Side Story 4

So, before we start, let me say some things.

First, as I said previously, today's normal chapter was pushed forward.

So in its place, I am posting this side chapter.

After today, the release will come back to normal.

This side chapter is kind of a test of mine, I wanted to test some things related to... Romance...

It's a side chapter so it can be taken with a grain of salt.

I am also using this as a way to set some minor events for the future.

See you later! Tell me what you think! I am glad to change and help anyone with Questions

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(Real chapter name, Encyclopedia of rare monsters, Extra volume, page 3, The Illusory flower of Destiny.)

/In a village in the mountains, North of Orario…/

'4 old people, 2 couples to be precise, could be seen in a slightly dark room.'

'Each of them was sitting on a chair around a square table with a single candle on top of it.'

'Next to the candle was a piece of paper, it had a highlighted passage at the top:'

"Loki Familia house burns in an unexpected Terrorist attack!..."

'Yes, the paper was an issue from the daily newspaper made in Orario.'

"... I am sure of it, it's him. These masks and way of operation, I would recognize it even after 100 years." Said Saphos as he looked at the newspaper

"When did this happen?" Asked Lingtom on the side

"Around a week ago, that would be the time it takes for this journal to reach us, just look at the date on the top right corner." Said Ullia

"Why would they attack the Loki Familia? Aren't they the second strongest Familia on par with the Freya Familia?" Asked Misty

"Who knows, I can't imagine that guy making any decision without weighing out the pros and cons." Said Saphos as he frowned

"But it seems he made a very poor decision as he lost horribly." Said Misty

"That's what the newspaper says, we don't even know why they did it in the first place, as far as I know, he might've gained what he went there to get already." Replied Ullia

"I don't like this situation… If they are moving inside Orario…" Said Lingtom as he pressed his fingers on the table

"There are hundreds of thousands of people in Orario, I expect little Silver to be an adventurer already, but what would a level 1 adventurer have in special to attract their attention?" Said Ullia

"And as we saw, it seems they took a heavy hit with this failed operation."

"Just look, they lost several dozen Level 2's and 3's, even a few Level 4's… Although there is no mention of a Level 5 and 6, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one or two…" She said

After all, when we left, the captain was Level 6… Although he must've retired by now, it would be more than enough time to groom a new one…

Even if the quality of the adventures of Orario has decreased ever since Zeus and Hera Familias were defeated, I can't see that guy being satisfied with 'only' one Level 6…

"What do we do now?" Asked Misty as she dropped the newspaper back on the table

'The others stayed in silence…'

"... I have an idea." Said Lingtom

"Say it, we are all ears." Said Saphos

"Let's wait for the end of this month, and when the month reaches its end, lets go to Orario."

'The others started to think.'

"As we wait, we can see if any new info is released through the newspapers…"

"But what about the others in the village? Who will protect them if anything happens?" Asked Misty

"I was about to say this… This time, only me and Saphos will go." Said Lingtom

"What?" Asked Ullia

"Someone has to stay behind… And it will be quick, if we go on a straight line, we should be able to arrive at Orario within a day if we leave in the early morning."

"We go there, find our grandson, see if he is fine and… If necessary, tell him the truth." Said Lingtom

"Why tell him now?! Didn't we agree that we would leave him out of all of this?" Asked Ullia in distress

"Sometimes, the plan changes… At the start, we thought that sending him away would be enough to protect him, but if 'that guy' is getting so desperate as to attack a super Familia… Our time may be coming to an end." Said Saphos as he joined the conversation

"It wouldn't do much harm if we went there to see how he is going and give him some advice. And if we find some of them on the way… I may be old and weaker than what I once was, but I can still pull some weight!" Said Saphos as his eyes narrowed

"... In any case, we have a few weeks of time to plan this before the month reaches its end." Said Ullia as she got up

"Now if you excuse me, I have a very 'excited' girl to train…" She said as she left the room

/Creaak…/

"... And… There she goes." Said Lingtom as he stretched in the chair

"Being old is such a pain…" He said as he got up from his chair

'No more words were needed, their discussion was over.'

/Clack!/

'With a small click, the door closed and the room became completely dark…'

…

/Earlier that day…/

'Somewhere on the 10Th floor, Silver could be seen impaling an Imp with his spear.'

/POOF!/

'The Imp turned into smoke as its magic stone cracked.'

/Clap clap.../

"You are really good at this." Said a feminine voice on the side as she clapped her hands

"This is pretty average though." He replied as he collected the magic stone and gave it to the girl

'The girl was very pretty, she had a thin body and was currently carrying a large backpack on her back.'

'She had a pair of cute bear ears on her head.'

"So, what are we searching for again?" He asked

"We… We are looking for a specific Herb." She said as she averted her eyes to the side

"What does the flower look like?" Asked Silver as he stayed on guard

"It should be a small flower two to three palms in height, its leaves are heart... Arrow shaped and at the very top, it has a pink flower." She said as she took out a book from her backpack

"I see…" Said Silver as he looked around

"... You don't seem that excited." She said as she looked at him

"Not exactly, I am more surprised than anything. I didn't expect you to ask to come with me this time, and being Honest, I am more serious than usual since I have you here with me."

'The girl looked at Silver's back as he scouted the ground and the surroundings in search of the flower and smiled.'

Should I tell him that the flower does not exist?

Well… It's not that.

'Yesterday night, Nicc was searching around for a few books in order to find out what would be the next subject of her research.'

'It was then she found out about a rather interesting book… A book that talked about the many herbs in the Upper floors.'

'And her eyes fell immediately within the "unconfirmed" section.'

'As a researcher of rare and undocumented monsters, why not try out for a few plants as well?'

'So after a little bit of browsing, she set her eyes on one particular specimen…'

The Illusory flower of Destiny…

"COUGH!"

"Are you okay?" Asked Silver when he heard the girl behind him cough

"Ah… No no… I am okay, it's just that this place is a bit cold…"

'To that, Silver took out his scarf and gave it to her.'

"I-I don't need it." She said with a straight face

'Even though she was very embarrassed inside…'

"You have no choice in this." Said Silver as he picked the scarf and carefully put it on her neck and shoulder

'Nicc had to use all of her power in order to not get a red face.'

"Let's continue." He said as he turned around

"..."

Not yet… Not yet…

The Dungeon isn't the place for such things…

Urg… But I can't really say that when my objective was…

'The very detail that attracted Nyctimene to this particular flower was a certain passage…'

/This flower only appears to couples…/

'Whatever that means…'

'Nyctimene shook her head as she looked around.'

If I were to find that flower…

What would that mean?...

Stop stop… That flower does not exist…

'And with that, she continued to walk, going after Silver.'

…

'It had been a few hours, but they did not find even a speck of the flower.'

"Hum… Not finding it does not means it doesn't exist, it might be the timing, the flower might not even bloom in winter." Said Silver as he turned around to look at Nicc

'The scene of the handsome man looking straight into her eyes in the mist seemed to enchant Nicc…'

"Y-yes… We can come here later… Ah!"

'She seemed to remember another thing she wanted to say…'

"Is something bothering you?" Asked Silver

"It's nothing much… I wanted to come with you today not only because I was curious about how you worked, but also because I have an announcement to make!" She said as she puffed her chest

"Oh yeah? Tell me then." Said Silver with a small chuckle

"My diligent work has attracted the attention of a Titled Scholar in the country of Altena!" She said

"... Wow…" Said Silver as he made an exaggerated surprised expression

That was fast, although I think it has been around a few weeks since she started…

I never saw her work, I only caught the monsters, so I imagine she is really good…

"#!"

"That's incredible okay! Do you even know what this means?!" She asked with serious face

'However, seeing this cynical girl angry only made Silver think she was cute.'

"Don't get me wrong, I am proud of you." He said as he gave her a smile and a thumbs up

"Are you my dad or something like that?!" She said as she kicked a rock in anger

It's always like this… Everytime…

You look at me just like my dad…

Other boys look at me with their perverted eyes and expressions, but you never looked at me like that.

Can't you just look at me… At least once?

"Let me tell you that this country is on the forefront of magic research!" She said with an angry expression

"And I will be going there to receive tutelage!" She said in anger surprising Silver

"Why are you angry, I am just joking with you, Altena is rather far away, when will you come back?" Asked Silver

She isn't someone to show such extreme emotions out of nowhere… Did I trigger something?

Hum… Her research? I shouldn't have joked with her sigh…

"Who said I will be coming back?" She said in a serious tone

"..."

'This caught Silver by surprise. So he said:'

"Looks like you have your future set for you, I will miss you haha, and that bastard as well, if you have the time, make sure to visit us." Said Silver with a smile

'But Nicc bit her lips and turned around.'

"Once I arrive there, I will receive his teachings and help in my current research… That may take years…" She said

"... Seems tough, when I was small I also had to spend many hours reading books under my parent's watch, and that repeated for a few years…" Said Silver as he remembered the distant past

'But Nicc didn't say anything.'

"... Is that all?" She mumbled to herself

'Silver heard it, however.'

What else does she want me to say?

… Does she like me or something…

She never, ever, showed any sign of this however…

"How about we go back for now and…"

'Nicc ignored him and started to walk away from him.'

"Why are you acting like this? This place isn't the plaza Nicc." Said Silver as he walked behind her, making sure to watch his surroundings

'But she only walked faster and faster…'

"You aren't like this Nicc, tell me what is bothering you…"

Why is she acting like a spoiled teen girl?

Fucking hell, there must be something I am missing here…

"Forget it, you won't understand." She said as she started to run away without any destination

"..."

'Silver continued to go after her, he thought about using his abilities to knock her out and get her out of the Dungeon, it was clear she was rather upset and this isn't the place to have an emotional outburst.'

'But he also thought that by doing so, she would truly never come back…'

What does she want?

Why doesn't she just say it…

"?!"

'After running for around a minute, Silver finally felt the presence of a monster nearby, so he immediately started to run faster!'

"Stop! There is a monster nearby! I will listen to everything you have to say! So please, just stop already!" Said Silver

If you don't stop this time I will fucking use force alright…

'And she didn't stop…'

'The result?...'

/ROARR!/ Screamed the Orc as it swung its fist towards nicc!

"!"

'Nicc looked at the green fist rushing in her direction and couldn't help but remember everything she did today.'

Why do I feel like this?

I only wanted…

/BANG!/

…

'Nicc opened her eyes to see Silver blocking the Orc's fist with his own hand.'

"No wonder the villagers said that raising girls is hard…" Said Silver as he raised his left hand and pierced the head of the Orc with the spear

'He turned around and looked at Nicc.'

"Are you going to tell me what is going on, or are going to go on another marathon around the 10Th floor?" Asked Silver ironically

"... I am sorry…" She said as her Cute ears dropped

"Sigh, I won't ask why, I understand that people can get seemingly upset over very small things. However, I would like to hear the reason as to why." Said Silver in a serious tone as he approached the girl

I doubt this is the reason, but let me test her.

"..."

'She looked as Silver approached her and stopped right in front of her, she tried to take a step back, but there was a tree blocking her way.'

'Obviously, Silver walked in an angle that would block her from escaping…'

/Thud!/

'He pressed one of his hands against the tree and asked:'

"So? Tell me what happened, I am all ears." He said as he stared at her

'She couldn't breathe… She wanted to say something but it was stuck in her throat.'

'Wasn't all of this stupid display for this very moment? What is she hesitating for?'

"I… I will tell you when I come back!" She said with her flustered face

"..."

So it's this…

'Silver smiled. But he didn't know how he should feel.'

"I'll wait then." He said as he turned around and walked away

"I… I won't take long…" She said as he breathed deeply

'She looked forward and saw that Silver was waiting for her, with a thin smile, she went after him.'

I said years but… I will only be in there for a month…

I will be back soon… And then…

'The two silently made their way back to the surface, and soon, everything came back to normal.'

…

'Not long after they left, on the same tree Silver and Nicc talked, a small pink flower bloomed from a seemingly normal blade of grass…'

…

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Notes

As I said, this was a test, I never wrote anything of the sort, so I wanted to see how I would go if I actually tried.

Anyway, I am open to opinions.

See you all!