Grieving Fairy

Moving across the familiar greenery on the 18th floor, I was searching for the perfect spot to call home. It had to be somewhere hidden, a place rarely visited by others—most likely an isolated corner of the floor.

A couple of groups of adventurers passed by, watching me with curious eyes. One group consisted of Amazonesses, while the other was made up of various races.

Ignoring their gazes, I swiftly moved forward, intent on finding a home, quickly disappearing from their sight.

I've noticed my stealth skills have improved a lot, likely due to the evolution and dehumanization I've undergone since grinding excelia. I wondered if there would come a point where I could warp between worlds.

But those thoughts were distractions. For now, I needed to find a suitable place to settle.

THUD!

Lost in thought, I collided with a tree. Luckily, I couldn't feel pain, but it was still embarrassing. Not that I cared, but it wouldn't look good if someone saw me.

Glancing around to make sure no one had followed me, I continued my search until I noticed someone walking at a relatively close distance. Judging by the figure, it looked like a woman dressed in a green suit. I couldn't clearly identify her, but she was heading deeper into the forest.

Though it wasn't the most moral thing to do, I decided to follow her. Maybe I would find traces of Evilus or something interesting. The thought that she might just be looking for a private spot crossed my mind, and if that was the case, I'd quickly retreat.

As I began trailing her, I realized how skilled she was in stealth. Without my heat vision, I would've lost track of her long ago.

A few minutes passed, and she still hadn't noticed me.

"Not gonna lie, I have to commend her skill. Without heat vision, I'd have lost her ages ago," I thought.

Eventually, our little game of cat and mouse led us to a small clearing in the vast green forest. In the center, a mound of dirt or sand was piled, forming a small cliff. The moment I saw it, I recognized the place.

It was the Astrea Familia's grave, located on the 18th floor—a place Ryuu visited to pay respects to her fallen comrades. Now that I had a clearer view, I realized the person I was following was Ryuu, dressed in her adventurer attire.

She knelt and placed flowers on the mound, which was surrounded by weapons once wielded by members of the Astrea Familia.

Even though adventurers can be ruthless, there are certain unwritten rules they respect. One of those is to never loot the graves or bodies of fallen adventurers in the dungeon.

That explained why no one had touched the weapons all these years—not even Evilus.

I was about to leave Ryuu in peace when a squirrel fell onto my face. In its panic, it squeaked and leaped into the bushes, alerting Ryuu.

Her reaction was swift. She unsheathed her wooden sword and hurled a rock toward my location.

The rock blasted through part of the tree near me, showcasing the strength of a high-tier level 4 adventurer.

"WHO GOES THERE?!" she demanded.

Her tone was sharp, but I raised my arms in surrender as I revealed myself. It was too late to back right now, that squirrel must've been Azathoth's deed or the dungeon itself despises me.

Her expression shifted from alarm to confusion as she recognized me, though her guard was still up. After all, we were little to strangers with only two of us seeing each other just a few times.

"Easy there, easy! You know who I am. I just noticed someone moving through the woods and decided to follow them. Turns out that someone is you," I said, trying to ease the tension.

Ryuu lowered her guard slightly, but she still wore a displeased look.

"You shouldn't follow someone like that. I could've killed you if you were closer to the edge," she warned.

I raised my hand, signaling that it was no big deal. Moving closer to her, I could tell she had more to say.

"You got something on your mind, or are you just glaring at me because I interrupted you?" I asked.

Ryuu was briefly surprised that I could read her so well but quickly returned to her calm demeanor. Elves were really interesting specimens in this world, a very, very isolationist race little to say.

"My friend Syr was upset when you rejected her and ran off with that goddess a while ago. You could've at least said thank you before leaving," she remarked.

Hearing that, I realized I'd made some mistakes back then. Neither of us was entirely in the right and I realized that I acted like a five-year-old child back then. 

"I'm sorry for what happened, but I can't change the past. Maybe I could drop by the Hostess of Fertility sometime and make it up with a meal as an apology?"

Ryuu seemed to accept the idea with a slow nod and she quickly returned her focus on the grave behind her.

"So, what brings you here, if you don't mind me asking? Why are these weapons piled up like that?" I asked, feigning ignorance about the site.

She sighed quietly but answered, "They're my friends… they died years ago. I come here from time to time to visit them and leave flowers on their graves. Never before has someone followed me to this place except you, your skills are remarkable."

She seemed to want to say more but stopped herself, a sign she didn't trust me enough to share her full story. However, her praise was nice, despite our two being strangers she wasn't closed like elves usually would be.

"I am sorry for your loss then."

Silence settled between us as we both stared at the weapons once wielded by adventurers with dreams and ambitions—dreams that had died with them.

A couple of moments passed until Ryuu turned to look at me, "Are you returning to the surface or are you staying on this floor?"

Her lips moved as she spoke, revealing how beautiful elves are in this world even despite their behavior. 

"No I have only just arrived, I will spend some time here before going deeper into the dungeon for the daily excelia hunt, thanks for asking me though."

She formed a small but visible smile on her lips and parted her ways with me, I could see her figure slowly but surely disappearing behind a vast greenery on this floor. 

In the end, only one left was me and I had nothing else to do but build a home and find a hidden spot to do so. With a sigh I walked into the bushes, heading to the corner of the floor.