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

We've ventured deep into the forest, where we can't sense anyone else's presence at all; it's about time we began our private conversation.

"...Okay, this tree is nice."

Hermes stood before a tree.

The tree trunk was thick and looked very sturdy. Hermes skillfully used his long arms and legs to climb up the branches and bark.

Seeing me standing there dumbfounded, he said, "Come on, little Bell, you should climb up too." I quickly followed him. The two of us climbed up the tree, and I think the scene looked pretty ridiculous.

"Th-that, Hermes?"

"Just as I thought. See, little Bell, this way we can climb over the branches."

I thought he would speak from the tree, but instead he grinned and smiled at me with a rather masculine air.

He was right. Several thick branches extended from the highest point of the tree trunk, branching out as shown to form a small aerial corridor. I could only stare blankly, unable to react. Hermes ignored me, called out "Hey!" and began to walk along the path of the intersecting branches.

"Ho, Hermes, um, didn't you have something to say to me?!"

"You have something to say? Little Bell, honestly, I've never said that before!"

What? Just as I was muttering to myself, Hermes had already climbed the branches, moved from one crooked branch to another, and leaped onto another large tree, moving through the sunlit woodland rooftops. His sense of balance was unnecessarily excellent.

I chased after the agile deity with all my might, and just as I was about to shout, "What's going on?", Hermes suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.

A hearty smile. He pointed in a direction with his thumb.

The sound coming from that direction was... the thunderous roar of a waterfall.

"Now that you're here, you should understand, right? — It's all about spying."

"!"

I almost rolled my eyes as Hermes began to tell me the truth of the world.

"A group of girls are taking a cold shower? Logically, I should peek at them."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"Now that things have come to this, don't be shy, little Bell. You and Hestia probably always wash each other's backs, right?"

No!

What is this god (human) saying?!

I screamed, my face burning red, and the cunning creature before me laughed "Hahahaha," then moved forward again, as light as a butterfly. I chased after it with all my might, but Hermes seemed to have already pinpointed the exact location, moving smoothly and without hesitation toward the waterfall.

By the time I caught up with him, the sound of the waterfall was separated from us by a wall of leaves.

"No! Please don't do this, Hermes! You can't do such a thing...!"

"Little Bell, if we keep making noise here, those level one adventurers will catch us in no time."

Ah! I reflexively covered my mouth with my hand. Hermes looked down at the tree branch, and I followed his gaze and saw several female members of the group—the guards were patrolling around.

I opened my eyes wide and looked up, and Hermes smiled broadly at me. It was the first time I had ever seen such a beautiful yet tasteless smile.

Perhaps due to the loud volume of the waterfall and the dense foliage, the guards and Miss Ais and the others did not seem to have noticed us hiding overhead.

"Hormes, Hermes! No! They'll kill us...!"

"What a pathetic little Bell. Spying is a man's romance, huh? I was thinking we could have a drink together... What did your family, who raised you, teach you?"

As we both crouched low and moved forward slowly, Hermes spoke these words to me, which gave me a jolt.

Voyeurism is "a man's romance"...?

It was as if something was being unearthed from the depths of my chest. Long, long ago, when I was a child, what exactly did my grandfather instill (guide) in me? Black miasma began to fill my consciousness, shaking my thoughts.

The lid of darkness (memories) was about to be pried open—however, I heard Miss Ais and the others' innocent laughter as they enjoyed a cool bath—and immediately sealed the lid back up with all my might.

"Let me out—" I sealed away the dark voice, shaking off the evil thoughts that flashed through my mind in an instant. Reason (now) triumphed over the past (grandfather), and although it was somewhat offensive, I still reached out to grab the shoulder in front of me.

"Let's go back, Hermes!"

I lifted my waist and leaned forward, trying to pull Hermes back.

"Oh, if you do this recklessly..."

next moment.

The tree branch, weighed down, let out a groan, and my vision swayed up and down.

The thick branch above which Hermes and I were perched was broken in half at the roots.

Hermes managed to maintain his posture on the downward-bending branch, while I, leaning forward, was tossed about.

It was easily tossed into the air.

"—Eeee ...

I broke through the branches and leaves, and a bunch of water droplets bounced up and splashed onto my face.

In the blink of an eye, the water was right in front of me, and then with a "plop," I splashed through the water and fell in.

"Cough, cough, nausea, vomit!"

I suddenly raised my head from where I had fallen into the very deep water.

Water rushed into my lungs, making my mind go blank. I scrambled and crawled towards the shallows for refuge, my hands and feet splashing onto the water with a "whoosh" before landing on all fours.

After coughing incoherently for a while, I was panting heavily, "Haa, haa..."

"...Argonaut, the little hero?"

I was startled; the voice coming from above made me shudder.

The rippling blue water reflected my gasp, and I cautiously raised my eyes.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You're taking a cold shower too?"

"You look so well-behaved... I didn't expect you to be so daring."

Oooooooooooooo!

Before me stood the twin sisters. Miss Tiona leaned forward to look at my face; Miss Tione stood gracefully, a lock of her long hair tossed aside.

The two men, their wheat-colored skin completely naked and unmasked, simply looked down at me.

Amazons aren't ashamed!

"This...this...this...this...!"

"Eh, eh eh eh eh eh...!"

"Could it be... Hermes?"

On the right side of the field of vision, there was Miss Mikoto, blushing and standing there in a daze, and Miss Chigusa, who quickly squatted down and immersed herself in the water.

After taking off her glasses, Miss Asifi glanced at me and then looked up at the sky with a fierce gaze.

The branch I fell from swayed slightly, as if someone had been startled.

"Bell, you really are...!"

"What...what are you doing, Lord Bell!"

To the left of the view, the goddess Hestia, with her hair down, blushed and groaned. Her feet seemed to barely reach the bottom of the water, while the upper part of her full breasts floated on the surface.

Lily screamed in a similar manner.

"……ah."

Then, deep within the field of vision, at the heart of the scene.

With her back to the cascading waterfall, Miss Ais hugged herself, covering her chest, her cheeks flushed.

Her beautiful, moist blonde hair, her jade-like skin, and a drop of water running down her slender neck to her waist.

Unfortunately, her body was vividly imprinted in my eyes, and I blushed from head to toe in an instant.

My head made a sound, and then it exploded.

"I'm so sorry! Aa ...

I burst out of the pond like a dam breaking. The guards attacked me, but I left them behind in an instant and fled at the fastest speed of my life.

●

I charged forward through the forest with unstoppable momentum.

In short, I just kept moving forward and running away. Whenever a giant tree blocked my way, I would make a ninety-degree turn and change direction. I ran and ran like a mad rabbit, never stopping.

After a while, I suddenly realized...

"I'm...I'm lost..."

The searing heat that had been burning my body finally cooled down, and I regained my composure. Standing still, I looked around at the unfamiliar scenery; I had no idea where I was. There were broken trees and crystal fields I'd never seen before. Unlike the forests near the campsite, the trees here formed thin canopies, letting in white light, making the surrounding area bright.

Is this the southern part of the forest? The eastern part? Or the southeastern part?

(illustration)

I desperately tried to recall the entire map of the forest as seen from "Rivera Town," but I still had no clue where it was. I had only arrived here yesterday and was completely unfamiliar with the terrain.

I'm completely lost.

"Gurgle..."

(Berg, "Berg Bear"...!)

Seeing the large shadow that appeared slowly like a bear, I quickly hid.

I remember... although its "strength" and "durability" were slightly inferior to the Minotaur, it could use its agility, which didn't match its massive size, to corner its prey before tearing it to pieces. It was a monster that appeared starting from the 19th floor. The nimble bull (Minotaur) was a nightmare. Whether it was hungry or simply liked this fruit, the Burger Bear single-mindedly grabbed the Cloud Fruit tree and started picking the fruit one by one and stuffing them into its mouth.

I covered my mouth and nose with both hands, my heart pounding, and leaned against a big tree, waiting behind it until the monster left.

(If this continues, things will really get really bad...!)

This forest, where the monster rightfully inhabits, heightened my sense of crisis.

Miss Ais and the others said that to prevent too many monsters from other floors from entering the 18th floor, the adventurers of Rivera Town regularly go out hunting. However, I don't think they're likely to come this deep into the forest—I imagine it's quite deep—to clear out the monsters.

I got lost in the forest, surrounded by monstrous creatures. This made me realize how dangerous my situation was.

I must find a way to leave the forest before "night" comes...!

A feeling of being stuck in a quagmire washed over me, and I wandered around aimlessly.

(Ah... the sound of water?)

The sound I heard immediately jolted me awake.

It wasn't the sound of flowing water; it sounded like water being scooped up and splashed... It was definitely not the sound of nature itself.

It's also possible that the monster was doing something by the water. In fact, you could say that possibility is quite high. After hesitating for a moment, driven by a dry throat, I finally walked towards the direction of the sound.

I climbed up the piles of large, stacked logs lying on the ground, squeezing through cave-like crevices. The clinging moss made me slip frequently, but I managed to keep my balance and nervously approached the source of the sound of water. From somewhere came the cawing of a bird-like monster.

The forest, once again away from the sunlight, grew dark and began to glow with a blue hue.

Like short columns, the crystals grew at uniform intervals on the ground, emitting a dreamlike glow that guided me forward. Soon...

“——”

The forest opened up, and a spring appeared.

But when I saw the figures in the middle of the spring, I forgot to say anything else.

There was an elf.

She was completely naked, her snow-white skin—her slender back—facing me as she bathed in the spring. She cupped the clear water in her hands, carefully preventing it from overflowing, and gently rubbed and washed her hair with the water.

I'm not kidding, I really thought I'd stumbled into a fairy tale.

A fairy emerging from her bath. A beautiful lake fairy whom I encountered by chance while wandering in the forest.

Just like in the story. She took away my time, yet I still had time to think about these things.

The elf created ripples on the water's surface, making a dripping sound. She had long, pointed ears and a slender, graceful figure.

I leaned against a tree, gazing at the scene in a daze. Only in this moment could I not even muster a frivolous thought.

I remember that after that, in the story...

The person who witnessed the elf emerging from her bath seemed to be attacked with arrows before they could even offer an explanation.

"Who goes there!"