Chapter 164 – I like you. (Luan and Mikoto’s POV)

We didn’t descend further and stayed on the 8th floor. Some adventurers passed by while we were training and thought we were seriously fighting, but I reassured them.

To my surprise, however, they were worried about me, not Mikoto.

I can understand that since she’s more well-known than I am. Nobody recognizes me, which is surprising.

I’ve walked around plenty with Ais, Tiona, and Tione, so it’s strange that I still haven’t earned a nickname or something.

“I don’t understand why people still treat you as weak. Nobody recognizes you—it doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know either. I’ve explored the dungeon a lot. Maybe I’m just not trying hard enough.”

“Well, you don’t really seem to care much about the dungeon anyway.”

“You’re right about that.” I care more about getting closer to the Danmachi characters and interacting with them than about the dungeon itself.

“How are you so strong when you don’t even care about the dungeon? It’s surprising.” Mikoto sat on the ground, huffing. She was exhausted, unlike me, who was feeling perfectly fine.

“I don’t get it either. My growth is faster than other adventurers’.” I sat down beside her and smiled.

“I wish I could grow as fast as you. I’m still weak—too weak.”

“You’re not weak, Mikoto,” I said, looking into her eyes. “You’re much stronger than most adventurers I’ve met in this dungeon. And you have the potential to become even stronger.”

“…” Mikoto blushed again.

“What do you want to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been at this for about two hours. Do you want to keep going or head back?” I leaned closer to her, and Mikoto flinched. Her embarrassment was palpable. She almost stood up and walked away.

“Hmm… I don’t know. What do you want to do?” Mikoto gave a shy smile as I leaned closer, our shoulders touching.

As soon as our shoulders touched, I felt Mikoto tense up.

“Luan?” Mikoto turned to face me, and I seized the moment to kiss her lips.

As soon as our lips touched, a new system notification appeared.

[Mikoto is in love with you!]

Mikoto didn’t pull away. She accepted my kiss, and I turned a simple kiss into a passionate one. I let my tongue explore her mouth and held the back of her neck.

“Mmm~~”

She let out a low moan as my tongue touched hers. She was startled. Mikoto awkwardly moved her tongue, and when our lips finally parted, she looked at me with teary eyes.

“What are you doing? Why did you do that so suddenly?!” Mikoto covered her mouth with her hand and turned her face away.

“I just felt like it was the right moment.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I like you—a lot.”

“Wha?” It was as if Mikoto’s head had caught fire.

####

*Mikoto’s POV*

As soon as we entered the dungeon, the atmosphere completely changed. Luan’s focus sharpened, and the energy surrounding him was incredibly intense. Even if he didn’t notice it, others definitely would.

He’s strong—very strong.

Until recently, I didn’t know him, which is surprising. Usually, powerful adventurers become well-known quickly.

People know his name more for his books than for his strength.

Luan killed every monster in his path with ease. We advanced quickly through the floors until we reached the 8th floor. Luan said it took us hours, but I doubted that.

It took no more than an hour.

We sat down to eat and started chatting.

We talked for a few minutes before some Killer Ants attacked us.

But I didn’t want to let Luan handle everything. I stood up and killed all the ants. Hearing Luan praise me made me feel good. I know they weren’t strong monsters, but still…

You might be thinking: The monsters Luan was facing must’ve been weak, too, which is why he handled them so quickly.

You might be correct, but I’m sure of one thing:

He would have killed those ants far more effortlessly than I did. All of them would have vanished in half a second.

After killing the ants, I was ready to return to eating, but suddenly, Luan appeared before me, swinging his sword toward my neck.

My heart stopped for a second. I felt my whole body tremble.

He could have killed me before I even noticed. If he were an enemy, my head wouldn’t still be attached to my body.

That surprise attack from Luan triggered the start of a training session that lasted hours. I tried hard, but Luan dodged and blocked all my attacks without breaking a sweat.

It was frustrating—but also fun.

I felt myself improving with each passing minute. There’s no better way to grow than to fight someone stronger than you who’s willing to teach.

And Luan gave me plenty of tips.

They were easy to follow, and I had improved my movements a lot. My attacks became more precise. The more accurate your attacks are, the fewer moves you need to defeat your enemy.

And that means less exhaustion.

If I can kill a monster in just two moves, I won’t tire myself out.

I’m learning so much.

After wearing myself out, I sat down with Luan again.

Then suddenly, Luan kissed me.

My heart raced and nearly jumped out of my chest when his lips touched mine. I had never kissed anyone before. The feeling was… good. Warm, wet… I liked it.

Luan’s tongue invaded my mouth. It was gross but also… good. I wanted to keep doing it.

An adult kiss.

I kissed Luan passionately.

But when our lips parted, I finally processed what had just happened. Why did Luan do it so suddenly?

“What are you doing? Why did you do that so suddenly?!”

“I just felt like it was the right moment.”

When I heard Luan’s words, my heart raced even faster.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I like you—a lot.”

“Wha?”

When those words left his mouth, my entire body felt hot, and time seemed to stop.

We’ve only just met… How could this be happening?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep