"You don't need to cover for him, Miss Riveria. This bastard's already causing trouble, and it's only his second day as an adventurer."
Eina sighed with clear exasperation. First day the fifth floor, second day the ninth floor… are you planning to hit the Middle Floors on day three?! This guy was giving her a headache.
She rubbed her temple with a weary expression, leaving Riveria at a bit of a loss for words. All she could do was give Yoru a small, apologetic glance.
Yoru, however, didn't seem bothered. At most, Eina would just scold him a little, and besides, it was his fault for diving so deep on his own. He had promised her he wouldn't take any unnecessary risks.
What did surprise Riveria, though, was that Yoru had only been an adventurer for two days. Even if he'd been following a party, she couldn't help but admire the boy's sheer boldness for venturing as far as the ninth floor.
Aiz, on the other hand, looked genuinely stunned. If he'd really only been an adventurer for two days, then how in the world was he able to cast such powerful magic?
She couldn't wrap her head around it—but her curiosity about Yoru only deepened.
"All right, I'll go exchange the magic stone. Wait here."
With that, Riveria and Aiz headed toward the exchange counter, leaving Yoru alone with Eina.
The moment they were out of earshot, Eina's pleasant smile disappeared. She glared at Yoru with an icy expression.
"What happened today? And don't tell me you made it to the ninth floor just because you didn't run into any monsters."
As she spoke, she rubbed her forehead again, clearly at her wit's end.
Realistically, she couldn't think of any other explanation for how Yoru got that deep. The monsters on the ninth floor were far too strong for a rookie. Unless Yoru had B-rank or even A-rank parameters—which was absurd—he should've stood no chance.
And you couldn't just start with stats like that. Attributes only grew through accumulated effort and frequent use of related abilities.
So, the only plausible explanation was that Yoru had actually not encountered a single monster… which was even more outrageous than him being secretly overpowered.
Eina frowned, deep in thought, but couldn't come up with an answer. Before she could press further, Riveria and Aiz returned.
"Here—2,000 valis. Consider it the Loki Familia's way of compensating you. Take care of it, alright?"
Riveria pressed the heavy coin pouch into Yoru's palm, whispering softly into his ear.
The scent of the elven woman, her warm breath tickling his skin—it left Yoru slightly dazed.
Riveria's unintentional gentleness had a way of pulling him in without warning.
"Well then… until we meet again. Aiz, let's go."
Before he could even gather his thoughts, the two girls had already said their goodbyes and walked out of the Guild.
"…How exactly did you meet those two from the Loki Familia?" Eina asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Their relationship seemed far too close to be a casual encounter.
"Well, I can't say. It involves internal matters of the Loki Familia."
Yoru shook his head and gave no further explanation. The less said about the Minotaur incident, the better.
"…Fine. I'm not the gossiping type anyway. And anyone who tries to pry into the affairs of the Loki Familia's elites is just asking for trouble."
Riveria and Aiz—beautiful and powerful—were admired and fawned over by countless adventurers. Anyone who dared badmouth them would definitely end up on the receiving end of some unpleasant consequences.
"But don't think you're off the hook. We still need to have a serious talk about what you're doing out there! As your advisor, I'm responsible for your safety. If not for sheer dumb luck today and running into Loki Familia members, you'd be dead already!"
"One time might be luck, two times might be luck—but how long do you think that luck will last?!"
"Eh, save the lecture for tomorrow, will you? It's already late, and Hestia's probably getting worried. I have to get back."
With that, Yoru turned and walked out of the Guild, ignoring Eina's protests.
"Hey! You bastard, get back here!"
Watching him jog away, Eina sighed heavily. There was nothing more she could do. She was his advisor, but ultimately, whether or not Yoru listened was entirely up to him.
You're really forcing my hand here. Don't think I won't report this to Hestia!
She was certain Hestia didn't know about Yoru venturing that deep. If she did, she would've stormed into the Guild already, demanding answers.
Being an advisor was tough—especially when dealing with this kind of problematic adventurer.
With another long sigh, Eina finally returned to her desk.
Two thousand valis might not be a fortune, but for Yoru and Hestia, it was absolutely a windfall.
After all, even with a full day of work selling fried potatoes, Hestia only earned a few dozen valis. And a newly minted adventurer earning one or two hundred in a day was already considered impressive.
This payout was equivalent to a month's worth of Hestia's hard-earned savings.
"You're back! What took you so long today? Didn't I tell you to take it easy and stop taking risks?!"
Hestia had been waiting anxiously at home, and when Yoru finally walked through the door, she greeted him with a scolding.
"Well… there was a little incident. But everything worked out in the end."
"…You got into danger again?! I told you to be careful! What if something happened to you? What would I do all alone?!"
As she spoke, Hestia took both of his hands in hers, gently checking them for any signs of injury.
Yoru could hear the deep worry and care in her voice, and it made him smile softly. He reached out and gently patted the head of the petite goddess beside him.