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

"…………………………Yes"

"Then, it doesn't matter whether you apologize or not."

「… … … … … … … 」

"What I want is to be by Bell's side."

As she said this, Seele turned her gaze to the window.

Today, the sky over Orario is also a clear blue.

Ryu suppressed the urge to bow her head and clenched her fists on her knees.

Finally, after a long silence, Seele gave a bitter smile.

"However, it's fine if it's Ryu."

"……well?"　

"If it were Ryu who were with Mr. Bell, then it wouldn't matter."

Liu opened her eyes wide.

Seele smiled.

She was neither a saint nor a witch, but a street girl, smiling serenely.

"...Why...?"

"Isn't this what you call being blinded by love? I like Mr. Bell, but I also really like Ryu."

"...!"

"If Ryu and Bell were together, that would be nice. And I've even thought about whether it might turn out like that. Watching you two together with a 'motherly' feeling, I just feel like I'm doomed... no, I just can't help it."

Seeing Hill's smile, Ryu sensed something. Bell here too, probably had the same thought.

That smile was like that of an older sister looking at her younger siblings, or a mother looking at her beloved child.

There was a hint of loneliness in his eyes, yet they were very composed.

Seele stroked the flowers in the vase with her fingertips, as if recounting the failure of some deity.

The girl, gazing at the colorful flowers, seemed to see something dazzling and squinted her eyes.

"Mr. Bell's color has changed."

"...?"

"I'm a little surprised that such a transparent radiance has been dyed this color. However, it's still as beautiful and stunning as before. I also really like that color... So, Bell now belongs to Ryu."

Seele kept talking to herself, as if she were talking to herself.

It's like severing an indecent form of affection.

Ryu's chest tightened. The pain and sorrow made it hard for her to breathe.

She thought this was the price she had to pay for the friendship that hadn't ended.

—In this "side story," the "small garden" revolving around a certain boy will not appear. Nor will the "great battle" occur.

Before experiencing heartbreak, the girl who chose "motherhood" vowed in her own name to offer her blessings to the one she loved.

This is also her "love".

It was a sudden whim of hers.

"...Hmm~~~ That's right! I'm really looking forward to Ryu and Bell's child!"

"--Varied!?"　

As if to dispel the tense atmosphere between them, Seele stretched her hand towards the ceiling, deliberately yawning. A mischievous grin appeared on her face as she faced Ryu, whose face was flushed.

"If you have a child, you want me to be the first one to hold it, okay?"

"What are you saying, Seele! Bell and I aren't in that kind of relationship!! We have a completely innocent relationship. If we're going to get to the point of having children, we should do it in a more proper way, step by step...!!"

"If that's the case, Ryu must have been thinking that one day it would be like this too. That's great♪"

Because of Hill's beaming smile, and Liu's mouth opening and closing like a fish's, her face was flushed red like never before. From head to toe, she was redder than a ripe fruit, as if she might spew steam at any moment.

Seele chuckled and moved closer to the window.

"The two of us will live happily ever after, and then after Ryu is gone, I'll take the seat next to Mr. Bell, okay?"

"...!! No, impossible!! I will grow old with him!! We will be together whether we live or die!! How could we break up right now!!"

"What will happen?"

Faced with Ryu's incessant and over-the-top rebuttals, which could be described as utterly incompetent, Seele simply smiled.

"So, I'll be keeping an eye on both of you."

She opened the window with both hands, closed her eyes, and felt the wind blowing through her skin, whispering as if she were a goddess recounting their story.

Before that, I had been in unrequited love.

Bell Craney

Lv.5

Strength: I0 Endurance: I0 Dexterity: I0→1 Agility: I0→2 Magic: I0

Luck: F Resistance to Abnormal Status: G Escape: H Combo Attack: I

After getting dressed, Bell stared blankly at the replacement paper handed to him.

The harvest feast, named after the "goddess," has been going on for seven days.

Upon receiving the first update of [Ability Values] after the [Upgrade], Bell's previous "premonition" turned into certainty.

"The kind of growth we experienced before is no longer possible."

"…………yes."

Sitting beside Bell on the bed, Hestia, who was also sitting, paused for a moment before answering.

After surviving the "deep" injury, until the bandages binding his severe wounds were removed, Bell found himself in a predicament where he had to move no matter what, and at the same time realized that his "aspirations" had vanished.

Since returning from the 'Deep Layer,' their skill proficiency has increased by over 2000. This is an impressive number. However, both Bell and Hestia sensed a 'bad omen' unlike their previous growth.

So, after Bell's body fully recovered, he released his accumulated high-level [experience points], [leveled up] to Lv.5, and then spent about a week exploring the dungeon with all his might. This was to verify the theory of one being a god and one being a human.

Moreover, the results were presented in stark numbers.

Even compared to before the upgrade, the rate of increase in ability values ​​has decreased significantly. If it were the old [Bell Crane], there would definitely have been more additive values ​​accumulated.

In other words, Bear Grylls has now become a 'mortal'.

At least from now on, it will no longer create the great feat of being hailed as the "world's fastest rabbit".

"...Were you startled, Bell-kun?"

"Yeah... it would be a lie to say I don't feel any regret."

It even makes one feel that the 'growth' so far is abnormal, and that this current state is actually reasonable, Bell thought to himself.

Having become a Level 5 adventurer, he was able to accept the idea that this was the barrier to becoming the first adventurer.

"But, it will probably turn out like this... I have a feeling it will."

However, Bell had a 'premonition' about this beforehand.

If you betray the aspirations you've always held in your heart, you've probably already lost the right to pursue those unattainable beauties.

From the day I chose to be a fairy in the depths of that dark labyrinth, like the abyss, forever.

"What should we do next?"

"What should I do? I think I'll just continue exploring the dungeon as before—"

"Should we continue pursuing Warren so-and-so, just like before?"

"————…………"

Facing Hestia's blue eyes gazing up at him, Bell abandoned his perfunctory words and fell silent, truly lost in thought.

Aspiration has always been Bell's goal.

In pursuit of his dreams, Bear Grylls has been running ever since.

However, the meaning of pursuing dreams has now been lost.

To be precise, it's no longer possible.

It was no longer time to chase after it. Belle, filled with longing for the fairy she now held in her heart, closed her eyes—bidding farewell to her former self. A profound loneliness washed over her.

Deep within the tightly closed eyelids, the white flowers blooming on the high ridge could no longer be seen.

"Although I feel I can't catch up with that person anymore... I will still continue to explore the dungeon. I am the leader of the [Familia]... and I have a promise with Winnie and the others."

"……Yeah."

"Yes, I have to fight that person again."

Even if I lose my aspirations, I still want to become stronger.

Bell changed that longing.

He was no longer a child, but showed a hint of adult expression.

Hestia concealed her loneliness and smiled slightly.

"...Ah, it's almost time. I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I have to go out now."

"Yeah, go ahead."

Looking at the time indicated by the short and long hand needles, Belle excitedly tidied up her clothes.

With a smile on his face, Hestia watched him leave the room and head towards the entrance of the mansion.

"...Lord Hestia."

"What's going on, Supporter? And everyone else. They're all popping up one by one."

after awhile.

As if they had timed their departure from the base, Lily and her companions appeared in an empty room on the first floor of the mansion where Hestia was staying.

Lily and Haruhime both wore expressions of loneliness and sadness.

Welf and Ming also had complicated expressions.

Hestia looked at the faces of her kin and asked, feigning ignorance.

"How's Lord Bell's 'skill'... [Unwavering Longing]?"

"Silence. I think it will never be activated again, or play any role."

Facing the trembling Lily, Hestia told her directly, as if in place of her own sigh.

Aside from herself, the entire [Family] was aware of the 'rare skill' [Unwavering Desire]. It was Hestia who told them. And the fact that Bell's power source 'skill' silenced this news caused Lily and the others to gasp.

"From now on, this will only become a trajectory buried in the skill slot..."

After some hesitation, Hestia chose this version of events.

The unattainable flower that had always bestowed upon Belle the blessing of "precociousness" with quietly withered away without Belle ever knowing of her existence, and a story ended there without her knowledge.

Among the bewildered members of the clan, it was Lily who spoke first, as expected.

"So, Lord Bell, he..."　

"Yes, it wasn't Warren or anything like that, but rather the Elf. ...Now, the child's heart belongs to the Elf."　

Hearing the goddess's candid words, which were neither false nor biased, her chestnut eyes gradually welled up with tears.

Bell chose Ryu. The boy and the fairy were bound together.

Faced with the facts, Lily burst into tears, disregarding her companions' stares.

"Waaaaahhhhhhh!! Lord Bell, like all the other races' minions, was bewitched by the fairy's appearance!!"

"Lady Lily, that's really..."

"Everyone's always so cutesy! But in the end, this world still judges by looks! Okay, okay, I know, what a disillusionment!! Waaaaaaah! What an unfriendly world for little people like us! The gods are such idiots!!!"

"Don't say that in front of me..."