Chapter 118: Delinquent and Elf - Aria joins the party!
*Pah!*
"She bit my cheek, so I have to correct her habits in case she bites someone and gets sick." Ryuji shook his head with a pretend-saddened expression.
"Mmm!! Mmph!! Mmm!" Saki\'s mouth, covered by his other hand, made him look like a villain, though.
"She can bite all she wants," Alicia pouted, folding her arms and giving a cheeky smile.
"Oh? Should I spank you too, little princess?" Ryuji smirked, glancing at her.
Alicia gasped with a reddened face. Her fist shot straight for Ryuji, but she only knocked his chin.
"Hah, lucky shot~" Alicia laughed, sticking her tongue out.
The two gazed into each other\'s eyes for a moment before the elf turned away, his devilish grin and those deep ocean-blue eyes almost consuming her.
Ryuji wanted to follow up, but Akari and Ryo appeared with the backpack of food and a set of delicious-looking plates with several dishes and drinks, all for Saki, who looked at the food with stars in her eyes.
"Oh?! It\'s a real elf... oh my god!" Ryo muttered, trying to keep his shining eyes and excitement hidden as he passed the food over to Ryuji, which the latter fed to the cute beast girl on his lap, much like a brother.
Alicia noticed Ryuji\'s actions, causing a jealous pout before she coughed.
"Um, so it was pretty simple. Paul seems to have decided to visit home after the last dungeon, feeling we would have died without you, so Simon also went to visit his loved ones... It seems that those guys love you too much." Alicia began speaking about something random to Ryuji as he petted the girl\'s head, stroking her hair while she ate the food with her small hands.
-official
"What about Sheila?"
"That woman..." Alicia showed a bitter face, her nose scrunched up and her eyes narrowed as if she smelt a nasty scent, her lips curled into a strange shape. "She went to the temple, speaking about some kind of profane existence... and that they must be slain."
"I see... that crazy bitch did that?"
"Ah! You know she\'s crazy too? It\'s strange, for years we spent time in the same classes... to think she was a nut job, she carried a piece of cloth or something after that dungeon and at night she would sniff it then go into the bathroom for over an hour!!"
Alicia\'s complaint made Ryuji remember his clothes vanished after being knocked out, replaced with something else...
Damn, Apostle...
"It\'s nice to meet you, I\'m Ryo! A hero with the class Chef!"
"Ah... you\'re hair is so pretty, I am Akari. A hero with the class of Tailor."
The two greetings lacked the same power or feeling, but upon hearing their classes, Alicia\'s gaze became concerned. "Non-combat classes in the dungeon? Does that mean Ryuji will be fighting alone...?"
Ryuji just shrugged when she looked at him, while the other two looked awkward. Alicia\'s ears moved with her feelings, so when he saw them flopping down by her cheeks and her eyebrows also drooping. He knew what she would ask next... "Ryuji, I can join you... I needed to complete a dungeon anyway, and I think I can help you quite a lot."
Her voice came out shyly yet filled with resolve; however, Ryuji knew what to say.
"Good! I was going to make you join me anyway—somehow, I think having more Elven eye candy in the party will make me more active, haha." Ryuji grinned playfully, grabbing the Elven princess before giving her a passionate hug.
She melted in his arms as if weak in his manly scent, which drew the eyes of Akari and Ryo full of envy and jealousy. However, the two were only playing around and soon parted, looking at Saki Ryuji stroking her head one last time. "I\'m off to finish a Rank-D dungeon. Don\'t wait for me too long and enjoy the food. If anyone bullies you, remember their name, and I will kill them."
Saki jumped at Ryuji\'s extreme words; even Alicia felt her skin tremble, yet Ryuji himself seemed to think it was normal. He turned around and began heading towards the teleportation bay. The others stopped for a moment with strange expressions before following him.
"Murder... that\'s so extreme, Ryuji, don\'t be so violent..." Saki whispered but knew that he said it so loud and that way for the surrounding knights to listen. All to protect her. "I don\'t think your friends understood your intent... poor Ryuji."
Alicia and the others followed him, rushing because of Ryuji\'s long strides as they came to the D-Rank portal zone.
"Okay, since it\'s you guys who need this, choose a portal and I\'ll follow!"
However, Ryuji heard something in his mind... Different from the usual kind and gentle tone close to his mother.
A voice of hated.... anger.... and distortion!
[The Betrayer and his allies shall die!]
The moment his party entered the purple bubble, Ryuji could no longer focus, his body spinning out of control until he crashed inside an unknown cave; around the room, only darkness and strange blue runes that shone like lights.
"Ugh... where is everyone?" With his perfect dark vision, Ryuji tried to find any of his allies.... he saw Alicia with her legs in the air while unconscious, but Akari and Ryo were nowhere to be seen.
"Fuck.... this damn dungeon is always doing unwanted shit!"