Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka

“… ?”

“What I’m trying to say is, do you want to join Hestia Familia? It’s just me and the goddess right now.”

Of course Bell knew that Lilly was already a member of Soma Familia, but he also knew that she had no connection with them anymore.

That’s why he thought he’d make the offer. Rather than leave her out on the streets, why not invite her to join them? It was something that Bell himself wanted, too.

Hestia showed little reaction, and all that was left was for Lilly to agree.

“…Lady Hestia, is that okay? You don’t hate Lilly… ?”

“Hee-hee-hee…Don’t get the wrong idea. No matter how much I don’t like you, ignoring a child in your situation goes against my principles. I came here today knowing that I might end up hosting you until you find your next job.”

Hestia’s cheeks were turning red as she braced every muscle in her head to squeeze out those words with a straight face. Her obvious lie made Bell grimace uncomfortably.

Lilly chuckled at the two of them before taking a deep breath and slowly shaking her head.

“Thank you, Mr. Bell, Lady Hestia. But the thought alone is enough for Lilly.”

“Wha…Wh-why?!”

“Lilly would feel bad for taking advantage of your kindness again, and…Lilly is still a member of Soma Familia.”

Laughing at Bell’s stunned reaction, Lilly reached around her back from over her shoulder.

Even Hestia squinted her eyes, thinking about the status engraved at the tips of Lilly’s fingers.

“As a member of Soma Familia, Lilly isn’t allowed to go to Mr. Bell and Lady Hestia’s home. If the fact that Lilly was staying there were found out, it would cause trouble for both of you. Lilly couldn’t forgive herself if that happened.”

“I-I’m not worried about that…Oh.” Bell was just about to take a bite out of his lunch when he suddenly realized something important and froze.

This was no longer just his problem. His family would be in danger as well.

Bell closed his eyes as though a sudden headache had struck him. Forcing his eyelids half-open, he looked over at Hestia.

“Supporter, what are the conditions for leaving Soma Familia? Is it forbidden altogether? What did your god say about it?”

“Soma has never said anything directly…But most likely, Lilly thinks it involves a large amount of money.”

“Money, huh…”

Besides members, the main thing that Hestia Familia lacked was money.

Thanks to Bell’s efforts in the Dungeon, the two of them were much better off now than they had been a month ago, but they still had to save as much as possible. The most money they could hope to offer at this point would be around 10,000 vals.

And even if by some miracle Bell and Hestia were able to raise enough money to pay for Lilly’s release, there was no way that Lilly would be willing to accept it.

“Is it that difficult to break away from a Familia… ? I know someone who has…”

“It’s up to the god. Some will listen to that kind of request, others won’t.”

The risk of leaving a Familia was all on the person leaving; it was also hazardous to the Familia itself. The biggest risk was, of course, information being leaked.

No matter how dissolute the god or goddess was, this level of Familia management needed to be handled very delicately. Generally speaking, deities preferred to avoid their members leaving the group.

“The person you’re talking about might have circumstances that they can’t discuss.” Hestia spoke to Bell after a quick glance at Lilly. Both Bell and the prum understood what she was getting at.

Lilly still belonged to the same Familia, but at the same time was separate. She was no different from a street cat, a stray adventurer.

As for the person who had received permission to leave their Familia—Mama Mia, the owner of The Benevolent Mistress—Bell had a feeling that Hestia was right. Considering a few things that Syr Flover and the others had let slip in conversation, it’s very possible Mia might have some “special circumstances.”

Even without asking directly, Bell was getting a good sense of just how difficult life was for people who left their Familia.

“…What about people who didn’t choose to be a part of the Familia? They don’t have a say it in it?”

“A child is part of the family. Farmer’s children become farmers. That’s how it is, Mr. Bell.”

If a child’s parents were already members of a Familia, that child was destined to join, whether they liked it or not.

Looking at it from the god’s or goddess’s perspective, the child was the parent’s responsibility. It wasn’t as though the god had asked to have a crying baby in their home, so they weren’t likely to take care of it.

To be blunt, it wasn’t the god’s concern.

In the end, permission to leave a Familia came down to the god’s disposition. Did they have a generous streak, or not?

Because if the member was unlucky, they could be asked for an unreasonably large sum of money, or be given an impossible task to complete as their god watched from a distance, enjoying the show.

Bell looked over at the smiling Lilly with concern in his eyes.

“Without Soma’s assistance, you can’t update your status…and I suppose you can’t covert.”

“Probably not…”

“But you’re not planning to stay at this level forever, right? Are you planning to pay him a visit at some point?”

“Yes. Lilly knows it’s not an option right now, but Lilly will go to Soma when the time is right. Lilly’s not sure if he’ll listen to her, though…”

With Lilly’s words, the conversation came to a sudden end. The three of them sat in their chairs, deep in thought.

Amid this thick but delicate silence, Bell raised his head to ask Lilly a question. “Well then, what are you going to do, Lilly? Stay by yourself in some room again… ?”

“Actually, there is an old gnome that knows Lilly well…Not Lilly Lilly, but close enough. Anyway, he should be willing to give Lilly a hand. Lilly’s planning to stay at his shop for the time being. Ah, of course she’ll be working! She’ll do her best not to use her magic and to do honest work.”

Bell heard no waver in her voice. The knowledge that Lilly had a plan in mind made him feel a little better.

I think I should talk to Eina again…

It was difficult to think about, but Bell couldn’t see any way for the Soma Familia situation to be solved without Eina Tulle’s help.

It was the Guild’s policy not to get involved with problems concerning Familias unless something major was taking place.

As the organization that makes Orario tick, the Guild didn’t have time to worry about the misfortune of individual adventurers and supporters.

Their role of “support” only involved teaching the adventurers and supporters ways to harvest magic stones more effectively. They didn’t typically listen to personal issues.

Bell held his temple with one hand as he realized he had been spoiled by Eina’s kindness.

“Hey, hey, are you sure it’s all right, forcing yourself on some poor old guy like that? I could introduce you to the manager at my job, you know,” said Hestia.

“No, no. Lilly doesn’t want to be around when someone forgets how to use a magic-stone stove and blows the whole stand sky-high. Thanks for the offer, but Lilly politely refuses.”

“How do you know about that?!”

“Stories about the Loli goddess’s curse and the disaster on North Main are quite famous in this neighborhood, so…”

“Eeeeeeek!!!! Not in front of Beeeeeellll!!!”

“Mmmmph?!”

At any rate, thought Bell, as long as they’re willing to put up with my white-haired head, I’ll bow to the girls laughing in front of me any day.

Finally seeing honest laughter coming from Lilly for the first time was infectious, and he broke into a smile himself.

I make my way at a brisk pace down Northwest Main: “Adventurers Way.”

I’ve said good-bye to the goddess and Lilly, and am en route to the Guild headquarters. I can’t shake the feeling that I need to at least let Eina know about Soma Familia, and other details of the conversation we just had.

The shops lining the street are already open, every one of them busy and lively.

Since adventurers travel this street daily, the shops in this area do their best to stand out with their building design. That accessory shop over there has a waterfall of ale running down the sides of the entrance for decoration, and the item shop next to it is built from ash-colored bricks that look solid as iron. Every shop window has its highest-quality items lined up and on display.

I wonder if most adventurers are taking the day off, as there are a ton of tough-looking demi-humans in street clothes out shopping right now. Most of them are in small groups, like they’re in the same party, milling around together as they chatter about this and that topic, laughing often.

That would be so nice. Always being with a group of friends who know you better than anyone else, fighting for each other, even shopping together…Honestly, I’m a little jealous.

Ah, there it is. A massive temple on the side of the road, a pantheon.

I walk through the front garden and between the white marble pillars of the Guild headquarters.

It’s just past noon, and most adventurers are in the Dungeon by now so the lobby is mostly empty. The sheer whiteness of the massive hall really stands out when almost no one is here. Without the usual crowd of fellow adventurers blocking my vision, I find Eina almost instantly.

“…… ?”

She’s got a customer at her window.

A single adventurer, standing across the counter from Eina, is holding something wrapped in a white cloth.

Eina’s nodding. She looks troubled somehow, like they’re talking about something serious. I’m so focused on Eina’s expression that I don’t even glance at the adventurer, whose back is to me as I carefully walk up to the counter for a closer look. But out of the corner of my eye, I notice the long blond hair and sleek, feminine features.

Eina notices my presence when I’m just a few meders away. Her emerald-green eyes shoot open in surprise.

That starts a chain reaction.

The person at the counter slowly turns to face me.

Wha—

From beneath swaying golden locks appear two golden eyes.

A soft, rounded chin, and thin neck. Even if I hadn’t noticed her milky white, smooth skin, she would’ve still struck me as beautiful.

There’s a slight look of surprise, seeing me standing here, on a face so gorgeous that it’s on par with the goddesses themselves.

Miss Aiz Wallenstein.

I forget to breathe as the three of us just stand there, a triangle of surprised silence.

“…”

“…”

“…”

My gaze is locked firmly with Aiz’s, but I can see Eina’s eyes jumping back and forth between us as well.

Now I can’t breathe at all. All I can see are those golden eyes, my mind completely blank.

The silence continues.

Keeping my face unchanged, I force my right leg backward and slowly turn my body away from her.

The moment I hear one of them say, “Huh?” I make a break for the door. Every fiber of my being wants out, now!

“B-Bell! Wait!”

I ignore Eina’s voice echoing after me, just running, running, running.

My feet pound on the white marble floor, my arms pumping so hard that my shirt might catch fire. Almost out the door!

—Why the heck would Eina be talking to her?!

—What the hell is going on?!

This can’t be good. I shake my head to get all the images of bad things that might happen to me out of my mind. My instincts lead me out of the lobby, my ears burning red as I put on speed.

Breaking through the confusion outside the front door, I blaze through the front garden and dash toward the safety of the crowded street.

But at that moment, I feel a sudden burst of wind from behind me.

Suddenly, she’s standing between me and the street, her blond hair flowing in the breeze she created when she ran past me.

“—DAHH?!”

I see her, but I’m going full speed. There’s no way I can avoid slamming right into her, and I watch every horrifying second of it in slow motion through my wide-open eyes.

“Bell? Miss Wallenstein?!”

I clench my eyes tight just before impact, but I can hear Eina’s footsteps as she comes out of the Guild…Wait, where’s the impact?

I carefully open my eyes only to see a thin arm wrapped around my stomach. Another is supporting my back. She is holding me…

I look up a little higher. She’s looking down on me, her eyebrows low.

“…Sorry. Are you okay?”

“—I’M S-SORRY!!”

My face bright red, I practically jump out of her arms.

I take a moment to collect myself, and the sudden jolt of seeing her starts to fade away. It seemed that I’d been…held.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Running off like that when someone is trying to talk to you is very rude, I’ll have you know!”

“I’m s-sorry, Miss Eina…”

I apologize to a very angry Eina out of reflex, but my eyes are drawn to Miss Wallenstein.

The moment her gaze meets mine, I quickly look away and ask Eina a question.

“S-so what is all this… ? Why are you…and you… ?!”

“Ah…Miss Wallenstein wanted to talk with you, Bell.”

“Huh?!”

Eina heaves a sigh at my total lack of understanding, and tells me nothing more.

My eyes snap back to Miss Wallenstein as she takes the white cloth off the thing she’s holding.

An emerald-green vambrace emerges.

I don’t think my eyes have ever opened wider than they do at that moment.

“She found this in the Dungeon and wanted to give it back to you personally. She came to me to ask to set up a meeting with you.”

She speaks with a matter-of-fact tone, like it should have been obvious. As for me, I’m still in shock.

Three days ago, I fought against wave after wave of monsters on the tenth level of the Dungeon. It got knocked off my arm in the chaos, but I’d been so focused on catching up to Lilly that I didn’t take the time to retrieve it…

That’s when it hits me. The mysterious adventurer who cleared a path for me, protected me…was her.

“…Bell. I’ll leave the two of you alone to talk.”

“Huh?!”

My shoulders spin violently in Eina’s direction as soon as her words hit my ears.

Screaming silently under my breath, I make one last plea to her.

“W-wait, Miss Eina! I’m begging you, please stay here with me…! I—I’m dying here!”

“You’re a young man, aren’t you? There are many things that need to be said, so man up and say them, all right?” She gives me a quick nod and mouths, “Good luck.”

Eina is probably just trying to be nice and give us some privacy, but the thought of being alone with her is enough to make me cry. Eina turns on her heel and goes back into the Guild. Suddenly I understand how a puppy feels as it’s abandoned in a box by the side of the road and watches its master get smaller in the distance.

“…Umm, here.”

“!”

Hearing her voice makes me spin around and take the vambrace from Miss Wallenstein in one movement.

She’s almost my height; barely tall enough to look me in the eyes. And she’s staring right at me.

My whole body has to be red by this point. My mouth is shut tight.

“I apologize.”

“Huh… ?”

“It was my fault that that Minotaur wasn’t slain, and caused you so much trouble and injury…I have been hoping for a chance to apologize since then. I am very sorry.”

I can’t believe my ears or my eyes, as she lowers her head in a light bow. Getting a grip on the situation, I force my mouth open and drive the words out.

“N-no, no! It was all my fault for going down to the fifth level in the first place! You’ve done nothing wrong, Miss Wallenstein! Actually, you’re my savior! I’m the one who should be apologizing to you, I’m the idiot who turned cocky and got run around in circles…S-sorry!”

Shaking from head to toe, everything that I have to say suddenly comes spilling out of my mouth at once.

After all that I’ve been through—every time she’s saved my life—to have her apologize to me makes me want to disappear off the face of the earth out of embarrassment.

“Well, um, what I’m trying to say…”

I think my face is going to melt from how fast I’m racking my brain for the right words to express what I’ve wanted to say for so long—until finally they come:

“For all the times you’ve rescued me…THANK YOU SO MUCH!”

I bow as low as I can without face-planting into the street.

I can see the stone blocks of the road as a bead of sweat rolls down my nose and drops to the ground.

The sounds of the people in the street around me seem distant, drowned out by the thumping drum in my chest.

Neither of us moves for several seconds.

I finally work up the courage to look up and straighten my back.

Miss Wallenstein is just calmly standing there, with the slightest hint of a smile on her lips.

“—!”

Kaaahhhh…Air escapes from my lungs again as a new wave of embarrassment shoots through my body.

I lower my chin, hiding her smile behind my bangs.

Even the butterflies in my stomach are blushing at this point.

“…”

“…”

No one says a word.

As the two of us stand in silence, the only thing moving is time.

This is a bridge that all adventurers and normal people alike must cross. But all I’m able to do in the spacious front garden of the Guild is stand there, unable to make a sound.

“You’re doing well…in the Dungeon?”

“Y-yes!”

She breaks the silence, and I respond as quickly as I can.

She continues talking, her facial expression almost void of emotion.

“Looks like you can make it down to the tenth level now…That’s impressive.”

“No, not at all! I’ve only gotten that far because I have help! I’ve still got a long way to go! I haven’t even come close to reaching my goal yet…!”

Being complimented by my idol out of the blue like that is too much to handle. Here comes a new wave of panic!

My hands fly up, shaking back and forth while my eyes spin.

“I mean, when I fight monsters in the Dungeon, I’m just winging it like a total amateur. I don’t know how many times a monster’s almost gotten me. I know I have to get stronger, but I’m still just so weak and I don’t feel like I’m getting better at all, well, um… ?!”

My nerves are squeezing words out of me at a rate I’ve never felt before. At this point, I don’t know if I’m trying to sound humble or modest or what.

“…”

Miss Wallenstein just stands there, staring silently at the panicked mess that’s trying to talk to her: me.

Finally, she moves. She reaches up slowly with one hand and strokes her chin, as if thinking about something.

It takes me a few seconds to notice because I can’t see straight, but I gain my bearings long enough to ask her a question.

“Ah…um, is something wrong?”

She doesn’t respond right away. Instead, a look of uncertainty passes over her face as she throws a punch at the air between us. She holds that pose for a few more silent moments.

A look of nervousness overtakes her face before she opens her mouth to speak.

“Shall I…teach you how?”

“…Huh?”

“…How to fight. You don’t have anyone to teach you, am I right?”

It takes me quite a while to understand what she is asking.

My eyes open wide; I feel like I’m going insane.

“W-why…why would you offer something like that… ?!”

“…Because you look like you want to get stronger, I think. I understand that feeling,” says Miss Wallenstein, adding something about it being a way to pay me back for the trouble I went through.

How can she be so calm?! It feels like my head is about to explode!

I can learn how to fight? From her? The very person who I want to catch up to will teach me?

Is that okay?

Am I understanding this correctly? It’s not a mistake?

I’m still nothing compared to her, and yet I have a chance to learn by her hand? Even physically touch her?

But then there’s the problem with her being in a different Familia.

My mind spins with questions, but they’re no more than an attempt to hide my true feelings.

I want to talk to, know about, and spend time with her.

Just thinking about it makes me feel crazy, but the deepest place in my heart wants nothing more than an opportunity to be together with her.

As all the thoughts swirling around with me are about to tear me apart, I think about the obvious answer and try to string the words into a response.

“…”

Aiz watched in silence as a very flustered Bell tried to collect his thoughts.

There were no lies in what Aiz had said to Bell a moment ago. She could hear his earnest desire to get stronger, and she could relate to him. That was reality.

But of course, she didn’t make the offer out of pure good will. There was something she wanted to know.

The first hint of something different was the silverback.

Then it was the fact he’d made it down to the tenth level.

Aiz had seen this boy pull off one miracle after another, witnessing an unbelievable amount of growth in his skills and abilities in a very short amount of time.

The raw newbie she happened to run into during the Minotaur incident had improved enough to draw her interest.

How’d he do it…?

She wanted to know the secret of his growth. Study it.

For herself.

This was a major reason why she’d offered to train him.

“I don’t know what you could do with how I am now…but if you’re going to offer…”

“…”

At the same time, she felt a bit guilty.

The boy believed that her suggestion was based on pure generosity. Hiding her true motives from him made her heart twinge.

Bell held his head as he spoke, words once again leaking out of him mouth as Aiz calmly watched.

She grabbed the hilt of the sword at her waist as a way of cutting through her own misgivings.

“…U-um, Miss Wallen…stein…”

The boy looked up.

His face was still red, making his stark white hair more intense than usual. But his eyes were focused as he looked into hers, before throwing his body into a deep bow.

“I will learn everything you are willing to teach!”

At last, a strong response.

Looking at the resolve in his eyes, Aiz promised herself that as a way to apologize for her true motives, she would do everything in her power to meet his expectations.

“…Very well. I will do my best.”