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

"Master...?"

The morning light illuminated the vast white corridor, which was no different from the imperial city.

I shielded my face with my hand because of the dazzling sunlight, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of those coral-red eyes staring at me.

"Are you also skipping baptism today and insisting on going out?"

"……Yes."

When my eyes had adjusted to the sunlight, I nodded weakly in response to the question.

I still choose to use this precious opportunity to go out to continue struggling. Of course, I will still look around for things that can affirm "me", but for now I've decided to inquire about the whereabouts of a certain girl.

This person is Miss Seele.

In this world where memory and reality diverge, Miss Seele has vanished without a trace. I cannot accept that she is merely a figment of my imagination, nor do I wish to accept this fact.

The wisest thing to do would have been to use this as an excuse to escape the fierce battle in the fields and get some fresh air, but today I stubbornly chose to gather information in the city.

"...You pathetic guy, I can't be bothered with you anymore."

My master looked straight at me and said those words.

"You should go alone. Don't bother the other group members to accommodate your self-indulgence."

"Huh, but..."

"If you were to be 'cursed' again, the goddess Freya would likely be so disappointed that she would disdain you. Besides, the goddess's favor would be too much of a burden for you."

After saying this with a look of disgust, the master turned away.

I was standing there in a daze, but when I came to my senses, I had already called out to that figure from behind.

"Master...Mr. Hedin."

"..."

"Am I... strange?"

Through the window, one could hear the war drums of fierce fighting already beating in the fields.

The warriors' roars were all sucked into the sky.

I lowered my head and asked the question, almost losing myself in the process.

"Whether you are different from others or not is not important."

The figure who had stopped paused briefly before continuing to speak.

"Keep moving forward; the only thing you can't do is stop."

The master left these words and walked away.

After staring blankly for a while, I finally turned around and took a step.

With his back to the boy, Hedin could sense that despite his confusion, the boy was still walking in the opposite direction.

He was heading straight toward a certain location.

"Paine, immediately discontinue the guarding and surveillance of Bell Crane."

"Huh...? Why is that, Lord Hedin?"

Hedin gave orders to the three-man guard squad led by a half-human.

"According to the reconnaissance team (Noka and others) responsible for monitoring the underground city, the Loki Familia, which went to the 'Deep Layer,' seems to be preparing to return."

"...! The Loki Familia?"

"That's right. Including Lady Riveria and the Thousand Elf, this team's strength is not to be underestimated. In order to maintain the 'Closed World,' we must ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Upon hearing this news, Pan and the others revealed sharp eyes.

Hedin calmly continued explaining and giving orders.

"Although we can send the goddess's daughter (Heren) directly to handle it, there's no guarantee that unforeseen circumstances won't arise in the underground city. Therefore, once they return to the surface, we must deal with these people at the 'Tower of Babel.' Allen and the four Alfred brothers have already gone to the scene; you should go quickly too."

"As you command!"

"Bring all personnel, including 'The Abundant Mistress,' who are responsible for monitoring key locations. To avoid any slip-ups, it's best to have a larger number of Level 2 and above personnel. I will arrange for replacements to take over the monitoring duties."

No one would question the orders of the white elf, who was the faction's chief strategist.

After listening to and accepting the well-organized battle plan, Pain asked one more question before leaving.

"But what can Bell do? Indeed, continuing to keep a close watch on him doesn't seem to make much sense..."

Bell is now like a walking corpse.

[Family] All members of the group unanimously agree on this point.

It's obvious to everyone that Bell will soon succumb to Freya's divine will.

"This is not a problem."

Hedin's reply to this was only a short sentence.

"I will keep an eye on him."

*

The sky was cloudless, but it was unusually cold outside.

Although it's nearing late autumn, it's colder than usual today, almost like winter. After nightfall, besides the magic stone lamps, the lights from the fireplaces in every house will probably shine through.

Gazing up at the deep blue sky, I turned my gaze back to the city streets and noticed that no one on the main avenue to the west was dressed in light clothing; even the occasional adventurer I passed was clad in heavy garments. The guild staff were carrying what appeared to be firewood to be distributed to the public.

"Hey...that's a rabbit's foot!"

"【Freya Familia】...!"

The cacophony of voices, like the chatter of sparrows, spread out from the surroundings.

I'm used to this situation.

Everyone cast curious and awe-inspiring glances my way, as I wore the Freya Familia uniform. The civilians and merchants watching me from a distance had no doubt that Bell Crane was a member of the city's strongest faction.

I've given up on denying it or making things difficult for myself. With a numb heart, I lower my head and cross the main road.

The place I was heading to was one of the buildings facing the main street.

To be precise, it was a tavern called "The Abundant Mistress".

"Ah! You're here again, meow! The white rabbit from the Freya Familia!"

"You're really stubborn. There's no employee here named Seele."

As soon as I stepped into the tavern, Miss Chloe and Miss Lunova, who were originally ready to greet me, immediately turned stern. Just like their reaction to me, I had lost count of how many times I had visited this tavern.

"The cat has seen through your scheme, meow! You're definitely pretending to be constantly searching for your fantasy city girl, planning to use that to seduce the girl you fancy, meow! You're so indecisive and full of petty tricks! You could have just used your sexy little butt to seduce the cat, meow! Okay, let's go to the back door right now!!"

"What are you trying to do, you stupid cat?"

Even when I saw Miss Chloe and Miss Lunova bickering as usual, I still couldn't laugh.

The reason was that they gave me a heartbreaking "unfamiliar look".

And I don't have the energy to build another bond with them right now.

"Since you're not willing to offer up your little butt, then get lost, meow! Go away!"

"You really are something... But if you're not planning to order anything, staying in the shop will only cause us trouble, so could you please leave? To be honest, our workload has increased significantly because our elf colleague hasn't returned yet, and Anya refuses to work..."

I felt a pang of sadness at their cold attitude, and at the same time, I became worried about Miss Ryu.

Actually, I was also searching for Miss Ryu, who was missing. Judging from the reactions of Miss Lunova and the others, they all seemed to remember her. For this reason, my attention was almost entirely focused on Miss Seele.

Finding out whereabouts versus proving existence—it seems the latter is probably more difficult.

Miss Anya seems to be unwell and hasn't come to work yet...

"What nonsense are you two silly girls spouting! If you're so free, go run errands and buy things!"

"Eeeee!! We're going out—!"

Suddenly, a furious shout rang out.

Miss Chloe and Miss Lunova trembled with fright and ran toward the back door of the tavern, their faces pale.

I turned around in disbelief and saw the shop owner, Aunt Mia, standing inside the bar.

"..."

"...?"

Aunt Mia glanced at it silently.

Was she looking at me? No… was she observing what was happening outside?

Aunt Mia silently made preparations for the evening's business. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I had the feeling that she was keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.

Since there were no other customers in the store, there were no outsiders besides Aunt Mia and me.

An eerie silence hung between us.

"Kid."

As I could no longer bear the silent atmosphere and awkwardly prepared to leave—

Aunt Mia, who hadn't spoken to me since the Goddess Festival, suddenly called out to me.

"what?"

"I have no problem with the goddess. Because the 'contract' between us is that we can't get in the way when the time is right."

...?

What exactly is Aunt Mia trying to say...?

"Although I really want to teach those good-for-nothings who dared to lay a hand on my silly girls a lesson..."

"Excuse me, what do you mean by these words...?"

"Actually, I am a member of the Freya Familia."

"!!"

I was stunned by this confession.

"You've probably heard that I'm practically a member of the [Family], right?"

Completely shaken, I stared intently at Aunt Mia, who had added those words.

"The reason I didn't help was because it was a 'rebellion' against the goddess, and what follows is a 'rebellion'."

After she finished speaking, the dwarf proprietress finally looked up at me.

"There's nothing to be cool about being an adventurer."

I couldn't help but forget to breathe.

"The person who can still stand on two legs at the very end is the first place winner."

My hands started to tremble.

"So you must believe in yourself and never give up."

—You must forge ahead bravely.

Aunt Mia remained unmoved by my stunned reaction, staring straight at me as she concluded with those words.

"...Auntie Mia, what were those just now...?"

Because it was so breathtaking, I always felt that the world in my eyes was suddenly filled with color.

I stood there dumbfounded, finally managing to get the words out, but I couldn't find the right words to ask for a moment.

But before I could even speak, Aunt Mia raised her eyebrows and angrily berated me.

"Get out! There's no food here for you!"

“Eh!?”

"If you keep this gloomy-faced adventurer in the shop, I'm going to lose all my business! Come back when you've cheered up!!"

"I'm so sorry!!"

That's how I got kicked out of the "abundant mistress" category.