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

"Seriously, can't you change your full-beard look? You'd definitely look much cleaner if you just shaved it off...!"

"This is what is called cultural difference. I once read in the literature about the ancient dwarf tribe, which said that the more lush a person's beard was, the more praise they would receive."

Finn, after taking a bite of his snack, responded with a wry smile to Riveria's muttered complaints.

Standing next to Finn, Aina—who was initially terrified of the local cuisine due to the vast difference between the dwarven and elven food cultures—is now completely captivated by the delicacies. Her eyes are shining as she carefully picks up a piece of fried catfish sprinkled with salt.

The elven royal glanced at her maid and close friend, Aina. Although she wanted to understand the dwarven culture, she felt quite resistant to it, so she could only put one hand on her forehead with a troubled expression.

The two sisters, oblivious to her inner turmoil, let out innocent laughter that echoed through the bar.

"However... today is the fifth day already, that dwarf is really stubborn~"

Loki clasped his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling.

As the name suggests, during the few days Finn and his group stayed in the village, their attempts to persuade and win them over failed countless times.

"But after so many attempts, I still really want to bring that dwarf into my [Family]. Even though she's not a girl, I don't want it to end in failure!"

Loki slightly opened her crimson eyes.

That expression was exactly like that of a god completely absorbed in a game of conquering beautiful girls.

The goddess revealed an arrogant smile and decided to do everything in her power to win over the dwarves to become her allies.

"Let's have a strategy meeting then, to see how we should defeat that dwarf."

"I object to him joining."

"He coldly rejected our invitations from beginning to end, and now, as soon as we were about to speak, he turned around and left..."

"I object to him joining."

"If only I could have a heart-to-heart talk with him, just to know what he's really thinking—"

"Hmm~"

"I'm against it! Let him join!!"

Loki, Aina, and Finn were all deep in thought, while Riveria, whose opinions were being ignored, was shouting and yelling.

Riveria blushed with annoyance at being ignored by her attendants, while the dwarf sisters, who had long been her friends, sat on her lap and continued to laugh and joke.

"Regarding Grace Landrock's character... we have a general understanding based on the information from the villagers."

Finn first looked at the twin sisters sitting on Riveria's lap, then turned his gaze to the shop manager and his wife standing behind the bar.

"Boss Grace is really amazing!" "Wow~"

"He was incredibly mischievous when he was young. Despite being warned that there were dangerous monsters in the mountains, he would repeatedly go alone to hunt them down. He even participated in a martial arts competition held in a neighboring country and won the championship!"

"But now he's become the most hardworking leader in the village! Not only does he help discipline delinquents, but he also always leads the way into the mines for the village's sake. Even the people of the inn town (Karuna) look at him with new respect. He's truly the pride of the village!"

Amid the sisters' laughter, the couple served the food and drinks while recounting Grace's exploits.

Looking at this family laughing heartily, Aina couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Extremely strong, very stubborn yet sentimental, and also very loyal..."

"And he's considerate of his companions, even taking care of his underlings... Also, he's a bit of an old fogey."

Finn and Loki reviewed and organized all the information they had gathered so far regarding Grace.

"—Heh, Finn, have you figured out a way to win over that dwarf?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Loki then raised the corners of his mouth, and Finn asked back with great interest.

I feel like they have such a good relationship~ When Aina observed the two of them and expressed her feelings, the goddess stood up from her seat in one go.

"There's only one way to persuade this difficult old fox! It's the 'Three Girls Attack' approach, a different kind of approach than the traditional 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage'!!"

The epic dwarf campaign of the Loki Familia begins.

Incidentally, Rivera was filled with a sense of foreboding, and her face turned quite ugly.

2

"Seriously, what exactly are those dwarfs and the goddess's group up to?!"

This is inside a bar in the underground village of "Lonsa".

Grace and his young dwarf miners were drinking heavily and making a lot of noise.

"We've seen quite a few [Familia] before, but we've never encountered such a persistent group!"

"These shameless bastards actually tried to poach Brother Grace!"

Their complaints were naturally directed at the Loki Familia, to which Finn and the others belonged.

Despite being turned away by Grace, the group did not give up and even continued to try to win them over.

While his underlings were making a ruckus, Grace, the one directly involved, silently drank his wine.

"Oh...heh...are you calling me?"

“Uuuuu!?”

Faced with the crimson-haired goddess who appeared out of nowhere, the dwarves were so frightened that they leaned back.

"You stinking, stinking woman, what are you doing here?!"

"When you go to a bar, you only do one thing, right? You come to drink!"

"This woman really knows how to lie through her teeth...!!"

Loki immediately ordered food and drinks, acting as if he were a customer and it was none of anyone else's business to gossip.

The dwarves were furious when they saw the goddess swagger off to a seat.

"Hey~ wanna have a drinking contest? The winner can make any request of the losing dwarf."

"Stop joking! I advise you not to be so arrogant!"

"And the rules cannot be set on the premise that we will lose!!"

"Even goddesses will not be spared!"

"Oh, really? You guys are so afraid of losing to me? Well, then there's nothing I can do."

"""What did you say!?"""

The enraged single-celled organisms (dwarves) immediately retorted loudly, "You've got guts!" and "Come on, let's have a fight!"

Grace, noticing Loki chuckling, observed the situation with a suspicious look.

However, the dwarves, including him, were all heavy drinkers, so he was confident that victory was in their grasp.

So the drinking contest immediately began.

Hours later, all the dwarves except for Grace had been wiped out.

"What? You're done for? Your underlings seem to have all the bravado but no substance."

"...So you're not a goddess after all, but a big wine vat."

Loki couldn't help but laugh loudly at the dwarves lying on the ground, groaning "Ugh~" and "Ugh..." Even the bar owner, who was responsible for serving drinks, was trembling with fear at the sight.

Grace, still drinking, glared at Loki, who had come right in front of her.

His eyes were already somewhat drunk, and his gaze was slightly unfocused.

"You're really something, aren't you? You've managed to hold your own against me for so long."

"Hmph, I'm not so naive as to surrender so easily."

The two who continued their drinking contest were naturally both flushed.

Furthermore, intoxication impairs judgment.

Grace, who had been ignoring everyone until now, suddenly came to her senses, and her previously tightly closed mouth was pried open, and she began to talk to Loki.

"I believe that creating a [Family] is meaningless if you can't become number one. If you're going to do it, you should aim for the top!"

"That's right, I would have done the same."

Loki is indeed very good at socializing; perhaps it would be more accurate to say he is an expert in communication skills.

Despite her lack of foresight and tendency to get carried away, she was inexplicably adept at reading people and accurately grasped what Grace was interested in. Now, she continued to fuel the dwarves' fighting spirit with her nonsensical ramblings.

This made Grace feel very uneasy.

Despite knowing he would never normally interact with her, he had somehow fallen into the goddess's trap. Even with this awareness, the perfect amount of intoxication prevented Grace from leaving her seat; she was essentially playing with fire while drunk.

Although Grace was reluctant to admit it, this goddess just happened to be very compatible with her when it came to drinking.

If it were "the former Grace," he would surely drink heartily with the god before him, laughing and making a ruckus together.

"My goal is to become the center of the world, the number one in the labyrinth city (Orario)!"

"...The labyrinth city (Orario)...?"

Loki raised his index finger to the sky, and Grace murmured softly upon seeing this.

Her slightly open crimson eyes detected a hint of envy in the murmured words.

Grace briefly revealed—and only for a moment—a look of longing in his eyes, before quickly replacing it with an air of nonchalant arrogance.

"Hmph! What do your dreams have to do with me! Rather than that, do you want to continue the competition? I can still drink, you know!"

Although Grace was half putting on a brave face, he actually found it amusing.

Even if it wasn't a contest of skills, he hadn't encountered an opponent who could rival him in a long time.

Just as he unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth in a smile and lifted his wine glass—

"Hmm... let's call it a day."

"What...? You're giving up just like that?"

Grace felt a wave of disappointment upon hearing Loki's reply.

"I'm enjoying my current drunkenness... and even if I do beat you, it's meaningless if I can't get you to willingly join the Familia."

“…………”

Even though you're drunk, you still don't seem to open your heart.

The goddess rose from her seat in front of the silent Grace.

Just then, Grace did feel a slight sense of irritation and disappointment.

The reason was that goddess who had been so infuriating before, but who had impulsively walked away when he was in the middle of drinking.

As Grace fell silent, Loki suddenly let out a strange laugh.

"Hehehe... I'm just the first assassin."

"...?"

In the next instant, as Grace was greatly confused—

Loki suddenly pointed his finger at Grace's nose.

"You stubborn dwarf, wash your neck clean and wait, I'm going to conquer you in one fell swoop."

The swaying, slightly disgusting drunkard in front of me rambled on and on about his threats.

"We'll use the 'Three Beauties Attack Gift' to recruit you!"

The day after Loki went to the bar and caused a scene.

The young dwarves, unable to hold their liquor, were all suffering from severe hangovers and unbearable headaches, feeling as if they were in hell. They had actually given up their work at the mine for the day. Seeing all the other miners sick, Grace couldn't help but think that the goddess had simply come to cause trouble.

However, he may not have enjoyed this kind of leisure time alone for a long time.

So Grace left the village under the cover of night and went alone to a cliff halfway up the mountain with a great view.

"Although it was an accident, thanks to them, I can relax a little..."

The bright moon hangs high in the night sky, leaving only tranquility surrounding this grove.

Grace gazed at the night sky illuminated by the pale moon, enjoying her moon-viewing wine alone.

Just then—

Suddenly, someone slowly approached him as he was gazing at the moon.