Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka - Volume 5 - Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 

DUNGEON RESORT? 

The first thing I feel is a heaviness, like my body is weighed down. 

I don’t know how long I’ve been here. My arms and legs feel like dirt and I keep flowing in and out of consciousness. After a long time fighting the sense of nothingness that comes with a deep slumber, I finally break through. 

Everything’s all blurry. 

I blink a few times to clear my vision. My mind is still blank. 

I see…fabric. Probably the inside of a tent. 

I’m on my back, looking up at the ceiling. 

Just as I start looking around the area—my eyes fly open as the memories flood my brain. 

“Lilly, Welf?!” 

Our desperate search through the middle levels, the Goliath’s appearance, the eighteenth floor. Everything came back at once. 

Adrenaline starts pumping through my veins. I don’t know what happened; I need to find out. 

All of my muscles fire to help me sit up. A fresh wave of pain washes over me a second later. 

“??!” 

I curl into a little ball. 

I think it was a scream that came out of my throat. No, the scream came from my entire body. 

It feels like every hit I’ve taken, every cut, scrape, and bruise I’ve received since entering the thirteenth floor cries out all at once. I’m in tatters; all the abuse has really taken its toll. 

I’m writhing in so much pain that I might pass out again. 

“Are you okay?” 

—Once again, my eyes open. 

That beautiful voice came from right beside me. I lay there for a moment, unable to believe my ears before lifting my head. 

The first thing I see is a wall of white fabric, probably part of the tent. Then the long, golden hair of an adventurer sitting right next to me comes into view. 

“Eh, huh, whaa…?!” 

“…Are you all right?” 

Her eyebrows furrow in concern as she speaks with that beautiful voice. 

A-Aiz…Aiz Wallenstein…?! 

I’m not hallucinating! It’s actually her! 

Why is she here?! I silently scream as my last memories before passing out come back to me. 

Long, beautiful golden hair reflected in my cloudy eyes. 

I gulp down the air in my throat. The person I begged for help was…Aiz? 

I, I grabbed her leg…?! A new firestorm whips up within me as I clench my shaking fist. 

“W-why are you here…?!” 

“Returning from our expedition…We stopped on the eighteenth…” 

Aiz’s group, Loki Familia, must’ve come back from trying to explore previously unknown levels deep in the Dungeon. So that means they’re resting here at the safe point, level eighteen. 

They left on their expedition almost two weeks ago…Considering what Lilly said earlier, we must’ve just crossed paths. 

That was my train of thought as I lay there, marveling at her beauty. 

“…! My friends! Are they??!” 

Lilly! My shoulders shake once my brain connects the dots. 

—Are they okay?! I’m about to ask as my body flings forward on its own. 

My elbows leave the ground, my body straight up. 

It feels like something’s pushing me from behind. I can’t even blink. Suddenly all the pain I was in doesn’t matter. My sense of urgency cancels it all out. That doesn’t mean my muscles can take it. 

I can’t balance. The floor is rushing up to my face. 

Aiz rises to her knees beside me and holds out both of her arms. 

Pwff. 

“…” 

“…” 

She catches both of my shoulders in her hands. My face, however, is buried deep in her chest. 

I can feel her golden hair on my nose. 

Her metallic breastplate feels cool on my cheeks. It caught my fall. 

I-I’m so glad it was a breastplate and not?there’s no time for that kind of thinking?! 

“S-sorry!” 

My body launches itself away from her faster than the Goliath blasted me down the tunnel. 

My face burning red, I get away from her chest as fast as possible. Ignoring the excruciating pain, I bend away to put some distance between us. 

My body moves almost like it’s a reflex. Losing my balance again, I hit the back of my head on the ground, and stars dance in front of my eyes. To add insult to injury, I yelp in agony in front of Aiz and grasp the back of my neck. 

Shame and pain course through my body when…Swish. My hair brushes against something. 

“Ah…Welf.” 

He was fast asleep under thick covers right where I fell. Putting up with the pain, I force my body up again and take a good look around. Lilly is next to him on the other side. 

I can feel the tension leave my shoulders as I look at their sleeping faces. Finally, relief. 

“They are both okay…Reveria and the others healed them.” 

Upon closer inspection, Welf’s right leg and Lilly’s numerous injuries have been treated. I don’t think our rescuers did anything fancy, but both Welf’s and Lilly’s wounds have been carefully wrapped in bandages. 

“They had taken a lot of damage…but you were in very bad shape…” 

Only after she says that do I notice that my head is also wrapped in bandages. She parts my bangs with her fingers and slowly strokes my head. 

My cheeks flush pink as I feel her fingertips run through my hair. 

And then: “Any pain?” She tilts her head to the side as she asks. That is the final blow. 

My whole body turns red. 

“T-thank you very much…for saving us, really…” 

Somehow I manage to force my body away from her gentle hands and express my gratitude. 

Aiz sets her hands in her lap and shakes her head from side to side. “It’s nothing,” she says with a small smile. I don’t know why, but I feel really happy right now. 

Then she looks at me with her golden eyes and asks what our plans are from here on out. 

She slowly moves her head to look toward the exit of the tent. 

“Can you move?” 

“Umm…Y-yes.” 

“Finn told me…Our commander told me to contact him. Come with me, would you?” 

Aiz stands up as I give her a sharp nod. 

I quickly climb to my feet. She offers her hand to help me up, but I can’t afford to embarrass myself even more. Trying to display some amount of manliness, I respectfully decline. There’s a new shot of pain…owwww… 

Focusing completely on my teetering legs, I finally stand straight up. Every muscle in my body is complaining, but I can handle it. I follow Aiz through the exit as she lifts the fabric door out of the way. 

“Whoa…?!” 

A huge campsite comes into view. 

We’re surrounded by trees, but the forest isn’t that dense here. Tents have been pitched all around us. All of them are facing in toward a central area. Large cargo boxes are sitting on top of tree roots throughout the camp. 

Dwarves, animal people, elves…A surprising amount of them are women. Another group of adventurers, a mix of demi-humans, has a very serious air about them. But some are just talking, almost relaxing with one another. Two animal people are sitting beside each other in the grass. A dwarf and an elf, one leaning against a tree with his arms crossed while the other uses her hands to make gestures as she talks…Their armor and weapons show signs of fierce battles, and yet still sparkle. Whoever made their equipment was extremely good at what they do. 

A party of adventurers from what could be called the strongest Familia in Orario…I can feel the aura of strength radiating from all of them. My body is instinctively trying to pull away. 

The members of Loki Familia start to notice us. 

But they look right past Aiz and straight to me. They don’t seem all that happy to see me. Then again, it’s only natural, looking at it from their point of view…But what is it…They’re looking at me like some kind of enemy. Aiz tilts her head. 

A bead of cold sweat rolls down my neck as something occurrs to me. Is it because Aiz has been taking care of me? I’m mulling that spot over as Aiz starts walking. I almost trip trying to keep up. 

A barrage of inquisitive looks keeps coming as I move forward. Yet, this is a forest, I say to myself as I look at the dim canopy above, trying not to catch the eyes of anyone else. The leaves and branches create a kind of dome canopy over our heads. 

However, sunlight flashes through the openings. 

It feels warm on my face. To top it all off, I think I can see blue through the leaves. 

This is the Dungeon. No sunlight ever makes it down here—so why is there shade and a blue sky? I’m so confused. 

Is there really a blue sky and warm sun on the other side of those leaves? 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Ah, it’s…um, well…” 

Aiz must’ve sensed my bewilderment because she turned to face me. 

My confused brain tries to think of how to respond. In the end I can’t control my curiosity so I ask her a question. 

“This is the eighteenth floor…of the Dungeon, right? Why is it so bright…?” 

I look at the sky as I speak. Eina never mentioned anything about this—I bet she’d never thought I’d come this far on my first day in the middle levels—so I’m completely clueless. Aiz follows my gaze, her thin chin rising. 

“…Should we take a detour?” 

She looks at me again and I clumsily nod. 

We turn off our original route and leave the camp area. This part of the forest, completely untouched by humans, spreads out even wider as the canopy towers above us. I don’t know why, but I feel like a weight is coming off my shoulders. 

I follow her swishing gold hair for a few minutes before the scenery takes my breath away. 

Crystals. 

Clear and sparkling, they’re absolutely gorgeous. 

Some of them are really small, no bigger than my foot. But there are some that are large enough that I could stand inside them. A giant could use one of these things as a dagger. Crystals of all shapes and sizes dot the landscape. 

My head is on a swivel. The crystals seem to be sprouting in small groups, tall, thin crystals emitting azure light. The entire forest is silently illuminated by their glow. The forest floor is covered in little blue fragments, along with a good amount of moss and tree roots. 

It’s a mystifying, wondrous sight. 

It’s impossible not to stand and stare. 

The sound of flowing water fills my ears. A small river runs through this forest. Members of Loki Familia are drawing water from it. An elf notices Aiz and waves. 

It’s said that the elves’ homeland is somewhere deep in a forest. 

Even though I’ve never seen it myself, I had a feeling it would look a lot like this. 

“Ah…” 

The forest opens up. 

Aiz keeps walking forward, toward a semicircular arch-like exit to the forest bathed in white light. I cover my eyes as they adjust to this new, brighter path. 

I blink a few times as everything comes into focus. 

“…Amazing.” 

A wild frontier opens up in front of me. 

The first thing my eyes take in is the expansive great plain. My vision is filled with a rich green that I’ve never seen on the surface. The small shadows moving about are probably monsters. Even here, crystals are scattered throughout the landscape. 

There is a pond on my left…On second thought, it’s big enough to call it a lake. The perfectly smooth surface is an amazingly pure blue. There are some large rocks—no, islands—sticking out of the middle of it. 

The forest spreads out to my right. It’s a lot larger than I thought. And then right in front of me, I can clearly see a towering tree jutting out of the middle of the plains. 

My eyes follow its massive trunk up and up until… 

I happen to catch a glimpse of the ceiling. 

“…Ah, aren’t those?” 

“Yes, all crystals.” 

Aiz was nice enough to answer my unfinished question. 

Just as she said, the entire ceiling of this level is covered in a sheet of crystals. 

They go from corner to corner and all the way around, like a field of blooming flowers looking down from above. They are divided into two colors: The big ones in the center are white and remind me of the sun; the ones surrounding them are blue like the sky. 

There is no blue sky in the Dungeon. 

All the crystals above us make it look like there is. 

“The light from the crystals disappears after a while…That’s when night comes.” 

My eyes peel back in surprise. 

According to Aiz, the amount of light changes the same way all the time. Right now it’s the “afternoon.” Apparently it’s not matched up with the real sky, though… 

It’s almost like the Dungeon prepared this by looking outside, I think to myself as I look at the blue crystals. 

“…” 

The safe point, level eighteen. 

A world full of nature and crystals far below the surface. 

It has another name: Under Resort. 

Plains and a lake, complete with a blue sky. I stand next to Aiz and take it all in. 

Back at the campsite in the middle of the forest, there’s a tent a bit bigger than the others. 

A flag bearing Loki Familia’s emblem hangs inside. 

And now I’m standing in front of some of the most famous adventurers in Orario. 

“Aiz told me about your situation…but I didn’t think you had already been carried into our camp.” 

The person speaking to me has blond hair, very similar to Aiz’s golden locks. His eyes are a deep blue, the same color as a lake. Right now, he’s doing his best to force a smile. 

Just standing in front of this grimacing prum boy is making every hair on my body stand on end. 

No, it’s not just him. There are two incredibly strong demi-humans behind each of his shoulders. I steal a few glances in their direction, but I avoid eye contact at all costs. 

“Oh-ho, this that adventurer you were talking about, Reveria?” 

“Indeed, Galess. This is Bell Cranell.” 

A dwarf built like a stone fortress and a very refined elf. I can feel their gazes; just by listening to their conversation I know they’re appraising me, judging me. It’s making me even more nervous. 

The prum Finn Deimne is Loki Familia’s highest-ranking adventurer and field general. The strong, wise dwarf elder is Galess Landrock. And Orario’s most powerful magic user is the elfess Reveria Riyos Ahrve. 

The three of them are all top class and are practically the face of Orario’s adventurers. 

“Th-th-thank you for everything you have done. I-I-I can’t thank you enough…!” 

I just became an upper-class adventurer myself. But looking at these three—and Aiz as well—there’s no doubt they are in a league of their own, far above me. 

I’m doing my best to express my gratitude, body low and head down. But for whatever reason I get the feeling that my pathetic stuttering and weakness are only annoying them. Even Aiz, standing right next to me, is looking at me funny. 

The skin on my body is red enough to rival the salamander wool covering it. 

“Don’t be so tense, take it easy. We’re all adventurers, aren’t we? It’s at times like these that we have to help each other out,” says Finn Deimne as he stretches his shoulders. “And considering that you’re a friend of Aiz’s, we can’t exactly turn you away. She’d hold a grudge worse than you can imagine. If we didn’t do everything in our power to help, none of us would be able to sleep at night.” 

There’s a tinge of humor in his voice. I’m so nervous that I almost miss it. A smile grows on my lips before I know it. Every fiber of my being is telling me to keep my distance from them, but the air feels lighter somehow. 

Aiz flashes him a look. I think it meant something like “don’t say anything weird.” All the tension in the room suddenly leaves. The atmosphere in here is almost comical. 

Mr. Finn smiles at me like a boy his age actually would. All my nerves have settled down. 

“I believe I understand exactly what happened, but could I hear it in your own words? I’ll tell you about our situation, too. Think of it as an exchange of information.” 

“Ah, sure.” 

This boy has very good people skills. I feel very comfortable telling him everything. It must come from experience. I nod and start talking. 

From the thirteenth through the eighteenth, I spare no detail in my explanation. 

“Ga-ha-ha! All the way ta the eighteenth on yer first day! Finn, Reveria, ya were right! This youngster’s quite interesting!” 

“Galess, this is not a private conversation. Please hold your tongue.” 

The elf Reveria shoots a one-eyed glare as a warning to the laughing dwarf, Galess. 

Actually, I told them that coming down to the eighteenth floor was Lilly’s idea…but the dwarf warrior didn’t pay attention. Instead, he kept praising me, saying things like, “Got some shifty feet, there, laddie! Escapin’ from the floor boss like that!” I can’t help but smile back at him. 

“As for us, we’re taking a rest here. Usually we pass right through the eighteenth floor and straight up to the surface when returning from an expedition…but this time we encountered some monsters with particularly potent venom.” 

Mr. Finn goes on to say that a good deal of Loki Familia’s adventurers, excluding the higher-level ones like Aiz, are infected. Many of them can’t move on their own. 

Since they were returning from an expedition…meaning that their stock of healing items was very low, they had no way to heal everyone. It was impossible for them to keep moving as a group. 

“We sent Bete, the fastest member of our Familia, up to the surface to gather some antidotes. With any luck he’ll be back tomorrow, but in any case we’re stuck here until he arrives.” 

Apparently he set off to collect the healing items just before we arrived on the eighteenth floor. 

We must’ve just missed him because we used the holes instead of taking the regular path. 

“We’re very low on supplies, especially food. We’ll give you all we can spare, but please understand it’s not much.” 

“N-no, we’ll be extremely grateful for anything at all!” 

Considering the fact they’ve already given us a tent to use even though so many of their members are suffering from venom, they’ve already treated us extremely well. We have no right to complain. 

“It’s just for a short while, so we will treat you as guests for the time being. As long as you don’t try to stir up trouble, you can use that tent for as long as we’re here. I’ll let everyone know myself.” 

“…Really, I’m so grateful for everything…Thank you very much.” 

I thank him, filling my words with as much gratitude as possible. 

“You owe us one,” Mr. Finn says with a light smile. I say a few more thank-yous as Aiz and I leave the tent. 

“Are you sure, Finn?” 

Reveria asked Finn a question after Bell left the tent. 

Her emerald-green hair swished around her shoulders as she looked down toward the short general. 

“It is true that Aiz has taken a liking to him…Plus, there is a member of Hephaistos Familia in Bell’s party.” 

“You are certain of this?” 

“Yes. One of the smiths told me.” 

High Smiths belonging to Hephaistos Familia had joined this expedition alongside Loki Familia. One of the smiths had informed Finn that he recognized Welf when the young man was carried into the camp. 

“Goddess Hephaistos doesn’t consider any of her followers to be more important than another, yes? I’d hate to get on her bad side just because we refused to help one of them.” 

“Logical,” nodded Reveria with a satisfied look on her face. 

Finn swiveled his eyes up to meet her gaze. 

“The icing on the cake is that you are interested in Bell Cranell as well, aren’t you, Reveria? Aiz has taken an interest in him, so how could you not?” 

“…I will not deny that.” 

“Ga-ha-ha! Look at you, Reveria! Bein’ all motherly!” 

“No teasing, Galess,” she replied, looking somewhat annoyed. 

The large dwarf’s hearty laughter continued all the same. 

“It’s good for her to show interest and initiative…Personally, I think this is an opportunity for her. But what about your perspective as the leader of our Familia? It’s highly likely that the reason that Aiz left home early before this expedition was to meet with Bell Cranell.” 

Finn, like Reveria, had noticed strange changes in her behavior before the expedition, such as asking how to issue commands to adventurers. They could see the effect that Bell’s early-morning training sessions had on the girl. 

“Hmm, I think that it would be good for Aiz to change as well…But for now, let’s keep Loki in the dark about this.” 

“Oi, Finn! Ya should challenge Bell Cranell ta a wrestlin’ match! It’s a style of fightin’ Loki was talkin’ about. And this geezer would very much like to know how strong he is.” 

“Hmm…no.” 

Finn explained that as the leaders of the group, there was no room for carelessness. They could unknowingly put the white rabbit of a boy who was following Aiz around camp in danger. 

“In any case, there shouldn’t be any problems. Bell Cranell doesn’t seem like the kind of human who would go looking for a fight. We’ll keep an eye on him for the time being,” said Finn, casting his eyes back toward the exit of the tent. 

I follow Aiz back to the main camp after meeting with Mr. Finn and the others. 

If I had to guess, I’d say there’s more than ten white tents set up in the forest. I’m sure there are people suffering from poison inside each of them. Healthy adventurers stand guard outside each tent. 

The light filtering down through the branches and leaves from the canopy above is soft. Leaves rustle in the trees above us, but we’re not the only ones out and about right now. 

“Aiz, good afternoon.” 

“Good afternoon…” 

Members of Loki Familia greet Aiz as they walk past. 

That’s right, she’s one of their leaders… 

Forgetting something that important sends a twinge to my body. I belong to a different Familia, and yet here I am walking with her like this. No wonder I’ve been getting all these strange looks. 

As proof, “welcoming” is the last word I would use to describe their attitude toward me. Men and women either look at me like I’m some kind of criminal or stare at me with very serious eyes. 

An elf who just walked by, probably a magic user, didn’t stop glaring at me until she passed. I’m scared…! 

I’d be overpowered in an instant if I tangled with any of them. They’re higher level than me, for sure. And I’m sure they aren’t exactly happy I’m walking around their campsite like this. 

“Level eighteen…” 

“Huh?” 

Aiz suddenly speaks with her back to me. 

I look up and see that she’s looking over her shoulder at me, her face in profile. 

“You’ve…already made it to level eighteen…” 

“Eh, umm…Just like I told Mr. Finn, you see, one thing led to another and we just kind of ended up here…We weren’t planning on it, though, and we a-almost died!” 

I trip over my words as I try to respond and scratch my bandaged cheek. 

Aiz spins on her heel to face me, as if she isn’t satisfied with such a weak answer. 

“Did slaying that Minotaur make you Level Two?” 

She’s not blinking at all. Her golden stare is rather intimidating, so I nod. 

She stays like that for a moment before twisting her body like she’s trying to get a look at my back. 

Then: shuffle, shuffle. She moves to my side. I do my best to shrink away, and break out in a cold sweat. 

…Is she trying to look at my Status? 

I don’t know why I’m getting that impression but once again, shuffle, shuffle. She moves once more. So do I. Shuffle, shuffle, step, step, shuffle, shuffle, step, step. What is going on? 

Other members of her Familia are watching us. The white-haired boy glistening with sweat and the airheaded Aiz—it must look like we’re doing some kind of footwork practice…Out of nowhere: 

“Wow—it’s really Argonaut!” 

A very energetic voice reaches my ears. 

Sure, I wasn’t expecting anyone to speak up, but it was what she called me that makes my heart skip a beat. 

I quickly spin around to face the owner of the voice and see two girls with wheat-colored skin coming up to me. 

“Tiona, Tione…” 

“You’ve been busy, Aiz. I hear you’ve already talked to Finn?” 

“I heard you’d been carried in, but you’re awake, too! You’re one lucky guy, Argonaut!” 

Aiz called these two Tiona and Tione…twins, maybe? One has shorter black hair just long enough to cover her ears; the other’s is the same color and extends halfway down her back. Their clothes are different, but their faces are almost identical. Their height, too. 

Based on how much tan skin is showing, it’d be a safe bet to say they’re Amazons. The long-haired one talks to Aiz first, while the one with short hair comes right up to me…However. 

She’s called me “Argonaut” twice. That’s the same name as my Skill. Blood is tearing through my veins. 

She knows?! My mind is racing. I open and close my mouth, trying to speak, but nothing comes out. On my third or fourth attempt, words finally emerge. 

“A-Argonaut? How do you mean…?” 

“Ahh, don’t mind her. It’s just a name this blockhead came up with to call you.” 

“All of us saw you fight that Minotaur! And watching you reminded me of this fairy tale I used to love when I was a kid. So, yeah, you were incredible!” 

Somehow, my battle with the Minotaur on the ninth floor reminded her of the legend of Argonaut. I take a deep breath and feel the relief wash over me. It wasn’t my Skill, but this girl’s free-spirited personality that led her to dub me Argonaut. An adventurer’s Status, basic abilities, Magic, and Skills are his lifeline. They’re best kept protected. 

We start to introduce ourselves. 

The girl who calls me Argonaut is Tiona Hyrute and the long-haired girl is Tione Hyrute…Wait a minute. The Amazonian Hyrute sisters? Aren’t they famous top-class adventurers just like Aiz? 

Sure, I’d never seen them face-to-face or knew their first names, but it took me way too long to figure it out. 

“The fact that you’re here means you’ve reached Level Two, am I right? I know you can take down a Minotaur on your own, but you’re something else, kiddo.” 

“Ah! He’s blushing! So cute!” 

“…” 

Their teasing makes me smile, but to be honest, I can’t focus on what they’re saying. 

My eyes keep drifting toward the wide expanses of healthy, wheat-colored skin. 

Tiona only has one strip of fabric wrapped around her chest. Her pareu-style skirt goes down to her knees, but her stomach is completely exposed. Meanwhile, Tione’s attire looks like little more than underwear—bra and panties…That is to say, there’s no safe place to put my eyes. It’s either watch her large breasts sway as she moves or follow her long, slender waist down… 

This pressure is a new kind of overwhelming. 

Surrounded by beautiful girls who are more than likely a few years older than me…I feel like I could pass out at any moment. 

((((Don’t get cocky!)))) 

“—” 

I didn’t exactly hear that so much as I felt it. 

It came from all the men around the camp with their eyes on us—cold, glaring eyes. 

The color drains from my face in an instant. 

“I—I’m going to go check on my friends?!” 

I think I hear someone say, “Ah, there he goes,” while I make my escape. 

I nearly fall several times as I dash like a madman to put some distance between the girls and me. 

The forest is getting darker. 

The “sunlight” coming down through the many leaves above my head is getting dimmer…The light from the crystals is fading. 

“Afternoon” in the Dungeon is over. “Night” is about to begin. 

It really is getting dark… 

I take a look outside the tent. 

There is no red twilight between the two; the “sky” goes from blue to black. While it does feel a little strange that the natural progression outside it doesn’t exist down here, it’s still amazing to me that night can fall in the Dungeon. 

I leave the tent entrance and go back inside. 

Lilly and Welf are still sleeping. Even though there is nothing to do, I feel like I’m taking care of them as I look at their peaceful faces. 

The campsite gets livelier as time passes. I space out for a little bit, but they’re probably making dinner right now. 

“Hnnn…” 

Welf’s body moves. At the same time, the blanket over Lilly starts shifting little by little. 

Another wave of relief flows through my body. 

“…Where are we?” 

“Mr. Bell…?” 

Both of them slowly blink their eyes as they look around. Knowing that both of them are alive takes the last bit of weight off my shoulders, and I can finally breathe easy. 

I talk to them, my voice loose and calm. 

“Lilly, Welf, are you two okay? Do you know who I am?” 

“…Lilly doesn’t think there will be a day when she doesn’t recognize Mr. Bell’s face.” 

“Ah…Li’l E’s just as sassy as ever, I hear. Nothin’ wrong with me. Heya, Bell.” 

A smile works its way across Lilly’s lips as Welf responds like his usual self. 

I grin from ear to ear and wait for both of them to wake up completely. 

They’re both a little bit woozy after opening their eyes, but once their heads are clear enough they sit up on their own. They stay on the ground, blankets covering their legs as I explain everything that’s happened. 

First, that we made it safely to the eighteenth floor. Next, that Loki Familia is taking care of us. 

I try to be as simple and precise as possible. Both of them sit quietly, staring at me until I finish. Then…they apologize. 

“Lilly’s so very sorry, Mr. Bell…” 

“Held you back there, didn’t I…Sorry, man.” 

“I-it’s not like that at all!” 

Both of them fall silent as words come pouring out of my mouth. 

I sound almost angry as I unleash everything all at once. If Lilly hadn’t been there, we would’ve wandered aimlessly around the Dungeon for who knows how long. If Welf hadn’t been there, the hellhounds would’ve roasted us alive. 

Lilly’s and Welf’s eyes seem to shrink away as they quietly listen to my tirade. 

“It’s thanks to the two of you, thanks to all of us…that we’re here right now, that we survived.” 

“…Well said.” 

“We would’ve died if one of us wasn’t here. Lilly agrees.” 

Their confidence seems to be coming back. Their faces transform from grimaces into actual smiles. 

At the same time, I feel a little bit embarrassed about my outburst. 

A moment later, all three of us wrinkle our faces as we laugh with one another. 

“…Dinner’s ready. Are you okay?” 

“Ah, yes!” 

I jump to my feet in response to a voice coming from outside the tent. Aiz pokes her head in. 

Lilly’s and Welf’s jaws drop as the Kenki appears in front of their very eyes. 

“Th-thank you, really. Sharing food with us and all…” 

“It’s nothing…Can you come outside?” 

I freeze for a moment. I’ve got a bad feeling about going out there, but they’ve done so much to help us, so…it would be rude not to say hi, wouldn’t it? 

I look back at Lilly and Welf and use my eyes to ask them if it’s okay. Both of them nod. 

They climb to their feet and all of us follow Aiz out of the tent and toward the camp. 

“Hey, Bell. How do you know the Kenki?” 

“Umm…It’s a long story.” 

“Mr. Bell. Please tell Lilly all about it sometime soon.” 

I’m lending my shoulder to Welf once again and Lilly is smiling beside me, but it’s a little frightening. 

That story is one embarrassing moment after another, so I’d rather not tell her if I can help it… 

The three of us force an empty laugh as we keep up with Aiz. 

Lilly and Welf start looking around and taking everything in. We reach the center of camp in no time. 

“Humph, it’s them…” 

A large number of people are sitting in a circle in the open space at the center of their campsite. A few specialized magic-stone lamps are set up in the middle. Bright and flickering, they look almost like flames. If I remember right, this design is called a “campfire.” 

This big circle isn’t just made up of Loki Familia members. Hephaistos Familia’s High Smiths are here, too. Aiz explains what is going on as Welf recognizes someone in the circle and groans. 

“H-hello there……” 

All eyes are on us. We make our way to an empty spot and take a seat. 

The moment my rear touches ground, plop, Aiz sits down on my right. Lilly takes a seat on my left and Welf on the other side of her. We’ve naturally sat down according to rank…which is kind of scary. 

I’ve sat next to Aiz before, during our morning training sessions…but it still feels like there’s a lot of distance between my idol and me. I don’t know if it’ll ever go away. 

I sneak a peek in her direction. However, she notices right away and makes eye contact. Her golden hair is silky and shiny, like she’s just taken a bath. Come to think of it, the air around her smells like a pure hot spring. 

“Something wrong?” 

“…N-no! Everything’s fine!” 

I can feel my face heating up, so I break off eye contact before my face starts burning red. 

“Everyone, please listen. As I’ve told many of you, we are hosting some guests tonight. All of them courageously risked their lives to save one another, and managed to safely arrive on the eighteenth floor. I won’t ask you to be friendly with them. However, I would like you to respect them as fellow adventurers while they’re with us…Now then, let’s have a fresh start.” 

“Wow, he’s really good at this…” 

Mr. Finn walks to the center of the circle and addresses everyone. He appeals to everyone’s pride as adventurers to help avoid arguments and fights. Sounds like Lilly is really impressed by his approach. 

At long last, the food arrives. Two or three fruits to a person. 

They’re red fruits, shaped like gourds. The amber-colored flesh inside looks sweet…I’ve never seen anything like this on the surface. They must grow here on the eighteenth floor. I carefully take a bite out of the fruit that looks like cotton dipped in honey. No wonder it’s been named the “honey cloud.” 

My mouth is instantly filled with a thick, sweet juice—and I almost spit it out. 

It’s sweet—much too sweet. I’m not all that good with sweet stuff to begin with, but this is making me tear up. I feel like I’m gonna die! Doing my best to swallow, I take a look around. The female members of Loki Familia seem to be enjoying it. Just one bite and their faces melt, their hands on their cheeks. I can tell that shivers are running down their spines. 

“Mr. Bell, Mr. Bell? Lilly would be happy to finish that for you, if you don’t like it?” 

“S-sure. Here…” 

“Oh, okay—Ahhhh.” 

“All right, Bell. Leave it to me, I’ll finish it for you…Whew, you were right, way too sweet.” 

Lilly shifts in front of me and perches like a bird with her mouth open, like she wants me to feed her. But before I can put the rest of the fruit in her mouth, Welf snatches it out of my hand and wolfs the whole thing down in one bite. 

Lilly’s fuming mad, her face beet red and a little vein popping out of her forehead as she kicks Welf over and over in the shin. He doesn’t seem to notice, though, because he’s pounding his chest as if the fruit is stuck in his throat. 

Aiz watches the events unfold, completely speechless. 

“But yeah, I’ve heard stories about this place…Not the usual Dungeon floor, is it?” The fruit must’ve passed through, since Welf is taking in the scenery. 

All of the white crystals on the ceiling have gone dark, meaning only the larger blue ones are producing any light. The entire forest is covered in a dark blue shadow. A “night sky” not much different from the one outside the Dungeon is on the other side of the leaves above us. 

Everyone in the circle around us is illuminated by the orange and bronze light emitted by the campfire-style magic-stone lamps. They’re all eating, drinking, and chatting with one another. They look like they’re having a great time, their shadows dancing on the trees behind them as several throw their heads back in laughter at the same time. This whole scene looks like a picture out of the tales I used to read—a group of adventurers having a meal together, deep in a forest under a full moon. 

Mr. Finn, Ms. Reveria, and Mr. Galess are being served by other party members—more of those red gourd sugar bombs, by the looks of it. I don’t know if it’s because they’re almost finished with their expedition, but the members of Loki Familia don’t look anxious at all. 

I can see that they do have a few people surrounding the camp as lookouts, but everyone else looks like they’re on vacation. 

“Exotic fruit, a sky…There’s supposed to be a town here, too, right?” 

“Eh…A t-town?!” 

That’s a word I wasn’t expecting to hear. 

A “sky” being this far underground was hard enough to swallow, but an actual town in the Dungeon… 

I turn to Aiz without thinking. She looks up from her plate of nutrition cubes and quickly nods. 

“…Tomorrow, shall we go?” 

“Yes, please!” 

I don’t think I’ve nodded my head up and down faster in my life. 

This is so exciting! I try to picture this Dungeon Town in my head. What would the buildings look like? What would people do there…? So many questions race through my head. This must be one of the charms of being an adventurer! I say to myself as my enthusiasm reaches yet another level. 

My face must be beaming right now. Aiz looks at me from the side…I think she’s smiling. 

“Hiya, Mr. Argonaut!” 

I know exactly who it is even before I look up to see Miss Tiona walking this way. 

Her older sister Miss Tione is just a few steps behind. The Amazonian twins came right up to me earlier. Swoop. They sit down on either side of me. 

“What?” 

“You must tell us your story. Think of it as paying us back for the food and lodging. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” 

“Please, please!” 

Lilly gawked at Miss Tione as she forced her way between us. Aiz just tilted her head to the side as Miss Tiona wiggled her way in. All the breath leaves my body as their skin brushes against me, my body sandwiched between them. My face must be the color of raw meat by now. 

Lilly looks pissed, her eyebrows standing on end. Miss Tiona’s face appears on my right. She looks really happy and excited for some reason. Then she asks me a question. 

“How did you get all of your basic abilities to ‘S’?” 

My face tries to hide behind my skull. 

Muscles kind of twitch their way into a smile as I look to my left. Miss Tione is giggling, her eyes narrowed. The message I get from that look is, you’re not getting away until you talk. 

A new round of questions erupts in my mind: How long ago was my Status exposed? How does she know what my basic abilities were? More and more pop up every second. My heart shakes inside my chest and it won’t settle down. 

And if I answer her honestly…Would she be satisfied if I bluntly say “effort”? All I did was try to pursue my goal, my idol. 

As for said idol, she’s sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees and not doing much. However, I can tell that her ears are on high alert…My idol can be cruel sometimes. 

Mr. Finn and Ms. Reveria are enjoying the forest view a little ways away, but they do nothing to intervene. Mr. Galess is staring right at me, stroking his beard and taking in every word. 

Welf is my last hope. “What, Welfy-boy? You miss us so much that you follow us down here like a lost puppy? How sweet of you.” He’s surrounded by Hephaistos Familia’s smiths. 

“Hey, enough! Get lost!” He sounds really angry. Lilly’s still fuming, glaring at the Amazon twins and even me. 

I’m completely isolated. 

Rivers of cold sweat flow out of my skin. I would give anything to pass out right now. 

“—GUnuAHH?!” 

It comes out of the blue. 

“?!” 

I know that voice better than anyone, but this is the last place I should hear it. 

Lilly and I immediately look at each other. She knows, too. We both firmly nod. 

“Excuse me, please, let me through!” 

I don’t wait for any of them to answer and jump to my feet. 

I take off with Lilly right behind me and Welf not too far behind her. 

I run headlong in the direction of the sound. The forest quickly opens up. I can see a massive cliff in front of me and the entrance to a circular cave at its base. That’s the tunnel that connects the seventeenth and eighteenth floors, for sure. 

Loki Familia’s lookouts are already gathering at the scene. I squeeze my way past their shoulders and see— 

“Owwwww…?! No one ever told me the monsters got that big?!” 

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! I thought I was a goner!” 

The goddess is on all fours, gasping for breath. 

I feel my eyelids pull open. There’s also a male deity sitting on the ground next to my goddess, as well as a number of adventurers trying to catch their breath—a girl wearing glasses looks absolutely exhausted. 

They must’ve just barely escaped the floor boss, just like us. I recognize the fear in their eyes. 

“…Ah.” 

The group starts to notice me and the goddess raises her head. She looks around until, zing! Her eyes lock onto me. 

Her soft blue eyes grow rounder and rounder by the moment. Without warning, she lunges forward, tripping as she tries to run toward me. 

“—Bell!!” 

“Ouff?!” 

The lookouts step aside as she rushes forward. The goddess leaves her feet and comes crashing headfirst into my stomach. 

Unfortunately, I was flat-footed and not prepared for the impact. I fall and land hard on my back. 

“Bell, Bell! Are you the real one?!” 

“G-godeshh…?!” 

She’s straddling my stomach, patting my arms and legs vigorously until she reaches my face. Grabbing my cheeks, she pulls my face into many different shapes. I reach up and somehow manage to get her to let go. 

I’m about to ask why she’s here as I prop myself up on my elbows, but she wraps both of her arms around my neck so tight that I can’t get the words out, and presses her body against mine. 

“…?!” 

My eyes are opened wide, skin bright red. 

I feel like I’m being squeezed by many soft pillows. I can almost hear the air being pushed out from between our bodies. 

The goddess completely embraces me, nestling her head underneath my chin. Hot breath on my neck, all of her weight on my shoulders, and I have no idea what to do. 

I try to say something, but what? I open my mouth and close it again more than a few times, when suddenly I hear: 

“…Thank heavens.” 

I can feel her soft voice on my skin. 

My nerves calm down, tension draining from my shoulders. 

The goddess’s body is shaking like a small child’s. Her thin arms pull me up and closer to her. I hear something wet coming from around my neck. 

There’s no need to ask why she’s here anymore. 

She was worried and put herself at risk to come and find me. 

I take a look at one of her black ponytails that’s brushing against the side of my face. 

Our bodies and minds feel very close, and even our breathing has aligned. The warmth of her body makes me feel like something irreplaceable is being replenished. 

Should I hold her? I sit there thinking about it for a moment and start to raise my hands…That’s when I notice we have an audience. 

They’ve been here the whole time, quietly watching. 

My body goes stiff as a board again as embarrassment floods my system. 

My hands are off the ground but not yet around the goddess. With nowhere to go, they just kind of float there. 

“Please get ahold of yourself, Lady Hestia.” 

“Hey! Don’t go ruining our beautiful reunion! Gah! Lemme go!” 

Lilly has ahold of the collar of the goddess’s robe. She does her best to resist, but the prum has a Status. Lilly’s stronger. A little girl is pulling another little girl as the latter’s arms and legs flail around trying to escape. 

Free of the goddess’s embrace, I watch the two of them with a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. 

“Mr. Cranell, are you injured?” 

“Eh…L-Lyu?!” 

An adventurer wearing a hooded cape comes over and kneels next to where I’m sitting on the ground. 

Not only do I recognize that voice, but I can make out two sky-blue eyes partially hidden beneath the hood. 

There’s no mistake. It’s the beautiful elf waitress who works at The Benevolent Mistress. 

“Lyu, too? Why…?” 

“A certain deity was rather insistent I accept a quest. He wanted me to join the search party to find you.” 

She shifts her light-blue gaze. 

I follow her line of sight to the god who was next to the goddess a moment ago. 

He’s just sitting there, orange hair shifting as he looks around. Slapping the floor a few times with his hands, the deity stands up. 

“Okay, I’ve got a good idea what’s going on.” 

He looks at Aiz and other members of Loki Familia in turn, giving each a hearty smile. 

Then he notices me looking at him. 

He comes over, face still locked in that charming smile. 

“So you’re Bell Cranell, eh?” 

“Y-yes.” 

I can feel his narrow orange eyes sweeping over me. 

My body won’t move, mouth won’t open. His eyes meet mine and narrow. 

“Ahhh…I’ve been looking for you.” 

His eyes seemed to smile after he said that. 

“The name’s Hermes. Nice to make your acquaintance.” 

“Lord…Hermes?” 

“That’s me, Bell.” 

He sticks out his hand without breaking eye contact as I do my best to respond. 

It’s quite the first impression, this charming smile and handshake. He seems like a friendly deity. 

“L-Lord Hermes, if you don’t mind my asking, um…” 

“The reason I would come this far to help someone I’d never met?” 

“Y-yes.” 

“You see, Hestia is an old friend of mine, so of course I’m going to help her out. She wanted to find you, so naturally I did, too.” 

He glances over to the spot where the goddess and Lilly are having a rather spirited conversation and chuckles to himself. 

Once he looks back at me I bow my head and say, “Th-thank you very much, sir.” 

It’s probably thanks to him that the goddess was able to make it this deep into the Dungeon. I’ve got a feeling he pulled a few strings to make it happen. 

“It’s not me you should be thanking, it’s them. It’s thanks to the hooded adventurer and those children over there that we managed to get this far.” 

He gestures toward a small group of adventurers still standing at the entrance to the tunnel. 

One is a young woman with aqua-blue hair and silver glasses. The other three wear matching armor—probably members of the same Familia… 

“…Hey, Bell.” 

I notice them even before Welf points them out. 

Those people are— 

I’ve seen those bluish purple eyes. They were filled with tears on level thirteen. 

They’re the main reason why we’re on the eighteenth floor right now…The adventurers who led a swarm of monsters straight into us. 

There is a shining emblem on all of their armor: a sword sticking out of the earth. 

“—Our deepest and most sincere apologies.” 

Back in the tent provided by Loki Familia. 

We’ve come back here after meeting up with the group led by my goddess. 

Lyu, Lord Hermes, and his follower, the girl named Asfi, didn’t come with us. 

The girl in front of me has her knees, the palms of her hands, and her forehead pressed to the floor in apology. 

“Whoa…” The goddess and I take a step back at the overwhelming, almost divine power of her stance. 

So this is Takemikazuchi Familia’s ultimate technique: the dogeza bow…! 

“…All the apologies in the world won’t be enough for Lilly to forgive you. We almost died.” 

“Yeah, this isn’t about to go away with a few words.” 

Lilly and Welf, however, aren’t fazed by the full-body bow. They stand tall and speak with a serious edge to their voices. It’s a little intimidating, to tell the truth. 

Ouka and Chigusa stand behind their straitlaced ally Mikoto, not sure what to do. The girl on the floor raises her head to meet Lilly’s eyes. She keeps eye contact as she raises her body into a kneeling position. 

“Um, you see, really…We are very sorry…” 

“Your anger is justified. You are free to berate us to your heart’s content.” 

The shy Chigusa stuttered as she spoke, her eyes hidden by her bangs. Mikoto, on the other hand, spoke clearly and with great remorse. 

Passing off monsters to other adventurers in the Dungeon is normal. So much so, in fact, that many adventurers consider it a necessary tactic for survival. No one expects it to happen to them…but as long as there is no malice to it, all adventurers are expected to accept that they could be on the receiving end of a pass parade at some point. At least that’s what I’ve heard. 

However, in our case, coming so close to the line between life and death because of their stunt has left a sour taste in my friends’ mouths. Even the goddess crosses her arms and lets out a long “Hmmmm” as the drama unfolds before her. 

“I was the one who gave the order. Even now, I believe it was the correct choice.” 

Said Ouka as his towering frame steps in front of Mikoto. 

I gaze in awe at him for a moment. He doesn’t shake or quiver at all, a mountain in the middle of the tent. 

More than likely…Ouka had carefully considered and weighed all the options. He chose the lives of his friends over the lives of complete strangers. 

He was prepared to face this kind of outcome the moment he gave the order, all for the sake of his allies. 

I don’t know if it’s right or wrong…but he made the decision for the sake of his party. 

“…You’ve got some nerve saying that to our faces, big guy.” 

Welf steps in front of Ouka and squares his shoulders. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the look in his eyes might kill a weaker man. 

It feels like a ticking time bomb in here. Everyone’s glaring at one another, sizing them up for a fight. But I’m kind of caught in a no-man’s-land, looking back and forth at everyone. 

Something bad is going to happen…I have to find a way to defuse the situation, fast— 

“Hello again, everybody. We’re back. Loki Familia was very understanding of our situation.” 

So that’s where Lord Hermes and Asfi disappeared to. They were getting permission to stay at the camp from Mr. Finn and the other leaders. 

“My, my…What’s going on in here, Hestia?” 

“Oh, you know. This and that.” 

My goddess’s summary is a little bit too brief, but Hermes seems to be satisfied with it and puts on a smile larger than I thought possible. 

“No need to think so hard about this! Look at it this way: Mikoto here owes you a big favor. At the same time, you want a chance to atone—am I right?” 

“Of course we do…” 

“Think about it, Lilly. Should the time come, you can have them bend over backward to help you out of a sticky situation. Doesn’t that sound good?” 

“…If the time comes.” 

Lord Hermes moves away from Lilly and Mikoto’s staring contest and turns his attention to Welf and Ouka. 

“Welf. Sure, this group in front of you got you into one heck of a mess, but they came down here because they wanted to help you. My presence had nothing to do with it.” 

…A heavy silence falls. 

“…I’ll play nice. But don’t think you’ve been forgiven.” 

“Yes…That’s fine.” 

Ouka doesn’t look particularly happy, either. Welf steps away and returns to my side. 

All of a sudden, the gathering storm clouds have vanished. It might not be anything special for a deity like Lord Hermes…but seeing him effortlessly clear the air like that, I can’t help but be impressed. 

“Now then, what are the plans from here on out?” 

Lord Hermes smiles again and opens his arms as if nothing were wrong in the first place. The rest of us just had all of the anger sucked out of our bodies in one fell swoop; we weren’t going to say no. 

Lord Hermes gestured toward Asfi. The girl looks a little perplexed but comes forward anyway. 

“First of all, concerning our return to the surface…We will leave this floor once Loki Familia slays the Goliath. It’s in our best interest to avoid danger.” 

All of us nod in agreement. 

“Loki Familia will move out two days from now at the earliest.” 

“Which means we have a whole day to kill…Since we’re already down here, why don’t we do a little sightseeing on the eighteenth floor?” 

Looks like everyone likes Lord Hermes’s suggestion. 

This may be a safe point in the Dungeon where no monsters are born, but it’s still the Dungeon. We decide to stick together as a group. Considering that Aiz had promised to take me to the town tomorrow, we agree that that’s where we would go. 

Our planning session ends rather quickly. Now all that’s left is to get some sleep. 

“Oh, that’s right. Welf.” 

“What is it, Lady Hestia?” 

The ladies had claimed the right to sleep inside the tent, so the men were on their way outside to keep watch and find a comfortable place to lie down when Welf was pulled aside. 

The goddess also calls over Chigusa and receives a long, weapon-like thing wrapped in white cloth from her. 

“This is something Hephaistos was holding on to. She also had this to say. Let me see…‘Stop compromising allies for your pride’…or something like that.” 

“…” 

Welf falls silent as he takes the weapon from the goddess and quietly walks outside. 

“Welf?” 

“…It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” he responds to me, but he never takes his eyes off the cloth-covered thing in his hands. 

“Night” on the eighteenth floor has ended. It’s “morning” now. 

Loki Familia was nice enough to give us some food for breakfast. Aiz leads us toward the town, just as she promised she would. Miss Tiona and Miss Tione must’ve had some free time as well because they’re coming with us. 

…Lyu’s not here. 

I wonder why. We talked briefly yesterday, but she never came to the tent. Lord Hermes did say that she had something she needed to take care of and not to worry, but it feels strange. I follow Aiz out of the camp with Lyu on my mind. 

The town has a lake view…or rather it was built on the main island in the middle of the lake. We move out of the forest covering the southern part of the eighteenth floor toward the lake in the west. 

“Um, Goddess…” 

“Hm? What is it, Bell?” 

“Something about you seems different since you got here yesterday…” 

Aiz and the others have gone ahead. The goddess is right next to me, so I ask her a question. 

It had been bugging me for a while, but now is the first chance I had to ask. “Ahh,” she responds and grins back at me. “All gods and goddesses have a special aura. I’m concealing mine right now—so nothing knows that I’m here.” 

Aura…The way for the people of Gekai to know that the person standing in front of them is a deity. It’s almost like a glow. At some point I’d heard that when a god uses their divine power, Arcanum, their aura goes into overdrive and other deities know about it. Basically, everyone would know that they had violated their own rules, and they would be exiled back to Tenkai—. 

“Generally speaking, gods and goddesses aren’t allowed in the Dungeon.” 

“Can I ask why?” 

“Because it would be bad if they found out.” 

Who are they? I tilt my head in confusion. But I have a feeling that I shouldn’t press her for an answer, so I let it drop. 

“I know we’re headed to that massive lump of an island…but how do we get across the lake?” 

“There’s a really big tree lying on its side that makes a bridge between the two. Look, see?” Miss Tiona answers Welf’s question without hesitation. I look to where she’s pointing…and sure enough, there’s a tree big enough to see from this far away on top of the water, connecting the island to the rest of the Dungeon floor. 

The immense rocky island seems to grow by the second as we get closer. The tree bridge has been stripped of all leaves and branches and is basically just a giant log. I follow the girls onto it, looking at all the footprints on its surface. It’s not at all flat and there’s no railing whatsoever; I really have to focus to stay upright. It’s not just me, either—I catch the goddess just as she was about to fall off the tree. 

“Morning” is not quite as bright as the “afternoon” in the Dungeon, but the light coming from the faintly glowing crystals on the ceiling is warm. There’s enough light for me to see my reflection on the surface of the water beneath me. 

“If there’s a town down here, wouldn’t you guys have been better off staying there instead of the woods…?” 

“They’d rob us blind, so no.” 

Miss Tione immediately put my question to rest. That begs a new question on what she meant by that, but I keep my mouth shut as we reach the island. 

The road leading to the town is a steep one. The island looks like a mountain from far away, but from here it looks more like a cliff. Small plants and crystals jut out from the cracks in the stone wall. We climb high enough to get an incredible view of the entire floor. 

“Yeah. Now that’s what I call beautiful.” 

“Huff, huff…ha, wow. This is amazing.” 

Lord Hermes seems perfectly fine, while my goddess is gasping for breath, but both of them have the same reaction to the scenery. Don’t get me wrong, the rest of us are absolutely astounded. We can see everything from here. 

There are no walls or rooms on the eighteenth floor, it’s just a fat cylinder with a domed top. The crystals cover every inch of the ceiling and spread all the way to the other side of the floor. 

The tunnel to the seventeenth floor is on the southern edge of the forest. Loki Familia’s camp is in that area. The forest itself extends far into the east and has many rivers and springs throughout the greenery. The trees thin out considerably in the north. I don’t know if it’s because the rest of the land is an open plain, but the dark shadows roaming around really stand out. There’s nothing else they could be but monsters. 

“Monsters come to this floor, just like us…” 

“It would be appropriate to say that this is their haven, not ours.” 

Aiz and Asfi explain that the monsters come here looking for all of the abundant fruit and fresh water. 

The colossal tree I saw before stands in the center of it all. It’s the only place higher up than the island in the western lake that we’re standing on. 

That’s the true identity of the eighteenth floor, a wilderness deep underground. 

“Lilly’s never been far away from Orario but…this is very pretty.” 

“No, you can travel far and wide and never find a view that will rival this one.” 

“…Reminds me of the mountains in our beloved homeland in the East.” 

“Yes…” 

First Lilly and Mikoto, then Ouka and Chigusa. It’s impossible not to be moved by the natural beauty surrounding us. I’m doing my best to engrave this view into my memory. 

We leave the cliff overlooking the eighteenth floor and follow what’s left of the path to the top of the island. 

“Whaa…!!” 

An arch-shaped gate decorated with flags at the end of two rows of wooden pillars greets our eyes. 

HELLO FRIENDS, WELCOME TO RIVIRA! is written in the common language of Koine across the top of the gate. 

“Better not let that fool you. They’re just warming you up, making you feel good before coming for your wallet.” 

That’s the second time Tione has warned me to be careful here. In any case, we pass through the gate. 

The town is on the very top of the island, mixed in with beautiful white and blue crystals and the natural scenery. 

The “buildings” are nothing more than shacks made out of scraps of wood and large tents with signs on them. A few of them are built into large cracks in the walls of stone and tunnel entrances. The town’s hotel is like that, too. Since the town is built halfway into the cliff next to a relatively flat area, many stairs are necessary to help people go from shop to shop. No matter where you go around town, the pristine lake below and the amazing backdrop of the eighteenth floor are always in view. 

The rest-stop town surrounded by rock and crystals…Rivira. 

“This town is run by adventurers, of course. There are no bothersome rules or regulations here, so everyone is able to do business as they please.” 

The goddess, Lilly, Welf, and I look around the town and listen to Asfi’s explanation. 

She says that this town in the middle of the Dungeon was once controlled by the Guild as a frontline base of sorts. Adventurers themselves took over the place after the Guild gave up trying to maintain it. The reason that this spot was chosen out of everywhere else on the eighteenth floor was because the lake and rocky cliffs provided protection. 

With the exception of the south gate, where we came in, the north gate, and the east gate overlooking the lake, the town is surrounded by a thick wall. It isn’t much compared to the wall surrounding Orario outside, but the crystal and rock structure looks plenty sturdy. 

Many adventurers use this town as a base camp for repeated trips below the eighteenth floor. Rest up, go dungeon crawling, come back, and rest up again…It’s not uncommon for people to follow that cycle until they physically can’t continue anymore. 

“So do the monsters not attack this town?” 

“Of course they do. Just last month it was overrun and they completely destroyed everything.” 

“That was a close one! We just happened to have front-row seats!” 

The Amazonian twins respond awfully casually about something that should be really scary. My mouth twitches just thinking about it. 

“But all the adventurers here are really good at running away. They wait for a little bit after an attack, come back, and rebuild.” 

“Set up, get smashed, set up again…It happens over and over.” 

According to them—despite this being a safe point in the Dungeon—the town of Rivira is under the constant threat of monster attacks. Even though all of the residents are upper-class adventurers, the town is reduced to rubble as soon as an irregular monster shows up. But as soon as the monsters go away on their own, the adventurers come back to set up shop again. 

The current Rivira is the 334th reincarnation. 

The town’s namesake comes from a great female adventurer named Rivira Santilini, who helped establish the first one. 

“Excuse me, Miss Asfi. There are tons of crystals all around town…” 

“Indeed. Any of the crystals that are found on the eighteenth floor can be turned in for money at the Exchange aboveground.” 

“—Mr. Bell, let’s collect as many as we can before we leave!” 

Lilly’s eyes sparkle as she smiles at me while we walk into the town’s main square. 

“We’ll only block the road if we try to stay together like this. Let’s break off into smaller groups and have a look around!” 

Lord Hermes gestured all around the square as he spoke, and all of us agree with him. 

No one is allowed to travel alone, so we start making our own groups. 

“All right, Bell. Let’s go out on the town together! You there, stay away!!” 

“Eh, Goddess, what are you…?!” 

“…” 

The Goddess growls at Aiz, grabs my hand, and pulls me farther into the town. 

Due to the nature of the town of Rivira, almost all of the structures in town were shops. 

Of course, there were a few cramped hotels and a tavern here and there, but weapon and item shops dominated the streets. Every single establishment was owned and operated by adventurers. 

Only adventurers and a few supporters filled its streets. Being upper-class adventurers, their armor and weapons were also top-notch—as well as equipped to be used at a moment’s notice. Two-handed swords, halberds, and full-plated body armor were everywhere. It was a much more extreme version of “Adventurers Way” on the surface. 

Only monsters would stand a chance, trying to assault a town with residents who were as heavily armed as these people. 

“You?! Why are you here?!” 

“G-Goddess, please calm down…?!” 

“Ha-ha, the more the merrier, am I right?” 

Bell walked along a twisting path of rocks under a blue sky composed of crystals that look like they could fall at any moment. 

Aiz was leading the way, followed closely by an angry Hestia, as well as Hermes and Asfi behind Bell. Everyone was taking in the sights and sounds of the prospering town. However, the landscape was so uneven that large crystals and even trees needed to be used as ladders to get from one section of the town to another. 

“Um, these items on display…Aren’t they a bit…expensive?” 

“That’s one of Rivira’s features…” 

Bell’s eyes had been running over the price tags of weapons and items in the windows of the shops they passed, and he asked Aiz about it. The very same equipment was available on the surface with one or two fewer digits in the price. 

Asfi and Hermes explained as the group entered a new street. 

“Things like weapons, items, and food are sold at many times their original price here.” 

“It’s not easy to get these things in the Dungeon, so most adventurers break down and buy what they need no matter the cost.” 

Just as Hermes said, supplies were very difficult to obtain. The business owners of Rivira knew that and took advantage of the adventurers who failed to prepare enough stock. 

“Water is expensive in a desert…It’s the same thing.” 

No matter where anyone travels around the world, there will be places where they can get specific items much cheaper than others and vice versa. 

Spend a large sum of money on an item that could save your life, or save that money for later and risk death. 

The adventurers who passed through Rivira were all forced to make that choice. 

Everything right down to magic-stone lamps was extremely expensive. 

“Lilly can’t believe this! Twenty thousand vals for a backpack…absurd! 

“That much for a grindstone? You’ve got to be kidding…” 

Lilly flung her new oversize backpack over her shoulders, fuming with rage. Welf had considered buying a grindstone at one of the weapon supply shops in town and came down with a bad case of sticker shock. 

There was no one outside the shops trying to attract customers; instead they sat comfortably in a chair in the back of their establishments as they blurred the line between a profitable business and outright stealing. 

The town’s beauty could do nothing to hide the greed of its inhabitants. 

“This is why we’re camping in the woods rather than staying here overnight.” 

“The amount of money required for everyone in our expedition to stay at one of those hotels would be outrageous.” 

Tiona grinned as she interlaced her fingers behind her head when she saw the look on Welf’s and Lilly’s faces. Tione let out a long sigh in disgust. The two Level 1 adventurers were trying to replace everything they’d lost on their journey to the eighteenth floor. The Amazonian twins offered to help them find what they needed. 

“This is exactly why Lilly hates adventurers! They are so obsessed with money that they’ll jump at any opportunity to take advantage of someone else.” 

“There are many things I’d like to say to a certain money-obsessed prum that I know…Li’l E, you should open a shop down here!” 

“…” 

“Hey, don’t take it seriously.” 

All that they had learned was they would leave empty-handed if they tried to purchase something for the established retail price. 

“Th-that’s an Exchange…” 

“They really can get away with anything down here…” 

“…W-wow.” 

A sign decorated with drawings of a Minotaur and purple stones stood out from the other shops on the street. Its purpose was to encourage people to sell their magic stones and drop items. 

Mikoto, Ouka, and Chigusa stared in amazement at an adventurer who was trying to sell the fang of a giant monster to the Exchange. The man was dissatisfied by the amount the clerk offered for the drop item he’d hauled all the way up here. Despite all the angry yelling, the clerk just shrugged his shoulders and said, “You can take it somewhere else.” In the end, the adventurer agreed on a price, sold the fang, and stomped away with his fists clenched and face boiling with anger. 

It was a very simple system. The adventurers who ran this Exchange would buy drop items and magic stones for less than half their value and sell them to the Guild for full price when they returned to the surface. Of course, the adventurers who sold the items would get upset, but they realized that there was a limit to how much they could carry. It was better to sell off their extra items here than throw them away. This also gave them the opportunity to continue crawling the Dungeon for more magic stones and drop items to take to the surface. 

From the buyer’s perspective, it was an easy way to get valuable items and profit from them. 

“This is a scam…” 

“Captain Ouka, you are correct, but please be prudent.” 

The compensation was low, but no fights broke out over it. 

The owners were quite strong—strong enough to keep the other storeowners quiet—and ran the most profitable business in Rivira. 

One such owner noticed Mikoto, Ouka, and Chigusa. He glared at them while tapping a massive club against his shoulder. The three adventurers quickly took their leave. 

Buy low, sell high. 

It wasn’t just the motto of the adventurers in the town of Rivira, it was their way of life. 

“…But Hermes, no adventurers carry large amounts of money down here. How are they supposed to buy anything with prices this high?” 

Bell’s group, just like Lilly’s and Mikoto’s, had seen the high prices. It was Hestia who asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. She had found something…a small bottle of perfume. Her eyes were locked on it even as she spoke. 

Hermes gestured toward the man sitting at the back of the shop who took out a piece of paper and requested a signature. 

“Just like that, they put it in writing. The shop gets the adventurer’s signature and their Familia’s emblem to create an IOU. They come to collect the money later.” 

There were two payment options in Rivira: trade items for merchandise directly or by signing a payment contract. 

It would be cumbersome and even dangerous to carry large amounts of money into the Dungeon. To get around this, a Familia’s emblem was used as credit. Then someone representing the shop would return to the outside and show up at that Familia’s home, the emblem in hand. 

The opposite was true with the Exchange in Rivira. The shop had a representative on the surface where an adventurer could take a receipt issued by the shop to receive their money. 

For that reason, suspicious persons who refused to identify themselves could never do business in this town. 

“You haven’t made an emblem yet, have you, Hestia? It’d be a good idea to do that; it would help Bell out a lot, too. An emblem works like identity verification; there are places in Orario where they come in handy.” 

“Ohhh, an emblem…I see…” 

Hestia folded her arms and looked up toward the ceiling. 

While her lack of followers was a problem, the thought of Bell having his own emblem made Hestia excited. She stole a glance at the Familia emblem sewn into Asfi’s battle cloth, winged traveler’s hat, and sandals, and had fun envisioning the emblem she could create for him. 

She was lost in thought when suddenly—thump. 

“You got a problem?” 

“Ah…Sorry!” 

Bell was quick to step in front of Hestia and apologize. He bowed a few times before looking up at the adventurer’s face and saw a scar that he remembered from somewhere…“Huh?” He remembered where at the same time that the scarred adventurer did. 

“You…No way…!” 

“That’s him! Mord, that’s the brat from the bar!” 

All three were human men. The one with the scar was named Mord, and his two companions were behind him. 

The three of them had been present at The Benevolent Mistress during Bell’s leveling-up party. They’d incurred the wrath of Lyu and the other staff members before being chased out. 

Bell watched in horror as Mord took on a much more frightening visage. 

“The hell’re you doin’ here…!” 

Mord’s anger from the bar incident must’ve been directed at Bell because he started to reach for the boy. 

However, he caught the glint of golden hair out of the corner of his eye. The Kenki was watching. 

His eyes flinched even while his teeth were bared in Bell’s direction. He felt Aiz’s empty golden gaze wash over him. “Tsk!” The man clicked his tongue as he backed away, his allies in tow. 

“Hey, hey, Bell. You’re not going out and picking fights with adventurers like that, are you?” 

“No, it’s not like that…” 

“So, what happened between you and them? Strangers don’t get that mad at each other on sight.” 

Trapped between Hestia’s and Hermes’s questions, Bell forced a shaky smile and explained what happened. 

“Ohh?” said Hermes, his ears perking up in the middle of Bell’s story. 

“So, those children consider Bell an enemy…” 

He took a look at the three of them, getting smaller as they walked down the other side of the path. 

The view of the eighteenth floor from the town’s central square is absolutely breathtaking. There’s a cliff right on the other side of this railing and the lake is far below. I doubt anyone could survive falling off. Even the craziest of daredevils wouldn’t even think of trying this one. 

We all met up again after exploring the town in groups, but I came over here to check out the scenery by myself. 

Lord Hermes offered to buy everyone a “Dungeon Sandwich” at a nearby café. The goddess and the others are eating there now. Sandwiches with liberal amounts of fruit between two slices of bread…including the honey cloud. I had to escape. 

Also…The Dungeon heals itself after taking physical damage, so it’s impossible to break ground and build something sturdy or blast away rock to hollow out an area for a shop. They have to use the terrain as is. Although, I’ve heard that some rather enthusiastic adventurers brought building materials down from the surface and used them in combination with the natural features of the eighteenth floor to make a stove. I don’t know if they’re passionate or just crazy…but the fact remains that the town of Rivira has fresh-baked bread and other food readily available. It’s selling quite well, actually. 

“The deepest town in the world, huh?” 

A town run entirely by adventurers. 

It’s literally the frontier base for Dungeon exploration. 

Many adventurers use this area as a place to organize their final plans for journeying into the lower levels. Of course, this is just for upper-class and top-tier adventurers who are up to that challenge. 

That’s where she is—at an extremely high level, one that I can only look up at and admire. 

I take another look at the vast open space that is the eighteenth floor, while standing behind a railing made of rusty old swords and broken spears. 

“Ah…” 

I hear footsteps and immediately turn around, only to see her…Aiz is walking toward me by herself. 

My body freezes as she comes to a stop in front of me. But her eyes, they’re looking past me and off into the distance. 

“What were you looking at…?” 

“Eh, um…Well, I-I was looking for the entrance to the nineteenth floor.” 

I panic when she asked the question out of the blue and that’s the best I could do. 

She walks up next to me and points somewhere on the eighteenth floor. She must’ve believed me. I force my body to turn around and take a look. 

“The Central Tree…” 

“The big one in the middle…The one right there?” 

“Yes. The entrance to the nineteenth floor is between its roots…” 

Her fingers, wrist, and elbow all extend straight toward the base of the behemoth tree. 

As if to reinforce what she was saying, black shadows emerge from the roots almost on cue. The monsters take a quick look around before splitting up, a few heading north and the rest going east. 

“…Um, Aiz, why did you come out here?” 

“Because you weren’t with everyone else…So, um.” 

…She was worried about me. 

Those words send my beating heart into a tailspin. 

Even just thinking about them makes me blush. She’s right there, looking at me with those golden eyes. We’re standing close enough that I could reach out and touch her, easily. I can feel the blood coursing through my veins. It’s hot. 

“…Did you want to be alone?” 

“I-i-it’s not like that! I’m really happy that you’re here—No, wait—what I mean is, um—” 

The look of concern on her face makes me so nervous that I can’t speak straight, to the point that the truth comes out. It’s too late to try to fool her with a loud voice. 

I quickly try to hide my face behind my right shoulder and cautiously peek out. 

Once I finally do get a look at her…her eyes are wide open and she’s smiling. If I’m not mistaken, Aiz is blushing. 

“Bell, you’re always so nervous…” 

Her words are warm and filled with caring, like the way that she would speak to someone close to her. 

She said my name. I can’t talk. My chest might explode. 

My spirit is shaking to its very core. 

I’ve never…felt like this before. 

“…” 

This is not good. My resolve is wavering. 

If she keeps standing this close to me… 

Even though I’ve never accomplished anything, even though I’m way out of my league, if my knees get any weaker in the warmth of her presence… 

I might just give up pursuing her. 

I quickly look down, hiding my eyes behind my bangs and blushing like no other. 

My spirit is singing throughout my whole body. I squeeze my eyebrows together in a desperate attempt to keep myself steady. 

All the butterflies in my stomach are making their way up my back. I can feel their heat as they move. 

Then without warning: 

The goddess suddenly jumps into my line of sight, as if she were trying to tear us apart. 

“—Wow, what a view!!” 

“Wha—?!” 

Flip! I take my eyes off the ground and, sure enough, the goddess has wedged herself between us. 

Aiz looks just as surprised as I am. The goddess is forcing a smile, her eyes half lidded. 

“No fair, Bell. Going to such a beautiful spot and not inviting me! We are more than just companions, you know!” 

A ping of fear courses through my skin as I repeatedly apologize to the goddess’s smiling face. The way she emphasizes the word “companions” is absolutely terrifying. 

“So as you can see, Miss Wallensomething, get lost! Don’t get in the way of our family time! This is reserved for just Bell and me!!” 

“U-um…” 

Shove, shove. The goddess keeps nudging Aiz’s breastplate with her hand and Aiz has no idea what to do. I move in to try and stop her. 

I manage to fit myself in front of the goddess—she’s almost growling—even as she keeps looking at Aiz menacingly. Sweat won’t stop pouring down my face. 

“…? Goddess, are you wearing something new?” 

“Oh, Bell! You noticed!” 

She spins toward me, her expression completely different. She thrusts a small, open pouch out at me. There’s a clear vial inside. 

“Isn’t that…perfume? Is this the one that you saw earlier…?” 

“That it is—a girl has needs, after all! Don’t tell me you want some stinky, sword-swinging girl at your side, Bell?!” 

She really does smell good, but I sensed something evil in her words. Aiz blinks a few times, brings her arm up to her nose, and—sniff, sniff. She smells like pure water, though…Why is the goddess being so aggressive today? 

She tells me she borrowed Lord Hermes’s emblem to buy the perfume. She’s spent more than a day in the Dungeon, so I can’t blame her for being a little bit self-conscious about her aroma. 

“Wha…Aiz, you defeated a floor boss by yourself, right?” 

I have to clear the air, change the subject at any cost. 

Also, I…need to hear this for myself. 

The goddess’s head spins around to look up at her. Aiz just tilts her head to the side and nods with a quiet “Yes. 

“But it was only because I had Reveria’s help…” 

“Even still…” 

“…Yes, I slew it.” 

—All I was able to do was run from the Goliath. 

—She stood up to one of them, alone, and won. 

She’s still far away, far above me. In fact, the obvious distance between us is so great I wouldn’t be surprised if the girl standing here is an illusion. I got a little bit of notoriety, so what. 

I reconnect with my true, cowardly self, as well as with what I’m aiming for, what I want to be. 

“Nothing to worry about, Bell! With the two of us working hard together for long enough, you can do it!” 

The goddess suddenly raises her voice. 

I admit I’m a little bit flustered, but that makes me happy to hear. 

I can work harder, become stronger, and reach my goal. 

However, for the goddess’s sake, for my family, I won’t overdo it. I won’t leave her behind. 

The promise I made a long time ago echoes in the back of my mind. I look at both of their faces, Aiz’s and the goddess’s…All I can do now is focus all of my energy on getting stronger. 

It seems so clear again. 

“Wallensomething, no wandering off again without my permission!” 

“I am sorry…?” 

Aiz and the goddess seem to be having some kind of argument. 

I lower my eyebrows and force a smile. But before long, all my worries leave me and I smile for real. 

“Afternoon” began on the eighteenth floor the moment Bell and the others returned to Loki Familia’s forest camp. 

The light that came from the white and blue crystals covering the ceiling had noticeably intensified in the span of a few minutes. Monsters roaming the northern area of the floor howled as if celebrating the Dungeon’s gift. 

“Hey, let’s all go take a bath!” 

Tiona excitedly called out to everyone just before reaching the center of camp. All of the trees around them were bathed in the early afternoon warmth of the crystals above. 

The group was just about to go their separate ways when she made the suggestion. First she looked toward Aiz and Tione, but also extended the invitation to Hestia and Mikoto’s group. 

“Again—? How many times will it take until you’re satisfied?” 

“What’s the problem? There’s plenty of time. And the water feels amazing.” 

“Besides, wouldn’t the sight of Lady Hestia’s boobs make you go insane?” 

“F-fat chance! W-why would it?!” 

The twins’ comical argument showed no signs of slowing down. Not too far away, Lilly looked up at Hestia. 

“What should we do, Lady Hestia?” 

“Wellll…Of course, I would like to wash up a bit…” 

Hestia looked down at her dirty clothes and less-than-clean skin. 

Of course, her journey to the eighteenth floor made her sweat more than she’d like to admit, and she’d fallen to the ground so much since she’d arrived here that her normally white clothes were now a few shades darker. Even if washing them was a lost cause, she at least wanted her body to feel clean. 

“How about you Mikoto, Chigusa? Want to come bathe with us?” 

“If I am welcome, I would like to…Chigusa?” 

“M-me too…Y-yes.” 

“What about Miss Asfi?” 

“…Lord Hermes.” 

“Ahhh, sure, sure. I’m well-protected here, so you can relax for a while.” 

Lilly looked up at Asfi when she asked. Hermes didn’t even look around when his follower asked him for permission, instead just waving his hand as though he didn’t care one way or the other. “Well then, I shall join you,” said Asfi as she pushed the bridge of her silver glasses higher up her nose. 

“Aiz, too. Let’s go!” 

“Sure…” 

“Invite Leene and the others, too. We’ll take turns as lookouts.” 

Tiona embraced Aiz from behind, smiling brightly. The blond girl nodded and the rest of the women started to move out of the camp. 

Tione went around the camp to invite a few more female members of their battle party to come with them. Being naked and defenseless in a forest where monsters lurked was a very scary idea. 

Tiona led the group out of camp and into the forest, all of the men staying behind. 

“Ta-da, here we are!” 

““““Whoa…”””” 

Hestia, Lilly, Mikoto, and Chigusa responded in unison. 

The first thing they saw when they came into a clearing was a waterfall standing ten meders tall. 

The water came down with enough force to release a fine mist, cooling the air around them. Their skin was covered in small beads of moisture in no time flat. 

Tiona had taken them to an isolated lagoon at the base of the waterfall. It was completely encased by a wall of trees and crystals. The canopy of a large tree covered the lagoon from above. The azure color of the water’s surface sparkled in the afternoon light, reflections dancing on the trees surrounding them. They had found a hidden jewel within the forest. 

“Isn’t this great? Found it myself the other day!” 

“Agreed, this is a very beautiful spot…” 

“Lilly has a question, if you don’t mind, Miss Tione. Where is this water coming from?” 

“It’s different from glacier runoff or melted snow. There’s a special crystal even deeper in the forest that constantly produces pure water. It’s much cleaner than the water outside. You can drink it, no problem.” 

Conversations between Tiona and Mikoto as well as Tione and Lilly filled their companions’ ears as the group made their way toward the water. 

There was no shyness or hesitation among them at this point. They shed armor and clothing while talking as if around the dinner table. Tione’s full, luscious breasts and Tiona’s sleek, slender body emerged. Mikoto and Asfi pulled off their clothing and set it neatly on the ground beside them. Chigusa, blushing from head to toe, was the last to start disrobing. 

As for Aiz…After a series of clicks to detach her armor, she gently grabbed her underclothing. There was a certain pair of eyes on her—Hestia watched closely as Aiz exposed her curvy, yet well-defined feminine form. 

A moment later, the goddess practically threw her garments to the ground. 

“Heh-heh……Looks like I win!” 

“Are we competing, Lady Hestia…?” 

The short goddess puffed out her chest, looking around triumphantly. 

Aiz’s undergarments hung loosely in her grip as she looked down at the extremely confident deity with confusion. Lilly was about to remove her panties when she, too, turned to look at the young goddess with tired eyes. 

“Guess what? These hair bands were a gift from Bell! A present to show his affection!” 

“Lady Hestia, would you mind sharing more of that story…!” 

Lilly drifted closer as Hestia removed the hair bands and held them out for everyone to see. Even Aiz perked up a bit to get a better view. 

All of the girls gathered around, talking excitedly as they took their first steps into the lagoon. Their lookouts stood at the edge of the clearing, ready to protect their friends from anything that came too close. 

“…Now should be good.” 

Lord Hermes nods to himself as he whispers those words. 

“Huh?” 

“Bell, would you join me for a moment?” 

We were just kind of hanging out around the camp, but Lord Hermes came up to me with a serious look on his face. 

He keeps his voice low, as if he’s trying not to be overheard. 

“I’ve been waiting for this chance. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this chance is the reason I’m here…A chance to be alone with you.” 

He’s been waiting for a chance to talk to…me…? 

He must have something very important to talk about. At least that’s what I’m getting from how he’s acting. He’s turned off all of his charms, his orange eyes looking straight ahead without blinking. 

I’ve never seen Lord Hermes like this. I gulp down the air in my throat. I can see Welf and Ouka off on their own in different areas of the camp. They haven’t noticed us. 

Feeling a little uneasy, I slowly nod. 

“Join me,” Lord Hermes says as he starts to move. No one moves to stop us as we leave the camp and enter the forest. 

“…Um, Lord Hermes? Where are we going?” 

I had followed him quietly for a while, but he’s not slowing down. All I can do is direct a question at the back of his head. 

We’re pretty deep into the forest now. There’s no one anywhere near here, so it should be safe for us to talk about anything. 

“…This already looks good,” says Lord Hermes as he stops in front of a tree. 

Its trunk and branches look very strong and sturdy. Lord Hermes suddenly starts climbing it. It looks like he’s done this a few times, to say the least. He uses his long arms and legs to work his way up the trunk. 

“Now, Bell, get up here.” I zoned out there for a second but quickly respond to his call and follow him. Two people climbing a tree in the middle of nowhere—I’m sure this is a very bizarre scene. 

“E-excuse me, Lord Hermes?” 

“Just as I thought. Have a look, Bell. These branches are strong enough to walk on.” 

Just when I thought he was going to tell me what we’re doing here, he grins at me with twinkling eyes. 

I take a look from this high spot in the tree canopy, and sure enough there is a small network of sturdy tree branches that form a hidden path. I’m completely clueless as to why he pointed that out to me, but suddenly he laughs with a “Ho-ho!” and steps out onto the first branch. 

“L-Lord Hermes, didn’t you…want to talk to me about something?!” 

“Talk? I never said anything about talking, my boy.” 

“Wha…?” I start to say, but Lord Hermes pushes aside some leaves and steps onto the branch of another tree. We move through the canopy, the light shifting above us, filtering through the leaves as the branches shift under our weight. This is worse than the tree bridge to Rivira; keeping my balance takes every ounce of concentration. 

“Why are we up here?!” My frustration gets the better of me as I try to keep up with him—he comes to a sudden stop and looks back at me. 

Hermes gives me a very manly grin, then jerks his chin in a certain direction to draw my attention. 

Dossshhhh. I can hear a waterfall. 

“We’ve come this far. You should’ve figured it out by now—We’re peeping.” 

“?!” 

I freeze as my eyes fly open. Lord Hermes takes on an air of providence with his next words. 

“All those girls down there are taking a bath, you know? It’s practically our duty to have a look, don’t you think?” 

“No, I don’t!” 

“No need to shy away, Bell. Seriously, I bet Hestia scrubs your back in the shower every night already.” 

“That has never happened!” 

What is this god saying?! 

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” He’s laughing at me. I don’t think he believes me, either. My face pulses with heat as Lord Hermes turns his back to me and quietly sneaks forward, almost floating down the path of branches. He must know exactly where he’s going because he’s not hesitating at all. I’ve heard of people being desperate, but this is insane! 

The sound of rushing water is on the other side of the wall of leaves by the time I catch up to him. 

“This is wrong—let’s turn back, Lord Hermes! We shouldn’t be here…!” 

“Bell, top-class adventurers will hear us if we make too much noise.” 

He cups his hand over my mouth and points down. My eyes follow straight to—a group of heavily armed female adventurers. They must be keeping an eye on the forest. 

I back away from his hand and look up at him. His smile is absolutely radiant. I’ve never seen a perverted smile look so appealing. 

It could be because of the sound of the waterfall or how wide these leaves are, but it seems that Aiz and the others, including the lookouts, haven’t noticed us yet. 

“Lord Hermes, Lord Hermes, this is bad, they’ll tear us to pieces…!” 

“This is pitiful, Bell. Peeping is a man’s due! Just think of it as you and I are sharing a particularly delicious bottle of wine…Didn’t your grandfather teach you anything?” 

The two of us advance slowly down the branch, whispering to each other, when suddenly a shiver goes down my spine. 

Peeping is…a man’s due? 

I feel like something is waking up inside me. Something from a long time ago, something from when I was a kid. What was it Gramps was trying to teach me back then? My surroundings suddenly don’t matter as my memory kicks into high gear. 

Everything comes out at once, like mist from a black jar—especially when I hear Aiz’s innocent voice coming from below—but I use every fiber of my being to seal that black jar shut. 

“Let me out—!” The words seem to come from behind the seal in my head. If I’d hesitated for a moment, I’m sure I would’ve been overpowered by the wicked urge held within. But my reasoning in the now wins the day. I reach out and put my hand on the shoulder next to me. 

“L-let’s go back, Lord Hermes!” 

I lean forward as if to stand up and start to pull him away from the waterfall. 

“Ah, if you move too much…” 

Just then. 

Crack. The branch beneath us screams out in pain. It starts moving up and down. 

The large branch that has been supporting our weight breaks at its base next to the tree. 

Lord Hermes manages to shift his weight to an adjoining branch, but I’m off balance and on two feet. Whoop— 

I fall straight into the open air. 

“—Daaaaaahhhh!!” 

With nothing to stop me, I fall face-first into the body of water below. 

Splash! The water explodes around me as I make impact. 

“Blugh, glub, glublubb?!” 

Luckily I fell into a relatively deep part. I frantically kick my arms and legs to get back to the surface. My face erupts out of the water and I take many deep breaths. 

Water’s in my lungs, making me panic. I pick a direction and flail my arms and legs in a desperate attempt to reach land. Finally my feet touch the bottom, then my hands. 

Khaa, khaa! After a fit of rough coughing, I finally catch my breath. 

“…Argonaut?” 

My body shivers at the sound of the voice coming from just above my head. 

I stare at my reflection in the light-blue water for a moment before slowly, very slowly lifting my eyes. 

“What, did you want to take a bath, too?” 

“Such a calm face…You’re quite good, aren’t you?” 

U—waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! 

The Amazonian twins are right there. Tiona is leaning in toward me with curious eyes while Tione is behind her, running her fingers through her long hair. 

They’re completely naked and not trying to hide anything, their wheat-colored skin completely exposed. 

—Have Amazons no shame?! 

“Wha-wa-wa-wa…?!” 

“Eh? Ehhh…?!” 

“Don’t tell me…Lord Hermes?” 

To my right, a very pink Mikoto stands completely still as Chigusa swiftly hides her body underwater. 

Asfi is next to them. She doesn’t have her glasses on but that doesn’t stop her from looking up into the tree, beams of rage blasting out of her eyes. 

Rustle. The branches around the area I fell from start twitching. 

“Bell, it’s children like you…!” 

“W-what do you think you’re doing, Mr. Bell?!” 

To my left, the goddess has her hair down and her feet on the bottom of the lagoon. Half of her bulging chest is hidden under the waterline as she yells at me with a red face. 

Lilly’s the same way, screaming in a high-pitched voice. 

“…ah.” 

And directly in front of me… 

Aiz is standing with her back to the waterfall, hugging her body to hide her chest. Her cheeks are a light shade of red. 

Water is dripping from her wet golden hair, tracing its way all the way down to her legs. 

I turn a deep red as the image of Aiz’s naked body is burned into my eyes. 

The next moment, my head explodes. 

“S-SOOOOOORRRYYYYYYY!!” 

I launch myself out of the water and race past the lookouts in the blink of an eye, taking off into the forest as fast as I can. 

I charge into the forest with reckless abandon. 

More distance, faster, forward! A big tree stands in the middle of my path so I take a hard right. I cut over to the forest floor, running like a scared rabbit. 

But then I notice something important. 

“I—I’m lost…” 

At long last, the flames burning within me cool enough for me to think straight. I take a look around and see that I don’t recognize anything. The trees and crystals in this area don’t look like the ones close to the campsite; the canopy is thinner and brighter, too. 

Am I in the southern part of the forest? The east? Maybe the southeast? 

I try as hard as I can to remember how the forest looked from the town of Rivira this morning, but I can’t remember any details. I don’t think anyone could remember the layout of an area after only one day. 

I have no clue where I am. 

“Guaaa…” 

“B-bugbear…?!” 

I quickly jump out of sight after catching a glimpse of a bearlike monster sitting at the base of a tree. 

If I remember right…their Strength and Defense are on par with a Minotaur. But what really makes them dangerous is deceptively high Agility that doesn’t match their large body size. First appearing on the nineteenth floor, they corner their prey before tearing it apart. The thought of an agile Minotaur is absolutely terrifying. This particular bugbear must be hungry, or it’s found its favorite thing in the world, because it’s completely distracted by the fruit on the lower branches of the tree. It’s got one honey cloud in its massive paw and another in its mouth. 

I clasp my hands over my nose and mouth while trying to get my beating heart under control. Turning my back toward the tree, I slowly shimmy around the trunk and wait for the bear to leave. 

T-this is bad, really bad…! 

An impending sense of danger, being lost in a forest filled with monsters, takes over me. 

Aiz said something earlier today about the adventurers in Rivira regularly culling the monsters on the eighteenth floor to keep their numbers down. Unfortunately, I don’t think they come this far out in the woods—why would they? That means there are more of them out here than closer to town. 

I’m lost and more than likely surrounded by monsters. This is a very, very dangerous situation. 

If I don’t get back to the campsite by “night”…! 

I press forward, my eyes playing tricks on me, making the forest look like an ominous swamp, my ears on high alert. 

Wait…What’s that? 

A different kind of sound sends my mind into a whirlwind. 

This isn’t the quiet murmuring of a stream, but like water being poured out of a glass…Very unnatural. 

I can’t deny that there’s a chance that a monster is making the sound at a nearby pond. In fact, that’s probably it. But I’m hungry and my throat is dry enough to rival a desert. I decide it’s worth the risk and walk toward the sound of the water. 

A pile of logs greets my eyes as I turn a corner. They’re blocking the area between two trees on the ground, but I can climb up and over them. Keeping an eye on my footing to avoid the clumps of moss, I work my way to the top and through the opening, toward the source of the noise. Kaw, kaw! Two bird monsters fly off in the distance. 

The foliage around me becomes thicker, the path darker. But before long, everything around me starts taking on a light-blue hue. 

The trees stand like vertical columns, crystals shining beneath my feet as if guiding me forward… 

“—” 

The forest opens to reveal a small pond. 

All words leave me as soon as I lay eyes on the middle of the body of water. 

There is a fairy. 

She doesn’t have a thread of clothing, only milky white skin—her slender back to me as she washes her body. She cups her hands together and carefully lifts the water above her head before letting it run through her hair. 

This looks like a page out of a fairy tale, no joke. 

A bathing fairy. A chance encounter deep in the woods with a beautiful water spirit. 

This is no different. She’s frozen the flow of time, but for some reason I can make that connection. 

Blip, blip. The water makes soft splashing sounds as the fairy moves. She has a slender but muscular frame and long, pointed ears. 

I stand with my hand resting on the tree beside me, dumbstruck as I take in the view. My brain doesn’t have the ability to produce any kind of emotion when faced with this kind of beauty. 

But wait, in those fairy tales, right about now… 

The person who sees the fairy taking a bath suddenly gets hit with an arrow— 

“—Who’s there!” 

Light flashes. 

A sharp voice and a white blade were thrown at me at the same time—a dagger buries itself in the tree next to my face, above my hand. Shing! My ears finally register the sound of the blade piercing tree bark. Gulp. I swallow the air in my throat. 

The elf’s sky-blue eyes lock onto me. Lyu’s eyes. 

She has her left arm wrapped around her chest, hiding it from view. Her right hand, the one that threw the dagger, is still extended as she glares straight through me…Her eyebrows sink the moment that she realizes it was me who was peeping on her. 

“Mr. Cranell?” 

“…S-SORRYYYYYYYY?!” 

All of my muscles snap to life at the sound of my name. I jump back and away before landing on all fours and executing Takemikazuchi Familia’s trademark facedown bow. 

I slam my face into the ground, trying to apologize. 

What am I doing, WHAT AM I DOING?! I’ve made the same mistake again?! 

That’s twice in a row?! I scream at myself over and over. Lord Hermes must never know. 

My ears burn red as I clamp my eyes shut. “Haa…” I hear her breathe out. 

My shoulders shudder in fear as I wait for her next words. 

“Please turn your back.” 

“Y-yes, ma’am!” 

I keep my head down, rotating on my knees. The edge of the pond leaves my line of sight; tree roots take their place. At that point I raise my upper body and sit as still as stone. 

I can hear the sound of cloth behind me as rivers of sweat run down my face. My cheeks blush. She’s putting on clothes. 

“You may turn around.” 

Slowly, carefully I shift my knees around. Lyu’s wearing the same battle cloth that I saw her in yesterday. 

Hip-hugging short pants and long boots. She’s wearing that cape over her shirt but the hood is down. The beautiful elf and I make eye contact. 

“First, I would like to hear your explanation.” 

“Y-yes!! Well, you see, it’s like this…!” 

Lyu walks right up to me and I stand while stuttering, trying to tell her what happened…but the truth is too embarrassing. What am I supposed to say? That I was discovered watching the other girls bathe and then came here?! 

I have to think of something else…No. 

Her sky-blue eyes are looking right through me; she’d spot a lie instantly. And that would make her even more furious. 

My jaw flexes open and closed a few times before the words start to come out. She listens quietly as I confess to every moral outrage I’ve committed in the past hour. 

I thrust my head down below my waist as soon as I’ve told her everything there was to tell. 

“I understand your situation, Mr. Cranell. Allow me to guide you back to Loki Familia’s campground after this.” 

“…Y-you’ll forgive me?” 

“There is no need for forgiveness, for you are not at fault. A grudge against you would be misplaced.” 

“H-how do you know I’m not lying…?” 

“Mr. Cranell…Modesty may be a virtue, but please stop regarding yourself as inferior. It’s a bad habit.” 

I apologize to her once again. Lyu sounded a little angry there. 

Looking down on my abilities…So she’s angry at me for the way I think about myself? 

Lyu walks toward a different tree, leaving me standing there for a moment. She must’ve stashed her wooden sword and other weapons there before getting into the spring. 

Lastly, she affixes a small pouch to her belt underneath her cape. “My apologies for the wait,” she says as she comes back. 

“…Um, this is a little late, but thank you for coming all this way to rescue me. This floor is pretty far down…” 

“No, please don’t concern yourself. I was planning to come to this floor regardless. The distance is not a problem.” 

My eyes flicker a little bit wider. I wasn’t expecting a response like that. 

Lyu continues talking anyway. 

“I have something to take care of before leading you back to the campsite. Can you spare some of your time?” 

“Ah…Sure.” 

She says a quick thank-you and starts walking. 

I catch a glimpse of the side of her face before following her. 

“Lyu…were you, um…in the forest this whole time?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why didn’t you join everyone at the campsite? There’re monsters out here! Wouldn’t it be much safer with—” 

“I had an errand to attend to. And I didn’t want others to see my face.” 

She said everything evenly and without emotion, just like usual. 

Lord Hermes said something before, she who had “reasons”…Is this what he was talking about? 

“I assume that god Hermes has informed you about my past already.” 

“No, nothing…” 

“…Really?” 

“Y-yes.” 

“It seems I have come to the wrong conclusion…” Though she’s looking the other way, I can sense the pained smile on her face. “We’ve already come this far. There’s no point in hiding anything at this stage. Follow me.” 

What is it…? Does she have some kind of connection to this floor? 

All I can do is just follow that cape and think about the moment when she said she was once known as an adventurer. 

Lyu must know this area extremely well. She’s walking with purpose as she makes sharp turns at specific trees and crystals as if following a set path. We walk for about twenty minutes without encountering any monsters before arriving at her destination. 

“This is…” 

What greets my eyes after emerging from a narrow tunnel through the trees is a graveyard. 

There’s a small open space surrounded by thinner trees and absolutely stunning crystal formations. 

A series of wooden crosses, broken tree branches held together with string, are lined up in the clearing and bathed in the crystal light shining through the canopy above. 

“…Mama Mia occasionally gives me time to bring them some flowers.” 

Lyu goes to each of the grave markers and carefully sets a flower in front of them. 

Was gathering these flowers her “errand”? 

She reaches under her cape to the small pouch and withdraws a bottle—she pours a little bit of the wine onto each of the graves. 

“Lyu, what is this place—?” 

“All that remains of the women who fought by my side. My Familia.” 

She quietly looks back at me as she speaks. I feel like I’ve just been hit by a ton of bricks. 

Her sky-blue eyes draw me in. 

“Another with knowledge of my past has emerged. It’s only a matter of time before you find out…I would regret not telling you myself.” 

She says it’s a bit selfish of her, but asks for my permission. 

I nod back at her. 

“My name appears on the Guild’s blacklist.” 

“?!” 

Then she says something unbelievable. 

“My position as an adventurer has been revoked. There was a time that a bounty was placed on my head.” 

She hid her face and she didn’t stay with us at the campsite…Is that why? 

“I once belonged to Astrea Familia…She is the goddess of justice and order, and I idolized her from the day we met.” 

Lyu Lyon. That’s how she was known. Her title, “Gale Wind.” 

A hooded adventurer shrouded in mystery whose full name was unknown. 

“Apart from activities in the Dungeon, my Familia took it upon itself to eliminate those who try to rob Orario of peace. For that reason, we made many enemies.” 

She says that as recently as five years ago, Orario was inundated with an “evil” that threatened the city. 

Swearing upon Astrea’s crest, a winged sword of justice, Lyu and her allies fought to purge the city of that cancerous presence and protect those vulnerable to it. 

“Until, one day, a Familia that had taken up arms against us set a trap in the Dungeon. I was the only one to escape alive…Unable to retrieve their bodies, I collected what articles I could and buried them here.” 

“So that’s what these graves are…?” 

“Yes. These women were fond of this location.” 

She tells me that they would always casually joke, saying if they died, they wanted to be buried here. 

I can’t imagine what images must be running through her head. She looks toward the ground, her lower lip quivering. 

“…I went to Astrea as the sole survivor and told her everything. Then I pleaded with her to leave Orario by herself. I begged her for days, and at long last she obliged.” 

“Y-you helped your goddess escape?” 

“No, not that.” 

Lyu’s voice snaps, saying her reasoning was much more selfish as her fists clench. 

“I didn’t want her to see the passionate, violent creature I was becoming.” 

She says that she didn’t know how to control the emotions that were overtaking her at that time. 

“I had to avenge those who had fought beside me. I set my sights on the Familia that ended their lives and swore to take revenge alone.” 

“A-alone…?!” 

Attacks under the cover of darkness, ambushes, traps. She used all manner of sneak attacks to eliminate them one by one—until that Familia was wiped out. 

A large and influential group in Orario was torn out by the roots and utterly eliminated at the hands of a single elf. 

“My actions had nothing to do with justice. Filled with a lust for revenge, I tracked down each member and erased them along with anyone connected to them…Even the slightest suspicion was enough.” 

That’s what landed her on the Guild’s blacklist. 

In her quest for vengeance, she earned the hatred of not only adventurers but merchants, smiths, and townspeople. They were the ones who issued the bounty. 

The reward for her capture kept growing and growing…The Guild had no choice but to punish her despite the surrounding circumstances. Especially considering she had bared her fangs at groups connected to the offender. After all, they sold the items and weapons used to kill her family. 

With the goddess Astrea outside the city walls, her Status remained intact as the “Gale Wind” covered Orario in a storm of fury. 

“…So, what happened after that?” 

“I collapsed. With all targets eliminated, with no one left, alone in a back alley.” 

She must’ve accepted death the moment she swore revenge. 

Her quest complete, her goddess gone and friends dead, there was nothing left for her in this world. 

“Covered in blood and dirt on the side of the road…It was a fitting end for someone who had committed atrocities such as I.” 

“…” 

“However…” 

“—Are you okay?” 

A warm hand had reached out to take hers. 

Syr found Lyu in that back alley and saved her. 

She listened to her story—everything Lyu had done, over and over—and managed to bring her back from the brink. 

“After rescuing me, Syr convinced Mama Mia to employ me as a waitress at The Benevolent Mistress……I also keep my hair dyed.” 

Since she’d always worn a hood and gone by the name Lyon during her time as an adventurer, the chances of her being discovered were very low as long as she changed the color of her hair. 

In a soft tone, Lyu goes on to explain how she became her current self. 

“…I apologize for soiling your ears.” 

“Wh-what?” 

“In short, the elf you see before you is a shameless, violent criminal…I have betrayed your trust, Mr. Cranell.” 

She looks at me with the same calm expression, even though she’s confessing all of her crimes to me. I clear my throat. 

I don’t know how to respond, so I just say the first thing that comes to my mind: 

“Lyu…Please stop regarding yourself as inferior. I’ll get mad at you.” 

Her sky-blue eyes open a little wider. 

She stands still for a moment before finally saying: 

“That was…very clever.” 

Only very slightly, but her lips soften. 

She isn’t smiling by any means, but her eyes don’t look as piercing as they normally do. 

All I did was repeat her own words back to her, just stole the line, but her reaction makes me feel good. Why wouldn’t it? Her usual ice-cold expression just warmed up a little. 

A tranquil mood overtakes us in the middle of the graveyard, surrounded by green leaves and crystal light. 

“…Can I ask…” 

“What is it?” 

“Can I ask why you came to Orario?” 

This is my best chance. 

My best chance to find out why Lyu came to the place where people go to follow their dreams. 

I want to know why she and I met in the first place. 

“…” 

She opens her mouth very slightly before looking up toward the ceiling. 

Then Lyu squints her eyes to protect them from the beams of light penetrating the canopy above. 

“…We elves are a race known for our good looks.” 

Her eyes barely open, she wanders around the grassy Dungeon floor. 

At long last, Lyu continues her story. 

“Myself and others have been praised for our beauty. However, is that really true? Extremely proud and revolted by anything unclean, we do not allow others to easily touch our skin…” 

“…” 

“There are some who believe other races to be dirty on the surface as well as within, and refuse to interact with them, isolating themselves in their home forests. At the very least, most of the elves from my home forest believed as such… 

“However,” she continues. 

“Only recognizing their own beauty while looking down at everything else as if it were nothing more than trash…A thought came to me.” 

Lyu once again looks up to the light. 

“That the beautiful, magnificent elves were actually the most revolting.” 

Knowing the value that elves place on interpersonal relationships, I bet she was the only one who felt that way. 

Among all those elves, so full of pride, she was the only one to question their logic. 

“As soon as that idea took hold, it was impossible to remove. I became embarrassed of my own motherland, so I left…and eventually arrived in Orario.” 

“By accident?” 

“Not exactly…I heard many travelers say that Orario was home to gods, humans, and other fairies, a place full of life where people gather. I thought that if I were there, I might be able to find something…No, that’s not it.” 

She looks into the palms of her hands as if she’s remembering her first days in the city. 

“I wanted companions worthy of my respect who felt I was worthy of theirs.” 

It was the one thing that she didn’t have growing up in elvish culture with elvish customs. 

People who placed no value on race or looks, but on content of character. Friends who would laugh alongside her. 

“I came to the city with high hopes…but they were quickly dashed. I didn’t expose my skin to anyone but other elves. My face always covered by a hood, I slapped away any hands that reached out.” 

Elvish culture was too deeply ingrained…Lyu couldn’t turn over a new leaf. 

In this new place, she was constantly stared at because of her beauty, and she couldn’t take it. 

Elves don’t allow someone they don’t trust to touch their skin. She couldn’t fix that and other elvish teachings that had been drilled into her head since childhood—it must’ve tormented her. 

“What a jest. I left my homeland because I couldn’t stand my own kind, and yet in the outside world, I was no different from them. So I cut myself off, creating a wall.” 

So that was why she kept her hood up during her time in Orario. 

She was disappointed in herself for realizing she was exactly the same as the elves back in the forest. 

From her point of view, she was the one looking down at people. 

Her inborn disdain for other races came full circle, back to herself. It became self-loathing. 

“I didn’t change. I was still an elf, nose high in the air with pride.” 

“Lyu…” 

“However.” 

Her tone suddenly changes. 

Then she walks right up to me, face-to-face, and gently grabs my hand. 

“—Huh?” 

“Just like this, there was someone who took hold of my hand, who I could touch.” 

She’s shaking my hand. 

Her fingers feel so small and delicate that I’m afraid they might break off if I shook back. And yet, her skin is very soft and supple. My cheeks blush before I know it. 

“This is my second time with you, yes? Do you remember?” 

“Y-yes?!” 

“The day when you lost your knife and were desperately searching.” 

I’m too stunned to figure out what she’s talking about at first, but then the feeling of her skin on my hands triggers a memory. The day when Lilly, disguised as a dog person, stole the Divine Knife. That’s what she’s talking about. 

I clearly remember happily embracing her hands because she had recovered the knife. 

“I was very taken aback. Taken aback that I didn’t immediately throw the human who had suddenly grabbed my hands onto the side of the road.” 

Her face forms an expression I’ve never seen on Lyu before: a mischievous grin. 

I wouldn’t have been able to say anything if she’d sliced me in half…Only now does the realization hit me. My cheeks and ears are burning, but I do my best to force a smile. 

“You are the third person who I did not immediately punish for touching my skin.” 

She says that with her hand still firmly grasped around mine. 

—Eh? Your name is Lyu? That’s too hard to say. I’ll call you Lyon from now on! 

The first, the bright and cheerful girl who invited her to join her own Familia. 

—Are you okay? 

The second, the nice girl who extended a warm hand to her cold fingers, the waitress who gave her a place to be. 

And the third is… 

“Please don’t make such a confused face. I feel like you’re making sport of me.” 

“S-sorry!” 

“I am joking…I have been following your actions closely since we met. I’ve come to understand your weakness, your sincerity, and most of all your spirit.” 

“Lyu…?” 

“Mr. Cranell, you are kind.” 

Completely overwhelmed by this new aura radiating from her eyes, I can only respond by saying her name. 

She blinks her eyes closed, the blue orbs hidden from sight for a moment, before slowly opening them up again. 

“You are a human worthy of my respect.” 

Lyu…smiles. 

Her thin eyebrows relax as the edges of her feminine lips curl upward. 

My whole body blushes pink as she faces me with a smile as pure and clean as a white lotus. 

“…Uh.” 

“Mr. Cranell?” 

I know it’s a little late, but now I truly know why the smile of an elf is a dangerous thing. 

The smile of a refined elf while knowing their usual demeanor day in and day out is particularly brutal. It’s a trump card powerful enough to make my knees go weak despite having my own aspirations. 

Elvish beauty isn’t all just on the surface. 

A smile that they give only to their most trusted companions. 

My eyes are filled with the light beams from above and the tranquil colors of the graveyard and flowers, but most of all, the beautiful smile on her tilted head. 

Now I think I know why other races have a thing for elves. 

“Ow, ow, ow…What would you do if you broke my face, Asfi?” 

“You reap what you sow.” 

“Night” had already fallen on the eighteenth floor of the Dungeon. 

Two figures quietly made their way out of the forest campsite: Hermes and Asfi. 

“A god no better than a Peeping Tom…Have you no shame!” 

“Peeping isn’t that big of a deal for us…” 

Bell, who had gone missing after the peeping incident, returned to the campsite shortly before dinner. The fact that he was led to the scene by the deity—and that he practically buried his face in the ground bowing—allowed him to escape with a harsh verbal warning. Only Hermes, the instigator, was physically punished. 

“…Well then, where are we going on this pitch-black night?” 

“On a pitch-black night like this, there’s only one place to bring a lady. Isn’t it obvious?” 

On the other side of the grasslands before them, the lights of the town of Rivira shone like a beacon from the west. 

“To a tavern.” 

“Damn it!” 

Inside one of the few taverns in a small niche of Rivira. 

Built inside of a naturally occurring crevice in the cliff face, the bar floor was covered by a dirty rug and had only one table with a few chairs. The walls were dotted with portable magic-stone lamps. Even in here, crystals grew on one of the walls and a few spots in the ceiling. 

One man slammed his mug down on the table inside this bar that was a little bit different from most adventurers’ usual watering holes. 

“Take it easy, Mord.” 

“Shut it! That brat, I have no freakin’ idea how he got down here…Too damn cocky!” 

“That jealousy I hear?” 

That line got a chuckle out of everyone around the table, other than Mord. 

Only a select few upper-class adventurers had the ability to come to Rivira, meaning that the more time you spent there the more you got to know the residents who did business. 

The customers at this bar might have been from different Familias, but they were on good terms with Mord’s group. 

“The hell you laughin’ about?! That piece-of-shit rookie hasn’t done nothing, levels up in a few months, and now his ass is all the way down here?! How stupid are we, workin’ hard for years just to make it this far!!” 

Recounting the events at The Benevolent Mistress, Mord wasted no time in pointing out the source of his rage. 

All the people here were part of an exclusive club of upper-class adventurers within Orario. The thought of some newbie walking the same streets was something he couldn’t take lying down. 

Even more so that some of the gods themselves were talking about this particular rookie, this “rabbit.” 

The bar became quiet enough to hear a pin drop when Mord’s rant finally came to an end. 

“Even got himself some high-quality salamander wool…Damn that kid, I wanna tear his head off.” 

Mord spat in anger before taking another swig from a particularly potent ale, even by Rivira’s standards. 

“But Mord, no matter how much you want to knock ’im down a peg—how? He’s with the Kenki.” 

“One of Hermes’s and also…Takemikazuchi’s group, too.” 

Mord’s companions sat on either side of him, trying to make him see reason. 

“The guy wouldn’t be here without them…Don’t you think the Little Rookie realizes that?” 

“Enough small talk! Are you gonna help me or not? Which is it?!” 

Their words had done nothing more than make Mord even angrier. 

The adventurers sitting around the table froze in place; the fury emanating from the man’s eyes wouldn’t let them move. They knew that at any moment Mord could draw out any of the weapons hanging from his waist if the thought crossed his mind. 

“If we could get him alone, lure that punk-ass brat away from the others…” 

Bell had stood out too much. 

He’d come too far into the middle levels too quickly after leveling up. 

Quickly enough to draw the attention, and outrage, of other upper-class adventurers. 

“O-oh, you boys are really living it up in here!” 

Twitch. Every set of eyes in the bar fell on the entrance. 

They saw Hermes, walking in like he owned the place, followed quietly by Asfi. 

“…What business do you have, Mr. Deity? If you’re looking for a drink, it’d be better to go back up top.” 

“Ha-ha, I just heard some sneaky plans in the works and couldn’t help myself.” 

Step. One of the adventurers put himself firmly between the god and the exit. 

He knew their plan. Hermes had been with Bell, and would no doubt warn him. The god couldn’t be allowed to escape. 

Things like this happen all the time these days…Asfi lamented as she hid herself in Hermes’s shadow. 

“So, what’s it to you? You gonna try and stop us by yourself?” 

“What gave you that idea? Do as you like. Ignore me and keep forming a plan.” 

“Whaa?” Mord’s jaw dropped in disbelief. 

“I happen to like children like you. This world would be so boring if everyone played nice.” 

Hermes’s eyes arched into a smile as he chuckled to himself. 

Just for a moment, Hermes flashed his true character—one who enjoyed all of the charms of being on earth as a god. 

He wasn’t showing tolerance for good and evil. He actually was good and evil. 

Mord was left speechless by this presence before him, something far more mysterious than any monster. 

“You want a chance to attack Bell, yes? In that case, why don’t I tell you our plans for tomorrow?” 

“…How do I know I can take your word, Mr. Deity?” 

“Hey, hey, this is Hermes you’re talking to. I don’t lie to any children.” 

A few of the others around the table tried to get Mord’s attention, but he ignored them and took Hermes’s offer. 

“I’m not in a position to help you directly…Oh yes, if you need a ‘lucky charm’ of courage to vanquish your foes, I have a little something you can borrow.” 

With that, Hermes turned to Asfi, who handed him an item. Hermes took it and presented it to Mord. 

It was a small helmet. Based on its design, it looked more like a hat with a small brim around the front. 

Its color was the same as the dirt found deep in the earth, black as coal. 

“And this is…” 

“A magic item forged by the one and only Perseus. It’d be easier to show you what it can do.” 

Mord’s words left him as he watched others put on the helmet. He couldn’t believe his eyes. 

A magic item created by one of the most celebrated item makers in Orario. Perseus’s items were said to grant the user Magic and Skills through the power of “Enigma.” 

“Seriously, I can use this…?” 

Mord’s voice shook as Hermes nodded with a “Yeah. 

“However, on one condition…” 

Mord took the item in one hand and held it to his chest, his eyes gleaming. 

“Entertain me. Give me a show I won’t soon forget.”