"Hey, wait! Don’t close it!"

It was a kid’s voice.

I looked up and spotted a young girl running toward the elevator as fast as she could.

Julian casually reached out and stopped the doors from closing. "Come on in."

The girl hurried into the elevator just before the doors slid shut behind her.

I took a quick glance at her.

She had pink hair held back by a hairband, bright blue eyes, and a small frame. Her professional attire and confident demeanor made it easy to guess she was a journalist.

Julian flashed her a playful grin.

"Miri, what are you doing here? This place isn’t for kids."

So they knew each other. Apparently, her name was Miri.

She shot him an annoyed glare. "Shut up! I’m not a kid, you dumb piece of shit!"

She immediately turned her attention to Allen.

He stood perfectly still, staring straight ahead at the elevator doors as the cabin continued its ascent.

Without hesitation, Miri pulled a small microphone from her pocket and tapped her hairband. A holographic camera immediately materialized beside her head, hovering in the air.

Then she thrust the microphone toward Allen.

"Sir Allen, I’m a rookie journalist with News Times. Can you tell me what your next mission is?"

Allen didn’t react. He remained completely motionless, silent as ever.

Unfazed, Miri pressed on.

"Sir Allen, what do you think about your title, The White Reaper?"

"There’s a rumor that you’re planning to join the government. Is that true?"

"Are you happy with your life? And how much money do you make in a year?"

I had no idea what was happening, but Julian and I were both just standing there, watching Miri relentlessly badger Allen with questions.

Allen stayed completely silent.

Julian smirked at the scene. "I told you. He doesn’t do interviews. Never has. Not once. That perfect zero-interview streak isn’t getting broken anytime soon."

Miri spun around, clearly ready to fire back. "Shut up—wait."

She stopped mid sentence the moment her eyes landed on me.

The instant she looked at me, I felt an unsettling sense of dread. Like something was about to go sideways.

Without missing a beat, Miri rushed over and shoved the microphone directly in my face. "Sir, who are you?"

She didn’t know who I was?

I suppose that made sense. Most people in Ambrosia probably had no clue I even existed.

Unlike other high class individuals who were always giving interviews, appearing on podcasts, dominating TV screens, and flooding social media with the help of powerful PR teams, Michael had never bothered with any of that.

He simply didn’t care about public perception. Whether people knew him or what they thought of him had never been his concern.

I cleared my throat. "I’m Michael Frostburne."

Her eyes went wide the second she heard the name.

Then she said something that made my stomach sink. "Michael Frostburne? Wait, sir, are you the famous useless son of Eoin Frostburne?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Useless.

Seriously? I was known for being useless?

Why the hell hadn’t I known the general public saw me like that? I’d scrolled through social media more than a few times and had never once stumbled across anything about myself.

I forced myself to stay calm and answered, somewhat reluctantly, "You could say that, I guess."

Miri tilted her head. "So, Sir Useless Frostburne, can you tell me what you’re doing here?"

Ouch. That one stung.

Julian jumped in immediately. "Miri, you should respect your elders. Didn’t your parents teach you that?"

She shot him a sharp look. "Shut up, idiot."

Yeah, she really didn’t like Julian.

She turned back to me without missing a beat. "So, what are you doing here?"

I hesitated for a second. "I..."

Should I actually tell her?

Whatever. Might as well.

"I’m here for some dungeon paperwork. Signing documents, that sort of thing."

Her eyes lit up with interest. "Oh, I see. Is it for your family’s Frostburne guild? Did they send you as a representative?"

I shook my head. "No, it’s not for the guild. It’s for me, actually."

She looked surprised. "For you? Wait, are you planning to clear a dungeon?"

"Not exactly," I said. "It’s just a test. I want to see how I do."

Miri’s eyes narrowed slightly. "A test? But wait, Mr. Useless, aren’t you a zero ranker?"

Fuck, why did she keep calling me that? Did she not care about my feelings at all? It was honestly getting a little insulting at this point.

I opened my mouth to respond. "Please, don’t call me useless—"

But before I could finish, Julian cut in smoothly. "Actually, Miri, my boy here isn’t a zero ranker anymore. He’s a bronze ranker now."

Miri’s face brightened instantly. "Oh, really? Congratulations, Sir Michael! You’re not useless anymore!"

Yeah... She really was something else.

I gave a weak nod. "Yeah. Thanks."

I wasn’t surprised that Julian knew my rank. Master rankers could easily sense the aura radiating from a person and determine their rank just from that.

Miri opened her mouth again, clearly gearing up for another question. "Sir Michael—"

I cut her off gently. "Hey, you don’t need to add ’Sir.’ You can just call me Michael."

I mainly said it because hearing someone who looked that young call me "Sir" felt strangely uncomfortable.

No offense to her, of course.

She looked like a teenager. Sixteen or seventeen, maybe. She was around five-five or five-six, and with her youthful appearance, it was easy to mistake her for a kid.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Wait. I didn’t even know her full name. Or how old she was.

Not that I actually needed to know, but the realization still felt a little odd.

Before I could think about it any further, Julian spoke up.

"Michael, you probably shouldn’t give a minor permission like that. Trust me, you might regret it later. Speaking from experience."

Fuck. I knew it.

So she really was a minor.

Looking back, it should have been obvious. Still, for a moment, I’d genuinely thought she was just a short adult.

Miri immediately pointed at Julian.

"Michael, ignore that piece of shit."

Then she turned back to me, her eyes already sparkling with curiosity.

"Now tell me. Which dungeon are you going into?"

Damn. She moved fast.

The moment I gave her permission to drop the "Sir," she wasted no time taking advantage of it.

"It’s a special rank dungeon," I said.

The words had barely left my mouth before her eyes widened.

"Wait. Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

She blinked once, clearly trying to process that.

"Now that’s an exclusive news."

Without missing a beat, she shoved the microphone even closer to my face.

"So, Michael, has the Frostburne family already decided who’ll inherit everything once you’re dead?"

"...Huh?"

I stared at her.

No way. Did she seriously think I was guaranteed to die in that dungeon?

I rubbed my forehead.

"Why exactly do you think I’m going to die in there?"

Miri didn’t hesitate for even a second.

"Alright, then let me ask a better question."

She folded her arms.

"Why exactly do you think you’re going to survive a special rank dungeon?"

Honestly, that was a fair question.

I thought about it for roughly half a second before answering.

"Easy."

Miri raised an eyebrow.

"It’s simple."

I shrugged.

"Because I’m rich."

The elevator fell silent.

"What?" Miri asked flatly.

For a moment, she looked completely unable to process what she’d just heard.

Julian, meanwhile, burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

He nearly doubled over.

"Oh, Michael, that was brilliant."

He wiped at the corner of one eye.

"Absolutely top-notch. You caught me completely off guard."

Then he looked at me with a grin.

"I’m so proud of you."

Why the hell are you proud of me?

The question crossed my mind, but I didn’t bother asking. I didn’t care enough to find out.

Meanwhile, Miri looked at me as if I’d just said the dumbest thing imaginable.

"Are you stupid?"

"No."

She stared at me for a second.

"Then what kind of answer was that? Do you think rich hunters haven’t died in special rank dungeons before?"

"I know they have."

"Then why do you think you won’t die?"

"Because I know a way to survive the dungeon."

The moment I said that, her eyes lit up.

"What way?"

I shook my head.

"Sorry. That’s a secret."

"Aww, come on."

"Nope."

Before Miri could keep pushing, Julian casually joined the conversation.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

He glanced at me with mild curiosity.

"To be honest, I’d like to know what trick you’ve come up with too. But unlike Miri, I’m not going to keep pestering you about it."

He gave a lazy shrug.

"I’ll find out eventually."

Giving up on me, Miri shifted her attention to Julian instead and started trying to get answers out of him.

Julian responded the way he always did, dodging questions, cracking jokes, and generally being a nuisance.

Within moments, the two of them were busy arguing with each other.

I tuned them out.

Instead, my thoughts lingered on something Julian had said.

Hmm... How exactly was he going to find out?

Even if I cleared the dungeon successfully, I had no intention of telling anyone about my method.

So how would he learn it?

The trick I’d come up with was far too valuable to share with anyone.

More importantly, if people found out how I planned to clear the dungeon, there was a good chance I’d get criticized from every direction.

So no.

I wasn’t telling anyone.

Besides, if I’d found a loophole this good, there was no reason not to take full advantage of it.

A few moments later, the elevator finally reached the floor we’d been heading to.

The cabin came to a stop, and the doors slid open, revealing two corridors branching off in opposite directions.

Damn. That took longer than I’d expected. Then again, we were on the hundredth floor.

When the doors opened, Miri turned to me.

"Hey, one last question. Can you tell me the rank and location of that dungeon you’re planning to enter?"

I answered as I stepped out of the elevator.

"D rank. It’s on the eastern side of Capricorn City, in a C-rank state."

"Oh."

Miri nodded thoughtfully.

Once we’d all stepped out into the hallway, Julian stretched his arms and looked between Allen and me.

"Well, gentlemen, this is where our journey together ends."

He placed a hand over his chest dramatically.

"I’m deeply sorry, but I can’t accompany you any further. This little girl and I have important business to attend to, so please try not to miss me too much."

Nobody’s going to miss you.

Before I could say anything, Miri fired back.

"Fuck you! I’m not a little girl."

Julian ignored her entirely.

Instead, he looked at me and smiled.

"Well then, Michael. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon."

Then he suddenly reached into his coat and tossed something at me.

"And here. Take your phone."

I caught it on instinct.

What the fuck? Why was my phone with him? Had he stolen it?

More importantly, when?

I hadn’t even noticed it was missing.

Julian started walking down one of the corridors.

Without looking back, he gave a lazy wave over his shoulder.

"My number’s saved in there. Call me anytime you miss me."

Yeah. That definitely wasn’t happening.

As Julian wandered off, Miri turned toward me.

"Michael, thanks for the interview."

Then she pulled out a small white card and held it out.

"Here."

I accepted it automatically.

"My card."

I glanced down at it, confused.

"Why?"

Miri shrugged.

"I’ve got a feeling we’ll run into each other again."

Before I could respond, she grabbed my hand, pressed the card into it, and immediately took off after Julian.

As she disappeared down the corridor, she waved without looking back.

"See ya!"

I stood there for a moment, staring after them.

Mostly because I had no idea why she’d given me her card.

It wasn’t like I was particularly interested in keeping in touch with her.

Well...

Maybe a small part of me was a little curious.

Still, that wasn’t what stuck with me.

Why was she so convinced we’d meet again?

Personally, I doubted it.

I had no interest in getting involved with the media or attracting unnecessary attention. Once this dungeon business was over, I’d rather stay as far away from the spotlight as possible.

Still... whatever.

Lowering my gaze, I looked down at the card in my hand.

---

MIRI AELITH

Age: 17

Junior Correspondent, TIMES NOW

Phone Number: ...

---

Oh. So her name was Miri Aelith. Nice name.

With that thought, I slipped the card into my pocket alongside my phone and turned toward Allen.

"Allen, we... huh?"

I stopped mid-sentence.

Allen wasn’t there.

I blinked and looked around the hallway before finally spotting him already walking away in the distance.

Fuck. He left me behind.

"Allen! Hey, Allen, wait for me!"

I hurried after him.