"Answer ... Who was that Visage... Who exactly are you... Arezu..."
The sound of a familiar voice—weak yet laced with fear and anger—brought Lynn's consciousness back from her strange dream about Arezu crossdressing to look exactly like the Visage of the unknown girl.
When she opened her eyes, lying on her black robe spread across the stone floor with Arezu's rolled-up coat under her head, Lynn witnessed an ongoing argunt between Arezu and Liz. Or rather, a commotion—since Arezu wasn't talking back.
Liz was strangling Arezu, gripping the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the gate of the Dungeon Master's chamber. Hannah was trying to calm Liz down, pulling her hands away from Arezu. anwhile, Brandon just stood to the side, confused and at a loss as to how to break up the argunt between the two youngsters.
Sylvie, on the other hand, was tending to Ellric, who was lying unconscious on the floor—which reminded Lynn that those two, plus Liz and Hannah, now owed her big ti for healing and saving Ellric from the brink of death.
That thought brightened her mood, which had been worsening with every bit of misfortune since they entered the town of Mirare.
The town becoming a dungeon, the locals turning into undead Visages, losing many of their companions from the Annual Caravan, the bump and pain on her forehead, and her dream about Arezu crossdressing being interrupted—all of it had been souring her mood further and further.
Still, letting herself brood wouldn't change anything. In fact, it would only make things worse.
Luckily for her, an opportunity to brighten her mood was right in front of her.
"Say sothing—you bastard!"
"Say it, Mr. Arezu... Say that you and Hannah are cheating on and Liz!"
Lynn's usual dramatic flair, as she slowly rose and sat up on the floor, never failed to capture everyone's attention—including Sylvie, who was still worried about Ellric's recovery.
—"Huh?"—
Everyone's eyes went wide, their mouths left hanging open, bewildered by what Lynn had just said—except for Liz, whose face turned red from both anger and embarrassnt as she glared at her.
"Lynn, you bitc—"
"Calm down, Liz!"
Liz finally let go of Arezu and rushed toward Lynn, only for Hannah to embrace her from behind and restrain her.
Though Liz was usually the stronger one, her body was still recovering from her injuries—which had only just been healed—so she wasn't able to break free from Hannah's embrace—
"My, my... Aren't you just enjoying Hannah's embrace?"
"Fu—"
"Language, Lady Liz—language!"
Once Hannah had managed to drag Liz away from Lynn—with Brandon's help—toward the corridor where they couldn't see each other, Arezu finally approached Lynn and sat down beside her.
"How are you feeling?" Arezu asked, worried and still downcast from his argunt with Liz.
"I'm feeling a bit better now," Lynn cheerfully replied with a smile. Or so Arezu thought.
"So, can you tell what happened, Mr. Cheater? You know, about you and Hannah's supposed affair."
"Please... Enough with the teasing, Lynn."
Despite her misleading words, Arezu understood what Lynn was actually asking, and began explaining everything that had happened after she lost consciousness.
With Ellric's condition improving—his wounds closing though he remained unconscious from blood loss—Sylvie began treating Liz and Hannah's injuries, which hadn't fully healed yet, using high-quality healing potions.
Brandon, who had suffered wounds just as grave as Ellric's, managed to heal himself thanks to one of the enchantnts on his armor.
An hour passed before Liz and Hannah woke up. Sylvie and Brandon were relieved to see them recover—and so was Arezu. But the mont Liz and Hannah saw him, they were reminded of the fear and pain they had suffered during their encounter with the Dungeon Master—the Visage of the unknown girl who resembled Arezu.
Hannah quickly cald down, but Liz was overwheld by her fear and anger—
"—So she rushed at Arezu, strangling and questioning him when he and Hannah had gotten so close they started calling each other by na... And that's when I woke up—right, Mr. Cheater?"
"If it would please you, then just do the sa, Lynn," Arezu said in his usual laid-back tone, free of irritation—understanding that Lynn wasn't actually angry or jealous, but just trying to lighten the mood for both of them.
"Do the sa? You want to cheat on you?"
"Of course not, I'm saying you can drop the honorific and just call by my na already!"
"As if I would ever cheat on you."
"Oi—listen to what I'm saying."
While Lynn and Arezu were lost in their playful squabble, Sylvie was forced to awkwardly listen—blushing bright red despite being the oldest at 150 years old—as she could only interpret their banter as flirting.
After a while, Liz finally cald down enough to realize that despite Arezu's unknown and suspicious background, the Visage of his Envy becoming the new Dungeon Master of the Crystal Mirror Dungeon didn't an he was hostile to them, nor that he was the cause of Mirare Town becoming a dungeon.
"Took you long enough to realize that, Ms. GL."
"You fu—bit—!"
"Language!"
Once again, Hannah had to drag Liz back into the corridor to calm her down. When they returned, Lynn and Arezu, together with Sylvie and Brandon, were already having a late-night al that Lynn had pulled out of her enchanted bag: cake for herself and Sylvie, and burgers for Arezu and Brandon.
"You really have the guts to eat in this situation?"
"If you don't want it, then I'll just give the cake and burger to Hannah."
"Who said I don't want it? Give a burger too."
Liz munched on her burger—and another one—trying to satisfy both her hunger and her anger.
When they were done eating, their investigation of the Crystal Mirror Dungeon continued.
"Are you sure this is enough, Ms. Lynn?" Brandon asked as he held one of the gate doors open, while Arezu held the other.
"If you want to go in there again, feel free. But don't expect Mr. Cheater—I an, Mr. Arezu—to save you again."
Oi—You're talking to the commander! Everyone thought, but kept to themselves. They didn't want to waste more energy arguing with Lynn.
"I already know I can't win against her," Brandon sighed.
"Then let's settle for just looking from afar."
Their bet was on Hannah, a saintess candidate, and Lynn, a self-proclaid—
"—A Priestess," Lynn grumbled, glaring at Arezu.
—Hannah and Lynn were to sense the flow of mana and corruption inside the Crystal Mirror Dungeon and compare it to the town. The best place to observe the curse was near the Dungeon Core—inside the Dungeon Master's chamber.
Since they couldn't defeat the Dungeon Master, the only way for their group to investigate the underground labyrinth and learn what was happening in the town above was to observe from outside the Dungeon Master's chamber without stepping inside—so it wouldn't attack them.
"It's different... right?" Hannah said, tilting her head left and right, arms crossed under her chest.
"It's the sa, but totally different," Lynn declared proudly, both hands on her hips.
With her eccentric eyes that gives her the ability to see the corruption of curses, Lynn confird the differences and similarities of the curse aura emanating from the gate opposite the chamber—behind the Visage of the unknown girl.
"Then it ans..."
"It ans the Crystal Mirror Dungeon likely has no connection to Mirare Town becoming a dungeon, Ms. GL."
"Lynn, you bit—"
"That's enough already, young lady!"
While Hannah was scolding Liz, Brandon and Arezu released the doors.
As the gate to the Dungeon Master's chamber slowly closed, Arezu stood outside, staring at the Visage of his Envy.
"Could you at least tell who she was, Mr. Arezu?" Lynn asked, standing beside him.
She wanted to ask more, but upon seeing the nostalgic look on his face—the sa expression he always had whenever he reminisced about his past—Lynn expected that Arezu wouldn't tell her anything else.
But to Lynn's surprise, Arezu gave her the most honest answer she'd ever heard from him—right before the gate fully closed.
"She was ant to be the one nad Arezu."
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