Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"If I were to make a rough deduction, perhaps the Minotaur monster has some history with this child, which is why the experience points gained are so valuable to him... Maybe that's why he was able to level up... That's what I think, what do you think?"

Freya's every word influenced the tone of the Council of Gods.

The gods began reading Bell Crane's records, and among the noteworthy events of the past was indeed an account of encountering the Minotaur twice, even defeating it on one occasion. Faced with Freya's reasonable insights, the surrounding gods began to express their agreement, even Loki could only purse his lips.

It has been about a thousand years since God bestowed "gift" upon the people of the lower world.

They couldn't deny that there were indeed some dormant possibilities that even they were unaware of. Even if such an unusual growth phenomenon occurred, it might not be surprising—Freya was saying this indirectly.

There was a gap in time.

Some gods felt that while they were interested, there was no need to force the truth about Bell Crane... These opinions were in line with the rules between factions (families) and soon gained unanimous approval from outsiders.

Freya smiled quietly, striking an elegant and beautiful pose as she glanced at Hestia.

Faced with the silver gaze gently cast upon her, Hestia was still caught off guard and could only blink repeatedly.

Freya quickly stood up from her seat.

"Huh? Miss Freya's going back?"

"Yes. I have urgent business to attend to later, so I must take my leave now."

"Since we're all here, why don't we wait until we decide on the nickname for the loli god's familiar (child) before leaving? That's the only thing left."

"Hehe, I'm sorry, but I really don't have the time."

"However, let me think..." Freya stood up, picked up the documents, looked down at Bell's portrait, and said:

"Since we're going to give him a nickname, let's give him a cute one?"

""""""""""OK!""""""""""

Witnessing the goddess's most captivating smile of the day, all the male gods smiled broadly and unanimously agreed. As for the goddesses, they glared at them coldly, as if looking at trash.

Freya smiled one last time, then turned her back to the round table.

"Okay, let's be serious and come up with a better nickname."

"Of course."

"But this human... I didn't notice him at all before."

"It would be impressive if someone noticed him first." "We haven't heard a single rumor or comment yet."

The gods immediately became serious and began to discuss what nickname to give Bell.

Hestia, seeing the atmosphere of the Assembly of the Gods so different from before, was speechless for a moment. After a while, she turned to Hephaestus beside her and looked up at her, her eyes asking: What's going on?

She shrugged, looking somewhat annoyed, indicating that she didn't understand either.

"There's so little information. It's practically useless as a reference. Isn't the guild being incredibly lazy?"

"After all, he had just [leveled up] on the eve of the Conference of the Gods and had to participate in an emergency. There was nothing we could do about it."

"Appearance, features...white hair, red eyes...rabbit...how about Pyonkichi?"

"No, someone else already used that name. There was a blacksmith named Weil something that named his armor (works) that."

"They're even ahead of their time than gods...!"

"Who exactly is this guy named Weil...?"

"Hmm—, does Mr. Ganesha have any comments to make—?"

"...I am Ganesha!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Ganesha Ganesha."

"When I really want to come up with a good name, I can't think of anything—"

The discussion, centered around the male idol, proceeded enthusiastically but remained unresolved for a long time.

Hestia tilted her head, thinking that the crisis must be over for now. Just then...

Suddenly a shadow fell over her.

"...Loki?"

"..."

Standing beside her was Loki. She left her seat and looked down at Hestia in a straight line.

Her face was tense, and her mood was clearly bad. She muttered something under her breath:

"...You'd better watch out, little dwarf."

"what?"

"I told you to watch your step. I didn't mean to give you advice like this... but it's the fact that that idiot is running rampant that's making me even more annoyed."

"How dare you look down on me!" Loki looked up and cursed in disgust.

Following her gaze, Freya, with her flowing silver hair, was about to leave the room.

"Wait, wait a minute. You said I should be careful, but what exactly are you talking about?"

She didn't understand Loki's meaning and couldn't help but ask back, only to see Loki frown.

She stared at Hestia for a long time, as if to say: How come you don't understand? Then she brought her nose close to Hestia's nose.

"You idiot, have some awareness! That goddess (woman) is protecting the child (man)!"

"...?"

Hestia was caught off guard and felt embarrassed by Hestia's glare.

Loki raised his face and snorted in annoyance.

"Ha, you really don't understand. So carefree... Okay, whatever, it's none of my business anyway."

"What an idiot," Loki muttered to himself before returning to his seat.

Beside Hephaestus, who remained an observer throughout, Hestia watched Loki's retreating figure, then looked toward the doorway Freya had left through.

She carefully recalled Loki's words.

Then I remembered the meaningful smile that the goddess of beauty had given me.

...Freya protected him? ...She protected that child?

Just as a possibility was about to sprout in Hestia's heart.

A sudden burst of cheers from the round table interrupted her thoughts.

"It's decided—!"

◆

Although it's not quite to the point of being unusual.

However, a tense atmosphere was currently pervading the spacious interior of the guild headquarters.

(Everyone seems to be looking menacing?)

(I don't think so...)

Missia whispered into Eina's pointed ear, and Eina answered her softly.

This is not their main office, but a second office with several desks.

The spacious interior was unusually filled with a low, quiet atmosphere.

"Zul, are you listening?"

"Ah...yes, I'm sorry, team leader."

Hearing the person in front of her call her name, Eina snapped back to reality. Missia beside her quickly stood up straight as well.

Before them sat an orc male, holding several documents written by Eina in one hand, calmly watching her.

"I'll repeat myself, doing it this way... is tantamount to telling a Lv.1 adventurer to 'die'."

"Yes……"

"I'm sorry, although I asked you to bring this up, our guild cannot disclose this kind of information. ...The growth model of adventurer Bell Craney will not be announced at this time."

That's true, Eina stood there, both frightened and discouraged.

Explore the dungeon alone, defeat as many monsters as possible, mainly "Killer Ants", and finally fight the "Minotaur" one-on-one to defeat it in a head-on confrontation.

The secret to Bell reaching Lv.2 can be summarized as follows.

If they were to release this activity record to adventurers as a condition for a short-term "level up," they would definitely face a barrage of criticism.

Does your guild treat people like idiots?

"...I'll find an excuse to evade this matter. I'll handle persuading the higher-ups."

"I'm so sorry..."

The slender-looking boss glanced at the report Eina had written one last time, then put it away in her desk. It seemed this report would never be made public.

He scratched his smooth-furred animal ears, his face bearing an indescribable expression.

"And Zul."

"Yes."

"Don't be too hasty in your actions."

"...Yes, I will pay attention in the future."

Finally, because of what happened that morning—loudly shouting out personal information—she was reprimanded by her boss, and Eina's head hung low. She thanked her boss for his magnanimity in caring for his subordinate and not pursuing the matter, but at the same time, she sighed to herself.

After a pause, Eina and the others' superior turned to Missia and called out, "Next up is Flotte."

"Uh, yes!"

"...The materials you submitted to the Council of Gods were poorly done. Especially the last one, the one with Bell Crane."

"Team leader! His upgrade application was submitted so hastily, there wasn't enough time! I was working hard at that crucial moment, don't say I was slacking off!"

"I understand your predicament... but overall it's still too much of a muddle-headed affair. If the gods come to the guild to complain, Flott, you'll have to deal with them all by yourself. I can't help you with that."

"Waaah—, Eina—," Eina sighed for the second time as Missia sobbed and clung to her shoulder. Their boss turned his back to them and said, "You can leave now," and the two departed.

Instead of returning to the lobby immediately, they went around to the tea room located in the corner of the room.

Using the familiar magic stone device, two servings of hot black tea are instantly prepared.

"Sigh, Eina's younger brother is really causing me trouble..."

"What little brother... But, Missia's scolding this time can't be entirely Bell's fault, can it?"

"I can't hear anything, I can't hear anything at all—!"

Whoosh! Her human friend turned around, revealing her petite back, leaving Eina both amused and exasperated.

Her peach-pink hair swayed as she sipped her black tea, her back slightly hunched.

Seeing that her friend was still in the same school district as before, she couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Let's change the subject. I still feel like the team leader and the others can't sit still; they seem restless—"

"Yes, it's definitely different from usual..."

Looking from the corner of the room, the people inside did not appear as composed as usual.

Many employees paced back and forth, and those sitting in chairs frequently glanced at the clock. The usual clatter of quill pens was now completely silent.

In fact, Eina and the others knew why the office atmosphere was like that.

"It's past 3 PM... The Conference of the Gods should be over by now, right?"

"Probably. I think the meeting results should have arrived by now..."

As is customary, this scene is always seen at the end of the assembly of the gods.

At this moment, what the staff were interested in and concerned about was none other than the adventurers' nicknames. The titles bestowed by the gods always intimidated and humbled the people of the lower realms, and everyone eagerly awaited the outcome of the Gods' Assembly, as if it were directly related to their own lives.

Even their superiors can't sit still? Eina and Missia, who usually watched the same scene from the lobby, had this thought.

"Is Eina curious too? Want to know what kind of title will be awarded this time?"

"As for me... well, you're right, I might be a little curious this time."

"Really? Me too! The adventurer in charge of pulling the team has leveled up, so I really wanted to know."