Danmachi: Strongest Familia

"Is this young one a new member of Sol's family? Hello! I'm Saria!" greeted Saria warmly.

"Lulu! And I'm not a child," Lulu replied with a touch of irritation.

"Very well, Miss Lulu. Please, let's start with your registration," Saria said with a friendly smile as she pulled out a form from her folder.

"Your name is simply Lulu?"

"That's right!"

"Alright, and Miss Lulu is… a human?"

"Of course not! I'm a Yordle—" Lulu began to retort, but Riveria stopped her gently.

"Is there a problem?" Riveria asked.

"None at all," Saria responded, though she cast a curious glance at the pair. Noticing Riveria's firm look, Saria lowered her head and wrote down "Pallum" under the race category.

"Now, what is Miss Lulu's age?" Saria continued, though with a hint of hesitation as she sensed something unusual about Lulu's identity.

"Age? Lulu doesn't know."

As an ageless Yordle, Lulu had no concept of time and hardly paid attention to trivial things like age.

"Let's put 20," Riveria suggested, taking the lead again.

"Understood."

With the basic information completed, Saria thanked them and withdrew politely. Soon after, an adventurer's certificate had been issued.

"Thank you for your help, Saria. If you have the chance, come visit the Sol family for tea," Riveria offered kindly.

"Thank you for the invitation, Riveria-sama!" Saria's eyes sparkled with excitement, her voice rising in enthusiasm. Riveria offered a faint smile, accustomed to this reaction.

---

Once they left the guild, Riveria walked a few steps before noticing that Lulu wasn't following. She turned, puzzled, and saw Lulu standing there with a determined expression.

What's this little one planning now? A sense of dread crept into Riveria's thoughts.

"Riveria, let's go to the dungeon!" Lulu's face brimmed with anticipation.

"What?"

Well, so much for hoping her instincts were wrong. Although she hadn't known Lulu long, Riveria was already familiar with her boundless energy and persistence—traits of someone who would never take "no" for an answer. In a word, a troublemaker…

From the look in Lulu's eyes, it was clear she wouldn't budge without agreement.

"Alright, you can go, but on one condition! Only the first three floors. It's just to get you acquainted with the dungeon's atmosphere."

"Yay! Riveria, you're the best!" Lulu cheered with delight.

Lulu's short legs darted so fast that Riveria could barely keep up.

To make things convenient for adventurers exchanging magic stones and materials, the dungeon's entrance was situated close to the guild. As Lulu eyed the shadowy cave ahead, she charged forward without hesitation.

The walls on either side were lined with magic lights, making the path less dim than one might expect.

The upper floors of the dungeon bustled with low-level adventurers, each earning their daily living. And now, as the day drew to a close, many adventurers were heading back, chatting and laughing on their way to the city.

Riveria kept a close but unobtrusive distance behind Lulu, ready to step in if needed without interfering with Lulu's exploration.

They'd just reached a quiet corner when cracks began appearing on the wall in front of them. Loose gravel tumbled to the ground, revealing a goblin with gleaming red eyes.

Dungeon goblins were the lowest-level minions, their sickly green, spindly forms even shorter than Lulu. The goblin let out a harsh shriek, charging at her. Lulu's face twisted with disgust.

"Smash 'em, Pix!" she called out confidently.

There wasn't a trace of fear or tension—quite unusual for a newcomer. With a casual flick of her staff, Lulu unleashed two purple energy bolts that streaked through the goblin like shooting stars. Instantly, the goblin disintegrated into a puff of black smoke, leaving behind only a small magic stone, no larger than a fingernail.

Riveria blinked, surprised by what she'd just witnessed. That attack was undoubtedly magic—and it was more powerful than what a typical rookie could handle.

If she was right, Lulu hadn't chanted any incantation. Or… was that odd little phrase supposed to be a chant?

It seemed Sol-sama's trust in Lulu's abilities was well-placed.

"Lulu, do you not need to chant to cast magic?"

"Chanting? What's that?" Lulu asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

Her innocent expression made Riveria question everything she thought she knew about magic. It was clear that there was much common sense Lulu needed to learn.

"Hey, Riveria, is this a magic stone?" Lulu asked, holding up the tiny gem.

"Yes. By defeating monsters, you can collect magic stones and exchange them for Valis back at the guild."

"But… this one's too small," Lulu said, scrunching her nose in disappointment.

"Well, this is just the first floor, and goblins are the weakest monsters here."

"Mm…" Lulu murmured, looking unimpressed.

The first floor of the dungeon was designed to be forgiving, with weak monsters and a slow respawn rate. This gave Riveria plenty of time to explain the dungeon's setup to Lulu.

After another half-hour, Lulu had only encountered a dozen goblins and similarly unimpressive creatures, even after they ventured down to the fifth floor.

On the fifth floor, the monsters appeared more frequently, though they were still limited to goblins and grotesque lesser creatures. Lulu, wielding her staff and aided by Pix's radiant blasts, made quick work of these foes.

By now, Riveria felt almost numb, silently helping to gather the items Lulu left in her wake. Lulu's magical reserves were astonishing, and her spells were… unusual, to say the least—no chant, no cooldown, and surprisingly strong.

"This is far enough for today," Riveria finally said, picking up a goblin's drop item and gauging the time. "Any further, and it'll be too late to head back."

Bringing Lulu to the dungeon was already a rare exception, and Riveria didn't want to keep the others in the family worrying.

"Aww, but I was hoping to see some different monsters. We've come all this way!" Lulu pouted.

Riveria sighed inwardly. She really was a handful.