Chapter 333
Previously, Akame had lived purely as a weapon of the Empire.
But once the Empire collapsed, the hand wielding that weapon disappeared.
For the first time, Akame—who had spent her entire life as nothing more than a blade—found herself lost, with no idea where she should go next.
Then Kiriya happened to invite her along.
He could cook incredible food, so she simply went with the flow and followed him.
It also gave her the opportunity to help Kurome recover and strengthen her body.
Half a year had passed.
Her younger sister’s condition had stabilized, and Akame herself had finally figured out what she wanted to do.
Now, she intended to begin living for that purpose.
"That sounds good."
Kiriya nodded, genuinely approving of her decision.
It was the story of a killer who wanted to become human again.
There was nothing wrong with that.
"Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to meat."
Akame said it with absolute seriousness.
"Haha, I’ll look forward to it."
Kiriya smiled—then abruptly raised his sword.
"Whoa! That was dirty! You actually tried to sneak-attack me!"
His exaggerated complaint came at the exact moment Murasame crashed against his blade.
And just like that, the six of them continued eating, drinking, fighting, and training together until the last of the medicinal ingredients had been consumed.
Only then did they finally say their goodbyes.
Kiriya used the Flying Thunder God Technique to send Akame and Kurome back to the Imperial Capital.
Then he looked toward Jeanne, Ryuu, and Esdeath.
The four exchanged smiles.
"Time to go home!"
...
DanMachi World, Dungeon—37th Floor.
A nearly imperceptible ripple passed through space.
Kiriya, Jeanne, Ryuu, and Esdeath appeared inside the quiet cavern they had departed from more than a year earlier.
"So this is the Dungeon you kept talking about?"
Esdeath looked around.
Her expression quickly became disappointed.
"This place is way too peaceful. Where are all those endless monsters you promised?"
"This is one of the Dungeon’s rare safe areas."
Jeanne explained.
"It’s used as a resting zone, so monsters generally don’t appear here."
"If you follow that path upward, you’ll find what you’re looking for."
Ryuu pointed ahead.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Esdeath immediately started walking.
"Let’s go."
Seeing how impatient she was, the other three could only exchange helpless looks before following.
Soon, Esdeath swaggered straight into the cavern containing the Colosseum.
Naturally, that kind of arrogant entrance immediately provoked the monsters inside.
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR—!"
Peluda, Barbarian, Obsidian Soldier, Loup Garou...
A huge variety of monsters roared, raised their weapons, and charged toward Esdeath.
"Oh?"
Esdeath drew the slender sword at her waist.
"So these are the famous Dungeon monsters?"
She rushed directly into the horde.
Within only a few movements, large numbers of monsters had already fallen beneath her blade.
She obviously possessed far more efficient ice abilities that could have cleared the entire area almost instantly.
But Esdeath still preferred close combat.
At least that way, the fight lasted a little longer.
Unfortunately—
there was a limit to how much longer she could drag it out.
For the monsters of the 37th Floor, someone like Esdeath was simply far beyond what they were built to handle.
It did not take long before she had wiped them all out, leaving only scattered materials and magic stones across the ground.
"That’s it?"
Esdeath looked deeply dissatisfied.
"These monsters are too weak."
She turned around.
"Why don’t we go deeper?"
Kiriya had already told her that the deeper floors contained stronger monsters, appearing in greater numbers and at much higher frequency.
"Let’s wait a little."
Kiriya glanced toward Ryuu.
The elf’s desire to return home was written all over her face.
"We spent more than a year in your world."
He shook his head.
"Everyone here has friends and family we haven’t seen in all that time."
"Let’s go back first, see everyone, rest for a while, and then I’ll take you into the Deep Floors properly."
Ryuu felt that way.
And honestly, so did Kiriya.
It had been more than a year since he had seen Hestia.
He actually missed that energetic, shamelessly affectionate little goddess quite a bit.
Esdeath loved battle, but she also valued her companions.
Hearing that, she nodded.
The Dungeon wasn’t going anywhere.
Meeting some of those legendary gods first didn’t sound bad either.
"Gods, huh?"
Even Esdeath could not help becoming curious.
"What kind of beings are they?"
"They’re gods, but they’re forbidden from using their divine power."
Ryuu immediately warned her.
"They aren’t truly omniscient or omnipotent down here."
"In practice, most of them are just people who enjoy eating, drinking, playing around, and sticking their noses into anything interesting."
She was genuinely worried Esdeath might get excited and challenge some god to a duel.
If she accidentally killed one, things would become very troublesome.
"Got it."
Esdeath waved dismissively.
"Relax. I won’t attack them."
She enjoyed fighting, certainly.
But her opponent still had to be genuinely strong.
What fun was there in beating up someone who currently had no power?
"Okay."
Kiriya raised one hand.
"Now that that’s settled—let’s go home."
The four began moving toward the upper floors.
Naturally, the Dungeon welcomed them back with great enthusiasm.
Monsters constantly emerged from the walls and corridors, swarming toward the group.
They never even required Kiriya, Jeanne, or Ryuu to intervene.
Esdeath handled everything herself.
Her brutally aggressive fighting style and absurd strength repeatedly stunned adventurers they passed along the way.
Then those adventurers noticed Kiriya walking with her.
Immediately—everything made sense.
After all, he was Sylvan.
Of course his companions were monsters too.
His judgment when it came to talented women had apparently never failed him.
"Damn it, another beautiful girl."
Some male adventurers stared sourly at the three women around Kiriya.
"Why does that bastard only ever attract gorgeous women?"
Kiriya naturally ignored them completely.
The group continued upward at overwhelming speed.
After separating from Ryuu once they returned to the surface, Kiriya immediately headed toward Hearthstone Manor with Jeanne and Esdeath.
...
"Kiriya."
Inside Hearthstone Manor, Hestia stood on top of the sofa.
She pointed dramatically toward Esdeath, who was calmly drinking tea.
"Would you please explain what exactly is going on here?"
"She’s the newest member of our Familia."
Kiriya answered without hesitation.
"Don’t let the lack of Falna fool you. In terms of physical ability and overall combat capability, she can already match veteran Level 5 adventurers."
"What?!"
Hestia’s eyes went wide.
Her scream nearly blew the roof off.
"Are you serious?"
The question slipped out instinctively.
Kiriya spread his hands.
"Would I lie about something like this in front of a goddess?"
Hestia fell silent.
Fair enough.
That question had come out before her brain had fully engaged.
"What an incredible talent."
Hestia stared at Esdeath, then turned toward Kiriya.
"Seriously, where do you keep finding people like this?"
"Well..."
Kiriya shrugged.
"I went out for a walk and happened to get lucky."
"Like hell I believe that."
Hestia rolled her eyes.
Still, she did not press him.
Everyone had a secrets.
"Esdeath, right?"
Hestia straightened herself and puffed out her chest, putting on her most mature and dignified expression.
"From today onward, you’re a member of the Hestia Familia."
"We may only have a few members and our Familia isn’t particularly large, but in terms of reputation, we’re one of the top Familias in all of Orario."
She looked extremely proud.
"You chose the right place."
"Work hard and I promise you won’t regret joining us."
Esdeath stared at the tiny goddess trying desperately to look solemn and authoritative.
Her only thought was—
’Cute.’
Very cute!
So cute that she suddenly wanted to pull Hestia into her arms and spoil her!
And Esdeath had never been the kind of person to suppress an impulse once it appeared.
So she simply did it.
A moment later, Hestia had been pulled into Esdeath’s arms, her soft cheeks being repeatedly kneaded between both hands.
The goddess stared blankly ahead.
"Hey!"
She finally reacted.
"What are you doing?!"
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"I’m a goddess, you know!"
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