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

Seeing her companion's indignant expression, Lily spoke to her coldly:

"So, Lily, what's the point of continuing to protect that girl?"

"!"

"Do you really believe you can continue like this, hiding her forever without anyone finding out? Lily just said that the circumstances around us won't allow us to do this. In fact, the Hermes Familia has already accepted someone's request and begun their operation."

Lily's suppressed emotions reminded her of Noh masks from the Far East, and she continued:

"Should we shut her up forever and tell others that she's been trained and get away with it? That's probably difficult. Our faction doesn't have a guild-recognized beast tamer. The bigger problem is that seeing her beauty, which shouldn't belong to a monster, will arouse suspicion."

“!…”

"If the gods take a liking to us, they'll definitely come and mess with us for fun. To be honest, we're practically stuck in a rut right now. It's obvious that if things continue like this, we'll have trouble even making money to support our [Familia]."

Lily, unusually eloquent—but always expressionless—spoke her mind.

The violence of correct speech silences all threats.

Hestia and Welf remained silent, because Lily was right. They were also aware that they had not yet found any way to break out of the current situation and were just wandering in a maze with no way out.

"She's like a ticking time bomb. Even if nothing happens to her now, she'll put the Familia in danger one day. ... There's no point in talking to the kind-hearted Lord Bell. Even if it makes people resentful, we have to make a decision to protect him."

Lily lowered her head.

Concealing the distorted expression that finally appeared on her face as she prepared to speak, she kept her tone unchanged and coldly told everyone:

"We can't be with her... She's a monster."

"The Familia" and the girl, Lily said decisively, placing the two on the scales.

Her voice pierced through a wall and shook the next room.

"...It's too early to draw this conclusion, Miss Supporter too, please calm down first."

"……terribly sorry."

Hestia spoke up to smooth things over.

Lily was too factional... or more precisely, too worried and anxious about Bell, and Hestia spoke up to dissuade her.

Hearing her apologize to the floor, Welf and Fate were speechless and stood there in place.

"...?"

When everyone was unable to move, the first to notice the abnormality was Ming.

The sound of a door opening came from a nearby room next door.

The heavy atmosphere in the room made Ming's thoughts feel as heavy as lead, fatally slowing down her actions. First, she heard the clattering sound of someone running, which snapped her back to reality, and she opened the door and went outside. She looked left and right, but there wasn't a soul in the long corridor.

Welf and the others followed behind, just as astonished as she was.

"Could it be...?"

One's destiny is self-aware, and one's spirit is shaken and uncertain—not a perfect state (condition).

She used the [Yatagaraja (Skill)] which had a significantly narrower range of effect, but no reaction was detected.

"Ha ha……!."

Winnie ran.

She ran down the corridor, rushed down the stairs, and opened the entire door.

Winnie ran out of the mansion in an instant and rushed out the back door into the street.

(I, I am...!?)

The contents of the overheard conversation came back to mind.

We must make a decision to protect him.

—We can't be with her.

—She is a monster.

The voice of the little girl, only now carrying the lingering echo of a curse, invades Winnie's heart.

Like that terrible sword, it deeply wounded the girl's heart, which, though it was not a sword, truly possessed one.

(Can't I be with everyone...can't I be with Bell?)

Her beautiful silver hair danced in the air, and the red stone on her forehead shone brightly as if it were shouting something.

Amber eyes welled up with clear tears.

(Bell! Bell! Where are you?)

She wanted to hear what he had to say.

He told me that nothing like that had happened.

She hoped to hear him say it again.

Tell yourself, it's okay.

She hoped Bell would embrace her with that slightly troubled but gentle smile, hug her, and pat her head.

I hope he can deny all of this.

(Please...!)

Tears streamed down Winnie's face as she searched for the boy's figure.

She longed to see the boy, seeking only his one safe haven, and thus broke free from the small garden where she could find refuge.

Winnie was afraid of the crowds and turned into the back alleys several times, pulling up the hood of her robe in her haste. She searched for the pure white smile imprinted in her eyes, running relentlessly through the unfamiliar place.

The sun sank into the western sky.

The city was dyed crimson; dusk was approaching.

"Winnie is missing!?"

Bell shouted out the moment he heard the news.

As evening approached, Bell felt a surge of unease after his encounter with his crush (Ikelos). He rushed back to headquarters, only to find that, as if mocking him, his inner turmoil had become a reality.

The members of the [Family] were about to rush out of the headquarters and gathered in front of the main gate.

Haruhime bowed deeply and apologized profusely to Bell, who was standing there dumbfounded.

"I'm so sorry! It's all my fault for not keeping a close enough eye on her...!"

"I tried using the [Yatagaraja] to search, but there was absolutely no response..."

Chunji was in tears, and Ming beside her had crooked eyebrows and hung her head in dejection.

Even the Yatagarasu, which can sense monsters it has encountered before, couldn't detect it—clearly, Winnie is no longer in the mansion.

With his ability (ability rating) as proof, an undeniable fact, Bell felt himself become pale.

The events that occurred with Ikelos also vanished from his mind.

"...!"

Lily realized that Winnie had overheard their private conversation just minutes ago, and she gritted her teeth, clenching her fists tightly.

"—I'm going to find Miss Ming, you're coming with me!!"

"Yes"

"Let's go together!"

“Okay, okay!”

"They shouldn't have gone far. Everyone, split up and search!"

Without saying a word, Bell rushed out, and after Ming replied, he immediately followed.

Welf, Haruhime, and Hestia's voices rang out in turn. Lily didn't even want to waste time replying and ran straight across the front yard of the mansion.

Leaving the headquarters deserted and abandoning everything, the Hestia Familia pursued the dragon girl's whereabouts.

The hustle and bustle enveloped the vibrant city center.

As dusk approached, the crowds gradually increased. This was because adventurers were returning from the dungeons in small numbers, and laborers who had worked hard in the city were heading to the taverns to wrap up their day.

Many shops began to officially open for business, their doors wide open to attract customers. The aroma of grilled meat and the strong scent of cooking spirits began to waft through the air, while the delicate melodies of the harp played by bards blended with the lively tones of wind instruments.

These things pleased the noses and ears of passersby.

Even the quiet street corners gradually became more crowded.

"...!"

Winnie, her hoodie pulled low, wandered along one of the streets.

She had never seen so many pedestrians before; the sheer number of demi-humans terrified her. She had no interest whatsoever; the distant strains of stringed instruments, the galloping carriages, even the innocent laughter of children running around all made her shoulders tremble with fear.

Even as I jumped, the cold touch of the stone slabs on my bare feet was felt.

She covered her entire body with a long robe, walking along the street corner to avoid attracting attention, fearing that someone might strike her with a knife at any moment.

(Bell...)

She peered out from under her hoodie, trying to spot the white-haired boy.

Compared to the main avenues that run through the city, this street was much narrower. Her gaze flew to the crowded, swaying center of the road, then down to the alley leading to the back alleys, searching every corner in her field of vision.

Then, as she peered around...

She witnessed that scene.

(--ah……)

On a corner of the road, a horse-drawn cart was parked in front of a shop.

First, I heard the neighing of horses, then a jolt.

The goods, piled high, were about to collapse, like building blocks.

I don't know if the ropes were tied too loosely, but the fact is that the cargo gradually tipped over, and underneath it, there was a small dog-man who didn't notice anything.

It was a child running around the streets at dusk.

Winnie's eyes widened.

A few people around noticed it, gasped, and heard the screams about to erupt.

A staggering amount of cargo... The wooden crate was about to crash down on the little boy.

(—It will hurt.)

That will definitely hurt.

It will hurt a lot.

It will hurt so much that you'll cry, as if your skin has been cut by claws and swords.

As soon as the idea came to mind, Winnie's body began to move.

"!"

With a loud "thud" as she kicked the stone slab, Winnie sped up like an arrow.

To the people around, it was like teleportation; he leaped to the child's side in an instant.

Seeing the child's frozen expression as he noticed the goods falling reminded her of herself standing there dumbfounded in the face of the raging fire—and of the boy who defeated the fire monster to save her.

—I saved him.

This will seemed to become the trigger.

Winnie's body underwent changes.

The girl's back bulged.

Then, a strange fleshy sound came from behind, and wings appeared, breaking through the pale blue skin and robe.

"—Huh…"

The babbling of the young child was swallowed up by the sound of the membranes expanding and the cargo bouncing open.

Several wooden crates rolled onto the stone road and bounced off.

After the intense noise that had dominated the street subsided in an instant... the immobilized demi-humans stared at the scene in silence.