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

I find fluffy fur very appealing and cute... But well, maybe there are some things about girls that I, as a guy, just can't understand.

But then again, it's one thing for the Palum to be called a dwarf race, but to have such a small orc child... Miss Lily Luca, could she only be around ten years old?

"So, brother, what do you think? Are you willing to hire Lily?"

"...I understand. Then for today, please be my supporter for now."

"Thank you, brother!"

The guilt of touching someone's ear made me incredibly embarrassed to refuse her. Wouldn't that make me seem like a bad guy who made fun of a little girl and then just walked away?

...Besides, to be honest, I'm desperate for support right now. Since I want to get stronger as quickly as possible, it's best to concentrate on fighting in the dungeon. Miss Lily Luca's suggestion came at just the right time for me.

"Um, in this case, is a deposit or something required?"

"Sometimes it's necessary, but today we'll treat it as a trial. All we need to do is share some of the dungeon exploration revenue with Lily. Lily will be overjoyed if she gets 30%."

"Huh, so little? A little more wouldn't hurt..."

So, Miss Lily Luca, who had been smiling innocently the whole time, and I chatted for a while with our faces close together.

★

The dungeon is divided into fixed floors, which alter its terrain and properties.

Floors 1-4 are constructed with light blue walls and primarily feature low-level monsters such as goblins and earth spirits. The variety is limited. Approaching floor 4, subtle individual differences begin to appear, but being the uppermost floors of the labyrinth, they are relatively easy for novice adventurers to conquer. As long as you avoid being surrounded by multiple monsters alone—in other words, as long as you're in a party—you're virtually guaranteed to survive.

However, starting from the 5th floor, the situation changes.

Not only do the walls turn a pale green, but the dungeon itself becomes more complex, with many annoying monsters appearing starting from the 7th floor, including "killer ants".

Furthermore, the monster spawn intervals are much shorter than on the 4th floor. It's not uncommon to be surrounded by several monsters crawling out of the walls the moment you step into a dead end.

Many newbies who find relief on the upper floors end up dead here. Even with the utmost caution, floors 5-7, where the dungeon's dangers begin to surface, remain the first major hurdle for adventurers.

Don't rush into lower levels just because you're not having enough fun at the beginning. You must be thoroughly prepared on floors 4 and above first. This isn't just about [ability stats], but also experience, weaponry, resourcefulness, and the qualities of an adventurer—all of these are essential.

Novice adventurers must first be grounded and accumulate strength.

Not to mention solo adventurers.

but.

"call!"

"Kisara!"

Bell's situation is a little different.

With his extraordinary growth rate, he is outside the realm of ordinary adventurers.

With a powerful sweeping strike, the killer ant's body was cleaved in two.

They are currently on the 7th floor. On this floor, where a team should be working together more, Bell is facing a relentless and relentlessly advancing army of monsters all by himself.

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!"

"I'm outta here!"

"Buggy!"

Bell dodged the "purple moth" that fell from above and severed its wings with Hestia's Blade.

The giant moth, having lost a wing, lost its balance and was stabbed by a dagger, instantly dying.

"Don't move!"

Bell rushed towards the spot where the killer ants had reappeared. And there were two of them.

Faced with the monster that was threatening him with its large, insect-like mouthparts, Bell accelerated in one go.

Pretending to deal with two killer ants at the same time, the real target is only the one on the right.

The rapid change of direction caught the monster off guard for a moment.

"—Gah!"

The blade, unleashing its striking power, pierced the central part of the killer ant's body.

The power of Hestia's Blade, capable of shattering hard shells and piercing flesh, left the monster no time to even scream. Its eyes lost their luster, and the killer ant fell silent.

Bell immediately tried to deal with another killer ant, but—the dagger wouldn't come out.

“Eh!”

The cracked shell gripped the dagger's hilt tightly. Bell had to stop.

At this moment, the monster, enraged by the murder of its kin, circled around and raised its claws towards Bell.

Bell instantly raised his left arm.

"grumble!"

"...Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Clang! The emerald-green protective gear snapped off the claws.

The armor, which couldn't even be scratched by the killer ants' attack power, burst into a large number of sparks.

Bell launched a counterattack. Ignoring his paralyzed left arm, he threw the dagger in his hand and caught it with the fingers of his right hand, releasing the Blade of Hestia.

cut.

The dagger sliced ​​along the narrow seam of the hard shell. Purple blood spurted out.

Even though its power was among the lowest of all weapons, the blade still inflicted a fatal wound on the killer ant.

"--grumble."

"Next!"

Bell, having retrieved Hestia's Blade to deliver the final blow to the killer ants, relentlessly charged towards the remaining monster horde.

"Lord Bell is amazing—!"

While Bell was dispelling the monsters, Lily gathered the corpses he had slaughtered into one place.

Her movements were practiced. While smiling, she kept a close eye on her surroundings, making sure she wouldn't run into any monsters. Her hands, clad in specially made brown supporter gloves, grabbed the monster's feet and dragged them unceremoniously across the dungeon floor.

"snort!"

“Chuck!”

Thanks to Lily's efforts, Belle, with nothing hindering her legs, made the "Needle Rabbit" the prey of the "Dagger".

Bell's actions remained true to the basics. Even though his strength surpassed that of monsters at the level of killer ants, he was not arrogant. Following the advice of his advisor, Eina, he prioritized defeating the troublesome killer ants that could summon allies, never getting into a one-against-many situation.

The battle inside the spacious cave was entirely led by Bell.

"—Gulp...! Aa ...

"Whoa! Lord Bel, another monster has been born—!"

Breaking through the walls of the underground city, the killer ant cried out ominously as it fell to the ground.

Bell had encountered this situation countless times before, and he acted with extreme speed.

After dealing with the remaining monsters, head towards the killer ants struggling to crawl out of the wall.

With a running start of about ten meters, he jumped forcefully with his left foot.

"one two three!"

"Gulp!"

Bale's flying kick landed hard.

The walls echoed with heavy thuds as the monster with its neck broken slumped limply, losing all strength.

"Ah—...What should we do, Lord Bell? This killer ant is buried in the wall!"

"What...what should we do?"

Bell broke out in a sweat looking at the killer ant that looked like it was stuck in a hole and couldn't get out, hanging on the wall in an embarrassing position. Lily, who was jumping around at the monster that was taller than her, saw Bell's profile and couldn't help but laugh.

"Lord Bell is so strong, but he's a bit strange. Hahahaha!"

"...Don't laugh at me."

Hearing Lily's laughter, Belle looked pitiful, then slowly turned into a wry smile.

Soon after, Silence finally visited the cave, and the two of them finished their business and began the work of collecting the magic stones.

However, only Lily, the professional supporter, can use her skills here; Bell can't do much except guard against monster attacks.

"Wow—that was handled really well..."

"That's all Lily can do. It's Lord Bell who's truly formidable, defeating these monsters."

Lily skillfully dug out the magic stone with the dagger she carried, demonstrating remarkable technique.

With each movement of her little hand, a small hole would appear on the monster's body, and it would return to dust.

While comparing her poor work to Lily's, Belle began to speak about something that had been on her mind.

"...Hey, stop calling me Lord Bell, okay...?"

"I'm sorry, Lily, I can't comply. Although it's only a temporary contract, the positions of superiors and subordinates must still be clear. Supporters must always be subservient to adventurers."

"No, but, Miss Lily Luca..."

"Lord Bell, please just call Lily Lily. You can call me anything else, but please don't call me Miss."

"No, it's just a name, why bother..."

Lily, having reduced the third killer ant to dust, looked up at Bell. A smile played on her lips beneath the hood of her hoodie that obscured her eyes. She began, "Listen to me, Lady Bell," and then began to speak:

"Supporters sounds nice, but in reality, we're just porters. To the adventurers who risk their lives to fight monsters directly, we're nothing more than cowards who run to safety and watch from the sidelines, parasites who do nothing but want a share of the spoils."

From the moment they entered the dungeon, the supporters were also exposed to danger. Logically, they shouldn't be completely dismissed like this, but Lily didn't correct her and continued to state her position.

"It's arrogant of us to equate ourselves with the adventurers. The adventurers wouldn't allow it. If we did that, they would be angry and wouldn't give us our share of the profits."

"How could this be...!?"

"Although Lily hasn't known Lord Bell for long, she knows you're a kind person. But she still needs to know her place. If word gets out that Lily is an arrogant supporter who disrespects Lord Bell, then no one will want to go into the dungeon with adventurers other than Lord Bell. She'll just be doing all the work for free."

"..."

He can deny his own affairs, but he has no say in the affairs of other adventurers.

What is wrong to you may be taken for granted by others.

"This is forcing Lord Bell to do something you're not used to, but could you please accept it? Just consider it as helping Lily out."

"...I understand, Lily."

"thank you!"

As a result, Bell gave in. Since it was for Lily's sake, he had to put his own little problem aside.

They stopped using honorifics and started treating each other like friends of the same age.

"But speaking of which... is Lord Bell really a novice adventurer? How could he defeat so many monsters all by himself..."

Lily paused her work for a short rest and counted the remaining monster corpses.

If we include those that have already turned to dust and disappeared, there are four killer ants, three purple moths, and five needle rabbits, for a total of twelve.

Apart from the killer ants, which are similar in size to humans, the purple moths and needle rabbits are both small monsters, and they are not too difficult to deal with if you fight them seriously.

However, the situation is different if one person takes care of so many.

"I did defeat them, but it wasn't always a sure thing..."

"It's only natural that Lord Bell fights alone. Ordinary adventurers usually form teams of three or more to venture into dungeons, you know? Generally speaking, no one wants to explore alone."

"But that just means they don't want to, not that they can't, right? There should be plenty of adventurers at level 1 who are stronger than me."

"That...maybe that's true."

"Since Lily has formed contracts with various teams, she must have seen adventurers stronger than me, right?"

"...Yes. Indeed, Lily has seen several adventurers more skilled than Lord Bell..."

"Well, I guess I still have a long way to go."

Seeing Belle's wry smile, Lily looked troubled. Because the argument had gone astray.