Danmachi: The Focalors Familia Starting from the Dungeon

”Kyaaaaaa—!”

Ais let out a scream sharp enough to pierce one’s eardrums. Almost on instinct, she grabbed Aiden’s arm and turned to run.

”Awaken!”

In her panic, she even instantly chanted the magic incantation.

A violent gale abruptly materialized around her, pulling the bewildered Aiden along like a true tempest as they rushed out of this haunted house.

Beneath his black robe, Fels stood frozen in place, utterly motionless.

He watched Ais and the white-haired boy whose arm she was dragging—suspended in mid-air with his feet off the ground due to the sheer speed—disappear from his line of sight like a tornado.

He had been startled too.

”Sigh…”

A faint sigh echoed within the ”Prayer Room” deep beneath the Pantheon.

”What is it, Fels?”

The ancient god Ouranos opened his eyes, looking at his subordinate who had lived for eight hundred years.

”Nothing,” the Sage Fels, clad in tattered black clothing, shook his head, his voice indistinguishable between male and female. ”As you know, I set up a Magic Workshop in a desolate area outside my secluded dwelling, but it seems to have been discovered by others over there. Looks like I have to move to another location.”

Fels spoke in a helpless tone, but then his gaze was drawn to a piece of paper the old god was holding in his hand.

”Oh my, speaking of which, for you to actually be reading an information paper, that is truly a rare sight, Ouranos. Did something happen?”

”It seems the Sword Princess has failed an adventurer commission.” Ouranos stated flatly.

”Oh, now that is a shock beyond rare. But well, she is human after all.” Fels’s voice carried a hint of a smile, but immediately after, he seemed to recall something.

”Speaking of the Sword Princess, she and that Flamescion kid ran smack into me at my Magic Workshop just a short while ago.” Fels recalled those two fleeing figures and couldn’t help but speculate, ”Though they ran away in shock over there too, was this a simple test of courage, or… a lovers’ rendezvous just between the two of them? Hahahaha, Flamescion’s luck with women is still as enviable as ever—eh, what’s wrong, Ouranos? Why are you making that face?”

Seeing the old god suddenly prop his forehead with one hand, revealing a headache-inducing expression, Fels felt deeply confused.

On the other hand, Ouranos, who had already guessed the entire course of events, merely closed his eyes speechlessly.

The rumor regarding Ais Wallenstein failing her mission whipped through all of Orario like a gust of wind, causing a sizable uproar.

And at the center of the storm, inside Twilight Manor, the atmosphere was more bizarre than ever before.

When the person in question, Ais, returned to her Familia, she was directly cornered in the common room.

”Ais-chan~” Loki dragged out her words, clinging to her like a boneless cat. Her narrow red eyes narrowed into slits as she sniffed around Ais, trying to sniff out some clues. ”Come on, tell me, what exactly happened? What kind of commission could possibly make even you fail?”

Faced with her patron goddess’s shameless pestering, Ais merely shook her head expressionlessly, not saying a single word.

”Hey, Ais, say something.” Tiona scratched her head anxiously from the side. She and her sister, Tione, flanked Ais on the left and right, their faces practically screaming the word ”curious.” ”What kind of monster was it? Was it strong? Stronger than a Floor Boss?”

Even the usually composed Riveria walked over, a trace of worry in her jade-green eyes: ”Ais, if you encountered trouble you couldn’t solve, you should tell us. We’re family, aren’t we?”

Finn sat on the sofa, sizing Ais up with a wise gaze that didn’t match his outward appearance. Gently rubbing his chin with his thumb, he opened his mouth: ”Ais, from a Captain’s perspective, I need precise intelligence. If a threat you can’t handle has appeared within the city, we must make thorough preparations.”

The gaze of the entire common room focused on the blonde maiden; even Bete, pretending to polish his weapon in the corner, quietly perked up his wolf ears.

However, Ais merely pursed her lips, her gaze wandering, before finally shaking her head lightly but with absolute firmness.

”It’s nothing.”

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s.

”Hah?! Nothing?!” Loki bristled instantly, jumping up to pinch Ais’s cheeks and pull them sideways. ”You’d fail a mission over nothing?! You’d sneak out alone to find an outsider for help over nothing?! Spit it out, who was it? Was it that Flamescion kid from the Focalors Familia? I just knew you two were up to something shady.”

Ais’s cheeks were pinched bright red, but she still kept her mouth stubbornly shut. A hint of moisture even welled up in her golden eyes, and that wronged yet stubborn appearance left everyone helpless.

They had never seen this kind of Ais before.

Even facing the most powerful enemies, she would never take a step back.

But now, facing her family’s questioning, she was like a frightened little rabbit, only wanting to hide herself away.

Ultimately, under everyone’s helpless and exasperated gazes, Ais broke free from Loki’s demonic clutches, sprinting back to her room with her head down like she was fleeing, shutting the door with a loud bang.

In the common room, the executives of the Loki Familia looked at each other in dismay.

”Aargh, I’m so mad!” Loki frantically scratched her red hair. ”What the heck is that girl up to?”

Everyone’s curiosity was gnawing at them like a swarm of ants—an unbearable itch they couldn’t scratch—yet there was nothing they could do.

This incident became the biggest unsolved mystery of the year at Twilight Manor.

On the other side, Aiden kept his promise.

This should also be considered a secret strictly between him and Ais.

So no matter how curiously Hyacine and the others prodded him with questions, he just smiled and said nothing, perfectly keeping this secret for Ais.

In the Pure White Clinic of the Dian Cecht Familia, the air was filled with a clean, slightly bitter scent of medicinal herbs.

The door to the treatment room was gently pushed open, and a petite maiden with silver-white hair, as beautiful and delicate as a doll, walked out.

It was none other than Orario’s recognized number one healer, Airmid Teasanare.

Behind her was Firefly, who had already put on her clothes, her complexion looking somewhat pale.

”How is it, Miss Airmid? Firefly’s condition?” Aiden and Hyacine, who had been waiting outside, immediately went up to meet them, their eyes holding unconcealable concern.

The illness afflicting Firefly was extremely troublesome. Even Hyacine, a fellow companion and a physician herself, felt utterly helpless against it. Therefore, they could only pin their hopes on this maiden who stood at the absolute pinnacle of healers.

Airmid stopped in her tracks, those eyes that were always calm and placid now tinged with a trace of heaviness.

───

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