Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"Ais..."

Lefiya looked at Ais, who had fainted, filled with worry.

Since joining the Loki Familia, this was the first time she had seen Ais lose so badly.

Even though she had an Elixir with her, she couldn't just feed it to Ais. If she did, her broken arm might heal incorrectly and end up deformed.

She had to stabilize the fracture before using the Elixir.

For now, all she could do was lay Ais down flat and wait for the right moment to secure her broken arm.

"Miss Lulune..."

"Ah, no need for honorifics. We're about the same age—just call me by my name."

"Lulune, isn't your mission important?"

That guy had taken the cargo meant to be delivered. Just standing here and watching him leave didn't seem right.

"What was I supposed to do?"

Lulune looked miserable. She didn't want to give the goods away either, but the real question was—could she have stopped him?

"What just happened was way out of my league. No matter how big the reward is, it's not worth dying over."

"If even the Sword Princess couldn't stop that guy, what could I do as a mere Lv.3?"

"Lv.3? Weren't you Lv.2?"

After she gave her name, Lefiya recognized who she was. But what she said about being Lv.3 didn't match the Lv.2 Lefiya knew her to be.

"Ah... never mind, I'll tell you. I'm Lv.3. I just underreported my level."

Lulune instinctively covered her mouth, but once she realized she'd already said it, she didn't bother hiding it anymore and openly admitted she had lied about her level.

"That's... against the rules, isn't it?"

"It's fine, as long as no one finds out."

Faced with this "not against the rules unless you get caught" mindset, Lefiya felt a wave of pressure.

But having just been taught to be more flexible, she didn't press the issue. Maybe things like this were more common than she thought—she just hadn't seen them before.

Just like that man earlier—cloaked and hooded so his face was hidden. But the moment he mentioned the "Hestia Familia," it was clear who he was.

Their Familia had recently made a deal with the Hestia Familia, and the goods involved were Rune Stones.

And since the Hestia Familia officially had only one Adventurer, that man had to be the Rune Stone maker.

Makers were income-generating types, just like the blacksmiths of the Hephaestus Familia.

If he had used magic to create Rune Stones, Lefiya would have found it believable. But he had used a sword—and with a single strike, had severed the hand of a woman that even Ais couldn't defeat.

If he wasn't lying about his level, then she wouldn't believe it for a second.

"That guy just now... he was insanely strong."

Lulune smoothly changed the subject, skipping over the issue of her fake level.

"Even the Sword Princess couldn't handle that woman, but he managed to cut off her arm and used some kind of special magic to hide us."

"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made it out alive."

Just thinking about it made her break into a cold sweat again.

"Yeah."

Lefiya felt just as conflicted.

Lulune stood up, patted the dust off her pants, and gave Lefiya a sheepish look as she said goodbye.

"Thanks for saving me, really. But... sorry, I have to head off now."

"So soon?"

Lefiya was a bit surprised.

"Yeah."

Lulune looked up at the sky with a gloomy expression, then sighed.

"I have to report this to our Familia God. Something this big going down on the 18th floor... If our captain finds out this mess started with the mission I accepted, she'll tear me apart."

Lefiya couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

She understood how she felt—if she had gotten caught up in something like this herself, she'd probably be in tears by now.

Despite her downcast look, Lulune still felt lucky.

If she hadn't run into someone that strong, she might have ended up stuck on the 18th floor for good.

That earlier kick had hurt, but it wasn't bad enough to keep her from making it back to Orario.

Given how big a mess this had turned into, Lulune knew she had to report it before word got back to Orario.

Pulling her hood up, Lulune carefully slipped down a small path from the back of the mountain, heading toward the entrance of the 18th floor...

Less than two minutes after Lulune left, Finn and Riveria arrived at the back mountain.

They found Ais lying unconscious on Lefiya's lap, her arm twisted unnaturally and clear handprints on her neck.

Their expressions darkened immediately as they rushed to Lefiya's side.

Riveria quickly checked Ais's condition, and after confirming that the injuries weren't life-threatening and she was just unconscious, she finally relaxed.

"She's only passed out. Her right arm has a severe fracture. We'll need to stabilize it before attempting any healing."

Her right arm couldn't be treated here.

Finn let out a breath of relief. A broken arm and unconsciousness—this was about the best-case scenario for such a disaster.

"Lefiya, did you run into that woman?"

Finn's face was grim. The fact that Ais had been taken down like this meant their opponent had to be above Lv.5.

"Lv.6... I didn't expect someone like that to show up on the 18th floor."

Riveria was visibly surprised as she turned to Lefiya.

"Lefiya, you must've met Hashana's contact, right?"

"Yes. It was 'Muddle' from the Hermes Familia."

"Then how did you escape that woman's pursuit?"

The 'Muddle' of Hermes Familia should only be Lv.2. Against a Lv.6 threat—one even Ais couldn't handle—how had Lefiya and the others survived?

"It was... someone we didn't recognize. But he took Mr. Hashana's delivery and told Hermes to retrieve it from the Hestia Familia in three days."

Lefiya hesitated, unsure if she should say more—but ultimately chose to speak.

"Hestia... So that's it."

Finn had already suspected that the man might have shown up on the 18th floor. He hadn't expected to be right.

"He saved you? How?"

"I don't know..."

Lefiya tried to recall the moment, but she couldn't explain it clearly.

"I just saw white light forming in his hand... and I could faintly hear a bell ringing. We waited a long time, and just as Ais was about to lose consciousness, he swung his sword at the woman's neck."

"She couldn't block it. She used both hands to try to deflect the blade, but he still severed her right arm... and even sliced halfway through her neck."

The sheer impact of her words made Finn and Riveria gasp aloud.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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