CH. 249: Another dungeon?

[Falna updated. Status is updating to reflect the changes…]

[Strength +10, Constitution +9, Defense +9, Dexterity +9, Magic +11]

"Done."

I got up at Astraea's call and took the paper from her.

Asahi Marikawa

Level Two

Strength: SS-1020

Endurance: S-945

Dexterity: S-900

Agility: A-854

Magic: SSS-1109

I could level up, but getting EX-stats satisfied my gamer soul more.

"You're growing too fast," Astraea said with a sigh. "Though it makes me a bit happy to see your progress. You don't even need anyone's protection. It's others I should be worried about."

She finally realized the truth!

"I'm not here to harm anyone," I said, activating the innocent charm mode.

"...I know." she nodded while swinging her feet off the bed.

She looked a lot nervous, probably because of my shirtless appearance. It made me want to tease her a bit and see her reactions. What if I confessed to her right here? Would she accept?

(Her positivity level is above eighty-seven… it should be a yes unless… she doesn't like men and sees you as her best buddy!)

'Don't shatter my hopes, you lewd goddess! I had enough trauma with friendzone already!'

It happened so many times because widows didn't want a serious relationship with a young man like me.

(I-I am sorry.)

'It's okay.'

"About last night," I brought up and slid closer to her.

Astraea tensed up and slowly turned to me. A tiny blush crept on her cheeks. "...What about it?"

"I just wanted to ask—Astraea, do you like me as a man?"

I dropped the question on her like a bomb. She just stared at me with hollow eyes as if her mind was somewhere else, still processing the question.

Someone slammed open the door.

"Master!"

It was none other than Natsumi, arriving at the worst possible time.

Astraea rushed to Natsumi and grabbed Natsumi's hands. "Did something happen to Apollo Familia?"

This goddess refused to answer my question…

I gave a blank stare to Natsumi. She better have a reason to interrupt me or she'll have her first official punishment.

"Master, I found them! Rudra Familia!"

"How? Where?"

"The adventurers you captured on the 20th floor. After some punishments from." Natsumi paused and grinned. "You know who. One of the men confessed he was from Rudra Familia. They are holing up inside another dungeon."

I almost slaughtered the guys we were searching for!

"Wait, there is another dungeon?"

"Not exactly, Master. It's a manmade dungeon that connects to the dungeon on many floors."

"So a shortcut?"

It made sense as not every high-ranked adventurer had the time to go through dozen floors to meet challenging monsters. Even if they could one-shot mobs, the sheer amount consumed time.

"Perhaps. He said the dungeon only goes until the 17th floor."

"That's terrible," Astraea said before sitting on the bed beside me. "How long did it take to create something like that? Who has such time?"

"I don't know."

"There is something else I want to tell you," Natsumi said, glancing at Astraea as if signaling me to send her away.

"You can say it here."

There is no harm in letting Astraea know about this something. She would be indignant if I didn't tell her.

"Master, it's not about Rudra… it's about a monster."

Well, that changed the priorities.

Astraea got up, realizing Natsumi's weird gestures towards her before walking toward the door. "I have to share this with Loki and Hephaestus."

I pulled her back with my telekinesis, which took a decent bit of effort.

['Telekinesis' ranked up to D.]

I forced her down on my side and lightly stroked the back of her head. "You aren't going anywhere until Natsumi tells everything."

Natsumi nodded. "The adventurer said they were searching for a Siren… a siren who could talk like humans."

A sharp glint appeared in Astraea's eyes. "A talking monster? You believe his words?"

"I don't know," Natsumi replied with a shrug. "I'm just a foreigner here."

"Foreigner? You're from Asahi's world, aren't you?"

"Yup. Master brought me here."

"I should've guessed it. Asahi, I never heard of any monster like that."

"Neither did I," I said and scratched my head. "It doesn't matter. I'll decide what to do when I find one."

My instincts told me I missed something. Natsumi can't hide anything, so there could be something else I don't know about. Well, I'll stumble into them one way or another.

"Hmm." Astraea nodded firmly. "Monsters are monsters… I'll have Alise arrange an expedition for this dungeon."

"I can take care of them myself."

It's an hour of work at most.

"I know you can, but you should let Alise do this one. She had been crazy for wiping the Evilus for good. Ryuu too. Everyone wants them gone forever."

For revenge, huh.

"Fine. As long as they bring me and my wives with them."

"I'd be grateful if you protect them in the dungeon," she smiled and looked away. "...Give me some time."

My eyes blinked rapidly in surprise. "Sure. I'm not pressuring you into anything."

It'd be very weird if a goddess of purity let go of everything and threw herself at my feet. That's not the kind of goddess Astraea was.

"Thanks…" she muttered with a small smile.

Natsumi coughed that sounded a hundred percent fake. "Please stop flirting. My single heart is burning with envy."

Astraea slid away from me and smiled at Natsumi. "You misunderstood me. This is not… flirting."

Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I totally believe you."

Astraea glanced at me. "Am I wrong?"

"Yes."

"..."

"So let's go to Loki's house. Let's call Hephaestus too! We're having a meeting!"

***

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