Seeing Ais's embarrassment, Roy's amusement grew, but he didn't press her further.
"I have no hostility toward your Loki Familia," he explained.
"If anything, I see them as competitors."
"Competitors?" Ais tilted her head, puzzled.
"Right," Roy said with a smile.
"Loki bragged to Hestia about the Loki Familia being one of Orario's twin kings, which annoyed her."
"So, Hestia vowed in front of Loki to make our familia the emperor of Orario."
"Sorry for Loki's trouble," Ais said, lowering her head in apology.
She knew Loki's provocative nature well and could easily guess the situation.
"It's a small thing," Roy continued. "As for appearing in your room that night, it wasn't intentional. It was an accident from a spell I was testing."
Roy wasn't naive. Ais's question had a clear motive, and it didn't take much to figure out why.
"Spell? Accident?" Ais showed little reaction, but her eyes betrayed surprise and curiosity.
What kind of spell could make someone appear in her room out of nowhere? A rare magic?
"A space transfer technique," Roy confirmed.
A flicker of emotion crossed Ais's usually stoic face.
"Space transfer?" Her eyes widened slightly, a mix of disbelief and envy.
She'd never heard of space-related magic, let alone anything as advanced as teleportation.
Its rarity was obvious, even without knowing its full nature.
"I won't tell," Ais promised solemnly. She understood the value of such magic.
Roy's willingness to secret meant she couldn't betray his trust. Her doubts about him vanished.
"Thanks," Roy said, unbothered.
With his power, few in Orario could threaten him, even if the spell's existence spread.
At worst, he'd deal with some pesky adventurers.
"When you left that night, you said you'd teach me swordsmanship when we met again," Ais said, finally revealing her true concern.
With suspicions of enmity cleared, she could pursue her goal: learning from Roy to grow stronger.
Ais vividly recalled Roy's strength.
Her swordsmanship had felt childish against him, utterly outmatched.
His guidance could elevate her skills significantly.
"Oh, that," Roy said, mildly surprised. He'd said it half-jokingly, not expecting Ais to take it seriously.
Searching his memories, he recalled Ais's obsession with strength.
His offhand remark must have struck a chord.
"I'm here to fulfill that promise," Ais said, noting his realization.
After a pause, she added, "A promise made must be kept."
Roy raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by her earnestness.
Ais's expression remained neutral, as if stating a simple fact, making him wonder if she was subtly teasing him or just being her straightforward self.
He sighed inwardly—her blank face made it impossible to tell.
Seeing Ais's pure, unwavering eyes fixed on him, Roy cleared his throat.
"Teaching you swordsmanship is fine, but I'm heading to the dungeon today."
"I accepted your commission," Ais said concisely.
"You can teach me some techniques along the way." She paused, then added, "I don't need payment for this."
"Alright," Roy nodded, dropping excuses.
"You're familiar with the lower floors, right? Know any areas with lots of monsters?" Roy asked.
The dungeon's structure meant lower floors were wider, with varied monster distributions.
He wanted to complete his random task of killing 10,000 monsters quickly.
Exploring deeper for task 4 would require another approach.
"Yes," Ais replied. "I often train in the lower floors."
"Great, let's go," Roy said.
Compared to a random team of high-class adventurers, Ais was far more reliable—trustworthy in character and, as a Loki Familia executive, experienced in the lower and even deeper floors.
Roy and Ais left the reception room, informed Eina, and headed to the dungeon.
"Is that Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess of the Loki Familia? Who's the guy with her?" a passerby whispered.
"No idea. A new Loki Familia member?" another guessed.
"A rookie getting escorted by Ais? She's their treasure! She doesn't do this kind of thing."
"That's no rookie. It's the guy who beat their Amazon! Not Loki Familia."
"They seem awfully close!"
As Roy and Ais walked from the guild toward Babel, they drew the eyes of adventurers and passersby, sparking lively chatter.
Ais's fame in Orario was immense, akin to an idol's.
Nearly everyone who followed adventurers knew her.
Seeing the renowned Sword Princess walking with a man fueled wild speculation.
Read advance chapters at:
200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter