Chapter 14: The Soma Clan's Invitation to Eina for Dinner
Compared to the complex cavernous environment of the previous five levels, the area Liang Yue currently found himself in was simpler, with footsteps steadily approaching.
Several unfamiliar adventurers came into view.
Leading them was an adventurer whose arm bore an emblem of a wine goblet, symbolizing the Soma Clan.
“Are these people from the Soma Clan?”
Liang Yue’s impression of the Soma Clan was relatively clear: they were followers of a deity skilled in brewing, who had formed the clan out of a passion for making divine liquor.
Yet, the clan had never brought much wealth to Soma; it was more of an encouragement.
They treated their clan members to the divine liquor as a reward. The liquor was exquisite in taste and addictive to those adventurers lacking strong willpower.
As the greedy Chanis Lustra became the clan leader, the Soma Clan’s environment deteriorated drastically, descending into chaos and disorder.
The main reason Liang Yue remembered this so vividly was their support for the Smallfolk.
After all, every member of the Soma Clan was an addict, so it seemed prudent for him to be cautious when facing these adventurers.
They merely wanted to drink the divine liquor.
Those at the bottom of the clan’s hierarchy—the supporters—were naturally the targets of persecution. Thus, Liang Yue did not hold high expectations of these adventurers’ character.
He kept his distance, merely avoiding any suspicious movements.
Without lingering, he relaxed his muscles briefly, significantly restoring his condition, and left along the cave passage.
There was only this one tunnel, so an encounter was inevitable.
As Liang Yue spotted them, the middle-aged man leading the group naturally noticed the lone adventurer not far ahead.
As was customary,
they intended to “take good care” of the newcomer, explaining that the dungeon was a realm of the strong preying on the weak. However, after some exploration,
Freka, the adventurer, dismissed this idea.
Instead, the other team members whispered lowly.
“Freka.”
“Should we... make a move?”
“How much loot do you think an adventurer exploring the sixth level could have?” The middle-aged man’s face bore a prominent scar.
His eyes darkened as he glanced at the teammate who had proposed the idea.
Even his tone carried a warning: “Don’t waste time. Instead, we should head straight to Clan Leader Chanis to collect our rewards.”
“And besides...”
“There’s already been a pleasant surprise today!”
As Freka spoke, his gaze flicked toward a Smallfolk girl trailing at the back of the group, her large backpack marking her as a supporter.
The warned adventurers paid no heed; when divine liquor was mentioned, their eyes gleamed with fervent anticipation.
“Then let’s consider this kid lucky today.”
“...”
When Freka mentioned the “pleasant surprise,” Lililuka, walking at the rear of the party, hesitated slightly.
She reached up to adjust the cloak covering her, concealing a bruise near her eye. The young girl’s face showed no change in expression, but her tight grip on the backpack’s straps betrayed her mood.
Facing the clan’s injustice,
Lililuka had considered resistance, but as a support with poor combat skills, her only option was to save enough money by any means to escape the Soma Clan’s quagmire.
She kept her head down, trailing the clan’s adventurers at the back. Yet, as another cloaked adventurer brushed past her,
she instinctively lifted her head and their eyes met.
“...”
They did not speak, but seeing those eyes caused Lililuka to momentarily lose focus, imprinting the figure of Liang Yue in her memory.
She then quickened her pace to keep up with the group.
—
Though the glance was brief, Liang Yue had clearly seen the Smallfolk girl’s face and immediately recognized her.
The labyrinthine city of Oralia was not small.
What was surprising was the swift encounter with “Lililuka Erde.”
The reason the name stuck was largely due to the controversy surrounding this little Smallfolk girl.
From a higher perspective, seeing Bell’s backstab done out of kindness to help her, Liang Yue’s impression of Lililuka was not favorable.
She had willingly sunk into depravity, harbored hatred toward adventurers, and even used magic to steal their equipment for resale as revenge.
Even knowing the countless hardships she endured,
everything has its cause and effect; if Lililuka’s revenge was directed at those who had oppressed her before,
and not at those who chose to help her, then the impression of her would have been better.
Liang Yue harbored no saintly illusions; if he were to describe his view of her, it would be:
“Put aside the savior complex and respect others’ fates.”
“...”
Setting aside the brief interruption, Liang Yue pondered his next moves. The overall gains from today’s dungeon expedition
would likely not surpass those of yesterday.
After all, the Minotaur that fled to the fifth level was a rare occurrence, but thanks to the rookie killer Zhan Ying’s slaying and loot,
a conservative estimate was about 10,000 Fari in earnings.
“Hestia-sama should be working late tonight; I might as well stop by the Bountiful Mistress’s restaurant and pack some dinner.”
“Time to improve my lifestyle a bit.”
Liang Yue’s thoughts after earning some money were simple: lacking the means to move to better lodgings, he would start by improving his meals.
Maintaining good condition was certainly helpful for dungeon exploration.
He retraced a familiar route, and as his combat skills improved, handling monsters encountered along the way became noticeably easier.
By the time he exited the dungeon, dusk was settling; the sunset painted the heavy clouds with brilliant golden hues.
He headed toward the Adventurer’s Guild to exchange today’s spoils.
---
At the guild entrance stood Aina, the half-elf in a black uniform, hands clasped behind her back, scanning left and right before fixing her gaze ahead.
The silhouette of an adventurer steadily approaching against the sunset.
The stern expression on her youthful face softened as she smiled gently and waved in greeting at the familiar figure.
“Liang Yue.”
“Miss Aina.”
Liang Yue greeted her briefly, not assuming she had been waiting just for him, then asked, “Are you about to get off work?”
The reality was quite the opposite.
Pushing up her black-rimmed glasses and puffing her cheeks, her gaze deepened as she sighed, “You’re one of the adventurers I am responsible for.”
“If you really can’t return safely from the dungeon,”
“your work record won’t look good!”
She quickly changed the subject, continuing, “By the way, how was your dungeon adventure today, Liang Yue?”
“Pretty smooth.”
“Sorry to have worried you, Miss Aina.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Liang Yue’s eyes; he was skeptical about her talk of a “work record” but did not press further.
Shaking the pouch heavy with magic stones, he pointed to the counter, “I need to exchange these magic stones and loot for Fari first.”
“Go ahead.”
“...”
The exchange process was simple: place all loot into the cabinet, which would be counted and calculated before payment.
Today’s haul: 15,700 Fari.
Gazing at the gleaming pile of gold coins, this was undoubtedly the best moment of Liang Yue’s day. He packed all the Fari into his pouch.
Leaving the guild’s premises,
Aina remained standing at the door, ever responsible and still concerned for his safety.
Liang Yue’s impression of her was naturally excellent, so he greeted her proactively, “Miss Aina, are you waiting for other adventurers?”
“I’ve already found them.”
She kept looking forward; following her gaze, Liang Yue saw many adventurers who had finished their dungeon runs nearing the guild.
As the most popular staff member in the guild, she was responsible for many adventurers.
Yet, even in this situation, she took extra care of him.
It was not mere politeness.
Liang Yue’s smile was sincere and earnest: “Thank you, Miss Aina, for taking care of me lately. I’d like to invite you to a meal to show my gratitude.”
“Since you’re still waiting for other adventurers,”
“I’ll find another time when you’re free. I hope you’ll accept.”
Hearing Liang Yue’s words, Aina’s graceful half-elf face brightened with a teasing sparkle in her clear eyes.
“Is it possible...”
“That the adventurer I’m waiting for is you?”
“So...”
“If Liang Yue-kun wants to treat me to a meal, maybe I’d say yes right now~”