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

The prostitute screamed and cursed, throwing whatever she could find at him.

The pillows and small items on the bed, along with the objects flying towards them amidst the shouts—Allen dodged them all with a turn of his head, then drew the short sword from his waist with a backhand, the tip of the blade pressed against the prostitute's throat.

"--ah……"

"Shut up."

The astonishing speed and agility caused the human prostitute to stop breathing and freeze instantly.

The blade, its tip barely touching her neck, startled her so much that she fell to the ground. Allen sheathed the dagger, turned his back to her, and prepared to leave the room again.

The prostitute sat on the ground, covering her face with her hands and sobbing, saying, "You have such a cruel heart." He didn't turn around, but simply threw a small bag full of gold coins next to her.

Allen abandoned the prostitute and left the room he would never return to.

"..."

The cat-man youth left the brothel without a sound.

Above him, on the rooftops of buildings and the tops of arcades, several figures were scattered throughout the red-light district.

They were a handsome young man, an elf and a dark elf, and a little man who looked very similar, like quadruplets.

Unnoticed by anyone, they continued to monitor the movements of the pleasure quarters.

■

The sound of hurried footsteps and noise woke her up.

“Ugh…”

The creature let out a groan and slightly opened its eyelids.

"here it is……?"

She tried to lift her head from where she was lying on the floor, only to find that she couldn't move her hands and feet freely. Looking down, she saw that her hands and feet were bound with handcuffs and anklets that shimmered with a silver light.

"I'm in the dungeon... have I been captured?"

They are attacked by a group of mysterious adventurers. Urged by Lily and Welf, she goes after Bell but is defeated by a tall female warrior (Amazon) - waves of throbbing pain awaken her memories, and she begins to speculate about her current situation.

"Where is Lord Bell...!?"

Although the attackers' true identities are still unknown, their target is likely Bell. Recalling their methods and tactics, Mikoto worries about the safety of her companion (the young member of her clan) and is filled with anxiety.

In the dimly lit room, she couldn't even stand up, and struggled for a while... There had been a constant commotion outside, which made Ming frown suspiciously, and decided to listen carefully for the time being.

She closed her eyes and mouth, eavesdropping on the sounds outside the room.

(...The "Rabbit" and Frini...cannot find...Ishtar's command...)

Hearing enhanced by [Ability Value] allows one to perceive fragments of conversation.

Ming deduced that the attackers wearing hooded robes were likely members of the Ishtar Familia, as this was their base, and that Bell, who had been captured like himself, had probably escaped.

Although it's impossible to predict what will happen next, at least Bell is alive, which puts my mind at ease.

She also obtained some information, which helped her regain some composure.

"No matter what... we have to get rid of these shackles first."

She stared at the restraints that bound her limbs, muttering to herself. The shackles were very strong, and she gave up on trying to remove them herself. She looked around, wondering if there were any tools available.

"……key?"

She noticed a bunch of keys lying in front of the tightly closed iron gate.

Although she thought it was impossible, she still crawled over and grabbed the key. Facing the light shining in through the small window in the door, she struggled to insert the key into the keyhole and heard a "click".

Ming stared speechlessly at the handcuffs and leg irons lying on the ground.

"... Haruhime, sir?"

She must be a fox-girl belonging to the Ishtar Familia. Though her fate is unverifiable, it is undeniably certain.

It must have been that gentle woman who threw this key in for her own sake.

"I am deeply grateful... Lady Haruhime."

Ming felt a smile spread across his face as his freed body stood up.

Instead of taking immediate action, she first considered her course of action.

(My first priority is to reunite with Lord Bell, then escape from this place... and next, I need to get the weapons.)

Ming looked down at his unarmed body and his violet combat suit covered in wounds.

While securing weapons was a top priority, her current attire was rather inadequate. Her tattered clothes couldn't conceal the congealed blood from her abrasions and her tender skin; in fact, it was almost impossible to see her underwear. To be honest, she was just one step away from being labeled a female pervert.

With her cheeks flushed, she hugged herself with both hands while looking around.

The large, dark room, where the magic stone lamps weren't lit, resembled a warehouse. While there were no weapons or similar items, it contained many dressing mirrors and other items belonging to prostitutes. While apologizing, Ming opened the item boxes on each shelf and eventually found the clothing storage box.

"Oh!" She rummaged around and found that, as expected of a red-light district, it even had clothing from the Far East.

Without hesitation, she put on the traditional clothing of her homeland, because the clothing of the other female warriors (Amazons) that resembled underwear was not worth considering.

She excitedly stripped down to her underwear, put on trousers, and covered her breasts with a short top, which were wrapped in white cloth.

"That's about it..."

She pulled up her trousers, which reached her calves, and wore a thin short-sleeved top.

The unfamiliar feel of the fabric made Ming feel a little itchy, but she was finally able to move around.

She approached the iron gate, the only entrance to the large room, eavesdropping while peering out the window.

Although people kept running past the door, it seemed no one was guarding it. There was also a keyhole on the inside of the door frame, and Ming used the same set of keys to open the door, seizing the opportunity to quickly leave the room.

Before anyone else arrived, she silently ran through the palace corridor, where a faint scent of musk wafted through the air.

The mission began to move through vast enemy territory.

"Hey, did you find it!?"

"!"

As soon as she senses a sound or the presence of a person, she immediately hides in a blind spot or dark place.

Her presence was so perfectly concealed that not only non-combatant prostitutes, but even combat prostitutes who were high-level adventurers, could not sense her existence at all.

(Although being a ninja isn't my profession...)

Among the various martial arts taught by the God of War (Takemikazuchi) in the Far East, "ninjutsu" was also included.

Feeling conflicted about the useful spy techniques, she silently descended from the corner of the ceiling, her back pressed against the ground.

Moving stealthily and quietly, the figure slipped through the gaps in the Amazons' perception range, and with his clothing, he really did look like a "ninja."

"...It's about time we used it."

Upon discovering the staircase connecting the upper and lower floors, the key to survival was found—and the "skill" was activated.

(—【Yata no Hakucho】.)

Currently, the character possesses two "skills".

One of them is the [Yata no Kuroku] mentioned by Welf in the dungeon, which can detect enemy movements.

Except for monsters encountered for the first time—this target-locating "skill" can also be used on monsters of the same type that have been encountered before. Although there are conditions, this ability can prevent monster ambushes, making it quite valuable in dungeons.

The other item is [Yata no Hakucho].

It is the exact opposite of [Yata no Kuroku], and is a "skill" for detecting companions.

(Lord Bell... doesn't seem to be on this floor.)

【Yata no Hakuga】 will only react to fellow beings whose backs were etched with the same divine blood by the same deity, sharing the same "divine blood (ichor)".

In other words, it can sense those who receive the same divine grace.

With this "skill," even in a complexly constructed dungeon, one can reunite with scattered teammates based on location information that transcends visual range and directly appears in the mind.

It was this power (skill) that allowed him to catch up with Bell and his companions in the maze.

(Even in my best physical and mental condition, I can probably only detect a radius of thirty meters right now...)

The effective range of the two skills is affected by the character's [ability value] and status.

Not only that, both skills are initiated by Mikoto and consume mental energy. Mikoto wanted to avoid using them consecutively, so she calculated the range of effect and used [Yata no Hakuryu] after moving a certain distance.

"...?"

Just as she avoided the prostitutes' eyes and walked down to the next floor.

She detected a reaction at the edge of her perceptual range.

"Lord Bell? No, but this feeling is..."

That was a subtle "feeling of companionship" that I had never experienced before.

Fate walked hesitantly toward the place where presence was felt.

She went down the stairs several times and came to a room located in the corner.

"A treasure vault...?"

There were no guards here either. I used the keychain to open the door and slipped inside. There, I saw all sorts of weapons, tools, and treasure chests. These treasures were stored on shelves fixed to the left and right walls, and in a large bag in the corner, I could see glittering Fali coins.

Ming walked into the depths of the room in surprise... and saw an object on the table with the golden scales emitting a "companion's reaction".

"This is... Lord Bell's..."

Destiny picked up the sword "Hestia" from its black scabbard.

She gripped the hilt and drew the dagger. The sacred script engraved on the blade responded to the "divine grace" of fate, emitting a faint blue-purple glow.

"The dagger of the goddess Hestia... so this is what it refers to me..."

She learned about the value and origin of the dagger from the commotion she witnessed a few days earlier in front of the fundraising group.

The dagger, which had transformed into Bell's personal weapon, glowed with a blue-purple light, telling her that she, like her, was a fellow human being who had received the "blessing" and "blood" of the same god.

This living weapon was also their companion, and the dagger in his hand smiled.

"Anyway, let's retrieve Lord Bell's weapons first..."

Besides the Blade of Hestia, there were also the Ushiwakamaru and the Ushiwakamaru Type 2 on the table. It seems the enemy, when capturing them and disarming them, put the seemingly valuable—Bell's dagger engraved with the "ΗØαιστοs" trademark—into their treasure vault, intending to sell it later.

She retrieved three daggers, a sword belt, a waist pouch, and a leg pouch containing elixirs for the boy, and placed them on her waist and left foot.

"Next is... well, the situation is special after all."

Ming looked around at the treasures and, while looking for an excuse, took the props displayed on the shelves.

She drank elixirs and magic potions to treat her injuries and restore her mental energy, and also stuffed as many high-grade potions as possible into her leg pouch.

In addition, flashbangs, smoke grenades, and other potentially useful items were also packed into the waist pack.

"Waaah, wouldn't that make me no different from a scoundrel..."

She felt guilty about grabbing all the available props, but she didn't stop.

It's easy to imagine how difficult it is to escape safely from the headquarters of the major faction (Ishtar Familia). No matter how well-equipped you are, you can foresee a fierce battle to the death.

Tears welled in her purplish-blue eyes as she helplessly imagined that if it were her companion (Lily) and the main god (Hestia), they would happily pick and choose, stuffing the items into their backpacks.

"Staying here any longer... is pointless."

She noticed footsteps coming from the other end of the treasure vault door and looked around the room.

There were no windows in the walls, but fate spotted a vent overhead. She leaped up, grabbed a protrusion in the ceiling, and swung her legs together like a pendulum, kicking through the iron bars.

Life slipped smoothly inside, reinstalled the iron fence, and moved through the ventilation shaft.

■

"The woman ran away?"

The group members, their faces pale, whispered to Aisha, who was searching for Bell and Frini.

"What's going on? What are the guards doing?"

"Um, I left my post to go find Frini and the others... I'm sorry, I was too careless."

One of the assigned guards, an Amazonian girl with her long hair tied up, looked dejected.

The surroundings were still noisy, with fighting prostitutes running around. Aisha sighed.