Eldrid, a high-ranking Diver, was at the Divers Guild to report on her dive to her receptionist at window six.
“Maya, can I get your assessment for today?” asked Eldrid.
“Oh, Eldrid! Good work again today!” said Maya.
“Thanks. I just went for a quick one today, so I don’t have much to report.”
“You haven’t been going to the high-depth-level floors lately. What’s up?”
“Oh, well, remember what happened a while back? I thought I should keep my feet on the ground for a while,” said Eldrid.
“Ah, you mean that incident... Oh, that reminds me!” said Maya. She moved her face closer with a grin. “Sooo, how’s it been with Kudo since? Well?”
“Wh-What do you mean? There’s nothing between us...” mumbled Eldrid.
“Reeeally?”
“Yes, really! I mean, we’ve dived together, and we’ve met outside the guild sometimes, but that’s about it.”
Maya frowned, unamused by that answer.
“How boring. No progress at all? That’s no good, you know. Someone else might scoop him up before you do.”
“That won’t happen... W-Would it?” asked Eldrid.
“It could. And it looks like you won’t like that,” said Maya.
“N-No, I didn’t mean it like that!” denied Eldrid as she waved her arms around, but the movement of her tail gave away her panic. “Really, there’s nothing between us. Last time we were together, all we did was walk around Freida...”
“Hmm, you’ll need to make more progress than that.”
“You think so too? I mean, what are you talking about?!”
As they continued on this topic, the neighboring receptionist at window seven joined the conversation.
“What are you two talking about?” she asked.
“Hey, Ashley, it’s that thing we were talking about before, about Eldrid and your Kudo,” explained Maya.
“Oh, that. What happened afterward? I’m curious,” said Ashley.
“You two...” Eldrid growled at the two gossip lovers, her hands balled up into fists.
“Eldrid, you’ll need to be more assertive if you want to get anywhere,” said Maya.
“Yeah, Kudo is...well, terribly dense,” agreed Ashley.
“Really?” asked Eldrid.
“Yep. He doesn’t even realize it when girls try to flirt with him,” said Ashley.
Eldrid’s tail shot straight up. “Th-There are girls who flirt with him?!”
“Huh? Yeah, there are,” said Ashley.
“No way... There are...?” said Eldrid quietly, her tail anxiously swinging from side to side.
Maya grinned and said, “I knew it. Why don’t you just admit how you feel about him?”
“What? Ah, no! That isn’t what I meant! Really!” denied Eldrid, but it was too late.
They went back and forth a few more times, then Maya asked, “So, how have the adventures been with him?”
“There haven’t been any problems... Actually, his diving skills might be better than mine,” said Eldrid.
“But you’re stronger than him, right?”
“My level is higher than his, so yeah. And warriors aren’t really comparable to mages,” said Eldrid. Then she remembered a previous conversation with him. “Also, he’s supposedly beaten up one of the seven leaders of Kaoloon.”
“Excuse me?” asked Maya, completely flabbergasted.
“Yeah, I understand your reaction,” said Eldrid.
“I mean, that’s...kind of hard to believe.”
“But considering his skills, I have to admit it’s possible. Besides...” Eldrid trailed off.
“What?” asked Maya.
“No, never mind. What do you think?” Eldrid asked Ashley.
Ashley’s expression grew serious. “I think it’s possible with Kudo. Also, it was a little while after he became a Diver that I started hearing about Obses Ord’s defeat.”
“Really?” asked Maya.
“Yep. And he’s incredibly strong. That’s why I was surprised when he recently told me it’s only been half a year since he learned how to use magic,” said Ashley.
“If that’s true, it would mean he was just a magic newbie of a few months when he defeated Obses Ord!” said Maya.
“But he does have the level to show for it.”
As the two receptionists pondered over the recently born Dungeon Phantasma, Kudo Akira appeared at the Divers Guild entrance.
“Hello— Oh! El’s here. Hi,” he said.
“Akira!” said Eldrid.
The two walked up to greet each other.
Meanwhile, the two gossip lovers whispered to each other.
“He’s calling her by a nickname.”
“And she’s calling him by his first name now.”
“Those two...” grumbled Eldrid, her hands balled up into fists again.
“Are you done for the day?” Akira asked Eldrid.
“Yeah, I just got back,” she replied.
“Ah. Been working hard, huh?”
“No, I just went for a light run...” said Eldrid shyly.
Akira looked like an idea had just come to him and said, “We talked about going somewhere together the other day. Do you still wanna go?”
“Y-Yeah! I’m good to go anytime!” said Eldrid.
“I’m thinking we can go to the place I’m from.”
“What? You’re not from Freida?”
“Nope. Wanna check it out?”
And so, Akira’s plan to bring a guest to Japan for the second time had begun.