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

"Hehe, no problem. Goddess, are you also going to the Monster Festival?"

"Well, I guess so!"

With a crisp crack of the whip, the carriage began to move forward. The sound of the wheels turning on the stone slabs and the somewhat intense up-and-down vibrations embraced Hestia, who sat in her seat.

The labyrinthine city of Orario is vast. As expected of a city that welcomes adventurers and "Familia" from all over the world, its total area is among the largest of all cities. In such a sprawling metropolis, the use of horse-drawn carriages for transportation is perfectly natural. Today, horse-drawn carriage transport businesses that make a living by carrying people or goods can be seen in every corner.

Incidentally, the term "taxi" for stopping a carriage was used by the gods at some point and gradually became a common practice.

"I'd like to get there as soon as possible. Even though it's crowded everywhere today, could you please hurry?"

"What's the big deal? I can't possibly refuse a goddess's request, can I? Drink up!"

The young man readily agreed to Hestia's request and quickly and skillfully maneuvered the carriage.

He avoided the bustling main roads, passing through several side streets. Sometimes he would even travel through narrow alleyways, almost as wide as the carriage itself, towards East Street.

Hestia chatted and laughed with a human youth who was probably no more than five years younger than Bell, and enjoyed the vibrant street scene under the festive atmosphere.

"Oh dear—. I'm sorry, goddess, it seems we can't go any further."

"Oh dear."

The carriage, which had been traveling smoothly, came to a stop. Just as it was about to reach East Street, the density of the crowd suddenly increased, and there was no gap left for the carriage to pass through on the main road.

Behind the troubled young man, Hestia thought that getting here should be enough, so she prepared to get off the bus.

"It's alright, driver, this is fine. I'll walk over."

"I'm so sorry. It's a bit dark, but you should be able to get to the main street easily if you take that side path."

"Thank you. How much?"

"I'll take ninety fali from you."

Hestia took out her purse with a folded opening, turned it upside down, and generously handed all the money to the young man.

"Hmph, keep the change. The rest is your tip!"

"No, um, the amount is just right..."

Hestia didn't hear what the young man said and happily rushed into the path. She had no idea that a sympathetic gaze was fixed on the back of her head as she left the scene.

The path was narrow and dark. However, unlike the main road, it was deserted, and walking along it was as smooth as the young man had described. Hestia carefully clutched the box containing the dagger and ran forward quickly.

Before long, a figure other than himself appeared in the path.

"Wait, you wouldn't happen to be Freya, would you?"

"...Hestia?"

At the intersection of the two roads, coming from a different direction from Hestia, was a woman whose entire body was covered by a dark blue robe. The beautiful silver hair peeking out from the hood and the familiar posture made Hestia guess which deity she was looking at.

"Are you here to see the monster festival too? You're coming this way, looks like you're in a hurry."

"...Yes. I can't walk around openly in crowded places, so I'm trying to avoid being seen."

"Ah—, being a 'goddess of beauty' isn't easy."

She was practically the embodiment of beauty; her mere stride down the main street would cause chaos. Since she couldn't use a carriage like I could, she would probably have to sneak around to reach her destination.

Hestia nodded several times as she looked at Freya smiling under her hoodie.

"Oh, right. Freya, have you seen my [Family]'s child? I'm looking for him."

"..."

"It's a human with white hair and red eyes...yes, just like a rabbit!"

Seeing Hestia waving her hands and happily explaining Bell's appearance, Freya's smile vanished, and she remained silent.

But she immediately smiled again, pointing to the path she had come from.

"Now that you mention it, I think I saw him. He was on the main road to the east ahead."

"Really!"

"Yes. He seems to be walking straight towards the arena, so if you just turn left on this road, you should be able to get past him."

With a beaming smile, Hestia said "Thank you!" to Freya and easily believed her words.

She bid farewell to Freya, who smiled softly and walked down another road, and the two went their separate ways.

She walked along the road for a while and then saw warm sunlight beginning to shine in at the other end of the road.

It was almost over. Hestia dashed through the alleyway and onto East Street.

A constant stream of people awaited her.

And Bell, struggling to move forward in that crowd.

"Hey—, Bell—!"

▣

"what?"

When I heard my own name called, I turned my head and couldn't help but widen my eyes.

Because the whereabouts of the deity were unknown, he actually pushed through the crowd and ran towards me.

"A deity? What are you doing here!"

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. It's because I want to see you, of course!"

The deity standing before me, for some reason, looked smug and puffed out his enormous chest, making this declaration.

I couldn't help but break out in a sweat at this answer that hardly even qualified as an answer.

"No, I'd love to see you too, but that's not what I'm asking... Um, where have you been these past few days...?"

"Oh my—but this is wonderful! I wanted to see you, and I actually met you! I think we are truly bound together by an extraordinary bond—hehehe."

—She wasn't listening to me.

The immortals completely entered their own world, leaving me aside.

"God? God? You seem very happy. What happened?"

"Hehe...Do you want to know? Do you want to know why I'm so excited?"

"Yes, yes."

The deity, who had been all smiles, reached behind his back, seemingly rummaging through something. I tilted my head slightly, waiting for the deity's next words.

"That's how it is..."

Halfway through his speech, the deity abruptly stopped.

She glanced briefly around the bustling avenue, now teeming with people because of the festival, then looked up at the sky as if to say "wait a minute," seemingly lost in thought.

"...Well, it's a rare opportunity. I'd better not tell you now—"

"Eek!"

"Let's save the fun for later."

I never expected the deity to tease me like this. I gave them a "why is this happening?" look, but then the deity grabbed my hand and started walking forward.

The sudden sensation of my right hand being enveloped startled me, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Let's go on a date, Belle."

The deity then turned to face me and said this with a smile.

"...A date!"

"Yeah, that's right. Look how lively the streets are now, how can we not go crazy a bit?"

"No, but you said a date...!"

"Hehe, let's go, Bell!"

Seeing my face turn completely red, the deity seemed to find it even more amusing and laughed with great interest.

Small, delicate fingers grasped my hand and led me into the bustling crowd.

The vendors lining the main street remained as vibrant as ever. Among the most eye-catching items were skewers and other dishes perfect for eating on the go, as well as trinkets and accessories related to the Monster Festival. Even vendors displaying real weapons were present; perhaps it's truly worthy of the dungeon city of Orario.

Fireworks lit up the sky in the distance, making a loud but exhilarating sound against the blue sky.

"Wait, wait a minute, please wait a minute, God! Actually, someone asked me to run an errand!"

"Hmm, is that so?"

"Yes, so I'm looking for someone right now..."

"Alright, let's date and find someone at the same time. Having fun while fulfilling our mission—that's killing two birds with one stone. Oh, sir—give me two crepes—"

"immortal--!"

My proposals were easily ignored, which gave me a lot of headaches.

I'd be too embarrassed to face the shop assistants who asked me to deliver the wallet to Miss Seele. If they found out I wasn't running errands properly but was on a date (does that count?), they'd resent me.

(and……)

The fairy right next to me made it impossible for me not to pay attention to her.

Our clasped hands kept me on edge, and many expressions I'd never seen before captivated me. Saying they matched her age might be a bit odd, but at that moment, her demeanor, like her youthful appearance, was innocent and naive. Sometimes she laughed with pure joy, sometimes her eyes sparkled as she looked at the vendors' wares—a stark contrast to the mature deity who greeted me at headquarters. Looking at her, besides feeling a warm glow inside, how should I put it… well… she was incredibly adorable.

The fairy was indeed a beautiful young woman. Seeing her different appearance from usual reinforced this belief in me.

A single, accidental movement can make my heart race, and I feel completely at a loss.

The other party is a deity who should be revered...

"Bell, Bell."

"Oh, yes. What is it?"

"ah--"

"...Huh!?"

For someone like me, whose mind is full of worries, this move felt like pressing my advantage.

The fairy, with a beaming smile, handed me the crepes she had just bought.

She let go of my hand, held the pastry in both hands, stood on tiptoe with her small body, and brought the pastry filled with pure white whipped cream to my mouth.

I let out a strange cry, my eyes widening as wide as they could possibly be.

"God, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean, 'I'm doing this'? I just want to feed you. Ah—. I've wanted to try this for a long time."

"...!"

I became uncooperative and my whole body went out of control.

The words I wanted to say to the gods kept appearing and disappearing in my mind, but I couldn't utter a single one. All I could do was open and close my mouth, my face turning bright red.

I know the fairy is in a good mood, but perhaps influenced by the festival atmosphere, she's completely overexcited...!

"Hmm, what's wrong, Belle? You don't want to eat things I've bitten?"

"Uh, no! That's not it, I am...!"

Should I say I'm a little embarrassed...? No, that's not the point. I'm being incredibly rude, so incredibly rude!

The other party is a deity! How can you let a deity feed you? That's incredibly inappropriate!

I felt guilty for my rudeness, and the overwhelming embarrassment made me dizzy. Then I suddenly remembered the crepes we had bought together.

"How could I possibly accept a divine share? Please have mine!"

"...Let's change the subject."

The fairy looked somewhat displeased as I hurriedly handed her the crepe.

However, a "okay, never mind" smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Then I'll gladly accept your offer. You'll have to feed me well, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, ah—"