CHAPTER 1
THE WHITE RABBIT BROUGHT LOW
A Menace Let Loose: Monsters Scatter Across the City.
Dungeon Post Town Rivira Destroyed. Were Monsters on the Surface Involved?
The Secret Maneuvers of Ikelos Familia: A Second Door to the Dungeon?
Several news publications were spread out on the table. Hestia and Lilly stared grimly at the headlines, written in Koine.
“This is getting really serious…”
“Yeah, these stories are all over town. The locals are sick with worry.”
It was the fourth morning since the incident involving Ikelos Familia and the Xenos that had turned the city upside down.
Hestia and Lilly were standing in the living room of Hearthstone Manor, their home, looking down at the reports.
Lilly had gathered them from around town, each a scroll of several leaflets sold by a familia or a merchant. They were full of countless bits of information and conjecture about the monsters’ appearance on the surface.
For Hestia and Lilly, who were privy to the details of the situation, even the ones that appeared at first glance to be gossip, were no laughing matter.
“And look at this one…” Hestia said glumly, shifting her gaze to another of the notices.
The article she examined was small and squeezed into a corner. The headline read: Violent Rampage by War-Game Champion Little Rookie: Lost Hope, Lost Prestige.
There were similar articles in other notices. Some included his portrait.
Hestia stood at the table beside the much shorter Lilly in stony silence, her brows knit. Just then, Haruhime and Mikoto walked into the living room, dressed in maid’s outfits.
“Lady Hestia. Lady Lilly. We’re back.”
“Apologies for taking so long. Many of the stores were closed.”
They were returning from a shopping trip, and they set down paper bags full of vegetables and dried meat.
“Welcome back. Nothing was wrong in town?”
“…Nothing obvious. But the way everyone looked at us, compared to before…” Haruhime said evasively. Mikoto spoke more clearly, although with a troubled expression.
“Some of them were very cold. As we suspected, Sir Bell’s actions seem to be having a broader effect…because we’re in the same familia as him. It feels like the pressure has been building over the past few days.”
Hestia sighed and looked at Lilly.
“No change with Welf today?”
The young armor smith had not shown his face since the disturbance.
“No. He’s been shut up in his workshop ever since. He’s hopeless…but when I leave food in front of his door, it always disappears, so he must be alive in there,” Lilly grumbled.
Hestia looked toward the corner of the garden where the workshop stood behind the main building. At that moment, the living room door swung open.
“Oh…Mr. Bell.”
The boy walking toward Hestia and the others looked almost the same as usual. That is, aside from how preoccupied he seemed.
“…”
He started to say something to Lilly, Mikoto, and Haruhime, then looked away. The words were stuck in his throat, but he eventually turned to Hestia and forced himself to speak.
“Um, Goddess…please let me go into town.”
Lilly and the others reacted with surprise.
“…What on earth are you going to do outside?” Hestia asked.
As the leader of the familia, their goddess had strictly forbidden Bell to leave home. She hadn’t ordered him to stay inside until the excitement cooled down, but she thought it best for him to lie low at least in the immediate aftermath of the incident. It was for his own safety. Bell’s position at the moment was that perilous.
“If you want to collect information, the supporters or I can do it. There’s no need for you to personally go, right?”
“But…”
“You might get hurt again.”
Bell stiffened, perhaps recalling the hostility and disappointment many residents and fellow adventurers had directed at him the other evening when he had walked down Daedalus Street in the battle-scarred city.
With a shuddery breath, Bell met Hestia’s gaze and answered her.
“Sitting here doing nothing, just letting time pass…That’s the scariest thing of all right now.”
He could not remain still any longer.
In response to his pleading look, Hestia closed her eyes for a moment. Finally, she nodded.
“Okay. You may go.”
“Goddess…”
“But—only on the condition that I go with you.”
Bell had been relieved for an instant, but his eyes widened. Lilly and the others reacted much the same.
“Lady Hestia, I don’t think—”
“Supporters, I’m counting on you to keep collecting information and guarding our home! Today, I will serve as Bell’s bodyguard!”
Hestia gave them a thumbs-up. Lilly, who was leaning forward in surprise, pouted and grudgingly murmured, “I can’t believe it.”
The goddess may have been messing around, but she had made her divine will known.
As a goddess, she was the one who could best protect Bell now.
“We’ll try to be back by lunchtime! Let’s get going, Bell.”
“But, Goddess…”
Hestia walked to his side and peered up at him. Finally, giving in to his goddess’s stare, Bell nodded.
“Okay, let’s go…”
We set out, leaving home behind. As promised, I am headed to town with the goddess.
For these past four days, I’ve been under house arrest—or at least, that’s how I see it. But thanks to Lilly and the others who have been gathering information, I at least have an idea of recent developments in the city.
Once word got out that the monsters had breached the surface, the eight city gates were completely sealed. The Guild, in an attempt to get things under control as quickly as possible, issued a bounty for the Xenos. Many adventurers and resources are now devoted to searching for them.
I want to know where Wiene and Lido and the others have gone, too. When I heard the rumors and imagined the Xenos being driven out, I couldn’t bear to stand idly by.
“…”
The sky above Orario is overcast.
The rain that had been falling since the incident has stopped, but the sky is shrouded in clouds, as if expressing the city’s current mood.
The streets in town are quiet. Perhaps because everyone is afraid of the monsters, the few people who are out and about rush off quickly. The small children I always used to see on my way to the Dungeon are nowhere to be found. Is this really Orario?
“My shifts at the Jyaga Maru Kun stand have been canceled as well…” the goddess murmurs despondently as I gaze around this unfamiliar Orario in bewilderment.
We head to West Main Street, past many shops shuttered and locked up tight. As expected, there are more people on the main thoroughfare, but most are Guild employees, who normally wouldn’t be walking around, along with their adventurer guards. They are probably on patrol or actively searching for monsters.
The vitality of the town has vanished, replaced by an atmosphere of nervous tension.
“…Hey, you!”
“Look, over there!”
The stern expressions are directed at us.
Without a doubt, they are staring at me.
“The Little Rookie…I heard all about him and how he caused Loki Familia so much trouble.”
“It’s probably his fault that the monsters got away.”
“Just a typical adventurer in the end.”
“Hey now, don’t put us in the same category as that guy. At least we know the time and place for that behavior.”
A chorus of voices tangles in my ear.
Even without improved hearing due to my Status, I would be able to make out quite clearly the buzz of voices around me. Ordinary citizens, shopkeepers, fellow adventurers…all manner of people stare at me in revulsion as I walk down the street.
My face feels cold…I realize the blood has drained from it.
It’s the same experience I tasted that evening in Orario. Criticism is bearing down on all sides.
“They say it was for money…But I think the truth is he was protecting the monsters.”
“Monster fetish, eh?”
Now and then, I hear the worst insult in the world hurled at me, someone who protected a despicable vouivre. The words pierce me to the core.
I knew going in that this would happen. I have to accept it. As I struggle desperately to withstand the onslaught, another thought enters my mind.
All the daggers of criticism seem to be directed at me and me alone.
I heard that Ikelos Familia has been destroyed and its leader, God Ikelos, banished from the city. In this place smothered by fear and anxiety, I seem to have become the sole outlet for people’s feelings…Perhaps I am an easy target for their blame.
An enemy to all people.
The tips of my fingers freeze at the phrase, which has begun to feel real. As I desperately try to quiet my ragged breathing—the goddess spins around.
“If you have something to say, say it to our faces!”
She jabs her finger toward the people around us.
Both they and I are struck dumb by the goddess’s sudden reaction.
“Bell behaved recklessly because of the debt that I accumulated. You could even say he did it because of his deep love for me! So if you’re going to pass out blame, don’t forget about me and my sins!!”
As she delivers this speech to her surprised audience, the goddess emphasizes the word debt. And very subtly, the word love…
People begin to huddle together after watching the goddess press both hands to her broad chest and speak with such conviction.
“The Loli goddess…”
“Yes, it’s her!”
“It must be true that she borrowed two hundred million valis…”
“A natural disaster has befallen us!”
“The curse of the Loli goddess…”
“If she’s in that situation, then her followers must also be…”
The goddess throws her hands up, her anger flaring at the whispers.
“Shut your mouths! What total nonsense!” she shouts.
As I rush to restrain her, it dawns on me. The malice permeating the atmosphere a moment earlier has dissipated in the confusion.
I’ve gone and let the goddess protect me after all. I’ve made her tell a lie.
Belatedly, I realize what she meant by the word bodyguard. By becoming a buffer, the goddess has made it difficult for mortals to openly blame me. But in the course of protecting me, her follower, she has become the target for the people’s animosity herself.
I hang my head.
“Goddess, I’m so sorry…Because of me—”
I was about to say, “You’re in this mess,” but she cuts me off before I can finish.
She turns and stares up at me, then starts laughing at my dismay.
“Bell, let’s hold hands.”
She clasps mine in hers.
Pulling me along, she and I start walking forward together once more.
“Um, G-Goddess…”
“I know it’s unwise of me, but I feel a little happy. Lately you haven’t needed any looking after. You’ve bolstered my reputation, you see.”
Her deliberately teasing tone is like a pat on the shoulder.
She squeezes my hand. Normally I would feel embarrassed, but now…I just feel miserable. I’m ridiculously spineless for relying on the goddess’s protection and causing her so much trouble.
At the same time, despite myself, I feel happy.
I know I shouldn’t let her spoil me…but against my best intentions, I squeeze her warm hand back. Only a little.
People continue to give us judgmental looks. But I don’t feel as cold as before.
“…Goddess, can we stop here for a moment?”
“Sure, but what for?”
Having asked her permission, I pause in front of a building on the central thoroughfare. Even for West Main Street, the stone structure housing The Benevolent Mistress tavern stands out as unusually large.
“You come here a lot, right? This is actually my first time,” the goddess says.
“Really? You’ve never been?”
Even with everything going on, The Benevolent Mistress is open for business. As we walk up to the entrance, a waitress appears, perhaps having noticed us standing outside.
“Lyu…”
“…”
The pretty young elf stares into my face.
She saved me during the mission to the eighteenth floor, so I came here today with the intention of thanking her. But now that I’m standing in front of her, I find myself unable to speak.
Fear wells up inside me…What if she feels the same as the townsfolk?
As I stand there with the words stuck in my throat, Lyu sighs softly and walks down the entryway stairs.
“Mr. Cranell. I am not going to snub you just because I heard some rumors in town.”
“!”
“I believe what I see with my own two eyes,” she says, smiling ever so slightly, as if to put me at ease.
The tension drains from my body at the encouragement from the upright and dependable elf. The corners of my eyes are wet.
Lyu bows slightly to the goddess.
“Goddess Hestia, it is good to meet again.”
My goddess raises a hand in happy greeting.
“Little elf!”
I quickly wipe my eyes.
“Um, Lyu…Thank you for saving me on the eighteenth floor,” I say.
“Please think nothing of it.”
I give her a once-over.
“Uh, are you all right? I heard that the mission party suffered horrible casualties.”
Lilly told me that the party from Ganesha Familia, which had originally received the mission, risked total destruction at the time. I’m worried about Lyu, who fought in the battle against the Xenos.
“As you can see, I am fine. My body has recuperated. But—”
She pauses for a moment.
“There was a monster.”
She narrows her sky-blue eyes as if recalling the hair-raising experience.
“That creature…It was a black minotaur, and it inflicted terrible casualties on Ganesha Familia and us.”
My breath catches in my throat.
The black minotaur…Could it be the new Xenos who Lido encountered in the Hidden Village? I haven’t come across it myself yet…
My goddess, who has been listening to our conversation, tightens her jaw as if she also just remembered something. Lilly or Mikoto mentioned it as well, I’m certain.
That incredibly strong Xenos who gave Loki Familia so much trouble—that was a monster as well, they’d said.
“I’ve heard that same black minotaur was seen on the surface. And you, too…If your group was on the eighteenth floor, why did you appear in Daedalus Street?…There are so many things I’d like to ask you.”
“…”
“But now isn’t the time, is it? I’ll have to ask you when next we meet.”
There must be many things Lyu wants to know about my experience during the episode and my encounters with the armed monsters. But seeing the pallor of my face and considering the circumstances, she refrains from asking any more. I wanted to ask her about the Orb of Knossos, but for the time being I avoid bringing it up.
“Speaking of which, how is Syr…?” I ask instead.
“Syr is taking some time off. She said she has some things to do.”
“Oh, I see.”
I look past Lyu. From inside the tavern, I can hear the catgirl waitresses Ahnya and Chloe asking me the same questions over and over with unrestrained curiosity.
“Young man, tell us your story, meow!”
“Are the rumors true, meow?”
Runoa, the human waitress, attempts to restrain them.
“Mind your own business, you two dumb cats.”
Conscious of the stares that continue to come our way, I move to leave. It won’t do to bring the commotion into the tavern.
“…Well, Lyu, we’d better be going. Thank you so much,” I say.
As we walk away, Lyu calls out to me.
“Mr. Cranell, keep your spirit strong. I do not fully understand your actions…but if they were the result of a decision that you made, you must not be discouraged.”
Surprised, I turn around.
Lyu herself pursued justice when she was a part of Astrea Familia, to the point that she was blacklisted. Her words resonate with me, perhaps because they hint at empathy for my situation.
Our eyes meet, and I bow to her. The goddess and I walk away from the tavern.
After continuing down the street for a few moments, the goddess turns to me.
“…What next, Bell? Is there somewhere you want to go?” she asks.
The truth is, there isn’t. I have no idea where Wiene and the others are or even where I might find some information about them.
Normally when I’m at a loss, I go to the Guild, but now…
Eina’s teary face and confused words flicker across my memory.
I don’t believe you…! I could never…believe you…!
I haven’t seen her since then. I’ve been too ashamed.
Still pitifully unable to muster the courage to see her, I mentally cross out the option of going to Guild Headquarters. The weight of my thoughts pushes my gaze downward, but I lift my head.
“Goddess…Please let me go to Daedalus Street…”
Surprise crosses her face. She locks eyes with me for a moment, then nods.
On the way from West Main Street to East Main Street, we pass Central Park, which has been encircled by adventurers. More accurately, Babel itself has been surrounded.
Members of Ganesha Familia and other factions have joined together with Guild staff to prevent monsters from passing through the great hole that leads to the Dungeon. Even Lido and his group will not likely be able to force their way through security this tight. If they do, the Xenos will certainly suffer losses.
In addition to the adventurers, a lot of gods are walking around the streets. Some are accompanying parties of adventurers, and some are on their own. In contrast to the townsfolk of Orario, it seems they are secretly enjoying the current situation and searching for excitement in a totally different sense of the word than we are. When they see me, the laughing gods seem to want to cause trouble, but thanks to Hestia’s growled warnings, we manage to pass through without incident.
Finally, we arrive at Daedalus Street.
“There are so many adventurers here as well…”
I’ve passed through this entryway with the goddess before, at the Monsterphilia. Now, as we enter, I see that the chaotic residential district is packed with adventurers. Animal people with double swords slung at their hips, elves carrying bows and quivers of arrows, dwarves hefting sledgehammers over their shoulders—these figures wearing gear fit for the Dungeon are far more brazen than the adventurers we saw on our way here. They seem prepared for a monster to leap out at any moment. Some are even stopping townsfolk who walk by and pressing them for information.
“Have the traps been laid?”
“Are you closing in on the Xenos?”
As if to answer my unspoken thought, the goddess turns toward me with concern.
“Even if they don’t know what it is, exactly, everyone seems to realize that something fishy is happening here in Orario…”
Is it that they vaguely sense the connection between this place and the Dungeon?
It’s sensible, but it also makes me anxious. The only hope for the Xenos who remain aboveground is to return to the Dungeon. But with so much security between Babel and Daedalus Street, where Knossos is located, the prospect of Wiene and the others sneaking through seems hopeless.
Most adventurers are probably after the huge bounties…But still, as I watch them pass by, it’s difficult to breathe. I bring my hands to my throat.
“Um, Goddess, what do you think about the bounties? The ones that the Guild—that Lord Ouranos has offered…?”
“Well, Ouranos has his own position to consider. If he didn’t do something to get the situation under control, I think he’d lose his authority.”
I’m worried that Ouranos, who is something like the god of the Guild, has forsaken Wiene and the others. But my goddess crosses her arms and insists that my concern is unfounded.
“To the contrary, by offering a bounty, isn’t he preventing adventurers from cooperating too closely?”
By setting them in competition down to the last man, Ouranos is preventing familias from combining their strength while also ensuring that they don’t share intelligence. I have to agree that the scariest thing for the Xenos would be if the various factions freely exchanged information to form a seamless net around them.
On the other hand, by offering a large bounty, the Guild gives the appearance that it’s fully committed to the cause and will stop at nothing. Even within the Guild, it must be difficult to doubt Ouranos’s intentions.
Listening to the goddess explain all this in a quiet voice, I feel everything begin to make sense.
“…”
We continue to search blindly for information, wandering along Daedalus Street, which is a complex multilevel tangle of up, down, left, and right—much like the Dungeon.
From the shadows along the streets and the windows of the buildings, countless dark stares pierce me. I have been glared at and slandered plenty before arriving here…But now it feels stronger. The malice. The hostility.
It even feels as if the residents of Daedalus Street—the Labyrinth District—hate me. They suffered direct harm during the incident, and I am the adventurer who intentionally threw the fight to control the monsters into chaos. Of course, they don’t go so far as throwing stones…
“And to think, he once killed monsters that rampaged through our neighborhood.”
“The Little Rookie turned out to be nothing but another typical adventurer after all, didn’t he?”
I hear despairing voices around me. New grudges seem to be emerging with every passing moment. Concerned for me—I’m still pressing my hands to my chest—the goddess reaches out to squeeze my hand. That’s when it happens.
“!”
I run into the one person I least want to see.
“Miss…Aiz…”
The golden-haired, golden-eyed Sword Princess has just rounded the corner with a number of lower-level members of her familia.
As we bump into each other unexpectedly, Aiz, who I respect so much, gapes for an instant with surprise. Then she looks me squarely in the face.
Is Loki Familia investigating Daedalus Street, too? No, they must be—
The events of the other day suddenly come back to me.
Those two golden eyes looking down on me as I protected Wiene. My knife confronting her sword.
How does she see me now? What will she say?
I stand next to the surprised goddess, as if Aiz’s stare has pinned me in place.
“…Little Wallen-something-or-other! Bell and I are on a date right now. Let us pass, will you?”
The goddess uses her back to shield me from the obvious distrust and hostility from the other members of Aiz’s party.
Aiz glances briefly at the goddess, then returns her gaze to me.
“…”
In contrast to my own unease, neither her blank expression nor the look in her eyes has changed. After what feels to me like an eternity of silence, she slowly parts her lips.
Right then, a cheerful voice rings out.
“Heeey, Aizu! What’re you guys doing standing around over there?”
It’s the goddess Loki, leader of Aiz’s familia. Poking her head around the corner from another street, she’s found Aiz and the others stopped next to Hestia and me. She widens her narrow eyes.
“…Aha, you’re with Itty Bitty!”
She turns up the corners of her mouth, smiling like a child who’s just discovered a toy.
“You have some business with Finn, don’t you? You’d better hurry up!” Loki says to Aiz and her companions.
Aiz looks indecisive for an instant, then accepts Loki’s suggestion with a docile “Yes.” Just before she disappears with the others, she looks once again in my direction.
“…What do you want, Loki?”
My goddess stands firmly in a corner of the street boxed in by dark bricks, cautious now that Loki’s cleared the area. But Loki walks straight toward her and slips smoothly past.
“Young man. You really did something funny this time, didn’t you?” she says.
Ignoring Hestia’s shouts, she brings her face within a hairbreadth of mine as I stand there in shock.
“Beats me why you did it, but now ya know what happens to people who protect monsters, huh?”
“!”
“All those guys who used to make such a fuss over you are giving you the cold shoulder…How do you feel now?”
Like a snake, her thin arm slithers around my stiff shoulders. She peers into my face.
Her actions seem to lack any malice. It’s pure curiosity. Nothing more, nothing less.
All I can do is stare at my feet as she grins and whispers in my ear.
“Loki, get off him! What the hell do you want?”
“Ha-ha! To mess with him, obviously!”
Outraged, Hestia tries to pull Lady Loki away from me, but she dodges and takes two or three steps backward.
Then she sticks out her tongue, as if she couldn’t care less about the red-faced goddess.
“The deities’ve got their eyes on you in more ways than one,” she says to me. “‘Oh look, the White Rabbit’s done it again!’ That’s what they say. There’s no shortage of gossip when it comes to you, young man. Of course, my Aiz can beat ya any day!”
“…”
“But actually, I’m interested in you these days, too. You’re pretty feisty for one of Itty Bitty’s kids.”
Loki continues squinting at me with her vermilion eyes. She sees me as no more than an amusing child. I’m certain that one phrase sums up her opinion.
My unsettled emotions confuse me. I feel I’m once again witnessing the gap between the unfathomable deusdea—the gods and goddesses—and the residents of the mortal plane.
“You’ll be destroyed if you take an interest in him! You’re already making enough trouble for other deities. Keep your hands off Bell!” my goddess shouts.
“You’ve got some nerve talking to me like that! You’re real low-class for a goddess, ain’tcha.”
I can hear the goddess breathing heavily next to my shoulder.
“Goddess, are you all right?” I ask, trying to calm her down. As I do, I notice something out of the corner of my eye.
What’s that?
Several figures are crossing the end of an alley. I recognize them from somewhere.
My attention divided, I find my gaze jumping back and forth between the two goddesses and the alley where the figures passed.
The goddess notices my behavior and seems to guess something has caught my attention.
“Bell, if something is bothering you, go ahead and check it out. I’ll wait for you here.”
“B-but…”
“Don’t worry, we’re not going to get into a fight…Anyway, I want to talk to Loki.”
The goddess looks up at Loki, her attitude completely changed from a moment before. Loki tilts her head with a questioning look. I hesitate briefly, then give in to the goddess’s indulgence.
“Excuse me, then. I’ll be right back.”
I nod to them both and dash off down the alley so I don’t lose track altogether.
I’ve been here before. As I chase after the figures—who I can now see are young children—I think back on the events that took place in this very same Daedalus Street.
Finally, I arrive at a plaza where a large church stands.
“Uh…big…brother.”
The fountain is broken and dry, and several of the church windows are shattered.
In front of this desolate orphanage in the depths of the Labyrinth District, I once again find the children I’ve met here before.
“Lai, Fina, Ruu…”
I murmur the names of the three children, who by now have noticed that I followed them.
“Big brother…”
A brown-haired human boy, his face covered in scrapes and scratches.
A chienthrope girl with long, straight cream-colored hair.
And the youngest of the three, an androgynous half-elf child.
They are the orphans whom I met about a month earlier, the time I followed Syr. They look surprised to see me. Perhaps returning from an errand for the orphanage, since I can see packages of food in their arms.
“B-big brother…” says Fina, the chienthrope.
“…”
She tucks her tail between her legs and steps backward.
The half-elf Ruu, who is usually lost in a daydream, shifts his gaze nervously back and forth.
They’re afraid of me…Could things get any worse?
As I stand there silently, Lai, the human, leans forward as if to protect the other two.
“…Why are you here?” he asks.
His sharp look and words reveal a newfound hostility.
I can’t breathe or even move a finger.
The three children live here in Daedalus Street. They probably know what I did. They may even have watched with their own eyes as I protected a monster and attacked other adventurers.
“Why did you do it?” Lai asks me, his voice full of the same judgment, hatred, and disappointment as the other townsfolk.
“Our neighborhood was a wreck, and…I thought adventurers were supposed to kill monsters!” he spits out. “Traitor!”
I can practically hear my heart splitting open. Lai’s words hit me harder than any of the other criticisms I’ve heard today. That, and the sad look on Fina’s and Ruu’s faces as they stare at the ground.
I’ve tainted their memory of me and betrayed their youthful admiration for adventurers. The choking sensation in my throat and the excruciating pain drilling into my heart are almost too much to bear.
A sense of true loss floods every corner of my body.
“I’m out of here,” Lai says. He turns and walks into the orphanage.
Fina and Ruu glance at me. Then, without a word, they follow Lai.
The door of the church slams shut with a bang, as if to throw their rejection in my face while I stand there frozen. As if it’s telling me not to come in and never to come back.
I’m drowning in unthinkable misery and a bitterness that cuts into my very flesh. This despondency goes beyond simple lethargy, and my knees buckle under it. I collapse like a marionette whose strings have been cut.
I have never felt more dejected.
The sky, thickly blanketed in clouds, stares down on my miserable self.
“…Bell?”
The words abruptly break my train of thought.
That door that I thought would never welcome me again has opened, and someone is walking toward me.
I slowly look up—and see Syr.
“I’ve been talking to Maria and some others about whether they might be able to evacuate from Daedalus Street.”
I am sitting with Syr on a brick bench in a little garden near the orphanage, where a few bushes and flowers have been planted.
“Because of what happened in the Labyrinth District…Well, it would be dangerous if the monsters showed up again.”
Lyu had said Syr was taking some time off work, and apparently she has been using that time to discuss her options with Mother Maria, the head of the orphanage. She tells me the two of them have been visiting the other orphanages in the Labyrinth District and urging them to evacuate.
For the past few days, she says, Daedalus Street more than anywhere else in the city has been full of adventurers coming and going, and the air is charged. It’s easy to see why she’s worried the area will end up as a battleground again.
Whatever my reasons were, the fact that I caused all this weighs heavily on my heart.
“I guess it would be rude…to ask what happened,” Syr says.
“…”
“Lai and the others have been pushed to the limit. Sometimes they’re quiet; sometimes they put on a brave front…I think they’re at a loss for what to do.”
I haven’t made any attempt to speak, so Syr has been talking nonstop. She’s wearing a white dress I’ve seen her in before.
She looks straight ahead, a smile on her face, and does not pry in the least. Even though she must know what I did…
Maybe it’s because she looks so completely unchanged that I can’t help blurting out a question.
“You’re really not going to ask me anything…?”
“I will if you want me to,” she says with a pleasant smile.
“No, no…” I say uncertainly.
“Are you trying to make up your mind about something?”
Am I?
No…What I must do is clear. I have decided. I will save Wiene and her fellow Xenos.
The scales have already tipped. I will lend my strength to Lido and the others who even now are in such danger, even if it means making many more enemies.
Even if people I care about, like Lai, hate me for it.
So this is not indecision I am feeling after all…It is terror of being completely isolated.
“Something really seems to be bothering you…It’s better not to keep your troubles to yourself, you know!” Syr says.
“…”
“You have a familia, don’t you, Bell?”
Her words shake me. I don’t care what happens to me. I’m afraid, and I will probably tremble when it happens, but I made the decision myself. It doesn’t matter if people throw stones. I have to take it.
But the members of my familia…that’s another story.
Before the goddess and I left home, I stood by the door listening to her conversation with Mikoto and the others. Because of me, they’re being treated as a disappointment.
My chest feels like it’s about to explode.
I will not regret my decision. I must not. I know this, yet I’m on the verge of being crushed by self-reproach.
It’s how I felt when I met Aiz and also when I saw Lyu. I’m…
“…I’m afraid to ask,” I blurt out, unable to keep the thought to myself. “I’ve gone and acted so selfishly, caused so much trouble for everyone…I’m afraid to ask what Welf and the others think of me…”
Now that this pitiful confession has spilled from my mouth, all I want is to disappear.
As I hang my head in extreme self-loathing, Syr reaches out and cups my face in her hands.
“Huh?”
“Pardon me.”
When she pulls my head, my listless body is unable to muster the least resistance, and I topple over sideways.
In other words, my head is now on Syr’s lap.
“Um, uh, wha—?”
“This is in return for the lap pillow you gave me before.”
Forgetting all about my internal conflicts, I panic and try to jump back up. The hand resting on my head holds me in place.
At the sensation of her soft thighs, my cheeks immediately turn bright red.
“In return?! You forced me to do it that time…!” I say.
“Hee-hee…Was that what happened? Well, let me force you this time, too,” she says playfully, lowering her voice.
She begins to comb her fingers through my hair.
“Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose your path. You may have lost some things, but other things remain by your side.”
Her tone has shifted to one of gentle remonstration, and I stop struggling.
I lift my gaze, as if something is pulling my eyes upward. Syr’s smile greets me. Her eyes are brimming with the same affection I saw when she was looking down on the children asleep at the orphanage.
I flip onto my back on the bench. Raising one knee, I return her gaze. Eventually, she lays a hand gently over my eyes.
“I…I like how you always keep on running,” she says with a sigh. Her voice is so quiet it’s practically a whisper.
“What?”
When I push away the hand blocking my view, Syr smiles cheerfully, her cheeks flushed.
“…I mean I like you how you usually are!”
Her huge smile cheers me up, as if it’s telling me not to worry.
Amazed, I get up from Syr’s lap and look around. I realize that her smile, unchanged from before, has relieved some sort of tension within me.
“…Somehow it seems like you’re always cheering me up these days.”
She giggles.
“Next time, should I hold you in my arms?”
“Uh, no thank you!”
I blush at her teasing and force a weak smile.
The sky is still covered in ashen clouds, but my heart feels a bit sunnier now.
“That’s why I’m saying you need to get the hell out of Daedalus Street in short order! How many times have I told you? Why do I have to come out here myself?!”
In response to the raving, spit- and sweat-spewing Guild head Royman Mardeel, Finn Deimne, captain of Loki Familia, remained coolly composed.
“If we withdraw, which familia will you assign to defense?”
“Ganesha Familia, obviously! It’s the divine will of God Ouranos!”
“I’ve heard Ganesha Familia is not functioning at full capacity right now, due to the damage from the mission.”
“They’re still better than you undependable rascals! Breaking the standby orders the other day and doing whatever you damn pleased…Unbelievable!”
The spot where Finn and Royman were talking was remote even for Daedalus Street: a section of Main Street that had been reduced to ruins in the battle with the monsters four days earlier. All around them, Guild employees were working on the repair and reconstruction effort, and Loki Familia members were on security patrol.
Standing near the rubble created when the vouivre destroyed a wall, the rotund elven Guild head flew at the leader of the prums, his belly flab shaking.
“Let’s stop the probing, yeah?” Finn said, looking up at Royman with his wise blue eyes. “What you Guild people are so worried about is the entrance to the Dungeon down below us…Am I wrong?” he continued.
“…!”
“We learned a few tidbits from God Ikelos before we handed him over to the Guild. He told us about Knossos, among other things,” Finn said, lowering his voice at the word Knossos.
It was none other than Loki Familia that had captured the leader of Ikelos Familia, now expelled from the city. The god had answered their questions with a sly grin.
“I can understand why you’d want to monopolize the information about Knossos and block any leaks, but I think you should reconsider the situation. The other familias already suspect the truth. They’ve guessed that this place is connected to the Dungeon.”
Finn continued explaining to Royman, whose voice seemed stuck in his throat.
“Royman, please put your own interests aside for the moment. These monsters defeated even Ganesha Familia. Who’s going to be able to suppress them here in the city?”
“…You let them get away yourselves, if I’m correct. If that hadn’t happened, things would be a lot different right now…!”
“There’s no excuse for that. But next time we will take them down. We understand the enemy’s strength now.”
Finn shrugged, and then, shifting the mood, he broached a new topic.
“The key to Knossos that Ikelos told us about…If we find it, we’ll give it to you.”
“!”
“In exchange, I want you to let us continue our work here. We, too, want to get the monsters under control as quickly as possible so the townsfolk don’t have to keep living in this fear.”
Royman, who had been watching Finn as if evaluating his suggestion, finally opened his mouth.
“Are you moving forward with investigating this dungeon we’ve been talking about?”
“Yes. Gareth and Tiona managed to dig through the adamantite wall and get in. But an orichalcum door blocked the far side of the room they found, and as you’d guess, they weren’t able to break that one down. It takes time and labor to destroy things made of adamantite…and we decided we shouldn’t pointlessly demolish anything until we know what is hidden in Knossos. After all, we wouldn’t want to bring trouble to the surface.”
“…We’ll need all the information about Knossos. The structure as you understand it so far, the location of the orichalcum door…Can you promise to report to us every detail you know?”
“I can,” said Finn.
Royman, who had launched into negotiation mode after hearing Finn’s explanation, waited for a moment, then nodded.
“All right, then, I’ll accept your conditions. I will inform Ouranos…But! Don’t even think about deceiving me! I’ll cut you scoundrels off without a second thought if you try anything funny!!”
“I understand,” Finn replied, a smile playing around his mouth.
The Guild chief snorted and walked off with his bodyguards.
A moment later, Riveria was standing in his place. The high elf vice captain had come from giving orders to the other members of the familia.
“Whew…Seems like that guy hasn’t changed.”
“Ha! I don’t trust Royman, but I give him credit. He’ll negotiate for mercenary reasons; that much is easy to figure out.”
Riveria sighed at the thought of her unattractive, corpulent brethren. After listening to Finn recount their conversation, she responded with a question.
“Are you certain? Knossos intel aside, you even promised to hand over the key.”
“The god Ikelos said there was more than one. We’ll be fine if we keep one for ourselves,” Finn said, as if he could see into the future.
“So you’re saying the Guild may have its own interests, but we can count on them to cooperate?”
“At the very least, I think we can count on Royman. But just like with the mission, I smell something fishy going on. When it comes to what’s happening right now, I don’t think we have enough information yet to trust the Guild wholesale.
“The Guild isn’t monolithic,” he added, licking the thumb of his right hand. “And speaking of which, Riveria, how’s Freya Familia?”
“Seems they’re still serving as porters for the city. Their explanation that it’s due to these extraordinary times is reasonable…But they seem to be merely watching and waiting, which is unusual for them. They say they don’t want to get involved just now.”
As Finn and Riveria were discussing Freya Familia—Orario’s other biggest faction, which together with Loki Familia was often likened to one of the city’s two heads—the girl with the golden eyes and hair approached them.
“Good work on your rounds, Aiz.”
“Thanks…”
“Did you notice anything unusual?”
“…That kid, Bell, came to Daedalus Street.”
Finn narrowed his blue eyes at the news.
“He’s stepped out, has he?”
Riveria, who had been watching Aiz out of the corner of her eye, asked the question that was on the young girl’s mind.
“Finn…Are you suspicious of Bell Cranell?”
“I am certain he’s a key witness in this incident. The adventurer I faced on that day was not the Bell Cranell I know,” Finn replied, looking out at the street where he and the boy had confronted each other.
“God Ikelos said he had been capturing and smuggling monsters in order to sell them off to ‘monster lovers.’ But was that really all he was up to? Armed monsters, high intelligence levels, mutant subspecies like that black minotaur…Wouldn’t you say there’s a special something about them?”
Finn thought back to the way Ikelos had smiled slyly just before they handed him over to the Guild. He hadn’t been lying, but he hadn’t shared the heart of the matter with them, either.
Standing before him, Aiz seemed to be recalling something, too. A shudder passed through her shoulders.
“If there is something different about those armed monsters…and Bell Cranell was led astray because he knew what that something was, then the events of that day begin to make more sense. And moreover, it means he was left with no choice but to oppose us,” Finn said.
He noticed that Aiz was holding her tongue, and he laughed dryly.
“Aiz, it’s not that I’m labeling Bell Cranell an enemy without letting him tell his side of the story. This is my way of saying I believe in him. As a person and as an adventurer.”
“…”
“But this time, things are different. I need to know for sure…if he is our friend or if he may become our enemy.”
Speaking now as a faction boss, Finn looked toward the section of Daedalus Street where tall buildings clustered.
“Riveria, I’m handing command here over to you. I have something to do on my own.”
“Why alone?”
“I don’t want to stand out or raise any alarms. Aiz, did Bell Cranell come to Daedalus Street by himself?”
“…No, he came with his goddess.”
“Ah, I see. And can you tell me where you saw him?”
The prum adventurer continued, even as Aiz and Riveria fixed disbelieving stares on him. “I’m off to meet with Bell Cranell.”
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