Chapter 106: Ryuu Lion!
Apart from Shakti, many members of the Ganesha Familia came one after another to express their gratitude to Luke.
Among these people, one person's behavior was rather strange, attracting Luke's attention.
Unlike other members of the Ganesha Familia who approached enthusiastically to talk or express gratitude, there was an adventurer wearing a green cloak who seemed to be a blond elf girl about 12-13 years old.
She simply walked up to Luke, bowed to him, and then turned around to leave to help maintain order without saying a word during the whole process.
If it were only this, Luke would at most think that she was not fond of speaking, which was not a big deal.
But after she left, while helping to clean up the scene and comfort the nearby residents, she kept her gaze on Luke and Ais without stopping, which puzzled Luke.
As a swordsman, Luke was quite sensitive to deliberate stares and gazes directed towards him, so whenever she looked at him, Luke would notice, and whenever Luke followed the direction of her gaze, she would turn her head to avoid his sight.
After this happened two or three times in a row, the abnormality between the two was noticed by Shakti, who was standing nearby.
With a somewhat amused expression, she walked over to Luke and began to explain to him.
"The name of that child is Ryuu Lion, a member of the Astraea Familia."
Astraea is a goddess of justice, and the Familia she leads has been fighting against the 'evil' forces led by Evilus for a long time.
As a Familia representing justice and order, Astraea Familia has an impeccable reputation in Orario and is one of the most trusted Familias by city residents.
It's because of this that their relationship with the Ganesha Familia, also known as 'Orario's military police,' is very close; they belong to the kind of close alliance.
Today, when Shakti received Finn's notification, Ryuu happened to be visiting the Ganesha Familia.
Upon hearing that it was an event related to Evilus, Ryuu, as a member of the Astraea Familia, naturally decided to help without hesitation, so Shakti brought her along.
Astraea Familia is also one of the influential Familias in Orario.
Although their numbers are few, with only eleven members in the entire Familia, they are all high-level adventurers.
Freya Familia, Loki Familia, Ganesha Familia, and Astraea Familia, these four Familias are currently among the few 'powerful' factions in Orario.
"Ryuu, like you and Ais, is currently a Level 2 adventurer, but she is close to reaching Level 3 soon."
"Before you and Ais, she and the newly appointed captain of the Vidar Familia were called super rookies."
"It's probably your appearance that has triggered a certain degree of competition in Ryuu."
"Don't blame her either. You, who know Riveria, must be aware of the conservative elf rules. They are not easily approachable."
After listening to Shakti's explanation, Luke understood.
Of course, he knew the hidden rules of the elves in this world.
As a rare magical race, elves in this world have a sense of pride far surpassing that of other races.
They usually have extremely strict demands on themselves, such as being noble, pure, just, and responsible, etc.
These are the words that ordinary people use to describe elves.
Within the elven race, there is a hidden rule that only those they approve of are allowed to touch them.
Although it doesn't reach the level of "if you touch me, you must marry me" or "I must kill you if you touch me" kind of degree, if you touch an elf without their approval, it's possible to be pushed away, cause disgust, or even be attacked.
It's precisely because of this seemingly unreasonable rule in the eyes of other races that elves are often misunderstood as a 'proud and arrogant' race.
After all, gaining their approval is extremely difficult.
It's not that approaching elves with goodwill will necessarily gain their approval; most elves will understand your goodwill and then reject it.
In their view, accepting someone's goodwill and help without reason is not something to be proud of; on the contrary, it shows immaturity.
But those who are rejected may not necessarily understand the elves' perspective.
When your goodwill is rejected time and time again, you will instinctively reject, distance yourself from, or even antagonize the other party.
However, what Luke cares about is not Ryuu being an elf, but her existence itself.
Compared to the original Ryuu, who was 21 years old and had short green hair, she, who is still a member of the Astraea Familia, has a big difference in both appearance and temperament.
With dazzling golden hair like Ais, a relatively young appearance, a sharp expression, and an aura that keeps people at bay.
If Shakti hadn't told him her name, Luke would have found it difficult to associate the girl in front of him with the female waitress from the original story.
Upon knowing that this girl is 'Ryuu Lion,' Luke's first thought wasn't about anything else; it was about the event that led to such a significant change in her future.
'Nightmare on the 27th Floor.'
Not only Ryuu, but the destinies of many people in the future have undergone tremendous changes because of this event, and almost none of them are in a good direction.
Thinking of this, Luke suddenly looked at the dead body of 'Vendetta' Olivas Act being carried away.
The mastermind behind the 'Nightmare on the 27th Floor' in the future is none other than Olivas Act, who was just cut into two pieces by Luke.
"So, does this mean that this unfortunate event won't happen in the future?"
Luke scratched his head, feeling somewhat complicated.
Luke isn't the type to rely entirely on plot development to gain benefits; he has always been relatively casual in his actions and hasn't cared much about plot development.
However, when he fully understands that the plot may deviate from the original trajectory, Luke's mood still fluctuates slightly.
This happened when he first obtained Ser-Veresta and also when he learned that Ais had awakened a new skill.
It's not feelings of worry but more like sentiments or reminiscing, right?
To be honest, Luke doesn't really understand what kind of emotion this is.
But this feeling just lasted for a moment.
Regardless of whether Evilus will still trigger 'Nightmare on the 27th Floor' later on or not, Luke's own life has to go on.
After today's event, Evilus can be said to have suffered heavy losses, and it's unlikely they will make any moves in the short term.
With the conclusion of the event, Luke and Ais have once again returned to their daily lives of grinding monsters for leveling up.
Indeed, Evilus did disappear for a long period, just as he had speculated.
Under the efforts of major Familias, the chaotic city atmosphere gradually returned to order.
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