Lefiya spoke at length. The nerves and excitement were a big reason why, but also because she was a true student of the School District.
Alicia, who watched in amusement as she spoke, finally answered:
“Because what we seek is something different.”
“Eh?”
“You are correct,” Alicia continued with a quiet smile. “Many adventurers have their hands full simply keeping their heads above water. Some seek fortune and fame. Others have their own dreams and ambitions. Many who came in search of those things are struggling against the cruelty of reality.”
“…”
“However, some…the higher-ranked factions, including our familia, seek strength above all.”
“Strength…?”
“That’s right. There are many different reasons, but…they all circle back to the fulfillment of the world’s greatest wish.”
“!!!”
Lefiya gasped.
“The Three Great Quests. With Zeus and Hera gone, someone had to step up and complete them. And that duty fell to the adventurers of Orario.”
Lefiya realized that she had forgotten.
Alicia was correct. What Orario sought now was the defeat of the living end, which had been unchanged from a thousand years in the past.
Of course, there were individuals who simply sought fame, fortune, or some other ambition. But the fundamental reason the city’s greatest factions, Loki Familia and Freya Familia, continued to explore the Dungeon was the Three Great Quests.
“I hail from a village in the north, not far from the valley of dragons. I came to Orario to eliminate the infuriating dragons that threatened our homes and forests. Like Lady Seldia…would be an arrogant statement, but it is true nonetheless that I became an adventurer because of righteous fury and a sense of duty.”
Sharing a part of how she came to be an adventurer, Alicia smiled as she added, “That I can fight alongside Lady Riveria, who bears the same royal lineage as Lady Seldia, is the greatest honor.”
“I will not claim that everyone is fighting to save the world. However, we understand our role.”
“Role…”
“And perhaps adventurers instinctively grasp that…with every new floor we reach, the deeper we go, the more we will understand the mysteries of the Dungeon. Just like how the mercenaries and explorers continually faced the unknown while building mankind’s fortress in the era when the Dungeon was still called the Great Pit.”
With that, Alicia finished her answer to Lefiya’s question.
Stunned, Lefiya stammered a thank-you.
At the time, her heart raced for some reason. Perhaps she had experienced a moment of elation, having interacted with such glistening, noble adventurers as the members of Loki Familia.
Lefiya immediately asked her next question.
“U-um! Would it, um…be strange for me to aspire to be an adventurer?…As a possible career path…umm, not for half-hearted or impure motives, of course!”
Alisa had complimented her, saying she it seemed like a good fit. This was probably also why these shining examples of adventurers had taken notice of her.
It wasn’t like Lefiya wanted them to tell her it would all work out. She had simply been inspired by their dazzling presence and wondered if she could become like them.
In response, Anakity, rather than Alicia, wore a pensive look for a moment before speaking.
“…Given we came to recruit, it’s probably not my place to say this, but…I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Eh…”
“I’m not a god, so I can’t say with any certainty, but if Alicia took a liking to you, then I’d bet you’re an elf who can handle it. That said, if you’re doing it for no particular reason or because of what someone else said, you shouldn’t set your sights on becoming an adventurer.”
Lefiya’s stomach felt red hot. It was like she had read her mind.
Anakity didn’t say tell her this out of spite, but to offer advice.
“Being an adventurer isn’t a glorious job. It can be painful… If anything, there are more painful things than not. So I can’t recommend it to you at the moment. Not unless you decide you want to become an adventurer for yourself.”
Lefiya felt like she had been doused with cold water. There was an unmistakable air of experience to what Anakity said. She was absolutely correct, and Lefiya’s motives were incredibly shallow. Her long ears burned in shame, and if there had been a hole nearby, she would have had a hard time resisting the urge to crawl inside it.
And they could surely tell exactly what Lefiya was feeling.
Alicia put her hand on Anakity’s shoulder, and stepping right in front of Lefiya, she said, “It’s all right.”
“Gh…?”
“There is nothing shameful about being interested in something. And if it is your dream, then that should be cherished all the more. What matters is that when you learn the reality, you should not stop at mere interest or yearning. Instead, you should think and act. For the sake of something you want, for the sake of what you should aim for…or for the sake of discovering a goal.”
Taking Lefiya’s hand in both of hers, Alicia smiled. Like an older sister. Like someone with far more life experience.
“So if you ever don’t know what to do, try jumping in feetfirst. And make as many mistakes as you need. The special privilege of youth is the chance to err.”
“Within reason, of course,” Alicia added with a playful smile.
Seeing Lefiya’s eyes widen, Anakity shrugged and smiled.
“If you ever find yourself within earshot, I’ll advise and correct you as much as you need.”
Lefiya still remembered those words, even now.
Alicia may have been the first adventurer that Lefiya aspired to be like.
After that, Lefiya started thinking more seriously about her future.
✦ ✦ ✦
After talking with Alicia and Anakity, her days of delving into the Dungeon in order to earn credits continued.
Gaining a pseudo-adventurer’s experience, she thought about many things but still could not reach an answer. To be an adventurer or something else. The more she thought about it in such black-and-white terms, the more she became influenced by Orario.
“Wale! It’s been so long!”
“Hey, Lefiya. So you did come. Ever since I got a letter from your mother that you had enrolled in the School District, I thought this day might come.”
That day, Lefiya visited a certain café on her own.
It was a shop by the name of Wishe nestled on a narrow side street in the southwest of Orario.
As could be guessed by the name, it was a café run by an elf from the same hometown as Lefiya.
When she heard the name for the first time, she almost burst out laughing, but it was also true that she had been happy. Slipping into nostalgic memories in the shop that reminded her of home, she also felt her loneliness easing. She had come here in the first place to ask someone who knew her since her childhood about careers.
But:
“Wale, is that a relative of yours?”
“No, Hedin. It’s someone from my village. A friend’s daughter.”
“That’s what I thought. She does not resemble you.”
That day, there was a single customer in the shop.
A bespectacled elf, just like the owner.
He had beautiful blond hair and pale skin so smooth that even Lefiya was jealous of him. His impossible beauty was almost unbelievable, especially for a man.
…Wait, Hedin?
She cocked her head when she heard that name. As he closed his book, he glanced over and stood, walking toward her.
“A student. Have you set your sights on being an adventurer?”
“Eh? Eh?”
“If you have not yet decided upon your future, then you should consider our familia among your choices.”
“Wait a second, Hedin. If she chooses it for herself, that’s one thing, but I’m against her joining Freya Familia. Your group is…rough…after all.”
“As if there are any familias in Orario that are not rough. And I am not attempting to conscript her. Merely presenting the possibility.”
Lefiya’s eyes were spinning when he came to talk to her, and when she heard them speak, she gasped.
Wait?! Freya Familia’s Hedin? Hedin Selrand?! The first-tier adventurer Hildsleif! One of the most famous elves in the world, like Lady Riveria?!
It was a miracle that she did not scream right then and there.
Lefiya was petrified by a chance encounter with one of Orario’s strongest. It may have been an even bigger shock than running into Alicia and Anakity.
And there was the fact that the master here, who was known back in the village as an easygoing, laidback sort of person, had somehow become closely acquainted with a first-tier adventurer. Lefiya was panicking in more ways than one when Hedin looked at her:
“You have talent. If you are interested, then come. You would meet our lady’s standard… My instinct tells me so.”
And then he placed a gold coin on the counter and left the shop.
Lefiya could do nothing but stare vacantly at the café’s door long after he had disappeared.
“It’s been a long time. This one is on me,” the master said lightheartedly while brewing some black tea.
Lefiya could not believe what had just happened.
And she never would have dreamed that the elf she had met there would be a senior member of a rival familia that she would oppose someday.
“W-was I just scouted…by a first-tier adventurer?”
It was the first scouting she had encountered in Orario, and a moment to be remembered.
Whether she liked it or not, she could no longer avoid thinking about the adventurer question looming over her.