostage? I didn’t take anyone hostage…”
Alise didn’t believe Miyabi right away. After the nightmare on the 27th Floor, the main members of Evilus had all “died,” but some survivors were still hiding in dark corners, doing things that couldn’t be brought into the light.
In Orario during this time, every adventurer stayed wary of unfamiliar faces.
“Then may I ask who you are? Which Familia do you belong to?”
“My name is Hoshimi Miyabi. I’m a new member of the Loki Familia.”
“The Loki… Familia?”
Alise’s eyes widened in shock. Without thinking, she pulled her body away from the edge of Tailless and asked again in disbelief, “You’re a member of the Loki Familia?”
By now, Hoshimi Miyabi had also realized this might be a misunderstanding. She had no more desire to fight, so she simply slid Tailless back into its sheath.
“That’s right. I joined today…”
Unlike Alise, Miyabi didn’t show much change in her expression. Whatever the other side asked, she answered. Simple. Honest.
“Don’t tell me… I got the whole thing wrong?”
Alise dismissed the flames, hugged her head, and crouched on the ground. For a moment, she couldn’t accept that this whole mess had started from her own mistake.
She had thought she had caught the tail of Evilus, only to find out the other party was a new Familia member. Not only had she failed to earn any credit, she had also gained a bad name for bullying a rookie.
And two of her companions had been taken down by that same rookie…
Then, all of a sudden, Alise noticed the real problem.
“Wait… If you’re a rookie, why are you so strong?”
Alise looked at her two teammates. Neze, a Lv. 4, had fallen unconscious and still hadn’t woken up. Ryuu, who was the same level, had been kicked into a rock and still hadn’t recovered.
On top of that, Miyabi had dodged Alise’s surprise attack, hidden herself, knocked Neze out, and kicked Ryuu away. All of it had happened in a flash.
That kind of strength wasn’t something a rookie who had just joined a Familia should have.
“That’s because I was born with divine strength,” Hoshimi Miyabi replied in a flat voice.
This line was something Miyabi had heard while watching a movie with Tsukishiro Yanagi. She had found the movie rather funny at the time, but for some reason, Tsukishiro Yanagi had filed it under “trash movies.”
“Oh, so that’s it.”
Alise came to a sudden understanding and believed Hoshimi Miyabi just like that.
Ryuu leaned against the rock, unable to put strength into any part of her body. Even so, when she heard Alise’s words, her fingers twitched in shock.
This girl believed her just like that?
Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t want to stay here long. Ais still hadn’t appeared, which meant she had likely run down to the middle floors. Miyabi had to bring Ais back as soon as possible.
“Do you… know how to get to the middle floors?”
“Of course I do… You want to go down to the middle floors? But you’re a rookie…”
Alise stopped there, because she suddenly remembered that Hoshimi Miyabi was indeed a rookie.
A rookie who had taken down two Lv. 4s in just a few moves.
“Come with me. I’ll show you the way…”
As Alise spoke, she walked toward Ryuu, took a potion from her bag, and fed it to her.
“Ryuu, you watch Neze for now. I’ll take Hoshimi Miyabi down to the middle floors.”
After drinking the potion, Ryuu finally recovered. She looked at Hoshimi Miyabi, then at Alise, and said with concern on her face, “Alise, do you really trust her?”
Alise gave Ryuu a thumbs-up.
“Trust me, Ryuu. I can see it. There’s a heart of justice inside her too. She’s not a bad person.”
Ryuu didn’t argue. She knew Alise’s instincts were sharp.
“I understand. I’ll stay here and watch Neze.”
--+--