Chapter 9: Aina's Teasing

Chapter 9: Aina's Teasing

"No, I arrived early," Aina said, shaking her head in denial upon hearing the words.

"Alright, let's go in. It's probably packed at this time."

"Okay." She nodded slightly, and then the two of them walked in side by side.

"Aina-san, it really is crowded," Messiah said with a slight smile, looking at the lively atmosphere in the tavern. "But what's with those tables in the middle? No one's sitting there."

"Ah, those are reserved for the Loki Familia. The main force of the Loki Familia returned from their expedition today," Aina explained with a smile.

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, let's go. Our seats are over there." Aina pointed to a two-seater table by the wall.

Messiah nodded and followed Aina.

They had reserved their seats when they came over earlier.

"The Loki Familia returning from an expedition? I didn't expect to encounter this just after arriving in orario. What Ryuuck."

"May I take your order?" A waitress came over with a tray and asked as soon as they sat down.

"Ah, we'll have a large portion of grilled meat," Aina said with a smile to the waitress.

"Yes, understood," the waitress replied succinctly before leaving.

"Hmm? Messiah-san, what are you looking at?" Aina turned her head and saw Messiah staring at the departing waitress, raising an eyebrow and teasingly smiling.

"Eh, it's nothing," Messiah replied, coming back to his senses with a faint smile.

He hadn't expected that it would be Ryuu, the elf lady, who would take their order.

He didn't want to have any contact with this elf lady, but he encountered her as soon as he arrived. It really was fate playing tricks.

But it didn't matter, as long as he didn't reveal his identity.

"Messiah-san is really a little devil, huh? Already starting to feel affection at such a young age? Falling for that elf just now?" Aina didn't seem to believe Messiah's response, her tone teasing.

Messiah could only shake his head helplessly.

He couldn't possibly reveal Ryuu's identity to Aina; that would be too troublesome.

After all, Aina was a member of the guild.

Seeing Messiah's reaction, Aina didn't tease him further.

She was just interested in teasing Messiah a bit, not that she didn't believe his words.

She could tell from Messiah's eyes.

His gaze was too clear, without a hint of impurity.

Even if Messiah had said yes, Aina wouldn't have believed him.

"Alright, alright, I was just joking."

"Messiah-san, tell me about your experience in the dungeon today." Then, Aina showed an interested expression and asked Messiah.

"Hey, did you hear? Today, a horde of monsters appeared on the second floor, a rare goblin army." Before Messiah could answer, a voice suddenly came from nearby.

At a large table next to Messiah and Aina, a few adventurers were whispering, but their voices were quite loud, not really whispering at all.

As they spoke, the attention of others around them was drawn.

The appearance of a monster horde was rare, and today's occurrence had piqued the interest of the adventurers there, all ears perked up for this piece of gossip.

Aina also temporarily forgot her question to Messiah and started listening.

"It really is rare, a monster horde on the second floor, and a goblin army at that. Did someone enter the monster's lair?" Aina commented with a sense of wonder.

At this, the expression on Messiah's face across from Aina became slightly strange.

"What's wrong, Messiah-san?" Aina turned her head and saw Messiah's odd expression, immediately filled with curiosity.

"Well, how should I put it, the person who entered the monster's lair was me," Messiah said in a low voice.

"!!!!" Aina was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, her expression visibly changing, filled with shock.

It quickly reached a critical point, her lips slightly parting as if she was about to scream.

Indeed, if Messiah hadn't quickly covered Aina's mouth, her scream would have echoed throughout the tavern the next moment.

"Ah, what are you doing?" A calm voice came from nearby, causing Messiah to release his hand, and Aina was also stunned, not screaming but turning awkward, a faint bLush on her face.

It was the first time a man had covered her mouth.

"Nothing, sorry." Messiah apologized awkwardly to Ryuu, who had brought over a huge plate of grilled meat, and then she left.

"Messiah-san, do you realize what you've done today?!!" At this point, Aina's embarrassment had vanished, replaced by gritted teeth and an angry gaze at Messiah.

"You better give me an explanation, or I won't let you off easily, Messiah-san!!!"

Facing Aina's fury, Messiah was quite troubled, scratching his head and hesitating for a while before speaking softly.

"So, you're saying you killed over two thousand goblins today?!" After hearing Messiah's story, Aina couldn't believe it.

"You, did you really take my words to heart?!!!" Immediately, Aina gritted her teeth again, staring at Messiah angrily.

Although she already knew how crazy Messiah's first dungeon entry today was, hearing about his adventure from Messiah still made Aina unable to help but get angry.

"Don't worry, I'm very strong, Aina-san, I assure you."

"I came back today without a single injury, Aina-san saw it, right? So, don't worry."

"Besides, I've said it, I'm very afraid of dying, I won't put myself in danger." Seeing Aina about to lecture him again, Messiah quickly said.

Aina remembered Messiah's condition when he returned in the evening, indeed, he was a bit dirty but uninjured, not a drop of blood or a scratch on him.

"Alright!!!" Thinking of this, Aina's gaze fixed on Messiah's face.

"Did I misjudge? To think I was so worried about this guy, but he's actually this strong?"

"Aina-san, why are you looking at me like that?" Being stared at by Aina made Messiah feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Eh, it's nothing, I just think I was being too presumptuous." Aina said somewhat petulantly.

Messiah: "..."

"Ah, is there something wrong with the food?" At this moment, the elf Ryuu voice came again.

"..."