The Journey Begins in DanMachi

It should have been a moment of pure bliss—finishing training early without Ais, and stumbling upon this crystal-clear Pool by sheer accident...

Combined, shouldn't these two things have brought the joy of returning to the surface early to attend the festival?

Yet, why did things turn out like this?

Sitting on the ground, Noah occasionally cast a sidelong glance at the Elf lost in a daze nearby, weighing the feasibility of just leaving her behind.

But the consequences would be dire—if nothing happened, fine, but if she ran into any trouble, Riveria would absolutely string him up and beat him for three days and three nights!

So, he had no choice but to wait patiently.

Noah wasn't dense enough to miss where that burnt-out, ashen look on her face came from; he wasn't some oblivious blockhead.

Girls, after all, are always sensitive to the boundaries between the sexes. How could she possibly act like nothing happened after being pinned down by a man like that?

Especially since girls mature faster than boys; many seven or eight-year-olds are already obsessed with fairy tales of princes and princesses, and by fourteen or fifteen, some are already thinking about romance, or even marriage and children.

Though Elves have longer lifespans than humans, Noah felt that she understood exactly what was at stake.

Unless she was one of those ancient, fossilized, pure-as-snow Elves from a fairy tale who would beat someone to a pulp just for holding hands.

...Right! At the very least, she should be on the level of a certain Elf Royalty!

It was just being lifted up high, wasn't it?

Was it really necessary to hammer someone's crown with such ferocity?

Don't let Riveria's deceptively dainty hands fool you—they hurt like hell when she hits!

But judging by the fact that this Elf named Ryu Lion didn't scream, roll around on the ground, or start swinging a blade wildly when he hugged her last time, or even just now when he tackled her, she seemed to be a relatively open-minded Elf.

Surely, she would come to terms with it soon, right?

The Eighteenth Floor is a circular level surrounded by rocky cliffs with a vast, vaulted ceiling, making it one of the few safe zones in the Dungeon.

Although monsters still spawn here, they don't attack adventurers frequently or aggressively like on other floors.

They are like massive, ferocious beasts that inhabit the various corners of the Eighteenth Floor, and as long as you don't provoke them, they generally won't attack.

The terrain of the entire floor consists roughly of the Northern Wetlands, the Western Lake, and the Eastern and Southern Forests.

In the Central Meadow, where countless crystals are scattered, stands the towering Central Great Tree; the hollow beneath its roots serves as the entrance to the Nineteenth Floor.

Illuminating this beautiful landscape is a massive Sky Crystal located above the Central Great Tree, which mimics the light cycles of the surface—albeit with a time offset—to bring day and night to the Dungeon.

Right now, Noah was watching the shifting light of that crystal to gauge the passage of time.

Even though they were in a completely enclosed Dungeon, the vast space and varied terrain allowed a breeze to drift through the air.

Lacking the warmth of surface sunlight, the cool, moist, and refreshing air still felt comfortable against his skin after his training and cold wash, causing Noah to slowly squint his eyes.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Noah began to feel a bit weary.

"Hmm?"

As Ryu, caught in her own tangled thoughts, glanced at Noah for the thirtieth time, she found him already lying on the grass and her eyes widened in shock.

He fell asleep?

At your age—oh, wait, in this situation and in this place, you can actually sleep?

By acting so relaxed, aren't you making me look like a clown for agonizing over here all by myself?

For a moment, forgetting her shame and inner turmoil, Ryu sprang up from the ground with the agility of a bird in flight.

With a hint of resentment in her momentum, Ryu charged toward Noah.

However, before she reached him, while still ten meters away, she caught sight of the boy's sleeping face and involuntarily slowed her pace.

Beneath his soft silver hair, which swayed gently in the breeze, his long eyelashes—enough to make most women jealous—trembled slightly.

His gently fluttering nostrils, his thin, tightly pressed lips, and his skin, now pale and tender after being washed with fresh water, all unconsciously drew the Elf's gaze.

To Ryu, the person before her was no longer the young swordsman capable of taking on a Floor Boss alone, but a stray cat curled up in a haystack under the winter sun.

He looked nothing like the calm, composed person he was when awake, and it even stirred a sense of affection in Ryu's heart.

Subconsciously, she moved closer, crouched down, and rested her chin on her hands to watch him quietly.

And then—

Those eyes snapped open, and the azure irises reflecting the Sky Crystal locked directly onto her.

"May I ask what you are looking at?"

After more than ten seconds of silence, broken only by the sound of the wind—

"Ah!! You! Don't come any closer!!"

Seeing Ryu jump five meters away like a startled rabbit, clutching her chest and covering her clothes with a look of vigilance, Noah was left speechless.

Is there even a need to cover that chest of yours?

Would I even make a move on a chest as flat as that?

You can doubt my character, but you absolutely cannot doubt my aesthetic standards, okay?

"Hey! That look in your eyes! Are you thinking something incredibly rude right now?!"

Seeing the elf react so quickly, Noah blinked.

He knew that looking away at this moment would be an admission of guilt; taking the initiative was the only correct choice!

"Miss Elf, do I need to remind you? The one who peeked at me, saw me completely naked, and just now secretly watched me sleep—that was all you, wasn't it?"

As expected, Ryu Lion was struck as if by an icy gale. Her cheeks froze instantly, and she sheepishly lowered her head, burying her face into her chest... oh, excuse me, there was no chest to bury it in.

Although her expression was obscured by her mask, Noah clearly saw the cherry-red flush spreading from her fair, delicate cheeks all the way to her pointed ears.

"Th-th-that was just an accident."

The expression on her face, as if she were about to melt on the spot and turn into elf-sauce, made bubbles of amusement rise in Noah's heart.

Oh? You're this shy? Then I'm going to keep teasing you!

"An accident? Is this something that can be resolved with just the word 'accident'? My innocence is gone! I never expected you to be an elf who shirks responsibility like this!"

For a noble and proud elf, this could be called the most severe slander!

"I! I!!"

Ryu Lion naturally clenched her fists tightly and bit her lip, yet she still couldn't break free from the whirlpool within her heart.

"What 'I'? If you think a single 'accident' can settle things, then go ahead and leave. Just pretend nothing ever happened. After all, you are a member of the justice-seeking Astraea Familia famous in Orario, while I am merely an obscure Level 1 adventurer. Everyone will only believe you!"

"Enough!"

Completely overwhelmed, Ryu Lion raised her head, using a loud reprimand and teary, reddened eyes to stop Noah from continuing.

"I will take responsibility for you!!"

62 Ryu Lion decides to step forward!

I will take responsibility for you!

Without a doubt, this was a bold declaration, akin to a confession of love!

Under normal circumstances, Ryu Lion was certain that after saying such a thing, she would immediately fall into a state of uselessness, fainting on the spot or running away in a panic.

But at this moment, she felt not a shred of hesitation or doubt; instead, there was only resolve!

This resolve did not come from the faint fragrance lingering on him, but from a sense of mission deep within her soul!

That's right, a sense of mission!

A mission to protect the women of Orario, and indeed all pure women in the world, from being tainted by poisonous fangs!

Despite only a few brief encounters, Ryu Lion had already confirmed that this man, Noah Cipher, was simply too dangerous for women!

Perhaps Noah had no subjective malice, but his very existence was a threat to female chastity!

Whether it was his soft hair like molten silver under the moon, his deep blue eyes reminiscent of a profound glacier, his valiant posture when throwing himself into battle, or his endearing sleeping face during rest, especially that soothing, comforting fragrance...

Heavens! How could there exist in this world someone who, from the inside out, was filled with advantages seemingly designed specifically to capture women!

Too dangerous!

If this man were left out in the world, he would definitely make countless women fall for him... No, even within the Loki Familia, which had many female members, his presence alone was a danger!

Perhaps even the noble Riveria would be captured by him and suffer defilement!

Even if Noah wasn't making moves on women now, could anyone guarantee he wouldn't in the future? Human nature can change!

Therefore, to protect the women of this world, I, Ryu Lion, must fear no sacrifice and step forward!

This is the quality of an elf, and the responsibility bestowed upon me by the Astraea Familia; I must not flee!

Noah, who was still shocked by the Blonde Elf's sudden, stimulating response, barely had time to be confused before he saw the look of firm, fearless resolve on her face, as if holy light were shining down upon her.

Huh? What just happened?

Why do you suddenly look like you're about to sacrifice yourself for world peace?

He felt that even when he was fighting the Demon King, his own aura hadn't been this heroic.

"Take responsibility? How are you going to do that? Marry me once we get back to the surface?"

Noah thought that if the elf gave an affirmative answer, he would immediately retort, 'You were saved by me, you saw me naked, and now you want to marry me? How do you manage to get all the good things?'

What a joke. As for myself, Noah was quite confident!

If he had been somewhat malnourished and pale in the past, after receiving a Blessing, undergoing treatment by Amid, and training these past few days, he was now near-perfect from head to toe, from his features to his physique!

Noah believed that while some women might not like his type due to personal preferences, absolutely no woman could say he wasn't good!

Even setting aside his natural aptitude, just based on his cooking and his looks, he was a magnificent, handsome youth who was both easy on the eyes and delightful to be around!

However, the moment the previously heroic elf heard the word "marriage," her cheeks instantly exploded into a deep red.

Not only did circles appear in her eyes, but steam began to hiss from her head, literally emitting white mist.

"M-m-marriage? How could that be! O-o-obviously, we would return to the hometown of Lumiria together, cleanse our bodies of filth under the moonlight, and only after swearing an oath before the Sacred Tree could we marry. Before that, we shouldn't even hold hands..."

Noah couldn't even be bothered to mock the way Ryu Lion, who had been so stern and righteous just a moment ago, had been so easily broken into this useless state.

Because there was something else that needed mocking more—

"Is this some fossilized, antique view of love from a fairy tale?"

Fine, Noah admitted it: his previous assessment had been wrong!

This was no open-minded elf; she was a top-tier specimen of the ultra-conservative variety, even by elven standards!

In an instant, Noah decided to stop the teasing.

Because the more innocent a girl was, the more terrifying she tended to become once she felt deceived or abandoned in matters of the heart!

Yes! Just like that time she had guessed he'd touched other elves for no reason, and the light had vanished from her eyes!

He couldn't afford to provoke her; he really couldn't handle this type of woman.

"Huh?!"

Ryu nearly cast her gaze around to see if any of her fellow Astraea Familia members were hiding in the shadows, snickering.

Collusion!

It had to be that Kaguya teaming up with Noah to play a trick on her!

Otherwise, how would Noah know the evaluation her companions had given her back then?

However, Ryu didn't find any other girls from the Astraea Familia, a fact that she found perfectly natural.

Come to think of it, today was the first time Ryu had met Noah again since their parting at the Dungeon, and it should be the same for the other girls of the Astraea Familia.

No matter how scatterbrained Alise might be, she wouldn't go so far as to team up with an outsider she wasn't close to just to prank her.

Thus, Ryu had no choice but to look at Noah once more.

And then, she caught a flicker of evasion and guilt in his eyes.