"Mom, did you just yawn?" I once asked her; I had just woken up, and caught her in the act.

She was sitting by the doorstep, enjoying the breeze softly tousling her hair. My voice didn't startle her; she simply turned to face me with a warm smile. "Good morning, sweetie," she said, ruffling my hair.

"I saw you yawn," I repeated, proud swelling my chest.

She tilted her head. "Hm? And what about it?"

"I never saw you tired before," I replied.

"People don't only yawn when they're tired, sweetie."

"Then why did you yawn?"

"Do you feel tired right now?" she asked me, dodging my question.

"No," I shook my head. "I just woke up."

Then, she did it again. She yawned. And, for some inexplicable reason, my body mimicked her, and I yawned.

"See? You just yawned while not being tired. Yawns are contagious, you know?" she winked.

"Y-you made me?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening.

"I made you," she remarked with a smirk, her eyes proud and amused.

"W-what magic is this?"

She tenderly chuckled, going back to ruffle my hair. I shook my head; she was so powerful to influence the little me by such easy gestures.

"Anyway... why did you yawn? You ignored my question. Are you tired?" I pressed.

"I'm not tired, sweetie. I just happened to yawn. Humans sometimes yawn, and I'm also human," she softly explained.

I squinted, analyzing her. "I'll cook for you today."

"Hm? How come?" she looked surprised.

"I've never seen you tired! Today, you'll rest. I'll handle the cooking!"

"Are you sure you're able to? Should I stand behind a shield to guard myself against a possible fire?" she teased.

I pouted. "I can cook..."

She chuckled once again. "It's fine, sweetie. I'm not tired. I'll never be tired," she reassured.

"How are you able to?" I asked her. "I'm always tired after a training..."

As usual, she brought a finger to her lips. "That's a secret."

...

I felt little slaps on my cheek, someone calling out my name...

"She's awake!"

"Everyone, give her some space!"

I know these voices... I slowly opened my eyes, Elizabeth was looking at me, her expression full of worries.

"Argenta!" she exclaimed.

I felt completely devoid of strength, my head throbbing as if someone were hitting it with a hammer.

"Elizabeth..." I managed to whisper; my lips also felt dry.

She gave me a warm and reassured smile, enveloping me in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad..." she murmured as she held me close. "I'm really glad..."

She was crying, tears were slowly trickling down her cheeks. Those were tears of joy; I was glad to see her too, but shedding tears seemed a bit excessive.

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"Here, drink this. It will help restore some of your strength," a man, wearing the capelet adorned with the Abyss Reavers' insignia, said to me, offering a small red potion.

Elizabeth grabbed the potion, carefully pouring its content into my mouth as she kept holding me in her arms.

"She needs food. Someone, please bring something to eat and some water!" the man shouted afterward.

"She needs meat..." someone murmured on the side.

"Luke, I'm about to kick your ass," a voice retorted to the earlier comment.

"Whoa, what! I'm not joking! She has cuts all over the skin, she lost blood, she needs meat... And I don't think you're in position to kick anyone's ass, Roland," Luke remarked.

I observed the others chatting. Apparently, the man named Roland had lost an arm somewhere along the dungeon.

"What are you talking about? I could still take you with one arm tied behind my back," he replied, laughing together with its comrade. To be without an arm, he looked extremely optimistic.

"The air seems way less tense than how it was at the beginning," I murmured to Elizabeth.

"Well, despite everything, it's going smoothly. And now we even found you; everyone's morale is high," the man remarked.

"Some stuff happened, Argenta. Now he's the coordinator. We'll talk about it once you've eaten something, okay?" Elizabeth informed me.

"That's right. If something is bothering you, just let me know," he added.

"Huh, sure. But... I don't even think you ever told me your name," I pointed out.

"Ah! How rude of me... I'm sorry. Usually, Crimson has always been the coordinator, and only she needed to know the names, so I didn't even think about introducing myself to you, despite you being a new member... Forgive me, I'm Mika," he explained.

"And I'm Louise," another member stepped forward. "Actually, usually Leonard is the one introducing a new member to the rest. But I think this time he forgot... I just assumed you were temporary, and I also didn't introduce myself."

"What the fuck? You guys are horrible..." Selena exclaimed from the side, I could sense some disbelief and anger in her tone.

"Well... I didn't bother to introduce myself to the others either, so I can understand the sentiment," I reasoned.

"Still! It's only fair to introduce themselves to a new arrival! Tsk, argh... I can't believe it..." Selena huffed, turning away. She looked pissed, with folded arms across her chest.

"I'm Luke! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Roland, and I advise you to ignore Luke."

One by one, surprisingly, even the members of the allied guild introduced themselves to me, although I couldn't really shake their hands with the little energy I had in my body. I noticed a member was missing... After that, Elizabeth grabbed some bread stuffed with meat, slowly feeding me.

"Easy, easy... Eat at your own pace, we're taking a break here as well," Mika reassured me; although my body yearned for sustenance so much that I almost choked trying to replenish myself.

Thanks to the potion and the food, I was soon able to move on my own, even though it still felt like my body didn't quite belong to me.

"It's fine, Elizabeth... you don't have to help me anymore; I can eat by myself."

The others were all sitting in the room, scattered, just chilling as they ate, and drank, and laughed together.

"I see you guys still have the wagon," I noticed.

"Yes," Mika remarked. "Even though the monsters of this dungeon were sturdier than usual, the rooms were spacious enough for us to bring it along. At first we thought we had to abandon it right at the start, at the funny bridge, but we managed to keep it as the platforms stopped."

"Argenta, how did you manage to save yourself?" Luke asked me, his tone seemed both interested and intrigued.

"Ah, I managed to get closer to the wall... And then I used my dagger to slow the fall," I recounted. Better hide my second spell until I figure out how it really works. Demons are matters that belong to me and no one else.

"What happened after that? We found you here... Did you defeat the guardian by yourself? How did you even get here?" Mika questioned.

"Mika... let her breathe," Selena scolded.

"Yes. After my fall, I found a lever that showed me a path. I followed and, eventually, I got into this room from a trapdoor; it was there," I pointed out, before returning to munching some food. "Before coming here, I met some monsters, and many stairs... I collapsed on the floor from exhaustion after I slew the guardian," I concluded.

"Wow... you're a total badass!" Luke exclaimed. Roland rolled his eyes at his comment.

"Incredible... what a story," Mika remarked.

"How much time has passed since the beginning? I lost track of time," I asked.

"This is the fifth day," Mika informed.

"Fif-?!" I choked on my food at the revelation, coughing loudly while Elizabeth patted my back trying to help me out.

"That's why it's even more incredible. Just the fact that you survived all alone is unbelievable. But to survive five days in a dungeon, without food or water... You're phenomenal," he complimented.

"Hmm, thanks..."

"You seem a bit down," Roland tilted his head.

"No, it's just that... my plan was to reach and reunite with you all. But in the end, I was found unconscious, without even the strength to eat by myself. I must've given a pitiful sight..." I admitted. I felt disappointed in myself.

"Oh, no, no. Trust me, nobody here thinks your sight was pitiful," Luke reassured with a smile.

"Hmm..."

"Now, only the boss room remains. Let's recover our strength before going in; this dungeon is already ours. Do you want to fight it, too, Argenta? You've already had quite the adventure, you can stay behind if you feel unsure," Mika offered, I could tell he was just being considerate about my well-being.

"No, I can fight. Don't worry," I replied.

"Are you sure, Argenta?" Elizabeth asked me, staring me in the eyes; she still seemed concerned about me.

"Yes. Don't worry, Elizabeth."

She sighed deeply. Then, she redirected her gaze at me, slowly nodding. Her eyes looked filled with determination now.

"Very well, then," Mika remarked. "Let's end this together."