Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden – Sword Oratoria - Volume 4 - Chapter Pr

PROLOGUE THE MORNING OF THE DECISION…? 

Darkness blanketed the night sky. 
Everything was painted black to the north, south, and west, including directly overhead. Not even the eastern horizon showed traces of the sun’s first light. 
It was during the ephemeral time between midnight and dawn—no longer the same day but not yet late enough to be called morning. 
Aiz had woken early, even compared to her normal routine. At the moment, she stood atop the great walls of the Labyrinth City Orario. 
“…Maybe I’m a little…tired,” she mumbled, already clad in her lightweight set of armor and toting her trusted sword, Desperate. Indeed, the golden eyes framed by golden locks appeared decidedly heavy on the girl covered in silver. 
Stretched out below her was the vast metropolis of Orario, the sight carrying a sense of tranquility. Magic-stone lamps were scattered about like a sea of stars, their glow all but faded. The only remaining light came from South Main Street—home to the Shopping District with its theaters and casinos, the Pleasure Quarter—sometimes better known as the Night District—running along the boulevard’s eastern border, and the Industrial District to the northeast—host to the tireless production of magic-stone goods day in and day out. 
Aiz gazed blankly once more across the great city and its extinguished lights. 
“…” 
Closing her eyes as though surrendering herself to the chill of the night breeze, she attempted to shake off her residual fatigue. At the same time, she recalled how exactly she had arrived at this spot on the city walls, the particulars playing out behind her eyelids. 
Earlier that day—yesterday, by this point—after what seemed like an eternity, Aiz had finally been able to apologize to that boy with the white hair, Bell Cranell. At last she’d expressed to him the feelings that had been building up since that fight with the minotaur. The grand game of cat and mouse—or cat and rabbit, as it were—had come to a close, and the two of them had reconciled, though perhaps that was too strong a word. Still, the misunderstanding between them had been cleared up. 
And yet, the connection between the two of them had yet to dissolve. 
It would seem that Bell, in his quest to become stronger, had come to look up to Aiz as a sort of mentor. 
It was true that the boy didn’t have anyone else. As the sole member of an insignificant familia, there were no other adventurers to teach him about fighting. He had mentioned yesterday, while completely red-faced and sputtering in front of her, that he’d been diving into the Dungeon time and again with nothing but his self-taught skills. Put less charitably, he was still a complete amateur. 
Unwilling to let that continue, Aiz had voluntarily offered to instruct him on combat techniques. 
I empathize with your dedication. It moved me. 
This was her explanation to the boy for why it seemed as though she were lending a hand to another familia. 
While her words weren’t entirely false, they weren’t the truth, either. 
The real reason Aiz had offered to help the boy was to learn his secret—to discover what was behind his extraordinary, remarkable growth. 
Despite having been an adventurer for little more than a month, Bell’s growth was unprecedented. His achievements and combat results were enough to earn a second glance from Aiz, and her interest had yet to wane. She needed to know how he did it—how he’d managed to progress so quickly that he could already venture into the upper levels. 
Because she would be taking on the fifty-ninth floor in only a week’s time. 
She wasn’t about to give in to the hybrid Levis’s threat. 
And because…it was what she craved. 
More than anything, Aiz sought power, and for that she needed to know everything about Bell Cranell’s growth…and she needed to surpass it. 
And yet… 
It was self-serving. A selfishness that was both stubborn and ugly. 
The boy would suspect nothing, believing Aiz was teaching him out of the goodness of her heart, while in actuality she’d be lying through her teeth. 
The guilt gnawed at her. 
Pushing aside those thoughts, Aiz opened her golden eyes and directed her gaze toward the ground. 
Her heart twisted in her chest, aching beneath the silver gleam of her armor—I need to at least reciprocate, she told herself, as though trying to excuse her behavior. 
She knew there was no stopping herself. Not when this secret could grant her every wish. 

Thus, she’d simply have to help the boy achieve his goal, as well. 
Whether this was truly for his sake or just a way to ensure she could live with herself, she didn’t know. 
But maybe, maybe if I repay him in every way I can… 
—And so she made that her oath to herself. An oath carved into her very heart. 
Running a hand along the hilt of her sword, she thought of those eyes, those rubellite eyes, like a rabbit’s. She let her gaze rise, her expression stern. 
Indeed, there was no reason to prolong this guilt any further. Starting today, she’d need to wake up early to train Bell in the ways of combat—she couldn’t let anyone see where she was going, after all. 
“I just need to give it everything I’ve got…” 
Little Aiz cheering her on from within, she silently hardened her resolve again. 
The location Aiz had chosen for Bell’s training—the spot on the northwestern wall she was currently occupying—was a sort of secret hideaway she’d discovered some time ago. She’d happened upon this breach in the city’s fortifications around the time she’d first joined Loki Familia. The sophomoric Aiz had fled here often after quarrels with the other members—mostly in the form of one-sided spats with Riveria. 
There were traces of someone having lived here: a room of rocks, like a living space of sorts, complete with a shower and the like. Aiz had heard that there was even a goddess in Orario forced to live in an abandoned church, though it was nothing but a rumor. Perhaps this shelter in the city walls belonged to a god unknown even in Orario or a vagrant of sorts. 
There was no way Aiz could let the upper echelons of Loki Familia know about what she was doing or that she had any connection to someone of another familia. No, this needed to be kept secret even from Tiona and the others. 
If she was found out, there was no doubt Aiz’s little training sessions would be brought to an immediate halt. She’d be scolded, lectured, and the whole thing would spiral into a much bigger incident than just helping a young boy. 
But this place would be fine. Atop these walls outmatched in height by naught but Babel Tower itself, she wasn’t likely to be seen. 
“…Still…” 
Aiz was brimming with drive to teach Bell, and she’d clearly arrived at the wall too early. 
She’d been too nervous, or something resembling that, to sleep. All wrapped in her covers, she felt her eyes had simply refused to close. 
Even now, her heart continued to beat erratically in her chest. Excitement? Unease? She wasn’t quite sure, but either way, her meeting time with Bell couldn’t come soon enough. 
And yet. 
Aiz let her gaze drop to the stone pavement below, a mutter escaping her lips. 
“What exactly…am I supposed to teach him…?” 
While she had plenty of enthusiasm, there was a concerning lack of content. 
She’d never trained anyone before. In the past, she had always been too focused on improving herself. Indeed, only a scant few years ago, her seniors in Loki Familia had still been training her—Finn, Gareth, Riveria, and everyone else. 
And now someone like her was going to be a teacher. 
While she was the one who originally suggested it, that didn’t make the incredible discomfort she felt any less real. 
What exactly should she teach him? 
Aiz found herself at a complete loss, her eyes shifting back and forth fruitlessly. There was no one she could ask about it, either. Not even Little Aiz inside her knew the answer, already fast asleep and curled up in her bed. 
Wandering aimlessly through the labyrinth her heart had become since yesterday, she had yet to discover a way out. 
As she stood there, the perplexities of her situation confounding her still, the appointed time of her training session drew nearer, bringing with it the biting chill of predawn wind, which passed by her with a wispy giggle. 
After a moment, there came a soft achoo. 
Aiz had mumbled something affirmative beneath her breath, then let out a tiny sneeze.