CH 180

Episode 180 – Reunion After One Year

After clearing the 6th layer and exiting the Dungeon, I bought another Night Vision Potion at Green Formula and then immediately returned to Ponpokotei. Tomorrow, I’d finally be reuniting with the [Azure Alliance] after more than a year.

I went home early to rest, but I was so awake at the moment that I couldn’t sleep. In the end, I spent the entire night lying on my bed with my eyes blinking wide open.

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The next day, it was still cold and gloomy outside. Rubbing my arms with both of my hands to try and heat myself up, I crawled out of bed and started getting ready to go and meet them. Based on yesterday’s progress, the [Azure Alliance] would most likely return somewhere between the morning and noon. It was still a little too early to be heading to the Dungeon, but I was so excited and restless that I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I decided to make my way to the Dungeon monitors.

At this time of day, Landaust was not at all the bustling city that it was during the brighter hours. I padded through the deserted, dimly lit streets on my way to the Dungeon monitors. I didn’t see any people along the way, but the same couldn’t be said about the area in front of the monitors. Even at this hour, there were still several people watching.

But as expected, they were all watching the monitors showing the 40th to 50th layers; naturally, there was no one in front of the lower layers’ monitors. I secured a seat alone in front of the monitor showing the first 10 layers and began to follow the [Azure Alliance]’s movements with my eyes. At this time, I could see them climbing up to the 8th layer, so they would most likely arrive earlier than expected.

When I finally saw them reach the 1st layer, I headed to the entrance of the Dungeon to greet them. My heart was racing, as if it would leap out of my chest at any moment, but I held both hands over my mouth and waited for them quietly.

At last… I could finally see the three members of the [Azure Alliance] emerging from the entrance of the Dungeon. There was a part of me that was skeptical, wondering if this was an illusion or reality. But I knew that it was real, and I was seeing them with my own eyes.

Smash was wearing an awfully tired expression, probably due to the fatigue from the Dungeon, and his unruly beard had grown even longer, reaching down to his chest. Combined with his mud-ridden face and tattered, dirty clothes, he looked like a hobo at a glance.

Dion, on the other hand, looked tired as well, but his attire was neat and tidy as if he wasn’t in the depths of the Dungeon this whole time. I was strangely relieved, seeing that Dion’s smartly dressed figure wasn’t affected in the slightest.

Ahmed showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever, but her clothes were pretty dirty. Compared to the other two that looked despondent with the corners of their mouths downturned, she had a bright smile on her face that resonated strongly with the memories of her in my mind. Also… I noticed that she hadn’t cut her hair since we had parted, as her hair had already grown down to her waist, and she had tied it up with the hair band that I had gifted to her at our last meeting.

Seeing that she had cherished the present I had given her, my face flushed red. Still, I didn’t want to reunite with them for the first time in so long with just this kind of expression on my face. I bit my lower lip and pulled myself back together, and then I finally went forward to call out to the three of them.

“Tch, you guys are a sloppy mess! You can’t give up in the face of hardship!” (Ahmed)

“We’ve been in the Dungeon for a week. It’d be strange to not want to throw in the towel at this point.” (Smash)

“….It’s been a while, Ahmed-san. Also, long time no see, Dion-san and Smash-san,” I briefly called out to Ahmed, who had already recognized me by now and was gradually turning red. Dion and Smash also had stunned expressions on their faces.

“……Eh? Are you Lewin? Ooohh! Dion, it’s the real Lewin!” (Smash)

“….What a surprise. It’s really Lewin-kun! It’s been a while. Have you been well?” (Dion)

“It’s been so long! Yes, I’ve been great!” (Lewin)

After replying to Dion, I waited for Ahmed’s reply, but… for some reason, she had retreated a few steps and was now looking around in a panic while trembling.

“U-um… Ahmed-san―” (Lewin)

“M-my bad, I just r-remembered I had something to do! See ya!” Ahmed stammered when I tried to approach her. As if to avoid me, she went behind Dion before bolting out of the Adventurer’s Guild with great haste.

I could only stand there dumbfounded, staring blankly at the door that Ahmed had just fled through in her swift escape.