CHAPTER 1
THE FURIOUS RABBIT
The stone roads are warmed by the sun overhead on this mild afternoon.
The weather’s been nice for several days now; everyone seems to be in a good mood. The city center overflows with happy voices. The wide main street is filled with horse-drawn carts, demi-humans, and travelers in their traveling gear going about their business.
Past these waves of humanity and in the center of the road straight ahead stands a white tower so tall it pierces the blue sky.
“But still, I’m so glad that you and the others made it back safe and sound.”
“Sorry to make you worry…And thank you.”
I’m outside of one of the bars on West Main, The Benevolent Mistress. I don’t know how many times I’ve apologized and thanked Syr, but I do it once again. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I first came to tell her that I’d returned from the eighteenth floor. That smile, the look in her eyes, how her silver hair swished back and forth—everything.
I still can’t believe that it’s already been three days since we defeated the Goliath and returned to the surface.
It was a week ago today that we couldn’t get out of the middle levels and had to go all the way down to the eighteenth. Apparently a lot of people above ground were worried about us. Syr was definitely one of them. While she couldn’t come into the Dungeon herself like the goddess did, she sent her coworker Lyu in after us.
I will be forever grateful to the elf who saved my life so many times.
Of course, I’ll never forget how happy I was that she would do that for me.
I grimace to hide my embarrassment from the girl smiling right in front of me.
“Has your body fully recovered?”
“Yes. Lord Miach…I received treatment from a friendly Familia, and I’m doing fine now.”
Thanks to Lord Miach and Nahza’s strongest medicine and potions, I was able to recover all the strength and mental power I’d lost over the past three days.
We returned to the surface the day after fighting the floor boss. I’ve spent the past two days recovering as well as contacting everyone I know to make sure they know I’m okay. I meet them in person, see their relief, endure their anger, and share a few laughs. Actually, Syr was the first person I’d gone to see, so this is the second time I’ve seen that smile of relief on her face.
The warmth of the sun on my skin and the bright skies are proof that I really did make it out alive. Thanks to that, I can experience the joy of reuniting with people I thought I would never see again. I suppose that the more fear and danger you experience, the happier you are to make it home safe.
I really am back.
Even with all the commotion around me, I can feel my cheeks pulling back into a smile.
“Syr, Mama Mia has asked us to open…Oh, Mr. Cranell. I did not know you were here.”
“Lyu.”
Lyu emerges from the doors of the bar to call Syr back inside. She says a quick good morning and I answer with a morning greeting of my own.
The hooded cape and battle cloth she wore in the Dungeon are gone, replaced with her bar-waitress uniform. Seeing her dressed like this after fighting alongside the strong and beautiful hooded adventurer feels very weird…There’s a big difference between this cute waitress and the warrior I know.
“I’m glad to see you are well. You looked little better than a corpse on our way back from the Dungeon. I was worried about your health.”
“S-sorry about that…”
I’d pushed myself way too hard and was half carried back to the surface. The elf shakes her head softly from side to side and finally says, “It’s nothing.” Her thin, defined lips loosen slightly.
…It’s only a bit, but I feel like the distance between Lyu and me has shrunk. Her tone seems slightly more friendly, her expression softer than usual. It’s extremely slight, but enough to notice.
It wasn’t very long, but the time we spent together in the Dungeon allowed me to become a little closer to her.
“…Bell, you’ve become friends with Lyu, haven’t you?”
“Wh-wha?”
“But it’s never all right to sneak a peek, okay?”
“A-all right…!”
She stares me down for a moment, her finger right in front of my nose.
Her stern warning is so intense I can only yelp in response.
When I first came to see her, Syr had already known about the peeking incident…I kind of saw Lyu naked. She fiercely scolded me, but it felt more like a punishment.
I had never seen Syr so angry before. A stern lecture from an older girl was more than enough to make me flinch. It’s true that I reaped what I’d sown, but still…
I cringe as a new wave of embarrassment and repentance floods through my body, my face turning red.
“Syr, that was an accident. Please do not blame Mr. Cranell.”
“Lyu, how can you be so sure it was an accident?”
“If I had sensed any impure emotion, I would have cut him down on the spot.”
—My spirit ices over. I need to do everything possible to avoid repeating past mistakes.
“I heard this from Lyu, but you fought an extremely powerful monster, didn’t you, Bell?”
She hits me with that question the moment I get my head back on my shoulders.
“Oh, yes.” I manage to get a response out of my mouth as soon as I realize she was talking about the Goliath on the eighteenth floor.
“I also heard you took it down. Is that true?”
“Eh, um, about that…”
I start to deny it, but Lyu suddenly catches my eye. No need for modesty. Her gaze overpowers me and my voice shrinks into silence. I still remember her scolding me for looking down on myself at the pond where she was bathing…I stand there for a moment before Syr nods to pass the awkward moment.
“Wow, that’s amazing! Bell, you’ve become such a strong adventurer!”
“Well, I, um…”
Syr excitedly brings her hands together with a clap. All I can do is force a smile.
Receiving all these compliments and praise feels good, and it makes me really happy to see that look of respect in her eyes, but I can’t take all the credit.
I truly believe that if someone, anyone hadn’t been on the battlefield that day, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. I’d happily bet on that.
It’s true that I delivered the final blow with my Skill, Argonaut. But if it hadn’t been for Lyu and everyone else protecting me, I would’ve never had a chance to use it. Not only could the floor boss have taken me out, but there were hundreds of other monsters swarming around the battlefield. I had a lot of help, and I’d needed it.
We were only able to seize victory because every adventurer set aside their Familia affiliations and worked together.
It was much more accurate to say that we’d all taken down that monster.
“One of our regulars has become a famous adventurer! I’m so proud to work here!” She’s beaming with joy, like it was her own accomplishment and I’m just some other guy. Her eyes narrow and mouth widens in a smile that makes me feel ticklish, and she continues. “How would you like to throw another party to celebrate? It’s not every day that you return from a near-death experience, right? How about this evening?”
She suggests we do something like when I leveled up to Level 2.
I’m really happy to see her so excited but…the shadow of a daunting figure pops into my head. It might be a good idea to turn her down.
“I couldn’t ask you to do that, not after all the trouble I’ve caused…I don’t think I’d be able to look Ms. Mia in the face…”
Mia owns and operates The Benevolent Mistress. Apparently she was extremely angry that Lyu left her post to join my search party. She snapped, saying that someone who needed to rely on the help of people outside of their own Familia should “quit needing people to rescue ’im.”
Just the image of her seething face in the back of my mind makes me recoil in fright.
“Heh-heh, she’ll cheer right up if you tell her stories about what happened, you know.”
Syr’s cheeks flush red as she leans in toward me, a strange smile on her face. Meanwhile, Lyu adds her own opinion in her usual matter-of-fact tone. “Agreed. Mama Mia enjoys tales of bravery.”
“What do you say?” Syr asks in a friendly voice. It makes me happy that she feels this way, but unfortunately it can’t happen tonight. I shake my head no.
“I’m really sorry, but I’ll have to take a pass on that, today. I’ve already got plans tonight…”
“Oh, you do?”
“Mr. Cranell. Do these plans involve your battle party members?”
My lips spread into a smile as I enthusiastically nod.
It’s just as Lyu said, I’m going to celebrate with my friends tonight.
The sun sinks out of sight behind the high city wall, covering the streets in a blue shadow.
Orario grows even livelier as night falls.
Jubilant songs echo from the taverns, and street performers put on shows in the parks and open spaces around the city. Many people have gathered to greet adventurers as they emerge from the Dungeon. Magic-stone lamps light up the night.
One particular block adjacent to South Main is really living it up.
Magic-stone lamps of various colors illuminate the wide road. The lamps themselves are bright enough to rival the stars in the sky. Looking down the street, all of the buildings are tall and each has a unique flair to it. There are bars, casinos, and theaters all over the place, along with other establishments not seen elsewhere in the city. South Main Street is every bit as crowded as its reputation for an entertainment district would suggest.
But I leave all of that behind and go one block over.
I meet Lilly and Welf inside a bar that’s lined with all kinds of animal masks, from birds to lions. The three of us sit around the table and clink our mugs together.
“Cheers!”
Smiles overflow around the table like the bubbly foam on the top of our mugs of ale. We aren’t the only ones having a good time. Clink, clink! Other groups of adventurers at tables around us are starting to enjoy a drink after a hard day’s work.
There’s a big red sign that looks a lot like a Familia’s emblem on the wall that has some kind of insect design. It’s the symbol of this bar: Hibachitei, the Flaming Wasp.
Located in a back alley of the business district, this tavern is popular among different groups of adventurers and smiths, Welf being one of them. The bar’s claim to fame is a deep red mead. It’s apparently good enough that people commute here just to drink it.
Compared to The Benevolent Mistress, this place is rather cramped. I suppose that’s because it’s on a back street instead of the main road. There are enough tables, chairs, and other obstacles in here to make it difficult to get around. The inside is a little bit dirty and filled with dwarves and men laughing together in loud voices. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something different about the atmosphere in here. Syr’s place is bright and modern, but the Flaming Wasp feels more like an adventurer’s bar.
Some prum girls work their way past us as I share a laugh with Lilly and Welf.
“Congrats on leveling up, Welf!”
“Mr. Welf is now officially a High Smith, yes?”
“That I am…Thanks.”
He bobs his head, looking a bit more bashful than usual. But that smile on his lips is all the proof I need to know that he’s attained both his goal as well as the pride that goes with it.
Welf had gained enough excelia through our journey into the middle levels and the many battles on the eighteenth floor to level up—going from Level 1 to Level 2. At the same time he acquired the “Forge” Advanced Ability.
Lady Hephaistos updated his status, and the announcement of his rank-up was made this morning. He came straight to my goddess’s home to tell us as soon as he found out, a massive grin on his face. From there he went to tell Lilly, and now the three of us are here celebrating it.
Welf is now a High Smith—we can’t let this special day pass by without commemorating it.
“Mr. Welf, are you now free to mark your work with your Familia’s brand whenever you want?”
“Whenever I want might be pushing it. I’ll need Lady Hephaistos’s approval along with several of the other leaders before I can use that brand. A weak-ass weapon getting stamped would just sully her name.”
Now that Welf has joined the ranks of the High Smiths, he’s allowed to engrave the ???????? insignia on his weapons and armor.
It sounds like he can’t do it every time but I bet…no, I’m sure that Welf’s work will start selling really well. The ???????? mark has that much influence.
Add in the fact that equipment made by a High Smith is always in high demand, and Welf’s reputation as a blacksmith should spread like wildfire. While I’m extremely happy for my friend, I’m also a little sad. “But this means…you’re leaving the battle party, doesn’t it?”
The main reason that Welf had wanted to join us in the first place was so that he could gain the Forge ability. He’s met his goal, so there’s no reason for him to stick around. Refusing to let him pursue his dreams would be selfish on my part.
This could be the last time I see him. Lilly is looking a little heavyhearted, too.
Welf scratches the back of his head. He smirks and looks at us like a big brother of sorts, trying to stop himself from blushing. “Don’t look at me like some abandoned rabbit on the side of the road.” He swirls the ale in his mug a few times and continues. “I owe you guys. I can’t just say ‘I’m done, see ya’ and take off.”
“Huh…”
“I’ll join you whenever you call, including for Dungeon crawling. So don’t worry,” he finishes with a toothy grin.
I blink a few times before his infectious smile takes over. Lilly’s eyes curve upward as the three of us clink our mugs together yet again.
We’re still a battle party.
“Mr. Welf only joined us two weeks ago…Ranking up didn’t take very long at all. Lilly was sure it would take a lot more time.”
“Well, I wasn’t exactly sitting on my ass before joining up with you two. But yeah, it happened in the blink of an eye…I suppose almost dying five times in the middle levels sped up the process a bit.”
“Ah-ha-ha…”
Our conversation joins the din inside the lively bar.
Plates upon plates of many different kinds of food are carried to the tables of the other customers. Grilled ham steaks, fried fish with herb sauce—the smells in here are amazing. I work up the courage to try some of that red mead. Just one sip is enough to send a wave of heat down my throat and warm my stomach. Welf was the one who recommended Hibachitei for our get-together. After sampling some of the food and drinks here, I understand why. This place ranks right up there with The Benevolent Mistress. I wonder which one is cheaper?
Our goddesses were also going to join us tonight. But according to Welf, Lady Hephaistos was rather angry with Lady Hestia—something about Hestia my goddess having “other responsibilities,” or something like that…She has to work at her part-time job in Babel Tower, and she’s not happy about it. She did her best to give Welf her well-wishes, but the depression on her face was obvious. Welf had grimaced and accepted the congratulations.
“So Bell, you didn’t level up?” Welf changes the subject.
“No, not yet,” I answer honestly.
My Basic Abilities jumped quite a bit during our four-day trip through the middle levels, but not enough for my Status to go over the top.
“It’s more difficult to gain excelia at Level Two than it is at Level One. The same is true for leveling up…But Lilly is sure that Miss Lyu received most of the excelia from the last battle.”
Lilly is disguised as a young werewolf girl using her Magic to hide her true identity. The wolflike ears on top of her head twitch back and forth as she talks. I agree with every word she said.
The last battle…The floor boss, Goliath.
We joined forces with the adventurers from Rivira to attack that monster. There had to be more than a hundred of us working together, protecting one another and creating openings for others to attack. However, the Goliath summoned swarms of monsters into battle. Other adventurers took them on so that we could focus on the Goliath alone. There must’ve been at least five hundred of us, now that I think about it.
All adventurers who take part in group battles are entitled to a share of the excelia gained during combat. Even so, the ones who shouldered the heaviest burden get the largest shares—in this case Asfi and Lyu because they held the Goliath at bay the longest, and Lyu inflicted more damage. I’m sure that she received far more excelia than anyone else.
If Welf and the others hadn’t covered for me, bought me time, I would’ve never landed my last attack. Lyu, however, did almost everything by herself.
Facing down a monster of that size alone to protect her allies and still charging forward…I’m still in awe at what she accomplished. Her heroic deeds are worthy of being immortalized in a book of heroes. Remembering how she moved, the crispness of her strikes, her aura itself still sends shivers down my spine.
“…So, what was it? That Goliath?”
Since the topic seems to be drifting in that direction anyway, Welf asked us directly about the “Irregular” that we encountered on the eighteenth floor.
The three of us lean in close so as not to be overheard by the people around us.
“There is no explanation, other than it was an Irregular…A floor boss appearing in a safe point hasn’t happened in this era.”
“That bastard was stronger than the rest of them, yeah? It was tossing upper-class adventurers around like bugs! If another one of those things shows up, we’ll be wiped out for sure.”
“I think you’re right…”
A black floor boss. A stronger Monster Rex.
A monster appearing on a floor that it shouldn’t have, which sent us spiraling into the deepest pits of despair. Everything about it defied common sense. Simply dismissing it as an Irregular didn’t do it justice.
“Lady Hestia seems to know something about it…”
The moment she saw that black thing emerge—she said it had been sent to eliminate her.
The Dungeon was angry that gods were inside.
The gods stayed out of the Dungeon to hide their presence.
Seeing how she had reacted and hearing what she said, I can’t shake the feeling that the gods and goddesses have some kind of connection with the Dungeon. Perhaps these all-knowing deities are hiding something.
“Did Lady Hestia tell Mr. Bell anything?” Lilly asks, but I shake my head no. After the battle, the goddess apologized several times but dodged the question whenever I asked her.
She kept acting like it was something that I wasn’t allowed to know, and I couldn’t fight against her divine will. It made me feel rather anxious.
But she doesn’t want to say, or maybe she doesn’t need to.
That’s the impression I got from her.
Discovering mysteries that lurk within the Dungeon might be our job as adventurers—ours and ours alone.
These thoughts and more ran through my mind as I had stood, slack-jawed, in front of the goddess.
“Welp, that’s about all we know, isn’t it…How did people take the news?” Welf changes the subject to improve the mood at our table.
We start talking about what happened after the battle and the current situation.
“There was no confusion or panic within Orario because the Guild issued a gag order right away. We are the only ones who know the real story, along with anyone else who was there.”
“Don’t say a damn thing is how they put it…”
“There’d be a pretty big penalty, too. The Guild can really be tenacious.”
“Lilly has heard Rivira is back in business on the eighteenth floor. The Dungeon appears to be normal, with nothing out of place.”
Lilly’s very good at gathering information because of her past as a thief and con artist. She’s got a lot better handle on what’s happening than Welf or I do.
Apparently the Dungeon and the city of Orario are well on their way back to normal. The Guild’s efforts to keep everything quiet must’ve paid off—after all, the Guild has power over all adventurers because it controls their income as well as managing the Dungeon’s resources.
Despite all of that, I wonder if the residents of Rivira really went back. It had been a life-threatening situation, so I’m not sure if they’re fearless or extremely motivated merchants, or just crazy…
“Speaking of that, Bell, you all right? I heard the Guild threw the book at you and Lady Hestia. The penalty had to be pretty steep.”
“Ah—yeah…”
To be precise, penalties were levied on both my Familia and Lord Hermes’s Familia.
Lady Hestia and Lord Hermes were summoned to the Guild to provide information on the incident. That’s when the hammer had fallen.
Completely ignoring their explanations, the Guild declared this incident to be a “Calamity”—a disaster in which gods are directly responsible. Both of them received a stern warning and a harsh penalty.
As for the penalty…It was a fine.
“How much was it, Mr. Bell?”
“Half…Half of our Familia’s assets.”
“…Ouch.”
On the contrary, we’d gotten off easy.
The Guild knew that Hestia Familia was extremely young and that we didn’t have much in the way of savings. We were only fined a few thousand vals—still quite a bit of money, though.
The item drop left over after the battle with the floor boss, Goliath’s Hide, was practically forced onto me during the craziness that followed our victory…It was probably worth enough to cover the penalty. However, I’ll never forget the goddess walking slowly to the Guild, carrying large sacks of money, tears dripping down her face as she shuddered her way there.
On the other hand, what Lord Hermes had to go through bordered on tragedy.
Members of Hermes Familia are involved in many different fields and had considerably more assets. The amount of money that they had to hand over to the Guild made our fine look like pocket change by comparison. The look on Lord Hermes’s pale face dryly laughing still hasn’t left my mind. All Miss Asfi did was sigh.
I try my best to smile back at the look of shock on Welf’s face after my story.
“…?”
We enjoyed our food after that while being completely surrounded by the loud voices of other customers.
Suddenly I notice that something about Lilly seems off. So I turn to her and ask:
“Lilly…are you feeling okay?”
Thinking back, she hasn’t been her usual self all night.
She’s listlessly looking at nowhere in particular…What is it? It’s like she’s desperate not to look at me. She’s here physically, but I think mentally she’s somewhere else.
“Sorry, Mr. Bell. Lilly spaced out.” She responds to the concern in my voice and flashes a smile in an attempt to reassure me that everything’s okay. “Mr. Bell’s reputation has improved considerably in the past few days. At the very least, the adventurers who witnessed the battle know Mr. Bell’s strength.”
“Th-that’s great…”
That was an obvious attempt to change the subject. I awkwardly nod back at her.
I look over at Welf out of the corner of my eye. He has noticed, too. He’s looking at Lilly over the top of his mug. He puts it back on the table and meets my gaze. Now’s not the time, he mouths at me with a shrug.
Lilly, in her werewolf-child form, swishes her tail back and forth, trying to look energetic. I’m pretty sure Welf’s right.
“—Get this, some ‘bunny’ just got famous overnight!”
A loud voice cuts through the din.
It came from an adventurer sitting at the table beside us.
The prum adventurer, speaking much louder than he needs to, is holding a glass in one hand and sitting at the table with five others.
“That rookie sure got some guts! Don’t care if he really is the record holder, it’s amazing that people swallow all of his lies! I couldn’t pull that act off in a million years!”
His voice has the timbre of a young boy and seems to fill the bar corner to corner. I can feel the eyes of other customers start to focus on us as the three of us glance at the table.
A golden bow and arrow in front of the burning orb…No, that’s the sun on their emblem.
All six of the adventurers, including the prum, have that symbol somewhere on their clothing. They’re all in the same Familia.
The prum leans back in his chair and takes another swig of ale. Our eyes meet and his lips curl upward. “Anyway, I’ve heard he’s extremely good at running away. That must be how he got the level-up—he ran away from that Minotaur until it collapsed from exhaustion. That’s a bunny for ya! Quite the talent!”
His tone…it’s really dry. Is that contempt?
Prums are known for their big eyes, and this one’s no exception. He keeps talking really loudly, almost like he wants me to hear him. The other adventurers at the table are doing nothing to stop him. In fact, they look thoroughly entertained.
Of course I don’t like what this guy’s doing…but I keep my mouth shut.
It’s better to avoid conflicts between Familias. My goddess told me as much the day I joined, and Eina drilled it into my head after that. I have every intention of following their advice.
On top of that, I don’t have the anger or the courage to say anything back or do anything about it. Pitiful, I know, but true.
I hear their taunting laughter but I do my best to ignore it and block it out.
The other customers in the bar must be expecting something. I can feel it in their gaze.
“Oh, you know what else? The bunny joined up with two random pieces of riffraff! A washed-up smith and some puny supporter. That party’s so unbalanced I’m surprised they can even stand!”
I turn my back to their table and look at Lilly and Welf. Keh-keh-keh. The men in their group laugh even harder along with the prum’s cackling snicker.
My shoulders twitch.
I can’t ignore those words. I can’t help but clench my fists upon hearing my friends insulted.
I spin around my chair to face them. Immediately, Welf and Lilly grab my arms.
“Cool it, don’t worry. Let ’em say whatever they want.”
“Mr. Bell, don’t listen to them.”
Welf has a cool enough head that he takes another drink from his mug. Lilly sounds like she’s scolding me.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt a red surge of anger that strong. Thanks to Welf and Lilly, though, it’s ebbing away, and I manage to control myself.
We’re at a bar, and I’ve been drinking. I might be a little drunk. I tell myself as much over and over, take a few deep breaths, and try to relax.
Then, the prum clicks his tongue in our direction as if he’s disappointed that we’ve kept our tempers in check. His next words take on more of a violent tone.
“I also know that his Familia is led by some goddess not worthy of even the slightest shred of respect. You’d have to be pretty weak and stupid to join a disgraceful deity like that!!”
—In that moment, sparks burst in my field of vision.
I jump to my feet, my chair flying backward.
“Take that back!” I howl.
Forgetting myself, sound explodes from my mouth.
My ears vaguely pick up the sound of my chair crashing into the ground as I glare daggers at the prum man.
Lilly’s staring at me, lost for words. That’s how angry I am.
My goddess—the one person in my life whom I hold in higher regard than any other—has just been insulted. Nothing else in the world could infuriate me this much. She is my family, my goddess, and this bastard is looking down on her, talking about her like she’s trash.
Every person in the bar looks at me in silence. I don’t know if the little prum man has lost his nerve, looking at me as I tower over him. There is an unmistakable hint of fear in his eyes.
Somehow, he forces his lips into a sneer and says in a shaking voice:
“S-see? Bull’s-eye. Can’t bear the shame, eh?”
Whoosh! Blood rushes up into my head all at once.
Overpowered by this wave of emotion, my body moves on its own.
“Don’t do it, Mr. Bell!”
Lilly’s voice can’t stop me now. My hands are yearning for this bastard’s throat.
One heartbeat before I could grab hold—a sudden burst of air.
A leg comes flying into my line of sight—whok—and buries itself in the prum’s face.
“Bmmph?!” The prum lets out a muffled yelp of pain as he and his chair crash to the floor.
A river of blood flows from his broken nose as his eyes roll back in his head and several parts of his body start twitching. He’s out cold.
The bar once again falls silent as the man who threw the kick and deprived me of my target, Welf, stands on one leg beside me.
His right foot is still outstretched as every set of eyes in the bar looks his way.
Did he cover for me? Was he just as angry?
I stare at him in disbelief. Welf smirks. “My foot slipped,” he says with impudence.
He narrows his eyes and grins at the other adventurers at the table. It’s almost as if his actions are a signal.
The prum’s friends stand up at once.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Now you’ve done it!”
One of the adventurers kicks the table, sending it spinning into the air. The sound of shattering dishes instantly echoes throughout the bar, accompanied by the screams of the staff. The adventurers throw everything out of their way in a mad charge toward us. Meanwhile, Welf grins and loosens up his right arm with a few swings of his fist.
It takes me a second to come back to my senses, but I tackle one of them who’s trying to attack Welf from the side.
____ Waaa!! The other customers’ voices erupt into a wall of sound. “Why, why is it always adventurers?!”
A fervor sweeps through the confined tavern. Lilly’s voice somehow manages to cut through it all as punches and kicks are thrown in every direction.
This is an all-out brawl. All tables and chairs within range are instantly thrust out of the way as we engage the offending adventurers to the delight and incitement of the bar’s customers. Mugs and bottles in their hands, they surround our battle in no time.
I bob and weave, dodging and counterattacking in an atmosphere so electric that it lights up the night. Now Level 2, Welf is able to keep all four of the attackers at bay on his own more than once. He must be used to this kind of fight. One adventurer charges at him, but he just smiles before sending the guy flying backward with an impressive uppercut. I move into the fray, duck down to the floor, and sweep my right leg forward. I catch an animal person behind the knee and he falls flat on his butt with a loud “Gah!”
I dip and dive again, dodging even more punches and kicks as Welf and I use a basic formation to overwhelm our opponents, just like a frontline attacker with middle support in a three-man cell fighting monsters in the Dungeon.
“…”
Our audience gets steadily louder as our two-man cell overpowers their four-man group.
However, the last of the prum man’s friends chooses this moment to make his move.
He’d been sitting in his chair all this time, calmly drinking what was left in his glass. Crash! He throws it to the floor and stands. His movements are swift and glamorous—sure, I’m being distracted and can’t watch too closely, but I still notice—as he approaches Welf.
The man grabs hold of Welf’s outstretched arm just before it makes contact with another adventurer’s face, pulls it back with one hand, and flips him on his back.
“Uwah!”
“Welf?!”
A new wave of rage consumes me the moment I see him land. I charge his attacker head-on.
I throw punch after punch, but he keeps dodging by the slimmest of margins—I catch a glimpse of his pompous smirk between my fists.
Suddenly his body becomes a blur. Just like that, my punches hit nothing but open air.
“—”
I’m very confident in my speed and agility, but it feels like he’s trying to show me up. He’s laughing at me.
I finally get him squared in my sights and lunge forward, only to feel sudden intense pain just below my chest. My eyes fly open in pain and I realize that he’s buried his knee in my gut.
He grabs my airborne body by my shoulder and forces my head up.
His incoming fist fills my vision like an oncoming boulder. Stars explode in front of my eyes.
“Mr. Bell?!”
I fly backward.
The adventurers watching our brawl jump out of the way and I plow into one of the round tables behind them. Lilly’s scream mixes with the splintering sound of wood breaking on impact.
My face feels hot. I’m on my back, a piece of the broken table underneath me. Reaching up to cup my bleeding nose, somehow I managed to get my head off the floor.
“That was just a love tap.”
He’s calmly standing on the other side of the wreckage, looming over me.
He’s a tall, kind of lanky adventurer. The man is handsome enough to rival an elf.
His long brown hair is well kept and neatly styled. The man’s skin is smooth and white, almost feminine. He’s wearing all kinds of accessories over his Familia’s uniform, including several golden earrings. Eyes as blue and vast as the sea are focused solely on me.
“That’s…Hyacinthus.”
“The Sun’s Favored Child, Phoebus Apollo…”
“He’s Level Three, a second-tier adventurer?!”
Many voices suddenly fill the bar, a whirlwind of shock and surprise. But my ears pick up something that make my fingers go numb.
Level 3—upper-class, second-tier adventurer.
This guy is a full rank above me.
“You’re a feisty one, Little Rookie.” Hyacinthus—I think that’s his name—has a high-pitched voice for a man.
His blue eyes leave me and hover for a moment over the prum man, who’s still twitching in his broken chair. He looks the other way, and the bodies of his fallen comrades reflect clearly in his eyes. He’s the only combatant who still has the strength to stand.
Lilly rushes over to help me, but I can’t climb to my feet even with her support. Welf has made it back to his knees. The man is just standing there, looking at us in silence. All of the excited energy that had filled the tavern a moment ago seems to fizzle out in an instant.
The muscles in my face start to tense, blood dripping from my chin as the man fixes his hair.
“You have inflicted injury on my friends. This is a serious offense. We will receive appropriate compensation.”
His blue eyes take on a sadistic gleam. I’m sure that’s what I’m seeing.
He sneers at me again and takes another step toward me as if to deliver a finishing blow. That’s when someone else makes their presence known.
Another splintering jolt hits my ears as yet another table is kicked into the wall.
“!”
Every head in the bar snaps in that direction.
The figure of an ash-colored werewolf man sitting on a chair greets our eyes. His leg is slowly coming down after kicking the table.
“Get lost, small fries, ya don’t belong.” The werewolf growls as if annoyed and itching for a fight, his facial tattoos rippling.
An anxious stillness spreads throughout the bar. The werewolf’s ears and tail twitch, revealing his bad mood.
I know him. I just can’t believe it.
—That guy.
That night still hasn’t faded from my memory.
That incident at the bar that became my motivation to chase after the female knight, the girl who’s become my idol.
One of Loki Familia’s adventurers, he was there the day I was mercilessly chased around by a Minotaur.
I think his name is…Bete?
“It’s your fault that this piss-weak beer started tastin’ foul, too. Y’killed my buzz, you repulsive wimps. Get outta my sight!”
He and a few other adventurers around him are all wearing the “trickster” emblem. All the adventurers around stand in awe of the group from the strongest Familia in Orario, and in fear of the leader of this particular group, the werewolf.
While much more boorish and harsh than Aiz or the others, he has the same aura of strength. I’m sure the others here have picked up just how dangerous this man is.
Only the handsome man is able to speak, or even remain calm as he shrugs back. “Hmm…How rude. Apparently Loki Familia has gotten sloppy. They forgot to put a leash on their dog, of all things.”
Bete’s amber eyes instantly narrow, his temper flaring as he glares at the man.
“Wanna be torn in half, pretty boy?”
Werewolf and human size each other up.
The tension in here is suffocating. Time stands still before the handsome one breaks eye contact first.
“I’ve lost interest in this,” he says as he turns away. “We’re leaving,” he tells his companions as he walks toward the exit on his own. The four of them somehow manage to stumble to their feet, lending a shoulder or two to their unconscious prum ally, and follow their leader out the door.
The last of them gone, a tranquil calm falls within the bar.
…Did he just…help me?
Loki Familia forced the other group of adventurers out…For the life of me, I have no idea why Mr. Bete would do something like that.
My mind stops racing and I wipe the dried blood off of my face…Slowly but surely.
The werewolf steps forward; he’s coming right toward me.
“Eh?” comes out of my suddenly tight throat, and I’m not the only one. The adventurers who witnessed our brawl waste no time in getting out of Bete’s way. My butt’s still on the floor as I look up at his imposing figure. He comes to a stop right in front of my feet.
My heart trembles. The feeling of being made into a laughingstock that night rears its ugly head in the back of my mind.
He made me feel like a fool in front of Aiz. I could do nothing, only run away. That despair threatens to take over my mind once again when suddenly I see his left hand reaching down to me.
He’s extending his hand—but there’s no time to take it. He grabs hold of my collar and forcefully pulls me up.
I can’t breathe.
“—Know yer place.”
He pulls me up to his face, nose to nose.
The rage burning in his eyes is overwhelming. No sound comes out of my mouth; I have to nod. I can feel the strength pulsing in his fingers. Just keeping eye contact is terrifying.
Then he lets me go, dropping me on the spot. Thump! Pain shoots up my legs and into my back as soon as I hit the floor. Mr. Bete’s mouth twitches before he turns around and walks toward the door himself, anger emanating from his back. His tail swishing looks like an ash-colored flame in his wake.
The rest of the adventurers in his group quickly jump to their feet. One of them sets some money on the counter as all of them follow him outside.
First the handsome man and his group, then Loki Familia leave Hibachitei.
“Are you okay, Mr. Bell?”
“Damn those guys, what were they trying to pull…?”
Lilly sits down next to me as Welf massages his lower back, eyes still on the door.
I nod at Lilly and follow Welf’s gaze. The door is still open. I can see the dark back street and even a piece of the night sky. I touch my face and instantly feel pain course through my swollen lip.
The bar staff is already hard at work, throwing away broken chairs and tables and sweeping up the splinters that litter the floor.
We’re the only ones left, but none of us knows what to say.
A little time has passed since the brawl at Hibachitei.
Welf, Lilly, and I have made our way to a hidden room under an old church, Hestia Familia’s home.
“Ohh, so there was a fight,” the goddess calmly says as she rubs medical cream on my face—it’s cheap stuff, so anyone in Orario can buy it. My face tenses up whenever her fingers pass over one of my many cuts and nicks.
We’re here to explain to her in our own words what happened and heal up at the same time.
We’re not hurt too badly, but the goddess was extremely surprised to see us covered in bumps and bruises when we arrived. Lilly told her what happened and the goddess seemed to accept her explanation. We apologized to the bar’s owner after the fight and told him that Hestia Familia would pay for the damages.
“Turns out you’re a bit more rambunctious than I thought, Bell. I’m kind of happy about that, but it makes me sad, too…”
“Mr. Bell has been acting like Mr. Welf! Mr. Bell has been behaving more and more like a violent adventurer ever since he met Mr. Welf!”
“Hey, hey, you know that’s not true…Wait a sec, there has got to be a nicer way to say that!”
The goddess’s gentle fingers glide across my face as we sit side by side on the bed. Lilly and Welf are on the sofa directly next to us. The two of them have been arguing ever since Lilly claimed that only an idiot would waste a potion to recover from a bar fight and began roughly smothering Welf’s injuries with the same ointment the goddess is using on me.
Lilly’s taken on an aura of superiority ever since we left the bar. “Lilly can’t believe this…This’ll come back to haunt us…Please consider how worried Lilly is.” She keeps repeating herself under her breath.
The goddess listens to what she has to say and does her best to smile at us.
“I’m surprised at you, getting into a fight like this. Then again, you are a boy, Bell.”
“…”
Her thin fingers are gentle as she rubs more cream onto my face. I feel really bad for making her worry, but I stay silent.
Satisfied with my treatment, the goddess takes her hand away and looks at me with serious eyes.
“However, fights are never a good thing! It’s just like what your supporter said. You realize you really got hurt this time!”
I let her finish and then immediately stand up.
Everything that happened in the bar, all the anger, I can’t keep it in anymore.
“But those guys—they insulted you!”
This might be the first time I’ve ever talked back to her. Lilly and Welf freeze and look up at me.
I wouldn’t care if they’d insulted me—I can take it.
However, they went after the people I care about—they insulted my goddess. She can’t expect me to let that slide.
My goddess has given me so much, and that prum man made her out to be nothing more than dirt under someone’s boot.
I clench my eyes shut in an attempt to keep tears from leaking out from the rage built up inside me. The goddess looks up at me with unblinking blue eyes.
She just stares at me for a moment before a small smile appears on her lips.
“I’m happy you would get this angry for my sake. But doing so put you in a lot of danger and that makes me much sadder.”
The goddess’s soft tone is in stark contrast to my body shaking in anger.
“I understand how you’re feeling, Bell. If it were the other way around and someone insulted you, I’d be mad enough to breathe fire. But if I got into a fight over it and came back injured like you did today, how would you feel?”
“…I’d want to cry.”
“See? That’s how I feel. I know it’s unfair, but please don’t get angry if you hear someone say something bad about me. Gods are happiest when their children are healthy.” And then she smiles at me. “Make a joke out of it next time. Something like ‘that wouldn’t anger my goddess, she’s got a big heart’ or something like that.”
The goddess…My goddess’s words cool my hot head.
She gently accepts all of my anger and rage, contains it, and helps me let it go.
Her smile unravels the knots of emotion that had built up in my chest.
I fall silent, nod, and apologize. “I’ll put up with it next time…I’m sorry.”
I look at the floor as I make my promise before looking up at her face. She’s smiling from ear to ear—absolutely beaming, like a healthy flame in a fireplace.
Tap, tap. She pats the bed next to her. I do what she’s asking and take a seat on the bed. She gently runs her fingers through my hair. I’m starting to blush, but I don’t move away.
Lilly and Welf watch the two of us. They do nothing to try and hide their amusement.
A calm, serene mood fills the hidden room under the old, run-down church.
“Lilly’s worried about how the other Familia will respond. It would be nice if they didn’t hold a grudge and come after Mr. Bell.”
The goddess had been rubbing my head and shoulders and was about to lean in for a hug when Lilly voices her concern.
Welf runs his hand over his black jacket, looking for damage. He doesn’t even look up when he adds, “I started it. Bell should be fine.”
“That may be so…but adventurers have a lot of pride. If their Familia is concerned about losing face, there might be a problem.”
“Hmm, that’s a good point.” The goddess looks over at Lilly and agrees with her. “Shall I talk to their god to prevent problems down the road?”
“I’m sorry, Goddess…”
I bow a little bit, but the goddess forces a smile. “Oh, it’s fine. Do you know what Familia they were from?” she asks me.
“Um, I think…” I try to remember everything before the fight started and recall the details. My memory clicks, and I tell her. “…they wore a sun emblem.”
Golden emblems bearing the mark of the sun flashed in the moonlight pouring down from the cloudless night sky.
They gathered in a dark alley, away from the light of the magic-stone lamps.
A group of six men made up of humans, animal people, and prums had found their way into one of the countless alleyways in the city of Orario.
“Gimme a break, Hyacinthus. Why do I always have to do the crappy part…?”
“Hee-hee, don’t be that way, Luan. You get to be the star.”
Hyacinthus grinned at the little man, who still had the well-defined outline of a boot on his face. The rest of the group traded laughs, further damaging their prum ally’s ego.
The prum adventurer named Luan had a youthful face. His smooth cheeks twitched in disapproval of the role he had just been assigned.
Hyacinthus’s lips curled up into a shrewd grin as he took in the anguish on the prum’s face.
“There was some unexpected interference, but we accomplished our goal…”
The noises of Orario’s vibrant nightlife were distant.
The handsome young man smiled fully as he mentioned his god by name.
“Lord Apollo will be most pleased.”
His golden earrings wavered slightly in the darkness.
Hyacinthus looked up and narrowed his eyes at the brilliant moon, shining in place of the sun on this clear night.
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