"The first time I reached the fourth floor was probably a little over a month after I became an adventurer," Perman said, reminiscing about her younger self with a sigh. Time had flown by. She had gone from a fearless, reckless girl to the head of a Familia, and her daughter was almost as old as she had been back then. How could she not feel wistful?
"I had it worse than you two. I already looked like this back then, but this world—Orario—is a place where strength comes first. Good looks don't give you much of an advantage, especially since the elves are almost as beautiful as the gods." Perman gently rubbed Xin Mu's back. She'd weathered plenty of storms and could tell Xin Mu was anxious, so she tried to comfort her. Of course, she was also taking the opportunity to cop a feel. But Xin Mu was starting to get drawn into the story and was exhausted, so she didn't mind Perman's behavior. After all, she knew Perman had just saved Zhang Ruofeng.
"I spent about two weeks going back and forth on the fourth floor. Back then, I didn't have any skills or magic, and those annoying Earth Bees gave me a hard time, so I never dared explore any deeper. I also really liked the taste of Star-shaped Fruit, so I kept hoping I might get lucky and find some." Perman stopped feeling Xin Mu up, lit her pipe, and took a puff. "Then one day, I found Star-shaped Fruit in the Dungeon's Food Storage."
Perman's expression suddenly grew tense. Xin Mu was surprised, too. She had met Perman several times, and the powerful head of the Familia was always smiling. She'd never seen her show such emotion before.
"Just as I was picking those three Star-shaped Fruits, a crack suddenly appeared in the wall of the Food Storage. I never imagined the Dungeon would set traps to lure people in." Perman shook her head before continuing. "I didn't think twice. I turned and ran, but my Agility was only rank H back then. How could I outrun them? I heard buzzing behind me and looked back. I was utterly desperate. Two Guard Bees were chasing me. I was so scared that I actually stopped in my tracks." Even though Perman had become an accomplished adventurer, the memory still frightened her.
"Then I burst into tears. Through my tear-blurred vision, I saw someone rush in from the side and hurl me away, shouting at me to run. Then they charged straight at the bees. I was so terrified that I just got up and ran in a daze. It took me a while to realize something was wrong. Gritting my teeth, I slowly made my way back."
Perman's expression darkened. She took a long drag on her pipe, then fell silent for a moment. Xin Mu could tell from her face that things hadn't ended well, so she took Perman's hand. Perman gave a self-deprecating smile and continued. "When I got back to where I'd run from, everything was a mess. The two Guard Bees had probably flown away. All that remained was a corpse, its head and one arm hacked off. The blood all over the ground made me feel faint, but I threw myself at the adventurer and started doing chest compressions, even though I knew there was no bringing them back. I pressed and cried, then pressed again. Pretty ridiculous, huh?"
Xin Mu shook her head. She knew Perman was a good person. Perman had helped her and Zhang Ruofeng several times. She was always getting handsy with Xin Mu, but since they were both women, Xin Mu just took it as a prank and let it go. Seeing Perman's dejected expression, Xin Mu gently patted her on the head. Perman made a catlike face and said softly, "After that, I learned healing magic. I also became afraid to go adventuring in the Dungeon alone, so I started doing everything I could to gather adventurers. Then you know what happened. Things eventually got out of hand, and I had no choice but to leave the city and hide for a few years."
Now Xin Mu finally understood why Perman had stirred up such a huge commotion over the years. The fear deep in her heart had made her too afraid to enter the Dungeon alone, so she'd done everything she could to form a party.
"If it were up to me, I wouldn't go down there." Xin Mu looked straight at Zhang Ruofeng as she spoke. She'd rather help the goddess open a flower shop than face that place herself. Xin Mu was naturally rather indifferent to most things. Her family was wealthy, but she'd never lived extravagantly, and she'd never given much thought to how rich they were. Her father had taught her to take care of her own meals and clothes from a young age, so she'd never really thought of herself as some kind of eldest young lady. Still, she couldn't cook and only knew how to use a washing machine, which had caused her plenty of trouble in this world. Zhang Ruofeng took almost everything on his shoulders, but she just couldn't bring herself to ask him to wash her underwear—and he absolutely wouldn't agree anyway.
"Hahaha, you've got it all wrong." Perman gave an impish grin, then buried her head in Xin Mu's chest again. The clothes were made from a material that didn't exist in this world, and they were soft enough to make burying her face in Xin Mu's chest irresistible. Perman was hooked. "If you don't go to the Dungeon or become an adventurer, then I'll just have to take you into my harem."
"I refuse," Xin Mu replied without a moment's hesitation.
"Unfortunately, that's not up to you." Perman sighed helplessly. Zhang Ruofeng was still weak, and she worried that he was being far too overprotective of Xin Mu.
"Think about it. In all these thousands of years, have there been any other people from another world besides you and Zhang Ruofeng? No, right?" Xin Mu nodded. Even the gods in her Familia had said they'd never met anyone from another world before, which proved that she and Zhang Ruofeng were the first to arrive here from another world.
"Then don't you think the gods would be curious about you?" Perman sighed helplessly. She really hadn't expected Xin Mu to have given this no thought at all. Unlike Zhang Ruofeng, who was always scanning his surroundings with a wary, thoughtful look whenever she saw him, Xin Mu didn't seem to care much about these things. "The gods' curiosity can be terrifying. And some adventurers are fanatically devoted to their gods. The goddesses of beauty and the Moon Goddess, for instance—the Southern Wind Goddess has a whole crowd of male adventurers who are utterly devoted to her. Can you imagine how frightening it would be if you had no strength or weren't an adventurer?"
Perman's gaze suddenly sharpened, making Xin Mu shift uneasily.
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