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

"Um, this... hahahaha."

I danced with her while listening to her muttering incantations.

Our waists and shoulders touched, our bodies swaying from side to side. Faced with the soft touch of her body and the suddenness of the event, I could only blush and smile awkwardly, but Miss Asifi took control of my body with remarkable ease.

Even I, a complete novice, know that she is an excellent dancer.

She deftly corrected my stiff movements, and I found myself dancing along with her. Although she kept chanting, her body moved with fluid and graceful steps.

Watching her dance so consciously and well... how should I put it, she seems very used to dancing?

"It's good to make beneficial negotiations for the faction, but that main god is really too willful... I just can't stand him."

"Uh, this... do you always get completely fooled by him like this?"

Her beautiful face and cherry lips, so close at hand, made my heart flutter with excitement, and it took me a lot of effort to give her that answer.

Miss Asphie, with her eyes closed, replied with a dissatisfied expression, "Yes, that's exactly right!"

"Ever since I met him, he's been playing me for a fool. I've said no, but he still insisted on bringing me out! ... But..."

"...?"

"He's the one who took me away from that castle... I'm really grateful to him for that."

Surrounded by the demi-humans dancing with her, Miss Asifi smiled as if recalling a certain memory.

She usually looks tired, and a bit old-fashioned... But now, with a smile on her face, Miss Asifi looks both young and beautiful.

She's probably the same age as Miss Eina, or a little older.

"I'm sorry to have made you listen to my complaints. But I feel much better now and I want to thank you."

"No, it won't happen..."

After the dance, Miss Asphie left my side without a sound.

While I was still in a panic, she narrowed her eyes and returned to the side of the main god.

"Perseus might also be royalty somewhere."

"Ah, Welf..."

As I left the dance floor, Will, who was eating at a table, came to greet me.

He seemed to have seen me dancing with Miss Asphie. He brought me a glass of juice.

"Can you tell?"

"From her demeanor, her movements... and then there's her 'smell.' Because I saw too many people like that when I was a kid."

Ah, right... Welf is a blacksmith nobleman, from the kingdom (Lachia).

Although he has fallen from grace, he may have once associated with people of high status.

Thinking of my companion's experience, even though asking this question felt like digging into someone's past privacy, I still asked it.

Did you attend these kinds of banquets when you were a child?

"Several times, my mother and I have been asked to learn manners and etiquette... We also make me attend night parties and learn a bunch of rigid etiquette and some strange musical instruments... I'm a blacksmith, you know. I'd rather stay in my workshop full of the smell of iron."

No matter what, the Crozzo family, which once claimed to be noble, seemed to bring him all sorts of bitter memories.

Just as Welf's tone made me chuckle bitterly, he made an expression as if he had eaten something bitter.

"I didn't mean to say anything bad about the main goddess (Hestia)... it's just that this kind of social atmosphere really doesn't appeal to me."

As if feeling a tightness in his chest, Welf reached for his chest and loosened his tuxedo. He pouted, as if recalling an unpleasant experience or simply disgusted by the sycophantic atmosphere of the hall.

"Hey, Bell. How about we sneak out? I really want to go to the pub and have some cheap ale and drink my fill."

"Ah, hahaha... I'm a little embarrassed to leave the immortals behind."

I don't know if Welf was serious or joking, but when he smiled at me so casually, my smile felt a little stiff.

Besides, I don't have the guts to barge into an adventurer's noisy tavern wearing this formal attire...

"Um?"

At that moment, Welf seemed to notice something and looked behind me.

Following his gaze, I saw a noisy crowd surrounding a girl...

"...Wait, isn't that Miss Ming?!"

"It doesn't seem like he's trying to cause trouble... Is he inviting her to dance?"

I was quite startled. Welf deduced this from the hands reaching out to Miss Fate.

The group was entirely male, and they cast enthusiastic glances at her, who was dressed in fine clothes. As for Miss Ming, faced with the repeated invitations, she just stood there, her face flushed, looking like she was about to cry.

It was obvious at a glance that she was completely lost.

"Judging from her condition... it would be better to go and help her out."

"I...I...I'll go for a bit!"

Seeing my fellow clansmen in danger, especially since it was a girl being made to cry, I reacted almost reflexively. Even though I knew it was against etiquette during the night party, I still rushed across the open hall like a panicked rabbit.

Then, perhaps Miss Ming noticed me rushing through the crowd.

She suddenly opened her eyes wide, as if she wanted to cry to me, and lifted the hem of her dress—rushing towards me.

"I'm so sorry! I had already decided to dance with this man!"

"Eh---Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh!"

She grabbed one of my hands and made this declaration out of the blue.

Upon hearing her say that, the men all simultaneously showed expressions of shock.

Before they could ask any more questions, Miss Ming hurriedly led me toward the dance floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Bell... But thank you for your help..."

"No way, sigh, I think I understand what happened..."

Listening to her detailed account, I learned that Miss Ming's beauty had already become a topic of conversation at the Gods' Assembly several times. Her appearance, coinciding with her birth in the Far East, was quite rare, which explained the large number of men flocking to her. It seemed that initially, a few foreign dignitaries noticed her, which marked the beginning of the affair. No, I think those male gods probably found Miss Ming amusing, and their jokes escalated, which was the main reason...

Miss Ming seemed to have never been pursued by so many men before, and her eyes were still glistening with tears. This incident made her more conscious of her dress, and her exposed shoulders and neck were slightly red and hot.

Seeing her shy expression, even I couldn't help but blush.

"In short, could you please dance with me like this? Please, I beg you..."

"I...I understand, Miss Ming, please calm down."

To escape the men's invitations, I had no choice but to dance with Miss Fate.

From the corner of my eye, I could see my companion (Wilf) trying hard to suppress a smile. We were both blushing as we held each other's hands.

However, Miss Ming didn't seem to have calmed down yet—she stepped on my foot not long after we started.

(Waaah!)

Miss Ming's heel stepped directly on the instep of my foot.

"Ah!"

Then, losing her balance, she tried to regain her footing, but instead pushed me down hard.

"Kha!"

Her elbow strike pierced my heart.

--elbow!

The third-level adventurer's fatal blow struck the center of my body. The terrifying force traveled all the way to my inner walls. Miss Life's elbow, which had entered my body, easily stripped me of my consciousness.

...I felt like I was unconscious for a long time, and the atmosphere at the party was gradually getting better. After accepting Miss Ming's apologies several times, I looked for Lily, who was still nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, I found her... Lily!"

I wanted to call her, but... seeing her gazing blankly at the crowd as she gracefully waltzed—as if looking at a dream world from afar through Zeng Bopo—I stopped.

"...Lily, aren't you going to dance?"

Coming to my senses, I realized I'd already asked the question. Lily glanced up at me, then smiled mischievously. "Someone as short and small as Lily shouldn't be here at all. How could she possibly dance there?"

The words "shouldn't have come at all" struck me hard, while Lily wore a seemingly radiant expression.

"The goddess Hestia prepared such a beautiful dress for someone like Lily, even though Lily scolded her for wasting money... But Lily was actually quite happy. Not long ago, Lily couldn't have imagined that she could attend such a glamorous and dazzling party... But Lily is still Lily after all."

Looking down at the dwarf (Parus) dress specially sewn for her petite frame, she whispered forlornly.

Lily is bound by the curse of her faction (familia) and has even been involved in theft. Lily seems to feel that she doesn't understand etiquette and manners and is not suitable to attend night parties—as if a bucket of filth had been poured over her head, making her feel ashamed, which is why she has become a wallflower. Her chestnut eyes hold a glimmer of longing.

I was still hesitant at first, but after looking into Lily's eyes, I made up my mind to say to her:

"So, would you like to dance with me?"

Upon hearing my invitation, Lily's eyes turned fierce.

"Lord Bell and Lily are so different in height, how are they going to jump!"

"I'm sorry."

She glared at me angrily, and I immediately apologized. Lily is smaller than a fairy, so dancing with me is indeed a bit difficult... Hmm, it might end up looking a bit like kids playing.

Just as I was feeling guilty, Lily, who had been fuming... blushed and lowered her head, saying:

"No, but Lily wants to experience that feeling... Lord Bell, please invite Lily to dance."

She added another request in a low voice—in order to make her feel happy, she hoped I could act like a prince in a fairy tale.

The enormous problem made me laugh through my headache, but I hope to make Lily happy—no, I really want to make her happy.

Like a prince in a fairy tale... Oh, right, I'm reminded of Mihage at the "Feast of the Gods."

I knelt down in front of Lily and gently took her little hand in mine.

"Would you like to dance with me, lady?"

I followed suit and imitated the actions of the god (Mih).

He also deliberately imitated Mihé's charming smile, which resembled that of a noble young master.

Lily stared wide-eyed, frozen in place. "Still can't act well?" I asked with a wry smile, tilting my head to the side.

So strict. My wry smile deepened. It seemed I still couldn't achieve the same elegance as Mihren. I stood up in front of Lily, who blushed and kept glancing at me.

Our hands were still clasped together. Seeing her holding my hand, I felt happy, thinking that I might have fulfilled her wish to some extent.

"...It seems the banquet is coming to an end."

We held hands for a while, and then we heard the host announce the end of the banquet.

As the loudspeaker announced the departure of the guests, Welf and Miss Life came to our side.

"Lord Bell, Goddess Hestia..."

"Uh...it seems we're surrounded by people from all sides."

Hearing Miss Ming ask this question, I looked towards the distance in the hall and saw that the merchants were still surrounding her.

"Judging from the looks of it... it'll probably be quite a while before they release her."

"The goddess Hestia's ambition ultimately came to nothing..."

Seeing the black-haired girl (twin tails) groaning in pain as she emerged from the crowd, Welf and Lily whispered sympathetically. Even though I was momentarily fainting and then had other things to attend to, I never even considered anything related to deities.

A sense of guilt made me feel embarrassed.

"Bell, aren't you going back yet?"

Hermes and Miss Asphie, who were about to leave after noticing us standing there in a daze, came to our side.

I was troubled for a long time, and finally... I told them the whole story and asked if they had any good ideas.

"--Okay, I got it. Leave it all to me."

Like a sheepdog (a god) guiding a lost lamb, Hermes grinned at me.

"Waaah, I didn't get to dance again..."

"Bell--" Hestia cried out in dejection.

The merchants finally let her go, and by then the lights in the hall had been turned off. Someone had switched off all the millstone lamps, plunging the entire venue into darkness.