"Fought until exhaustion?"
"Yes, she fought until she was completely worn out. Saeko, having triggered her Sword Demon skill, displayed terrifying combat abilities. From the moment we entered the dungeon, she fought her way straight to the 13th floor."
"The 13th floor!?"
Hestia's eyes widened.
"Altair-kun, if I remember correctly, the first time you entered the dungeon, you only made it to the 10th floor, right?"
"That's right. So, this shows how extraordinary Saeko's talent really is. Coupled with her skills, I think she'll catch up to me very soon."
"So, you're saying that our Familia is about to have a second Level 2?"
"Exactly."
"Yay!"
Hestia jumped for joy.
"Altair-kun, why don't we celebrate today?"
"Not today. Saeko is too exhausted to move right now; she needs to rest. We can celebrate together tomorrow once she's up."
"Alright, I'll listen to you, Altair-kun!"
In the basement of the church, Altair had just returned carrying Saeko on his back, startling Hestia initially. After Altair explained everything clearly, she was relieved and then came the excitement.
Saeko's performance exceeded her expectations. Even though Hestia wasn't a god who loved conquest, she couldn't help but feel delighted to see her Familia members perform so well.
Hestia was eager to celebrate, but with Saeko's current condition, it was clear they couldn't. It wouldn't make sense for the two of them to celebrate while Saeko was lying in bed. Celebrating at home would be even stranger... Saeko lying in bed while Hestia and Altair celebrated outside? That would just be weird.
So, it was decided that the celebration would wait until Saeko woke up, and the three of them would celebrate together.
"Hestia, why don't you stay here and take care of Saeko while I go to the Guild to exchange today's magic stones?"
"Alright, don't worry, Altair-kun. I'll take good care of Saeko!"
With a simple exchange of words, Altair left the church and headed for the guild.
Following Saeko through the dungeon had taken its toll on him... his back was sore from constantly bending down to pick up magic stones. He had to bend over every few steps to collect them, and there was hardly any break. It was exhausting.
Altair could only sum it up as tiredy!
Leaving the church, Altair walked briskly down the main road toward the guild, where he was greeted by his old acquaintance, Eina. He emptied part of the magic stones he had collected behind Saeko onto the counter.
"No matter how many times I see it, it's always impressive."
Eina, standing behind the counter, marveled at the small pile of magic stones accumulating on the counter.
"Altair-san, if I hadn't personally registered you as an adventurer, I wouldn't believe you were only a Level 1 adventurer."
"And what level do you think I should be?"
"With this level of harvest, you should be at least a Level 3 Adventurer. Based on the amount of magic stones you bring in each time, it's what an average Level 3 Adventurer would collect."
"Although I wish I were Level 3, unfortunately, I'm just a Level 1."
From Eina's words, Altair gauged Saeko's current combat abilities. In terms of efficiency, she was already at Level 3. Truly a monstrous newcomer.
Of course, Altair was a monster too, after all, he had his cheats.
"Alright, here's the valis for your magic stones, Altair.-san"
Eina handed him a pouch of valis, which Altair weighed in his hand before storing it in his 4D Pocket.
"Alright, I'll take my leave now. Goodbye."
After receiving his magic stones' exchange, Altair saw no reason to linger at the Guild and turned to leave.
However, no sooner had Altair left the guild than he realized someone was following him.
"Finally, I've caught up to you."
A small figure hidden in the corner watched Altair leave and hurried to follow him.
The person tailing Altair was none other than Lili, who had been waiting at the dungeon entrance for Altair for quite some time.
After her first time entering the dungeon with Altair, Lili had been eager to join him again and find an opportunity to act against him. But after waiting at the dungeon entrance for several days, she hadn't seen him. When she finally did, Altair had entered the dungeon with a woman, and when they emerged, he was carrying her on his back.
Though she didn't know what had happened, at least Lili had managed to track him down.
Adventurers coming out of the dungeon usually went to the Guild to exchange their magic stones for valis, as that's the whole point of entering the dungeon... to collect magic stones and sell them. Otherwise, why else would they go?
Sure enough, Lili, who had been staking out the guild, spotted Altair coming to exchange his stones.
Watching Altair leave the Guild, Lili pulled up her hood and followed him, keeping a certain distance behind.
Altair, unaware that Lili was following him, continued his cautious habit of wandering around Orario after leaving the guild.
Since joining the Hestia Familia, Altair knew that with his strikingly handsome appearance, there would always be someone causing him trouble. So, he was always mindful of his movements in Orario, never going directly back to the church, especially when he was carrying valis. He would always take a detour to make sure no one was following him before returning home.
Today was no different. After leaving the Guild, Altair started making detours, even more meticulously than before.
He had identified Lili's identity during their previous encounter, especially since she had seen him sell Goliath's magic stone to the guild. Such a large haul was bound to attract attention... there were always some rogue adventurers who preferred robbing others over earning their way.
So Altair ran even more diligently, taking as many detours as possible to shake off any potential followers.
However, he underestimated Lili's persistence. Despite all his maneuvering and increasing his speed, Lili was determined, following him closely, unwilling to lose sight of him. Eventually, she discovered the location of the church where Altair and Hestia were staying.
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