The Journey Begins in DanMachi

Seeing that Ryu no longer paid her any mind, Kaguya could only shake her head in disappointment and withdraw her gaze.

The other two girls shared the same sentiment, turning their heads away with the expression of someone who had just finished a bout of shivering and suddenly found everything dull and flavorless.

The trio did not know that the very second they looked away, the skin on the blonde elf's cheeks, exposed outside her mask, turned crimson, her eyes filled with swirling circles, and she felt as if steam were about to rise from the top of her head.

No, this is bad. I feel like if I look at that swordsman for two more seconds, I'm going to faint.

Turning around in a hurry, Ryu pressed her cloak tightly against her face, deeply and forcefully inhaling the scent lingering within it, and her mood gradually began to stabilize.

Ryu also found it quite magical; clearly, whenever she saw that person, her heart would become uncontrollably flustered.

Yet, by smelling this scent so closely associated with him, her mood would inexplicably calm down.

However, this behavior of hers...

Loosening the fabric of the cloak, Ryu breathed in the fresh air, looked at the faint, glistening residue left on it, and realized it was her own sali...

Wah!! What kind of lewd behavior is this!

And so, a wave of intense shame washed over her!

Feeling as though she were about to faint, Ryu hurriedly covered her face and took deep breaths.

Then...

Loosen, shame, breathe, calm down.

Loosen, shame, breathe, calm down.

On the other side, although Riveria did not scold him, she still gave Noah's body a thorough inspection.

Not only did she cast a healing spell, but Riveria also pinched Noah's chin with one hand and forced a bottle of potion into his mouth before she was finished.

It must have been a punishment; the bitterness of that vial of potion nearly sent Noah's soul ascending to the heavens.

Feeling the sour bitterness filling his mouth and struggling to maintain his composure, Noah was just about to go handle the Goliath magic stone and the dropped items when he saw the blonde elf's strange behavior.

Noah couldn't help but stop in his tracks, forgetting even the bitter taste that had nearly sent his soul to the heavens, and tilted his head in confusion.

What is this elf doing? Is she high?

Oh no, she's different from Ais; she must have actually had her brain fried.

But it was Goliath who did it, I only counterattacked.

Surely I don't need to pay any compensation, right?

I'm already a poor wretch in debt for fifty million Valis!

"Hello! Mr. Swordsman!"

Just as Noah was stunned by the blonde elf's aura, which was even more terrifying than Goliath's, a flash of vibrant red burst into his field of vision with the aggressive, encroaching momentum of a fierce bear.

"I am the captain of the Astraea Familia! Pure, righteous, beautiful, the Lv.3 adventurer known as the Red-Righteous Flower, that's me, Alise Lovell! Thank you for saving our member just now!"

Facing those emerald eyes filled with sunshine and vitality, Noah listened to her self-introduction and then snuck a glance at the blonde elf, only to find that she had already turned away.

What on earth is going on?

With confusion in his heart, he extended his hand without changing his expression.

"Loki Familia, Noah Cipher. That was my mistake earlier, letting you get caught in the crossfire. I am very sorry."

Alise didn't have time to answer before she was shoved aside by another human girl with short, dark brown hair.

No, it should be said that she was, quite literally, "bumped away."

"How could that be your fault?! It was all the Dungeon and Goliath being too cunning! Playing dirty when they couldn't win! By the way, how did you train your swordsmanship? It's too amazing! Can you teach me? Oh, and what about other training techniques? Like, what do you like to eat? How old are you this year? Do you have any hobbies?"

Looking at the dark brown-haired girl who was gripping his hands and chattering excitedly, Noah's expression stiffened.

"Uh, excuse me, who are you?"

"Me? I'm Noin! Noin Uryuk, you can just call me Noin! I'm fifteen this year! Ah!!"

The final scream was because Noin, just like Alise who had been bumped away earlier, was also "flown" away.

However, the person who arrived was not the Amazon Noah had expected, but a wolf-girl.

Judging by her appearance, she seemed slightly older than Noah.

She possessed the tallest figure in the Astraea Familia, only half a head shorter than Noah, with flexible, agile limbs wrapped in brown skin.

Amidst her fluffy, medium-short hair—which, like Noah's, was white but had a texture more akin to mineral ore—stood a pair of tall, upright wolf ears.

"I'm Neze Ranket. I should be a bit older than you, so you can call me Big Sister Neze! Eh? Little swordsman, your hands are unexpectedly small. I thought you'd have thick, powerful arms like a dwarf. You really need to eat more!"

It's probably a bit difficult for a human to have arms thicker than a dwarf's, isn't it?

And isn't your focus a little off?

This time, Noah didn't even have a chance to speak before the wolf-girl was stopped.

However, she was luckier than Alise and Noin; she wasn't bumped away, just shouted to a halt.

"That's enough, Neze. You're going to scare him!"

Dressed in a kimono that felt entirely out of place in the Dungeon, the beautiful black-haired swordswoman bowed to Noah, offering a dignified and serene smile.

"Mikoto Yamato, Vice-Captain of the Astraea Familia."

However, Noah would not be deceived by her appearance.

Whether it was the 'Intuition' granted by his skill or the bloodline within him that seemed to have awakened upon receiving a Blessing, everything told Noah that this Mikoto Yamato before him was a very dangerous woman.

Not in terms of adventurer strength, but dangerous from the perspective of a 'woman.'

It was as if she were telling Noah that if he underestimated her, he would pay a painful price.

"Seriously! Neesh! Even for a werewolf, isn't that a bit too rough?"

"Noin! You actually have the nerve to say that to someone else!"

Witnessing the bickering among her members, Laila walked up to Riveria and shook her head with a sigh.

"Apologies, Nine Hell, our members are just this unreliable. After all, the Captain is the same way."

"...No, no need to apologize."

Watching Noah surrounded by the girls of the Astraea Familia, Riveria couldn't help but tighten her grip on her staff.

Perhaps this wasn't something that could be blamed on you all.

Under the urging of Riveria, a senior with considerable dignity, and the two reliable members, Laila and Mikoto Yamato, the party finally set off toward the surface.

The spacious hall soon fell into silence, with only the scattered rubble that had yet to be restored to its original state silently recounting the fierce battle that had just taken place.

That was until a distorted shadow flickered in an extremely inconspicuous corner of the stone hall.

*

"That guy who is even more despicable and shameless than Finn!!"

The shadows twisted, and an angry roar filled with malice echoed through the boundless, deep corridor.

*

It felt as if the Dungeon was eager to see off its unwelcome guests, as Noah's party did not encounter a single monster on their way back to the surface.

However, due to the climb and the need to navigate, the return trip did not take significantly less time.

By the time they reached the surface, the sky was, unsurprisingly, pitch black.

The headquarters of the Astraea Familia, the 'Garden of Stars,' was also in the north of the city, facing the Twilight Manor across the main street, so both parties headed north together.

Although bathed in the biting winter wind, everyone felt a sense of relief.

The girls of the Astraea Familia began chatting again, talking about having a good meal, taking a bath, or buying new clothes.

However, there was one thing that weighed on Noah's mind—

I see!

Keeping his head straight and his expression unchanged, Noah suddenly glanced out of the corner of his eye toward a corner of the party.

It was at the other end of the group, at the position furthest from Noah, separated by the most people, where the elven swordswoman named Ryu Lion stood.

After Noah glanced over, she seemed to notice something, her head tilting slightly as she looked forward.

At first, Noah naturally assumed it was his imagination.

But as they walked, the recurring feeling of being watched made him certain of one thing—the golden-haired elf was peeking at him.

What exactly did she want to do? Was she brewing up a plan to punch him?

As Noah pondered this, he felt someone approach his side.

It was Noin, the girl with short, dark brown hair.

She looked at Noah with eyes the color of her hair, which seemed to shimmer with a certain expectation.

"Hey, Noah-kun, why do you fight in that way?"

Because fighting like that feels great— Just as Noah subconsciously prepared to answer with his true feelings, he realized the other girls were also looking at him.

While some, like Alise, Neesh, and the young elf who looked like a little boy, had expressions of curiosity and expectation similar to Noin's, there were also less friendly gazes—primarily from the fully armored dwarf vanguard Asta Knox and the mage holding a staff, Leana Liz.

Of course, it wasn't exactly malice; it was more like seeing someone with a bad habit but lacking the standing to correct it, leaving them to frown and endure it.

It felt as if they had been having some sort of debate and had decided to let him, an outsider, be the judge.

What was going on?

He had a feeling that some very important argument had taken place while he was distracted.

It was the same feeling as dozing off in class, only to open your eyes and find that Riveria's magic deduction notes had suddenly expanded by several pages.

Within three seconds, Noah weighed his options and ultimately decided to tell the truth.

When you don't know what has happened, lying usually just makes things worse.

Only after the distinctive towers of the Twilight Manor came into view did Noah provide his answer.

"...Because my body used to be quite weak, and strength was my disadvantage. I could only rely on various schemes and techniques to fight. So, recently, after receiving a Blessing, I've been wanting to try the feeling of defeating an opponent purely through strength... that's all."

Upon receiving this answer, Noin's expression grew complex—a mix of disappointment and bewilderment.

It was akin to a failing student asking a top scholar for help, only to find the scholar's logic—A is obviously wrong, B doesn't fit the prompt, C is out at a glance, so it must be D—far too advanced to grasp, yet feeling too embarrassed to ask for further clarification.

The other girls felt much the same.

However, this had nothing to do with Noah; he only wanted to find a place to gorge himself, so he parted ways with them.

The girls walked in the opposite direction until, just as they were about to enter the Garden of Stars, Alise, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped and stared blankly ahead.

"Hm? Alise? What's wrong?"

"Just now, did that Noah... say 'after receiving a Blessing recently'?"

Silence instantly enveloped the girls, followed immediately by screams that pierced the night sky.

"...Could it be?"

"No way?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Ais: I can be Noah's wife!

After the last sliver of twilight faded, stars and a bright moon emerged in the night sky, and dazzling lights spilled out from between the buildings, mingled with the sounds of joy and clamor.

When the trio returned to Twilight Manor, the Familia dinner had already ended, and the members had gone off to busy themselves with their own affairs, so no one came out to greet them.

However, no matter how busy the Familia was, there was one person who always seemed to be at leisure.