Chapitre 37: The Depressed Elf
At this moment, the sun had already risen in the sky, illuminating the entire urban district of Orario.
The liveliness within Twilight Manor was gradually increasing, and members were bustling around, making it no longer as desolate as it was initially.
Riezel emerged from the divine room, receiving curious glances from several familia members along the way.
Needless to say, the news of his battle with the irregular on the 6th Floor had started to spread.
However, he paid no attention to those looks. Instead, he pondered the words Loki had said to him when leaving the divine room.
"Looks like Lefiya's spending too much time on some confusing or minor issue. Wanna go see what's up with her?"
The Goddess's sudden parting words left him stunned at the time.
"Since coming back yesterday, that girl's been visibly depressed. Riveria mentioned it to me, suggesting it might be better for you, the involved party, to talk to her." Loki added, smiling wryly.
Leaving those words, she turned and went back to sleep, leaving him with no choice but to leave.
Thinking about Lefiya, Riezel hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to check on her. But he had no idea how to find her.
As the base of Loki Familia, Twilight Manor was composed of many tall towers. Apart from the central tower, there were a total of seven towers surrounding it.
The lower halves of these variously shaped towers were interconnected, with only the circular courtyard surrounding the central tower standing independently.
The upper halves had stone-built aerial corridors extending to other towers, allowing people to move between the towers. Facilities such as libraries and dining halls were scattered in different towers, without any order.
Except for the central tower, the seven towers were mainly divided into three for men and four for women.
In other words, living areas for men and women were separate.
If Riezel wanted to find Lefiya, the first choice was naturally to go to her room. This meant entering the living area for female members, giving him a somewhat uncomfortable and awkward feeling of entering a female dormitory.
'Maybe I should check in the public area first.' Riezel tentatively decided on this.
However, before he could start looking for Lefiya, he encountered two familia's executives on the way.
"Hey, isn't this the very impressive rookie?"
"Indeed."
Like looking into a mirror, the Amazoness twin sisters, identical in appearance but different in body size and hairstyle, appeared on the way and coincidentally met Riezel.
"Miss Tiona, Miss Tione."
Riezel stopped and greeted the two executives with a head bow.
"C'mon, don't be so formal!" Tiona said with an innocent smile. "Just call me Tiona."
"Call me Tione too." Tione said while sizing him up for a moment, a smile on her face carrying a hint of meaning. "Captain values you a lot; I guess he thinks you'll soon climb into the executive positions. If that's the case, just call us by our names directly."
As executives of Loki Familia and first-class adventurers unparalleled in Orario, even within their own familia, most members held a respectful attitude towards Tiona and Tione.
This was the status of a first-class adventurer and the treatment that came with being the familia executive.
The two were not unaccustomed to the respectful attitude of others. However, it was evident that it didn't suit Riezel.
Just the thought of his skill called 'Fool's Obsession' that broke the rules, made Tiona and Tione feel it was better not to regard him as an ordinary rookie.
"What are you up to?" Tiona asked with a tilted head. "Planning to head into the dungeon?"
"I heard you just went through a fight with an irregular monster, weren't you still in bed yesterday?" Tione sighed. "Getting out of bed today and planning to dive into the dungeon again, aren't you a bit too eager? It puts pressure on us, y'know."
The two sisters hadn't been spared from his adventurous spurs lately, but their words weren't meant to intentionally taunt him.
Riezel noticed their concern and shook his head.
"I'm not planning to go into the dungeon today. Just looking for Lefiya."
"Lefiya?" Tiona seemed surprised at the mention of the name.
"Come to think of it, you guys formed a party, right?" Tione realized.
"Yeah..." Riezel nodded. "Do you two know where she is?"
Seemingly, he asked the right people.
"Lefiya... I just saw her heading to the reception room." Tiona told him and added with a puzzled expression. "But she seemed a bit out of spirits. Is she hungry or something?"
"Who do you think she is, you?" Tione retorted without much kindness. "Besides, if she's really hungry, she should be going to the dining room, not the reception room."
"You're right!"
Tiona suddenly enlightened and grinned, not feeling embarrassed at all about her sister's scolding. Instead, she appeared optimistic, giving off a lively and cheerful vibe.
"The reception room, huh?" Riezel nodded thoughtfully. "Then I'll go find her."
"Sure!"
"Go ahead."
The Amazoness sisters stepped aside, giving way to him.
As he walked away, the two exchanged a silent glance, both deep in thought.
"Do you sense it, Tiona?" Tione asked in a low voice.
"Yeah..." Tiona was somewhat less carefree than before as she stared at Riezel's back. "His movements have become different, and the way he walks is somewhat unnatural. It's like a burst of power causing a lack of coordination. A very obvious sign of someone not yet accustomed to their newfound power."
"That's what it seems like?" Tione quietly said. "Did this guy just level up?"
"Probably..." Tiona replied and nodded. "After all, only a level-up can cause such a sudden surge in power and make your body struggle to stay in sync. This guy clearly hasn't adapted to his current body yet."
Having said that, the two fell silent once again.
"Only seven days..."
"Yeah..."
The silent reflection made the atmosphere between the two feel a bit tense.
"Dungeon?"
"Yep..."
Today's plans were quickly confirmed by the two sisters.
However, both of them had a feeling. They felt that no matter how hard they tried, it might all be in vain since that rookie would quickly catch up.
However, just sitting back and not putting in any effort wasn't an option for the two Amazonesses. Not to mention them, even the Werewolf youth, who had just turned the corner and happened to catch a glimpse of the rookie, couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Boring."
Bete left with a displeased remark, leaving the place.
===
Twilight Manor, Reception Room.
This room was dominated by shades of orange, with a dignified style, directly facing the corridor.
Inside the room were several sofas and chairs that immediately hinted at their hefty price, and a round table covered with a tablecloth. The decor exuded a sense of luxury, ensuring that no matter the status of the guests, they wouldn't feel neglected.
However, this reception room didn't quite seem like a dedicated space for entertaining guests. Instead, it appeared more like a leisure space for members of the familia to relax.
At this very moment, Lefiya was seated in a chair, sighing.
She had been in this state for quite some time. Many familia members who happened to witness her condition came up, expressing concern, but in the end, only received a somewhat reluctant smile from her.
To avoid affecting others with her worries, Lefiya fled to this place.
However, when alone, not only did it fail to improve her mood but also made her feel gloomier, even experiencing a hint of self-isolation.
"Someone like me—"
Lefiya's attractive lips muttered those somewhat self-deprecating words. But another voice suddenly interrupted.
"What's wrong with someone like you?"
"Eh?!" Lefiya was startled at the sudden voice.
It was only then that she noticed someone had entered the reception room and was standing right in front of her.
That someone happened to be the one she was a bit hesitant to face.
"M-Mr. Riezel?" Lefiya said while trembling with fear.
"Why do you look like I'm about to devour you?" Riezel chuckled. "If others see this, they might think I'm using my age to bully a senior."
"Sorry..." Lefiya immediately looked apologetic.
"Relax, it's not that serious." Riezel looked at the still-trembling Lefiya. "What happened to you?"
"..." Lefiya remained silent.
"Still thinking about yesterday?" Riezel said casually as if yesterday's experience was not a life-and-death battle but rather a mere game.
However, his attitude right now caused a conflict within Lefiya's heart. After a while, she took a deep breath and stood up.
"I'm sorry!"
Lefiya suddenly apologized and bowed deeply to him.
Seeing this sudden action, Riezel awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"You're really bothered by yesterday's events, huh?"
He sighed tiredly and shortly afterward spoke straightforwardly without hesitation.
"You feel useless because you couldn't help and could only watch from the sidelines, am I right?"
Hearing those blunt words, Lefiya's shoulders immediately trembled. Without a doubt, he hit the nail on the head.
As she slowly raised her head, her face was filled with guilt and deep regret.
"Mr. Riezel encouraged me to use magic whenever I could... and yet, I couldn't be of any help at all and just stood there in a daze from start to finish. Even though we're supposed to be a party, and my level is even higher than yours... I just couldn't do anything useful. Someone like me is truly useless and incompetent."
The more she spoke, the more she felt depressed.
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