"Eleni!" Clair cried out, rushing to Eleni's side to support her, concern etched across her features as she approached the injured girl.
Eleni's bright smile quickly morphed into a pained frown as she clutched the right side of her chest tightly.
"Hehehe, I won," she replied, her attempt at humour undercut by the evident discomfort etched across her features.
"Is it bad?" Clair asked, her brow furrowing as she observed Eleni's distressed expression.
"Ha, I'll live. But I need some of my sweets to recover," Eleni responded, her voice tinged with a playful lilt.
Clair let out a sigh, a fond exasperation evident in her voice.
"Sigh, you really are a piece of work," Clair said, shaking her head as she handed the bag of sweets back to Eleni.
Eleni's eyes lit up as she tossed the confections into her mouth, savouring their sugary goodness.
"Kuuuuh, that hit the spot. This is exactly what I needed," she squealed, her cheerful demeanour belying the severity of her injury.
Michalis approached the duo, a frown on his face.
"Geh, how can you look so cheerful with an injury like that?" he asked.
Eleni had broken her ribs when the wyvern's tail had slammed into her side, a painful injury that would have incapacitated most.
"I don't know, adrenaline probably," Eleni replied, her eyes twinkling curiously.
"So a masochist, huh?" Michalis muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Eleni.
"Huh, what did you just call me?" Eleni asked, a vein popping on her forehead and her tone dangerously low.
"Nothing," Michalis hastily replied, backpedaling.
"Michalis, you never learn, do you?" Nikolaos said, joining the conversation.
He turned to Eleni with a warm smile.
"By the way, congrats, Eleni. You sure are one tough girl despite being a scaredy-cat, but you did well to win." he praised.
"Uh, thank you, I guess," Eleni hesitantly replied, her gaze still fixed on Michalis, who wisely remained silent.
"By the way, where are Dimitra and Vasileios?" Eleni asked, looking around for her other companions.
"Dimitra is over there looking after Vasiliki, and Vasileios is next to her, meditating," Nikolaos replied.
Eleni opened her mouth to say something, but Clair cut her off.
"Enough talking for now, Eleni. We need to get you treated first." she urged.
Clair pulled Eleni towards Draco, who seemed lost in thought, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"We'll talk later," Eleni said, excusing herself.
Draco had watched Eleni's fight, his heart pounding with each deadly blow the wyvern landed.
When he saw the beast pin Eleni down, he had held his breath, praying for her to pull through.
Thankfully, she had managed to turn the tables and emerge victorious.
'Ugh, this isn't good for my heart. Thankfully, only Clair and Vasileios' battle's are left,' Draco sighed, clutching his chest.
As he observed the interactions between his familia, his mind wandered to the peculiarities of the monsters they had fought.
'Come to think of it, what is wrong with the monsters I've picked? Some of their actions carried a hint of greater intelligence, but I'm pretty sure they're not Xenos or even a mutated species,' Draco pondered, his brow furrowing in thought.
Watching Michalis, Nikolaos, Vasiliki, Dimitra, and Eleni's fight, he became more certain.
"I must be overthinking things. Perhaps dungeon monsters aren't always a ball of instincts," he concluded.
"Draco, Draco nii!" Clair and Eleni called out, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Ah, sorry about that. Eleni, you did great," Draco praised, giving her a pat on the head.
"Hmm," Eleni hummed, closing her eyes.
A content smile spread across her face as she savoured the warmth of Draco's touch.
It was a brief display of tenderness and affection.
They seemed to be having a moment until Clair cleared her throat, gaining their attention.
"Ahem, let's get to healing," Draco coughed, quickly withdrawing his hand.
Taking off Eleni's armour, Draco began treating her wounds.
As he worked, he couldn't help but notice Clair resting on his back.
"By the way, Clair, why are you resting on my back?" Draco asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
Clair had been standing by Draco's side, offering moral support and keeping a watchful eye on Eleni's condition.
As Draco tended to Eleni's injuries, Clair had gradually leaned against him, finding comfort on his back.
"Oh, I'm just protecting you and making sure you don't miss anything," Clair replied, her voice soft and soothing.
"You've been doing a great job all day, Draco. But I want to be here in case you need any assistance. Healing consumes a lot of mind right?" she added.
Draco's brows furrowed as he heard Clair's response, a hint of exasperation evident in his expression.
'Ugh, that is definitely a lie? This girl is becoming bolder' he thought.
The old Clair, the one he was so familiar with, wouldn't have even considered the idea of even holding hands, but now, things were changing.
'I wonder what she likes about me. I'm not even trying to make her like me.' Draco couldn't help but ponder.
He let out a dejected sigh, questioning whether he would ever see her as anything more than family.
'Ugh, this is not the time to think of such things. I should just let her do what she wants for now. She will eventually discover what she really wants in the future.' he thought.
Dismissing these distracting thoughts, Draco refocused his attention on the task at hand – healing Eleni.
They had spent a considerable amount of time in the dungeon, and there were still battles to be fought.
As he continued his work, Draco noticed Eleni's eyes studying him, a mischievous glint dancing within them.
"Don't you dare" Draco warned her, he could tell what she wanted to do.
"Hmmf" Eleni huffed, remaining silent and let herself be treated.
Clair on the other hand was observing the subtle reactions Draco made to her actions, and the way he seemed to lean back into her gave the impression that he was accepting, if not welcoming, her advances.
'Hmm, interesting,' Clair thought, a sly smile playing on her lips.
She was intrigued by the dynamics unfolding between them.
Dimitra and Vasileios, who had been observing the scene from a distance, exchanged a knowing look.
'I wonder what's going on between those two,' they thought, their curiosity piqued by the subtle interplay.
As Draco continued his ministrations, the group fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts and emotions.
.........
Not long after Draco finished treating Eleni, the Bahamut familia began their descent into the 15th floor, which was their final stop for the day.
From this point on, the dungeon became a bit more dangerous, as certain monsters spawned on those lower levels.
Knowing this, Draco led the group in a defensive formation, with himself at the forefront.
Vasiliki, who remained unconscious, was placed in the center, with Dimitra and Eleni tasked with protecting her.
Draco had recently healed Dimitra and Eleni, so he assigned them to guard Vasiliki, while Michalis and Nikolaos were now free to actively guard the rear.
It didn't take long for the familia to reach their destination - a room that Draco had specially prepared for Clair's upcoming battle.
As a spear user, Clair's weapon of choice had a particular weakness.
While the long reach of the spear provided her with an advantage, it also meant that the head of the weapon was farther from her body, making her vulnerable in close-quarters defence.
However, Clair possessed a unique skill that somewhat mitigated this weakness.
Her special ability allowed her brain to, receive, process and send information at an astonishingly fast rate, granting her a remarkable reaction time and the ability to stay a few steps ahead of her opponent during battle.
Obviously such a skill came with a severe recoil if overused, but that didn't diminish the strength and utility of the skill.
The opponent Draco had chosen for Clair's trial was called a "Liger Fang".
This was a tiger-like monster reminiscent of a saber-tooth, with sharp claws, fangs, incredible speed and agility.
This monster was not inferior to a Minotaur, meaning that at minimum it possessed the strength of a level 2 adventurer and Clair, as a level 1 adventurer, would face an extremely challenging task in defeating it.
Draco reasoned that with the reach of her spear and her special skill, Clair's chances of success were manageable, but as he peered into the room he had prepared, he couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.
He had taken into account her skills, weapon, and stats, which put her at around level one and a half, but he had overlooked the fact that stats didn't necessarily translate directly into skill.
Seeing how eager and hyped Clair was for the battle, Draco couldn't bring himself to deny her the opportunity.
However, he resolved to be ready to intervene if necessary, to ensure her safety.
"Draco, I am ready," Clair called out, snapping Draco from his thoughts.
"Sigh, please be cautious and careful, my advice is to strike when..." Draco began, wanting to share an advice based on his experience in killing Liger Fangs.
However, Clair quickly cut him off, holding a finger to his lips.
"Shhh, no, don't tell me anything. It wouldn't be fair to the others before me. I will figure things out on my own. But I do appreciate the worry. How about this - if I win, you have to give me a special reward of my choosing," Clair said, her expression filled with expectation.
Draco couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the prospect of agreeing to such a deal.
'Ugh, I feel like I shouldn't agree to it. She might ask for something crazy,' he thought.
"No fair, why do you get to ask for a special reward when we didn't get any?" Eleni quickly interjected, her voice tinged with a hint of irritation.
'Nice save,' Draco thought, grateful for Eleni's quick response.
"Relax, Eleni, I was just kidding," Clair said, her expression a bit downcast, sensing the displeasure in Eleni's tone.
"I thought so," Eleni huffed, her nose flaring in satisfaction, feeling vindicated.
'This girl, sigh, I need to focus,' Clair thought, pinching her arm lightly to regain her concentration.
Tightening her grip on her spear, Clair turned and headed into the battlefield, her tail lightly brushing against Draco as she passed.
"Come to think of it, Clair is a tiger beast kin, and her opponent is a tiger-type dungeon monster. Isn't that a bit weird?" Vasileios suddenly remarked, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Did you purposely arrange this, Draco-nii?" Vasileios asked, his eyes glistening with a hint of curiosity.
'Of course not, it didn't even cross my mind until you mentioned it,' Draco thought, shaking his head slightly.
"No, it just happened," Draco replied.
"Oh, I see," Vasileios said, his expression a bit disappointed, as if he had hoped for a more interesting explanation.
'Ugh, did I just lose some onii-chan points with Vasileios? Just what is he expecting of me?' Draco wondered, feeling a slight pang in his chest.
"Draco-nii, Clair has entered the room," Dimitra informed him, drawing his attention back to the present.
Quickly pushing aside any distracting thoughts, Draco placed his hand on the dungeon wall, releasing the liger fang.
Freed from its confinement, the liger fang entered the room, its eyes darting around the room, soon locking onto Clair.
The liger fang upon seeing her, immediately gauged Clair to be weaker than itself, in other words prey.
Even better, she was alone – a perfect opportunity for a solitary hunter to sate its pent-up rage from being imprisoned.
Tensing its muscles, the liger slowly strode forward, its head held high until it was a certain distance from Clair.