Danmachi: A Despicable Stranger

Chapter 50: Ryuu: It's so Frustrating~

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The adventurers around them gradually realized that the pterosaur had been defeated. Some shook their heads and sighed as they turned back, while others linked arms with their companions, grumbling angrily about heading deeper into the dungeon to make some money.

There was no gain to be had just standing around watching. Before long, the adventurers began to disperse, leaving one after another.

Many were eager to spread the news that the "Strengthen" pterosaur had been taken down by a single person. Some planned to share this astonishing tale with other adventurers or even gods who were unaware of the event.

It was likely that a large group would soon gather at the Adventurer's Guild headquarters, bombarding the staff with questions about Izzy.

But that was a matter for later.

For now, Izzy leaned against the wall to rest after being supported back to the tunnel by Ryuu.

Ryuu collected the pterosaur's magic stone and retrieved Izzy's spear, then stood quietly nearby.

A few minutes later, a scarred man approached them. His expression was hesitant, despite the fierceness of his features.

"What's the matter?"

Neither Izzy nor Ryuu tried to hide their presence, so it was obvious that someone was standing there. Izzy noticed him quickly.

Hearing Izzy's voice, the man paused for a moment before suddenly kneeling before him.

"Sir, thank you for saving me! I will absolutely repay you for the panacea! My name is Nuka, from the Ganesha clan. This is my Familia's emblem..."

Izzy's gaze fell on the badge with an elephant-head design tattooed on the man's hand. His mouth twitched slightly.

It was just a thank you. Was kneeling really necessary?

Or was this simply how this person acted?

Understanding his intention, Izzy waved his hand helplessly.

"Alright, alright, just remember to pay it back. You're from the Ganesha Familia, right? Got it. I'm from the Loki Familia—you can find me at the Twilight Manor later."

Hearing Izzy's reply, Nuka showed no sign of getting up.

"And… there's one more thing. If possible, could you please lend me another dose of the panacea? My companion is in critical need of it."

"?"

Izzy blinked in surprise and turned to look at Nuka.

Leaning near the tunnel entrance, he could see a little of what was happening outside.

Not far behind Nuka, an adventurer lay unconscious against a piece of rubble, his clothes soaked in blood. The man's injuries were severe.

Ah… it was the warrior who had dared to swing his sword at the pterosaur, only to be sent flying by a swipe of its claw.

The warrior's condition was clearly dire—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was on the verge of death.

No wonder Nuka had knelt immediately. He was begging for his companion's life.

Lord Ganesha certainly knew how to inspire loyalty in his followers...

As he pieced together the situation, Izzy felt a flicker of emotion.

Reaching into his backpack, he rummaged around for a moment before pulling something out. He turned his gaze back to Nuka, who remained kneeling.

"One million Vali's..."

"Huh?"

Nuka looked up in confusion at the unexpected words, only to see an amethyst glass bottle flying toward him.

"I said, you owe me one million Vali's. Don't forget to pay it back."

Nuka hurriedly reached out to catch the bottle. Grasping it tightly, he nodded with determination after hearing Izzy's explanation.

"Thank you so much, sir. I will return it to you as soon as I'm back on the surface! I will never forget your life-saving grace!"

After expressing his gratitude once more, Nuka stood and ran to his companion. Without hesitation, he administered the panacea, pulling the injured adventurer back from the brink of death.

When the warrior regained consciousness, Nuka brought him over to thank Izzy.

In truth, Izzy didn't feel strongly about saving their lives. He had done it simply because he could.

He just hoped they would remember to repay the money for the two panaceas when the time came.

In response, the two men assured him that they would definitely repay the debt. To prove their sincerity, they showed him their names and Familia's emblems. Fearing Izzy might still doubt them, they even revealed the patterns of their Falna on their backs.

The somewhat abstract elephant head was unmistakably the emblem of the Ganesha Familia.

The Falna patterns granted by each god differ for every clan. For instance, Loki's emblem is a clown, while Artemis' is a combination of a crescent moon and a bow and arrow. These marks cannot be forged.

Moreover, the ability values inscribed by Falna are considered deeply personal, almost a secret between an adventurer and their god's Familia.

The lengths Nuka and his companion went to in order to dispel Izzy's suspicion reflected their sincerity.

As for Izzy's claim of being a member of the Loki clan, the two accepted it without question.

After all, there was no reason for Izzy to lie about his affiliation.

Following these introductions, Nuka and his companion bid farewell to Izzy, explaining that they needed to reunite with their teammates who had fled earlier.

"One million Vali's, gone. I didn't expect to end up using none of the three panaceas I prepared for myself and instead giving them all away..."

With his hands clasped behind his head, Izzy sighed softly.

"Regret it?"

Beside him, Ryuu, who had remained silent until now, glanced over.

"No, actually, I might have made a profit out of this. I spent 1.2 million Vali's to buy three panaceas from Airmid, and I'll get one million back directly from this."

"Looking at it that way, it's like I bought three panaceas for only two hundred thousand Vali's. If other adventurers heard about this kind of deal, they'd probably laugh themselves awake in their dreams, right?"

With this adjusted perspective, Izzy found his logic quite reasonable.

"..."

Ryuu didn't know how many times she had fallen silent because of Izzy's twisted reasoning.

Every time Izzy started on one of his logical tangents, she couldn't help but think through it herself.

And every time, after thinking it through, she found no real flaw in his reasoning.

Yet... something about it always felt off, a nagging feeling she couldn't quite pinpoint.

It was frustrating.

Feeling rested enough, Izzy slipped the magic stone dropped by the pterosaur into his backpack.

Once back on the surface, he could exchange it for money at the guild headquarters. Since it was a crusade commission, there would be additional rewards as well.

Still, it was disappointing that the pterosaur didn't drop any items.

Standing up, Izzy picked up his silver-gray spear once more.

"Have you rested?" Ryuu asked, her tone tinged with surprise.

"Mental fatigue" wasn't something that could be resolved so quickly. Even with potions, headaches usually lingered for a while.

"Just barely," Izzy admitted. "But I won't be able to fight as smoothly as before. I'll rely on you for now, Ms. Ryuu. Once we reach the safe floor, I'll rest properly, okay?"

He smiled as he spoke.

Resting on the perilous fifteenth floor didn't make sense. It was better to push a little further and rest safely on the eighteenth floor.

Besides, with Ryuu's Lv.4 strength, getting there wouldn't be too difficult.

Ize's reasoning was straightforward.

Hearing his words, Ryuu nodded slightly.

"Yeah, Alright."

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