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

Hearing the other person's hesitant words, the man in goggles pondered for a moment before speaking:

"Some guys are making a fuss, but not a single one is stepping forward to claim they've taken care of the monster... Maybe some idiot just hid it?"

Upon hearing the man's words, which were spoken with a slight upturn of his lips, the adventurers were initially surprised, then burst out laughing, saying, "How is that possible?"

"Isn't that dragon girl also very beautiful? It wouldn't be surprising if some idiot adventurer fell for her."

"After all, there's a sexual fetish called 'monster fetish,'" he scoffed.

"At least if the others in the industry manage to deal with the 'talking dragon girl,' this strange monster should become a hot topic," the man said, offering his opinion.

"Well, of course, it's also possible that, like you said, it was killed by a monster, or it's still wandering around the building. I'll go check it out... Also, I'll find out the list of adventurers who participated in the town's (Rivera) adventurer quests."

Upon hearing this instruction, the adventurers quickly nodded and began to act.

Glancing sideways at them as they ran away, the man in goggles turned around.

"That's how it is... God Ikelos, could we ask for your help this time as well?"

"—Hehe, is this how you ask God to do things? You arrogant brat."

Before the man's eyes stood a male god.

Deep blue hair and eyes of the same color, brown skin, and clothing in black tones. A delicate smile etched on her beautiful face, a testament to her divine status.

The young god, who had remained silent and had been observing the men's movements with great interest, sat cross-legged on the stone platform.

"God can see through our lies, so I would like to trouble you to investigate any suspicious people you see."

"This is so troublesome~, I'm a god, you think you can boss me around~?"

The god Icelos's malicious smile caused Dix, the man wearing goggles, to also laugh out loud.

"That should cheer you up."

"...There's just no way around it~"

These words from his retinue caused Icelus to reveal the characteristic smile of a god who thirsts for "entertainment."

"Let me laugh my fill this time, okay, Dicks?"

"I will obey God's commands."

Under the magic light, the shadows of the two stretched out.

In the vast space filled with the fragrance of stone, the howls of wild beasts still rang out. The man and the god looked at each other like reflections in a mirror, revealing a cold smile.

Volume 9, Chapter 3: World, Reality, and Monsters

"Although I had heard about it before... I can only be surprised when I see the real person."

The goddess Hephaestus scratched her right eye patch with her finger as she spoke to Winnie.

In the living room of the "Kitchen Fire Pavilion" bathed in the morning sun, Takemikazuchi, Mihage, and Hephaestus gathered at headquarters. They were all speechless as they looked at the dragon girl hiding behind me.

"A monster that doesn't attack people... and can even communicate with them."

"Even the common sense of the lower realm has been overturned."

"Using the phrase 'abnormal situation' alone might not be enough to explain it..."

Under the watchful eyes of us, the members of the Hestia Familia, the gods wore stern faces.

When Hestia, the goddess who had summoned three divine friends, asked them, "Do you have absolutely no clue?", Hephaestus and the others simply shook their heads.

Even the gods are terrified... Could Winnie really be such an extraordinary being?

"The only ones who would know something... are probably the guild?"

As the discussion continued, a statement made by the goddess Hephaestus created a sense of tension among everyone.

I couldn't help but react to the word "guild".

"...Indeed, they are more likely to know something than we are now."

"But spying on the guild is far too dangerous."

The guild is the city's governing body and also the manager of the dungeon. In other words, compared to us mere [Family] members, the guild likely knows more about the current dungeon, or possesses exclusive intelligence, or even classified information that has never been shared with lower-ranking staff like Miss Eina—just like the Dark Floor Master (Goliath) we fought.

However, it would be extremely dangerous if the governing body became aware of Winnie's existence. Needless to say, if they found out we were protecting monsters, it would jeopardize the Familia's position. In the worst-case scenario, Winnie, this embodiment of anomalies, might be used as a sample for testing…

The fabricated idea sent a chill down my spine, and I also agreed with Mih and Takemikazuchi's assessment that the danger was too great. The deity also crossed his arms, revealing a gloomy expression.

Although the situation did not improve, the goddess Hephaestus said that she would gather information herself and contact us as soon as she knew anything, promising to provide us with assistance.

"Regarding the future... I hope you guys, Bell, can go to the dungeon."

After the goddess Hephaestus and the others returned...

The deity brought this up with me and Lily.

"We've gradually come to realize that the information we can obtain on the surface is limited. Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to go further afield and head to the underground city." It has been six days since we met Winnie.

Looking back on our meager gains so far, or perhaps our many fruitless efforts, the deity said he hoped we could go to the place where Winnie was found, which is the 19th floor of the dungeon, to find some clues.

"Just like Lily told everyone a couple of days ago, besides Lily and us, there are other people tracking information about the 'talking monster.' The situation could very well take a sharp turn for the worse... If we're going to take action, Lily thinks it's best to do it as soon as possible."

"...You're right, we have no choice but to go."

Upon hearing the information that Lily had previously shared with everyone, both Miss Mei and Miss Haruhime became tense, and Welf expressed his approval.

Continuing like this will only lead to a dead end, and we might even fall behind the times.

We nodded to each other and decided to expand our exploration to the underground city.

"I feel so bad for you... I'd like to know what happened, so I'm asking you for help."

The gods looked around at our faces and pleaded with us.

Seeing Hestia's serious expression, and recalling Hephaestus and the others' panicked look, I realized once again that even the gods had not anticipated the current situation.

"Bell..."

"...It's alright, we'll be back soon."

Winnie looked up at me uneasily, and I said to her a phrase I've said several times before, and smiled at her.

"It's been a long time since the three of us went to the dungeon."

"Because we don't need a lot of manpower right now."

I met up with Welf, who was carrying a big sword, and Lily, who was carrying a backpack, in front of the headquarters' main gate.

In the end, it was decided that Lily, Welf, and I would go to the dungeon. Miss Mei and Miss Haruhime would stay at headquarters and also take care of Winnie.

Seeing the initial squads before the formation of factions (families) – the most familiar three-man cells – we couldn't help but smile at each other.

"However, our destination is the 19th floor... To be honest, we're a little uneasy about going there alone with Lily. Even if we manage to get there, it will probably take more than a day to go round trip, including the investigation time."

"Indeed, I don't want to be away from headquarters for too long."

"That's true..."

As we walked along the southwestern streets of the city near the headquarters, starting from the main entrance, Lily voiced her concerns.

A few days ago, when we reached the 18th floor with only our own faction members, there were five of us. And we only managed to get there by using Haruhime's magic "Level Boost" on Welf and Miss Mikoto.

We have a general understanding of the terrain, the monsters' tendencies and how to deal with them, and we are familiar with the route to the safe floor. The three of us should be able to go, it just might take a little time.

Without Miss Fate and the others, the danger will naturally increase—Welf's "Magic Sword" and Lily's "Stinky Bag" have limitations in their use, and relying on these items is not a good idea—advancing cautiously will also slow us down.

Psychologically speaking, we also didn't want to leave Winnie and the others at headquarters for too long.

(Before meeting Lily and the others, I always ventured into the dungeon alone, worrying about things like this. Maybe I was taking my good fortune for granted...)

By the way, in Rivera Town you can often hear high-level adventurers who specialize in solo adventures, especially my fellow adventurers at LV.3 who rely on themselves to travel to and from safe floors.

In my case, I am severely lacking in experience... In addition, the previous "middle-level" suicide mission left a small nightmare (psychological trauma), which at least makes me unwilling to actively act alone.

"Hmm~..."

Compared to our first attempt at the middle level, although both Welf and I have leveled up, we still can't be careless. Most importantly, I hope to reach the 19th floor without spending too much time.

As I gazed up at the still clear sky, pondering if there was any good solution... the face of a certain person popped into my mind.

But, please, it's a bit inappropriate for her.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Ah, no, no!"

On West Street, where ordinary citizens throng.

I could see horse-drawn carriages and adventurers on the road, but I looked away, refusing to look at those beautiful sky-blue eyes.

"What's wrong, Mr. Bell? Why have you been glancing at Ryu the whole time?"

“No, nothing…”

In front of the tavern "The Abundant Mistress".

I also got lunch from Miss Seele today.

I heard that even on the days we weren't exploring the dungeon, Miss Seele would make bento boxes and practice every day—she would let the staff eat them when I wasn't there and listen to their feedback. I thanked her and accepted the small wicker basket, only to be caught by Miss Seele peeking at Miss Ryu who was with her.

It seems I've been wearing my heart on my sleeve.

In other words, I was thinking... could I ask Ms. Ryu to be a helper for the team?

With this former adventurer around, they should be able to reach their destination in no time.

But it's really selfish to ask her for help like this, it's like treating Ms. Ryu like a general store... Including wargames, she has really helped us several times already, it would be too rude to continue relying on her power.

I put on a smile in front of Miss Seele and Miss Ryu, trying to gloss over the matter.

"Lord Bell, please try to discuss this with Miss Ryu and ask her to help. If that doesn't work, then so be it."

"Huh! This... Lily?!"

"We have no choice but to resort to any means necessary, because there's no one else we can ask except Lord Ryu."

However, Lily tugged at my clothes from behind and whispered something to me.

Indeed, even if they were to form a temporary team with Mr. Sakura or Miss Daphne, they should have already gone exploring by now.

It's in the underground city; I probably won't find anyone there, but...

I hurriedly whispered to Jun that this wasn't a good idea, but Lily brought up Winnie's story, and I still couldn't win the argument.

I nervously turned back to Miss Liu and the others and began to discuss it with her.

"...You all want to go to the safe floor, right?"

"Yes, yes... it probably still won't work... right?"

I deliberately didn't say the 19th floor, but only that the destination was a safe floor.

Miss Liu was still standing there with the wooden tray from the shop. Hearing her reaction, I shrank back in my voice and body.

"Mr. Bell, why do you want to go there?"

"Well, that's because—we have something like an adventurer's quest that we absolutely have to complete today..."

Miss Seele looked at me with disbelief, and I made up an excuse... But Miss Ryu's expression remained unchanged, and she stared at me intently. I couldn't look directly into her sky-blue eyes, and my gaze wandered from side to side.

When I saw those honest eyes, I felt very sorry for hiding something from them.

Seeing my dejected and furtive demeanor, or rather, my complete inability to lie, both Lily and Welf sighed.

"...Mr. Crannie, I'm sorry, but I have work to do at my shop—"

As expected, Miss Ryu was about to refuse us when...

"Bell Craney!"

A vibrant voice called to me from behind.

Welff and I turned around and saw a beautiful, fierce woman standing there with one hand on her waist.

"Ah, Miss Aisha?"

My eyes widened when I saw the heroine, Miss Aisha Belleka, dressed in a dancer's costume.

She is a second-class adventurer who once served as an officer in the former Ishtar Familia, and one of the few who stood on the side of Haruhime, who was forced into prostitution. She is a hot-blooded Amazon.

Her beautiful long legs, the way her tanned skin revealed her navel, and especially the intense sex appeal she exuded, captivated the eyes of men walking down the street.

"You... how did you get here...?"