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

A sense of loneliness was subtly revealed in his words.

As for the empty chair that Hegni was looking at, it was the seat that had been assigned to the boy before he left.

Even though it was a fake relationship and didn't last long, you could see from the dark elf's eyes that he really couldn't forget "Bell Crane of the Freya Familia".

"Whether it's Fiora or anyone else... I still don't want to rely on others... I want to continue to cultivate Bell myself."

Compared to the valiant warriors, the boy's talent was not particularly outstanding.

He was rejected by the world and imprisoned in a "closed world" that even led him to self-doubt.

They stubbornly resisted the words of the goddess of beauty, resisted the harm of "seduction," and resisted all kinds of cruel adversity.

This sparked a strong interest and sense of novelty in Hegni, who was originally afraid of contact with outsiders—and more importantly, in him as an elf—for a human.

Hegny lowered his eyes and revealed his true feelings—

Only then did he realize that Alfred and the others were all focused on him.

"You're quite talkative today."

"And they speak human language."

"Just keep this up all the time, you shy little elf."

"What are you being melancholic about?" The Lilliputian brothers mercilessly teased Hegni, who could speak normally without Hedin's translation, causing Hegni to panic and blush instantly, making a strange "Ah bah bah...!" sound, and hurriedly pulling up the collar of his cloak to cover half of his face.

"Hegny, feel free to be sentimental as you please, but when that moment arrives—"

"No, no need to worry. I am a ruthless apostle, my body composed entirely of endless darkness...!"

Alfred ignored his three younger brothers who rolled their eyes at him and issued this warning.

Hegny feigned composure and responded in his usual quirky tone.

Then he adopted the cold expression unique to warriors and said:

"For the sake of the goddess—if we meet again on the battlefield, I will surely sever that brat's limbs with this sword."

There was not a single doubt in the hearts of the Freya Familia.

The moment they stepped onto the battlefield was the moment to dedicate their victory to the goddess.

"—It's still no use, there's not a trace of him waking up."

From a room on the west side of the fifth floor of "Battlefield", the clear voice of a girl could be faintly heard.

Ota, who had been listening quietly to the report, finally spoke up and asked a question.

Does that mean it's too late?

"Captain, even I would be angered by what you're saying. I'm a healer who often pulls people back from the brink of death, so I have my own pride."

The therapist, young Heizi, raised her head—

She glared at Ota with her almond-shaped eyes wide open.

In contrast, Otto's immovable and dignified expression remained unmoved.

Despite his serious expression, one could see that the wild boar ears on his head were drooping slightly.

To be honest, Ota was not very good at dealing with this young therapist.

To be precise, it was the guilt of the members, after being "baptized" day after day on the "battlefield," that was at play, as they then dumped all the wounded soldiers on the comforters (Andhrímnir).

As an excellent healer, Haici, who was forced to shoulder heavy responsibilities, had long harbored resentment towards Otto. Otto also understood that he had never fulfilled his duties as the leader. Therefore, an extremely rare situation occurred in this super-powerful faction—the positions of a healer and a Lv.7 leader were completely reversed.

Even when facing a first-class adventurer, Haici, who dared to express his opinions without flinching, sighed at the boar-man who remained silent like a reclusive child before him, and then continued to present his report.

"I've done everything I can. I almost threw up from casting healing spells, and all her wounds have healed. She's completely recovered, her breathing and pulse are normal, so it's impossible for her to have fallen into a coma... but she still hasn't opened her eyes."

"...So you're in a state of suspended animation?"

"As a therapist, I really can't accept this statement... but judging from her current state, you're not wrong."

After speaking, Haici and Ao both looked down at the hospital bed beside them.

"You're such a difficult woman... Herren."

A young girl was lying in the hospital bed.

It was none other than Heron, the "goddess's attendant".

However, her current appearance is not the familiar face she had when she was the chief attendant of the goddess of beauty (Freya).

Her shoulder-length light gray hair was currently disheveled. They knew her closed eyes were the same color as her hair.

Her appearance was exactly like that of a city girl named "Hiel Frova".

The magic residing within her is called the "Unique Secret (Vana Seier)".

This is a unique secret technique that allows one to perfectly transform into the goddess Freya, even in the lower realms, aside from divine power (Arcanum). Harren used this power to transform into Seele, one of Freya's many "faces".

"Not only did you tell Bell the truth, you even planned to commit suicide... I simply cannot understand what you are trying to do after betraying the goddess Freya to this extent."

During Freya's creation of the "closed world," Heron defied the ban and secretly contacted Bell, revealing the relationship between himself, Freya, and the girl (Seele).

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the destruction of Freya's "closed world" was caused by Herren.

At least that's what Haici and the others thought. Moreover, Helen's betrayal was common knowledge within the faction, and if it weren't for the order from the main god, the members would have undoubtedly turned the girl into bones without hesitation. Even Haici, who had worked with Helen for a long time and had a deep friendship with her, didn't intend to let her go.

For a fleeting moment, a chilling glint flashed in the eyes of the girl who was devoted only to the goddess as she looked down at Heron.

As Otto gazed at Heitz's cold profile, which seemed to want to reach out and strangle the sleeping girl's delicate neck right now, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"...Following the will of the goddess Freya, she barely managed to save her life, but that was all. Although saying this is tantamount to revealing my own inadequacy, there is nothing I can do in this situation."

Heci's voice echoed throughout the spacious room.

In this pristine white room, so incongruous with the "sinner" who betrayed the goddess, there was only a hospital bed. Coupled with the sacred atmosphere that permeated the space, resembling a church, one couldn't help but think of the narrow gap between heaven and earth where souls wander.

The box-shaped hospital bed where the girl was located also resembled a coffin.

If you fill it with flowers, anyone who sees it will think it's a corpse.

The girl, once known as "Seele," fell into a deep sleep, just like the protagonist in a fairy tale.

"Have you figured out why she's in a deep sleep?"

"This is just my speculation as a mortal..."

Ota gestured with his eyes that it didn't matter and urged Haici to continue.

"The first reason I can think of is that Helen herself refused to wake up. It's not hard to see from her suicide attempt that she felt guilty towards the goddess Freya. If the person involved is determined to fall into eternal slumber, no amount of physical treatment will help... And then there's..."

Heitz abruptly stopped speaking halfway through explaining his hypothesis.

After a moment of silence, he continued:

"She still wants to preserve... the 'Lady Seele' that the goddess Freya wanted to destroy..."

Even Austria fell silent this time.

"Herren only harmed her own body, not the body of a god. Now her body has passed the danger, but even though she has lost consciousness, she has not yet released the One Secret (Vana Seier)."

"..."

"If that's the case, the only explanation is that Heren is still casting spells to avoid losing 'something'..."

Haici paused briefly at this point.

Then he shook his head weakly.

"This is just my speculation, baseless nonsense, please don't take it to heart."

"……Um."

Ota stared at the girl, responding absentmindedly.

(Is it because only the girl (Helen) understands the goddess's thoughts... or is it a thought that even the goddess herself is unaware of...)

The goddess's emotions can sometimes be transmitted into Heron's body through the connection of the [Unique Secret Technique].

Ota had heard about this from Freya.

What is the girl (Helen) thinking with her eyes closed? Why has she remained asleep until now?

The man never understood her "wish" until the very end—nor did he ever try to understand it.

Because a warrior (or otakana) only knows how to fight.

Because the goddess only requires the strongest (Ota) to defeat all enemies.

Therefore, even though he knew that doing so was overstepping his bounds, he still dared to ask the question.

What kind of "dream" are you having right now?

Monologue VI (Volume 18)

*

I had a dream.

This is neither the present me (Helen) nor the past me (Seele), but rather "her" memory (dream).

She is lonely.

Despite receiving countless acts of "love," she was never satisfied with it.

Perhaps to outsiders, this is an incredibly arrogant and outrageously extravagant mentality.

Don't they realize how many people in this lower realm grow up and die without understanding "love"? I (Seele) was one of them in the past.

However, it is precisely because she understands "love" better than anything else in the world that she harbors a sense of emptiness that those who do not understand "love" can never comprehend.

People who cannot be satisfied begin to crave "love".

And those who, because they feel satisfied, are imprisoned by "love" and whose lives are constantly taken away by it.

I can't answer which type of person is more pathetic.

The only certainty is that once trapped within the framework called eternity, even "love" can turn into a deadly poison.

In her memory (dream), she was crying in a flower field.

She covered her face with her hands, and large tears streamed down her face, turning the flower field, which was originally dyed red by the twilight, into a golden sea of ​​tears, deeply mired in sorrow.

Can't find it.

Still can't find it.

She always lamented like this.

Finally... a woman appeared beside her.

He was a short dwarf.

The seemingly strong-willed dwarf was initially surprised by her beauty and tears.

She stood up quickly.

"You saw it?" he asked immediately.

There were no more tears on her face, and her eyes instantly turned silver.

She decided to use her "charm" to make the visitor forget everything they had just witnessed.

The dwarf convulsed and staggered forward, just as she was about to give the order—

He immediately threw a powerful uppercut.

"Eek! Eek!" That uppercut was so perfect that it made me (Herren) back away in fright.

She fell to the ground immediately after being hit hard in the chin.

The flower field caught her, and then a shower of red flowers filled the air.

The female dwarf revealed a fierce expression as she spoke to the woman who was stroking her chin, looking utterly bewildered:

"Don't try any weird spells on me!! Do you want me to beat you to a pulp!?"

The dwarf, who had already beaten the man to a pulp, was so angry that he started cursing.

Even though she was shaken by the sight of her tears and thus failed to cast her "Charm" in time, the dwarf was still powerful enough to launch an attack before she could be controlled.

She spoke blankly:

"I'm a goddess, you know?"