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

As I listened to her story, my face turned from red to white.

The scent lingering on her body—the fragrance of the brothel—hadn't dissipated yet!

"I'm sorry! I don't need lunch!? I... I have things to do!!"

Before Miss Liu and the others could say anything, I quickly jumped back.

"Ah!" Miss Seele and the others exclaimed. I turned my back to them and hurried away from the "abundant mistress" by passing by Miss Chloe and the others who were still struggling in pain.

"...Sigh~"

They kindly invited me to lunch, but I flatly refused and ran away. How rude of me! I sighed.

Under the same clear sky as today, I walked along West Street with the other demi-humans around me.

Although I don't think I need to volunteer even during lunch break, being busy with other things made me forget about the brothel and Miss Haruhime for a moment. However, my conversation with Miss Hier and the others brought back my memories, and my mood gradually became melancholy.

I can't tell anyone what happened yesterday; the knot in my heart remains untied.

Stopping would only make me feel frustrated, so I keep walking.

As the noon bell rang, I unconsciously passed through Northwest Street—"Adventurer's Street"—and arrived at the guild headquarters.

"Huh, Bell?"

Because of the time of day, there were very few adventurers in the Pantheon, and I was immediately spotted by Miss Eina standing at the window.

Try talking to Miss Eina and discussing it. I always talk to her about these kinds of problems, and her advice is always helpful.

But what good would it do to say it? Her doubts turned into soft murmurs, falling to the floor. The guild already tacitly approved of what the brothel district had done; what was the point of speaking out… it would only annoy her.

I stopped in the foyer, hesitant and unsure of what to do, while Miss Eina watched me intently.

Soon she stood up, handed the window to another employee, and then walked straight toward me.

I stood there, speechless, while Miss Eina stood before me, asking nothing—

"Then, let's go to the interview room."

That's all he said.

“Eh…”

While I was still in a daze, Miss Eina laughed heartily.

"You're having some troubles, aren't you? I can tell."

She then added, "I can tell just by looking at your expression."

The emerald-green eyes beneath the glasses presented gentle lines.

"I've already told you, you can consult me ​​about anything. Because I'm specifically in charge of guiding you, I'm your advisor."

A warm feeling rushed straight to my chest.

Touched by Miss Eina's warmth, I abandoned my confusion and decided to talk to her.

She always helps me, and she lent me a hand this time as well, so I'll talk to her.

Miss Eina smiled and waited for me to speak. I looked at her and nodded vigorously.

Why not try to trust Miss Eina?

"A brothel?"

Miss Eina instantly wiped the smile off her face, revealing a look of disdain.

I knew it... Tears welled up in my eyes.

The location was the interview room. After moving to this soundproof space where adventurers and specialists talked, I decided to try to bring up the brothel... but before I could even finish, Miss Eina's aura had turned dangerous.

Her neat, arched eyebrows furrowed, and intense anger pressed in.

She was sitting across the table from me in the chair, her brows furrowed and her eyes blazing, when she suddenly stood up.

"So you mean! You went to the red-light district to have fun!?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!?"

Miss Eina, her face flushed, shouted sternly.

Perhaps because I have half-elf blood in my veins, she seemed to think I was unclean. I panicked and quickly denied it.

Miss Eina, still blushing, looked around awkwardly after hearing this.

"Beelzebub is, after all, an adventurer, and a boy... or perhaps he's at the age where he's interested in that kind of thing... but, because, that kind of..."

Her face flushed red all the way down to her half-elf's pointed ears, and she kept muttering to herself.

"I... I still won't allow it!?"

Finally, she closed her eyes tightly and shouted loudly.

"From now on, you're not allowed to go to any brothels! Understand?!"

"Huh, oh, but..."

"No!!"

"I-I understand!?"

Miss Eina menacingly leaned her upper body closer to me, forcing me to nod.

She turned her face away from me, sat back down in her chair, and her usual big sister-like attitude disappeared. She turned her face away like a little girl.

Seeing her still flushed face, I knew I had upset her, and I lowered my head in shame.

I should never have consulted a woman about something like this; I only realized how shameful that was when I did.

Miss Eina wouldn't speak to me, and after a very awkward moment... I, huddled in a small ball, asked timidly:

"Um, I'd like to ask you about the [Ishtar Familia]..."

Miss Eina seemed to think I was still interested in the red-light district, and glared at me fiercely behind her glasses. I hurriedly explained myself.

I explained that I was being chased by the Ishtar faction and had become entangled with them, and that I might be harassed by them again, so I wanted to know information about the faction first. I explained what had happened between me and Miss Aisha and the others, desperately trying to assure them that I had no ulterior motives.

Miss Eina stared into my eyes for a long time before letting out a sigh.

"Wait a moment."

Miss Eina believed me and went outside to get the folder containing the documents.

"【Ishtar Familia】...As you know, this 【Family】is based in the Wind and Moon District, and as an exploration-type faction, it is a first-rate power."

When Miss Eina returned, she placed the large file folder on the table and began to look through it.

I listened attentively, making sure not to miss any of the [family's] explanations.

Most of the members are Amazonians, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:9. They operate a brothel district in the southeastern part of the city, and it is said that their profits, earned day and night, account for more than 40% of the entire brothel district's revenue.

"Among them, the Amazonian combatants are a group of adventurers known as the 'Barbela,' many of whom are Lv.3 or higher. Especially the leader, 'Androktones'...Frinnie Jamiler, is a Lv.5 first-class adventurer."

Lv. 5 — I shuddered as I recalled what happened last night.

Miss Frini, who prides herself on her exaggerated violence, is indeed a first-class adventurer.

But then again, her nickname is "Man Killer"... What's scary is that I can kind of understand it.

"Excuse me... do you know anything about a female warrior (Amazonian) named Miss Aisha, and a fox-woman named Miss Haruhime?"

"Oh, Aisha Belleka is quite famous. She's a Level 3 battle prostitute, but rumors say she'll be at Level 4 soon. Among Level 3 adventurers, she's definitely one of the best,"

The gods bestowed upon her the nickname "Antianeira".

"Hmm~ As for the fox spirit named Haruhime you mentioned, I've never heard of her. She's not listed on the roster either... so she might be a non-combatant."

Miss Eina told me this after checking the list of "Families" on the information page one by one.

Non-combatants... Temporary members who have not received "God's grace".

I think it's quite possible that, apart from Miss Aisha and the others, many of the prostitutes who run the Ishtar Familia shops are non-combatants... Besides, Miss Haruhime ended up in Orario through illegal human trafficking, so the gods probably wouldn't want to register her on the guild roster and let things get exposed unknowingly.

"Do you know anything?" Miss Eina asked me this, and in my haste, I replied, "No."

"Returning to the topic of the Familia, their faction rank is A, including their business achievements, which is considered top class in Orario."

"..."

"Whether it's scale or combat strength, your [Hestia Familia] is probably far inferior to them. Just take that Freni Jamiler for example, it's said that even [Sword Princess]... Miss Wallenstein almost lost to her once."

“Eh!?”

The information Miss Eina revealed dealt me ​​a huge blow.

Miss Ais—she almost lost to her?

"Ah! No, that was several years ago. Back then, Miss Jamilla's level was higher... Now Miss Wallenstein has reached level 6 and surpassed her. Miss Wallenstein is definitely stronger."

Miss Eina quickly added explanations, but I still couldn't calm down.

The person I admire was once a rival who almost lost to me...

Because Miss Eina used me as a benchmark for comparison, I painfully realized once again that the Ishtar Familia is indeed one of the top factions in the city, ranking among the well-known Familias.

For a moment I forgot to speak; I was completely lost.

"How are you?"

"I...I'm fine...I'm sorry."

After I had calmed down for a while, Miss Eina brought up something.

"This wasn't my responsibility, so I'm not entirely sure... But until recently, everyone was saying that the Ishtar Familia was exaggerating their strength."

"Lying about your strength...?"

"Yes, at the time, several factions that were hostile to the Ishtar Familia condemned them, saying that the strength of their members far exceeded the official Lv. reported to the guild."

In an instant, I remembered what the chief god (the goddess Hestia) had told me—the core faction that lies about Lv. (the Hermes Familia).

"The guild responded to their accusations and launched an investigation. Goddess Ishtar revealed all the [stats] of the main combat prostitutes, disclosing their actual combat strength only to the guild."

"result……?"

"...They are innocent."

However, what Miss Eina told me surprised me.

"The goddess's retinue (Ishtar's Familia) not only did not commit any fraud, but their levels also perfectly matched the information reported to the guild. Goddess Ishtar, in turn, accused the faction and guild that had wronged her of 'false accusations'... demanding punishment and a fine, which the guild accepted."

"She...she managed to steal the compensation money from the guild...!?"

"Yes, and it was a fairly large sum, because a lot of secret information about their [Family], such as 'magic' and 'skills,' was leaked to the guild... It was probably from that time that we could no longer take a tough stance against the [Ishtar Familia]."

To think they could extort money from a guild... The astonishing actions of the [Ishtar Familia] made me break out in a cold sweat.

"The factions that were punished and weakened were all wiped out by the Ishtar Familia, and the goddesses were sent back to the heavens. That was about five years ago."

"..."

"How should I put it? It felt like everything was arranged, or rather, things were going too well... At the time, I had a feeling that everyone was being manipulated by the goddess Ishtar."

Miss Eina rubbed her upper arm as she finished recounting what she had witnessed.

The combat strength of the team members is believed to far exceed their actual values.

Even with the guild's intervention, the truth of the matter could not be ascertained.

Does the Ishtar Familia harbor some secrets?

"Bell, I think... the Ishtar Familia is a very dangerous faction. Even putting aside the brothel issue I just mentioned, I think you'd better stay away from them."

Miss Eina recounted the power and strangeness of their faction, giving me this advice.

She was advising me not to cause any more disturbances like those during the Apollo Familia.

I kept my head down and didn't say anything, while Miss Eina looked at me with pleading eyes.

The fox-girl's face appeared in my eyes. I didn't answer, but asked a question.

"...Miss Eina, regarding the guild's dealings with the Red-light District, that..."

Miss Haruhime told me about the guild's stance.

I asked Miss Eina if the guild truly ignored everything that the Red Moon Street had done, and she lowered her eyes.

"...Well, the guild is taking a wait-and-see approach to the Red Moon Street, and they are well aware of what's going on there—but I think it's not advisable to shut it down."