endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 37

Vahn and Lili made their way into the 'Beginner's Road' on the first floor of the dungeon. Vahn looked around and found the entrance to the path he had taken when he first entered the dungeon. He continued leading the way as Lili trailed behind him as the two made small talk.

"Lili, what is your goal in entering the dungeon?" Vahn decided to be direct, so he asked her why she wanted to become stronger.

Lili looked into his eyes and saw his seriousness. She began to seriously contemplate the question before speaking. "I want to become strong enough to survive...and to protect the things I care about." During the last half of the sentence, she stared at his face, only to see him nod while thinking about her words.

"That's enough for now, but I want you to have a bigger dream. Everyone wants to protect something, be it their way of life or the people close to them. I learned that it's important to also have a goal to work towards since you won't be able to become stronger just by wanting strength."

Lili nodded while hanging her head. She didn't disagree with him, but couldn't think of any goal besides just earning her freedom. Even now she was just escaping instead of directly facing her problems. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she looked curiously towards Vahn.

"Vahn-sama, why aren't you surprised by my appearance? It slipped my mind, but you were able to instantly recognize me even though my magic changed my appearance."

Vahn laughed at her question, which caused her to frown slightly. "That's easy. I was waiting in the area we agreed to meet, and you were the one that mentioned I was 'late'. Besides, even if you change your appearance a little, I can easily tell you apart from others."

"Eh, how come?" Not many people had been able to see through her disguise before, so she wanted to know why he was able to do so.

Vahn thought for a brief moment, but couldn't tell her it was because he had seen her change form in the manga. He decided to tell a half-truth that should make her overlook any misgivings she might have. Looking towards the top of her head, he could see her pinkish-blue aura and decided that would suffice. "It's because you're cute and have a very unique aura. No matter what form you take I'd be able to easily recognize you." He decided to compliment her since girls seemed to be happy whenever he was polite to them.

Hearing his reasons, Lili began to blush fiercely and hugged Vahn from behind. "Uuuuuu, it's not fair to say things like that Vahn-sama..." She began putting strength into her arms as she rubbed her head against his back.

Vahn was surprised at the effectiveness of his simple compliment. He began to think he should try complimenting people more often if it's able to make them this happy. Seeing the way people reacted to his words also made him feel a variety of emotions, and it was very interesting since he had so few noteworthy interactions before coming to this world.

Eventually, Lili separated herself from his back before assuming her original form. As long as they were in the dungeon and weren't around other people she should be fine. Besides, she wanted Vahn to get used to the real her as much as possible. To hide her previous embarrassment, she tried continuing the conversation from earlier.

"Vahn-sama, why do you want to become stronger?" She was very curious about his reasons since he had gone out of his way to protect someone he had never met before. As far as she could tell, he had a very heroic disposition, but she could still see a painful and solemn expression on his face from time to time.

Vahn stopped walking and looked directly into her chestnut colored eyes. "I want to become strong enough to change the fates of those bound by the whims of others. I don't want to see people suffer just because it makes someone else's life convenient. And..." He looked towards the ceiling as if he could see through to something far off into the distance. "There is someone I must become stronger for..."