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

Then, Miss Haruhime, who had a relieved smile like Lily and the others, noticed her wearing a fire spirit protective garment.

I panicked and just said, "Let's go over there..." before quickly leaving the scene.

Seeing that I wasn't heading towards the town, but rather towards the eastern part of the building, towards the great forest of crystals and trees growing on the safe floor, Lily and the others tilted their heads and followed.

I walked until I could no longer see the central tree or the adventurers, and finally stopped.

In the open space surrounded by the brilliance of blue crystal, I faced my companion.

"So, Lord Bell? Who is that person, and where did she come from? You haven't gotten into trouble again, rescuing some unknown young lady, have you?"

Lily seemed to have misunderstood something. She walked up to me with a sharp tone and peered inside the hood of her hoodie, which was pulled down low.

Seeing Lily approaching, she timidly let out an "Ah!" and tried to back away, but failed.

She almost fell because of her foot pain, and I quickly caught her—her hoodie had fallen off.

『！ ！ 』

In an instant, time froze.

Upon seeing the exposed pale, bluish skin and the red stone on their foreheads, Lily and the others were startled, and then quickly assumed a combat-ready stance.

Lily kicked the ground and stepped back, while Welf and Miss Met grabbed the large swords behind their backs and the hilts of the swords at their waists, assuming a fighting stance.

Miss Chunji covered her mouth with both hands, her emerald green eyes wide open.

The tense atmosphere made me gasp, and she beside me tensed up as well.

"...What's going on, Bell?"

"Lady Haruhime, come to my side."

Welf stared intently at the dragon girl and asked me.

I was flustered when he questioned me in a tone I had never heard before; as for Miss Ming, she made the stiff Miss Chun Ji hide behind her.

Just as they remain so today, Welf and his allies are wary of her as a monster.

"Wait a minute! This girl...!"

"Get away from it, Lord Bell!! What are you thinking!?" Lily raised her right hand crossbow, interrupting my explanation, and let out a scream like tearing silk.

His chestnut eyes held a mixture of reproach and confusion.

"You brought it because it has a pretty face!?"

"No, it's not...!?"

"If people misunderstand you as having a 'freak fetish,' you can't blame them!!"

"Monster fetish".

As its name suggests, it describes an abnormal sexual fetish or race that has sexual desires for humanoid monsters such as female-headed (Happy) or half-human, half-snake (Lamia), and is the most vile and derogatory term in the Netherworld.

In other words, monsters are so feared by humans.

"Lord Bell! Monsters are monsters!! Training them is one thing, but please don't let your emotions get the better of you! Monsters are the common enemy of humanity!"

Lily's extremely nervous statement perfectly illustrated Welf's reaction and the current situation.

The idea that humans and monsters cannot work together is a matter of course.

The monsters that plunged our ancestors into extinction in the distant "ancient times," and who have been killing each other to this day, cannot possibly coexist with the human race.

Instead of Welf and the others who remained on high alert, Lily desperately told me:

"This isn't about picking up puppies or kittens!! Lord Bell, get out of the way!"

"Bell".

"Lord Bell."

Seeing me protecting the dragon girl, Lily raised her weapon as a warning, and Welf and Miss Life were also calling for me. Only Miss Haruhime, who was not used to violence, was helpless, her eyes darting around.

Seeing my companion so aggressive for the first time, I felt utterly powerless and pathetic, yet I couldn't abandon her behind me. Just then, the alien girl who had been afraid of Lily and the others seemed to notice something and looked up at my face.

"...Bell?"

The moment she opened her mouth to speak, Lily and the others were speechless.

"Ah, uh, um... that's my name."

"name……?"

"Yes, yes, my name is Bell."

"Bell... Bell is a name... The name is, Bell?"

She seemed to be savoring the way Lily and the others called me, repeating my name several times.

Lily, Welf, Miss Mikoto, and Miss Haruhime were all astonished to witness the monster talking.

They forgot their vigilance and just stared at her.

"Bell, Bell."

Perhaps understanding the meaning of her name, she gripped my fingers tightly with one hand.

She seemed to have been instilled with new knowledge, repeating my name again and again, pressing her pale, bluish body against me.

It's as if I'm the only one she can rely on.

"The monster... spoke."

“No way…”

Miss Fate and Welf whispered blankly.

The two men loosened their grip on the weapon handles slightly.

The monsters' unusual weakness and fragility left them bewildered.

"Bell, sir... what happened between you and her...?"

Miss Haruhime's voice trembled, but she still listened attentively to my explanation, for which I appreciated her courage and gentleness.

"I found this girl on the 19th floor. She was injured... Adventurers and monsters were hurting her... She was trembling and crying."

So I brought her here. I stammered as I explained.

Thin legs that seemed to lack strength, amber eyes that swayed with a variety of emotions.

Seeing her cling to me out of fear of everything, Welf, Miss Mikoto, and Miss Haruhime all fell silent.

"I...want to save her."

"...If people find out we're protecting monsters (hestia's family), we're doomed..."

Regarding my wish, Lily, who had been wavering since earlier, shook her head helplessly from side to side and whispered.

I am troubled by the faction leader's position and sincerely apologize to everyone, but I still expressed my willful request—my true feelings.

"But I still don't want to just watch someone die."

Seeing my pathetic expression yet my refusal to look away, Lily bit her lip.

A moment later, Lily seemed to remember her former self as she gazed at the dragon girl.

She might recall the memory of being rescued by me and the goddess Hestia—and her head finally drooped.

"It's up to you..."

Lily lowered the crossbow in her right hand.

Welf and Miss Fate also laid down their weapons and silently disarmed.

The ominous atmosphere dissipated, and the dragon girl looked around at me and everyone else with trepidation.

A sense of confusion began to build among us, with a bewildered Miss Haruhime at the center. No one knew what to do and was unable to act.

I feel guilty for causing so much trouble to my [Family], but I am still determined to speak my mind:

"If this girl stays in the dungeon, she'll be attacked by adventurers and monsters... I want to take her back to headquarters and ask the gods for their opinion."

Besides protecting her, I also wanted to ask Hestia, the goddess, about the true nature of this strange girl, or rather, I wanted to consult her. Upon hearing this, Welf, Miss Mikoto, and Miss Haruhime all agreed.

Some of them couldn't help but smile wryly, while others nodded with rusty gestures.

Finally, Lily let out a long sigh.

"To return to the surface, we have to wait until nightfall. We need to sneak out of the skyscraper facility (Tower of Babel) when there are fewer adventurers... when we won't be seen."

"We absolutely cannot let anyone capture us protecting the monster. The smart thing to do is to wait until the adventurers on the surface are having a good time drinking before returning," Lily advised me from her position as a strategist.

This supporter not only granted my unreasonable request but also went to such lengths for me, which made me feel really indebted.

"Lily, I'm sorry... thank you."

"...Lily doesn't care anymore! Yes! That's right! No matter what unreasonable demands you make, Lily can't abandon Lord Bell!"

Lily's tone was a little sullen as she turned her flushed face to the side.

Although I felt guilty, I was even happier.

Lily's words filled me with gratitude.

Welf and the others, who were initially a little embarrassed, laughed as usual when they saw Lily like this.

"The surface...?"

"Okay, let's go to our house."

Welf and Miss Haruhime laughed beside me. When Lily blushed and angrily lashed out, she nervously gripped my fingers, and I smiled at her. The beautiful dragon maiden looked up at me, then smiled slightly.

She made a "plop" sound and buried her face in the nape of my neck.

I caught her petite body in a bit of a panic, and then slowly looked up.

Through the gaps in the forest, one can see the rooftops of the buildings; numerous blue and white crystals diminish the light, signaling the approach of "night."

A towering white-walled structure shrouded in darkness.

As night falls, the Tower of Babel, reaching towards the sky in the heart of the labyrinthine city, and Central Park gradually dwindle in number. In their place, the air is filled with the sounds of bustling activity centered around taverns, and colorful magic stone lamps shine brightly.

No matter how deep the night, the city's vitality never wanes. The bustling downtown area presents a scene of prosperity, and the slowly rebuilt red-light district is immersed in lust. Along the streets lined with taverns on the outskirts of the city, a group of drunken women dance with the gods as if in a jubilant feast. The sturdy, massive city walls surrounding the area still watch over the chaotic, bustling streets.

The adventurers who had finished their exploration scattered in the streets, and the whole city was bustling with activity. Among them, there was another team returning late from the dungeon.

A six-person team, centered around a white-haired human, walked up the sparsely populated spiral staircase and arrived at the spacious hall on the first basement floor of the "Tower of Babel".

They hurried away—the ceiling murals of the hall, beautiful paintings of the heavens, looked down upon them.

Then, a tiny sapphire inlaid in a corner of the ceiling mural emitted a faint glow.

"—This is bad, Uranus."

A voice sounded in the darkness.

This is a stone hall like a temple.

The four torches that provided the only light source crackled, piercing through some of the darkness. Someone looked at the crystal on the pedestal and made a sound.

This is an enigmatic figure, completely shrouded in black, with no skin showing. His hands are adorned with intricately patterned black gloves, making him resemble a shadowy, humanoid form.

The black-clad figure, whose gender was impossible to discern, looked down at the crystal on the pedestal and continued:

"A sentient monster has made contact with the adventurers. They are now leaving the Tower of Babel."

The crystal reflects the view of the first basement level of the Tower of Babel—viewed through the sapphire ceiling mural.

A human boy and a girl wearing a fire spirit protective suit emerged from the blue crystal.

The man in black, seeing the girl nestled against the boy, definitively concluded that she was a "monster."

"They forcibly took the monster away?"

"No, it's hard to say... Through the crystal, it also looks like it's protecting her."

The man in black was observing the scene in the crystal when a deep and rich voice sounded from the center of the four torches.

Illuminated by the torchlight, emerging from the darkness was a massive stone throne, upon which sat a colossal old god.

The colossal male god, exceeding two meters in height and clad in a long robe, maintained his statue-like expression and continued to ask:

"Who is that adventurer, Fels?"

The man in black, named Fels, replied: