"W-what is happening?! The ground is shaking!" Aya nervously asked, trying to remain calm.
"We need to get out of here. We don't have time," Hiroki urged.
Without hesitation, he possessed Aya once more, taking control of her body and guiding her hastily to the white room.
"H-Hiroki?!" Aya exclaimed in surprise at the sudden possession.
But despite that, she still allowed him to control her body. She continued running towards a specific door until they entered the white room. She understood the urgency and didn't question Hiroki's actions.
In the middle of the room, a glowing red circle was located. And without wasting any more time, Aya rushed towards the glowing circle. And in the next moment, both of them were teleported outside of the dungeon, near the hill where the entrance was located.
The earthquake continued to rumble as the dungeon sealed itself, trapping anyone who might have been inside.
Once Hiroki confirmed that there was no one nearby, he came out of Aya's body to ensure she was unharmed.
"Hiroki, what happened?" She worriedly asked.
"The dungeon core basically tried enslaving me, so in order to escape it, I had no other choice but to destroy it." Hiroki informed the worried girl.
"But why would it try to enslave you?"
"Because there was no Dungeon Master, and in order to continue its existence, one was needed."
After trying to put the information together that Hiroki had given her, Aya looked down at her side with a thoughtful look on her face. She knew that anyone else who entered the dungeon had been buried alive.
"I know that we were rushed, but were you able to get anything valuable?"
Hiroki inquired as he was looking at her and the new clothes that she was wearing. He had already noticed, but due to urgent matters, he didn't make any comments.
Right now, Aya was wearing a dark blue miniskirt and a dark cloak that matched the size of her small body. Dark, long gloves that reached all the way up to her armpit, and dark shoes that stood out from her white hair. She was very different-looking from a rookie adventurer or any ordinary girl.
Hiroki was indeed impressed by the sudden change in the young girl's appearance.
"Ah, right. Yes, I found these new sets of clothes that seemed very weird at first but were comfortable while wearing them." She explained while looking at her dark cape from behind, revealing the slender shape of her back.
Hiroki, who had been staring for a while, came closer to the girl, then used appraisal to see why these clothes released a weird energy.
[ Information ]
[ Object: 'Assassin's Cloak'
Description: An ordinary-looking dark cloak that will fit the size of the wearer. Upon wearing the cloak, using the wearer's energy, the wearer will be able to have 'lesser auto recovery', 'advanced protection', and 'dimensional pockets' to store any non living thing! ]
"Is something wrong?" Aya asked after seeing the serious look on Hiroki's face.
"This cloak is amazing."
He said with a rather surprised tone on his face, also surprising Aya by his uncommon reaction.
"Really? I just wore them because they felt more comfortable than the previous armor I had. And for some reasons, I can move more freely."
Aya spoke a bit excitedly before a smile faded away after realizing that she had left behind the armor that Hiroki and she had paid for.
"...but since we had to leave so suddenly, I didn't get the chance to get the armor we bought…"
She knew that, despite not being completely in the wrong, leaving behind her armor was something that could cost her life and resources.
"It's okay, that armor is useless compared to this."
Hiroki reassured her, making Aya look up with her round, beautiful, reflective eyes.
"So don't feel that bad about yourself. …But before that, I want to try to confirm something. I hope that's okay with you?"
Despite the fact that Hiroki acted coldly and sometimes mercilessly when killing his enemies, this was one of the few moments where Aya felt very warm and calm. She knew that Hiroki, deep down, was a kind person who was helping her and backing her up in any way.
In a way, he was the only person she felt safe with.
"Um." She nodded with a smile on her face, showing off her blushing yet attractive face to Hiroki as a sudden breeze blew her white hair, revealing her cute side.