Helkep's worries were for naught, the guards couldn't remember the face of every single person that walked in the through the gates after all.
So he was able to walk out of the gate with no trouble whatsoever.
'I will leave the questions for later, I should head to the academy for now.' Helkep looked at the dark sky and made his way towards a DC shop.
---
Finally inside his room, Helkep laid down on his bed and tried to sleep but he wasn't able to, thoughts were eating away his sleep.
'Shila… why hasn't she showed herself to the guild? Or is the guild hiding her for some reason? One thing is for certainty, something was very off about her. I felt as if she… was not herself.' Helkep was somewhat intrigued about her sudden appearance out of the blue.
'But… the real question is… how did I suddenly get transported inside the dungeon? The dungeon was located in the poorest area of the city which makes me question, was it not coincidence… but a scheme? If so then by who?' Helkep had asked a few questions from the people around the dungeon before finally leaving the area.
He even got to know that the monster he thought he recognised was nothing but somewhat similar to another monster he knew about.
'Sigh! One thing after another.' Helkep stopped his mind from wandering any longer and tried to sleep but he was unable too, for some reason he felt as if the surroundings were getting chilly and he just kept… trembling in the cold.
When it was about 7-o-clock he decided to get up and stop trying to go to sleep, he wasn't even able to get a wink of sleep.
He was so drained and feeling weird that… he actually decided to attend his first class! Knowing full well that Ella, his devil, would be there for him.
Helkep got ready and the lizard did the same, it was feeling pretty sad as it was left behind yesterday.
Helkep's worries were for naught yet again as the students were too occupied eyeing him to notice the lizard walking besides him.
Ella seeing him had a grin as she patted on the empty seat besides her or more exactly there was a whole empty row besides her.
No doubt the boys had come to a secret agreement amongst themselves.
But it seemed that something that would shake their wildest imaginations was going to happen, their fairy had taken the initiative to invite someone and the invited boy had... completely ignored her.
The boy looked around for empty seats and started walking to the one at the end of the class, their fairy got up with a heavenly smile and dragged the boy from the hand and made... forced him to sit with her. The boy had a stone like expression the whole time.
He must have thought that the fairy had invited someone else and ignored her but when the fairy came to him herself, his mind had gone numb and his soul must have frozen in shock, that's why he's acting so blank, tch! I wish it was me instead. This thought was in every male's mind, except a handful of students.
This handful group were Helkep's friends. Who knew about his past and were also familiar with his fiancée.
Helkep blankly looked at the hateful glares being shot at him by the boys.
He couldn't help but look at Ella who was looking at him with a cute smile, looking at that smile he felt as if something snapped inside him.
'Nope! No matter how much I improve myself, she can always infuriate me. She truly is my only bane.' Helkep shook his anger away and prepared himself to fight her the whole lecture.
"So how did everything go?" Ella asked knowing full well what had happened.
"..."
"So you stayed at your home yesterday? That's rare. I was sure you would come back." Ella asked again, not minding his silence.
"..."
"Or did you indeed come back?" Ella asked again, her eyes were shining as she examined Helkep's face.
"..."
"Or did you...get lost somewhere?" Ella asked again with an unusual smile.
Helkep looked at Ella from the corner of his eyes and asked, "What do you know?"
"Nothing much, just that... you didn't stay at your home and you also didn't come to the academy. Where were you?" Ella had a smile as she stared at Helkep with a weird look.
"I was at my home." Helkep calmly rejected her words.
"Oh! Certainly, your sister is just a little weird and didn't realize that her beloved brother was at her home." Ella placed the source of her information and waited to see what card Helkep would pick next.
"...Its none of your business where I was." Helkep looked away and wondered when the teacher was going to come.
"Of course! I never expected you to tell me but... your mother surely is a brilliant mother." Ella laughed as she placed her strongest card on the table.
"You are going to tell my mother?... Go ahead, its not like I will tell her anything either." Helkep had a frown as realized that it was a very big mistake to have decided to attend the class.
"Well surely! Its you who we are talking about after all but you also know that your mother is just as stubborn as you, she will pester you until you finally tell her and well you can expect an year of your time to be filled with questions and besides she can also have someone track your steps and find out what happened yesterday." Ella had a grin as she finally had Helkep trapped in a corner.
"...Its none of your business, what is it to you that I didn't come to the academy yesterday? Leave me alone." Helkep had a frown as he looked away from her.
"Well it certainly isn't my business buttt... you see that... its my problem since you are my fiancé." Ella spoke with pride in her voice.
"... Your father has told you countless times to cancel the engagement." Helkep was getting really annoyed.
"Humph! So!? And yes, your mother's number was," Ella started scrolling something which wasn't visible to anyone except herself.
"Tch!" Helkep started weighing the pros and cons of telling Ella or getting his mother involved.
"Hello this is me, Ella." Ella spoke in an intended voice, while she could have said that with her thoughts to Helkep's mother in front of her.
"Tch! Fine I will tell you." Helkep had an extremely annoyed face as he looked away from her.
Ella smiled and talked with Helkep's mother for sometime, showing Helkep that she wasn't bluffing. Though there wasn't a need as Helkep knew her very well.
After a minute or two, Ella finally said goodbye and looked towards Helkep with a sweet smile.
Helkep had a frown as he remained quiet for sometime before sighing and saying, "I was... inside a dungeon."
"..." Ella was shocked, seriously shocked as hell. Her mouth was open wide and her eyes were popping out of heir sockets.
She asked with a shaky body and trembling eyes, "...A dungeon!?… Inside a dungeon!??"
"Yes." Helkep was starting to get annoyed as the teacher still hadn't arrived.
"You actually went inside a dungeon!?" Ella asked again, making sure her brain wasn't playing tricks on her.
"Yes." Helkep was getting super annoyed.
"Of your own accord!??" Ella asked again.
"Sigh! Yes I was inside a dungeon. I have been going in one for many days now. Is this enough or do I need to tell you something more to satisfy you?" Helkep replied in a calm voice.
"…Unbelievable." Ella was shocked as hell. She didn't even realise that Helkep hadn't replied to her question instead he had simply repeated what he said before.
Yes he was inside a dungeon but it wasn't of his own accord. Yes he had been going in a dungeon for a few days but it wasn't his own wish.
He knew all to well that Ella could catch his lies like plain water. But it wasn't that he had no way to escape from her unbelievable ability.
As Ella was in her shock, a teacher came from the door but it wasn't the usual beauty that greeted everyone but instead some male teacher.
He announced that the class was cancelled, Helkep didn't even listen to anything anymore and got up and left.
Ella in her shock didn't pay attention to the teacher but she sure noticed Helkep leaving so she followed after him like usual.
As Helkep was walking randomly while wondering what to do now, Ella asked, "Hey! What happened in the Wild Cage anyways?"
"...You know." Helkep wondered why Ella suddenly asked about that.
"No I don't. All I know is some lies you told to others. What I want is the truth." Ella asked with curiosity in her eyes.
"I refuse." Helkep simply started thinking about what he should do while trying to ignore Ella who had started pestering him.
After bearing Ella's torture for 4 minutes he said, "If I tell you can you be quiet and go away?"
"Hmm! Fine I will be quiet but going away no way." Ella had a smile as she knew she had succeeded once again.
"...You will stay quiet after I tell you and you will owe me, the next five times I tell you the be quiet you stay quiet." Helkep knew he had to compromise against her.
"Hmm! Five is too much." Ella shook her head in denial.
"I am the one doing the favour." Helkep looked at Ella with an annoyed expression.
Ella looked at the sky, admiring its beauty.
"…Three." Helkep looked away and decided to compromise further.
"That sounds like a deal." Ella said with a sly smile.
"…Sigh! But you will settle with what I tell you and if I want I can ignore your question." Helkep stated a few of his own conditions as well.
"Hmm! Okay fine." Ella knew she couldn't push him too far either.
"Okay! So what caused the downfall of the Filler party?" Ella asked, she had realised when he said 'What I Tell You' that he will try to answer with a yes or no.
"A dungeon anomaly." Helkep calmly told.
"So you weren't lying about that." Ella said very surprised. But not as much as before.
"Okay. How did you manage to survive?" Ella asked her second question.
"I don't know." Helkep shook his head, this was one of the most important question that he wanted the answer of as well.
"Heyyy! No lying." Ella frowned and said in an angry voice.
"…Huh!? …When did I lie?" Helkep asked with a frown.
"Just know, don't you try playing dumb." Ella pouted and said with an angry face.
"Oh! Okay... Ask the next question." Helkep's mind started to get somewhat numb.
"Hmm! Did anyone else manage to survive?" Ella asked again, she was truly curious about the previous question.
"…I …" Helkep decided to stay quiet about this, he didn't know why but his instincts were warning him of something.
"Sigh! Which level are you at?" Ella asked, pretty curious.
"…That's unrelated." Helkep looked at Ella, who had a sly smile.
"Okay so ho--" A dumb voice interrupted Ella, causing her to frown.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am your favourite host Noil Jilll."
"Pffft!" Ella bursting out laughing hearing Noil's stupid greeting.
"…What are you doing here?" Helkep asked while looking at Noil who was grinning like an idiot.
"Hmm!? Well we have a few monsters to hunt." Noil replied while looking at Helkep like he was an idiot.
"… If I wasn't dreaming, I believe we have hunted enough cores for both you and me." Helkep looked at the idiot looking at him like an idiot.
"Sigh! When will you learn Helkep. A man doesn't give up his pursuit of power, just like how he can bow on the ground but not see his love taken away from him, just like love, power is something that a man seeks from the depth of his heart. If you can't desire power then I must sadly tell you that… you aren't worthy of being a man." Noil felt as if he had said something really brilliant, he couldn't help but lift his chin up in pride.
'Is this idiot… trying to teach me something?' Helkep blankly looked at Noil, whose lips were raised in a prideful grin.
"Hmm! Dungeon!? Strength!?" Ella's annoyance suddenly vanished into thin air as she heard something very interesting.
"Oh! Is this pretty lady, going to come to dungeon hunt with us!?" Noil asked with a mature look, at least that's what he thought he looked like.
"Oh! So you and Hep are going for dungeon hunting!?" Ella asked, her eyes were shining.
"Hep!? Oh yes him and I have been going to dungeons together for quite sometime." Noil was somewhat confused when he heard the words Hep but soon realised what it meant.
"Oh! Quite Sometime Huh!!!" Ella beamed a sweet smile as she looked at Helkep and then at Noil.
Helkep felt his senses warning him of an impending calamity. He stared at Noil who spoke in a idiotic voice.
"Pretty lady! I repeat myself, do you wish to brave the dangers and open up the divine path to strength?" Noil spoke in a excited and enchanting voice. Despite him acting like a brand ambassador there was something unique in the way he spoke.
"Oh! I can come!? That's lovely to hear, well then I won't stand on ceremony either. It's a pleasure to tag along on this journey." Ella said with excitement in her eyes.
"Ha-ha! Well then I welcome you… to the awakening." Noil had an ecstatic look as he spoke with adrenaline coursing through his veins.
'I am doomed!' Helkep looking at the two chatting so energetically and saw his doomed future.
"Awakening!?" Ella asked, a bit confused.
"…Oh! I don't know where that came from but whatever its time to awaken our thirst for might." Noil raised his fight high.
"Roger that!" Ella replied while doing the same, not caring about how stupid she might be looking.
"I think I should take my lea--" A snow white hand dragged Helkep, not even letting him complete his words.
"I am so doomed!" Helkep shook his head as he looked at the duo walking towards the Volcanic Land.
And hence, the four soon stood in front of the dungeon's entrance. The lizard was quiet the whole time.
As dark clouds slowly begun to gather on the sky, the three walked inside the dungeon, while not expecting much other then fun, though this day… this day might not go as simple as they had planned.