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

"By the way, where is Mihe? Isn't he here?"

"Mih has some personal business to attend to and won't be back until evening. I'll be alone today..."

While comparing various IVF...recovery drugs, I casually asked a question and received this answer.

This is a shop owned by the Mih Familia, which is under the command of the god Mih, and it is also their headquarters. The only member belonging to the Mih Familia is her, Miss Nazha.

She picked up a recovery potion that looked to be of high purity and took the opportunity to recommend it to me.

"Bell, how about it? Are you ready to try this high-grade elixir...?"

"No, no, it's too early for me—"

Seeing her pull out a high-grade recovery potion priced at tens of thousands of Faris, I politely and indirectly declined her offer with a twitching smile. Since we both came from impoverished backgrounds, one of us was always looking for an opportunity to sell, while the other was desperately trying to cut costs; such conversations had become commonplace for us.

But don't let Nazha's appearance fool you, she's quite assertive, and I almost always lose the argument...

"Bell, you haven't been to our store lately..."

“Ugh…!”

"Mih is lonely. His stomach is growling... because he's hungry."

I haven't been to this shop since I hired Lily, who handles everything from preparing the props. Ms. Nazha's plea for conscience made me anxious.

Oh no, if this continues, she'll make me buy even more unnecessary things...!

"Oh, right, yesterday I went into the underground city, and something strange happened!"

In my haste, I changed the subject, telling her about how I had used magic in the dungeon yesterday and ended up fainting. Miss Nazha listened silently, then softly said, "Oh."

"That's mental exhaustion. Newly learned magic users are prone to this when they get carried away..."

"Mental exhaustion...?"

"Because using magic consumes an energy called mental energy. If the consumption is too intense, you won't be able to hold on for long."

"So..." Ms. Nazha continued, then rummaged under the counter.

"You can drink this elixir to restore your mental strength as a preventative measure. It was just made recently..."

"Uh, but this must be very expensive..."

"Don't worry, Bell is a regular customer, I'll give you a discount... Eight thousand seven hundred Faris."

I immediately took a step back.

"All right……"

Upon seeing this, Miss Nazha lowered her dog ears and took out two more test tubes.

"If you're willing to buy this for 8,700 Faris, I'll add these two recovery potions, making it a total of 9,000 Faris... How about it?"

Upon hearing this suggestion, my eyes widened, and I immediately began to rack my brains with my not-so-bright mind.

The minimum price for a recovery potion from the Mih Familia is 500 Fali. From that perspective, it's quite a good deal. Although spending 9,000 Fali is really too much... this item that can increase the amount of magic one can use is indeed very appealing.

Being fully prepared for any unexpected event is a prerequisite for becoming a top-notch adventurer...

"Nobody knows what might happen in the dungeon. It's always better to be prepared..."

This sentence became the final push.

Being a coward, I weighed the money against the safety of my squad and chose the latter.

"Okay. I'll buy it."

"Thank you, Belle. I love you so much..."

Miss Nazha smiled at me with her eyes half-closed, saying such things without any shame, which made me blush. As soon as I accepted the goods, I immediately prepared to leave.

I waved goodbye to Ms. Nazha and walked out of the store.

"Bell is so easy to fool..."

...I thought I heard something as I left, but I didn't hear anything. It was just my imagination, a hallucination.

Leaving the shop, I walked along the western avenue, which I had lingered on several times today, and arrived at the central square.

Under a clear sky, the vast circular plaza was once again filled with fully armed soldiers.

(Hasn't he arrived yet...?)

I tried to find Lily at the meeting point, but there was no similar orc girl in sight.

Just as I was wondering what was going on my way to the Tower of Babel, a scene happened to catch my eye.

In a corner of the central square, where broad-leaved trees were planted at equal intervals, sunlight filtered through the leaves onto the ground. The leaves swayed gently in the breeze, and under the rather comfortable shade, I saw Lily with several men who looked like adventurers.

Three large men surrounded the petite Lily. They were shouting menacingly at her, while Lily shook her head frantically. The atmosphere was extremely tense.

—Could they be members of the Soma Familia?

The moment the idea crossed my mind, I rushed towards them without hesitation.

"...Enough with the nonsense...Give it to me!"

"It's...gone...nothing...left! Really...!"

I heard arguing coming from Lily's side.

Anxious, I avoided the broad-leaved trees that formed a blind spot for them and planned to intervene immediately.

"Hello."

"!"

However, it happened unexpectedly.

Someone grabbed my shoulder, as if to hinder my movements. I turned around in surprise. It was a male adventurer. A strong, black-haired human with a longsword strapped to his back.

(Huh, this person...)

"So it really is that kid from back then... Never mind, let me ask you something. Are you in cahoots with that shorty?"

That voice and tone—it couldn't be wrong. It was that male adventurer I'd encountered in the back alley a long time ago.

"Hey, answer me now. Did you hire that supporter?"

"...That child isn't the Palum kid you were chasing before."

This was my response to the impatient man before me. It was, in a way, half reflexive.

She was wearing a long robe and a hooded jacket, so it wasn't very obvious, but Lily wasn't Palum; she was a dog-person.

What I meant was that he shouldn't be mistaken, but... the man just smirked and laughed:

"Idiot... I really want to say that to you, but think what you want. Just keep playing the fool."

I was indignant at the harsh words the man said to me, but what bothered me even more was his tone of voice.

It sounds like you're pointing out that I've been scammed.

I won't easily believe what this person says, but...

As I was still looking on in surprise, the man stopped laughing and his expression changed.

"Let's not talk about that. I'm telling you, cooperate with me... I'm going to frame that shorty."

"Varied……"

"I won't make you work for free. I'll pay you, and I'll share some of the money I get from that guy."

The man seemed serious. It all happened so suddenly that I was speechless.

"Just pretend nothing's wrong and go into the dungeon with that shorty as usual. Then, find some excuse to break up with him and isolate him. I'll handle the rest. A piece of cake, easy, right?"

The man's lips curled into a wide smile, and he burst into laughter.

A cloying laugh. A stench of depravity I've never encountered before.

A chill and a sense of disgust coursed through my body, and I clenched my fists.

"Why would you say something like that...?"

"Huh? Stop talking nonsense. You just need to nod and agree. Isn't it great to make money so easily?"

"Ha!" the man laughed loudly.

"Think about it carefully. That guy was just a mover (supporter), right? A useless piece of trash who couldn't help much has disappeared, so it shouldn't hurt him much, right? Squeeze him out of the way if you can, and then just throw him away."

The boiling point has exceeded the limit.

The inside of my eyelids feels hot.

Unlike back in the alley, I didn't have the energy to be afraid; a decisive anger took over my body.

"I don't want to...!"

"You brat...!"

The man twisted his face to intimidate me, and I frowned with all my might.

We were caught in a tense atmosphere. As if frightened by the overwhelming anger, the thick branches of the large tree overhead rustled and shook.

They glared at each other for a long time, then the man clicked his tongue and turned to leave.

I still couldn't shake the fierce look fixed in my eyes, and kept watching the person's receding figure.

"...Lord Bell?"

"!"

A hushed voice came from behind.

I looked at her as if drawn to her, and there she was, Lily, right behind me, looking up at me blankly.

The emotions that had been burning brightly just moments before suddenly withered, and this unexpected situation threw me into disarray.

"Lily, Lily? When did you arrive?"

"You've only just arrived... What did you talk about with that adventurer?"

"Uh—no, it's just that they wanted to cause me trouble..."

I just made it up on the spot. How could I possibly tell the person standing right in front of me that someone had approached me to frame her?

Lily stared intently at me, who was filled with unease, her lips pressed tightly together, revealing a somewhat sinister expression.

"Oh, right! I thought Lily was being bothered by someone earlier. Are you alright?"

"You saw it all... Don't worry, as you saw, Lily is fine."

Lily spread her arms and spun around on the spot, finally smiling at me from under her hoodie.

She didn't seem to have been subjected to violence; those people didn't seem to have really harmed her, so I felt relieved.

"Lily, who are those people...?"

"Lily, like Lord Bell, is being harassed. Perhaps Lily and Lord Bell really do seem easy to bully?"

My words were interrupted.

Lily, half-jokingly smiling, was clearly refusing to let me continue asking questions.

"Alright, let's go, Lord Bell. Lily has been lazy and hasn't explored for two whole days. Please let Lily look forward to Lord Bell's performance today, shall we?"

As Lily walked past me, she strode toward the Tower of Babel. She glanced back at me, her large chestnut eyes peeking out from beneath her swaying bangs, a gentle expression on her face as if nothing had happened.

I didn't say anything more. I shut my mouth and silently followed behind Lily.

What kind of expression did Lily have as she faced forward? All I could hear was the noise of the crowd, and my mind was preoccupied with this.

"...It's about time to end this."

●

"Huh, is Eina already leaving get off work?"

"Well, I think I'll head back now."

Hearing her colleague's words, Eina nodded.

This is the guild headquarters. The ground floor, serving as the service entrance, is covered in white marble, both the floors and walls, exuding a solemn atmosphere. The afterglow streaming through the windows illuminates the spacious hall, which resembles a grand mansion.

Looking out the window at the foyer, Eina tidied her desk and stood up from her seat.

"Wow, just in time to get off work! That Eina actually finishes work at this time? No way, does she have a boyfriend?!"