Floor 18 — Rivira.
The crowd began to thin as the inspection progressed. Charlie, Aishia, and Est stood at the edge of the plaza, watching Riveria lead the examination of the female adventurers, assisted by Tiona and Tione.
Where was Aiz?
She was chasing after a woman who had looked agitated and tried to avoid the inspection earlier. Her body moved swiftly through the adventurers, and silently, Lefiya quickly followed from behind, looking nervous but determined not to fall behind.
Meanwhile, Charlie's eyes glowed softly with the sky-blue hue characteristic of the Six Eyes.
His gaze swept over the crowd of male adventurers in front of him. Just now, he had felt a killing intent directed at him that vanished before he could turn his head.
"Aishia, did you feel that?"
"Um, it wasn't just Charlie's imagination. I felt it too." Aishia replied softly, her eyes scanning the same area.
"No matter who the enemy is, as long as I'm by Onii-chan's side, nothing bad will happen."
Charlie turned and smiled warmly. He raised his hand and gently patted Est's head.
"Thank you, Est."
Slightly closing her eyes, Est enjoyed the caress like a pampered cat.
Seeing this scene, Aishia grasped Charlie's hand. She placed it on her own head, her eyes filled with hope.
"…Me too."
"…"
Without a word, Charlie smiled and gently stroked Aishia's head, causing her to lean softly against his side.
The two spirit girls looked happy, but for the men around them, it was a heart-wrenching sight.
Some of them could only clutch their chests while trying to suppress their jealousy, even as they stood in the middle of a murder investigation.
However, Charlie paid them no mind. His thoughts remained alert, especially to the uneasy premonition that had not completely disappeared.
'I have a bad feeling, something bad is going to happen…'
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After a while, Riveria and the other female adventurers returned from the inspection. Tiona shook her head slightly, Tione shrugged, and Riveria let out a long sigh.
They hadn't found any clues.
No suspicious wounds, no blood, no forbidden weapons. All results were negative.
There was no other choice. The crowd slowly dispersed, although the entrance to Rivira remained closed. The adventurers began to complain, dissatisfied with having to wait without any clear information. However, Bors's prestige was quite high among the residents of Floor 18. His promise to open the gates tomorrow if the culprit was still not found was enough to quell their complaints—for now.
On the other hand, Charlie stared at the dilapidated inn building.
Since camping was not allowed inside Rivira, he was forced to rent a room. The problem? The room prices in this place were unreasonable.
Although he was relatively wealthy, paying a premium price for a place like this still made his heart uneasy. Especially when he knew he was being ripped off.
When he ordered only one room but had two beautiful girls with him—Aishia and Est—the innkeeper glared at him with annoyance as if Charlie was the mortal enemy of all single men.
But when Charlie looked inside the room…
Cracked walls. A mattress as hard as a wooden board. A musty smell wafted from the corner of the room. The window couldn't even be opened.
"Those damn profiteers. The accommodation provided is not worth the price. Aishia, Est, I'm sorry for making you two sleep in a dump like this." Charlie said to the two spirit girls beside him apologetically.
"I don't mind sleeping anywhere. As long as you're by my side, Charlie." Aishia said softly.
Est, who was already sitting casually on the hard mattress, said without the slightest discomfort, "It's okay. As long as Onii-chan is here, everything feels comfortable. That's more than enough for me."
"Aishia… Est…"
Charlie looked at both of them. His heart was touched.
In his mind, he compared this situation to his previous life. If this were the majority of Indonesian women in the past—who were used to updating statuses about five-star hotels, fancy food, and high living standards—they would have been sulking from the first minute.
But Aishia and Est… just accepted things as they were without the slightest complaint. They didn't care about the place, only about being with him. The sincerity in their eyes made Charlie feel as if this dilapidated room was more comfortable than a five-star hotel.
A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"There's no decent entertainment here. To pass the time, let's play Monopoly."
After saying that, Charlie raised his hand and accessed the shiny silver on his left wrist—the Space-Time Cache, his convenient dimensional storage. Instantly, a complete game board with cards, money, and pawns appeared on the dusty wooden floor.
"I want to play."
Aishia immediately sat cross-legged in front of the board and began sorting through the pawns.
"Monopoly? What's that?" Est tilted her head, a confused expression on her face.
"It's a relaxing game."
Charlie had anticipated this. Compared to Aishia, who had seen his memories of the modern world, Est was still very unfamiliar with the concept of games from his original world.
"Monopoly is a strategy game to control properties. Basically, we buy land, build houses, and then bankrupt the other players." Charlie explained, arranging the play money and placing the cards in their spots.
Est was silent for a moment, then nodded with an innocent expression.
"In that case, I'll bankrupt Onii-chan."
"Oh, so confident? Interesting, please try, Est." Charlie pinched Est's soft cheek.
"…"
Once Est understood the basics of the game, they began playing. The atmosphere of the previously stuffy and silent room now became lively.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The crystal "sky" of Dungeon Floor 18 slowly changed from bright to dark. Millions of white crystals attached to the ceiling—the natural light source of this place—began to dim one by one. Among them, the blue crystals scattered like stars also began to lose their shine. Slowly but surely, the soft white light that enveloped the entire forest and plains began to fade, replaced by the natural darkness that marked the arrival of night.
The island where the city of Rivira stood, in the middle of the large lake to the west, also sank into darkness. Only the flickering light of lanterns and artificial crystal lamps from various houses and shops marked the human life that still continued in the middle of the Dungeon night.
In one of the dilapidated inn rooms, the warm light from a small magic lamp illuminated three figures sitting cross-legged on the floor. They had spent time playing Monopoly, Chess, and other board games that Charlie had brought from the Planar World: Gotoubun no Hanayome.
After a satisfying game session, Charlie was preparing dinner.
"Aishia, the water."
"Okay."
Aishia raised her palm, and instantly a swirl of light appeared, condensing into a ball of pure water that hung in the air. She directed it into a small kettle.
Charlie cupped his hands together. Fine, steady flames flickered from between his fingers—the result of his fire-based Spirit Art. He carefully heated the water, ensuring the temperature was just right for the cup noodles he had neatly arranged on the old table.
"It's boiling."
The water was poured into each cup. Fragrant steam immediately filled the narrow room, eliciting hungry stomach growls from the girls.
When the time came, they slowly opened the cup lids, inhaling the strong aroma of spices and oil that wafted from within.
"Onii-chan, this…"
Charlie hadn't had time to respond when Est had already scooped up her noodles with a spoon and started eating.
Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened slightly.
"…Delicious."
"I'm glad you like it."
Seeing Est eat so heartily, Charlie smiled faintly.
Aishia also tasted it and enjoyed this togetherness.
Outside the room, the night wind of Rivira gently rustled the leaves, bringing tranquility and a hint of hidden unease in the darkness.
"KIIIIEEEKKKKK—"
But that tranquility was soon torn apart by a terrifying, high-pitched wail that pierced the ears as if hundreds of worms were wriggling under the skin and crawling into the ears of anyone who heard it.
*RUMBLE!*
Then… the ground began to shake violently.
Charlie, who had just stirred his cup noodles, immediately stopped his movement. He stood up and quickly strode to the window, opening it wide. Although the night was so dark that ordinary human eyes couldn't see anything, his Six Eyes could penetrate the darkness perfectly.
His gaze pierced through the distance.
In the distance, atop the city walls of Rivira, stood a tall figure shrouded in shadows.
Pillars of smoke began to rise from the other side of the city, accompanied by the sounds of small explosions and human screams. Then, something far more disturbing appeared.
Heads of man-eating plants rose toweringly from behind the city walls. They writhed and howled, their tongues lashing out like poisonous whips.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MONSTERS ARE BREAKING THROUGH?! WHAT ARE THE GUARDS DOING?!"
Bors's shout echoed loudly through the night air, full of anger and panic.
The plant monsters began to climb and slide down the city walls. With a crawling motion like giant maggots, they headed towards Crystal Square quickly and brutally.
"AAAHHHH—!"
Seconds later, screams and shouts echoed. The tents and small stalls lining Crystal Square were instantly devoured and destroyed. Wood flew, metal shrieked as it broke, and the smell of blood began to permeate the air.
Charlie frowned as he looked at the creatures.
"…Aren't those the plant monsters that appeared in Orario during the Monsterphillia Festival?"
The commotion outside grew louder, but in his mind, a ticklish question arose.
"But Bell Cranel isn't here… So why is there trouble? Haaah… I'm not the protagonist of this world, but why does trouble follow me wherever I go?"
He looked towards Aishia and Est, who were also standing on guard behind him.
"No… this world isn't as peaceful as my original world, so trouble is normal."
With a confident and certain expression, Charlie… somehow convinced himself that this incident had absolutely nothing to do with him, and he was very sure of it!