บท 39: Aiz’s Innocence

Floor 5.

Level 1 adventurers are advised to have a minimum status of G in their basic abilities to explore this floor, as stronger monsters like War Shadows and Killer Ants appear, and the monster respawn time is faster.

The sound of their footsteps echoed between the narrow Dungeon walls as a pair of man and woman walked in silence.

These two were none other than Charlie and Aiz.

"Ahem... Aiz, could you promise not to tell anyone about the kiss earlier?"

Finally, Charlie was the first to break the silence.

Given Loki's protective nature toward Aiz, if she found out about this scandal, the Loki Familia might declare a War Game against the Hera Familia.

Charlie wasn't conceited just because he had defeated Goliath.

There was a significant difference between fighting humans and monsters.

Compared to monsters that could only attack blindly with brute strength, humans who could use techniques, experience, equipment, cunning methods, and so on were more frightening.

Relying on Spirit Art, Charlie estimated that he could compete against Level 3 Second-Class Adventurers; that was his current limit.

As for facing Level 4 and First-Class Adventurers... He was still no match for them.

"So, Charlie doesn't want to take responsibility?"

"Huh?"

Charlie's steps halted when he heard Aiz's unexpected question.

"You kissed me, so please take responsibility for your actions. I don't want our child to be born without a father."

With her cheeks slightly flushed, Aiz rubbed her flat stomach as if there were a budding life within.

"..."

Charlie's mind went blank for a moment, not understanding what Aiz was talking about.

Were they discussing the same topic?

"Wait, wait, wait... What are you talking about, Aiz? A child? I don't recall ever doing that with you!"

Regaining his senses, Charlie hurriedly denied it.

"Hm? Isn't it when a man and woman kiss that the woman becomes pregnant?"

Tilting her head, Aiz showed a puzzled expression.

"..."

Hearing that, Charlie's eye twitched. At the same time, he sighed in relief, realizing it was just a misunderstanding.

'How innocent is Aiz, really? She seriously thinks a kiss is enough to make a baby? Sigh... Hasn't anyone ever given her a biology lesson? I'm a bit worried that her innocence might be taken advantage of by some scoundrel. Then again, I suppose I don't need to worry; the Loki Familia wouldn't let that happen. Plus, Aiz herself isn't weak.'

Considering that more than half of the adventurers in Orario were only Level 1, Charlie didn't think any man could deceive Aiz.

"Don't be so dramatic, Aiz. You almost gave me a heart attack. Listen, a woman doesn't get pregnant just from a kiss. If that were the case, there wouldn't be any married couples in this world who don't have children even after being together for years."

"Is that true?"

"If you don't believe me, try asking one of the women in the Loki Familia how babies are made."

"Alright, I'll ask them later."

Though still doubtful, Aiz didn't outright reject Charlie's explanation.

"By the way, you haven't answered my initial question. If Loki finds out about us both—"

Charlie stopped speaking as a group of adventurers approached from the front. Only after they passed by and were out of sight did he continue.

"You know Loki's temperament. I'll be hunted by the Loki Familia if she finds out we kissed."

"Mm. I'll keep it a secret."

Aiz nodded, agreeing to Charlie's request.

"Thank you and... Sorry."

"..."

On their way to the Dungeon entrance, they were attacked by monsters on every floor.

War Shadows, Killer Ants, Goblins, and Kobolds.

Compared to other beginner adventurers who struggled against monsters and risked their lives, Charlie's approach was very different.

Because of his complicated mood, he didn't even unsheathe the Sword of Damocles, simply firing Fire Balls at the monsters charging at him.

Beginner adventurers watching could only gaze in admiration and envy.

It should be noted that people naturally have between one and three slots for Magic, so adventurers can only acquire three different magic. Usually, adventurers can only learn one magic per slot, but most people tend to never have any magic. In fact, 90% of adventurers don't have any magic, and perhaps only 1% have all three slots fully occupied.

Magic in the Danmachi universe is incredibly rare!

Lefiya and Riveria of the Loki Familia are the two people so far who have managed to surpass this because they have a type of magic that allows them to use multiple magics for one slot.

Riveria's magic has tiers, allowing her to have three different kinds of magics (attack, defense, healing) but each with three different strengths, making it seem as though she has nine different types. Meanwhile, Lefiya has Elf Ring, which allows her to use all types of magic as long as an Elf is the one who originally learned it.

For this reason, Riveria's alias is Nine Hell, and Lefiya's is Thousand Elf.

Coming from the same Familia, Aiz was very familiar with Riveria and Lefiya's magic, which is why she was shocked to see that Charlie could do the same, no... Even surpassing the two of them.

Now Charlie was the third person capable of using various kinds of magic through Spirit Art.

"Finally out. I prefer the air outside to the air in the Dungeon."

On the first floor of Babel Tower, Charlie took a deep breath of fresh air. Due to Aiz's presence beside him, he could feel the stares of the people around him.

First-Class Adventurers always attracted attention wherever they went. Moreover, Aiz was a beautiful woman who could rival goddesses from Heaven.

'Aiz's popularity might not be any less than a celebrity in my previous life.' Thought Charlie.

"This is your first time visiting Babel Tower. Let me take you to the Exchange."

Ignoring the stares from the men, Aiz wanted to stay with Charlie as long as possible. So she looked for an excuse to be with him as much as possible.

She herself didn't understand why she had this idea.

"Sure, I'll leave it to you." Charlie didn't refuse.

After that, the two of them went to the Exchange to trade the magic stones Charlie carried in the bag on his back.

Besides magic stones, there were also drop items.

Sometimes a piece of a monster's body remains even after the magic stone is removed. This simply means that a certain monster's magic stone stores energy in a different part of its body. Thus, that part of the monster has enough independent energy to remain even after the stone is removed.

In the case of Goliath this time, Charlie was lucky enough to obtain its skin, teeth, and claws as drop items.

After the Guild staff calculated the price, he received 13 million valis.

For a First-Class Adventurer like Aiz, that amount wasn't even enough to cover the maintenance of her sword, which could cost up to 40 million valis.

But for Charlie, it was an astronomical sum of money.

As they walked out of Babel Tower, it was already dark outside, and many other adventurers were also exiting after a day inside the Dungeon.

"How long was I unconscious..."

Charlie recalled that he had entered the Dungeon in the morning. He had only spent half an hour reaching the 17th Floor thanks to the buffs he applied to himself with Spirit Art, and the duration of the fight against Goliath shouldn't have been that long.

'I know, it's because I passed through each floor on foot. That's what took up most of my time.'

After thinking for a moment, he identified the cause of his mistake in calculating the passage of time.

'She's still here?'

Charlie noticed that Aiz was still standing beside him even after they had walked quite far from Babel Tower.