CHAPTER 37: 037 THE DEPRESSED FAIRY GIRL

At this time, the morning sun had already risen into the sky, illuminating the entire district of Orario.

The popularity within the Twilight Manor was gradually rising as well, with members scurrying about from one place to another, finally not as deserted as it had been at the beginning.

Reiger exited the deity chamber and was greeted along the way by the curious gazes of numerous elder clan members.

Clearly, word of Reiger’s exceptional performance in the sixth floor of the underground city had gradually spread.

However, Reiger did not pay attention to these gazes, instead, he was thinking about what Loki had said to him when he had just left the deity chamber.

"Rephia seems a bit obsessively caught up in something, why don’t you go check on her?"

The sudden farewell from the chief deity had left Reiger momentarily stunned.

To this, Loki had a look of wry amusement on his face.

"Since she came back yesterday, that girl has been looking quite troubled and visibly dejected. Revilia mentioned it to me a couple of times; she said it would probably be better for you to talk to her, as the person concerned," Loki said.

After leaving these words, Loki turned to go back to sleep, leaving Reiger with no choice but to depart.

Thinking of the elf girl’s matter, Reiger pondered for a while before finally deciding to go see her.

But at that moment, Reiger didn’t know how to find Rephia.

As the main base of Loki’s family, the Twilight Manor was made up of many high towers clustered together, besides the thickest and tallest central tower, there were a total of seven spires surrounding it.

The lower halves of these varying-height spires were interconnected, only the round, central tower surrounded by an atrium stood independently; the upper halves were linked by stone walkways extending to the other towers, allowing people to move between them. Facilities such as the library and the grand dining hall were scattered among the towers with no clear order.

Apart from the central tower, the seven spires were usually divided into three for male use and four for female use.

That is to say, the living areas for men and women were separate.

Reiger was looking for Rephia, so his first choice naturally would be her room.

This meant that Reiger had to enter the living area for female family members, which gave him the uncomfortable feeling of having to enter a girls’ dormitory.

"I’ll try looking in the public areas first."

Reiger reluctantly decided on that.

However, Reiger hadn’t begun his search when he encountered some clan officers on the road.

"Eh, isn’t this the very impressive new big brother?"

"Indeed it is."

The Amazonian twin sisters, identical in appearance but with different body types and hairstyles, as though looking into a mirror, appeared on the road and coincidentally met Reiger.

"Miss Theona, Miss Theone."

Reiger stopped in his steps and greeted the two clan officers with a nod.

"Don’t be so formal, new big brother," said Theona with an innocent smile. "Just call me Theona."

"And me Theone," Theone added, giving Reiger a once-over. Her smile was meaningful as she said, "The chief thinks highly of you; he probably believes you’ll be joining the officer ranks soon enough. With that being the case, just call us by our names."

As officers of Loki’s family and top-level adventurers in the underground city, even among their own kind, there were many who held Theona and Theone in high regard.

This was the respect due a top-level adventurer, as well as the proper treatment for a family officer.

Thus, the two were not unused to others’ respectful behavior, but it was clear that this did not apply to Reiger.

Just the thought of that rule-breaking skill named "Fool’s Obsession" made them feel it was better not to treat Reiger as a normal newcomer.

"What are you up to?" asked Theona, tilting her head. "Planning to go to the underground city?"

"Just heard you went on an adventure. Weren’t you bedridden yesterday?" Theone said with a hint of amazement. "Getting out of bed today and planning to dive into the underground city, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard? This is starting to make us feel pressured."

The sisters had been spurred on by Reiger’s presence to venture into the underground city recently; their words were not meant to be sarcastic toward him.

Reiger noticed the sisters’ concern and shook his head. "I’m not planning to enter the underground city today. I’m just looking for Rephia."

"Rephia?"

Theona seemed surprised that Reiger mentioned the elf girl’s name.

"Come to think of it, you formed a team with her, right?" Theone realized.

"Yes," Reiger confirmed with a nod. "Do you know where Rephia might be?"

It seemed he had asked the right people.

"If it’s Rephia you’re looking for, I did see her heading to the guest room just now," Theona told Reiger with puzzlement. "But she seemed a bit out of spirits. Maybe she’s hungry?"

"You think everybody’s like you, huh? Complaining about wanting breakfast first thing in the morning?" Theone retorted irritably to Theona. "Besides, if it was really hunger, then Rephia would have gone to the dining hall, not the guest room."

"That’s true!" Theona had an epiphany and then giggled cheerfully, showing no embarrassment at Theone’s teasing, but rather a cheerful and lively demeanor.

"The guest room, huh?" Reiger mused and nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I’ll go look for her there."

"Great!"

"Go ahead."

The Amazonian sisters then stepped aside, and Reiger responded with a bow.

As Reiger walked away, the Amazonian twins watched his receding figure before exchanging glances, both falling silent.

"Did you notice, Theona?" Theone asked softly.

"Yeah," Theona replied, less flighty than before, watching Reiger’s back. "His movements and walking posture are different from before, probably due to discordant increase in abilities - super obvious signs of not yet adjusting to his current strength."

"Is that what happened?" Theone said quietly, "That guy leveled up?"

"Seems like it." Theona replied, "After all, only leveling up would cause such a surge in strength that it becomes hard to control one’s physical coordination for a while."

At this point, both of them fell silent again.

"Just seven days, huh..."

"Yeah..."

The silent lament made the atmosphere between them somewhat rigid.

"Are we going to the underground city today?"

"...Yes."

And so, today’s schedule was quickly confirmed by the two sisters.

But actually, both of them had a feeling.

That feeling was, no matter how hard they tried, it might not make any difference.

That man, the newcomer who had just joined their family, would soon catch up.

Even so, it would not do for the two geniuses to simply watch and not try their hardest.

Not to mention them, even the werewolf youth who had just turned around in the corner snapped his tongue in astonishment.

"Boring."

The werewolf youth dropped these unpleasant words and immediately turned around to leave the place.

...

The Dusk Mansion, the parlor.

This was a room with an orange hue, stable decor, and it faced directly onto a corridor.

The room contained several sofas that obviously were expensive, as well as round tables covered with cloths, and the decorations exuded an aura of luxury. No matter who the guest was, they would never feel slighted.

Yet this parlor did not seem to be exclusively for entertaining guests, it rather resembled a lounge for clan members to relax in.

At this very moment, Rephia was here, sitting on a chair, sighing deeply.

The girl had been in this state for quite some time.

Many clan members who happened to see her in this state worriedly came up to offer their solace, only to receive a somewhat forced smile from Rephia.

Rephia had secluded herself here so as not to let others be affected by her worry.

However, when she was alone, Rephia’s mood not only didn’t improve, but it became even more depressive, and she even felt a tinge of self-isolation.

"Someone like me..."

From Rephia’s tempting lips came those self-deprecating words.

Then, a voice appeared.

"What’s wrong with someone like you?"

The sudden voice startled Rephia tremendously.

Only then did Rephia realize that someone had come into the parlor at some point and was now standing right in front of her.

This person was the one Rephia felt somewhat reluctant to face.

"Mr. Reiger...?"

Rephia became incredibly nervous.

"Why such a face as if I am going to eat you?" Reiger said with a wry smile, "If others saw this, they might think I’m picking on my senior patron by using my age as an excuse."

"I’m sorry..." Rephia immediately looked ashamed.

"It’s not that serious." Reiger watched Rephia, still jittery in her seat, and asked, "What’s the matter with you?"

Rephia didn’t say a word.

But Reiger did not fall silent.

"Are you thinking about yesterday’s event?"

He spoke softly, as if yesterday’s experience was not a life-and-death struggle but a game.

However, Reiger’s attitude caused Rephia to become even more conflicted.

After a long while, Rephia suddenly stood up.

"I’m sorry!"

The elf girl suddenly gave Reiger a deep bow.

Seeing Rephia like this, Reiger scratched his cheek.

"You are indeed bothered by yesterday’s event," Reiger sighed and spoke directly, "Do you feel useless because you couldn’t help and could only stand by and watch?"

Rephia’s shoulders trembled slightly.

Clearly, Reiger had hit the mark.

Rephia lifted her head, her face full of guilt and deep frustration.

"I’m supposed to be Mr. Reiger’s teammate. Mr. Reiger even told me to look for an opportunity to use magic. My level is higher than both Mr. Reiger’s and that dragon crocodile’s. But in the end, I wasn’t able to help at all and just stood there stunned. As a teammate, I’m really incompetent and unimpressive."

For this, Rephia felt deeply disappointed.