"H-Hayden!? Saphir?!

" She shouted as she moved to give them a hug.

The two floated horizontally in the air, it was quite horrifying, even for John who knew it wasn't related to ghosts or poltergeist, yet the girl showed no fear or care and quickly wrapped her arms around both of them

Pushing the three close together.

"I-I'm so glad, you're fine...

" She muttered as tears started to stream down her eyes.

She hugged them with so much strength that it nearly looked like they couldn't breathe, but John thought that it'd be fine to just leave them be like that for a while longer

After what seemed to be a minute passed, the girl let go of them before checking up on them personally.

"Why aren't they waking up?

" She asked

"I didn't notice any problems after the survey, they're probably just tired. Just give them some time, more importantly, can we start moving? Even if we're underground, and I've used every ability I have to hide our presence, I don't know what sort of tricks they might have up their sleeve.

" Said John

"O-Oh, Right, sorry...

" She muttered as she suddenly let go of them

Once again to her surprise, they were floating, her first thought was that it'd be a flying spell, but did they really work in a way like this? If they did, then that must've meant that the boy in front of her was a really strong magician.

She was worried for them, but at the same time, felt like they were being protected, so the least she could do was make it easier for him. She was also worried about what to give John as thanks, her memories were still hazy, but she knows that she was ambushed.

"Um... What's your name?

" She asked

"John and you?

" John replied with a smile

"John, that's a nice name... My name's Lydia.

"

"Thanks, yours too.

" Said John as he continued to motion his hands.

John was just about getting tired of moving his arms up and down to make it seem like it was some sort of magic item or something which he'd be able to use to explain instead of simply saying it was chant-less magic. But by this point he didn't care.

"Hey-

" They simultaneously said

Since they spoke in the same time, and ended up cutting one another off, Lydia quickly said

"S-sorry, you first.

"

"It's fine, and thanks, what I was going to say was... Wait.

"

John slightly raised the hand where he kept his dimensional ring, and tissues were pulled out of it. He then washed his hands which had been coated in dirt and rubble with water magic before handing it to Lydia

"Here.

"

Confused, Lydia grabbed on to a few tissues before asking

"Eh? What's this for?

"

"You have a bit of a runny nose and your eyes are quite swollen. You can just use them to wipe it, you have such a pretty face after all.

" Said John before turning to the direction where they were heading.

Still more rock and dirt that he was going to have to move, they had a long way to go until they could fully leave the reach of those persistent guys.

"Huh?

" She let out in confusion

Seeing as how there was no other choice, John let out a sigh as he asked

"Hey, Lydia, as thanks for saving you, keep this a secret.

"

John lowered his hands and began to focus, he needed to create a path for them to go through to get out of the groups vicinity, meaning they were going to have to be able to move and run as fast as they could.

The only way to do that, would just be to make a bigger path and do it faster than before. John didn't have a choice, and at this point, it didn't matter if his secret was exposed.

"cuniculum

" He muttered

/ Translation: Tunnel

An in that instant, the dirt and rocks in front of them, began to spread out, forming a wide tunnel big enough for them to walk and pass through.

On top of that, the ceiling of the tunnel was being held by magic, so John wouldn't have to worry about it collapsing on him.

"Let's go.

" Said John with a proud smile before turning around

When he did, he got to see the look of Shock and disbelief in Lydia's face. She was so unconvinced that she may have thought that she was still stuck in some sort of dream.

"A boy who can create a tunnel in seconds without breaking a sweat... Me, my brother and my sister in law are safe... Is this a dream? You're not real are you?

" She asked as she began pulling John's cheek

"eh aimmm (I ammm) eeet isshh (It is)

" John muttered

So she's in denial now...? John wondered as he let her pull it.

Once she realised that the soft feeling in his cheek and the sharp pain in her stomach, she realised that it really wasn't a dream or heaven.

"John... Are you really the S-Rank young adventurer that everyone is talking about?

" She asked

John who heard this, began to move forwards through the tunnel and gestured her to do the same, before replying

"While I was the one who dealt with the fallen mermaid attack, I'm not an S-Rank adventurer.

" Said John

"It was you? You're the famous person who ended up saving everyone in the beach? Despite going against an army of fallen mermaids?

" She asked curiously

Her eyes sparkled in amazement, she seemed like the type that was a fan of the so called heroes.

"It wasn't just me, it was other adventurers in the area. But I guess you could say I helped lead it...

" John muttered

"So the rumours of you clearing the dungeon, were really true...

"

"I guess... Thanks to my party.

"

"That's amazing... It probably took a lot of hard work...

"

"Yeah... That it did.

"

As they continued to walk, John wondered how the two girls were doing.

Are they worried...? I suddenly left without saying anything... Nope, I'm sure they're more mad at me than anything... Well it should be fine.

"

It was then that John realised that he was subconsciously thinking of them

Huh? Why am I thinking of this right now...? How long has it even been since we last saw? 2 hours? That means the balls started by now... I wonder if there are any other other guys dancing there with them...

Suddenly, John quickly shook his head before tapping his hands on his face

Concentrate, you need to get these people out of here alive