A few hours before the current events of Lynn and Arezu's group rescuing Gwen and her party—along with the mage students and Brandon's soldiers—the commander himself, together with Liz's party, was at the Gate of the Crystal Mirror Dungeon in the southern district of Mirare Town.
"Aren't we only here to investigate? What do you mean we'll be conquering the dungeon, lord Brandon?"
Although Liz was the leader of their party and supposed to be in charge of deciding their course of action, it was Sylvie who usually made decisions in dangerous situations—like, for example, conquering a dungeon.
Sylvie's worry came not only from the fact that the Crystal Mirror Dungeon had remained unconquerable for hundreds of years, both due to its difficulty and its major contribution to the town itself.
Her concern was that if they entered the dungeon, they would not only have to face the rogue Visages inside but also their own Visages—or more precisely, the personifications of their envy. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
But what truly worried Sylvie was not how hard it would be to fight and defeat their own Visages, but the act of confronting their own envy and, at the same time, exposing it to others—especially to her foster son, Ellric.
And that worry wasn't only hers but also shared by Liz, Hannah, Ellric, and even Brandon himself. Regardless—
"Of course, we will investigate, Ms. Sylvie... But my gut is telling me that we won't be able to solve our dire situation unless we defeat the Dungeon Master or destroy the Core."
Everyone looked at Brandon, dumbfounded, wondering how he, a hero and commander of the cavalry, could decide his actions based on gut feeling.
"Besides, our group has a gold-rank mage adventurer, a certified hero, a hero candidate, a saintess candidate, and a valkyrie of the Von Envier house. We've got a strong lineup."
As Brandon meant, venturing into the Crystal Mirror Dungeon alone would be difficult, since one had to fight their own Visage which, as the personification of one's envy, might even be stronger than themselves.
But with a group, outnumbering and overpowering one's Visage would be simpler.
"If it were that simple, then this dungeon would have been conquered a hundred years ago."
Despite Sylvie's complaint, their group entered the dungeon, following Brandon's plan to figure out why the town had become a dungeon and what was happening to the townsfolk.
As they traveled the underground labyrinth, illuminated by faintly glowing crystal shards scattered across the wide path—embedded in the stone floor, walls, and ceiling—an unexpected suggestion came from Ellric.
"Wouldn't it be better for us to say who we envy, so we'd be prepared to fight them?"
The look of annoyance on Liz's face upon hearing Ellric's suggestion reminded everyone of how troublesome the Crystal Mirror Dungeon could be.
Regardless of her disdain, Liz actually agreed with Ellric and was the first to admit who she envied.
"It's my older sister, the heir of the Von Envier house."
That was obvious, the other four thought, remembering that the ducal house of Von Envier was ruled by the duchess rather than the duke. Yet they didn't say anything, not wanting to offend Liz.
"I would be more offended if you all remained quiet!" Liz snapped.
Following Liz's confession was Ellric's.
"I guess it would be Alex."
"Why would you feel envious of him?" Sylvie asked, surprised to hear that Ellric was envious of his friend.
"Because if my divine gift were like his, then you wouldn't have to worry each time I used it."
Compared to Alex's divine gift, Takeover, which allowed him to control others' skills—be it combat skills, mystic spells, divine blessings, or even divine gifts—without dangerous consequences (or so Ellric thought), his own divine gift was a double-edged sword that could put his life at risk.
"Then become strong enough that you won't have to use it in a fight," Sylvie said, consoling Ellric's worries.
"Mhm! I will become strong enough to be worthy as your husband, Sylvie."
"Shut up, degenerate," Liz retorted, looking annoyed with Ellric.
Meanwhile, Sylvie could only sigh, troubled by how to fix her foster son's obsession with her. Hannah, as always, was enjoying herself, watching the one-sided romance between Sylvie and Ellric. Brandon, on the other hand, simply took it easy, listening to everyone while keeping watch on the path ahead.
As they continued venturing through the underground labyrinth—following the safe path marked on the map they had obtained earlier at the dungeon's makeshift gate after defeating the Visage of the guards—the next to reveal her envy was Hannah, though it took her some time to decide.
"I know! The Saintess of Curse Archive."
"Please don't make us fight a Visage of a saintess, Hannah."
Despite Liz's worry, envying someone powerful didn't necessarily mean producing a powerful Visage.
"You need a complete understanding of the skills and abilities of the person you envy for the dungeon to spawn a Visage as strong as the original," Sylvie explained, followed by a question from Ellric.
"So the stronger you are, the more you'd understand the skills and abilities of the person you envy—which would make the Visage stronger?"
His question made Liz, Hannah, and Ellric himself glance anxiously at the two strongest members of their group, wondering what kind of people Sylvie, a gold-rank mage adventurer, and Brandon, a hero, envied.
And as if to answer their unspoken question, their first encounter within the Crystal Mirror Dungeon appeared:
A Visage of a warrior fully clad in white armor and a black cape, wielding a platinum longsword that matched the platinum-blonde plume on its helm.
Although they couldn't see the warrior's face, its intricate and elegant appearance was already enough for Liz, Hannah, Ellric, and Sylvie to know whose Visage it was—even without Brandon confirming it himself.
"For what reason does a commander like you, a hero of the Eileen Kingdom, envy the current Soldiers' Commander of our kingdom, Lord Brandon?" Sylvie asked as she gathered her mana and prepared her mystic spell for the incoming fight.
"Well... It's a long story, but I'm sure a long-lived elf like you has already heard the rumor, Ms. Sylvie."
Seeing the commander step forward with confidence—drawing his longsword and grabbing his spear from his back—gave Liz, Hannah, and Ellric a boost in their own confidence that their group could win against the Visage of one of the strongest commanders in their kingdom.
Regardless, the reason and the rumor Sylvie and Brandon were speaking of definitely piqued the three's curiosity.
And for the first time, Liz and Hannah wished Lynn was with them.
If it were Lynn, she would definitely know the answer.