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

According to what she heard, Ganesha, who hosted the "Monster Philia"—no, the "Monsterphilia"—partially understood Uranus's divine will and maintained a cooperative relationship with him.

Hestia had never seen her idol so serious before. While secretly observing Ganesha, she asked him about the whole story.

"You believe Uranus's account?"

"No, I had another chance to see the real thing. The 'goblin' in the red hat... I couldn't pretend I didn't see him speaking fluent human language to me face to face."

It is said that Ganesha was greatly impressed after speaking with the small "heretic" that the black-clad magician had secretly brought from the dungeon. It was as if he had met the goddess (Hestia) and the dragon girl (Venere).

After that, he accepted everything.

Faced with the "heretics," Ganesha, judging with the eyes of a god (himself), accepted Uranus's request to "befriend the monster."

"...Did you talk to the group members (children)?"

"I've only told a few people. It's ridiculous that I would keep something from my children... The faction (family) members are completely unaware."

This is a matter of great importance. Considering any unforeseen circumstances, we can only try to share as little information as possible. Among the people of the lower realms, there are likely many who will feel disgust and rejection towards those beings.

This incident still causes him great distress.

After saying this, Ganesha looked at the members of the group who were training inside the fence.

"I was granted permission to raise monsters... ostensibly to study their habits and ecology, and to gather information that would help me explore the maze."

"Your band members think so too, right...?"

In fact, they did make contributions.

More detailed information about the monsters' weaknesses and habits became valuable intelligence in the guild's dungeon database, constantly updated and accumulated, helping adventurers venturing into the dungeons. Staff members and guild master Loiman, among others, acknowledged the significant effectiveness of this approach, even rewarding Ganesha and his companions.

Nobody knew this was paving the way for making peace with the monsters, and nobody questioned it.

"Hestia, how about you over there?"

"My situation was unique at the beginning... Bell and the others knew about it."

Hestia explained the whole story of how they started by protecting Winnie to one of the few intelligence-sharing individuals.

She also told Bell and the others, who had returned from their forced mission, about her encounter with Uranus. She told Ganesha that she had learned what her retinue had seen and heard in the secret of the "Heretics".

She didn't tell Ganesha that only Uranus and his divine will had foreseen that Bell and the others could become a bridge for the coexistence of humans and monsters.

"What do you plan to do, Hestia?"

"...The most important people to me are Bell and the others."

Hestia's unwavering will was to protect Bell and the others, and to stand with them through thick and thin.

Moreover, based on this point—

"If Bell and the others make any decisions, I will support them and assist them. If they say they want to help the 'heretics,' I will lend them a hand."

"Um……"

"I will never use the commands of the supreme god (the heavenly god) to force them to do any action."

The goddess (Hestia) frankly reveals her unchanging intention since she carved the "blessing" on the boy's (Bell's) back—her divine will.

"This is the story (of those children)."

She wanted to let the children make their own judgments, while helping and watching over them from the sidelines.

Hestia said this.

"...Of course, it would be a lie to say I'm not worried at all."

Ganesha stared intently at Hestia from beneath his mask. The goddess looked away from him and softly expressed her true feelings.

The existence of the "heretic" would not only affect her and Bell, but also bring unknown shocks to Orario or the lower realm. The absurdity of merging with monsters, the risks involved, and the still vivid image of the dragon girl's fragile, tearful face, all sandwiched Hestia in the middle. She looked around the grassland.

Under the blue sky, the monster, now compliant, is bound with chains by a wounded tamer.

"...What does Ganesha think? What do you think will happen?"

"To be honest, I don't know."

"Too……"

Ganesha answered honestly, looking at the same scene as Hestia, who was facing forward.

The goddess sighed. In front of her, the beast tamer patted the monster's skin a few times as if trying to get close to it.

"but."

"?"

"If the heretics... no, the monsters (beasts) truly have no desire to fight and wish to coexist with humanity..."

Facing Ganesha ahead, turn towards Hestia.

"I'm not going to be the [Group Leader (Ganesha)] anymore—I'll be the [Lord of the Masses and Monsters (Neo-Ganesha)] instead!!"

Then he announced it as if to sweep away the gloomy atmosphere.

Ganesha, with a smile on her face and a firm thumbs-up, left Hestia speechless at first... then she slowly smiled.

"...This is the first time I've ever thought you were handsome, Ganesha."

"Because I am Ganesha!"

Hestia laughed as she watched Ganesha shout confidently.

*

The four walls are covered with countless maps posted on them.

The interior, surrounded by parchment maps of land routes and seascapes, is crammed with many items besides the maps. There are woven goods with a strong desert feel, as well as ornaments adorned with pearls or shells, all exotic treasures rarely seen in Orario. Several feathered travel hats, worn for many years, are also quite eye-catching.

In this room, reminiscent of a traveler's hometown, a man and a woman face each other across a table.

"It failed... This is a real headache..."

The man sitting in the chair, playing with the hourglass on the table, is the god-like Hermes.

The beautiful woman standing in front of him with a stiff expression was Asifi.

She was in the main god's private chamber at the Hermes Familia's headquarters, reporting the results of a certain mission.

"I'm very sorry. After the other party retreated, we continued to search for clues, and we've been searching ever since, but still... this time the other party escaped, and the responsibility lies with me."

"Don't say that, I'm not blaming you."

Seeing Asphie apologize with remorse, Hermes waved his hand and said, "Don't take it to heart."

The two were discussing the dual surveillance of the Ikeros Familia.

The guild—Uranus—originally planned to lure the hunters into tracking the Heretics by having Bell and others accept a mandatory mission to the secret location of the "Heretics," with Asphie and the Hermes Familia following behind. This was to discover the enemy's hideout, a secret base where the enemy, who was also a smuggler, was imprisoning the "Heretics."

However, when they were halfway through their pursuit in the dungeon, the Ikeros Familia noticed Asphie and the others' presence, broke off their pursuit, and fled, thus ending the operation.

"However, the opponent actually managed to render the [Perseus] useless... What are your thoughts on your opponent?"

"...None of them are minor figures, no wonder they're suspected of having connections to the Evils. Especially the goggles-wearing man leading his gang..."

The Ikelos Familia is an exploration (dungeon) faction with a dark past.

They have a history of over twenty years in Orario, and are a faction of rank B. Since venturing into the "Deep Layers," their floor walkthroughs have ceased to be updated. Later, they disappeared—going underground—and are now rarely known in the adventurer world.

"That person had extremely sharp intuition and was quite intelligent. Even though he possessed the combat power to defeat us, once he saw through our true nature, he decisively chose to retreat."

The other party is wary of Asphi, the famous and rare item maker.

With the "Hades Helmet" that can make people "invisible," the magical items of the "Omnipotent One" are unconventional and their effects are unknown.

Since there was no way to figure out what cards Asifi's side held, and considering the possibility that their residence (secret base) might be exposed, in order to avoid the risk of being caught, the man ordered all his accomplices to retreat.

"The man wearing goggles... is it Dix Perdix?"

"Yes, he is the leader of the [Ikeros Familia]... He was already a Level 2 Adventurer, Lv.4, ten years ago."

His nickname is "Hazer".

At the time he received the title, he was known for his monstrous, unconventional killings of monsters.

"If he accumulates more combat experience after that... he might possess strength equivalent to Level 1."

Seeing the stern look in Asphie's eyes and hearing her speak in a stiff tone, Hermes sighed softly.

"In short, let's apologize to Uranus and his men and ask for their forgiveness first. The problem is... we'd better assume that this incident has given them a clue to the location of their 'nest'."

He seemed lost in his own thoughts, narrowing his orange-yellow eyes.

"Those heretics (monsters)..."

"Regardless of whether the dual tracking is successful or not, the relocation to other 'nests' was already planned. I think it should be moving now."

Hermes stated that, as planned by his colleagues Uranus and the others, the "heretics" were traveling from the secret of the 20th floor to the communal dwellings on other floors.

Even so, the chief god, speaking in a soliloquy to his retinue, still revealed worry in his words and actions.

"We've probably already lost track of them, and worrying is just asking for trouble, but..."

"..."

"Hmm, I have a bad feeling about this..."

After speaking in a low voice, he quickly...

Hermes looked up and immediately adopted a sharp tone to give instructions.

"Keep a close eye on the movements of the 'middle level,' don't let your guard down, Asfi. Use the inn town (Rivera) as a relay station and send people to monitor them."

"As commanded."

As if guided by divine intuition, Hermes told her:

"It won't be long—those people will make their move."

Volume 10, Chapter 7: King of Tragedy

The lush moss growing on the ceiling shimmered like twinkling stars.

The air was filled with the scent of damp, withered wood, reminiscent of stale, moist wood. In a corner of the space, surrounded by flowers and plants, water droplets dripped from the tree roots directly above, creating ripples in the small pond.

This is a dimly lit "tree maze" covered in tree bark.

The dragon girl stood alone.

Her silver hair shimmered in the light of the moss. Her amber eyes, swollen from crying, gazed up at the labyrinthine ceiling high above, covered in tree bark and glowing moss.

The girl knew the true starry sky.

In that mansion, in that small garden, she and the boy once gazed at the night sky above the earth.

So beautiful. Almost heartbreakingly beautiful.

She longed to hug the boy with the bitter smile, to make him rack his brains, and to let him gaze at that night sky forever.

The countless particles of light emanating from the great tree must be no less dazzling than the starry sky. This dreamlike labyrinthine landscape has captivated the eyes and hearts of many adventurers, leaving them in awe. However—in the eyes of the young girl, it paled in comparison to the brilliance of the stars.

She feels this way because she still longs for him day and night.

I long for the scenery on the earth's surface.

I long for the people and family who accepted me there.

The boy who admires the girl is always frightened and flustered by her every move, but in the end he always forgives her with his smile.

Looking up at the girl in the distance... Winnie placed her hands on her chest, as if her thoughts were drifting to the ground several floors above.

"Bell..."

She murmured softly from her cherry-like lips.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her chest. That heart-wrenching ache brought tears welling up in her amber eyes once more.

"Winnie, let's go."

Hearing the voice of the half-human, half-bird (Happy) girl coming from behind, Winnie paused for a moment and then nodded gently.

She reluctantly looked away from the sky, tossing her silvery-blue hair.

Winnie walked toward her fellow countrymen in front of her and set off from the small cave where everyone was waiting.

Dungeon level 24.

This is Winnie and the others' current location, and the floor they are moving towards.