Chapter 18: Leaving The Dungeon

Arthur Leywin:

It didn't take long to leave the dungeon after I left the Xenos Village.

Just as I stepped out, the rays of sunlight hit my face, and I stayed there watching the cloudless sky.

How long has it been since I saw it last? I could imagine what the Xenos would feel about seeing it when I'm reacting like this after being stuck in the dungeon while they have always been there and can't leave.

Why can't we live together? What is the difference between the animal people walking around the city and a Xenos?

What if I could help them make a hidden village on the surface? The djinn could make the Relictombs where no Asura could enter... Could I also make it for them?

"You're alive!"

"KYU!"

'Papa!"

Two voices snapped me out of my thinking, and the next thing I knew, someone hugged me while crying.

At first, I was surprised, so I didn't do anything, but I hugged her back when I saw who it was.

"Yeah... I'm back, Ryuu... And thanks for keeping Sylv safe."

Ryuu hugged me even tighter, as if I would disappear if she let go. The people around us started looking at us, but I didn't care.

"You got stronger." I said she was much stronger than when I last saw her and could feel the smile forming on my face while looking at her and Sylvie. I'm finally back!

"Do... Don't ever do it again..." She said in a low voice.

"I won't... Now let's get back before people start talking about how the Gale has found a boyfriend." I said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, let's go back." She said, and I could see a small smile on her face before she grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the Stardust Garden.

"So, how long have I been gone?" I asked the question I had been thinking about for a while now.

"Four months... When Sylvie told me you were alive, I tried to find you, but I wasn't..." She couldn't finish her sentence and tightened her grip on my hand.

Wait, Sylvie told her? I looked at Sylvie for the answer.

"kyu..."

'I gave mama a bond connection...'

She could do that?

"Don't blame yourself. All that matters now is that I'm back now and even stronger than before."

We continued walking towards the Stardust Garden without saying anything, and just as we were about to enter, an annoying voice reached our ears.

"So the princess is alive."

My eyes started twitching, and for the first time, I regretted coming back.

"You know, Ayda, I'm starting to regret coming back now..." I replied to the girl watching us right now.

She was one of the new members of the familia. She joined a few months after we took care of the Rudra familia. She was a blue-haired human girl, and she loved to annoy everyone.

"Don't mind her, Arthur. She took your disappearance almost as bad as Ryuu."

"Goddes Astraea, thank you for keeping Sylv safe and trying to find me." I thanked the goddess who has treated me like one of her own children for the past few years I've known her.

"You don't need to thank us... After the first few weeks, we started thinking you were gone, but Ryuu wouldn't give up." She said with a regretful tone before hugging both me and Ryuu.

"It's good you're back now."

I couldn't blame her. Someone being gone for four months is long enough to think it's too late.

"I get it. I would also give up searching for someone after four months."

"Well, we were about to eat before Ryuu ran out, and your returning should be a good cause for celebration." She said, changing the topic.

"Yeah..." It's good to be back.

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"So, how did you survive all this time?"

After our small reunion outside the Stardust Garden, I went inside and met the other members, and they had lots of questions, but fortunately, Astraea calmed them down.

And that leads us to this moment where I'm sitting around the large table, and everyone is staring at me, expecting answers. If this was me in my previous life, I would probably be scared to even talk with everyone looking at me.

"Before I explain it, what happened to the crystal?" I asked, looking at Ryuu.

"The stone disappeared with you." She said, and I looked at the stone in my hand. Is this just a piece of the crystal, or did the crystal shrink into this little stone?

Does it even matter?

"Has something like this happened before, lady Astraea?" I asked the goddess, hoping no one would ever stumble upon a crystal like this.

I was lucky to survive with all my powers, and a high-level mana core made it quite easy for me, but an ordinary adventurer would have died during the first week, if not the first day.

"No, this was the first time I heard about such a crystal."

"I see... That's good. But I should explain what happened after before I get petrified by all the stares..." I said with a slight chuckle and started thinking about everything that happened after the crystal.

"Well, let's begin just after I got teleported... After I woke up, I was on a safe floor in the dungeon..." I continued explaining how I fought the new types of monsters to the funny-tasting fruits, omitting the parts about me absorbing the mana from the stones and everything about the Xenos.

While I knew I could trust them, this was something that related to other people, not just me, so I shouldn't reveal it yet. Fels asked them if they could find me, so he should get the news soon if he hasn't already, and if he knows, Ouranos knows too.

"So you alone managed to explore the dungeon more than the Zeus familia did with all their high-leveled adventurers?" They asked in shock after I told them the whole story.

"If I had an option, I wouldn't do that myself..."

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"So when are you coming back?" Ryuu asked me while looking sad I would be leaving again.

"I'm going to stay with them for a few months before returning with my sister." I told her and took Sylvie from her.

"Stay safe then..." She said, and I could feel something touching my lips in a flash.

My brain shut down at that moment. I didn't know what to do or think, so I stood there dumbfounded as Ryuu ran back to the Stardust Garden completely red.

"Mama kisssed youuu..." Sylvie teased me and laughed when she looked at my face.

Wait, she is talking normally?

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Authors Note:

Thank you for reading this chapter.

I'm making Ryuu younger here because I don't want the FBI going after Ryuu, so she is two years older than Arthur instead of seven.

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