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

Regardless of how things unfolded, the magical potion (a mental energy recovery potion) she made and gave me did indeed save us from our predicament.

Even without mentioning that incident, I cannot bear to stand by and watch these two people who have always helped us die.

I smiled with my eyebrows lowered, and Miss Nazha's eyes widened before she lowered her face.

"I'm sorry... thank you."

After whispering her last words, she bowed.

◆

[Adventurer's Request] Accept the case.

Client: [Mih Family].

• Compensation: The finished product of the new drug.

Content: Collect monster "eggs".

Note: "Let's work hard together. Please give me your guidance."

●

We left the city early the next morning.

I knew yesterday that I would be going out today, so I ended my morning training with Miss Ais early and went to help Mihe and the others prepare some things. After borrowing a carriage from a merchant and loading the luggage, the gods and Lily, who arrived a little later, met up with us.

Two celestial beings and three attendants. A carriage carrying this special team, unseen elsewhere, departed from the city at sunrise.

"Bell, you've worked hard, getting up so early. It seems you went to help Mich and the others very early this morning?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Like Lily, I didn't tell the fairy that I was training with Miss Ais. It would be terrible if the secret got out.

I kept apologizing in my mind, trying to change the subject before I got caught, so I struck up a conversation with Ms. Nazha:

"Uh, Ms. Nazha. So today we'll do as we discussed yesterday..."

"Yes, time is of the essence because we need to raise the funds today. Therefore, we need to develop new products that can turn the tide and directly market them to the [Deankait Familia]..."

Ms. Nazha, dressed in casual travel attire, answered me without any intonation.

After going through some complicated procedures, the carriage passed through the east gate of the labyrinth city (Oario) and proceeded across the lush grasslands.

"After hearing what you said yesterday, Lily really wanted to ask, is it really possible to succeed? Making a new product sounds so easy..."

"No problem, that matter has been taken care of..."

Faced with Lily's question, Miss Nazha displayed an inexplicable confidence. Her eyes were half-closed, and she looked sleepy, but her tail was slowly swaying from side to side.

"We haven't even asked you your destination yet. Where is this carriage headed?"

"The Seollu Forest. It's not a long journey, but it's still quite a distance. Since we're all gathered here, let's catch up before we arrive."

This time, it was Mihe's turn to answer Hestia's question, and the last sentence was spoken to Lily.

The wooden carriage was more cramped than I had imagined. Every time the wheels turned, my shoulders would gently bump into the person next to me. Incidentally, our seating arrangement was as follows: Mihe was seated near the driver, and next to him, in order, were myself, Hestia, Lily, and Miss Nazha, arranged in a circle.

As the morning sun shone on the car, which had neither a roof nor curtains, we chatted quite enthusiastically, just as Mihe had said.

"Lady Nazha. You mentioned that you transitioned from an adventurer to a pharmacist, so you should possess the 'synthesis' ability, right?"

"Hmm, yes... It seems I learned it by accumulating experience points through helping with medicine making, and by sheer luck..."

"Uh, what does 'harmony' mean...?"

"It's the ability to improve the quality of elixirs and other potions when making them, Lord Bell."

According to her, among the "development abilities" that can be learned based on experience points during "leveling up," there seems to be one called "Harmony." This ability is specialized in medicine making, and it's said that its magical healing properties, capable of instantly healing wounds, are also an effect of this ability.

This seems to have something in common with the "forging" ability. It seems that as long as you have development abilities with professional attributes such as "blending", you can indirectly enhance weapons or medicines.

Even if the same prop is made using the same methods and materials, its performance will vary greatly depending on whether or not the user possesses certain abilities.

"And you possess the ability to develop, which means..."

"Yes, I am Lv.2..."

My eyes were wide open as far as they could go.

Oh, so Miss Nazha possesses the strength of a high-level adventurer...

"I reached the middle level, but there the monster burned my whole body... my hands and legs were eaten and were mangled."

"ah--"

"My left arm and legs could barely recover, but my right arm, which was eaten down to the bone, was beyond repair. ... It was probably from that time that I stopped daring to fight monsters. No matter what kind of monster (opponent), just standing in front of them... would make me tremble."

Hearing her describe the terrible scene at the time, my spine went cold.

The body reeked of a burnt smell.

Lying on my back on the ground, I was swarmed by monsters, feeling my hands and feet being torn apart.

Ms. Nazha said that the vivid and terrifying memories imprinted in her mind still torment her, leaving her with a deep-seated, fatal psychological trauma related to monsters.

"...Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Ah, no, it can't be..."

"In short, it's best to be careful when exploring dungeons... It took me six years to [level up]... but no matter how strong you become, you can lose it in an instant."

I made a gulping sound in my throat, keeping Ms. Nazha's lesson in mind.

"But your prosthetic leg is really well made. Isn't it very flexible to move around in?"

"Yes, you are free to move around..."

"Although Dean asked me for an exorbitant price, I got the best products from him. It's a little bitter to admit, but the power of his [Familia] is trustworthy."

The immortals subtly changed the subject, easing the somewhat heavy atmosphere. As the carriage swayed, making our conversation increasingly relaxed.

Eastern Orario lies a vast plain, with endless verdant grasslands. As the world's only and largest exporter of magic stone products, Orario's trade with other regions is naturally quite prosperous, and all the land routes leading to the city are well-maintained. The road our carriage is traveling on is also paved with white stone, without any unevenness.

"Mih didn't notice my feelings at all... Although he was just as oblivious to the enthusiastic gazes of other girls, which is good... he's just too oblivious. It makes one wonder if this person is really a god...."

"Ah—I can relate. My Belle is also slow to react, which always makes me want to cry."

"Hehe, I think Goddess Hestia probably doesn't see you as a woman at all because he feels he's not good enough for you. I advise you to accept the truth... But Lily is treated like a younger sister by him."

“…”

Before we knew it, the three women had become best friends, making the two men feel extremely uncomfortable. Faced with the three women whispering amongst themselves, not letting us hear, Mihe and I exchanged uneasy glances and inexplicably huddled together.

On the wide man-made road that runs through the vast grassland, we passed by horse-drawn carriages heading to Oulali several times.

As the sun rose high in the sky, we finally arrived at our destination.

"This...this is it..."

"Oh—it truly lives up to its name as a dense forest."

When we first saw the scenery before us, both I and the immortals were awestruck.

"Seollu Forest".

Head straight east from Orario into the great forest at the foot of the Orb Mountains.

The trees that make up the forest are all incredibly tall, with thick trunks. The plants, including wildflowers and moss, are also thriving and eye-catching, making the words "green kingdom" come to mind.

We got off the carriage and quickly began to prepare, each carrying our belongings.

We left our hired driver some distance away and ventured into the dense forest.

"We're going to get the monster's 'egg,' right?"

"Yes, it wasn't a dropped item, it was a monster's 'egg'..."

We've come to this Serol Forest, seemingly for some kind of monster's "egg." It seems Miss Nazha intends to use those "eggs" as ingredients to concoct a new medicine.

Monsters that came to the surface in ancient times each adopted different reproductive methods to reproduce, and their descendants still inhabit the world today. If you think about it that way, laying "eggs" is not a strange phenomenon... However, now that I'm used to the situation where "monsters are born from dungeons" when exploring dungeons, it always feels really strange.

While keeping an eye on the monster, I turned my head to the side several times.

"...Bell, stop."

As I walked ahead and we formed a line to head deeper into the forest, Miss Nazha called out to me.

She squinted and looked ahead, where she saw a spacious depression.

She immediately gave instructions. First, she told Hestia and Mihe to stay where they were and asked Lily to protect the two goddesses.

Then, she waved to me, signaling me to come with her.

"Bell, this is for you."

As we crouched low and approached the depression, Miss Nazha handed me the equipment she had brought.

It was a very old greatsword, and a backpack containing some items.

"What...what are you going to use this for?"

"I think we need at least this level of weaponry, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with them... You can carry that backpack for now."

The chilling lines gave me a fright, and at that moment, Ms. Nazha stopped in the shade of a tree.

They were only a short distance from the depression. Miss Nazha sniffed repeatedly, her dog ears perking up.

I sensed the atmosphere becoming tense, and I became increasingly alert—suddenly, Ms. Nazha launched her operation without warning.

She reached behind me and opened the tightly sealed backpack.

“Ugh…!”

A pungent, irritating odor immediately filled the surroundings.

The familiar stench made me groan, while Miss Nazha quickly raised one hand.

"Well then, good luck, Bell. Sorry."

I had barely uttered an "Eh!" when Ms. Nazha quickly left the location.

As expected of a Lv.2 speed, it passed through the trees without making a sound, leaving me all alone.

My two eyes turned into two dots, and I stood there stunned... Suddenly, out of the blue, I felt a wet and sticky sensation.

“…Huh?”

Wet, sticky liquid fell onto my head.

Feeling the disgusting, transparent liquid on my skin, I slowly turned around and looked up.

“Mmm…”

A dinosaur, dripping large beads of saliva, met my eyes.

My blood rushed to my head like a tidal wave, and my face turned ashen. Only then did I realize the source of the foul stench emanating from the backpack.

The backpack contained flesh and blood used to lure hungry monsters.

"Roar! Ro ...

"Whoa ...

The roars and screams overlapped.

I turned my back to the approaching, massive jaw and ran at full speed.

"W-This isn't a large-scale monster?! Aa ...

"Wow, Belle—!"

"Blood, 'Blood Dragon'...!"

Following Hestia's scream, Lily also cried out in astonishment. A red carnivorous dinosaur (monster) no less than five meters tall.

It chased after the crying and screaming rabbit (its prey) while letting out a deafening roar.

"Wait, wait a minute! Isn't that the ferocious monster that only appears on the 30th floor...?!"

"It's alright. The monsters on the ground are much weaker than those in the dungeon."

In contrast to the wavering Lily, Nazha, who had returned to everyone's side, spoke calmly.

"Let's get to the depression now. The monster has been lured away by Bell; now's the perfect opportunity."

Naza led Hestia and the others to the depression.