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

Although I can't quite put my finger on it, I can inexplicably sense a subtle aura emanating from him...

Could this person be—

"Um... are you the 'chuunibyou' that the gods and immortals are talking about?"

"—Don't you dare call me that hateful name!!"

The moment Hegni Ragnar, a first-class adventurer of the Dark Elf and Freya Familia, heard my question, he turned around as if he had been electrocuted.

As an elf, he was handsome and glared at me with a fierce look in his eyes, which were slightly brimming with tears.

"I am not sick! Let alone suffering from the kind of endemic disease the gods spoke of…!"

“S-Sorry!”

"—Waaaaah, that's enough! Stop looking at me like that, and stop calling me a chuunibyou. I don't understand what that means, but I definitely feel like I'm being looked down upon~~~"

"I'm so, so sorry."

"I really can't talk to people I've just met! I'm so shy, I feel like dying... Ugh! My mask has been torn off...!"

Um... I suddenly understand what the gods meant by the figures they were referring to.

He seemed even less eloquent than Miss Ais and was very prone to nervousness.

For these reasons, his ability to express himself deteriorated further...

So, one day on a whim, I asked Mr. Hedin about other first-class adventurers. Although he refused to answer, he still threw out the words, "Hagany is an idiot"...

"...Um, do you know where Miss Seele went?"

As I watched Mr. Hegney wipe away tears from the corners of his eyes, I asked him this question, overwhelmed by guilt. He quickly regained his composure and narrowed his eyes.

"...We are also searching for the whereabouts of the Holy Princess."

"W-What?"

"After many families have escaped the cage called Thy, they have followed the footsteps of the Gospel, swiftly traversing the vast city. And to avoid any worries, I have become the eternal shackles to punish the white rabbit... Yes, I am called Judgment of Truth."

Although I still couldn't understand what he was saying... I could at least grasp what he was trying to express.

After all, my grandfather used to talk to me in a similar way for a period of time!

In other words, most of the group members have let me go and are searching everywhere for Miss Seele, who has disappeared. Mr. Hegney is only keeping an eye on me as a precaution. That's roughly the gist of it.

It turns out that even the Freya Familia couldn't find Seele's whereabouts...

Where did Miss Seele go?

Just as a feeling of anxiety welled up inside me, Mr. Hegney, who had always been looking up at the sky, suddenly turned his gaze toward me.

"...Have you all built a beautiful, eternal memory...? Have you together composed profound recollections that will never fade?"

"what?"

"What I mean is, you are not allowed time to say goodbye, therefore, are you allowed to complete your final farewell?"

For a moment, I couldn't understand Mr. Hegney's implication at all, and I couldn't even comprehend what he was saying.

I only react to the words that come into my ears, and I yell back:

"Memories...? Farewell? What does all this mean!?"

"Because it is a girl, not a goddess, who has invited you. In our wise opinion, whatever choice you make, you cannot change the fate that awaits you... at least that's what I think."

Mr. Hegney's way of speaking was still completely baffling; I was unable to translate or understand it at all, and I couldn't comprehend the meaning of his words.

But when I heard the tone in his voice that suggested "someone is going to disappear," I was greatly shaken.

"What will happen to Miss Seele!? What awaits her!?"

"Eek!? No, no, no, don't come any closer!! Don't get so close all of a sudden, your eyes are terrifying! Ah, I can't take it anymore—I have to run away!"

"Ah!! Wait, wait a minute!"

When Mr. Hegney saw me suddenly walk forward, he was so frightened that he jumped off the roof.

As I rushed toward the railing, I saw the constantly fluttering cloak leap into the dark alley and vanish without a trace.

Will Miss Seele disappear? Should I say goodbye to her?

What's going on?! What does this mean?!

I jumped into the alley and chased after Mr. Hegney, pursuing the cloak that I could still vaguely see. I quickly navigated through the intricate alleyways, occasionally asking passersby if they had seen the Dark Elf.

However, the other party was ultimately a first-level adventurer.

He easily shook off my pursuit, a level 4 adventurer, and disappeared without a trace.

"Huff... Huff... Where did he go...!?"

I arrived at the central square.

The city center is already packed with people.

The unsuspecting masses were enjoying the second day of the Goddess Festival.

Has Mr. Hegney disappeared into the crowd, or is he not even in the square at all?

Feeling extremely anxious, I desperately looked around—focusing on the four "altars".

That is the "Tower of Abundance," a stone pillar used to worship the four goddesses who are the symbols of the Goddess Festival.

I subconsciously looked at one of the four stone pillars, the one on the north side where "Goddess of Beauty" was yesterday.

"────"

At that moment, I made eye contact with a boar-man.

He was a tall, muscular martial artist with a rock-like, resolute physique.

Even if I am ignorant, I have heard that he is the "strongest" adventurer in the city.

He seemed to have been waiting for my arrival, quietly looking down at me, and then raising his thick, tree-trunk-like arm.

Pointing towards the northeast of the city.

"...!?"

I don't understand his intentions, let alone what the other party was trying to express.

But I always felt that he was saying "Go ahead" to me.

Standing there dumbfounded, I turned to look in the direction the boar-man on the tower was pointing, and then turned to face that direction.

I felt like I was being guided by a bright lighthouse, and I also felt like a small boat that could only rely on the lighthouse's light to move forward.

To be honest, I had no confidence and even felt uneasy, but I could only trust my intuition.

I walked through the crowd, left the central square, and headed in the direction the other person had pointed.

The northeastern part of the city is an "industrial zone" that produces magic stone products.

This area, usually frequented only by artisans and laborers, is now also hosting a celebration.

I walked through the "industrial zone," constantly checking my direction.

Then──

"—Miss Seele!"

I finally found her.

In the abandoned carriage stop.

In a gazebo that looked like an abandoned hut, Miss Seele sat on a bench.

This stop was desolate and dirty, as if it had been forgotten by the world. With the surrounding buildings blocking the way, if I searched around like a headless fly, I would definitely not find this place.

"...! Mr. Bell!"

Miss Seele shuddered when she heard my call, and then stood up from her seat.

They looked deeply moved, as if their long-cherished wish had been fulfilled.

“──!?”

Moist, pale gray eyes.

Hands on chest.

A smile that is both exquisite and ethereal.

Seeing her like that, I felt deeply shaken.

She seemed on the verge of tears, and the "emotions" she now directed at me were—

"...I never expected you to find me like this, and I'm so happy to see you again."

"...Why do you say that?"

"...I'm sorry, I hope you can pretend you didn't hear that."

This request is simply too much to ask.

Just as I was about to step forward, completely bewildered, she suddenly started looking around.

Although I didn't understand the situation, looking at her profile, I felt that she seemed to have made up her mind to "break the contract".

She stared in one direction, then bit her lower lip as if she had made up her mind.

"Mr. Bell... please come with me."

"Huh? That...that one!?"

"I want to leave here... no, I have a place I want to go."

She took my hand and pulled me forward.

Even when I asked her, she ignored me.

Then, she flipped her long, light gray hair over, and her eyes, the same color, turned to look directly at me, giving me a smile.

"Yesterday, Mr. Bell took me to see the places you wanted to go. Today, it's my turn to take you to the places I want to go."

Please help me.

She said this to me as if she were making a lifelong request.

Upon seeing the overcast sky, many residents of Orario had the same thought.

I feel like it's going to rain soon.

Some people felt depressed about it, some sighed about it, and some decided to enjoy the festival to the fullest before it rained. Everyone's reaction to the weather was different.

"...I can't find Seele and Bell anywhere...they haven't returned home...did they spend the night together...and only come home at dawn...? No way...this is a lie...they're not even married yet..."

Among them, some people neither felt depressed nor sighed, but instead fell into despair.

This person is Ryu.

The location is on the north side of the main road.

After the commotion on the ship, and failing to find Seele and Bell, she arrived at this state, her face deathly pale. Incidentally, she hadn't slept a wink all night trying to find them.

Because of her fastidious morals and her elfin nature that values ​​chastity, Liu muttered to herself in a daze.

"Ryu! Don't freeze up in the middle of the street, meow!? Everyone around is staring at you, meow!!"

Koroi pulled Ryu, who was standing blankly on the street, her face showing an expression as if the world was about to end, forward. "It should be Runova's job to be the one to make sarcastic remarks and worry about others, meow-!" The cat-man couldn't help but let out a miserable cry, desperately trying to cheer up the elf in front of him.

"Hey! We've found Seele and the others! Anya says she smells the adventurer's scent!"

"What?! Anya, Lunova, you've done a great job!"

When Lunova loudly announced the good news, seemingly unconcerned about what others thought, Kroy cheered on the spot.

"You heard that, meow!? Ryu! Cats, go find Seele and the boy, meow!"

"They haven't gone to the forest to make their vows of love... Even if they don't go to the forest, they should at least swear their vows before the gods..."

"No! This sprite is broken!!"

"Hey~ Stop dawdling over there!" Lunova reminded Chloe, who was so flustered that she even forgot to use the cat-person's final particle.

"Ryu! Wake up right now!"

"—Huh!?"