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

"The Great Library of Norme! I've actually wanted to go see it before! But, I think there's an entrance fee, and it's quite expensive."

As someone who also loves Heroic Tales, it seems he and Haruhime get along quite well. Bell's tone became excited at first, but then his voice kept dropping as he spoke.

The earth spirits also consider 'knowledge' as wealth, so they strictly charge an entrance fee.

This is precisely why ordinary people and lower-ranking factions rarely use it; the key amount is—

"Hmm, yeah. That knowledgeable customer from before said he'd been there and seemed quite proud of himself. That... I think it was 100,000 Valis?"

"Ten, ten thousand Valis!?"

"Although it seems that the admission fee allows a maximum of three people to enter at once."

Upon hearing what Lena said, Bell and Haruhime both froze.

The current Hestia Familia isn't incapable of raising the money, but they certainly don't have enough on hand, and the faction's finances are indeed stretched thin. With the Familia's rank increasing and the taxes they pay to the guild rising, they can't afford to spend money recklessly. At least, Bell and Haruhime's personal allowances aren't enough to cover that amount. Moreover, they've been told they're now a Familia owing 200 million Valis, so Bell and the others are trying to live a natural and simple life. As for Bell, he shuddered, thinking, "This is more expensive than all my equipment (excluding the God's Dagger) combined a little while ago!?"

"Oh dear," Chunji thought to herself, clutching her head in disbelief, as she was about to apologize and withdraw her proposal.

"Alright, let's go to the 'Great Library of Norme' then!"

"Eh!?"

"Hmph, little Lena has a brilliant plan!"

Bell and the others were startled when Lena said this so smugly.

The Amazonian girl turned to Haruhime and the others, seemingly quite happy, and informed them.

"It's a dungeon date!"

A loud roar surged over.

The roars of the monsters echoed and reverberated throughout the expanding underground cave passages.

The two that ran over quickly were 'Hellhound' and 'Metal Rabbit'.

Faced with the approaching black dog and unicorn rabbit monster, Bell swung down the Hestia Dagger he was holding in his backhand.

"call"

"Woof!?"

“Chuck!?”

With the speed of a phantom, the attack was launched, and both "Hellhound" and "Metal Rabbit" were destroyed simultaneously.

Taking advantage of the situation, Bell began to deal with the subsequent monsters.

"As expected of you! You're really strong, [Little Rookie]! Now I can understand why you defeated Aisha before!"

"Thank you for the compliment!"

The one who frankly marveled at the boy's lightning-fast actions was Lena.

As if to protect Belle's politely responding back, she changed her setup and slashed down the other monsters. After dodging the monsters' attacks with nimble movements, she would either slash with the curved sword in her right hand or use the glittering gold gauntlet on her left hand to send the monsters flying.

Including both 'skills' and 'strategy', Rena is also an excellent adventurer at Lv.2.

Bell, observing from the sidelines, could also realize that it was only a matter of time before she became a Level 3.

"Both of you are incredibly strong!"

Chun-hime, who was being protected by them, murmured with a sigh once again.

Belle goes without saying, and Haruhime had witnessed Reina's fighting style many times back in the [Ishtar Familia]. Both focused on agility, their fighting styles were similar, as if they could easily predict each other's thoughts. Despite it being their first time teaming up, they displayed agile positioning.

In no time at all, Lena cleaved the "Armored Beast" in two with a single slash, and the monsters' roars completely ceased.

"Have the monsters that appeared calmed down?"

"Yes, the enemies around us are basically..."

Several monsters, already defeated, lay sprawled on the ground. Without even catching their breath, Lena and Bell turned and surveyed their surroundings. The dimly lit, cave-like labyrinth, filled with tumbling gray rocks, was now devoid of any suspicious figures.

The location is the 13th floor of the underground city.

This is the initial layer of the "Middle Layer," the "Cave Labyrinth."

"I never expected that I'd actually come to a dungeon or something."

While keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, Bell gave a wry smile.

Exactly the same as the literal meaning of the proposed term "dungeon date," Bell and Haruhime were led into this underground labyrinth by Rena.

"You can make money and get discounts in the dungeon! This is what the Far East calls 'killing two birds with one stone'!"

"Lady Lena, this is killing two birds with one stone."

"Well, let's not talk about the money for now, let's get to the date."

"It'll work! I have experience with this! I tried it once and it was really fun!"

While being criticized by Haruhime, who hails from the Far East, Rena loudly proclaims to the boy how wonderful her "dungeon date" was. Faced with this outing that was so distinctly Amazonian in style, Bell's wry smile deepened as expected.

"They even accept adventurers' requests without question; it's perfect."

Lena took out the parchment scroll—the letter of authorization—from her waist and unfolded it.

Lena, who proposed the "Dungeon Date," first escorted Bell and the others to the Tower of Babel without being discovered by their pursuers. She then went to the guild headquarters alone to help find adventurer requests posted on the giant bulletin board.

"An adventurer's quest from the Mills Merchant Guild! The task is to collect 'Crystal Mantis Wings'! The reward is exactly 100,000 Valis! That should be enough to go to the 'Great Library of Gnomes', right?"

Although there is a way to earn admission fees by watching the "magic stones" and "dropped items" of mid-level monsters, you won't reach the target amount if you're unlucky, and it becomes repetitive and tiring! That's Lena's strong argument.

The two people work towards their goal, solve the problem, and receive payment!

The bond between two people deepens when they work together!

This seems to be Lena's ideal.

"However, Miss Lena, it's a bit much if only we get the reward. Since we went down the dungeon together, your share will be..."

"It's okay, it's okay. I just enjoy spending time with you guys. You can earn pocket money anytime."

Seeing Bell's somewhat apologetic expression, Lena waved her hand and smiled.

At first, when Aisha ordered him to do his work, he seemed to find it troublesome, but now he is busy doing this and that for the inexperienced Bell and the others.

Although Lena is the kind of person who easily gets along with people, it's quite rare for her to spend time and personally help like this, Haruhime thought.

As mentioned before, she seems to have gone through a lot and her mindset has changed. That was the 'encounter' that allowed her to cheer on other men and women as if it were her own business.

"Oh dear, we need to collect our spoils before we talk. We need to collect them properly—Haruhime!"

"Yes, yes!"

Following Lena's instructions, Haruhime busied herself with tasks.

The only equipment that prevented Chunyi from fighting was the backpack that Lena had prepared.

Flowers that cannot help in the battle must work as supporters; this is a bottom line that cannot be compromised.

First, gather the monster corpses in one place. This is for contingency planning—it makes it easier to guard against surprise attacks from monsters spawning from the walls. Once the location is decided, it will also be easier for adventurers to protect their supporters.

Put on the Supporter's Gloves, insert the dagger into the monster's flesh, and remove the "Magic Stone".

At first, seeing the ripped flesh and blood almost made me lose consciousness several times, but thanks to Lily's excellent guidance, I've gotten used to it a little. As long as you pull out the deep purple 'magic stone' that looks like a gem, making a swishing sound, the monster's remains will turn into a mountain of ash.

If the wet nurses who cared for her in the Far East saw Haruhime now, they might cover their eyes and say, "She's completely turned into a barbarian, how pathetic!"

However, Haruhime herself quite likes herself now.

Becoming stronger and more resilient—these words are definitely not derogatory to Haruhime, who has decided to explore the dungeon with Bell and the others. Rather, they express a greater sense of joy at being able to serve them, even if it's something small.

Twelve "magic stones", plus one each of "Cerberus's Hair" and "Metal Rabbit's Unicorn".

After stuffing all the loot into her backpack and reporting, "It's over!", Rena took the lead and started walking.

"Actually, I'd like to go down a bit further. The Crystal Mantis is most likely to appear on the 15th floor."

"That's a bit much. There are only three people in the team, so if we want to protect Miss Haruhime, it's better not to infiltrate too deep."

"【Little Rookie】You're overprotecting me! You're all at Lv.3 too, and I'm fine as well! Even Haruhime can use 'magic' in case of emergency!"

As they walked, the adventurers began to debate.

Lena has a very Amazonian style, straightforward and warlike, while Bell, even as a second-level adventurer, maintains a cautious demeanor.

This is also due to the teachings of the guild advisor in charge of him—"Adventurers cannot take risks," Eina's words are unforgettable—and the boy now cherishes his "cowardly self."

"And we just came straight to the dungeon without any equipment."

Bell was dressed in her usual everyday clothes.

This is the black and khaki outfit she wore when she was a newbie. It wasn't even combat clothing. Her only weapon was the Hestia Dagger, which was for self-defense. Haruhime, who wore a red kimono, was in a similar situation.

Being able to stay in the "middle level" with this kind of attire might lead to others in the industry saying that they "underestimate the dungeon." Putting aside himself at Lv.3, there's more to worry about Haruhime. Although Bell spoke cautiously, he didn't back down at all.

On the contrary, Lena's rebuttal was something like, "I've always gone into the dungeon dressed like this!"

For Amazons, who use their own bodies as weapons, few need protective gear.

Rather than saying that, it's more accurate to say that they racially dislike wearing it and want to take it off.

"Well, being overly cautious is probably the right answer for an adventurer. However, getting back to the surface from the middle level will take quite a while, and I really want to find my target as soon as possible."

Seemingly a little embarrassed about having reluctantly brought them along, Lena ultimately expressed her understanding of Bell's opinion, and then—hmm—remembered. Bell and Haruhime were also thinking about it.

Then, just then.

"Huh? Could it be that over there is a [rising star]?"

Good afternoon.

"Oh, Miss Daphne, Miss Cassandra?"

They unexpectedly encountered the duo who appeared from a side road.

"What a strange encounter, really. Both sides are adventurers. It's quite an odd coincidence that we happened to run into each other in the vast 'Middle Layer'."

Eyes with upturned and downturned corners, short hair and long hair.

Bell was taken aback when he saw Daphne and Cassandra, two Level 3 adventurers with completely opposite personalities.

Chunji was also surprised and immediately bowed in greeting, while Daphne smiled gently.

"It seems like a new member has joined! That's great! Even though we ran away."

"Ah, I'm sorry about that time."

"Haha, it's okay."

Daphne and Cassandra, on the other hand, also considered joining the Hestia Familia.

However, after the debt of two hundred million Valis of the chief god (Hestia) was made public, it was not included in the final outcome.

Currently, they belong to the Mih Familia, which, along with the Takemikazuchi Familia, interacts with Bell and the others.

As a business faction that deals in healing items and other props, they sometimes receive orders for goods from "Hearthfire House" delivered to their door, or they come to promote their products.

Haruhime could also see Daphne and Cassandra carrying goods from time to time.

"Miss Daphne, are you currently conducting an exploration?"

"Yes. The new team leader is easygoing; she said the priority is to make some money first."

According to her, their group leader entrusted them with the task of "exploring the dungeon" in order to pay off their debts.

That's so Naza-san's style. Behind Bell's wry smile, Haruhime quietly explained to Reina, who was asking, "Who are they again?", "They're two former members of the [Apollo Familia]." Was she thinking about the War Game livestream? Oh—, Reina tapped her palm as she spoke.

"So, you're also exploring over there? It seems there are people you've never seen before."

Daphne and the others also noticed Reina's presence.

Just as Bell and the others were about to make their introductions, Lena stepped forward first.

"Hey, is this someone from [Little Rookie]? It's a rare opportunity, could you help me with some adventurer quests?"

Bell and Haruhime couldn't help but feel a little nervous, even though the Amazon girl, who was supposed to be meeting Daphne and the others for the first time, continued talking.

"While I can't share the rewards from adventurer commissions with you, all the 'Magic Stones' and 'Dropped Items' I acquire from now on are yours. Rare materials will also be yours if they appear."

"Hmm, that's really generous. You guys also have Lv.3, so a 30/70 split would be fine, right?"

"Because we're not here to make money, right? [Little Rookie] thinks it's a good idea too?"

"Huh? Oh, yes! Of course!"