PROLOGUE

Chance Meeting

Sharp, labored breaths rang out.

The ceiling, walls, and floor in this area of the labyrinth were
all tree bark. Moss thickly covered its surfaces, illuminating the
passageway in a bluish-green light. It gave the impression that
not a soul had ever set foot in this part of the Dungeon. The re-
verberations of distant monster howls made leaves tremble,
prompting beads of silver to dribble off sundry fantastical flora.

In this giant tree labyrinth that was completely removed from

the world up above, a lone shadow ran with every bit of energy it
could muster.

The figure had supple, delicate limbs that closely resembled

those of a young girl. Azure-silver hair glistened in the light of the
moss.

Besides its long, silky tresses, the being possessed skin of a

bluish-white hue.

The many scales covering its shoulders, lower back, and the
long ears framing its face, tapering to even finer points than those
of elves, were similarly colored. But the most notable feature by
far was the glimmering crimson jewel embedded in its forehead.

Blue-white skin and a crimson jewel were just the first of

many features that proved this creature was a monster.
 Thump, thump, thump! The monster held its thin, branch-like
arms against its chest as it ran through the Dungeon.

Why?

It was bleeding.

Claws, fangs, and blades had inflicted many wounds on its

body. Deep-red blood trickled from open gashes with every step.
The attacks had ripped entire scales from its shoulders, dyeing its
cerulean skin completely red.

Why?

Terror showed in its eyes. Confusion. Grief.

Several water droplets accompanied the blood on its way to

the floor below. The clear liquid flowed from the monster’s stun-
ning amber eyes as its thin throat began quivering.

“Why…?”

The sound that escaped from its small lips was not the crude
howl of a monster but a single hoarse, mournful word.

The voice was like that of a sobbing child. As if disdaining the

sounds strung together to make a word, the barks of monsters
echoing through the labyrinthine Dungeon closed in. The lone
figure’s bluish-silver hair and slim shoulders trembled in fear.

Sorrow had distorted its face, which was out of place on a

monster and attractive enough to leave a person breathless.

The monster—the “girl” was crying.

Why, why is everyone…?!

She was alone.

 She was only a newborn, recently delivered from the Dungeon
walls, but everything she had encountered rejected her.

She had memories of her birth, of breaking out from the wall
before falling to the floor. Still unable to tell left from right, she
wandered the Dungeon, trying to make sense of her dim sur-
roundings. While she was anxious at not knowing her location,
she picked up a familiar scent—one of her own kind. Her instincts
drove her to follow it.

It led her to a different corner of the Dungeon, where a crea-

ture much larger than herself stood. She approached it to ask:

“Where am I?”

The creature’s response was a monstrous roar. After raising its

voice in anger, the monster slashed her with sharp claws.

Skin torn, she ran away without understanding why.

As confusion seized her body, the red blood seeping from her
wounds and the first-time sensation of pain inspired terror in the
newborn.

Since then, she had been attacked again and again. The beings
that shared her scent, no matter their shape or size, threatened
her life. There were no exceptions. She fought desperately to hold
back something that threatened to flow from her eyes as her in-
juries continued to increase.

Rushing out from the depths of the Dungeon, the exhausted

“girl” next encountered creatures of a completely different
species.

They were humans equipped with swords and bows.

Accompanying them were a fairylike male and female. The

long-eared pair nestled close together, protecting each other.

She approached them, unaware that her eyes betrayed her

envy.

Not wanting to startle the newcomers, she hid her sharp claws
from view and opened her mouth to speak.

“Help me.”

In an instant, a blade opened a new wound on her body.

The group appeared more confused and shaken than she, but
most apparent was their terror as they rejected her.

Faced with this new animosity, she fled once again. The men
scattered as they swung their swords, and the pale-faced women
readied their bows with muffled shrieks.

Arrows streaked at her from behind as her tears finally spilled

over.

Pain. Suffering. Sadness.

The scales on her back deflected the arrowheads but cracked

with each impact. Her torn, lacerated shoulders felt as if they
were on fire. The world excluded, alienated, and rejected her; it
had branded her an outcast.

She questioned herself over and over. Why, why?

Cries of I’m scared, I’m so scared slipped from her mouth.

Her weeping did not stop.

What…am I…?!

No matter how many times she asked, the Dungeon, her

mother, gave no answer.

She fled for some time, but in the end her pursuers appeared
again. Astonished by her beauty, they adopted unfamiliar expres-
sions as they gruffly yelled, “Stop!”

The hunters, wetting their lips and gazing sadistically at her,

had no reason to halt their advance. The madness in their eyes as
they stalked her was far uglier than anything she had seen from
her fellow monsters. She tried to escape on her two slender legs,
having already learned to fear everything.

The reason she was regarded as a beast lay in the latent power
she used to shake off her pursuers, dodge other monsters in the
Dungeon that continued to attack her, and race through the ar-
borous path alone. The lonely echoing tap, tap, tap of two feet
hung in the air of the seemingly endless Dungeon.

Translucent tears spilled from her amber eyes again.

“Ahh!”

A downward slope.

She lost her footing like a child and tumbled heavily down the
hill crisscrossed in tree roots.

After falling to the very bottom, the “girl” noticed she had in-
jured her leg. She couldn’t stand.

Distant monster howls and the footfalls of people prompted a

shiver in her body. She examined her surroundings before setting
off, dragging her immobile leg along. Her wounds had already
clotted enough to stem the flow of blood, allowing her to hide her
trail. In one corner of the Dungeon, she found a single tree and an
abundance of plants. Using the leaves as a shelter, she hid within.
 Her back pressed to the wall, she held her breath. Trembling,
she squeezed her badly injured body tightly with both arms and
fought back against the endless waves of terror.

Then she realized something was approaching.

Her breath caught again.

She could hear steps coming closer and closer with each pass-
ing moment. The crescendo of footsteps made her recall the bit-
ing pain of a sword, almost as though the memory itself radiated
heat, paralyzing her with horror.

Her body shook uncontrollably.

Her cheeks still wet, another wave of fear crossed her face.

Looking up at the human figure drawing near, the girl hugged

herself with all her might.

Then.

The “girl’s” tearful eyes looked up as the newcomer appeared.

“A monster…a vouivre?”

White hair and rubellite eyes.

In a dim corner of the Dungeon, she had a fateful meeting with

one boy.
 CHAPTER 1
An Irregular Girl

It all started with a certain quest.

“Firebirds are overflowin’ on the nineteenth floor. Little

Rookie, you’re gonna lend us a hand, too.”

We, Hestia Familia, had just arrived on the eighteenth floor

when the adventurers of Rivira came to us unexpectedly with a
request.

From time to time, there are unpredictable outbreaks of many

monsters unique to the Dungeon. These erratic, unusual phe-
nomena are referred to as Irregulars.

The specific species involved this time had been confirmed as

firebirds, a rare kind of monster normally found on the nine-
teenth floor and below. Just like its name suggests, they have the
appearance of birds and predominantly use flame-based attacks.
This is a problem because the nineteenth floor is the start of the
“Colossal Tree Labyrinth” in the Dungeon.

Apparently these firebirds can turn an entire area into a sea of

flames if left unchecked. What’s worse, I’ve heard they sometimes
come up to the eighteenth floor—which should be a safe point—
and soar through the wide-open skies, putting even the lakeside
town of Rivira in danger.

Upper-class adventurers who stage expeditions from Rivira

weren’t about to let their base go up in flames, and we had arrived
just as they were setting off to exterminate the monsters. The res-
idents were seeking help in suppressing the outbreak and solicit-
ing every upper-class adventurer who happened to be passing
through.

The war against Rakia had ended three days ago. Having re-
turned to our regular activities in the Dungeon, we had finally
made it all the way to the safe point without relying on anyone
else for the very first time. Lilly was quite unhappy when this
quest was forced on us upon arrival, but given the handsome re-
ward and the fact that a flock of firebirds in our way made it im-
possible to comfortably progress any farther, she grudgingly gave
in.

The adventurers of Rivira provided robes made of burn-resis-

tant salamander wool as an advance payment to all cooperating
participants. Meanwhile, the organizers temporarily assigned me
to a different party because of my high agility. They wanted to fin-
ish the monster subjugation as quickly as possible, so I was de-
ployed in a group that stressed speed.

With my salamander-wool robe wrapped around my shoul-

ders, I left Lilly, Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime for the time being
and followed my assigned group of burly adventurers through the
entrance leading to the nineteenth floor.

Just when I thought things were going well, I realized I had

ended up separated and alone.

The Colossal Tree Labyrinth was completely different from the

other floors I’d seen before, and I had no experience with its
structure and paths. Since we were chasing after and sometimes
running away from firebirds in unfamiliar territory—not to men-
tion my possibly detrimental position at the rear of the formation
—the other adventurers totally left me behind.
 I found myself in a deserted corner of the Dungeon, trying to
get my bearings, when it happened.

I glimpsed something that resembled a human silhouette.

It dragged an injured leg along the ground and hid itself in the
lush undergrowth of the Dungeon, suggesting it was attempting
to evade pursuit.

At first, I thought it was an injured fellow adventurer and

started running over in a panic, but then I suddenly felt as if
something was off. With as much caution as possible, I ap-
proached.

Then—

“A monster…a vouivre?”

I’m shocked by what I see.

It’s a humanoid monster with delicate, slim limbs and bluish-

white skin. When I spot the jewel in its forehead that could be
mistaken for a third eye, I reach back into my memory and find a
type of dragon called a vouivre.

“Vouivre.”

On par with the unicorn, it’s known for being the rarest of rare
monsters even in the Dungeon.

I’ve heard it’s known to appear between the nineteenth and

twenty-fourth floors, and its drop items, whether scales or claws,
fetch tremendous sums on the market. However, these are noth-
ing compared to the red gem set in their foreheads, known as
“Vouivre’s Tear.” Its value promises such immense riches that ad-
venturers often refer to it as the “Prosperity Stone.”
 But extracting the jewel from a vouivre’s forehead causes it to
go berserk—and slaying the dragon inevitably shatters the pre-
cious item. There are records of innumerable adventurers who
have been cut to pieces trying to obtain one. Vouivres are a
species of dragon, the greatest monsters in the Dungeon, and
their combat strength is unmatched.

Usually, vouivres would have a humanoid upper body with a

snakelike lower body, like lamias. Overall, they resemble women
attached to a dragon tail, but…

…Is this really a monster?

The creature’s face seems surprisingly human, and there are

tears leaking out of its breathtaking amber eyes.

It’s not wearing anything at all, just the bluish-white skin it

was born in.

I notice it has thin legs where the dragon tail should be, and a
pair of modest breasts sits on its chest.

Apart from its complexion and scales, it could very well be a

girl about my age.

“…, …!”

The vouivre…is crying.

Arms wrapped tightly around its trembling body, it looks up at

me from its spot on the floor.

Like it’s forgotten that it’s a monster, showing fear like a per-
son.

I don’t believe it, comes a whisper from a corner of my mind.

 I can’t even think clearly. My confusion is only building. Even
seeing it with my own two eyes, I simply can’t understand.

I mean, monsters are our enemies, after all.

Monsters are born killers, baring their fangs at us and taking

every chance they get to attack. They possess such atrocious de-
structive urges that there’s no room for reason or emotions to in-
tervene.

Monsters are, well, monsters.

—At least they should be.

I don’t feel any of the hatred and disgust that a monster is sup-
posed to summon within me.

These enemies unconditionally drive us to fight back, but I

can’t sense even a fragment of the instinctual animosity I would
expect.

Right now, it’s the exact opposite. I’m reluctant to thrust a

sword at this humanoid figure before me.

I’ve never seen a monster like this.

“Uu, aah……!”

“!”

The vouivre’s eyes are glued to the tip of the Hestia Knife. I
quickly hide it behind my back. The hell are you doing?! I scold
myself. The tiny bit of relief passing over the monster’s face be-
wilders me even more.

Is this specific vouivre a subspecies?

A product of sudden mutation that could be considered an Ir-

regular itself?

It’s hurt…No, it’s wounded.

There are several places on its body caked in dried blood. I can
see spots on its shoulders where scales have been violently ripped
or broken off.

Only weapons can make injuries like that. Likely, it was adven-
turers who attacked it. Whatever the case, the badly wounded
vouivre is looking up at me in terror and desperately trying to put
more distance between us. But its back is already up against a
wall, and no amount of retreating will help.

I can’t move.

Monsters are the purveyors of death and destruction.

One should never befriend them, and certainly not extend a

helping hand for any reason.

But I’m standing here, trapped in the vouivre’s gaze, peering

into those amber eyes that definitely carry emotion. I can’t finish
it off…Slowly, I back away.

At an impasse, I decide that acting like I never saw it is the

best option and then run away pathetically.

Turning my back on the vouivre, I leave the place behind me.

“……?”

The human gone from her line of sight, the vouivre looked
around with a mystified expression, tears still filling her eyes.

The Dungeon was eerily silent. Frightened by what she might

see, the girl glanced at her surroundings before slowly standing
up.

Placing both hands on the Dungeon wall to take some weight

off her injured leg, she started hobbling along the passageway.

Suddenly, with a thud—

The sound of flapping wings descended behind the injured

vouivre as a crimson bird appeared from a side tunnel branching
off the passageway. The firebird was over two meders long from
end to end, with narrow bloodshot eyes and a massive, gaping
beak.

The vouivre girl froze as she felt heat closing in on her from
behind. The airborne creature had found its latest victim.

As the firebird aimed at her a stream of fire more powerful

than a hellhound could ever produce, she tried to kick off the
ground with her slender legs, but it was too late.

The flames dancing in the back of the firebird’s beak lit up the
vouivre girl’s face, about to spew forth—

“—Aghh!”

—I brandish my Hestia Knife.

I sprint and leap forward to attack, the blade carving a bright

violet arc through the air before splitting the firebird in two.

The disrupted fire attack breaks apart in midair like fireworks.

Its magic stone is cleaved apart, so the firebird crumbles into ash,
and its remains are blown away.

The vouivre collapses to the ground beneath the cloud of

sparks and smoldering soot as I land.
 …Damn it.

Now I’ve done it.

Staring at my Hestia Knife, which I’m holding in a reverse

grip, I hunch over in despair.

I couldn’t bring myself to take off after leaving this place be-
hind, so I doubled back and watched the vouivre from a blind
spot. Then I found myself dashing out of my hiding place once
the firebird attacked.

The horror on the monster’s face—no, “her” face—spurred my

legs to move on their own.

All alone in the heart of the Dungeon…

After being attacked by adventurers, it only makes sense that

she’s afraid of us now.

But to be assaulted for no reason at all by her fellow monsters?

Yes, I know thinking like this will only cause problems. The ra-
tional, levelheaded part of me keeps telling me to not do some-
thing so stupid. But my hands already went ahead and did it any-
way.

I grip my bangs with my free left hand, clenching my hair as I

walk toward the stunned vouivre.

She’s in pretty much the same position as before, looking up at

me.

Trembling with fear and confusion, she gazes my way as if

clinging to the faintest ray of hope. I let go of my hair and slowly
lower my hand with all sorts of thoughts running through my
mind—and then I smile weakly at her.
 I can’t do it.

No matter what happens.

I can’t kill her.

“—It’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

I kneel beside her so that our eyes are on the same level. Then
I relax my face and smile again.

Her eyes open a little wider, almost as if she understands what

I said.

Even tamers, who bend monsters to their will using a combi-

nation of strength and pain, would never do something this
downright stupid. Growing increasingly reckless, I examine more
closely the various injuries covering her body.

Her shoulders are in terrible shape, and her broken leg is

hideous. I reach into my leg holster and take out a Dual Potion
made by Miach Familia.

The vial containing unknown liquid in my hand must’ve star-

tled her, because her whole body flinches when she sees it.

“Nothing to worry about. This is called a potion—”

“Po…tion…?”

—She spoke.

I don’t know how many times common sense has been obliter-
ated today, but this one tops everything. Her voice is still ringing
in my ears.

I was simply speaking to her about what I was doing to soothe

her nerves, not expecting a response. Now I’m frozen in place,
and a dry, empty laugh escapes from my mouth.

At any rate, I open the vial and wonder if potions have any ef-
fect on monsters at all as I pour it over her shoulders. Relief
swells in my chest as I watch her open wounds begin closing be-
neath the dried blood. She, on the other hand, seems surprised.

High potions can mend a broken bone, but…apparently they

can force it to heal at the wrong angle if it isn’t set properly. The
same is true for other healing items and magic—they can cause
permanent damage when used without proper preliminary treat-
ment. While I have no idea how to deal with injuries the “right”
way, I tear off a piece of salamander wool for a bandage and wrap
it around her leg using my knife’s sheath as a splint.

“……”

“……”

I pour the remainder of the potion over the rest of her injured
body while kneeling beside her. Now that the vial is empty, the
two of us stare at each other in silence.

The long silver-blue-haired girl seems to be flustered. Holding

her hands together in front of her chest, her surprisingly clear
amber eyes quiver while her delicate mouth opens and closes
every few moments.

As I do my best to ignore the heat building in my cheeks and

keep my eyes off her completely exposed breasts, I know there’s
something different about her.

I encountered harpies when I was stranded in the Beor Moun-

tains not too long ago—they looked human, too, but also hideous.
Those creatures were definitely monsters. But this girl—she looks
so much like us, and the mysterious air around her is completely
different from the harpies’.
 A strange monster…A strange girl.

Something catches in my throat as I try to comprehend the

being that’s somewhere between person and monster sitting in
front of me.

“—Keep looking! It can’t have gotten far!”

Human voices.

Rough, angry shouts echo down the passageway toward us.

The vouivre girl shrinks in fear. The trembling that had all but
stopped comes back with a vengeance.

Terror fills her eyes as the footsteps draw closer to us. I don’t
say a word as I take off my salamander-wool robe and fling it over
her shoulders.

I just finish hiding all her bluish-white skin beneath it as sev-

eral heavily armed adventurers turn the corner.

“Hey, you there! Did you see a vouivre girl pass by?”

A group of four men and women rush up behind me with the

leader yelling at the top of his lungs. I stay facing the Dungeon
wall.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

It’s not difficult to guess their relationship with the vouivre

girl. If I don’t protect her now, then…

I can tell they’re already suspiciously glaring at the girl hiding

beneath my robe. Taking hold of the small, trembling hand be-
neath the red fabric, I desperately rack my brain for a solution.

Time slows to a crawl. I can hear the agitation in their voices

and feel beads of sweat dripping down my face. Glancing down—I
see the empty vial still clutched in my grasp. That’s it!

It’s risky. I just hope my acting skills are up for the task.

“Forget about that, do you have any potions on you? She’s

been hit by a firebird and got burned bad, real bad!”

Fixing my gaze on the form against the wall, I put as much

panic in my voice as I can.

The empty vial, the shaking body beneath salamander wool,

the singed ground and foliage left over from the firebird explo-
sion—everything here tells the story. Their eyes shift to me, nar-
rowing.

My desperation must be doing the trick, because they sneer at

me before turning on their heels. They don’t want to get involved
with my problem and are much more interested in tracking down
a rare monster. The adventurers sprint away.

Once I’m sure they’re gone for good…I let my shoulders relax.

“W-we should be okay now…”

I whisper to the trembling robed figure, and she timidly pokes

her head out from the fabric.

I’m sure that never in her wildest dreams did she expect an ad-
venturer to heal her rather than deliver the killing blow, let alone
protect her from other adventurers.

I saved a monster—how would I react if I saw someone else do

that?

…No, I don’t want to think about it.

 I can’t help but sigh as the vouivre girl still shivers in fear of
the adventurers, even though they’re gone.

“Um…Can you walk?”

I stand up and offer her my hand.

Staying here only puts her at risk of being found by…well, any-
thing. Those adventurers could double back, and she’d die a
pointless death.

She looks at my outstretched hand and then up to my eyes…

then nods slightly.

Her trembling hand reaches out and comes to rest on my

palm. It’s cold, surprisingly so. I curl my fingers around it and
gently pull her to her feet.

She’s probably about 150 celch tall. After making sure she’s
completely hidden by the salamander-wool robe, I pull her arm
over my shoulder as we take our first steps.

Sounds like there’s a battle over there…Okay, we’ll head this

way for now and figure out what to do next on the way…

Now that I’m separated from my assigned group, I have no

idea how to get back to the entrance.

There’s no choice but to follow my ears back to what I hope are

other adventurers on the same quest, fighting firebirds along the
main route. After that, it’ll all be a matter of following the map
that Lilly practically jammed into my pocket before I left. My only
hope is to find the landmarks on the map, follow them out, and
avoid being seen as much as possible.

Hoping that we don’t encounter any truly ferocious monsters

on the way, I support my injured companion so she doesn’t have
to put any weight on her broken leg. If worse comes to worst, I’ll
pick her up with both arms and book it.

“…”

The strange girl-monster hunted by both man and beast

watches silently as I ward off bugbears and mad beetles blocking
our path with my Swift-Strike Magic, Firebolt.

Her moist eyes glisten. “Khaa…” She’s sobbing, I think.

She turns toward me a few moments later, burying her face

between my neck and shoulder. A little nose presses against me,
and I can feel her warm breath on my chest. I know I’m in the
Dungeon and losing focus is a one-way ticket to the grave—but
my cheeks are on fire.

So delicate…and soft.

Even if she does have the body of a normal girl, getting hot
under the collar in a situation like this is a failure as a man and an
adventurer.

Did I save the vouivre because she’s pretty? Was it her appear-
ance that made me extend a helping hand? If that’s the case, I’m
already beyond help.

What would Gramps, the one who always told me to save

damsels in distress, say if he saw me now? Would he praise me?

…I have an inkling that this is the one time he’d groan.

I’ve gone far off the deep end, doing what I just did.

Saving a monster.

Then she whispers:

 “……Thank you.”

Needing a moment to get over this new surprise, I look down

at her. She gazes back up at me with tears in her eyes.

Her head is slightly tilted beneath the robe’s dark-red hood. In

that moment, I feel something that can’t be put into words—a
warmth that only people can share.

How do I respond? Should I respond? An endless string of

thoughts races through my head as she watches me uneasily.

Her pure, childlike innocence makes all the contradictory feel-

ings melt away. I force a smile.

“It’ll be okay.”

I give her another smile to try to put her at ease, and she re-
turns the gesture with a tiny one of her own.

She closes her eyes and presses her body against me again,
and I wrap my arms around her.

My mind is made up. I’ll protect this girl who can smile like
the rest of us.

There’s only one problem…How am I going to explain this to

Lilly and the others?

It took a while, but we found our way back to the main route
on the nineteenth floor.

Guided by the simple map in my hand, we hid from adventur-

ers and monsters at every turn until we spotted the light from the
eighteenth floor’s crystal ceiling. At last, the exit.

“—It is true! A monster spoke to me!!”

 “Why do you not believe us?!”

We follow the path that connects the eighteenth and nine-

teenth floors and come out at the base of the Central Tree located
at the center of the area. Several adventurers, including the ones
from Rivira, are standing around the roots.

Two elves, a man and a woman, are pleading their case to the
group.

Their insistence does nothing to convince their skeptical audi-

ence. I glance to my side to check on the vouivre girl and see her
grab at her shoulder. Her amber eyes lock onto the elves in fear.

“Yeah, yeah. Hey! You there, get these two a place to rest their
heads. Dreamin’s fine when you do it on a pillow, so make sure
they find one.”

“Bors, please believe me! That monster, it really did…!”

The unlikely story of a talking monster is raising more than a

few eyebrows, but no one will take it seriously if Bors, the man at
the top of Rivira’s hierarchy, can’t be convinced.

However, the elves’ pleading gives us a distraction. We quickly

slip out from the tunnel entrance.

“Mr. Bell!”

“Are you unhurt?!”

“Damn, you know how to make a guy worry.”

“Hi, guys…”

Hardly anyone else spares us a glance as we make our exit, but

as soon as we’re clear of the other adventurers, the rest of Hestia
Familia spots me and comes toward us.

I can hear the relief in their voices as Lilly, Mikoto, and Welf
reach us first. Maybe they heard I was separated from my group?

“……? Um, Master Bell, who might this be…?”

Haruhime catches up to them with a relieved smile, but then

she points out the girl wrapped in salamander wool at my side.

Well, here goes. “Follow me…” I lead everyone away.

Rather than returning to Rivira, I head east, deeper into the

forest. Lilly gives me a suspicious glance as we make our way
among the crystals and dense trees that fill this area of the safe
point.

I keep going until I’m absolutely sure the other adventurers

are out of sight and earshot. We’ve come pretty deep into the for-
est by the time I turn to face everyone.

We form a circle in the middle of a small clearing that’s sur-

rounded by the sparkle of rock formations.

“Now then, Mr. Bell, please inform us exactly who this is.
Don’t tell Lilly that you’ve dragged us into a new mess by rescuing
another girl!”

Her words are sharp as knives. She walks up to the girl at my

side. I think she’s got the wrong idea here…Planting her feet, Lilly
tries to get a glimpse under the robe’s hood.

“Ah.” A weak sound comes from beneath the cloth as the fright-
ened girl steps back. Lilly takes another step forward, and the girl
slips in an attempt to retreat farther.

The broken leg! I reach out and catch her—her hood falling
away in the process.

“!!”

Time freezes.

The exposed bluish-white skin and the jewel on the vouivre

girl’s forehead come into view. Lilly and the others are dumb-
struck, but they’re ready for battle with weapons drawn in no
time flat.

Lilly springs backward as Welf grabs hold of the greatsword

strapped to his back and Mikoto wraps her fingers around the
hilts of two blades hanging from her waist.

Haruhime’s green eyes open wide with shock as she covers her
mouth with both hands.

Everyone is immediately on edge, and I’m too stunned to

react. Beside me, the vouivre girl goes stiff as a board.

“…You’ve got some explaining to do, Bell.”

“Lady Haruhime, please come this way.”

Welf’s eyes never leave my new companion while he speaks.

I’ve never heard him sound so intimidating. At the same time,
Mikoto positions herself in front of Haruhime, hiding her from
the vouivre girl.

Just as they’ve always been, my friends are extremely wary of

monsters.

“W-wait! Everyone, please! This girl, she’s…!”

“Get away from it, Mr. Bell!! What’s going on in that head of
yours?!”
 Lilly cuts off my attempt to explain, practically screaming at
me as she aims her bow gun. Her chestnut-colored eyes are brim-
ming with reproach and confusion.

“Did Mr. Bell bring her along because she has a pretty face?!”

“N-no, it’s not like that…!”

“Lilly can’t be blamed for thinking this is a monster fetish!”

Monster fetish.

Just as the name suggests, the term monster fetish describes

those who have an abnormal sexual attraction to anthropomor-
phic monsters like harpies and lamias. In the mortal realm we
live in, it’s the ultimate insult.

This is how deeply the hatred for the Dungeon’s inhabitants

runs in our hearts.

“Mr. Bell, monsters are monsters!! Even tamed ones aren’t

worth that kind of attention! They’re—our enemies!!”

Sensing the panic in Lilly’s voice, plus Welf’s and Mikoto’s re-
actions, I can tell this isn’t going well.

Fiends and people can’t see eye to eye—that’s always been our
relationship. I can’t blame my friends for this. It’s expected.

Monsters have been killing our ancestors since the Ancient

Times. Caught in a spiral of death for millennia, they could never
live peacefully with us.

Welf’s completely focused on the girl while Lilly presses me for

answers in his stead.

“This is no dog or cat!! Mr. Bell, please get away from it!!”
 “Bell.”

“Sir Bell.”

I step in front of the vouivre girl, shielding her from Welf,

Mikoto, and Lilly’s bow gun. The three of them beg me to get out
of the way. Only Haruhime, unaccustomed to direct confronta-
tion, stays silent as she watches.

I’ve never been on this side of their blades before, and I’m at a
loss. I can’t do anything, but I refuse to stand down. I will protect
her.

The vouivre girl appears terrified of Lilly and the others, but a
spark of light shines in her eyes as she looks up at me.

“…Bell?”

A chorus of gasps fills the air the moment that word leaves her
lips.

“Ah, um, yes…That’s my name.”

“Name…?”

“Y-yes. I’m Bell.”

“Bell…Bell is name…Name is…Bell?”

My friends need a moment to process what just happened.

They stare at the girl as she plays with the sound of my name.

The talking monster leaves everyone speechless.

Their intense focus now broken, the four of them watch her
with blank astonishment.

“Bell, Bell.”
 She squeezes my finger with one hand, repeating my name as
if she’s figured out what the word meant.

Just “Bell, Bell,” over and over as though trying to burn it into
her memory. The girl leans in closer to me, bluish-white skin
pressed against my armor.

As if I’m the only thing she can count on in this world.

“The monster…spoke.”

“This has gotta be some bad joke.”

Mikoto and Welf whisper in disbelief.

At the same time, they begin to lower their weapons.

Confusion is setting in. The open display of weakness so un-

characteristic of other monsters would do that to anyone.

“Master Bell…what transpired between the two of you…?”

Voice unsteady, Haruhime has built up the courage to step for-

ward and ask. I couldn’t be more grateful.

“I found her…on the nineteenth floor. She was hurt really

bad…Adventurers and monsters both attacked her…She was
trembling…crying.”

I explain my reasoning for bringing her with me as clearly as I

can.

Her leg, limp and useless, dragging behind her. My emotional

struggle in the face of those amber eyes.

Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime consider the girl clinging to my

side, now with a better understanding of what she’s been
through.
 “I…I’d like to help her.”

“…Should word get out that we’re harboring a monster, Hestia

Familia is finished…”

Lilly, who’s been silently quivering all this time, feebly shakes
her head after I disclose what I want to do.

Even though I know it puts the familia at risk—the one I’m the
head of, no less—I apologize to everyone for my selfishness while
sharing my true thoughts.

“Even so, I can’t just abandon her.”

As pitiful as I sound, I keep my eyes focused on Lilly. She bites

her bottom lip.

A few moments pass. Lilly’s gaze starts to shift, almost as if she

can see a shadow of her former self in the vouivre girl.

Memories of the day the goddess and I saved Lilly must be

running through her head—and she slouches over.

“Just…do what you want…”

She lowers her right hand, pointing the bow gun at the
ground.

Welf and Mikoto also relax, completely lowering their

weapons. The tension subsides.

Finally able to breathe again, the girl apprehensively observes

our group.

The threatening atmosphere might have lifted, but now no one

knows what to do—least of all Haruhime, who’s in the middle of
it. No one’s moving; there’s just lots of eye contact.
 Putting aside the fact that I’ve dragged my own familia into
uncharted territory and caused problems for everyone, I propose
a plan of action.

“She’ll be vulnerable to adventurers and monsters if she stays

in the Dungeon…I’d like to take her home. I also want to hear
what our goddess has to say.”

Besides protecting the vouivre, I’m also interested in Lady

Hestia’s opinion. And if she can tell me what exactly this girl is.

Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime don’t object. They just give me

absentminded smiles and reluctant nods, as if their necks are
covered in rust.

Lastly, Lilly lets out a long sigh.

“If we are returning to the surface, it needs to be at night.

That’ll ensure there are as few adventurers around as possible…
We should aim to exit Babel at a time when no one will be watch-
ing.”

Whatever we do, we can’t let anyone else know that we’re shel-
tering a monster. With that in mind, it makes sense to resurface
when adventurers are too busy drinking in bars to notice us.
Lilly’s advice is a lifesaver.

I know she’s not happy about this, but even so, she’s doing
everything in her power to help me. I don’t know what I’d do
without her as my supporter.

“Sorry, Lilly. And thank you…”

“…Lilly’s given up. Yes, do whatever you want because no mat-

ter what you say or do, Lilly can’t bring herself to leave you to
your own devices.”
 She turns away, a bit red in the face. Is she sulking?

Even though I feel sorry for putting her in an uncomfortable

position, I’m happier that my friends have sided with me.

I’m extremely grateful to Lilly for saying what she did.

Welf and Mikoto appeared a bit lost at first, but seeing Lilly’s
reaction brings a smile to their faces.

“Surface…?”

“Yes. Let’s go to where we live.”

I smile at the nervous girl squeezing my finger amid my

friends’ smiles and Lilly’s red-faced pouting. She stares at me for
a few moments before a tiny smile appears on her lips.

Plop. She falls against my chest, burying her face in my neck.

Stumbling backward, I catch her small frame before raising

my eyes to the ceiling far above.

I can see the countless blue and white crystals overhead

among the leaves. With every passing moment, their glimmer
weakens, signaling that night is falling.

The gigantic white tower was shrouded in darkness.

Situated in the very center of the Labyrinth City, Babel

stretched high toward the heavens in the middle of Central Park
as day became night. All over the city, a lively tumult developed
around the bars as the multicolored illumination of magic-stone
lamps replaced the sun.
 The vibrant city’s energy never waned, even at night. The
streets of the Shopping District were still full of people, and a
lewd atmosphere was descending on the still active areas of the
Pleasure Quarter, where some were trying their best to help the
neighborhood recover. On the bar-lined outskirts of the main
streets, drunken women danced with deities on the road as
though they were at a ball. As always, the white tower watched
over the nightlife underneath it.

Adventurers returning to the surface after a long day in the

Dungeon went their separate ways to blow off steam at their fa-
vorite watering holes. One party watched group after group as-
cend the spiral stairwell before finally making the ascent them-
selves.

A white-haired human was at the center of this group of six.

Swiftly climbing the sparsely populated staircase, they arrived at
the Dungeon entrance located in Babel Tower’s basement.

Quickening their pace, the group passed beneath a beautiful

mural depicting a clear sky on the ceiling.

Little did they know that hidden in a corner of the artful de-
sign was a small blue orb that twinkled as they went by.

“—We have a problem, Ouranos.”

A voice echoed through a dark stone chamber built to resem-

ble the temples of old.

The only source of light was four burning torches in the center
of the chamber. The dancing flames illuminated a blue crystal set
atop a pedestal as well as the owner of the voice.

A black robe completely covered the mysterious figure. Ab-

solutely no skin was exposed. This person wore black gloves deco-
rated with intricate designs over both hands. It was as if a shadow
had come to life.

Even its voice gave no hint as to whether a man or a woman

was speaking. The hood of its robe hovered over the blue crystal
as the figure continued to speak.

“An intelligent monster has encountered a party of adventur-

ers. They are leaving Babel now.”

The blue crystal displayed an image: a view of the tower’s

basement from the orb in the ceiling.

A white-haired boy was clearly visible beneath the crystal’s

surface, as was a girl wrapped in salamander wool.

The black-robed figure knew immediately that the girl pressed

up against the human was, in fact, a monster.

“Are they working with the monster?”

“I don’t believe so…From what I can see, they appear to be

protecting it.”

A different, majestic voice echoed through the chamber from

the vicinity of the four torches while the black-robed figure fo-
cused on the blue crystal.

The dancing flames cast flickering light on a towering stone

throne-like altar in the darkness and highlighted the imposing,
elderly deity sitting on it.

Well over two meders tall when standing, the deity, clad in a
robe of his own, displayed no emotion as he continued asking
questions.

“Fels, who are the adventurers?”

 The black-robed figure—Fels—responded right away.

“Bell Cranell, member of Hestia Familia.”

In the crystal display was a familiar combination of white and

red.

The elderly deity frowned at this revelation, his blue eyes nar-
rowing.

“Little Rookie, now a household name in the city…And one of

Hermes’s favorites.”

“What is your divine will, Ouranos?”

“…Wait and observe.”

The elderly deity quietly closed his eyes at the question and
didn’t reopen them until he answered.

“Are you certain? For better or worse, Hestia Familia holds

the attention of the populace. Should anything happen…”

“These are Hestia’s followers. There is no connection between

them and the hunters we pursue. But most of all…”

The deity’s gaze fell on the blue crystal. He studied the

human’s face for several moments.

“I want to know. Can Hestia’s followers become the catalyst

for change…? Can they provide them with hope?”

A heavy silence followed. The figure’s hood shifted forward,

indicating a nod.

“As you will, Ouranos. I shall follow.”

Crackle! A spark burst from one of the torches.

 “Dispatch ‘eyes.’ Keep a close watch on Bell Cranell, his fa-
milia, and the monster.”

“Yes.”

Inside a peaceful chamber of stone…

…a black robe swished as it disappeared into the darkness.

 CHAPTER 2
Daily Life With A Vouivre Girl

We surface pretty close to midnight.

Just as Lilly had predicted, Babel and Central Park are practi-
cally deserted when we arrive. We don’t stick around, and the
side roads and back alleyways provide the perfect cover for us as
we stay out of sight on our way toward home.

The bars are loud, as are some houses in the residential areas
—the vouivre girl jumps in surprise at the lights and sounds of
civilization. Although it’s a challenge to keep her calm in a city
overflowing with noise, we eventually make it safely back to
Hearthstone Manor.

“Mr. Bell, please wait here with her. Lilly will have Lord Miach
leave first.”

She tells the vouivre girl to stay out of sight next to the
manor’s back gate while everyone else enters through the front.

Miach Familia was kind enough to housesit for us while we

were in the Dungeon today. Lord Miach is one thing, but the situ-
ation will get tense if the chienthrope Nahza or his two new fol-
lowers, Daphne and Cassandra, see the vouivre—just like what
happened earlier with my own familia. While they’re friends of
ours, Lilly and Welf thought it might be a good idea to keep them
in the dark about the monster girl. I agreed.

The salamander wool–covered girl and I hide in a dark spot

behind the manor for a few minutes. At last, I hear voices come
from the other side of our home and fade in the distance. Lord
Miach and his followers are gone.

Haruhime and Mikoto run out the back door to collect us mo-
ments later.

“Sir Bell, who should inform Lady Hestia…?”

“…I will. Please let me tell her.”

“Are you certain…?”

They’re clearly concerned as they open the iron gate to the

back garden.

The girls take up positions one step to the left and right of our
visitor. I’m the one who invited her here, so I should be the one to
explain. I glance down at the vouivre girl and marvel at how
much her leg has healed on its own—this is what monsters are ca-
pable of. Even so, I tighten my grip to support her.

“Hey, hey. Welcome back!”

The goddess greets us in the living room with her customary

smile.

“Well, Bell! This is unusual, you coming in through the back

door by yourself. Miach’s already gone home. And who’s this—?”

She looks at us with bubbly curiosity, only to suddenly fall

silent.

Welf and Lilly arrive and see all of us frozen with our mouths
nervously clamped shut. The goddess’s sky-blue eyes are locked
on me.
 Time slows to a crawl as her gaze shifts to the girl at my side,
hiding beneath the robe.

“—Bell, what is that?”

Her expression changed completely. Our goddess hadn’t asked

“who” but “what.”

Overwhelmed, I silently pull back the girl’s hood.

“……!!”

Bluish-white skin, amber eyes, and a garnet-like jewel in her

forehead.

Hestia gulps hard at the girl’s fantastical appearance.

Meanwhile, our visitor is terrified of the deity staring at her.

She wraps her thin arms around me in response.

“…Explain what happened for me.”

Surrounded by her familia, Lady Hestia takes a deep breath to

steady her voice and looks at me with unblinking eyes.

In the living room, I recount the details of how we met.

Lilly, Welf, and the others have all pulled up chairs around our
round table. I’m sitting with everyone else, next to the vouivre
girl. The goddess retains a gentle expression while listening to me
and doesn’t say a word from start to finish.

“…What should we do, Lady Hestia?”

Lilly asks the goddess for a decision as soon as my story ends.

The vouivre girl has a strong grip on my right arm and won’t
let go. Our goddess is deep in thought, arms crossed over her
chest until she slowly opens her eyes.

“…Please don’t tell anyone else. We’ll wait and see.”

She makes eye contact with each of us in turn, even the

strange girl at my side.

“I’m going to be brutally honest with you all, but I really don’t
know how to take this. I can hardly believe it…”

The goddess stares at our unexpected guest for a few moments

as the blue-skinned girl quivers in fear under her gaze.

A talking monster has violated everything we thought we knew

about the things that lived in the Dungeon.

Furthermore, the goddess’s admission that even the all-know-

ing deities aren’t truly omniscient has left all of us speechless.

“Monsters and you children of the mortal realm…are enemies.

Two entities fated to fight each other. I know that to be true, but I
can’t turn my back on someone capable of so much fear.”

“So that means…!”

“Yeah, she can stay here for now.”

Protecting those in need is the goddess’s way of showing affec-

tion.

Her willingness to kindly reach out to any child fills my heart

with relief. Her decision triggers many different reactions around
the table, from sighs to grimaces. But no one speaks out against
the decree.

The goddess hops out of her chair with a little grunt of effort. I
can see the anxiousness in her eyes, but she still gives the vouivre
girl a gentle smile.

“So, do you have a name?”

“…Name?”

The vouivre girl dons a curious expression as she leans in

closer to me.

“…Bell?”

“No, that’s my name…”

She tilts her head to the side, making her silver-blue hair
swish. A bead of sweat rolls down my face.

“My…name? …Don’t know.”

Lilly and the others gasp softly in surprise at her choppy sen-
tence—it’s the first time they’ve heard her say something besides
my name. But at the same time, the girl lowers her head.

So she doesn’t have a name, after all.

“Vouivre” is the name that people chose for her species. She
needs something to go by as an individual.

“Bell, give her one.”

“What, me?!”

“Yep, Welf’s absolutely right. You found her and brought her
home, so to speak. You’re the one who saved her. You should take
on a fatherly role and name her.”

How…How did it come to this…?!

 Welf and the goddess are the only ones who say anything.
Lilly, Mikoto, and Haruhime have their mouths shut but their
eyes silently say, “Go ahead.”

Heart racing, I search the others at the table. If I didn’t know

better, I’d say Welf is enjoying this. Even the vouivre girl is
watching me blankly.

So much responsibility…! Why do I have to be the one to give

this girl something that will affect the rest of her life?!

I look into her amber eyes. My mind is already reeling, but her
expression flips my brain into desperation mode.

Vouivre, dragon, girl, jewel, garnet, bluish silver, amber eyes…

I try listing every physical trait I can see—it’s no use!!

Cold sweat runs down my back, and my eyes spin. “Hurry up,”
somebody says. How long have I been thinking about this…? My
lips tremble.

“Wi…Wilusine?”

“Huh?” Everyone responds with confusion, and even the god-

dess tilts her head to the side. Maybe I tried a little too hard to
come up with a striking name?

“If I may ask, Master Bell…Is that name based on a fairy in a

hero’s tale…?”

Well…crap.

Haruhime, who likes myths and legends about heroes as much

as I do, saw right through me.

There is a story about a fairy with wings of light named Melu-

sine. The story revolves around her falling in love with a hero who
saved her life, as well as her efforts to blend in with people and
try to live among them. She tells the hero to never peek while
she’s cleansing herself, but he eventually breaks that promise and
winds up seeing her wings, exposing her true form…They become
separated afterward but reunite to slay a dragon that threatens to
destroy the hero’s hometown.

I’ve liked Melusine’s story since I was a kid, so combine that

name with vouivre and you get…Wilusine.

Too easy?

“Not a bad name, especially considering it was Mr. Bell’s idea.

A bit grandiose, though.”

“Yeah, and long. Stands out like a sore thumb.”

“Hmmm. Okay then, why don’t we call her Wiene? Sounds

cute, don’t you think?”

“Ohh, very nice suggestion, Lady Hestia. That one’s more

down-to-earth.”

Lilly, Welf, the goddess, and Mikoto take turns criticizing the
name I came up with. Nobody pays any attention to me shrinking
in my chair.

“I-I think Wilusine is a wonderful name!” Haruhime rushes in,

giving me a compliment, and Mikoto takes notice. Great, older
women are trying to comfort me…This is so pitiful it hurts.

But “Wiene”…That might actually be better now that I think

about it.

“Wiene…? Me…Wiene?”
 “Y-yeah. What do you think?”

Still attached to my arm, the vouivre girl asks me with that

same childlike innocence.

But I’m sure that look on her face is a smile.

The vouivre girl’s—No, Wiene’s lips spread into an unmistak-

ably joyful expression that takes everyone’s breath away. Even the
goddess is transfixed.

There’s a pure, almost naive, childlike happiness on the face of

a surprisingly beautiful monster right beside me.

The very foundation of the man-and-monster relationship has

just crumbled. This strange girl overcame the wall that should
have separated us, and now we’re completely taken with her.

“Bell, Bell.”

Wiene lets go of my arm in her moment of happiness and rubs

her face against my unarmored chest.

My arms move on their own to catch her, but I’m speechless.

Her warmth envelops me, stirring all sorts of emotions in my

chest for an instant.

“…Ahem.”

Our goddess has been watching us the whole time, faking a

cough to get our attention. Then she clears her throat to bring
everyone back into the moment.

“Let’s start off on the right foot—nice to meet you, Wiene! I’m
Hestia, Bell’s goddess! You’ll be living with us starting today. Try
to get along, okay?”
 She puffs out her chest and gives Wiene an energetic greeting.

Wiene glances up at the goddess from her perch in my lap as

Lady Hestia reaches out to shake hands.

“…Bell’s…goddess?”

The words fall out of her mouth as the two make eye contact—
and she buries her face back in my chest.

She leaves the goddess hanging with her hand extended. Lady
Hestia lets her arm drop, having learned that gaining Wiene’s
trust won’t be that easy. Haruhime and I force a smile.

“…Anyway, how long are you going to hold her, Mr. Bell? Do
you so enjoy a girl’s touch, even if it’s a monster’s?”

“Huh?”

“Gah! She’s right, Bell! Let go of her! Ogling is disgraceful, dis-

graceful!”

“I-I’m not ogling!”

And so begins Lilly and the goddess’s tirade.

I quickly deny all their accusations, but nothing will convince

them that it’s Wiene who won’t release me. Welf and Mikoto qui-
etly chuckle at our pointless argument as Haruhime follows the
conversation with her eyes.

But now that the anxious vibe is gone from the living room, I
notice how soft Wiene’s body is. There’s nothing I can do to stop
the pitiful groan from my throat as I blush furiously.

Sometime later.
 I’m not sure when, but Wiene must’ve succumbed to exhaus-
tion at some point during my argument with my offended god-
dess and fallen asleep in my arms.

Running around in the Dungeon without a friend in the

world…I can’t imagine how much stress and anxiety she’s been
dealing with. Already in a deep sleep with her arms wrapped
around my body, she absolutely will not let go.

Everyone tried their hand at prying me loose, but Wiene’s in-

credible strength—a dragon’s strength—kept her locked in place,
and she only hugged harder and made me scream in pain.

With no other alternative, I ended up spending the night with

her. Our goddess and Lilly had a few choice things to say, like “I
won’t forgive any ‘mistakes,’ got it?” and “Mr. Bell, please don’t
forsake your humanity.” I swear their eyes were as cold as ice as
they issued warning after warning, though I vigorously nodded
my assent to everything they said.

As I lay down on a living room sofa with Wiene on top of me,

Haruhime was nice enough to bring us a thin blanket.

…But in the end, everyone came in…

They’ve all gathered in the living room, claiming spots on

other sofas or on the floor under the dim magic-stone lamp.

My goddess was the first one to join us, a blanket in her arms
and an expression that said she couldn’t leave us to ourselves. It
wasn’t long before Lilly, Mikoto, Haruhime, and even Welf settled
in for the night as well.

Do they not trust me at all…?

“……”
 Welf is currently sitting against the wall, one knee up for bal-
ance. His eyes are closed, his greatsword across his lap.

It’s the same with Mikoto. She might be lying on a futon with
Haruhime, but her shortsword Chizan is within arm’s reach on
the floor beside her. Even Lilly has a firm grip on her bow gun.

I know why they’re armed and who those weapons are for.

It’s not that they don’t trust me. They don’t trust her…

Surrounded by a soft chorus of shallow breaths of uneasy sleep

in the dim living room, I look down toward the girl atop my chest.

If it weren’t for the jewel ominously twinkling on her forehead,

she could pass for a completely defenseless sleeping beauty.

What is she, really…?

I ask myself that while contemplating the vouivre girl—a mon-

ster who’s fallen asleep, wrapped in salamander wool, on top of a
human.

It would be a lie if I say that the lines of dried blood on her

bluish-white skin, peeking out from under the robe, and her un-
usual smell aren’t unnerving. Visions of an uncertain future keep
popping into my head, too.

My brain silently works until…my eyelids become too heavy to

stay open.

It’s been a busy day for me as well. I must’ve reached my limit.

Sleep can’t wait any longer.

—In any case, the first thing I want to do tomorrow is take a

bath.
 That’s my last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.

“I want more information about Wiene.”

The next morning…

Hestia made a declaration at the dining table during breakfast.

“We can’t decide what to do from here on out without knowing

more about her. Are there any others like her? What’s happening
in the Dungeon right now? That’s what I want to know.”

A drowsy Wiene still refused to let go of Bell, who was the only
one unable to eat with the rest of the familia. Meanwhile, Hestia
ordered her followers to collect as much information as possible.

“However, I need to make this clear: No tidbit of information

is worth drawing unwanted attention. No one can know…Don’t
let anyone figure out there’s a monster living with us.”

The fact that a creature like Wiene existed at all was one thing,
but the public would panic if word got out that an untamed mon-
ster was in the city. Lilly told everyone in no uncertain terms that
Wiene must never be seen or mentioned at any time outside the
manor.

“I’ll do some investigating, too, so please focus on this, starting

today.”

“Guess that means Dungeon crawling is on hold for a while,”

Welf commented in response to Hestia’s request.

“Indeed. Also, Mr. Bell, Miss Mikoto, and Miss Haruhime,

please avoid talking to anyone you cannot trust beyond a shadow
of a doubt.”
 “““Ah, yes…”””

Lilly issued a warning to Bell, Haruhime, and Mikoto, who all

agreed with a heavy nod.

It wasn’t that the trio couldn’t keep a secret but more that they
were terrible liars. The three of them sank back into their chairs,
trying to look as small as possible. Hestia giggled to herself as she
watched her followers banter before standing up from her chair.

“Just be careful, everybody. Well then, let’s get to it.”

Late-morning sunlight poured onto the streets of Orario.

The sky overhead was a clear blue as far as the eye could see.
Average citizens went about their business, brushing shoulders
with adventurers as they traveled along the main streets toward
the Dungeon.

“What now? This ‘important thing’ you want to talk about bet-
ter not be a new excuse for skipping work.”

“I-I’ve been working really hard! I’ve turned over a new leaf,
Hephaistos, believe me!!”

They were on the fourth floor of Babel Tower, inside Hephais-

tos Familia’s branch shop.

Hestia came to her part-time job at this high-end weapon shop

today like always, but she had asked her friend Hephaistos for a
word in private.

It just so happened that the Goddess of the Forge had come to

the shop this morning for an inspection, and she agreed to hear
the young goddess out.

“So? What is it? You better not pull me away from an impor-
tant meeting for some nonsense.”

The crimson-haired goddess led her counterpart to a consulta-

tion room in the back. Separated from the commotion of the sales
floor by thick, soundproof walls, Hephaistos was certain they
wouldn’t be overheard. She crossed her arms and suspiciously
raised an eyebrow at Hestia.

As this was the first time Hestia had set foot in this room, her
head was on a swivel. She immediately went up to a beautiful
longsword mounted on the side of a bookshelf and examined her
reflection in the blade until her attention was drawn to Hephais-
tos’s figure over her shoulder.

“Have you ever…heard of a monster that can speak?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I haven’t.”

“Should’ve figured…”

Hephaistos looked more annoyed than anything as Hestia’s

shoulders sank.

Hestia’s crimson apron, her work uniform, shifted as the

young goddess slowly faced her friend.

“If, hypothetically, there were a monster that could speak…

what would you do?”

“…More details—now.”

Seeing the young goddess’s unusual earnestness, Hephaistos

narrowed her patchless left eye.

“A talking…monster…”

The Blue Pharmacy, situated off a backstreet between North-

west Main and West Main streets in Orario’s seventh district, was
also Miach Familia’s home, but the building didn’t get much
light. The little sunshine that did make it through the windows
fell on three figures in the middle of a conversation: the god of
the familia, Miach; the god Takemikazuchi; and Mikoto.

“This monster really speaks? Meaning it’s fully aware of itself

and its surroundings?”

“Yes…It spent last night in our home.”

Takemikazuchi had a similar reaction to the news as that of a

certain crimson-haired goddess in Babel Tower. Mikoto’s voice
was heavy as she explained the situation.

Mikoto had received permission to consult with any trustwor-

thy deities, like Miach and Takemikazuchi. On the other hand,
she was also not to share any information with mortals, no matter
how trustworthy.

Ouka, Chigusa, and the rest of Takemikazuchi Familia had

gone into the Dungeon while the members of Miach Familia were
busy collecting ingredients to restock the shelves of the phar-
macy. Mikoto used this chance to consult the two gods about the
vouivre girl’s existence.

“I thought your behavior last night was a little strange. So

that’s what happened…”

Miach could attest to Hestia Familia’s anxiety after witnessing

their behavior the previous night once he had finished house-sit-
ting for the day. Finally connecting the dots, he nodded.

“Lord Takemikazuchi, Lord Miach, do you know of any other

similar incidents?”

“Can’t say I do. A talking monster…That’s news to me. And

shocking, to be honest.”

Mikoto had never seen Takemikazuchi so perturbed.

“Yes, even now I have a hard time believing it to be true…

However,” Miach said, “the mortal realm’s ‘Unknown’ is so com-
plex that even we can’t predict it. The possibilities are limitless…
Perhaps something is also happening in the Dungeon even as we
speak.”

Mikoto sat quietly and listened to the deity’s warning, his

aquamarine-blue hair shifting from side to side as he spoke.

Takemikazuchi observed Mikoto’s reaction from his spot next

to her and asked a question of his own.

“What is your view on the matter, Mikoto? How do you feel

about this talking monster?”

“…I don’t know.”

She answered with honesty, weakly shaking her head.

“I understand that Wiene…Lady Wiene is different from other

monsters, but…I am unsure how to treat her as of yet.”

Her lips quivered as she went on to list specifics.

“I find myself constantly on guard, concerned that she might

betray our trust…I stand vigilant, ready to act at a moment’s no-
tice.”

“……”

“I cannot relax, no matter how hard I try. I am…afraid of her.”

Mikoto’s gaze fell to the floor as she struggled to string the

words together.
 Takemikazuchi fiddled with the loops of hair framing his face
while he listened to her. Beside him, Miach watched Mikoto with
an understanding gaze.

“Well, I’m sure anyone would react the same way…”

The deity reassured her that this response was only natural.

Mikoto didn’t have anything to say. She sat in silence, staring

at the floor.

Guild Headquarters, lobby.

Welf stepped into the spacious chamber of white marble,

brushing against many other adventurers who were passing
through before venturing into the Dungeon.

He was perfectly comfortable walking among them with his

ears wide open. He’d learned during his time as a struggling
young smith that small treasures could be found in the most
mundane of conversations. This was nothing new. Due to his lev-
eled-up Status, his hearing had become more sensitive than any
lower-class adventurer’s, and he used every bit of this ability to
sift through the noise in search of information. It went without
saying that he didn’t approach any adventurer or Guild employee
with inquiries to speed up the process.

With a black workman’s jacket over his shoulders and a

greatsword strapped to his back, Welf made his way to a corner of
the lobby.

Several Guild employees were posting new information on a

public bulletin board as a cluster of adventurers watched.

“—Oi, did ya hear? Another monster stealing equipment.”

“I see. In the middle levels this time, too.”

 “Oh yeah, I heard some of the guys in Rivira got a little too
worked up an’ beat its ass half to death.”

He heard every conversation among the adventurers. Scan-

ning the bulletin board, Welf quickly spotted a sheet of paper.

It was a drawing of a monster holding a sword and wearing

armor.

“…Nah, couldn’t be.”

But the attempt to laugh it off did nothing to ease the tension
in his face.

“Well, well. Hey there, cutie…So how about it, little elf? Pour
us a round of booze?”

“We’ll listen to what’s on your mind…Hee-hee-hee!”

Long, golden hair flowed out from beneath a hood. A female

elf—Lilly disguised using her Cinder Ella skill—ignored the crude
laughter of the men. She quickly made her way through an under-
ground bar where the sun didn’t reach.

Northwest Main Street, Adventurers Way.

A little distance away from the weapon and armor shops lining
the street was a bar in need of a good cleaning. The wooden
building itself had an emblem hanging over the front door, signi-
fying it was a familia-owned establishment.

Familias that ran this type of business provided a venue for av-
erage citizens and those who wanted to remain anonymous to
post quests and hosted information brokers, people willing to
share what they knew for a price. With these transactions con-
stantly taking place, it was also common for customers to ex-
change information among themselves.
 Several familias like this one operated inside Orario’s city
walls.

Just as dirty as ever…

Lilly whispered to herself as she reminisced about her days as

an outlaw and continued to ignore the catcalls and whistles com-
ing from all around her. Barely standing 120 celch tall, she knew
the beauty of her transformed face garnered a lot of attention.

The bar was dark and shabby. There were so many quests
pinned to a bulletin board in the corner that its surface was hid-
den beneath the mass of paperwork. On the first floor, civilians
could access the familia’s services at their leisure, but this under-
ground bar was only accessible from the stairwell located in the
back of the building. From the dim magic-stone lamps to the
shady characters gathered in the basement, everything about this
place was suspicious.

An animal person missing his front teeth chuckled as he

downed an unpleasant-looking beer. One Amazon wore so many
rings around her fingers and neck that her tall frame sparkled in
the dim light. A masked man was lurking in the back corner. Sev-
eral customers sat on sofas or around small tables, all conversing
in hushed voices.

If the Guild could be called the front, this was the back. People
with something to hide frequented these bars rather than the
Guild. Reliable or not, information spread through these hubs
like wildfire. At the same time, Lilly understood that carelessness
in a place like this often resulted in losing every valuable on your
person.

Under no circumstances should Bell ever set foot in a place

like this.

“One Alb Spring Water.”

 Clunk! The barstool clattered as Lilly took a seat and ordered a
drink from the human bartender.

Ice water procured from the sacred peaks of the Alb Moun-
tains—a popular nonalcoholic drink among elves. Lilly took a sip
before addressing the bartender.

“Do you have any information about talking monsters?”

“…Nope, got nothin’.”

The bartender didn’t even blink as he accepted the payment

and generous tip Lilly placed on the countertop. His message was
clear: The information was valuable, and a pretty face wasn’t
going to jar it loose without paying full price.

Lilly had chosen this disguise as insurance. It was her way of

ensuring no one would ever know Hestia Familia was seeking out
information about talking monsters.

The bartender kept his eye on the “elf” as he silently wiped

down glasses that didn’t need cleaning. Lilly was one breath away
from asking if he knew of any customers who might have more
information when someone plopped into the seat next to her.

“I know something about these talking monsters. Not much,

but something.”

This newcomer, a wheat-skinned chienthrope, wore light-

weight battle gear and knee-high boots.

She must have been eavesdropping, because her doglike ears

were perked up and a grin was stretched across her face.

Lilly frowned.

“Mud Hound Madl.”

 “Oh? You know my nickname? That’s surprising, since people
usually forget about me with all the really famous adventurers out
there…But yeah, I hate that name. What were the gods thinking,
calling me that? Bit cruel, don’t you think…?”

The girl looked surprised when Lilly mentioned her title and
started blabbing away as if the two were friends meeting for
drinks. Crossing her lithe legs beneath the counter, she ordered
her own drink. “Barkeep, Honey Beer!” Then she whispered her
allegiance: “Hermes Familia.”

“So then, you were saying?”

“Weeeell, um, Lady Luck hasn’t been kind to me these days…

Not too sure I can pay for this beer.”

With a smile and a wink, the newcomer made a circle with her
thumb and forefinger.

Lilly’s beautiful elvish face twitched. Clicking her tongue, she

pulled a small bag of coins out from her robe and forcefully
placed it on the counter between them.

The chienthrope happily wagged her tail and started chatter-

ing enthusiastically.

“Well, like I said, it isn’t much. Stories about people hearing

words randomly in the Dungeon have been circulating for a while
now. Rumor has it a few adventurers have even heard whole sen-
tences when no one else was nearby, and there was another story
going around for a while about a beautiful singing voice deep in
the Dungeon…Oh, one more thing. Other people are after that
info as well.”

“……”

“Everyone laughed off those rumors—everyone but these guys.

They were serious. They put up requests for any news at all in
bars all over Orario, too, not just here, and they’re willing to pay.
A lot.”

The girl glanced at the bulletin board in the back corner for a
moment.

“And who might these guys be?”

“About that, I’m stumped…I’d like to know, myself.”

The newcomer suddenly became a bit more aggressive as she

went on to explain that she had posted her own requests for in-
formation on this group.

Squinting with a faint grin on her lips, the chienthrope leaned

in to get a better look under Lilly’s hood.

“New around here…? What’s your affiliation? You seem kinda

dirty for an elf.”

Lilly silently cursed to herself as the dog-person’s face came

uncomfortably close, animal nose sniffing the air in front of her
face. Her current companion had the same “scent” as she once
had.

There was no doubt in Lilly’s mind that this woman was a

thief. Not some disgruntled child like her former self, but the real
deal.

Madl’s work as a deliveryman for her familia, combined with

her activities in this darker part of society, granted her access to a
great deal of information.

It was highly likely she was pursuing information about talk-

ing monsters as well. Lilly’s search for the same information had
gotten her attention, and now Lilly was her top suspect.
 However, Lilly didn’t share Bell and Mikoto’s trust in Hermes
Familia. Perhaps the two of them hadn’t lived in Orario long
enough to notice, but that familia’s constant stance of neutrality
was extremely fishy.

Hermes Familia could easily turn from friend to foe if it fit

their needs. Fifteen years in Orario’s gutter had taught Lilly as
much.

No real information of value…but knowing there are others

asking about talking monsters is good enough for now.

The time had come for her to move on. Without another word,
she stood up from her stool.

“What? Leaving already? But there’s so much I wanted to talk

about.”

Ignoring the cheerful voice behind her, Lilly left the bar.

However…

…She’s tailing me.

She noticed a presence following her through every twist and

turn of the backstreets from the moment she stepped out the back
door of the bar.

It was just one person, and Lilly was 99 percent sure it was the
same thief. In a worst-case scenario, she didn’t stand a chance
against an upper-class adventurer.

Cinder Ella and items were her only option. Lilly took unusu-
ally large strides, walking onto a dimly lit path and extracting
from her robe a pouch connected to a string—a Malboro stink
bomb.
 She’d used similar tactics many times back when she was liv-
ing the shadowy life of an outlaw.

Knowing that this opponent would take some time to deal with
made her cringe—although this was nothing compared to being
chased by the battle-hardened elf from that insane bar—Lilly
dove into the dark alleyway.

Bright sunlight is shining down from directly overhead.

There isn’t even a cloud in the sky. The summer sun hanging
over Orario makes it almost too hot outside. Warm enough that I
roll up my sleeves, anyway.

Bright sunlight and a clear blue sky—the vouivre girl can’t tear
her eyes away.

With the goddess and everyone else out, it’s up to me and

Haruhime to house-sit the manor.

Having arrived here at night, Wiene hadn’t seen the sun yet.
She had been saying the same thing since she noticed where all
the light was coming from this morning:

She wanted to go out.

“What is…that?”

We’ve brought her into the courtyard in the middle of our

home, Hearthstone Manor.

Maybe it’s because the Dungeon doesn’t have a sun, but Wiene
is fascinated.

Haruhime turns to the inquisitive girl and walks up to her

from behind.

“We call it…the sun.”

“The sun…”

Wiene gazes up at the brilliant sky as she echoes Haruhime

with a smile.

Without any sunlight to speak of, the Dungeon is rather cold.

Of course, there are a few exceptions, like in places with fire-
breathing monsters and floors with active volcanoes.

But I’m sure most monsters don’t know what it’s like to feel
sunshine on your skin.

“…It’s warm.”

Wiene’s eyes light up as she watches the sky and she laughs.

Her expression is so innocent, and I think her amber eyes are

tearing up.

I get lost in the moment, staring at her profile from behind,

when she suddenly turns toward me, tossing her long silver-blue
hair.

“The surface is beautiful.”

I can’t think of her as a monster anymore.

Her naive, innocent smile is as bright as the sun.

It may be our job to hold down the fort while the others are
out, but that actually means Haruhime and I are tasked with
looking after Wiene.
 Whatever we do, we can’t let her leave the manor. She knows
nothing about the outside world, so we have to keep her enter-
tained in here.

“Bell…it’s very hot. Is it okay to take this off?”

“N-no, you mustn’t, Lady Wiene!!”

“Y-yes, you must put up with it.”

“Ugh…” she mumbles, pulling at the salamander-wool robe’s

collar around her neck like she would give anything to remove it.
Haruhime and I panic a little but somehow manage to persuade
her. This is a relief, considering Wiene is completely naked un-
derneath.

I asked for Haruhime’s help to get Wiene cleaned up after the

goddess and everyone else left this morning. It was a real struggle
because the girl doesn’t completely trust Haruhime yet, but she
did manage to wash off a lot of the dried blood and dirt.

Haruhime also tried to put proper clothes on her, but…that

didn’t end well.

That’s the only thing that she’s outright refused. Maybe she’s
scared?

In any case, Wiene was having none of it, so we at least con-

vinced her to put back on the salamander-wool robe from yester-
day.

Even if you call her a monster, she’s still a girl…I just hope
she can let her guard down around Haruhime and the others…

The robe still provides ample glimpses of her lithe legs and
cleavage, so I have to be careful where I look…Not to mention she
has no sense of shame whatsoever.
 Haruhime, dressed in the maid outfit she always wears around
the manor, and I do our best to keep up, but Wiene pulls us along
at her own pace.

“Bell, what is this?”

“That’s a magic-stone lamp. They make light like the ones in

the Dungeon…”

“What about that?”

Wiene doesn’t want to go back inside. Her leg made a com-

plete recovery overnight, and now she’s giddily skipping along
out under the sun.

Since we’re surrounded by four walls in here, I doubt anyone

will catch a glimpse of her. For someone like Wiene who has no
place she belongs, whether on the surface or in the Dungeon, this
is her only safe haven.

Peering with curiosity into the walkways along the courtyard,

Wiene makes new discoveries at every turn. Her cheeks glowing a
light pink, she grabs hold of my arm every so often.

“Lady Wiene, would you like to partake in a meal? You didn’t

have anything to eat this morning.”

“…A meal?”

“Um, it’s another word for food…Wiene, you haven’t eaten

anything since yesterday, right? I’ll eat, too, so how about it?”

“…Okay.”

Wiene looks up at me with concern, not completely sure what

Haruhime was suggesting. I softly smile at her, and she slowly
nods.
 Haruhime retrieves a basket from the passageway, and the
three of us take a seat on the grass.

“…Yum…”

“D-do you really think so?!”

“Yes…”

“That is a rice ball, handmade by Lady Mikoto! Would you like

to try this fruit?!”

Haruhime seems thrilled, her fox ears standing straight up

and her tail wagging back and forth almost as if she were present-
ing her own cooking. Meanwhile, Wiene quietly nibbles on the
food in front of her.

The vouivre glances over at Haruhime’s beaming face.

I know that bugbears eat the honey cloud fruits on the eigh-
teenth floor—and many monsters go after trap items as well—so
it seems reasonable to assume monsters can eat our food, too. If
not, we’d have to go to a pantry to get food for her, and Haruhime
seems as relieved as I am to discover that isn’t the case.

She reaches out to pat Wiene on the head while the vouivre
girl is busy gobbling down fruit. Wiene dodges her hand with a
wiff and pulls away.

Haruhime’s shoulders droop, and Wiene leans closer to me.

“Ha-ha-ha…”

Seems like Wiene is still a bit wary of her.

But she did let the other girl gently wipe down her body, so I
think there’s a little bit of trust between them.
 The next thing to capture Wiene’s attention is Haruhime’s re-
nart fox tail. She’s watching it very closely, mimicking its move-
ments with her body. Haruhime catches on, sweeping her tail side
to side and making up a game as they go along.

You’d almost think they were sisters…

Haruhime was scared stiff at the sight of her yesterday, but

now she’s trying to bond with Wiene.

Her laudable efforts to accept this girl—a monster—make me

so, so happy.

Then again, perhaps only Haruhime, who survived a great deal

of hardship herself, is capable of this kindness.

“Bell, do you have any poshun?”

“You mean potions? I have a few in my leg holster back in my

room; I can go…”

“Do you know…it has a good smell? Smells just like…the fruit
there.”

Wiene is talking quite a bit.

Maybe it’s because of the warm sunlight or just that she was
really frightened before, but she’s using more words than yester-
day. Smiling and giggling like this, she’s speaking a lot more
freely and fluently, or so it seems to me.

No—it’s not just me.

Ignoring her earlier reticence, it’s amazing how fast Wiene is

picking up words and expressions—acquiring language. As I re-
view our conversations, I’m sure of it.
 But I don’t think she’s learning, exactly…What is it, then?

She looks like a girl…but she’s a monster.

I answer her questions with a forced smile, but there are a lot
of unsolved mysteries.

She has a good grasp of grammar and bears a strong resem-

blance to us. There’s not much difference between her and other
people. However, her bluish-white skin and scales clearly indicate
she is a monster.

The red jewel embedded in her forehead sparkles in the sun-

light.

“Bell, Bell.”

Then, as she giggles and playfully tugs at my arm…

…she tries to change her grip, sliding her hand across my skin
—and the sharp claws on her fingertips carve into my arm.

“!”

I have no battle cloth or armor for protection, and my rolled-

up sleeves do nothing to protect me as three long streaks appear
on my forearm.

Turning red immediately, the gouges her claws leave behind

start leaking drops of blood. Blades of grass beside me turn red.

“Huh…?”

“M-Master Bell?!”

I freeze in place as Wiene stares at her own bloody hand,

shock in her eyes. Haruhime screams when she catches a glimpse
of my injured arm.
 “I shall bring the first-aid kit!” she yells, jumping to her feet
once she sees the bleeding won’t stop and rushing back into the
manor.

“Ah, n-no…Bell, does it hurt?”

Wiene reaches toward me, amber eyes trembling, before com-

ing to a sudden halt.

She abruptly pulls back her hand—and the claws that drew
blood.

Moving back and forth between my pained eyes and bleeding

arm, Wiene’s gaze then falls onto her own fingers. Her face sud-
denly contorts.

“I…no…so sorry, Bell…!”

A river of tears flows down her cheeks. I can hear shock and
sadness in her unsteady voice.

Then she withdraws her trembling hands and holds them tight
against her chest.

She wants physical contact but can’t touch me.

She can’t reach out because she’ll hurt me again.

“Sorry, sorry…!”

More apologies.

She’s afraid of her own hand, that it can hurt people so easily.
She’s afraid of herself.

Watching her go through this is too painful.

“……!”
 I can only watch so many tears roll down her cheeks before my
hands move on their own.

Surprise flashes across her face as my injured right arm

reaches out, and my hand clasps the claws covered in my blood.

Her claws dig into the palm of my hand and open new
wounds, but I pay them no heed.

“It’s all right.”

I smile at her like I did when we met.

Paying no attention to the pain, I tighten my grip.

“—Bell!!”

Overcome with emotion, Wiene shouts my name and dives

into my chest, wrapping her arms around me.

Burying her face in my neck, hot tears dampen my skin.

She’s really…just a kid.

Afraid of being hurt and hurting others, she seeks warmth and
kindness like a lost child.

That’s the only thing I can think of as I listen to the soft whim-
pers beneath my ear.

I wrap my blood-free left arm around her slender body and

softly run my fingers through her silver-blue hair. Her shoulders
quiver, and I swear her eyes are closed with pleasure.

She presses her nose against my neck like a cat wanting atten-
tion.

Overtaken by a sudden warmth, I gently pat her on the back of

the head.

“—?”

I gently rub her back until she calms down, and suddenly I feel
like we’re being watched.

Being rather sensitive to this feeling for various reasons, I

quickly look toward the source—a single bird sitting on top of the
roof.

An owl…?

Several questions come to mind as I inspect the vertical pat-

terns in its white feathers.

Aren’t owls nocturnal? And why would there be an owl in the

city in the first place?

The owl, far removed from the nearest forest, regards me with
what I’m positive is a twinkle in its eye.

It suddenly spreads its wings and takes off before I can get a
better look.

“……”

The owl disappears into the heavens, leaving me close-

mouthed and confused.

It was just a bird, and yet I can’t shake the feeling I was being
watched.

All this thinking causes me to tighten my grip on Wiene—as I

sense another observer right away.

Twitching in surprise, I look around to see—

 “……Awww.”

Haruhime is standing nearby, holding a first-aid kit in her

arms.

For some reason, she almost seems jealous at seeing Wiene

tucked comfortably in my embrace.

“……”

“……”

“Bell, Bell!”

Wiene’s happy voice in my ears, I break out into a sweat when

I see Haruhime’s tail swishing back and forth.

The sun descends behind the city wall as night falls.

Our goddess, Welf, and everyone else is home by the time the
sky completely darkens.

“I’m hooome.”

“Welcome back, Goddess. Oh, hey, everyone. So, um…how’d it

go?”

“Horrible. Couldn’t find any leads at all.”

“Many things happened to Lilly, but it was impossible to ob-

tain any direct information concerning talking monsters…”

“Lord Miach and Lord Takemikazuchi as well…They know

nothing about this matter.”

Lady Hestia drifts through the front door, tired after a long
day at her part-time job. Welf follows her in, scratching his head.
For some reason, Lilly looks even more tired than the goddess.
Mikoto avoids my question altogether…No one seems satisfied
with their day as they step into the passageway.

I know we only started gathering information today, and we’ll

need an amazing amount of luck to strike gold on day one, but
judging by their expressions, this could actually take a while.

I mull over that thought as the three of us who had stayed

home today go to greet everyone.

“So, how was your day?” Welf asks.

Everyone else is looking at the girl hiding behind my back,

Wiene.

She’s gripping my shirt, extra careful to not extend her claws.

Haruhime walks up beside the trembling vouivre girl with a smile
on her face and bends over at the waist before whispering, “Why
not try doing it yourself?”

She nods, and ripples run down her silver-blue hair.

“…W-welcome back.”

She steps out of her hiding place just enough to expose half
her face. Wiene’s quiet voice fills the hall.

The goddess, Welf, Lilly, and Mikoto watch in shock as Wiene

quickly jumps out from behind me and hides behind Haruhime.

Haruhime and I exchange glances and light smiles.

“She certainly…got used to you.”

While Lilly and Mikoto continue standing in stunned silence,

Welf breaks the ice, though he isn’t sure what expression to wear.

He’s right. Wiene is finally opening up to Haruhime. Her blue

frame is pressed against the renart’s back, forehead between her
shoulder blades. Meanwhile, Haruhime is gently patting her on
the head with her golden fox tail.

It must tickle, because Wiene is twitching like she’s fighting

back a giggle. Haruhime glances over her shoulder and smiles
along with her.

Lilly still hasn’t recovered from the shock of a greeting from a

monster. She’s standing there with her mouth hanging open. My
goddess is next to her, arms crossed over her chest and grum-
bling.

“Well, well, Haruhime. You’ve got the makings of a great

mother. No doubt at all.”

Maybe she’s still sore about being rejected point-blank last

night?

“It’s delicious…! Mikoto is amazing!”

“Th-thank you…”

Everyone has gathered in the dining room after changing

clothes.

The first thing Wiene says after taking a bite of dinner causes
Mikoto a great deal of turmoil.

A wide array of food, including meat and fish, covers the table
in front of us. Tonight’s menu isn’t too intricate, everything
lightly cooked and seasoned only with salt. Thick slices of ham
have been cut into small pieces for convenience. There’s a plate
topped with whole grilled fish and bowls of vegetable soup. The
only trace of Mikoto’s Far Eastern traditional cuisine on the table
tonight is a dish of sweetened fried eggs. Apparently, Wiene ap-
proves.

“Haruhime said so. Mikoto is amazing. Makes good food.”

“N-no, there is so much I can do to improve. I’m vegetarian

after all, and…!”

Mikoto is flustered at Wiene’s glowing praise—well, just em-

barrassed, really.

Not sure what to do with herself, Mikoto sways her black

ponytail from side to side as her face reddens.

I realize we’re not feeding an animal at a zoo here, but…

Wiene’s voice is louder than usual. Maybe the tasty meal is excit-
ing her? “Ahn!” She opens her mouth and waits with pure bliss
for Haruhime to feed her a thick chunk of steaming-hot fried
eggs.

Even the garnet jewel on her forehead is twinkling along with

her amber eyes.

“Uh, wah…I’ve spent all this time wondering how to approach

her. How laughable…” The vouivre girl’s innocent smile seems to
have disarmed Mikoto, who’s hanging her head low.

“Miss Mikoto, that is a monster. Please go easy on yourself.”

“Why so uptight, Supporter? Keeping an open mind and

mending bridges is very important at times like this…and that’s
why I’m going to do that with Wiene right now.”

“Please do not compete with Miss Haruhime! How can deities

act so carefree?!” Lilly issues another warning, but the goddess
waltzes over toward Wiene like it’s a day at the beach. “Mark
Lilly’s words, this is a dangerous time for our familia!” Lilly raises
her voice further still, but to no avail.

Haruhime smiles at Mikoto and invites her over; the goddess

is hell-bent on bonding with our houseguest, and Lilly is equally
determined to stop her. Wiene is in the middle of all the fire-
works.

“Is it okay for them to get attached? Not worried about Li’l E
but…is this a good idea?”

“Um, are you…nervous around Wiene, Welf?”

“I’d rather avoid her, to tell the truth.”

The goddess asked me to give up my seat next to Wiene, so

I’ve left the women’s conversation behind to sit down beside Welf
as he eats.

Having taken refuge, I ask for Welf’s opinion, but he forces an

awkward smile and shrugs.

“Still, it must be nice to escape for a bit. She hasn’t left your
side for two days, right? Don’t tell me you’re feeling lonely now
that she has other friends?”

“W-Welf!”

I know he’s just teasing, but I still snap. At the same time, I
can tell I’m blushing, so I don’t blame him.

I’ve figured out that no matter how startled or scared Wiene is

initially, she becomes friendly when she knows that you mean her
no harm.

The scene unfolding around the table is proof enough. It’s all
thanks to Haruhime assuring Wiene everything is okay, and now
she’s talking with everyone without fear.

I don’t know how long she was alone, but I think she’s trying
to put that frightening solitude behind her by becoming friends
with us—with people.

Our noisy dinner continues with the men and women on dif-
ferent sides of the table. Wiene is happily and contently eating
alongside everyone with an indelible smile.

“Lilly, Lilly.”

“L-let go of Lilly! Why would you want to hold her like this?!”

After our lively meal comes to an end and the dishes are put
away, we move to the living room.

Wiene suddenly takes an interest in Lilly for some reason and

wraps her arms around her. Much smaller than the vouivre girl,
the prum disappears into her embrace.

“Aww, she likes you, Supporter.”

“And whose fault is that?!”

Lilly has made her stance toward Wiene very clear, but the girl
must’ve been entertained by their hilarious argument earlier and
let her guard down. A vein pops out on Lilly’s forehead, her face
turning crimson in frustration as she glares at the goddess from
Wiene’s arms. Thoroughly enjoying the moment, Lady Hestia
strokes Wiene’s long silver-blue hair.

“A-and she really stinks! Lilly noticed it before, but our ‘mon-
ster friend’ has a definite smell to her!”

Lilly yells once she breaks free of Wiene’s embrace.

 The vouivre girl mournfully watches her go as Mikoto and
Haruhime nod at each other.

“Yes, that is true…”

“I wiped her down with a moist towel this morning, but…”

Wiene hasn’t had a proper scrub since coming out of the Dun-
geon yesterday. She’s been wearing the same salamander-wool
robe, too. It’s been absorbing all her sweat over the past two days,
so it probably smells worse than she does…Then again, it’s not as
if I can talk. Being glued to her all this time, I haven’t taken a
shower, either.

As I suddenly become self-conscious of my own stench, our

goddess’s eyes light up as though a magic-stone lamp came on in-
side her head. “All right, then!” she says with a smile.

“Why don’t we all take a bath together?”

The smell of cypress trees wafted in the air as white steam rose to
the ceiling.

“Ooo…This is…bath?”

“Yes, it is. It feels nice to soak in the bathtub.”

Haruhime smiled at the completely naked Wiene while hold-

ing a thin towel over her plump breasts with one hand.

A spa-like bath was located on the third floor of the manor.

The women of Hestia Familia left their clothes in the changing
room and let the warm steam wash over their healthy, vibrant
skin.
 “It’s been a long time since all of us shared a bath,” Mikoto ca-
sually remarked, the skin covering her arms and legs smooth
enough to make women jealous.

“Schedules for venturing into the Dungeon and my part-time

job don’t really line up, do they?” Hestia responded, her shapely
bosom jiggling as she spoke.

Both the girl and the goddess let down their long black hair
with blissful anticipation.

“Using this bath one or two at a time is the very definition of

luxury…More people using it at once saves money. Lilly thinks we
should do this more often.”

The cypress floorboards creaked under their bare feet as the

women made their way inside the bathing room and Lilly offered
her opinion on the financial benefits of the arrangement.

This Far Eastern–style bath had been installed at Mikoto’s re-

quest. The lavish design and spacious interior impressed even
Haruhime, who hailed from a royal family and had spent years
with Ishtar Familia. The tub was large enough to easily accom-
modate ten people at once. With steam constantly rising from its
softly rippling surface, there was nothing more enticing to be-
hold. A steady stream of fresh hot water flowed out of the nozzle
in the back corner, softly echoing in the bathroom. The wooden
floor and ceiling framed the view of Orario’s nightscape beyond
the window. If it weren’t for the white noise from outside, the am-
bience would be perfect.

Wiene stared intently at her own reflection dancing on the sur-

face of the hot water.

“Lady Wiene? Let’s wash up before entering the bath.”

Haruhime, who had always carried herself with purity and

grace while being groomed as a prostitute, procured water from a
bath with a bucket before pouring it over herself and guiding
Wiene away from the shallow pool.

Hestia and the other girls followed suit and began washing
their bodies.

“Bell’s not with us. Why?”

“Mr. Bell is a boy! It’s common sense!”

“Boys and girls have their differences, Wiene. That goes for
monsters and deities, too.”

Wiene had looked around the room as if something were miss-

ing. Lilly offered a retort, and Hestia provided an additional ex-
planation while washing her arms. The vouivre girl had invited
the boy to join them to the point of pestering. “Please no…” The
boy turned her down every time, desperately trying to come up
with an excuse as his face burned red.

“Lady Wiene, please hold still.”

“Th-the scales…”

Instructing Wiene to sit down on a bathing stool, Haruhime

knelt behind the girl and began washing her hair while Mikoto
scrubbed her body from the front.

The girl’s bluish-white complexion stood out even more in the

steam-filled bathing room. The two girls were in awe of the mon-
ster’s smooth, shimmering skin. However, the scales clustered
around her shoulders and lower back were a constant reminder
that this girl was not a normal person but a type of dragon. These
scales presented a serious challenge for Mikoto because their
sharp, sturdy points tore the washcloth to shreds whenever it
passed over a patch. Determined to complete her mission, Mikoto
held Wiene’s limbs and carefully avoided the scales as she cov-
ered the girl’s body in a soapy lather.

“That tickles!” giggled Wiene. She occasionally squirmed

under Mikoto’s and Haruhime’s hands running over her skin and
through her hair.

“You have beautiful hair, Lady Wiene.”

“I do?”

“Yes. It’s like a stream of pure spring water.”

Wiene’s face lit up when she heard Haruhime’s compliment

behind her.

The renart—her long golden hair, fox ears, and tail all dripping
wet—carefully handled the vouivre girl’s silver-blue hair as if
washing silk.

“Shall we rinse?” said Haruhime, and she emptied a bucket of

water over the girl’s head a moment later.

All the dirt and grime flowed off her skin along with the suds.
A now clean Wiene shook off before leaning backward into
Haruhime.

A soft plop filled the room when the girl’s head met
Haruhime’s curvy chest.

“Lady Wiene?”

“…E-hee-hee!”

The vouivre smiled up at Haruhime from her resting place on

her chest.

Meeting the girl’s gaze, the renart smiled down at her like an
older sister.

Mikoto couldn’t help but smile, too, her eyes narrowing as she
watched from beside them.

“She’s taken quite a liking to you, Miss Haruhime…Perhaps

you might have the talent to become a tamer as well?”

“It’s because Haruhime would make a good mother…Com-

pletely different from you, Supporter.”

“Why drag Lilly into this competition?!”

The prum and the goddess watched the affectionate pair’s in-
teraction from a short distance away. Once their brief argument
died down, they followed the other girls into the bath.

Small waves crisscrossed the surface as everyone got settled,

piping-hot water lapping against their shoulders. Mikoto’s sigh of
pleasure was closely followed by several more.

“Feels good…”

“Yesss, it’s because your muscles have worked so hard all day
and now they can finally relax.”

The words slipped from Wiene’s mouth as the warm water em-
braced her body. Hestia, also very much enjoying the bath, looked
up at the ceiling and explained to the vouivre girl.

Several bathers had tied their long hair above their heads, but
all their faces were relaxed and at peace.

“……”

“Lady Lilly, is something troubling you?”

At about the time that everyone’s skin had taken on a pink

sheen…

Mikoto tilted her head and inquired as to why Lilly was brood-
ing quietly by herself.

“…There are too many well-endowed ladies in this familia.”

Lilly’s chestnut-colored eyes were focused on Mikoto—specifi-

cally, her torso.

Her gaze shifted across the various figures of her peers, some-
what obscured beneath the surface of the clear water, and her
goddess’s enormous breasts. Lilly sank deeper into the bath and
blew frustrated bubbles in the water.

There was no point in comparing herself to the deity dubbed

“Loli Big Boobs,” but she definitely ranked lower than Haruhime
and Mikoto in terms of breast size, too. Leaving out the young
prum, the average size and shape of Hestia Familia’s feminine
curves was almost intimidating—and the biggest shock came
from Mikoto, who normally kept herself literally under wraps.
The up close and personal view was a bitter pill to swallow.

Mind racing, Lilly turned her attention to Wiene and was filled
with a sense of relief that she wasn’t at the bottom of the hierar-
chy. However, that relief was instantly followed by a twinge of
self-loathing for thinking such a thing. Splash! Her head disap-
peared beneath the surface of the water.

“—Being with Bell is better.”

One heartbeat later.

Wiene sprang to her feet, her light-blue skin tinted pink by the
hot water.

Lilly and the other girls were caught off guard by the vouivre
girl’s swift movements and were late to react. With the speed and
dexterity of her dragon lineage, the girl climbed out of the bath in
the blink of an eye.

“—No, don’t get out!!”

“Please wait, Lady Wiene!!”

“Sh-she must be stopped!!”

“E-everyone?!”

The bathing room descended into an uproar as Lilly,

Haruhime, and Hestia raced after the stark-naked monster girl.
Mikoto called out after them, a moment too late.

Lilly led the charge of mostly naked women, carrying wash-

cloths to cover what they could, into the passageway in pursuit of
Wiene, but to no avail.

“GAH!” A boy’s startled yelp reverberated through the manor.

…After the dust settled, everyone finished bathing, then changed

into pajamas and went to the living room.

All of us are looking at Welf and Wiene sitting on the floor in

the middle of the room.

“Okay, hold out your right hand.”

The vouivre girl cautiously sticks out her hand—and Welf goes
to work on her claws.

He’s brought a few tools in here from his workshop, including

a grinding stone. Except this time he isn’t sharpening a blade but
blunting keen edges.

His skills as a smith are on display as his steady hands move

with purpose. Dragon claws are extremely valuable drop items
sharp enough to inflict life-threatening wounds on upper-class
adventurers as is. As carefully as possible, Welf removes each
spear point with ease.

Thanks to him, no one has to be afraid of her claws.

“All right, that should do it.”

Welf releases his grip on the girl’s light-blue wrist.

Wiene’s eyes go wide as she gazes at her perfectly rounded fin-

gernails. Her lips curl into a smile.

“Thanks, Welf!”

“…Don’t sweat it.”

A few moments pass before Welf acknowledges her apprecia-

tion with his own smile.

Wiene jumps to her feet and rushes to my side.

Eyes brimming with a mixture of hope and fear, she reaches

out to me.

First to my left hand, then my arm, and finally my chest.

Her new “fingernails” are so smooth that they don’t even snag
on my shirt, let alone pierce my skin.

Tears of happiness glisten in her amber eyes as she realizes

her hand isn’t covered in blood.

“Bell…Not hurt?”
 “No, not at all.”

She starts tearing up in earnest, smiling from ear to ear.

Wiene reaches for me with both hands. Her palms clap against
my cheeks, rubbing back and forth like she’s playing with a dog.

“E-hee-hee!” She giggles and smiles brighter than the sun. Her
fingers sliding across my skin tickle my cheeks and neck, but I
grin and bear it.

“You mustn’t touch others this much, especially faces! And

what are you smiling for, Mr. Bell?!”

“I-I’m not exactly enjoying…”

Lilly’s glaring daggers at us from across the room.

I’m just trying to keep Wiene happy by going along with her
game, so why am I suddenly on the receiving end of a lecture?

“…Does Lilly…hate Bell?”

“Huh…? Th-that was sudden.”

The prum’s obvious irritation and angry tone prompted Wiene

to ask that question.

Lilly’s face goes blank, so the vouivre asks again:

“Hate?”

“L-Lilly…Lilly, um…!”

Her chestnut eyes anxiously quiver as words leave her.

Cheeks turning red, her eyes jump between Wiene and me.
 Her mouth is moving, but no sounds are coming out. Wiene’s
shoulders droop, her expression clouding—then Haruhime sud-
denly leans forward.

“I love Master Bell!”

Her face pops into my line of sight from behind my seat on the
floor, and she makes an ardent declaration.

The sight of Haruhime’s flushed cheeks catches Lilly and

Wiene by surprise as my heart skips a beat.

Welf stops picking up his tools, stands, and turns toward us.

“I’m pretty fond of the guy myself.”

“Of course I love him, too!!”

“Ho-ho…I as well.”

The goddess and Mikoto chime in.

Lilly looks around the room as everyone gathers near us. She
must’ve decided that it was pointless to go against the grain and
yells at the ceiling:

“—Argh, fine! Lilly does, too!! Lilly loves Mr. Bell!”

The magic-stone lamps on the ceiling shake, their light waver-

ing.

Hearing over and over that I’m loved…My cheeks are burning
up. I can’t help but smile with my goddess and friends.

“I love you guys, too.”

I put the warmth of our familia into every word.

 Suddenly, Wiene puts both her hands on my chest.

“Everyone loves Bell…Everyone loves one another.”

She squeezes her eyes shut as another expression of joy

blooms like a flower on her face.

“Warm…”

In that moment, with everyone here, it feels like we all fit to-
gether. The air is free of tension, and Wiene dives into my chest.

Wrapping her arms around my shoulders, she presses her ear

against my heart as if hoping to hear it beat.

One look at the giddy happiness on her face is enough to melt

all our hearts before we know it.

I put my hand against her silver-blue hair and look up.

The scene in the living room is reflected in the glass window.

Humans, demi-humans, a goddess, and a monster.

All of us have our differences, be it skin color or race or all

matter of things. But here we all are, together around one girl.

The picture of a warm family.

After Hestia Familia spent some time with the monster girl, the
members decided to call it a night and returned to their rooms
one by one.

The magic-stone lamps on each floor of the manor turned

dark.
 “Please tell me, Lady Haruhime. What are your thoughts on
Lady Wiene…?”

“I feel much the same way as Master Bell. I do not want to

abandon her. It may, however, be empathy getting the best of
me…”

Haruhime and Mikoto lay on adjacent futons in a dark room.

As they lay on their sides, green and violet eyes met as they
spoke.

“I view myself as a courtesan…Separated from Miss Mikoto

and the others, perhaps I see my former self in her. My own self-
ishness may be blinding me…”

“That is not so, Lady Haruhime. You are still the same gener-
ous person you were back in those days.”

Haruhime had donated food to the impoverished shrine where

Mikoto and her friends lived many years ago, even before she
knew their names. Reflecting on the memories of those days
brought a smile to Mikoto’s face.

Her face hidden in shadow, Haruhime smiled back.

“What are your thoughts on her, Miss Mikoto?”

“It pains me to admit…but I have yet to reach a definite con-

clusion,” Mikoto said. “However…I feel that Lady Wiene’s smile is
the same as our own. If possible, I would like to build a lasting
bond with her…Like our familia.”

“…Thank you, Mikoto.”

Mikoto and Haruhime slowly closed their eyes beneath the

narrow streaks of moonlight between the curtains over the win-
dow.

Just like when they would take naps together at the shrine in
their childhood, they leaned in close enough to feel each other
breathe as they drifted to sleep.

“Lady Hestia knows…The gods and goddesses know some-

thing about the Dungeon.”

Inside the dim and mostly empty living room…

A lone magic-stone lamp cast a faint light on the room from its
spot on the wall. Welf had almost finished cleaning up after dis-
arming the monster girl when Lilly broke the silence.

“That was also the case when the Black Goliath appeared. They
are hiding the truth about the Dungeon…or something inside it…
from the people.”

“Probably.”

“Despite that, the existence of that monster surprises them.”

Lilly sat in a chair, swinging her short legs back and forth as
she spoke. Welf had his back to her, responding with the occa-
sional grunt or a word or two to show he was listening.

“An Irregular incarnate, even to the gods…We have a problem

on our hands, but it may be much more trouble than it’s worth.”

“You accepted that risk when Bell brought her back here.
What’s the point in moaning about it now?”

“Lilly did not ‘accept.’ She gave up…Mr. Bell likes people too
much to see reason.”

The prum, who simultaneously supported both the familia and

Bell, continued her conversation with the young man.

“If her presence here puts our familia in danger…When that

time comes…”

“You’ll chase her out and leave her to her fate?”

“…If necessary.”

Welf raised his head and turned to Lilly upon hearing her
thoughts on the matter.

Lilly’s concern for her ally’s future was so strong that she was
willing to become hated in order to protect it.

“Take a look in the mirror. Determined people don’t make that

expression.”

“……”

Lilly’s face contorted. Distress filled her downcast eyes.

Without lifting her gaze, she strung words together and

squeezed them from her throat.

“Following our emotions will lead to disaster…If all of us be-

come attached to her, we will surely regret it.”

“……”

“It can’t go on like this forever. It’s impossible for tonight to

repeat itself for the rest of our lives…”

Because that girl was a monster.

Lilly’s voice faded to a whisper. This time, Welf didn’t have

anything to say.
 “Well then, why don’t the three of us sleep together tonight?
Just family!”

“Just family?”

“Huh? Goddess…?!”

They were in Bell’s room, third floor of the manor.

The room itself was mostly devoid of identifiable features, save

for the closet that had been refurbished into a storage unit for
equipment such as mended armor and other items for adventur-
ing. Hestia was standing in the open doorway, a pillow tucked be-
neath her arm.

Wiene flat-out refused to sleep anywhere other than at Bell’s

side, and Hestia arrived on the scene to fulfill her divine duty. She
practically forced her way into the room so she could keep an eye
on the two.

No one else knew she was there.

“First things first…Wiene, you must now call me ‘Mama’ and

Bell ‘Papa.’”

“Mama, Papa…?”

“Goddess, what are you teaching her?!”

Hestia coached Wiene and gently stroked the girl’s hair while
Bell yelped in despair.

The vouivre girl inquisitively tilted her head as the deity,

shorter than herself, reached up to lovingly pet her head.

“Bell, at times like this, you must obey the mortal realm’s rules
about how families behave. We have an image to uphold.”
 “What image? I’ve never heard anything about this!!”

Bell’s astonishment did nothing to curb Hestia’s enthusiasm.

A crisp smile on her face, she gave him an energetic thumbs-up.

“But…but my room only has one bed! So it’s not possible!”

“What do you mean, Bell? You slept with Wiene snuggled up

next to you last night, yes? So you can do that with her but not
with me?”

“Th-that’s not what I…! You’re a goddess! Sleeping next to you

would be…!”

“We slept on the sofa back in the room under the church, re-
member?”

“Huh? We did?!”

She didn’t sleepwalk her way on top of me?! Bell raked

through his memory in search of answers.

Hestia turned to Wiene and gave her a friendly smile as the

boy clutched his head in both hands a short distance away.

“Is it okay with you, Wiene?”

“…Okay.”

Bell’s only hope of escape had vanished. The three of them

climbed into the single bed and lay down.

“Is…isn’t this a bit cramped?”

“Hee-hee, I think you mean ‘cozy.’”

“It’s very…warm.”
 Bell’s face turned bright red; he knew that they were close
enough to touch each other with the slightest turn. Meanwhile,
Hestia’s smile widened as Wiene settled into the bed.

The vouivre lay between human and deity, all three of them on
their backs. While it would have been more efficient for Hestia to
sleep in the middle based on their height, Wiene looked so com-
fortable that neither of them had the heart to move her.

Every magic-stone lamp in the room was extinguished; the

sound of rustling sheets filled the space. Bell’s anxiety prevented
him from moving at all while Hestia and Wiene jostled for bed
space. The sound of light breathing began to fill the air as the
clock on the wall ticked on.

With all the lights off, sleep descended upon the manor.

“…?”

Bell was somewhere between slumber and consciousness

when movement beside him caused him to open his eyes.

He saw Wiene facing him, her body huddled up close.

She was holding onto Bell’s right arm as she had done many
times before.

“Can’t sleep?”

“No…I’m fine.”

Two voices whispered in the dark room. Her amber eyes

closed to a sliver.

The garnet jewel emitted a faint light as her blue-silver hair

slid down, exposing the bluish-white skin at the nape of Wiene’s
neck above her pajamas’ collar. She smiled up at him from the
pillow.

Bell quickly averted his eyes. “ZZZ…” Hestia snored and rolled
over at the same time. Bell paused when he saw that the goddess
had turned her back to them and adjusted his shoulders to face
Wiene.

The vouivre girl donned a calm expression and snuggled in

closer.

“…Wiene, where did you come from?”

Bell couldn’t help but ask as she pressed her body against his
like a sleepy child.

The girl from a different world finally trusted him. The ques-
tion that had been eating at Bell this whole time slipped out be-
fore he knew it.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you have friends? …Are there any monsters that don’t at-
tack you, Wiene?”

“I don’t know that, either…”

The girl claimed ignorance no matter what he asked and

looked away. Then she mumbled that her earliest memory was of
being alone in the Dungeon.

“But.”

Wiene lifted her face up from Bell’s chest.

“I have dreams.”

“Dreams…?”
 “Yes. Attacking Bell…people like Bell.”

The boy’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“Slashing people I don’t know, biting them, tearing them

apart…”

In an area filled with rocks and boulders, amid intricate pas-

sageways.

Baring fangs at drawn swords, sharp claws ripping through

anything in their way.

Loud screams of those who avoided the fangs; ramming horns

through the backs of those who ran away in a panic.

“Everything turns red…Scary dreams.”

The sight of her hands, claws dripping with fresh blood.

Wiene described it all, how these dreams would play out

whenever she closed her eyes.

“I’m always angry in the dreams…always get colder and

colder.”

“Huh…?”

“Lots of people, just like Bell…protect someone from me.”

As Bell had protected Wiene from Lilly and the rest of the fa-
milia when they first met, the people in her dreams did the same,
she explained.

There was one, possibly an elf, who embraced her badly in-
jured partner and used his own body as a shield.

Another, a dwarf maybe, who blocked the passageway by him-

self, fighting against a whole wave of monsters at once to allow
the rest of his party to escape.

Another, and another, and another…Listening to her frag-

mented stories, a picture began forming in Bell’s mind.

Wiene curled up next to him, making herself as small as possi-

ble as her long eyelashes trembled.

“I see those people, and I feel cold.”

“……”

“Like there’s a hole in my chest letting everything flow out,

until I feel empty…But those people were beautiful.”

People supporting, protecting, and loving one another.

Sights normally overlooked, such as allies overcoming their

fears to save each other, were suddenly so much clearer.

“What happens next is always the same. I become red, and

everything goes dark.”

That was how the dreams always ended.

A cutting flash of silver and a body going cold. Limbs that

wouldn’t move anymore. Bleeding that wouldn’t stop.

Lying on the stone floor, staring at the ceiling as vision blurred

into nothingness.

“I cry for help…but no one ever comes.”

No amount of screaming or begging convinced any of her kind

in the area to come to her aid.

Their battle cries filling her ears, they continued to attack the
people.

Clouds of ash choked the air before everything turned dark.

“Very scary and lonely dreams.”

The visions always ended without her receiving a helping

hand.

“……”

Bell kept his mouth closed, listening to her story from start to
finish.

Were those really dreams?

Or were they Wiene’s—?

Bell’s train of thought had reached that point when the vouivre
girl buried her face in his chest once again.

“But I’m not scared anymore.”

Because Bell was here.

Her muffled voice was tranquil as she wrapped her arms

around the boy.

Wiene was smiling.

She yearned for his comfortable heat. Bell didn’t say anything
and accepted her embrace.

However, he gently reached out and stroked her hair.

“……”

Hestia, her back to Bell and Wiene, slowly opened her eyes.
 Mulling over what she just heard, she gazed out the window at
the night sky.

After a time, she heard the telltale breaths of two sleeping fig-
ures.

Hestia rolled over once again and, after hesitating a few times,
wrapped her arms around the vouivre girl from behind.

A bluish darkness covered the sky.

Countless twinkling stars filled the night. Ash-colored clouds

partially hid the moon from view as the heavens cast light and
shadow on Orario.

Business was booming in the bars along the main boulevards

and street corners. A small group of humanoid figures distanced
themselves from the liveliest and noisiest area, the Shopping Dis-
trict and the Pleasure Quarter, to gather in an alleyway close to
the city wall’s East Gate in Orario’s Eastern Block.

The wall’s imposing shadow overhead, they met where the al-
leyway intersected a cul-de-sac.

Several adventurers sat atop a pile of wooden boxes and bar-

rels that had been left outside. A god stood among them, although
this particular deity was mostly preoccupied with adjusting the
feather in his hat.

“Lord Hermes, Laurier and the others have returned.”

The clouds high above drifted away from the moon as a beau-
tiful woman sporting short aqua-blue hair appeared in the alley-
way.
 The white cape over her shoulders seemed to cut through the
darkness. As soon as the words left her mouth, three demi-hu-
mans wearing traveler’s robes appeared behind her.

Hearing the report of his follower, Asfi Al Andromeda, Hermes

wore a delicate smile as he glanced toward her silver glasses and
stood up from his barrel.

“Good work on your long journey, Laurier and company! I’ve

been waiting.”

Hermes thanked the three for their hard work as a young elf
woman and two animal people, male and female, lowered their
hoods. “So, how did it go?”

“Sir…We tracked the illicit sales taking place around the city
and identified the merchant organization pulling the strings.”

“You did? Well done.”

Hermes nodded, seemingly satisfied with the elf Laurier’s

news.

Orario, possessing the world’s only Dungeon—the sole source

of magic stones—had to keep constant tabs on the black market.
The Guild controlled all legal rights to magic stones and their re-
lated products, but that didn’t stop people from smuggling them
through the checkpoints and into other countries, where they
would be sold to the highest bidder. While the Guild and the fa-
milias collaborating with them did everything in their power to
eliminate these crimes, the truth was Orario had grown too large
to prevent them from happening.

Therefore, it had fallen to Hermes Familia to investigate the

various black market operations and shutter the organizations
behind them. They traveled outside the city at the behest of the
Guild to investigate where the products were being smuggled.
This was one of the reasons that Hermes Familia, which nomi-
nally worked as a delivery service, could pass through various
checkpoints at will. With Perseus’s magic items at their disposal,
the Guild placed a great deal of trust in the mid-ranking familia—
even if they weren’t completely honest about their members’ Lev-
els.

A letter had arrived informing Hermes that one of his investi-

gation teams would be returning from their mission tonight, and
he went to greet them in person.

“Every detail has been recorded here…Also, there is one more

thing to report.”

Laurier handed her god a rolled-up piece of paper, and as she

continued, her pure-white complexion took on an ominous pal-
lor.

“Just as you mentioned before our departure…The sale of

monsters has been confirmed.”

“…And the buyer?”

“Our inquiry led us to infiltrate an estate belonging to Elurian

royalty…Further investigation revealed the possibility that nobil-
ity residing in other countries may also be involved.”

The elf fought back a wave of nausea as memories of what she

had witnessed flooded her mind. She pressed a hand to her throat
to maintain composure and keep from vomiting.

“Monsters were chained to one another in underground hold-

ing cells. We were unable to ascertain whether or not they had
been tamed. However, they were violated…N-no, it was worse
than that. It was treatment that I did not believe people were ca-
pable of inflicting.”
 As Laurier adjusted her choice of words, the elf’s golden hair
swayed, and her pointed ears anxiously twitched.

“They were on death’s door by the time we arrived…One asked

us with its last breath—‘deliver this to my comrades’…”

One of the animal people behind the elf stepped forward and
held out an item wrapped in cloth.

Hermes pulled back the covering to reveal a heavily scarred

monster horn—a drop item.

The deity narrowed his orange eyes.

The message and the horrid condition of the horn left the sur-
rounding members of Hermes Familia, including Asfi, speech-
less.

The two animal people in traveler’s cloaks remained silent,

their lips pursed into thin lines. The elf, on the other hand, could
no longer keep her boiling emotions at bay.

“—It spoke to me and asked for help! A monster!! It used

words no different from ours, with tears rolling down its
cheeks!!”

Her breathing became ragged.

Her right eye opened wide before she shielded it with her
hand. She was on the verge of a breakdown.

A shudder ran through the young elf, who always strove to up-
hold pure ideals. It was no hyperbole to say that she was experi-
encing a crisis. Her beautiful eyes blurred behind tears as she laid
bare the pent-up emotions inside her for her god and all to see.

“What was that?! Why did it look at me like that…?! …What

should I—I…!!”

Laurier was distraught.

Not saying a word, Hermes stepped up to her and took the elf’s
hand.

“Everything you saw, everything you witnessed is now my bur-

den to bear. Don’t let it trouble you any longer. Leave it to me.”

Hermes pressed her hand against his chest so she could feel
his heartbeat.

The calming rhythm coursed through the palm of her hand;

her breathing returned to normal.

The trembling elf stared up at her god and saw his usual light-
hearted smile. Then he removed his feathered hat before placing
it on her head.

“That goes for the two of you as well,” he said with a smile and
patted the animal people on their shoulders. He then left the
downtrodden trio in the capable hands of his other followers.

Trusting them to take care of things, he sent all of them home.

“…So what would you have us do, Lord Hermes?”

Once her allies had disappeared into the night, Asfi spoke to
her god with thinly veiled agitation at his condescending behav-
ior.

Sensing her half-lidded glare, the deity looked up into the sky
in silence before turning to another of his followers who was still
in the alley.

“Lulune, you said you found a suspicious child?”

 “Yeah, I did, Lord Hermes. Some elf brat I’ve never seen be-
fore was asking around about ‘talking monsters.’ I tried to trail
her but…she practically broke my nose with a stink bomb and got
away.” The wheat-skinned chienthrope massaged her nose as if
she were still feeling the effects. “Sorry,” she apologized through
her cupped hands.

Hermes glanced at her while she spoke but quickly returned

his gaze to the night sky—or at least to the visible sliver of it di-
rectly above the alleyway.

“The client’s request is absolute. All we can do is keep gather-

ing information…”

Hermes’s words hung in the air.

“Haaagh, geez,” he whispered under his breath. “Well Oura-

nos, you certainly gave us one hell of a job…”

The deity’s sharp eyes gazed into the moonlight. A long mo-
ment passed before he unrolled the parchment scroll in his hands
and gave it a once-over.

It was a list of all the merchant organizations connected with

this smuggling ring, as well as who had bought and sold mon-
sters.

Tracing the route all the way back to Orario, he noticed the
name of one specific familia:

Ikelos Familia.

Chains rattled from deep in the darkness.

Rage-filled roars—and sometimes pained, mournful whimpers

—accompanied the metallic clanging.

Hair-raising howls of agony echoed through the dark abyss.

“You let the vouivre cargo get away?”

As if its owner was completely unperturbed by the noise, an ir-

ritated voice cut through the air.

It belonged to a man with black hair.

He wore goggles made from smoky quartz, though the tinted

lenses were unable to completely mask the glare of the red eyes
behind them. He was rather tall, and his dirty battle cloth was
open at the top, revealing well-toned neck and shoulder muscles.
A large combat knife long enough to rival most shortswords hung
from his waist.

He had situated himself atop the black bars of an empty cage,

legs carelessly crossed, and the tone and quality of his voice sug-
gested he was prone to violence.

“We had it cornered on the nineteenth floor but lost track of

it…S-sorry, Dix.”

“You realize what we could’ve had? Those freaks in charge of

Eluria would’ve paid a fortune to get their filthy hands on a live
one.”

The goggled man, Dix, didn’t even bother looking at the four
adventurers below him while he spoke. The men and women
hunched over in disappointment as he raised his head toward the
ceiling.

The stone canopy was shrouded in darkness, giving the room

an oppressive atmosphere. A few magic-stone lamps illuminated
a great many black cages, as well as the faces of the numerous
demi-humans walking among them. The incessant howls and
clanging chains all came from inside those cages.

The man wearing goggles spat at the adventurers’ feet before

standing.

“If only we could find their nest…It’s somewhere in the Colos-

sal Tree Labyrinth for sure, so we can’t be far.”

Grabbing a red spear propped against the wall, the man ap-
proached one of the cages in the densely packed array.

The spear’s blade was an odd shape, curved and incredibly

sharp. Rather than lethal efficiency, this weapon had been de-
signed with the pain of its victims in mind.

“And none of these bastards’ll say a stinking thing…damn it

all!”

The red blade flashed between the bars of the cage. A dark
shadow flailed inside, howling as the spear plunged into its flesh.

The weak, almost pleading whimpering turned to high-pitched

screams and ear-splitting squeals. Chains rattled as a crimson
fluid splattered across the floor.

The man’s face was devoid of emotion as he watched the dark

shadow writhe in pain before pulling back the spear.

“Then again, a female vouivre, eh…Now that’s a treasure I’d

like to get my mitts on.”

Tapping the weapon’s shaft against his shoulder, the man nar-
rowed his eyes behind the goggles.

“The nineteenth floor, you say? Tell me the details.”

 “Ah, s-sure…Rivira’s adventurers were on a quest to hunt
some firebirds when we found it. The place was crawling with
them.”

A disturbed adventurer responded to the man fidgeting with

the blood-covered spear.

“There was some elf rambling about a monster that talked to

her, but nothing else. No one took her seriously. I bet the vouivre
is still in the Dungeon…if the other monsters didn’t do her in al-
ready.”

The man in the goggles listened to his underling deliver the

difficult news. He considered the matter for a moment and then
opened his mouth.

“So a bunch of people raised a fuss, yet no one claimed the

kill…Could be that some idiot is trying to hide the monster.”

The man’s lips curled into a smile before the stunned adven-
turers, but immediately after, he burst into laughter.

“From what I hear, the vouivre’s got one hell of a pretty face,
yeah? Wouldn’t surprise me if some adventurer got carried away
and did something insane.” With a grin, he added, “Monster
fetishes are a thing, after all.”

Knowing how adventurers think, no one would pass up the

chance to brag about slaying a talking vouivre. Stories about the
strange monster should be spreading through Orario like wildfire.
The man explained his theory.

“Of course, other monsters could’ve finished it off, the way you
said. And there’s still a chance it’s wandering around down there.
I’ll go have a look myself…Also, find out who took part in Rivira’s
quest—all of them.”
 Orders received, the adventurers gave him a curt nod before
leaving as quickly as they could.

After watching them go out of the corner of his eye, the man in
the goggles turned the other way.

“And there you have it…Lord Ikelos, may I rely on your coop-
eration once more?”

“—Hee-hee, is that how you ask your god for a favor, you arro-
gant little shit?”

Before the man in goggles was a lone god.

With eyes and hair of the same cerulean shade, the deity wore
mostly black clothing over his dark-brown skin. A fake smile was
etched upon his graceful features, which served as proof of his di-
vinity.
The deity, who resembled a young man, had said nothing during
the previous exchange so he could better enjoy the spectacle. He
sat atop a stone pedestal, legs crossed.

“Gods can see right through our lies. I’d like you to check out
any suspicious individuals I happen to find.”

“That sounds absolutely mind-numbing…I’m a god, and you’re

sending me on an errand?”

The deity—Ikelos—sneered, eliciting a low chuckle from Dix.

“I think you’ll find a way to not be too bored, no?”

“…Guess I got no choice, then.”

After speaking to his follower, Ikelos put on a grin peculiar to

gods starving for “entertainment.”

“You better make me laugh this time as well, Dix.”

“By your will, My Lord.”

Two shadows stretched far into the darkness under the magic-
stone lamplight.

Amid the smell of stone and the constant bestial roars echoing
in their ears, god and man shared the same thin smile, as though
they were reflections of each other.
 CHAPTER 3
The World And Reality And Monsters

“There’s a big difference between hearing about it and seeing it

with my own eyes. It’s a real shock.”

Lady Hephaistos says this as she scratches at the patch cover-

ing her right eye while inspecting Wiene.

Hearthstone Manor’s living room is bathed in morning light.

Three deities have come to our home: Lord Takemikazuchi, Lord
Miach, and Lady Hephaistos. Their stunned gazes are focused on
the vouivre girl hiding behind my back.

“A monster that doesn’t attack people…and is capable of com-

municating.”

“This could rewrite our understanding of the mortal world,

perhaps even change what we once considered to be common
sense.”

“I don’t think we can neatly sweep this under a rug by just call-
ing it ‘Irregular’…”

The gods don troubled expressions as we, Hestia Familia, ob-

serve from the sidelines.

“So none of you have any experience with this, I take it?” Lady
Hestia takes a step closer to her friends and asks one more time,
but Lady Hephaistos just shakes her head from side to side.
 To disturb even the gods…Wiene’s very existence must be ex-
traordinary.

“If anyone were to have any information…wouldn’t it be the

Guild, I wonder?”

Their conversation continues until Lady Hephaistos’s sugges-

tion sends chills up everyone’s spines.

Even I react after she brings up the Guild.

“…You may be right. There is a possibility they know more

than we do now.”

“But do be warned, going to the Guild for information is dan-

gerous.”

The Guild acts like the governing body of Orario in addition to

its role in managing all Dungeon-related activity. Chances are
good that they’re more knowledgeable about the current condi-
tion of the Dungeon than our lone familia. On the other hand,
there’s a good chance they’ll withhold proprietary knowledge.
Low-ranking employees like Eina and others don’t know about a
lot of things—for example, the top-secret information about our
fight with the Black Goliath.

But then again, we’d be in a bad spot if they find out about
Wiene. Our familia would obviously be in an incredibly danger-
ous position if word gets out that we’re harboring a monster. Es-
pecially Wiene, the epitome of Irregulars. In the worst-case sce-
nario, she could be taken away for experimentation or who knows
what…

With all these frightening ideas running through my head, I

can’t help but agree with Lord Miach and Lord Takemikazuchi’s
assessment that it’s too risky to consult the Guild. My goddess
crosses her arms, a sour look on her face.
 In the end, Lady Hephaistos says she can’t make any promises,
but she’ll look into this herself and inform us if she comes across
anything important.

“As for what we do from here…I’d like for Bell and the others
to take a trip to the Dungeon.”

After the other deities leave, our goddess faces us as she

broaches the topic.

“It’s painfully obvious that there’s a limit to how much we can

learn on the surface. The only option now is to expand our inves-
tigation into the Dungeon.”

Six days have passed since I met Wiene.

Reviewing all we’ve learned over those days, the goddess asks
us to return to the spot on the nineteenth floor where I found
Wiene and search for clues.

“As Lilly mentioned before, we’re not the only ones investigat-
ing talking monsters. The situation could change at any mo-
ment…If we want to make a move, the sooner the better.”

“…Yeah. We gotta go.”

Mikoto and Haruhime tense up when Lilly reminds them of

her first day searching around the city. Welf voices his agree-
ment.

We’re just standing around right now. At this rate, the situa-
tion might get away from us.

Exchanging nods, we decide to expand our search into the

Dungeon.

“Sorry about this, everyone…I want to know what’s happening,

too. I’m counting on you all.”

The goddess looks at all of us in turn.

Remembering the shock of Lady Hephaistos and the other

deities after our goddess’s earnest intent, I realize all over again
that we’re entering unknown territory, where even the gods don’t
know what’s happening. My skin is crawling.

“Bell…”

“…It’s all right. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Wiene anxiously glances up at me. I say the usual reassuring

words and do my best to smile.

“It’s been a while since just the three of us roamed the Dungeon.”

“That’s because we haven’t been shorthanded recently.”

I walk out the manor’s front gate with Welf, greatsword over
his shoulder, and Lilly, backpack strapped behind her.

The ones heading to the Dungeon are Lilly, Welf, and myself.
Mikoto and Haruhime are staying behind to take care of Wiene
and look after our home.

It’s our original three-man cell. How nostalgic. I share a smile

with my two friends who’ve fought alongside me since before they
joined my familia.

“Bear in mind that our destination is the nineteenth floor…

Honestly, Lilly is concerned about the three of us going on our
own. The journey to and from the site plus our investigation
might take well over one day.”
 “Good point. I don’t want to be away from home any longer
than we have to be.”

“Yeah…True…”

Lilly voices her concerns as we head to our home’s closest city

avenue, Southwest Main Street.

We made it down to the eighteenth floor the other day, but

that was as a five-member party. Not to mention Mikoto and Welf
had the benefit of Haruhime’s Level Boost.

Having traveled to the safe point a few times already, we’re

quite familiar with the Dungeon layout as well as how to deal
with the monsters that spawn on the intervening floors. Getting
down there as a three-man party shouldn’t be too much of a prob-
lem. The only worry is that it might take us a fair bit of time to do
it.

Without Mikoto and Haruhime, it’s only natural that the dan-
ger increases—and relying too heavily on Welf’s magic swords
and Lilly’s stink bombs, which both have a limited number of
uses, would be a pretty terrible plan—so we’ll have to be more
careful and slow down.

And a sappier reason is that I don’t want to be away from

home for a long time, since we left Wiene and the others there.

Though before I met everybody, I used to go into the Dungeon

alone all the time, so I’m fortunate to have these worries at all,
but…

As a side note, whenever I visit Rivira, I often hear about solo

specialist upper-class adventurers who regularly travel to and
from the safe point floor all alone, especially those who are Level
3 like me.
 In my case, though, I have an overwhelming lack of experi-
ence…and the middle levels—a place one enters fully prepared to
die—had given me a complicated kind of trauma. At the very
least, I don’t particularly want to go any farther into there.

“Aghh…”

I know Welf and I have leveled-up since our first attempts to

venture so far down, but we can’t let our guard down. Not to
mention that we want to get to the nineteenth floor as quickly as
possible.

I take in the vast blue sky overhead and try to come up with a
good idea…and then the face of a certain adventurer pops into my
mind.

Of course she could…

“Is there something on my face?”

“Ah, n-no!”

We’ve come to the always busy West Main Street.

I purposely try to avoid meeting a pair of sky-blue eyes, in-

stead peering at the constant flow of horse-drawn carriages and
adventurers passing by.

“Is something wrong, Bell? You’ve been glancing at Lyu ever

since you got here.”

“N-no, nothing’s wrong…”

We’re in front of The Benevolent Mistress.

Syr made lunch for me again today, so I’m swinging by to col-

lect it.
 She prepares a meal for me every day, including days we don’t
go into the Dungeon. On those days she feeds it to the other staff
members and asks for feedback…or so I hear. Humbly giving my
thanks, I receive the lunch basket from her, but she points out
that my gaze keeps wandering toward the elf woman.

It seems my thoughts are showing in my behavior.

Basically, Is it possible to ask Lyu for help on this trip…? Or

something like that.

Having a former adventurer with amazing skills like hers in

our party would all but guarantee us reaching our destination in
no time.

But asking her to come just because it would be convenient for

us…? I think that’s pushing it a bit too far. We couldn’t have won
the War Game without her, and she’s come to our rescue so many
times that taking advantage of her like this would be rude.

I force a smile for Syr and Lyu, trying to gloss things over,
but…

“Mr. Bell, we have nothing to lose, so please ask Miss Lyu to

assist us.”

“Huh? Wait a sec—Lilly?”

“We cannot afford to be picky about our methods. We have no

choice but to make this request.”

…However, Lilly tugs at the back of my shirt and whispers her

thoughts.

She’s right. It’s already pretty late in the morning, so I bet

other people like Ouka or Daphne have already led their parties
into the Dungeon. It’s too late to ask them to accompany us, but
still…

I turn around in an effort to dissuade her as quietly as possi-

ble, but I give up as soon as Lilly brings up Wiene. There’s noth-
ing I can say.

Still indecisive, I face Lyu and Syr again before trying to nego-
tiate.

“…You are attempting to reach the safe point?”

“Y-yes…Is that…too much to ask…after all?”

Leaving out our true destination on the nineteenth floor, I

claim that we’re trying to reach Rivira instead.

At Lyu’s response, my voice and body both get smaller as I

watch her standing still, holding one of the bar’s trays.

“Bell, why do you want to go all the way there?”

“W-well, you see, there’s something we have to do today, kind

of like a quest…”

Syr tilts her head, displaying her confusion as I try to sound as

convincing as possible…but her expression never changes, and
her sky-blue eyes unblinkingly stare at me. I can’t meet her gaze,
so I let mine wander.

I feel guilty for hiding something in the face of such sincerity.

Lilly and Welf sigh at my suspicious behavior, or rather my in-

ability to lie.

“…Mr. Cranell, I must apologize, but I have much work to at-

tend to at the moment…”

Those were the exact words that I expected, the inevitable re-
jection—when out of the blue…

“Bell Cranell!”

An assertive voice comes up from behind me.

All of us spin around to find a beautiful, wild woman with one

hand resting on her curvy waist.

“A-Aisha?”

My eyes land on Aisha Belka, who’s wearing clothing fit for a

dancer.

Formerly a high-ranking member of Ishtar Familia, she’s a

second-tier adventurer and a passionate Amazon. She was also
one of Haruhime’s few allies when she was forced to work as a
prostitute.

She has beautiful, long legs; tanned bronze skin, as displayed

by her exposed stomach; and most of all, an intense allure ema-
nating from her entire body. Every man on the street is craning
his neck for a better look at her.

“Wh-what are you doing here…?”

“Wanted to check up on that scrawny fox and maybe see your

face, so I dropped by your home, only to hear that you left for the
Dungeon. I was gonna head back without any more fuss, but here
you are. Aren’t I lucky?”

As Aisha draws closer, her reply sounds convincing.

This isn’t the first time that she’s paid us a visit to see if
Haruhime is doing okay. Welf and Lilly have interacted with her
on occasion as well.
 Today didn’t go as she planned, but she happened to bump
into us in the end.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what are you all doing hanging
out outside a bar?”

Aisha looks back and forth between our groups and asks a
question of her own after I quickly introduce her to Lyu and Syr.

I hesitate a little, but then I explain the situation without say-

ing much about Lyu.

“Oh? So you need an escort? I’ll take you up on that.”

“Huh?!”

“You’re just going down to the safe point and coming right
back up, yes? Piece of cake.”

Everyone is stunned by Aisha’s response, including Welf and

Lilly—and so are Syr and Lyu.

“A-are you sure…?”

“It’s a quest like any other. As long as there’s a reward, I got no

reason to say no. Plus, I’ve always wanted to try heading into the
Dungeon with you.”

The first part was very matter-of-fact, but she said the second
bit with a bewitching smile while crossing her arms.

Her clothes are so revealing they could easily be mistaken for

underwear, and she’s pushing up her ample cleavage, on par with
Lady Hestia’s. I know Aisha’s considerably sultry demeanor has
set my cheeks on fire.

…I’m aware that I have trouble interacting with this quintes-

sential Amazon.

Her bold personality is part of it, but the constant sight of her
vibrant dark skin along with her provocative cleavage makes me
blush furiously. Meanwhile, Lilly’s glare and Syr’s wide grin are
really scaring me.

Sweat drips from my forehead…but honestly, having a second-

tier adventurer like her come with us would be a great help. That
way, I wouldn’t have to drag Lyu into this.

Aisha narrows her eyes the moment that thought crosses my

mind.

“But just warning you—I ain’t cheap.”

“Eek…?!”

Her arms slither around my shoulders like a snake and pull

me in close.

I’m terrified even before I feel Aisha’s soft body pressed up

against mine. Mostly because she’s licking her lips right in front
of my face.

The scene startles Lilly and Syr, while Welf lets out an exas-
perated sigh.

Even Lyu, who hasn’t said a word, frowns.

“Wh-what’s the reward…?!”

“Oh, you remember, right? Since the last time I missed out on
my chance to indulge.”

Nightmarish memories of being hunted in the Pleasure Quar-

ter flash before my eyes. Aisha’s musky perfume and wheat-col-
ored skin bring back the terror I endured that night.

At the carnivorous smile on her lips, all the blood drains from
my face, turning me pale as a ghost—

“—Hands off him.”

Like a sword flashing by, a wooden tray tears through the air
with terrifying speed.

Aisha sidesteps the vertical slash at the last possible moment.

Finally free, I shift my trembling eyes in the direction of the

tray-bearer. A cold stare the likes of which I’ve never seen before
is emanating from Lyu’s sky-blue eyes.

“Stand back, Amazon. I will not allow you to perform obscene

acts on him.”

The Amazon warrior isn’t fazed by the arctic glare. Instead,

she looks excited for a fight, lips curling upward.

“Oh? What’s this? Sayin’ you got dibs on this male?”

“…Do not misunderstand me. He has already been engaged to

his promised partner.”

What is she saying?!

“Well, isn’t that interesting? I was planning on entrusting him

to a little sister of mine.”

“Please refrain from saying such ridiculous nonsense. You will

only cause trouble for Mr. Cranell.”

“Fine, I get it, I get it. We’ll have our taste first, and then you
and that friend of yours can start off by holding his hands like a
bunch of elves.”
 “I refuse to trust him to someone of such poor character. I ad-
vise you and your sister to withdraw.”

A fierce argument unfolds right in front of my widened eyes.

Aisha glares down at Lyu with her height advantage, but the
elf isn’t backing down. I can almost see sparks flying right now.
Facts and hypotheticals fly between the two women and—I have
no idea what’s going on.

…The fastidious elves might have about as much trouble see-

ing eye to eye with the uninhibited Amazons as they do with
dwarves, if their relationship isn’t actually worse.

Thinking this, I start sweating bullets as Lyu’s menacing eyes

meet Aisha’s provocative grin.

“Syr, my apologies. I will be absent for half the day. Please in-
form Mama Mia.”

“L-Lyu?”

“This woman is dangerous and cannot be left to her own de-

vices. I will participate in this quest to protect Mr. Cranell’s
chastity. I shall return by evening. You have my word.”

Ch-chastity…?

Lyu didn’t take her eyes off Aisha as she spoke. Even Syr is be-
wildered.

She’s absolutely serious about protecting me from Aisha’s “evil

influence”…

Either she puts this amount of effort into everything she does,
or a strong sense of loyalty and courage is motivating her. This is
no joke.
 “…Well, it appears we’ve happened to acquire two valuable al-
lies for this journey, and that is a good thing.”

“…Must be tough being a famous adventurer, with people

keeping an eye on you all the time…”

Lyu is standing between Aisha and me like a knight. I blankly

stare at the two of them as Lilly’s and Welf’s comments reach my
ears.

But I think it was the pity in Welf’s voice that stung the most.

With Lyu’s and Aisha’s pledged support, Syr saw us off as we

made our way toward the Dungeon.

They were nice enough to adjust to our tight schedule, and

rather than going to retrieve their own equipment, the two of
them bought weapons and armor at the assorted shops on the
way to Babel Tower to save time.

Then, with the assistance of two second-tier adventurers in

our temporary party, we breezed through the upper levels in no
time flat.

“HAAAAAAAA!!”

Her voice rips through the air with a ferocity worthy of the
large weapon in her grip, and she lays waste to several hellhounds
in one attack.

We’ve made it to the rocky cave-like halls of the fourteenth

floor. Aisha looks right in her element, grinning from ear to ear as
the attacker in our formation. She makes quick work of any mon-
sters in our path.
 She purchased an unusually large greatsword at a weapon
shop before we entered the Dungeon. It’s much sharper and
heavier than her usual wooden sword, but she still swings it
around like a feather. No monsters can get close. Her handiwork
is eliciting some complaints from our longsword user, Welf.

Aisha was momentarily free after the destruction of Ishtar Fa-

milia, but she’s already undergone Conversion.

As for where she belongs now, I once asked her when she was
visiting Haruhime, but…

“That’s a secret.”

She laughed and dropped the subject.

I’m sure I could find out by perusing the public records on file
at the Guild…

“…Lady Aisha? Have you reached Level Four?”

“Sure have, eagle eyes!”

Lilly’s ranged support was completely unnecessary with our

overwhelmingly powerful front line, so her naturally superior vi-
sion allowed her to pick up on some telltale signs and led her to
ask. Aisha affirms it without a second thought.

She went from Level 3 to Level 4. In other words, a level-up—

reaching a higher plane.

I got the same impression as Lilly when her move turned out
to be so much faster than when we fought, but…I can’t hide my
surprise after hearing it for myself. Aisha looks my way for a mo-
ment before charging into another pack of monsters and tearing
them to shreds.
 “It’s because I had to deal with some rough things. I shut my-
self up in the Dungeon for a while to toughen up a bit.”

Apparently, she’s been on more than a few of her own adven-

tures since our battle in the Pleasure Quarter.

She was already at the very peak of Level 3 adventurers back

when she led the Berbera. It’s already been a month since that
fight, so the prospect of her leveling up isn’t actually that strange.

I can feel it when Aisha grins back at me with lust for battle:
She’s moved up.

Combining ground-shattering kicks with slashes of her

greatsword, she smashes in the heads of monster after monster.
She flows through the battlefield like a lethal, bladed torrent that
leaves gruesome fragments in its wake.

The loose fabric of her revealing outfit shifts along with her
hair as the Amazon’s momentum guides her away from spurts of
blood. Not a drop touches her during the dance of death.

“Antianeira…I see. So this is her.”

Lyu whispers Aisha’s title to herself from her spot a few steps
back from the front line. At almost the same moment, the Dun-
geon wall cracks open behind the Amazon. I don’t even have time
to count the creatures pouring out before Lyu cuts them all down
with her two shortswords in the blink of an eye.

“Heh, not bad.”

“You, too.”

Aisha pays Lyu a genuine compliment after watching her wipe

out the horde.
 Instead of purchasing weapons on our way here, Lyu bought a
battle cloth resembling traveler’s garb. Combining it with her
hooded robe, she’s hiding her identity as usual. Dressing the
same way she did during the War Game would only attract un-
wanted attention, so she’s settled into a plain outfit. The only
weapons she has on her are the two shortswords she apparently
carries at all times.

Aisha might have caught on to who she is.

But she doesn’t say anything.

She must’ve considered it a minor detail in light of the current

battle and only hacks her way through the waves of monsters
alongside the hooded warrior from the War Game.

“—KIIIH!!”

“!”

The devastating power of our front line blazes a path through

the Dungeon.

Welf and I, who are on standby in the middle ranks, suddenly

come under attack from monsters emerging from an adjacent
passageway.

It’s a swarm of rabbit monsters, al-miraj. Welf engages the

first wave, slicing down several with a swing of his greatsword.
I’m slow to react beside him, and they launch a flood of nature
weapons—stone tomahawks—right at me.

I knock each of the incoming tomahawks away with the Hestia

Knife and Ushiwakamaru-Nishiki. The disarmed al-miraj give in
to their monster instincts and charge directly at us, the horns on
their heads leading the way.
 Weaving in and out of their attacks, I block one head-on,
knock it off balance, and line up the counterstrike—

“—!”

My body slows down just before making contact.

“Bell!”

“Mr. Bell!”

Something about seeing my reflection in its big red eyes causes

me to hesitate.

In fact, I’ve come to a complete stop. Welf’s and Lilly’s yells

ring in my ears as the al-miraj’s red irises narrow. It jumps di-
rectly for my breastplate.

It hits me dead center, and the impact knocks me off balance.

Crap—!

Landing flat on my back, more al-miraj converge on me.

This is ba—!

Just as I try to raise a blade that will never make it in time—a

wind passes over me.

“KIH—?!”

A hooded robe flutters; four monsters succumb to flashes of

silver light.

More accurately, they crumble into ash moments later, their

magic stones shattered.

The shadow that saved my life makes quick work of the re-
maining monsters.

“…Th-thanks, Lyu.”

Dropping back from the front lines, Lyu wiped out all the ene-
mies in an instant.

She offers me her hand, which I take, staggering to my feet.

“Seriously, that was pathetic. What a letdown, Bell Cranell.”

The battle over, Aisha walks up to us, tapping the blunt edge of
her greatsword against her shoulder with extreme disappoint-
ment. After all, I’m Level 3, and a middle-level monster just got
the best of me. It is a letdown.

The censuring look in her eyes says, You are a man who de-
feated me in battle.

There’s no way I can respond after that embarrassment.

“Mr. Cranell, that was not like you.”

Lyu watches me from beneath her hood as she approaches.

“Has something happened?”

“……”

Her tone is soft, as if trying to protect my feelings, but all I can

do is stare at the floor.

Spending so much time with Wiene has affected me more than

I thought.

Will other monsters we encounter start talking, the way she

did?
 Are they all capable of the same thoughts and feelings that we
are? Can they all cry?

I haven’t done anything since we came into the Dungeon, let-

ting everyone else deal with the monsters.

This has never happened before.

Welf and Lilly silently watch me with knowing expressions.

I can’t keep going like this…

It won’t end well.

I have to flip the switch. This is just wasting Lyu’s and Aisha’s
time.

I tell myself that over and over while looking at my clenched

fist.

The party presses forward again after I say a quick apology.

But even so…

I can’t get Wiene’s face out of my head, and there’s no silenc-

ing the doubt in my heart.

Bell’s party arrived at the eighteenth floor.

Thanks in large part to the exploits of Lyu and Aisha—and to

the fact that other adventurers had already exterminated the floor
boss on the seventeenth floor, Goliath—it took them only three
hours.

They passed beneath the “afternoon” light shining down from

the crystals far above. The brightest of them all was a mum-
shaped formation that grew out from the ceiling’s center like an
upside-down blossom. The adventurers formed a loose line as
they journeyed toward Rivira, the settlement that had been built
on a rocky island in the middle of the lake on the west side of the
floor.

As always, it was bustling with upper-class adventurers look-

ing to rest and restock in the relay town.

“—So when are the boys coming back?”

“How should Lilly know? Boys will be boys, and there are
things that only they can attend to, yes?”

Aisha spoke up amid the tents filled with weapons and items
for sale and sparkling crystals lining the street.

She turned around at a particularly large crystal column at a

corner. Lilly casually answered while adjusting the straps of her
bulging backpack, as the Amazon glanced at the heavily armored
adventurers walking by.

Only Lilly, Aisha, and Lyu were at the street corner.

“You played me good. Never thought the two of them would

leave you behind and head off on their own.”

Bell and Welf had excused themselves by saying, “We’ll sell off
some drop items and be right back,” and left the group.

The girls hadn’t caught a single glimpse of the pair since then.

“You said you had business on this floor? Are we not allowed
to know?”

“Miss Aisha, what are you talking about? Lilly doesn’t under-
stand.”

Refusing to give in, Lilly kept up the facade with a satisfied

smile.

“Cheeky runt,” Aisha muttered through a mirthless grin.

Beside them, a long sigh escaped Lyu’s hood.

“Should we have said something to Lyu and Aisha before we

left…?”

“You know as well as I do we can’t have them with us while we

look around. Let Li’l E handle it.”

Welf and I walk shoulder to shoulder through the labyrinth of

trees.

Lyu and Aisha got us to the safe point, but we came down to
the nineteenth floor, the Colossal Tree Labyrinth, on our own.
The two of us set foot onto the floor where I met Wiene.

“Don’t forget, those two are adventurers, too. They agreed to

this ‘quest,’ so there’s no need to tell them anything else.”

Adventurers need to understand only what their mission is

and how to carry it out—nothing more, nothing less. Unnecessary
details just get in the way. Welf flashes a grin as he explains this
unwritten rule among adventurers.

I still feel bad for leaving Lyu and Aisha in the dark…but it’s
just as Welf says. Our top priority is keeping Wiene a secret. We
had no choice but to split up.

Somehow, I manage to smile back and change my focus to the

task at hand.

“I know we just got here and all…but this level is completely

different from what we’ve seen so far.”

On high alert, Welf makes his passing comment as we head

through the particularly wide passageway.

Tree bark covers every bit of the Dungeon walls here, making
it look and feel as though we’re exploring the inside of the giant
tree. As it occurs to me that the route is as complex as a mess of
intertwining branches itself, we spot a narrow path at least ten
meders above our heads. A long series of bumpy tree roots come
together there, forming a staircase. There’s something around
every turn that goes to show the nineteenth floor is much bigger
than I thought.

I’m used to bright spots on the ceiling providing light, but not
here. Instead, the darkness is kept at bay by bioluminescent moss
growing thickly along the ceiling, walls, and floor, sparkling like
stars in a night sky. Their beautiful blue radiance is so fascinating
that I have to remind myself I’m in the Dungeon.

Welf is right: This floor is completely different from any other

area we’ve explored.

I’m used to the many crystals and various biomes of the Under
Resort, but the true meaning of the word uncharted is striking
me anew.

“I bet Miach Familia’s going to start sending us down here on

quests a lot more from now on.”

“Ah-ha-ha…”

All the plants in here have distinctive smells, including some

sweet, flowerlike aromas with potential to beguile adventurers.
 There’s a far greater variety of flora in the Colossal Tree
Labyrinth than just trees and moss. White flowers are blooming
from the crease where wall meets ceiling overhead. A cluster of
giant mushrooms comes into view after we round a corner. A lot
of these are the main ingredients for potions and other items. It’s
amazing. We could take some back with us right now.

Strangely colored grasses in various shades, a wall covered in

thorny vines, small golden flowers that blossom where the path
forks, blue liquid dripping from the ceiling to form a puddle on
the floor…There are so many rarities around us that chemists
would love to get their hands on. The things they wish for literally
grow on trees down here.

“Bell, I’ll lead the way. This is a good chance for me to get
some excelia.”

Still as alert as ever, Welf has been nice enough to keep talking
to me like we’re chatting back at home.

I’m sure he’s trying to keep my spirits high, since I can’t put up
a decent fight right now.

Having never been here before, both of us are really on edge.

We’re beyond the safe point of the eighteenth floor. Many people
call the thirteenth floor the “First Line” because it’s the start of
the Cave Labyrinth. Even though it’s still part of the middle lev-
els, you’d be better off considering everything beyond as a com-
pletely different world.

Not only do adventurers have to contend with the fearsome

potential of bugbears and mad beetles and the ranged attacks of
gun libellulas and firebirds, but monsters in this area are particu-
larly good at inflicting Status effects. Having a large supply of an-
tidotes helps, but possessing the Advanced Ability Immunity is
considered to be the key to clearing floors in the Colossal Tree
Labyrinth.

The middle levels end at the twenty-third floor. Advancing to

the twenty-fourth floor requires a Status above Level 2 as well as
a party you can trust…I wonder if our two-man cell, with me at
Level 3 and Welf at Level 2, is strong enough for the nineteenth
floor. If we don’t take everything head-on and avoid battle as
much as possible, I think we should do okay.

Lilly equipped me with a dagger-size Crozzo Magic Sword and

a couple of Malboro stink bombs in case things get dicey.

I think the main source of my anxiety is that we’re not used to

this floor yet.

“Tsk…mad beetles and gun libellulas.”

“They’re blocking the way forward…Let’s go!”

A swarm of mad beetles blocks our advance while a few of the

dragonfly monsters known as gun libellulas zip around through
the air. Welf’s black robe flies out behind him as he charges to-
ward the group of insect monsters, our first encounter on the
nineteenth floor.

He’s wearing Lilly’s Goliath Robe over his usual workman’s

jacket.

It’s a protective item capable of repelling everything from

monster claws to flames. Lilly insisted Welf take it with him when
she found out we’d be moving ahead as a two-man cell.

Its performance is great in the Colossal Tree Labyrinth. Not

only does it repel the mad beetles’ hooked pincers, but it even de-
flects the ranged attacks from the gun libellulas’ spear-like ab-
domens.
 With hardly a scratch on him thanks to the robe, Welf drives
into the mad beetles with a complicated expression.

…I can’t afford to hesitate!

I clench my fist while watching Welf make headway against

the swarm.

If I become a burden, we’ll end up in a situation we can’t re-

cover from. Welf can fight alone for only so long before his equip-
ment and items can’t take any more.

Silencing my unresolved doubts, I launch several Firebolts in

quick succession and shoot down the gun libellula flying above
us, sweeping the skies clean.

The Hestia Knife pulses with violet light, as if responding to

the latest Status I received from my goddess. I drive the blade
into every creature that comes into range, and their dying cries
fill the passageway as Welf and I advance.

Then, a short while after deviating from the main path leading
to the next floor…

“We getting close?”

“Yes…I found Wiene around here.”

Careful not to let my guard down, I’ve been checking the sim-
ple map stuffed into a pouch on my belt over and over, holding it
up to the light to confirm where we are until I recognize our posi-
tion.

We’re in a tree-lined path where many passageways meet. The

ceiling is high overhead, and there’s a large hill in the distance
covered in tree roots. From here, it almost looks like the base of a
mountain.
 I’d bet that’s how Wiene hurt her leg, falling down that hill.

“Didn’t see anything all that useful on the way here…”

“Wish I knew what ‘useful’ meant…” Welf adds with a sigh as

we make our way toward the steep incline.

We come to a stop in front of a lone tree surrounded by thick

underbrush.

It’s the place where Wiene hid after hurting her leg—and the
place we first met.

…Should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.

No matter how many leaves we push aside, no clues present

themselves.

I check our location again; we’re on the west side of the map.
There’s a pantry farther west. It’s a good distance away, but if
Wiene came from that direction and fell down the slope, that
would mean she was born somewhere over there.

We might need to press even farther in…Just as that thought

crosses my mind—

…An adventurer?

—a humanoid figure appears from another passageway.

A hooded robe shrouds their tall frame. The person must be

wearing chest armor, because their torso is much thicker than
their lower body. Their height is about the same as Welf’s. While I
can’t really tell their race or gender thanks to the cloak, for some
reason, I get the impression they’re female.

The hooded figure seems to be searching for something, their

head turning this way and that.

Following the same path that Welf and I took, the stranger ap-
proaches.

Welf and I, having chosen a suspicious place to stop, exchange

abrupt glances and immediately pretend like we’ve been collect-
ing raw ingredients for an item.

After a bit, we stand up. For the moment, we head back the
way we came, passing by the hooded figure moving in the oppo-
site direction.
“—You…smell like my kind.”

In that instant…

…a penetratingly cold voice enters my ear as the robed figure’s

head swivels toward us as we pass.

Shiver.

Chills running up our spines, Welf and I leap backward.

Every fiber of my being screams at me to put some distance

between us, and my body quickly responds.

Feet firmly planted on the ground, the figure slowly turns in

our direction, shoulders squared.

“…What was that?”

The words that brushed my ears in that moment were clumsily

formed; however, the pressure emanating from the figure in-
creased tenfold.

Welf whispers to himself in shock beside me while my heart

races.
 “……”

The stranger has fixed an unmoving stare on us.

Within the depths of the hood, the narrow silhouette of a femi-

nine face appears.

But those blue eyes, zeroing in on Welf and me like those of a

bird of prey, call to mind the ocean or perhaps the sky.
“The ones who kidnapped my comrades—was it you?”

“—?!”

They exude bloodlust beyond reason.

It’s incredibly ferocious, like that of an animal.

Like that of a monster.

An aura that mere people could never hope to replicate: an in-

stinctual urge to kill.

Those blue irises under the hood shift—becoming vertical slits.

—No way.

The pronunciation of a child, a hostile gaze, and, most of all,

an extreme case of déjà vu—Wiene’s face flashes through my
mind.

Welf and I struggle against our shock while speculating about

the true identity of the stranger.
“…No, it can’t be. You don’t smell like blood.”

We’re frozen in place. But as soon as the wave of hostility hits

us, the figure’s high-bridged nose twitches slightly. The killing
aura suddenly vanishes.

The slit pupils return to normal. Now the beautiful eyes reflect
calm rationality while studying us.
“Perhaps you are the ones that Fels mentioned?”

“Fels…?”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

I can only mumble in confusion as Welf pushes through his

own disorientation to deliver an angry shout.

I can’t discern what the stranger’s statement is supposed to

mean, but they said what sounded like a person’s name.

There’s something beguiling about the crystal-clear tone and

rhythm of that voice. Regardless, I’m totally lost.

Being this speechless isn’t just pathetic; it’s painful. I can’t

even think. This turn of events has shocked me so badly that my
throat has gone bone dry.

“……”

The mysterious person—no, “she” stays silent.

This is awkward. Monsters are howling somewhere off in the

distance, but my ears hardly register the sound. It’s like we’re in
our own little bubble deep in the Dungeon.

There are about five meders between us. She’s facing this way
with her back to the hill and not budging.

Time grinds to a complete stop. After what feels like an eter-

nity, she opens her mouth to speak again.
 “I have a question for you two. Can we all coexist?”

“Wha…”

What does that have to do with anything? Her question came

from so far out of the blue that words abandon us.
“Do you think we can hold each other’s hands?”

“What are you…?”

“Your kind kills us. And we kill your kind in turn…Is this our destiny? Is it impos-
sible for us to understand each other?”

The questions continue unabated, but there’s a common

thread through all of them: a refusal to give up hope.

The blue eyes peering out from underneath the hood are half-
lidded and weary.
“I…want to bathe in the sunlight. Instead of this closed, dark hell, I want to spread
my wings in the world of light.”

She looks toward the ceiling, the hem of the robe swishing
around her feet.

Her hood shifts just enough for me to catch a glimpse of her

face. Like Wiene’s, it’s stunningly human.
“There’s something…different about you two…Maybe I can hope, just a little.”

After that, she crouches low—and then she flies off.

““!!””

Still facing forward, she arcs through the air away from us.

Even an adventurer blessed with a Status couldn’t possibly im-

itate this. Light as a bird, she clears the hill in the blink of an eye
and is gone a moment later.
 Welf and I are in shock…Only then do we notice that several
golden feathers have fallen from beneath her robe. They slowly
spiral to the floor where she once stood.

“You gotta be kidding me…There’s no way…She’s…”

Welf whispers in spite of himself as though lost in a daydream.

Standing motionless next to him, I can’t agree more.

“The same as…Wiene…”

I can’t give voice to anything more than that.

After our shocking meeting.

Welf and I stand there for a short while, but it isn’t long before
a herd of monsters finds us. We haven’t had a chance to collect
our thoughts, but we need to start moving again.

We face the monsters and shake them off before retracing our
steps back to the main route that will lead us out. Both of us agree
that we’re too dazed to collect any more information. The truth is,
during the attack, things got a little dicey thanks to my inability to
focus.

“……”

“……”

Neither of us speaks on the way back.

We still haven’t been able to get over the shock of what hap-
pened. We’re afraid to bring it up—like if we talk now, it’ll shatter
some weird equilibrium.
 With stony faces, we travel through the labyrinth.

“……”

One way or another, we manage to break past every monster

we encounter and reach the passageway connecting to the eigh-
teenth floor.

A party of five adventurers appears on the path in front of us.

A male human wearing goggles and carrying a peculiar red spear
catches my eye.

It’s not particularly strange to see our fellow adventurers,

though something in my memory is pulling at me. Then I sud-
denly realize:

The four demi-humans behind the goggled adventurer are the

same men and women who chased after Wiene, and the ones who
I had managed to slip by with my acting.

I hide my face as quickly as I can. Welf must’ve noticed some-

thing was up, because he subtly changes his path, shielding me
from their line of sight.

Then, once we pass each other, I get a strange sense that the
man wearing goggles is watching me.

“……”

Moving as little as possible, I glance at them out of the corner

of my eye. Sure enough, all of them are staring at us.

“Hestia Familia…Little Rookie, eh?”

“Yeah…that’s him, all right. That punk was recruited for

Rivira’s quest!”
 “Was he now?” said the goggled man with a sneer as the boy
disappeared up the tunnel leading to the eighteenth floor.

“What do you think he was doing, sneaking around down here

with hardly anyone else with him?”

“…Yo, Dix, you can’t mean…?”

“Yeah, something’s off. It’s time for our god to get serious and
do some probing, don’t you think?”

After returning to the safe point in one piece, we rendezvous with

Lilly and the others.

Aisha starts complaining about us going off on our own, but

when we don’t respond, she notices our odd behavior and decides
to not criticize us any further. Lyu also remains silent, not asking
any questions, either.

While I feel guilty about what we did, I’m too rattled to be con-
cerned about it right now. We head for the surface right away.

“Don’t worry about a reward. Let’s leave it as a favor you owe

me,” Aisha says with a smile before parting ways with us.

I doubt she’d ever admit to it, but I’m really grateful for her
thoughtfulness.

“Mr. Cranell, please consult me should you find yourself in any

hardship. I am not very capable, but I will do what I can.”

With those considerate words, Lyu returns to her workplace.

“……”
 I wind my way through the city streets alone.

As soon as we exit Babel Tower, I go off on my own without

Lilly or Welf.

Sometimes I need to be by myself to get my thoughts in order.

It’s still early evening. The sun might be on its way down in the
west, but the sky above me is still mostly blue. Bringing Lyu and
Aisha along turned our fact-finding mission into a day trip.

My feet take me around the city, away from the main street
crowd and noise.

“Ohhh? Is it my lucky day or what? Hey there, Little Rookie.”

“……?”

After idly walking about, just as I start thinking about finally

heading home, I hear it.

Along my route back to Hearthstone Manor, on Southwest

Main Street, a certain deity calls out to me.

I don’t recognize him…It’s probably the first time we’ve spo-

ken.

He has deep-blue eyes and hair, as well as darkly tanned skin.

He’s of average height, and his clothes are mostly black. I think
about how he reminds me of a god—or more precisely, has a god’s
frivolous smile on his face—and he sociably approaches.

After he calls me by my title, I come to a stop and readjust my

posture.

“Um…Is there something I can do for you?”

“Hee-hee, no need to be so guarded—though I guess that’s im-

possible, huh? We gods do warrant caution, after all, right?”

Ever since I received my first level-up, unfamiliar deities have

made passes at me, and if not a pass then something else. Any-
way, since then, the number of messes I’ve gotten into in this
town has increased dramatically. I can’t even count how many at
this point.

It’s rude, but I slouch slightly in reluctance while the god

laughs again. “Hee-hee! The name’s Ikelos. Good meeting you.”

“Lord…Ikelos? So, what do you need from—?”

“Just listen. Those arrogant kids of mine are pushing me

around at the moment.”

After instructing me to listen, he starts listing complaints

about his followers while continuously circling around me, some-
times peering at my face, other times patting my shoulder like
we’ve known each other forever. Lord Ikelos’s behavior has gone
past excessive friendliness to just mockery, leaving me absolutely
bewildered.

Confronted with this incomprehensible conversation, I sud-

denly recall Lady Hestia’s advice: If some weird god seems like
they’re going to catch you, hurry up and run away! I start won-
dering whether it would be better to forgo etiquette in a situation
like this while sweat rolls down my face and—

“Know anything about a talking vouivre?”

“……………”

Lord Ikelos comes up from behind me and whispers those

words without any warning. It feels like something has my heart
in a death grip.
 “I hear she’s got a daaamn fine face…Came from the nine-
teenth floor apparently. Maaan, I’d love to get just one look.”

He’s trying to get information out of me, I realize.

Lord Ikelos’s syrupy voice fills my ears, along with the sound
of my rapidly increasing pulse.

It feels like every vein in my body is quivering, and my palms

get clammy.

Unable to answer, I sluggishly turn to face him as though all

my joints have rusted over.

His lips quirk upward, a little too close for comfort.

Those dark-blue eyes sharpen as if they can see into my heart.

“Sooo if you happen to know—”

“Bell.”

A new voice interrupts while I stand like a frozen statue.

This newcomer cuts off Lord Ikelos in midsentence.

“L-Lord Hermes…?”

“Well, well. What a coincidence, meeting you here.”

Lord Ikelos and I turn toward the speaker: Lord Hermes

sporting his usual feathered hat and dandy’s smile.

He raises a hand at us as he walks closer.

“Bell, you can go now.”

“Huh…?”
 “A deity is giving you trouble, right? I don’t need the whole
story to notice that.”

Lord Hermes chuckles at my stunned silence before shifting

his attention away from me.

As though we had changed places, he casts a sideways glance

at the ever-grinning Lord Ikelos.

“Besides, Ikelos and I need to have a little chat.”

Running his finger along the brim of his hat, Hermes puts on a
thin smile.

“Move along, Bell.”

“S-sorry…Excuse me.”

At Lord Hermes’s insistence, I don’t even say a proper farewell

as I turn my back to them.

I quicken my pace without so much as a glance in Lord Ikelos’s

direction.

“What gives, Hermes? Couldn’t you see I was in the middle of

talking with the Little Rookie?”

“Well, I just couldn’t stand to watch a god sink his poisonous

fangs into such a sweet child, now could I?”

“Hee-hee, what a terrible thing to say.”

Hermes and Ikelos exchanged quips without making direct eye

contact after Bell left.

The two then left the main avenue and exited into a small
plaza furnished with a water fountain, as though they had
planned this all along. There wasn’t a single person around, mak-
ing their conversation feel like a clandestine meeting.

“I paid your home a visit, only to find it empty…It took quite a

bit of effort to track you down.”

“Ah, my bad, my bad. The place just didn’t feel like home any-
more, so I guess I moved.”

“It might be a good idea to give the Guild a heads-up when you
do that, Ikelos.”

Hermes and Ikelos conversed smoothly. Both seemed to know

a great deal about the other, hinting at a long relationship.

At any rate, both gods appeared more interested in probing

each other for information rather than catching up on old times.

“So? What’s this ‘chat’ we need to have, Hermes?”

“Oh, nothing major. There’s something I want to ask you…A

little bird told me that Ikelos Familia was involved in an Orario
smuggling ring.”

“Hey, hey, where’d you hear that? How can you be sure it’s
legit?”

“Let me see…I think it was Elurian royalty?”

“…Hee-hee. A ‘little’ bird, you say? You’ve been venturing out

pretty far to dig up dirt on this.”

Ikelos seemed to quickly realize Hermes’s information was too

good. His grin deepened.

“Am I a suspect, Hermes?”

“As much as it pains me to investigate an old friend from our

days back in the heavenly realm…Ikelos, in the past your familia
was on the list of candidates aiming to join the Evils.”

“Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you those charges were
bullshit? At the very least, I never claimed to be an evil god.”

Agitated by the accusation, Ikelos deftly denied it and evaded

his question.

All the while, Hermes kept a constant eye on him from be-
neath the brim of his hat, his characteristic smile still on his lips.

“I also have some interesting news.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Monsters, normal and otherwise, are being taken out of

Orario and sold around the world. It’s almost like someone’s in-
terested in spreading chaos.”

It was at that very moment…

Ikelos’s dark-blue eyes opened wide as Hermes struck straight

to the heart of the matter. The edges of his mouth seemed about
to split open with his grin.

“Hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…!! Are you saying that’s

what I want, Hermes? That I have the dream of beasts—to strew
nightmares across the mortal realm?! Now that’s interesting!!”

Ikelos burst into laughter as if the idea thrilled him to no end.

Hermes stayed quiet, watching the other god clutch his stom-
ach in the throes of mirth.

Once the echoes had faded into the darkening sky, Ikelos
straightened with a smile on his face.
 “Sorry to say it, but that’s got nothing to do with me. I didn’t
give those orders. My brats are the ones going wild.”

Ikelos laid it out plain and simple, uninterested in hiding any-

thing.

“I gotta tell you, though, there’s way fewer idiots in my familia

these days; just a lot more arrogant wise guys. They don’t show
the divine any respect whatsoever. Use me to run some stupid er-
rands.”

“……”

“But…everything they do is ridiculous crap. It’s hilarious.”

Only a deity who was desperately trying to contain their bliss

would show a smile like his.

From a god’s perspective, it was men’s folly that made them

interesting—that made a front-row seat to the show so enticing.

“It’s the god’s responsibility to rein in his familia.”

“You can’t seriously believe that, Hermes. The brats may be

able to put up with hardship, but they can’t resist pleasure. Are
we gods not the same? I can relate, painfully so. And that’s why,”
Ikelos continued, “as long as they keep me entertained, I won’t
get in their way.”

Ikelos leaned in close to Hermes’s face and declared his opin-

ion point-blank.

“You can smash my head in if you like. Give me a one-way trip

back to the upper world. But that’s not gonna stop my brats now,
will it? It might give ’em a little trouble, but it’s only a matter of
time before they sign up with someone else.”
 “I figured.”

“Ehh, have a look for yourself. Use all the little brats of yours
hiding around here to give me and mine a once-over. I couldn’t
care less. Have at it. More interesting that way.”

At the risk of ruining himself and his followers—perhaps even

looking forward to the demise of his own familia—Ikelos let those
words hang in the air.

Thin smile still on his face, the god left the small plaza.

Hermes watched him go and sighed as soon as Ikelos was out

of sight.

“My, my. Nothing nastier than a god desperate for some enter-
tainment.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Hermes’s followers heckled their god from their hiding places

around him.

The last rays of sunlight that still reached over the city wall illu-
minated Hestia Familia’s home.

Four people were currently inside while Bell’s party was out
gathering information: Mikoto, Haruhime, Wiene, and the god-
dess Hestia. After asking Hephaistos for the day off earlier in the
morning, the deity awaited Bell’s return along with her followers.

Each of the women stayed busy.

Hestia spent the day poring over her collection of books in

search of information about everything from monsters to Orario’s
history.

Meanwhile, Mikoto patrolled the passageways, ever vigilant.

Taking care of Wiene fell to Haruhime.

“Haruhime, found you!”

“Hee-hee, indeed you have.”

Wiene dived into a shadow cast by one of the inner walls and
wrapped her arms around Haruhime in her maid’s attire.

The two were playing hide-and-seek. It was one of the games

that Bell and Haruhime had taught Wiene when the two of them
were in charge of looking after her.

Today, after making Wiene promise to never go outside and

only play in the inner garden, the two girls took turns.

“Now you’re ‘it,’ Haruhime!”

“Yes. I am going to count now.

“Ooone, twooo,” Haruhime called as she turned to face the

wall of the inner garden.

Wiene quietly snuck away, running with a grin on her face.

Robe swaying at her feet, she looked for a suitable hiding

place.

…I wonder when Bell will come home.

Right as she was about to crouch behind a planter full of flow-

ers…

Wiene’s expression clouded over as thoughts of the absent Bell

crossed her mind.

He had always been right by her side, until now. Haruhime

was with her, as usual, but it just wasn’t the same without him.

That twinge of loneliness was making her anxious.

In a dark world where everyone and everything tried to hurt

her, that boy’s smile had become the beacon of light that saved
her from isolation.

Like a child yearning for a parent’s warmth, the young vouivre

girl couldn’t help but long for him.

“……”

Wiene glanced up to the third floor of the manor before her

gaze fell on the renart, who was still facing the wall.

After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to break her promise

and leave the inner garden.

The urge to visit Bell’s room on the third floor drew her
through the passageways like a magnet.

She found her way to an unlocked door. Creak. The hinges

groaned as Wiene pushed it open and cautiously peeked inside.

The room’s owner nowhere to be found, the girl quietly made

her way toward the pile of folded blankets on top of his bed.

Wrapping one around her shoulders, she slowly rubbed her

cheek against it.

“Bell’s…smell…”

Taking in as much as she could with one long whiff, Wiene

buried her face in the sheets.
 She curled up into a ball as her mind filled with memories of
the boy who had always slept right next to her.

“…?”

Without warning—

People approached along the hallway.

Four in all.

Proceeding from the other end of the long passageway, their

footsteps entered the room right next door, one not in use.

Thinking it a little strange, Wiene felt her heart skip a beat, be-
lieving she’d get a lecture if discovered. She held her breath in an
effort to escape detection—

“Another monster, not just Wiene?”

—Voices from the other room reached her ears.

Amber eyes went wide.

Silver-blue hair rustled.

Ears, sharper and longer that an elf’s, twitched back and forth.
They originally allowed her to detect intruders from far away in
the vast Dungeon, but now they allowed her to pick up the details
of the discussion on the other side of the wall.

Wiene soundlessly sat up in bed before she realized what she

was doing.

She quietly placed her ear to the wall.

“Are you sure, Welf?”

 “Absolutely. It was at the same place Bell met Wiene on the
nineteenth floor…”

Welf nodded. His face stayed eerily still despite Hestia’s sur-
prise.

Welf and Lilly had come directly home after Bell went off on
his own. Hestia and Mikoto had convinced them to meet secretly
on the third floor.

To make sure Wiene—and Haruhime, who had grown close to

her—didn’t overhear.

“We talked. It said that we ‘smelled like her kind’…It was prob-
ably talking about Wiene.”

“Another being similar to Lady Wiene…I never thought there

could be more…”

Mikoto couldn’t hide her shock as Welf went into detail about
their encounter. As she fell silent, so did Lilly next to her

“…Welf, what was your impression of it?” Hestia asked.

“At the very least, it seemed to be more experienced than

Wiene. Its pronunciation was a bit odd, but it hid itself with a
robe, pretended to be an adventurer…That, and I think it knew
something.”

A small noise escaped Hestia’s throat at Welf’s answer. Mikoto

gulped as well.

The atmosphere suddenly became much heavier. Lilly, who

had been silent up to that point, opened her mouth to speak.

“Lilly thinks we should stop harboring Miss Wiene.”

 “!!”

All eyes turned to Lilly.

The first one to recover was Mikoto.

“Lady Lilly, what are you saying?!”

“Lilly will be blunt. We are on the cusp of a very serious situa-

tion. An Irregular that not even the gods can comprehend, other
groups on the prowl for information about talking monsters…
Now that we’ve discovered other monsters able to speak, we can
no longer afford to wait.”

Her point was that these Irregulars were at the heart of a

major disturbance, and they were getting sucked in.

Using information she had gathered at different bars and

other hubs over the past week, Lilly painted an objective picture
of the situation.

“However, if we stop protecting her…then what will happen to

Lady Wiene? Should we abandon her, she’ll…!”

“…It may be difficult, but there’s a chance for her outside the
city wall. She’s a vouivre. Familias outside Orario and monsters
living on the surface would pose little threat to her.”

Born in the middle levels, she hailed from the most powerful
type of monsters: dragons.

Lilly maintained a neutral expression and explained that the

vouivre girl’s potential strength would be all the protection she
needed.

“She can live out her life hidden in the Deep Forest Seoro.”
 “Lady Lilly…!!”

Mikoto, ever loyal to her friend Haruhime, raised her eye-

brows in anger.

Lilly watched her ally’s impassioned plea coldly.

“Then tell me this: What will happen if that girl stays here?”

“!”

“Is it possible to keep her hidden from everyone indefinitely

just as things are now? Once certain things are set in motion, the
situation won’t allow the status quo to continue. At present, Her-
mes Familia is actively moving at someone’s or something’s re-
quest.”

Lilly was so devoid of emotion that her face reminded Mikoto

of traditional masks from her homeland in the Far East.

“Will people believe that this completely unrestrained monster

has been tamed? Not likely. Our familia has no officially recog-
nized tamers registered with the Guild. What’s worse, anyone
who sees her beauty will suspect something else is taking place.”

“……”

“Should other deities catch wind of the situation, they will

surely descend on us like wolves to watch the slaughter. Our fa-
milia is on thin ice as it is. Should this come to pass, Lilly antici-
pates nothing but more difficulty paying off our debts.”

She explained with an uncharacteristically long lecture—still

in a deadpan, matter-of-fact tone.

The overwhelming force of her argument left Mikoto with

nothing to say in response.
 Neither Hestia nor Welf had anything to add, standing with
their mouths closed in the oppressive atmosphere. It was just as
Lilly said. Right now, they were trapped in a maze with no exit.

“The girl is, in a figurative sense, a bomb. Even if all is fine

now, there is no doubt she will put our familia in danger sooner
or later…Mr. Bell is too kindhearted to see reason. It is up to us to
make the decision to protect him, even if he hates us for it.”

Lilly lowered her head. She had to hide her contorting face
from her allies and will her voice to remain steady as she formed
her next words.

“She cannot stay with us…She is…a monster.”

The prum weighed the familia’s future against the girl and
stated her conclusion in no uncertain terms.

Her declaration reached the other side of the wall.

“…It’s still too early to think that way, Supporter. You should
calm down.”

“…Lilly is…sorry.”

Hestia stepped in to mitigate the situation.

She first turned to Lilly, who was speaking out of concern for
the familia and Bell’s safety.

The prum fell to her knees and squeezed out an apology. Welf
and Mikoto stood quietly, tight-lipped.

“…?”

Among the motionless group, the first one to notice was

Mikoto.
 A sound coming from the next room—something moving.

The room’s suffocating atmosphere made it difficult for her to

connect the dots, almost fatally so.

Tap, tap, tap. Thumping in quick succession. As soon as it

clicked, she rushed to the door and jumped into the passageway.

Frantically scanning the hall, she couldn’t see anyone.

Welf and the others followed her, just as shocked.

“It couldn’t be…”

Heart racing and nerves wound tight—Mikoto realized she

wasn’t in peak condition.

Despite activating her Skill many times, its hampered range

couldn’t detect anything in their vicinity.

“Haah…haah…”

Wiene ran.

She dashed through the corridor, down the stairs, out the
door.

I…I…!

The words she had overheard during the secret meeting.

—It is up to us to make the decision to protect him.

—She cannot stay with us.

 —She is…a monster.

The prum girl’s voice haunted her like a curse, stabbing at her
heart.

Despite being a monster, she also possessed a heart sensitive

to pain. Each syllable of Lilly’s words cut deep into her, just like
those terrifying swords through her skin.

I can’t be together with everyone…? I can’t be…with Bell?

Her beautiful silver-blue hair fluttered behind her. The garnet

jewel on her forehead pulsed as if screaming into the sky.

Translucent tears fell from her amber eyes.

Bell. Bell! Where’s Bell?

She wanted him to say it.

That it wasn’t true.

She longed to hear those words just one more time.

“It’ll be okay.”

She yearned to see his flustered but kind smile, to feel his
arms around her. She wanted him to hold her and run his fingers
through her hair.

To deny it all.

Please…!

Wiene desperately searched for the boy through teary eyes.

That one desire to see him drove her to flee from the only
haven she’d ever known.
 Frightened by the presence of people at every turn, she dou-
bled back many times through the backstreets and hid her face
beneath her robe’s hood.

She rushed headlong into the unknown on a frantic search for

the bright smile that had burned its way into her memory.

“Wiene’s not here?!” yelled Bell the moment he heard.

It was just before dusk. The boy’s mind had been racing non-
stop since his encounter with the god Ikelos. After he hurried
home, his fears had come to fruition, as if to mock him.

Every member of the familia had convened in the front pas-

sageway, ready to depart at a moment’s notice.

Bell froze like a statue. Haruhime threw herself into a deep

bow in apology.

“I have no excuse! It was because she left my sight…!”

“I’ve searched with my Skill, but I’m not getting anything…”

Tears flowed down Haruhime’s cheeks. Mikoto stood next to

her, downtrodden and frowning.

Her Skill, Yatano Black Crow, allowed her to sense nearby

monsters that she had encountered before—but Wiene was not in
the manor.

At the news that the ace in the hole provided by Mikoto’s Sta-
tus was no use, Bell could feel the blood draining from his face.

All thoughts of Ikelos were gone from his mind.

 “……!”

After explaining their secret meeting that had ended abruptly

only a few minutes earlier, Lilly gritted her teeth and clenched
her small hand into a fist.

“—We’ll search!! Mikoto, come with me!!” Bell took off with-
out missing a beat.

“Yes!” Mikoto set off after him as she responded.

“We’re coming, too!”

“I-I as well!”

“She can’t have gotten far! Spread out and find her!”

Welf’s, Haruhime’s, and Hestia’s voices echoed through the

entrance. Lilly, however, was out the door without a word.

Leaving their home completely empty, all of Hestia Familia

charged out into the night to pursue the vouivre girl.

Nightlife had completely enveloped the city.

After twilight descended, the streets grew more crowded every

moment. Adventurers back from the Dungeon and everyday citi-
zens looking to relax after a hard day’s work made their way to
the bars.

With the evening rush well under way, each establishment had
its doors wide open to invite customers inside. The aroma of meat
grilling over charcoal and pungent brandy wafted out onto the
streets as bards delighted the masses with beautiful melodies
from their harps and lively flute performances.
 It was a feast of entertainment for the nose and ears.

Even the quieter corners of the city were coming to life.

“……!”

Wiene watched it all from beneath her hood as she navigated

one such street.

For her, seeing so many new things alongside the sheer num-
ber of humans and demi-humans in the area was overwhelming.
Yet curiosity was the furthest thing from her mind. The music
from behind unseen corners, the constant horse-carriage traffic,
even the innocent laughter of children playing tag in the street
sent shots of adrenaline through her veins. The street’s stone sur-
face was cold beneath her bare feet.

Hiding herself entirely with the robe, she was in constant fear
that any one of these people would pull a sword on her at any
time. She stayed out of sight, keeping to the edge of the streets.

Bell…

Amber eyes sifted through the crowd from deep within her
hood, searching for the boy’s white hair.

Compared to the main thoroughfares, this street was rather

narrow. Her gaze first passed over the throng, then went to the al-
leyways, and finally shifted all the way to the residential area at
the end.

Then, as she was scanning her immediate vicinity…

…she saw it happen.

—Ah.
 A horse-drawn cart came to a stop in front of the store at the
corner.

She saw something sway as the horse’s whinny filled her ears.

A tall pile of boxes was about to collapse like a house of toy

blocks.

One of the restraints must have come loose; she couldn’t tell.
But that didn’t change the fact that the load was going to fall. One
of the children playing in the street, a completely unaware chien-
thrope, was directly in its path.

Wiene’s eyes flared open.

The others around her who noticed watched with bated

breath, many about to shout a warning.

Several wooden boxes were about to come down on top of the

boy.

—Hurt.

That would surely bring him pain.

A lot of pain.

Enough to make the child cry. Just like what all those claws
and blades had done to her.

No sooner had that thought passed through her mind than her
body moved.

“!”

Thud! Wiene kicked off the ground and shot toward the boy
like an arrow.
 She rushed to the youth’s side so quickly she could have tele-
ported to the spot.

When she saw the expression of horror on the boy’s face as he

became suddenly aware of his precarious situation, she saw her-
self in front of the firebird’s raging flames. Memories of the boy
who had saved her flashed before her eyes.

—I have to help.

That thought set off a chain reaction.

Wiene’s body changed.

Something grew from her back.

Disturbing fleshy sounds erupted from beneath her robe, and

her light-blue skin ripped open along with it—and a wing ex-
tended.

“—Huh?”

A deafening crash drowned out the child’s whisper as the

boxes came tumbling down.

Several of them broke open as they struck the stone pavement.

Once the splintering echoes filling the street had faded, fright-
ened demi-human onlookers who hadn’t budged began to yell,
drawing even more attention.

The broken cartons and their contents lay strewn all over the
street. Beer bottles and other trash rolled through the scene as
the crowd spotted a child huddled in fear beneath a figure ex-
panding like a predator’s widening maw.

Large enough to swallow a man whole.

 A single wing, with a light-blue frame and ash-gray skin.

The distinctive wing of the king of monsters—a dragon.

The street that had been bustling just moments ago fell silent.

“……”

Wiene held her wing in a protective arc and looked down at

her feet.

The boy didn’t have a scratch thanks to her shield. Immense

relief flooded through her veins as she made eye contact with the
scared child and moved her lips.

“Are you all right?”

However…

“Uu—waaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Wiene’s voice was lost in the boy’s scream.

All the terrified boy could see were piercing amber eyes and a
monstrous wing that did not belong on a person’s body.
The panicked demi-human child jumped to his feet and ran, leav-
ing Wiene in stunned confusion.

“Mo—”

“A MONSTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”

Shrieks tore through the air one after the other.

The child’s scream was the spark that ignited the chaos in the
quiet street.

Like the retreating tide, the throng tried to put as much dis-
tance between Wiene and themselves as possible. Even the horse
still attached to the cart took off at full speed. Human mothers
pulled their children away; a young werewolf shielded his uncon-
scious lover with his body. A pudgy prum merchant fell to the
ground in shock.

A cacophony of footfalls accompanied a chorus of rising

screams. The onlookers were on the verge of panic.

The twilit street corner became engulfed in a vortex of terror.

Wiene, at a complete loss for words, stood at the center of this

massive semicircle of people.

“A harpy—no, a siren!”

“What’s it doing here?!”

The nearby lower-class adventurers drew their weapons, flash-

ing silver.

Wiene gasped and recoiled in fear at the sharp metal sur-

rounding her while the eyes trained on her filled with anger and
fear.
 The last rays of red sunlight illuminated the mysterious mon-
ster wearing a torn robe.

The only parts of the monster’s face visible to the bystanders

were the two sharp amber eyes lurking in the darkness beneath
its hood and her jewel’s crimson, bloody glow. Without knowing
what she was, they saw only a horrifying three-eyed monster.

The crowd’s terror escalated to hate and disgust directed at the

cornered one-winged monster.

“M-monster!!”

An instant later, an elf woman threw a stone.

“Ah!”

It hit Wiene square in the head, and the hood did nothing to
stop the blow.

That was the trigger.

The panic and fury reached a crescendo. Enraged bystanders

picked up projectiles at their feet and flung them at her.

The monster trembled in fright as a rain of stones and rocks

descended upon her.

“Begone, monster!!”

“This is our home!”

“Go back to your filthy Dungeon!”

Missiles arced through the air as the ones pelting the small
monster laced their words with hatred.

“The hell are you doing? Stop!” “Don’t make it angry!” Despite
being lower class, the adventurers in the crowd knew what
winged monsters could do and desperately tried to intervene.
However, the mob couldn’t be stopped. An avalanche of angry in-
sults poured onto the monster that dared to set foot in their terri-
tory. Hatred flooded toward their age-old enemy.

“Ooph…”

“Whoa. Damn.”

Elsewhere, a few deities noticed the commotion.

Climbing nearby buildings for a better view, they watched the

scene unfold.

One grimaced, while another was concerned for his safety. The
last grinned while taking in the spectacle.

A miniature version of the eternal struggle between men and

monsters of the mortal realm was playing out right before their
eyes.

“O-ow…That hurts!”

The besieged monster’s soft cry went unheard among the

mob’s relentless shouting.

Although her newly sprouted wing could protect her from the
stones, it could do nothing to shield her from the intense
loathing.

Her heart wept, and the incessant vitriol of their words gouged
deep into her soul.

Tears surfaced in her eyes as she shrank in on herself.

“B-Beeeell…!”
 “A monster, here?!”

“Yeah, just a few blocks over!”

The instant he heard those words…

Bell launched himself off the stone pavement and tore through
the streets.

“Sir Bell!”

He and Mikoto had been searching as a team up to that point,

but he soon left her behind.

Wind whistled by his ears, and his eyes teared up. “Faster!!”
he yelled at himself, driving his legs as hard as he could.

Wiene!!

As nightfall quickly descended over the city streets, Bell’s heart

pounded behind his ribs; blood burned in his veins.

He sprinted through the streets, following the directions he

had heard, as well as the increasing commotion, toward the girl’s
location.

Then—

“!!”

There she was, protecting herself from a hail of stones with a

large wing he had never seen before.

In Orario’s seventh district, on a corner of the west-northwest

edge of the city far from Central Park, Wiene was alone, trapped
in the center of a storm of antipathy strong enough to intimidate
even the boy himself.
 “Master Bell!”

“Bell!”

Haruhime and Hestia arrived at the scene at almost the same

moment, closely followed by Welf and a winded Mikoto. They
stood still for only a few heartbeats.

As for Bell, the sight of tears falling from beneath her hood set
his spirit alight.

—She’s crying.

—Wiene is crying for help!

He charged forward.

“Hold up, Bell!”

Welf called out to the boy weaving his way through the mob.

Bell was planning on protecting the monster—in front of this

crowd, in front of deities.

There would be no going back if he made it to her. He would

become just as hated and feared as the fantastical girl.

Even so, he didn’t heed his allies’ pleas.

He wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t abandon her.

Bell closed in, just a few steps away from the tearful Wiene.

However…

A shadow made it through the mob just before the boy.

“?!”
 Paying no heed to the stones, the small, robed figure rushed to
Wiene’s side.

It was a beautiful young elf, long golden hair running down

her back.

No one had expected to see a child-size demi-human burst

onto the scene, and the crowd stayed their hands in surprise.
Now that there were no painful stones raining down on them, the
mysterious 120-celch-tall figure used the reprieve to grab Wiene’s
hand.

Members of Hestia Familia were just as shocked as the rest of

the crowd to see her guide the monster toward an adjacent alley-
way. Bell was no different, eyes going wide as the elf girl met his
gaze—with chestnut-colored eyes. Everything clicked.

—Lilly!

She had disguised herself with her magic skill, Cinder Ella.

The prum’s agility allowed her to reach the vouivre girl before
anyone else.

As she dragged the flabbergasted girl behind her, the veiled

Lilly yelled directly at Bell:

“To the underground room!!”

Leaving him with that message, Lilly and Wiene disappeared

into the alley’s dark shadows.

Bell, who had cleared the mob, had an epiphany while the
crowd was having a fit trying to process what just happened.

Now I get it!

 Remembering where they were, Bell understood the true
meaning of Lilly’s message.

He sent Hestia a look over his shoulder, and she confirmed her
understanding with a strong nod.

“That’s what she meant…!” Welf said with a smile as he

worked it out, too.

“Let’s get going!”

“A-and where are we going to?”

Lilly had purposely omitted key pieces of information from her

message to prevent others from finding their rendezvous point,
which meant Haruhime was in the dark.

Bell and the others left the confused throng behind, departing
the scene as quickly as possible.

“To our hidden home!”

The sun has completely set, and now a pale-blue moon hovers
above the city in the night sky.

I can tell that much from the silver light filtering between
cracks in the rubble.

I take my eyes off the shoddy ceiling and look around at the
goddess, Welf, and everyone else gathered here in the narrow un-
derground room.

We’re in Hestia Familia’s former home, a chamber hidden

under a church.
 We came to this secret underground area per Lilly’s instruc-
tions when she had Wiene in tow.

The church itself was destroyed by Apollo Familia during the

lead-up to the War Game, and we were forced to move…but com-
pared to the wreckage upstairs, the basement still resembles what
it once was.

“That was some good thinking, Supporter, using this room as a

hiding place.”

“Lilly heard about it from Mr. Welf, when he came back here
to retrieve a drop item…”

Welf and I came back here a while ago to retrieve the money
and drop items, like Goliath’s Hide, that were still in here. It’s a
good thing we didn’t bother putting the debris back over the en-
trance when we left, because the path came in handy. Thoughts of
that day flit through my mind as I listen to the hushed conversa-
tion of Lilly and the goddess.

There’s no way anyone could live here, but it’s more than good
enough to serve as a meeting place in an emergency. There’s a
pile of rubble directly overhead, so I guess this is now our hidden
base.

I wonder what’s going on outside…I bet the Guild has gotten

involved by now.

But we decided to stay here until the dust settles.

“Sob, hic…sob…!”

Soft weeping echoes throughout the underground room.

The source is Wiene, who is currently latched onto me.

 Her new wing is folded up on top of her back, but it’s still big
enough to cover half her body.

Apparently, it sprouted when she tried to protect an unfamil-

iar child.

The atmosphere is heavy. Everyone—from Lilly and Welf lean-

ing against the wall to Mikoto and Haruhime lingering in the cor-
ner and the goddess sitting on the dusty bed—looks sullen. Wiene
and I sit in the middle on the floor.

…The reality of our situation has been made all too clear
today.

Wiene’s nature as a monster.

As well as what Lilly and the goddess had warned us about.

The aura of animosity around monsters and men, the over-

whelming hatred.

People can’t let monsters exist.

Their fangs, their claws, and the wings that grant them flight,
all inspire fear and make people want to avoid them at all costs.

On the other hand, that reaction originates from a time when

the surface races could do little to resist their invasions during
the Ancient Times—a latent fear that holds to this day.

Monsters are the enemy.

That undeniable truth has struck all of us hard today.

“Um…Bell.”

Wiene looks up at me as everyone else stares at the floor.

 Small hands gripping my shirt, her light-blue cheeks streaked
with tears, the girl struggles to string words together with trem-
bling lips.

“Can I…not be with Bell?”

I can hear her clinging to faint hope in her voice.

But I can’t say anything.

I want to say it’ll be okay.

I’ve said those few words so many times—only now they won’t
come out.

The truth is too much. Wiene looks at the pathetic expression

on my face, her own contorting in sadness.

All I can do is hold her.

On the verge of tears myself, I hold her tiny body as close as I

can.

People and monsters aren’t meant to coexist.

One look at the ominous dragon wing on her back tells me as

much.

The curtain of night fell, shrouding the city in darkness.

Deep in a back alley, far from the noisy main streets…

All was quiet around the ruins of a church that had collapsed
on itself. A goddess’s statue, reduced to pieces in front of the rub-
ble, lay peacefully silent.
 An owl peered at the debris, its silhouette illuminated by the
tranquil moonlight.

Vertical patterns ran through its white feathers. Alight on an

iron guardrail on the roof of a nearby building, it curled its talons
around the top rung.

Just as one of its eyes gleamed in the night, it spread its wings
and descended from its perch.

Crossing beneath the ocean of stars that dotted the night sky,
the bird suddenly descended and latched onto an outstretched
arm—its master’s.

“So it was no use after all…”

A black-robed figure standing atop another roof retrieved the

owl—its familiar—while muttering quietly to itself.

Its gloves were covered with intricate designs. A blue crystal

embedded among them glowed with the same light as the owl’s
eye.

A long sigh sounded beneath the dark fabric that completely

concealed its wearer’s true identity.

“I admit I had hope for them…but that day is still too far off.”

The owl closed both of its eyes as if sympathizing with its mas-
ter’s words.

The black shadow stared off toward the north, where its famil-
iar had flown in from, and spotted the church ruin.

“We cannot delay any longer.”

Its gaze traveled toward the moon.

 “The rest is up to you, Ouranos.”

Then, it whispered to the white marble pillars of the Pantheon

below its feet—Guild Headquarters.
 CHAPTER 4
Mission

“A winged monster?”

Freya repeated the news.

“Yes, My Lady. It is said to have appeared during the early

evening hours.”

“Ah. I thought the city seemed much noisier than usual…So

that’s what happened.”

Freya seemed satisfied with the report of her boaz follower,

Ottar.

Countless stars twinkled in the darkened sky. In the middle of

the night, Freya sat in an ornate chair on the highest floor of
Babel Tower. Ottar patiently waited at her side.

A glass of wine in one hand, she asked him a question:

“What is the damage to the city?”

“Beyond a few isolated bouts of panic, there has been none.

Someone took the monster away before it attacked any citizens.”

“Someone, you say…Any word from the Guild?”

“None, My Lady. As they are currently gathering information,

it is highly unlikely they will contact us at this time.”
 Out of everything taking place in the city, Ottar made sure
only the most important information reached his goddess’s ears.

However, Freya wasn’t the least bit interested in the rest of her
follower’s polite and concise report.

At least, not at the moment.

“Shall I order a search?”

“Well…that may be a good idea if the situation escalates, but

don’t bother for now. Should worse come to worst, we can pay
Hermes a visit. I’m sure he is more up-to-date on these develop-
ments than we are.”

Ah-choo! A sneeze sounded somewhere around the base of

Babel, but it was impossible for Freya and Ottar to hear it.

The Goddess of Beauty sat back in her chair, substantial

breasts shifting beneath her revealing black nightgown.

“If this is the last we hear of it, then that’s all it amounts to.
The Guild will contact us if something happens. That will mean
they have work for us to do.”

Freya Familia’s assault and complete eradication of Ishtar

Familia had resulted in a penalty from the Guild. Now Freya had
no choice but to listen to the powerful organization’s demands for
a little while longer.

While it was well within her ability to reject the penalty by

force, it was necessary to maintain the image that the Guild was
in control of Orario. Jealous goddesses weren’t shy about voicing
their opinions. Besides, dealing with a perturbed Loki, who was
her uneasy ally, was more trouble than it was worth.

Freya wasn’t about to let anyone hold her back, but she also
had no interest in becoming an arrogant ruler like Ishtar.

“They may use us again, so please bear with it.”

“By your will, My Lady.”

Offering a gentle apology to her followers, who would be

pressed into service should the Guild call, the goddess smiled.

Then she swirled the wine before bringing the glass to her lips.

“I wonder if this will be entertaining.”

She whispered under her breath, a trace of expectation in her

voice.

“A humanoid…monster…?”

Aiz asked for clarification after hearing the news.

“Yep, yep! Word has it that it showed up in the western block.”

“Not a large-category monster…?”

“Doesn’t sound like it. The few lower-class adventurers who

saw it called it a harpy or a siren. Probably doesn’t have anything
to do with what happened during the Monsterphilia, though.”

The Amazonian twins Tiona and Tione took turns answering

Aiz’s questions while the blond human girl tilted her head in con-
fusion.

Chirping birds sang outside the windows bathed in morning

light. Aiz’s friends told her what had happened the previous night
as they strolled through the narrow hallways of Loki Familia’s
home.
 Apparently, it was all the lower-rank adventurers in the fa-
milia were talking about.

“I heard there was panic in the streets last night. Guild em-
ployees are all over the place asking people what went down.”

“…Does Finn know?”

“Of course. He’s asking anyone who’s free to join the investiga-
tion. I think he has his own theory.”

Aiz turned to Tione after hearing what Tiona had to say.

“Hmm.” The human girl raised her eyes to the ceiling.

Their general had given the order despite their familia having
little connection to the incident itself. That meant his love of the
city and its citizens was strong enough that he was compelled to
get involved.

Most likely, it upset him to know that a monster was lurking

somewhere in the city, terrorizing the townspeople.

As an adventurer who called Orario home, Aiz took this news

to heart.

“What should we do if we find this monster?”

“Finn said that capturing it alive would be best, but…”

The younger Amazon paused, interlocking her fingers behind

her head. Tione finished her sentence.

“If it’s endangering lives—kill it on the spot.”

Long blond hair flowing down her back, Aiz reached for the
hilt of the saber hanging from her waist.
 “Understood.”

She nodded.

The Guild was in utter chaos.

Reports had come in that an unidentified winged monster had

suddenly appeared in Orario’s seventh district and attempted to
attack a young boy the previous night. Citizens flooded the Guild
in droves, demanding to know what had caused such a lapse in
security. Some employees fielded questions on the front lines
while others worked tirelessly to gather detailed information.

Their first priority was to discover how a monster had been al-
lowed out of the Dungeon and into the city. Not to mention that a
certain adventurer had reported seeing a barbarian in an under-
ground tunnel close to an orphanage in Daedalus Street just days
prior.

After everything that had happened at the Monsterphilia, their

dignity as a governing body was on the line.

What in the world was going on? Guild employees had to find
an answer.

“Ughhh. I just pulled an all-nighter, too!!”

“We’re in a state of emergency. There’s no point in complain-

ing.”

The half-elf Eina Tulle was among the Guild employees

putting in serious overtime.

Along with her friend and tearful coworker, Misha Frot, she
was constantly on the move.
 Relaying information from the reception counter to the head
offices and visiting the scene of the disturbance to interview wit-
nesses were just the tip of the iceberg. Work piled up faster than
it could be completed. All the while, grinning deities got their
kicks from the pandemonium and even went as far as providing
false tips to make the show more interesting. The Guild employ-
ees were forced to authenticate each one before pursuing any
leads.

“But, but, but…it just showed up out of nowhere. All the tamed
monsters are still in their cages, right?”

“Yes. Ganesha Familia has confirmed that all monsters are ac-
counted for.”

Misha posed her question, practically bouncing around behind

the half-elf as the two traveled through one of the Guild’s back
passageways. Eina answered with a nod.

The Guild kept strict tabs on all tamers living in Orario, but
Ganesha Familia was the only organization allowed to keep live
monsters in the city to help with training for the Monsterphilia.

They also conducted many experiments on captive monsters

and tested theories inside the walls of their expansive home in the
name of “improving efficiency in the Dungeon.”

“Don’t forget that all tamed monsters are fitted with tracking
plates. They’d know the instant one of them escaped.”

These plates were magic items designed to attach to a mon-

ster’s body, no matter its shape, and constantly broadcast its loca-
tion to a receiver. A broken plate would immediately set off the
receiver’s alarm, alerting Ganesha Familia to the situation. If one
of their captives escaped, the familia would be the first to know.

The creature sighted in the seventh district was said to resem-

ble a human with wings. Witnesses described it as a harpy or
siren.

None of them mentioned seeing a tracking plate on its body.

What bothers me is the reports saying the monster was wear-

ing a robe…If it was trying to hide itself, that means it’s self-
aware…

That thought made Eina’s blood run cold.

She rubbed her upper arms while the two continued their con-
versation.

“Tulle.”

“Chief? Is something wrong?”

Eina and Misha stepped into the front office and were halfway
to their desks when their animal-person boss spoke up.

The slender chienthrope man wore glasses similar to Eina’s,

along with a troubled expression…though perhaps “apologetic”
would be a more apt term. He gave her another assignment.

“The boss wants to speak with you. It’s urgent, so go to his of-
fice right away.”

“Eh…?”

Eina froze on the spot.

“Oh no…” whispered Misha in a hollow voice and forced a

weak smile.

—Did I…do something wrong?

Eina pushed her glasses back up her nose, dread in her veins.
 “…Excuse me, sir.”

After ascending to the top floor of Guild Headquarters, Eina

knocked on an oak door.

“Get in here,” came a grouchy command from inside. Grasping

both handles of the double doors, Eina pulled them open and
went inside.

The first thing she saw in the spacious room was a massive
bookcase that covered an entire wall. Then her eyes fell to the or-
nate rug on the floor. Everything in this room, from the antique
jars and paintings on the walls to the velvet upholstered sofa and
alabaster magic-stone lamps, was of the highest quality. Deities
residing in Orario were known for their love of luxury, but even
they might feel a little underdressed in this chamber.

Eina made a quick bow before walking to the middle of the

room. Struggling to keep her nerves under control, she ap-
proached the one in charge.

He was sitting in an elegantly designed chair, partially hidden

behind the mountains of paperwork on his desk.

“You’re late, Eina Tulle.”

Looking up from his half-finished document, the man glared

at Eina with green eyes.

His pointed ears identified him as an elf. However, the rest of

his form lacked the beauty and refinement of his kin.

His suit, much higher quality than the average Guild em-
ployee’s, was under immense pressure to contain his gut. Saying
that he had a spare tire for a belly would be an understatement,
as his overall figure was difficult to describe. One receptionist had
ironically referred to his stout build as orc-like, but she wasn’t far
off the mark. All his limbs were short and pudgy, and he had an
impressively flabby set of jowls.

With high-quality garments adorning his body, he resembled a

merchant basking in a lifetime of riches.

This was the head of the Guild, Royman Mardeel.

As the one with the right to make the final call on the Guild’s
decisions, he had direct control over Orario’s day-to-day affairs.

“Do you realize how much time has passed since I summoned
you? You must think very highly of yourself to keep a man like me
waiting.”

“My apologies…”

Despite his tirade, Eina chose to remain humble rather than

retaliate.

Elves were known for their long life spans, and Royman was
no different, having served at the Guild for over a century. His
lifestyle had changed to one of extravagance and debauchery once
he reached his current position, resulting in his obese figure.

His nickname was “the Guild’s Pig.”

Every other elf in Orario despised him, preferring to pretend

he didn’t exist.

They saw him as a shameless glutton who had forgotten the

pride of his race. His lust for money, plus his burgeoning waist-
line, had triggered his fall from grace and prompted harsh criti-
cism.

Being so thoroughly despised and yet so powerful, not even his

inborn elfish respect for kin could prevent his arrogance. Only be-
fore the gods and goddesses of Orario did he ever show humility.

And Eina was only a half-elf.

She had a feeling thoughts of her “impurity” were crossing his

mind at this very moment.

Well, I knew this would happen from the moment he sum-

moned me, but…

Eina wasn’t fond of Royman.

She was sure Guild employees who didn’t have issues with him
were in the minority.

But the fact remained that, no matter how much he spoiled

himself, he held authority.

Working at the Guild for over 100 years wasn’t just for show.
While his lavish tastes might have rubbed some people the wrong
way, he made many contributions to the Guild on the whole.

If he hadn’t, those around him—especially the Guild’s “true

leader”—would never have granted him permission to rise so far
in the first place.

He must be exhausted…

Everything that bothered her about him, all the complaints

eating away at her even now, could be attributed to the stress of
being at the mercy of the deities’ every whim…Thinking about it
in those terms made it possible to sympathize with him.

Eina repeated that to herself over and over, clinging to her

faith that everyone was good deep down. She maintained perfect
posture in his presence.
 “Hmph, so you’re the one using her feminine wiles to ensnare
adventurers. Oh yes, I know. You used that body of yours to
sweet-talk your way into the laps of two upper-class adventurers,
the ones making money for our city. Your promiscuity is causing
the rest of us a lot of problems.”

Royman’s eyes traced the curves firmly held in place by her

suit, and Eina felt naked under his intense stare. She wanted to
flinch, but she suppressed the knee-jerk reaction and held her
ground.

This was an attempt to get under her skin.

In his case, it wasn’t so much sexual harassment as an insult.

She could put up with that.

“…That’s a misunderstanding, sir. Nothing that you have in-

sinuated has taken place.”

“Shut your mouth! Use what little elvish blood you have to feel
proper shame.”

Royman didn’t appreciate being contradicted about the inci-

dent a few days ago involving the dwarf Dormul and the elf Luvis,
and his face flushed red as he growled.

Eina swallowed a sigh—and Royman’s eyes flashed, glaring at

her.

“But worst of all, you’ve been keeping information about Bell

Cranell from us, haven’t you?”

Ah…

He didn’t miss a thing.

Eina hadn’t reported on Bell’s Advanced Ability, Luck, or on

his magic attack, Firebolt—the first of its kind that didn’t require
a trigger spell. The latter had already been revealed during the
War Game, but it was his astounding rate of growth that had pro-
pelled the Guild to investigate. More than likely, Royman was try-
ing to force her to divulge any information she had. To make mat-
ters worse, Eina had never submitted Bell’s level-up model. This
was a document detailing how he had leveled up and was, at that
very moment, still buried deep within her desk. A scolding like
this was inevitable, but it was too late to worry about it now.

She had, however, submitted reports along the guidelines set

in place to protect adventurers under her counsel like Bell and
their familias…Royman must have thought she’d left a few things
out after seeing the reports.

Once again, Eina had to prevent her shoulders from flinching

under the pressure of Royman’s astute observation.

“You’re deliberately withholding information to keep him from

becoming some god’s new toy, aren’t you?”

“N-no, it’s not like that…!”

“Do not lie to me! You’ve sided with adventurers ever since the
day you got here, have you not? As his adviser, failing to divulge
the secret to Bell Cranell’s growth is costing us far more than you
can imagine!”

Slamming his fist onto the desk and grunting like a pig, Roy-
man maintained his verbal assault. Eina could only try to bear the
storm of criticism and wait for it to pass.

Royman did eventually calm down.

Forehead and saggy chin soaked with sweat, Royman took a

deep breath.
 “…As to why you’re here.”

Eina tensed again as the leader of the Guild wiped his face on a
cloth and reached for something on his desk.

“See to it this reaches Hestia Familia…Give it to Bell Cranell.”

“Eh?”

He thrust a sealed letter out to her from between two towering

piles of paperwork.

Stunned, Eina reached for the document with trembling hands

only after Royman’s gaze became too intense to bear.

“Um, sir, what is…?”

Sealed with the Guild’s official stamp, it appeared to be some

sort of notification.

Perhaps a quest?

Royman spoke up, answering Eina’s question before she could

ask.

“I should tell you that it’s no quest but a mission.”

“!”

Eina’s eyes widened in that moment.

“A secret one at that. Hestia Familia is the only group allowed

to know, and no Guild personnel have clearance. Take extra care
when you give it to him…I don’t think I have to say it, but you are
forbidden to pursue this matter any further.”

A mission.
 A direct order from the Guild that no one could refuse. All fa-
milias and adventurers residing in Orario were required to obey
it.

What’s more, this one was top secret. Eina couldn’t under-
stand why Bell, an adventurer under her counsel, would be tasked
with something this important.

“You are his adviser. This is your job.”

Royman delivering the order himself would attract too much

attention, given his position.

He explained the situation as he reclined back in his chair be-

fore an astonished Eina.

“Give it to him, clear? I won’t allow you to say no.”

“S-sir, what is upper management thinking—?”

“An underling like you doesn’t need to know. Now get out of
here. I’m busy.”

Royman spat out his retort.

Then he unleashed another verbal barrage, reminding Eina—

so many times she couldn’t get his voice out of her head—to make
sure that the goddess Hestia also saw the mission. With nothing
more to say, Royman demanded that she leave his office.

A secret mission…But why…?

Closing the doors behind her, Eina stood in the middle of the
passageway.

Her emerald-green eyes quivered as she looked at the seal on

the document in her hand.
 Upper management’s decision? But in that case, why would
Royman see to it personally…? Was it his preference?

No. She shook her head once she reached that conclusion.

What if he was ordered to—?

—It couldn’t be.

A gut feeling shook her to the very core.

The organization known as the Guild had a true “leader” that

outranked upper management.

Something was happening behind closed doors.

Suddenly anxious, Eina felt her heart lurch in her chest.

We made it back home during the night.

Somehow, we managed to keep Wiene and her new wing out

of sight along the way.

Night might be over, but there’s nothing we can do to stave off

the stifling gloom descending on the manor. Everyone—except
for Lilly, who forced herself to go back out into the city to gather
information—has stayed inside ever since we returned. We’re
lying low, staying as far away as possible from the commotion in
the streets.

Except for one thing.

I’ve been summoned to Guild Headquarters. Just me.

“I’m sorry for asking you to come here on such short notice.”
 “I-it’s fine.”

We’re in the consultation box.

Eina is standing right in front of me, and it takes every ounce

of willpower I have to keep my body from shaking.

A messenger from the Guild arrived with the summons, com-

plete with Eina’s signature, at around noon. The letter said it was
urgent, so I hurried to the Guild as fast as I could.

My nerves won’t calm down.

Why’d it have to be today of all days?

Am I a suspect on their list for what happened last night?

Then again, Eina sent me the message. She’s my adviser, so I

doubt she’d be the one to contact me if that is what’s happening.

Wiene did finally fall asleep after a long night before I left, but
I’m still worried about her.

Neither Eina nor I take a seat in the soundproof room. She

seems unusually stiff as we stand face-to-face.

“…This is for you.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly even more nervous, I glance down at the sealed doc-

ument in her outstretched hand.

“Miss Eina, what…?”

Not sure what to think, I take it from her. She pauses for a
long moment before telling me.
 “It’s a secret mission. I was instructed to give it to you person-
ally.”

Well, that’s…surprising.

A mission from the Guild? A secret one, at that?

It’s a direct order from the top. Usually they involve taking
care of an Irregular in the Dungeon or exterminating a particu-
larly strong monster, or maybe dealing with something outside
the city wall. Sure, Hestia Familia has been in the spotlight re-
cently, but we barely qualify as average. Why would we be chosen
for such a mission?

If something is so important that it needs to be done in secret,

then wouldn’t one of Orario’s strongest familias or adventurers
get the call…?

I look down at the paper in my hands in disbelief.

“May I…open it here?”

“Yes. But don’t show it to me…I’m not allowed to know.”

Our conversation is stilted and awkward.

I slowly pull back the seal as Eina watches, her mouth slightly
agape.

Hands moving at the speed of molasses thanks to my nerves, I

slowly unroll the piece of parchment.

“Each member of the familia, including the vouivre girl, is

hereby ordered to proceed to the Dungeon’s twentieth floor.”

“……………”
 Time freezes.

My body goes ice cold. I can’t even feel my hands and feet any-
more.

The simple Koine letters, those swashes of ink dancing across

the page, almost triggered a panic attack.

“Please make sure Goddess Hestia sees this as well…Bell?

What’s wrong?”

I hear sounds, not words.

I can’t even blink, reading the message over and over as I

struggle to breathe. The letters keep going in and out of focus.

But how…? Since when—?

So many questions flare up in my head that none of them can

finish before the next one begins.

“Vouivre girl.” That’s Wiene for sure. Someone knows that

Hestia Familia is protecting her?

The Guild knows everything?

Is this a threat?

If that’s true—

What’s the point of this mission?

What is the Guild trying to do?

How can I figure this out with my brain going in every direc-
tion at once?

“Bell! Bell?!”
 Eina calls my name again and again as I start coming back to
myself.

Her voice pulls my gaze away from the parchment. I stare up

at her, white as a ghost.

“Miss Eina, what does the Guild—?”

My throat stops moving; the words are stuck.

I can’t ask.

I can’t ask her what the Guild knows.

If they’re friend or foe.

I don’t know who I can trust anymore.

I can almost hear Eina’s face twisting.

Is it possible that even she—?

—No, that can’t be true!

I shake my head free of those thoughts before they get out of

control.

This person would never investigate me. She’s not watching

my reaction looking for clues.

Eina is just an employee at the very bottom of the Guild’s hier-

archy.

She said it herself: She wasn’t “allowed to know.”

I can’t let this situation make me doubt someone who’s always

been there for me.
 That’s it. This right here is—

A mission assigned by the Guild’s higher-ups.

I gulp down the air in my throat.

A powerful force is at work, and we’re about to get swept up in

its wake.

“—Please, Bell, talk to me.”

“!”

Eina takes a step closer as I struggle with our predicament.

I raise my head to meet her imploring, straightforward gaze.

“If something is troubling you, please tell me. You have my

word I will not tell a soul. I can’t just sit back and watch you be in
pain.”

Her eyes quiver as she bears her heart.

“Even if I fail as an adviser in the eyes of the Guild, I want to

do everything I can to help adventurers like you.”

My eyes are trembling, too.

“This is all I can do, to listen to what you have to say. So please
—”

—Trust me.

Her plea cuts deep.

She doesn’t know anything.

But if I tell her what’s going on right now, if I give in to her

kindness, then she’ll get dragged into this mess, too. She’ll be
stuck in this dark quandary because of me.

I…I can’t let that happen.

“—It’s…nothing…Please don’t worry.”

It took everything I had to form those words.

Eina hunches over as if collapsing on the inside. She looks de-

spondent.

I can’t meet her eyes.

Even staring at the floor at her feet, I can tell she’s looking
away.

A barrier stands between us. I can almost hear it rising.

Leaving Eina behind, I make a quick exit from the box as if to

flee.

“A mission…”

Resisting the invisible force pulling me back toward the Guild,

I return home.

Not wasting any time, I go straight to the living room where

everyone is waiting. Welf whispers to himself in disbelief with the
parchment in his hands.

“So they know? Because of what happened yesterday?”

“It’s too sudden for that. The vouivre girl…Miss Wiene kept
her face and body well hidden, and yet they know what type of
monster she is…The only explanation is that they’ve known for
some time.”

Wrinkles form on Welf’s brow as he forces himself to remain

calm while listening to Lilly’s terse explanation. Mikoto and
Haruhime are standing like statues off to the side. The goddess is
reading the document herself right now, deep in thought and
silent as the grave. Wiene isn’t here.

No one in the room is sitting down.

As we exchange glances, I see I’m not the only one thrown for
a loop.

“Lilly is more concerned about what this mission entails…”

She takes the document from our goddess and reads it herself.

I’m not used to seeing so much uncertainty on her face as her

chestnut-colored eyes work their way across the page.

“Lilly can’t understand what the Guild is trying to accomplish.

This is not a warrant for our arrest, nor is it a demand to surren-
der Miss Wiene into their custody…Why send us to the Dun-
geon?”

In addition to the mission document decorated with a vine-

like pattern, there’s another sheet with detailed instructions.

Written in red ink, there’s a big circle on a map of the twenti-

eth floor. Our destination is in the deepest part of the floor, way
off the main route.

It even tells us what time to leave:

Tonight at midnight, when it’s darkest out.

 “So the Guild doesn’t intend to arrest us…?”

“For the time being, at least.”

“We are to escort Lady Wiene back into the Dungeon…What-

ever for?”

“Beats me. Maybe she’s part of a plan to start something in the

Dungeon…and we’re making a delivery?”

Lilly answers Mikoto’s question, prompting Haruhime and

Welf to share their thoughts.

Welf takes the documents from Lilly while everyone is talking,

his frown deepening by the second as he reads through the mis-
sion a second time.

“Can we even make it there? Us? Down to the twentieth floor?

We’re only going to get one crack at this.”

“…Continuous use of Miss Haruhime’s magic will provide us

with the strength of two Level Threes, including Mr. Bell, and one
Level Two. The twentieth floor is still in the Dungeon’s middle
levels, so our party should be okay—theoretically. The problem is
our frightening lack of experience on that floor.”

Adventurers usually take their time on each floor, learning the

lay of the land and how to deal with monsters before pressing for-
ward, for safety reasons.

But we have to skip all that and go straight to the heart of the
twentieth floor, a place we’ve never been…One thing’s for sure:
We’ll be venturing directly into the “unknown.”

As Lilly pointed out in her answer to Welf’s question, we have

to endure the uncertainty and fear that accompany a new area,
unfamiliar surroundings, and new monsters.
 “…What’s our course of action?”

After our discussion comes to a stop—

—Mikoto’s voice fills the quiet living room.

“I don’t think we have any choice but to go…”

“This is a mission. We don’t have the right to refuse.”

Welf and Lilly speak up, sounding weighed down by the cir-
cumstances.

The Guild, in charge of everything that happens in Orario, is

aware of what we’ve been doing. That alone puts us between a
rock and a hard place. If we try to resist—for example, make an
attempt to flee the city—they’d shut us down before we could
even get past the wall.

All they have to do to destroy Hestia Familia is tell the world

that we’ve been harboring a monster in our home.

What’s going to happen to Wiene…?

There’s no point in guessing without knowing what the Guild

is trying to accomplish. I understand that.

I know that we don’t have a choice, just as Lilly pointed out.

It’s just—I can’t help but wonder what will happen if we do

manage to pull this off…That’s the one thing I can’t stop worrying
about.

Then again…I doubt the Guild would send us to the twentieth

floor without knowing something that we don’t.

There’s the Dungeon, where Wiene was born.

 And that monster, the one that called the vouivre girl “one of
its kind.”

I have no clue how this mission will play out.

But there’s one thing I do know: It’s entirely possible that the
Guild knows something important about Wiene and has a plan
for her.

Our path will become clear once we figure out what that is.

Adventurers…No, explorers?

At some point long ago in the Ancient Times, insanely brave

people who ventured into the Dungeon, coming face-to-face with
the “unknown,” started being called adventurers.

Now we, too, are entering the Dungeon to make a new discov-
ery. There’s no choice but to follow in our forebears’ footsteps.

“……”

All of us look to our goddess, Lady Hestia.

She hasn’t said a word all this time. Returning our gazes, she
slowly nods, telling us to go.

We nod, accepting her divine will. It’s official. We’ll do the

mission.

“Everyone, I’m so sorry…This is all my fault.”

After a few heavy moments…

Although I can’t look at my friends, I apologize to them.

I know rescuing Wiene was the right decision. I won’t let my-
self think otherwise. She’s still hiding here, and I know in my
heart protecting her was the right decision.

However, as a member of this familia, as their leader, I have to

apologize.

They have to bear this weight on their shoulders now because

of me. Lilly warned us this could happen, and she hit the nail
right on the head.

I put everyone in danger.

That’s exactly what a leader is supposed to avoid. I failed.

I guess I wasn’t cut out for this position, after all.

It’s that endless guilt that’s preventing me from looking every-

one in the eyes.

My trembling hands form fists on their own.

“Master Bell.”

Just then…

Haruhime, who was standing close by, reaches out to hold my

hand even though my eyes are still glued to the floor.

“I beg of you. Please do not regret coming to Lady Wiene’s

aid.”

My head snaps up with a start. She’s pleading to me with her

eyes.

Taking my fist in both hands, she lifts it to chest height and

squeezes.

“I would not be here today were it not for my rescue by you

and Miss Mikoto—thanks to everyone, I am happy once again.
Lady Wiene is no different. We rescued her, so that’s why…!”

Her dazzling green eyes glisten with tears; her voice overflows
with passion.

Her message is clear: Don’t deny the good things that have
happened, no matter how dire our situation is now.

I feel my eyes widening as the first tears fall from hers.

A few heartbeats pass until Haruhime realizes she’s still hold-

ing my hand and jumps, blushing on the spot.

Lilly walks up behind Haruhime with a half-lidded glare and

gives her fox tail a hard yank.

“Wha—!” she squeals.

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”

I break out in a cold sweat as Haruhime disappears from my

line of sight and Welf speaks up.

“This is what familias do, right? Support one another,” he

says. “Or have you already forgotten what I put you and Hestia
through during Rakia’s invasion?”

He shrugs, grinning at his own lighthearted comment.

“Stir up all the trouble you want. I’ve got no room to com-
plain.”

“Welf…”

I can’t say another word. Suddenly, I see Mikoto smiling at

me.

“We appear to be in the same boat.”

 She says this with the conviction of a Far Eastern warrior ad-
hering to a strong sense of justice.

Her violet eyes soften in a tender expression, too. I meet her

gaze for a few moments before glancing over at Lilly.

Haruhime is next to her, whimpering and stroking her tail. As

for the prum, she’s also wearing a relaxed smile.

“Lilly will go anywhere with you, Mr. Bell. She is, after all, your
supporter.”

The whole familia is smiling at me.

My trembling fists start to relax in the calming warmth.

“…Thanks.”

Rather than apologize…

I tell them I’m grateful.

“……”

Hestia watched her familia’s conversation from a step outside

their circle, unable to contain the smile growing on her lips as
their bonds strengthened right before her eyes.

It was short-lived, however. Her gaze once again fell onto the
mission document.

Her eyes first skimmed the characters spelling out the order to
go to the twentieth floor. Then they passed over the vine-like pat-
terns that covered the page.

The shapes looked like a mere decoration at first glance, but

they were much more.
 The design was a second message hiding in plain sight, written
in characters that Hestia knew very well—hieroglyphs.

COME TO THE FOURTH BLOCK OF THE CITY’S SEVENTH DISTRICT ONCE

YOUR FAMILIA HAS GONE. NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU.

That was the divine scripture’s message.

Hestia heard that when Bell received the parchment from

Eina, she told him to make sure that his goddess saw the docu-
ment as well.

One purpose of this mission was to separate her from her fa-
milia before making contact.

The goddess narrowed her blue eyes.

Could it be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes is…?

Hestia tensed as she reread the message that was intended for
her alone.

I ascend a flight of stairs cast in red light by the setting sun.

Looking out the window, the sun has almost disappeared. The
whole sky is burning crimson in the early evening twilight. As for
me, I’m putting one foot in front of the other, ascending one step
at a time.

We decided to accept tonight’s mission after a long discussion,

and everyone has gone their separate ways to prepare.

Lilly went into the city to replenish our stock of items for the
middle levels. Welf collected all our armor and weapons before
shutting himself up in his workshop to make sure everything is in
peak condition. Mikoto and Haruhime were put in charge of
preparing food and water for the journey and left a little while
ago. Even the goddess said she had something to take care of and
went out. With Welf in his shop, the only ones inside the manor
are me…and Wiene.

I reach the third floor of our home and walk straight down the
passageway.

Arriving outside my own door, I quietly push it open.

The girl with bluish-white skin is lying on my bed in the corner

of the room.

She’s still wearing the same robe as yesterday, and her cheeks
are streaked with tears as she lies curled up into a little ball like a
child.

It’s just as Haruhime and Mikoto, who’s been using her Skill
nonstop, told me. She cried herself to sleep and hasn’t set foot out
of this room since.

Almost as if she’s afraid of the outside world.

“……”

I walk up to the bed, careful not to make a sound.

Doing my best not to disturb her, I take a seat next to Wiene.

It’s quiet in here. Time flows peacefully, uninterrupted by the

noise and commotion outside, and she’s far away from those who
wish to hurt her. Only her quiet breathing reaches my ears.

Given that we’re nearing summer, it’s still warm during the
evening hours. But I don’t want to open a window. It would only
disturb this space, interrupt our time together.

This might be my room, but her scent is mixing with mine.

It’s been only one week, but so much has happened. Her smell
triggers so many memories that I see flashes of them every time I
close my eyes.

“……”

There were a lot of problems.

I’m pretty sure I cried out every day.

Even so, I wouldn’t trade this past week for anything.

My lips curl into a smile of warm reminiscence.

I reach out with my left hand and gently stroke Wiene’s hair.

The silver-blue strands are firm and yet smooth as silk.

It feels so foreign to me as I softly run my fingers through it,

just as I have every day since we brought her here.

“…Ah, umm.”

Her blue eyelashes flutter as her eyelids twitch.

Her amber irises slowly peek out from underneath. They flit
around in a groggy daze until they find me. A smile blooms on her
lips.

“Bell…”

“It’s me…Sorry to wake you.”

She lightly shakes her head at my apology, saying it’s okay.

 Her wing, folded up over the torn robe on her back, moves
right along with it.

Keeping her head on the pillow, she takes my hand from her
hair and places it on her cheek.

Her skin is chilly, like a crisp breeze.

Still not fully awake, the vouivre girl looks at me happily.

“Wiene, I have something important to tell you, so please lis-

ten.”

“…Okay.”

She slowly sits up.

We make eye contact, sitting side by side on top of the bed-

sheet.

Our shadows stretch across the room, two silhouettes facing

each other.

“Tonight…?”

“Yes. Together with Haruhime.”

I tell Wiene about the decision we made with the goddess.

Of course, I leave out a few details.

I explain to her that all of us are going to the place where she
was born. That’s the story.

“……”

“…You don’t want to go?” I ask as she droops her head.

 I can’t blame her for reacting this way. I haven’t told her any-
thing about why we’re going into the Dungeon. This has to come
as a surprise.

The idea can’t be easy for Wiene to swallow. After all, the Dun-
geon is filled with scary things that tried to kill her.

The problem now is how to convince her to go. I rack my brain

for ideas, when—

“No, no…I’ll go.”

She didn’t look up, but Wiene couldn’t have made herself any
clearer.

I’m still struggling with disbelief when she raises her head.

“Bell…Haruhime. Everyone is trying to help me, aren’t they?”

My eyes go wide.

The red jewel in front of my eyes twinkles in the last of the

sunlight.

“Everyone has always helped me before.”

“Wiene…”

“It’s scary…but not if Bell and everyone else is with me.”

The last sliver of sun sinks behind Wiene’s head, but I can tell
her whole body is trembling.

The innocent, outlandish girl who only wants to be kind is

putting on a brave face.

She’s trusting us.

 “Sorry for crying so much…Thank you for protecting me.”

Teardrops threaten to spill forth from her glistening amber

eyes, but still she smiles from ear to ear.

Then she leans forward a little before burying her face in my

chest.

“I love…Bell.”

…No matter what.

I must protect this girl.

No matter what is waiting for us, I will protect Wiene.

I won’t let her be alone. I won’t let her die.

I swear on my soul.

Now it’s my turn to hold back tears. Keeping my tear ducts in

check, I wrap my arms around her.

Making sure to include her trembling dragon wing, I pull her

into a big hug.

I hear light sobs from under my chin.

The sun has set; the last of its rays coming in through the win-
dow cast my room in a golden red light.

“A humanoid monster…That’s the one.”

Dix adjusted his goggles; the corner of his mouth curled into a
sneer.
 “Don’t remember anything about wings, though…The beast
didn’t have any when you guys saw it, did it?”

“That’s right. Just arms and legs like a person. Then again,
vouivres are supposed to have snake bodies with wings anyway…”

“True that…A beast is a beast whether it’s got claws or wings.”

Thump, thump. Dix tapped the shaft of his red spear against
his shoulder while listening to his underlings.

They were in a dark room with no windows. Surrounded by

the iron bars of cages, the men talked among themselves without
fear of being overheard.

“But you know all this went down on the day that god of ours
went to pay him a visit…Is this what they call a Blessing? Perhaps
our Lord isn’t as stupid as we thought.”

The praise for their absent temperamental deity rang hollow.

Dix chuckled at the thought.

“You thinking what I’m thinking, Dix?”

“Yeah.”

His mind was made up.

His red eyes narrowed behind the smoky quartz lenses of his
goggles.

“Keep an eye on Hestia Familia.”

Dusk fell over Orario before finally shifting to night.

 The city was far from asleep. The exception was Central Park,
which was filled with a tranquil silence.

Hardly a soul passed through the area directly beneath Babel

Tower. Lights from restaurants and bars formed a ring around
the park, but few sounds reached the base of the white tower.

It was near midnight. The clocks would mark the beginning of

a new day at any moment.

Bell led his familia to Babel Tower’s west entrance.

He, Welf, and Mikoto wore salamander-wool cloaks over their

armor. Lilly and Haruhime were equipped with Goliath Robes.
Lastly, Wiene donned salamander wool as well but also had a
slightly customized backpack strapped to her shoulders. The
backpack had a hole in the inside lining to hide Wiene’s wing and
disguise her as an ordinary supporter to any passersby.

The vouivre kept looking over her shoulder at this strange ap-
paratus hanging off her back as she walked. The party of adven-
turers surrounding her carried all sorts of weapons, and they
strode forward with purpose. Their arsenal included a large
shield, spare weapons of every kind, and even magic swords. The
party had never looked so complete, and it was all thanks to
Welf’s hard work.

Pre-mission nerves were beginning to set in. Haruhime,

Mikoto, and Lilly looked particularly anxious.

“……”

“Something wrong, Bell?”

The party stood in front of Babel’s open doors, partially illumi-

nated by the light pouring out from inside, when Bell suddenly
turned around.
 Greatsword over his shoulder, Welf called out to him as the
boy scanned their surroundings.

We’re being watched…

And there was more than one observer.

Bell could feel their gazes originating from somewhere around

the deserted park. They weren’t all that close, but they were defi-
nitely there, spread out all over.

Either the Guild had dispatched people to keep watch on

them, or—

Bell’s stomach churned as that thought dredged up memories

of Ikelos’s unnerving smile in the back of his mind.

Turning around, his gaze fell on the girl hiding her true iden-
tity beneath a robe: Wiene.

“Bell…”

Anxious amber eyes peered up at him from deep underneath

her hood.

Bell took several light breaths, the two staring at each other in
silence.

Setting aside his own concerns, he smiled to put her at ease as

much as possible.

“It’s all right.”

Placing his hand on top of her hood, Bell mentally prepared

himself for what lay ahead.

“—It’s time.”
 Snap. Lilly made the announcement as she closed the lid on
her broken pocket watch.

All eyes gathered on Bell. He nodded.

“Goddess, we’re going in.”

“Right. Just make sure everyone comes back.”

Hestia had wanted to see them off and came this far to do so.
Bell said a quick good-bye.

The deity gazed at her followers, waiting for a moment before

turning to Bell and opening her mouth to speak.

“Bell…”

“Yes, Goddess?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

See you when you get back, Hestia conveyed with her eyes,
tilting her head to the side. The boy nodded again before entering
Babel.

Their mission had officially begun.

The party set off for the twentieth floor.

 CHAPTER 5
Heretics

The white crystals covering the ceiling overhead go dark and

bathe the entire floor in blackness.

Blue crystals scattered about the forest and ponds start to glow
in their place, producing a “nightfall” completely different from
the surface.

We’re on the Dungeon’s eighteenth floor, the Under Resort.

“Night” falls on the safe point the moment we arrive.

We traveled through the upper levels and middle levels at high

speed while making sure to keep Wiene out of harm’s way. I think
we pulled it off only because we used magic and items like there
was no tomorrow. Then again, part of it could be due to our fa-
miliarity with the floors down to the eighteenth and knowing the
quickest routes. It also helped that Goliath wasn’t there.

We went straight north from the southern tunnel to the seven-

teenth floor, heading directly toward the massive tree in the cen-
ter.

Many magic-stone lamps sparkle from atop the island in the

middle of the lake off to our left, but we ignore them. A quick stop
in Rivira isn’t part of the plan. We’re going straight down to the
twentieth.

A few isolated encounters with small groups of monsters are

all the resistance we find. We breeze to the middle ground and
find the gateway to the nineteenth floor among the roots of the
Central Tree.

“Now for the hard part.”

“Indeed. I passed through here once for the quest on the day
we met Lady Wiene, but…”

Wiene inclines her head toward Welf and Mikoto’s conversa-

tion.

We can’t help but smile as we take our first and only planned
rest.

I doubt we’ll get a chance to catch our breath the rest of the
way. Finding a secluded spot close to the entrance, we all try to
replenish the energy we expended getting down here so quickly.

The enormous tree’s roots surround us like a horseshoe, and

we’re hidden safely in a hollow in its trunk. Thankfully, no one is
going into or coming out of the nineteenth floor, since it’s “night”
down here.

Because hellhounds are no longer a threat, Welf, Mikoto, and I

remove our salamander-wool cloaks. I feel lighter already.

Not only that, the cool night breeze feels amazing.

“Lilly, about the stink bombs…”

“Yes, our supply is limited. Lilly would like to save as many as

possible for our return journey. Of course, they’re an option in an
emergency, but…”

Lilly answers my question while dropping her backpack down

on the grass.
 Our party will be in even worse shape on the return trip, so
saving as many Malboro stink bombs as possible makes sense. I
also understand that it’s impossible to avoid every battle.

Lilly’s backpack is so full of weapons and items that it’s practi-

cally bursting at the seams. The pieces of equipment that didn’t
fit inside clatter against one another as she riffles through the
pack to make sure everything is in order. I watch her out of the
corner of my eye, but the trip home is the last thing on my mind.
It’s the mission that’s important right now.

“Sir Welf, how many magic swords are in our possession…?”

“Three. Li’l E, don’t go wasting yours, all right?”

“Lilly knows already!”

Welf answers Mikoto’s question before shooting a quick warn-

ing in Lilly’s direction.

Our party brought along three Crozzo Magic Swords. Two of

them are the size of daggers and are meant to help protect the
rear of our formation. Welf has the third one, a much larger
weapon strapped to his back alongside his greatsword. Welf
makes magic swords in advance to help out during our regular
trips to the Dungeon. This time, we brought every single one he
had.

Without a magic user to balance our party, I hope we can com-

pensate for our lack of firepower with these…

…But when push comes to shove…

It all comes down to an adventurer’s strengths, what each of us

can do.

Weapons and items lend us their power, that’s all. We’re going
to need quick wits and teamwork to make it through the truly dif-
ficult situations.

The bowels of this merciless Dungeon are going to test our

mettle as a party.

I don’t know what’s going to happen…but I can’t forget where

my trust belongs.

“We should probably get moving.”

I talk to the group after about thirty minutes of rest.

As I down the last of the potion in my hand, we walk to the

tunnel entrance as one.

Tree roots carpet the tunnel floor, forming a stairwell. A single

moss-covered path reveals itself to us as soon as we reach the bot-
tom. This is the Colossal Tree Labyrinth.

“Lady Haruhime, if you will.”

“Y-yes!”

Haruhime begins casting at Mikoto’s behest.

It’s important that no one else sees her use sorcery. We split
up to keep an eye on the path in front and behind as Haruhime’s
beautiful voice echoes around us.

“—Uchide no Kozuchi.”

Sorcery is a kind of magic that only renarts can use—this one

allows Haruhime to trigger her Level Boost skill.

A hammer appears out of swirling magic energy, coming down

on top of Welf at the head of our formation and enveloping him
in light.
 “Good to go!” Welf says as he pumps his fist; sparkles glisten
around his body.

“So pretty…You’re amazing, Haruhime!”

“N-not at all…This is the most I can do to contribute…!”

Wiene has never seen Haruhime’s Magic before, and the

spell’s glow twinkles in her eyes.

Haruhime constantly casting Level Boost is our key to pro-

gressing deeper into the Colossal Tree Labyrinth. Being on the
front lines, Welf must constantly engage monsters in combat. The
stronger he is, the better our chances.

We’ve done some experimenting with Uchide no Kozuchi and

learned it can last for fifteen minutes—as long as Haruhime puts
enough Mind into it. After the spell runs its course, she’ll have to
cast it again. We need to be constantly aware of the remaining
time and rely on Haruhime to maintain the effect.

“Drink a magic potion while you’ve got the chance,” Welf in-
sists. Haruhime responds immediately, saying, “Yes, right away!”
Uchide no Kozuchi requires a lot of energy, so it’s better to be on
the safe side.

Bringing the vial to her lips, Haruhime downs half the potion.

“Good, now we should be all set—Huh? Hey, Li’l E? What are

you doing?”

“Just in case.”

Welf turns around to face us, raring to go, when he spots Lilly
standing next to the Dungeon wall. Scrape, scrape.

Using one hand, she is sliding a small knife under the moss
growing on its surface.

This plant—often called Lamp Moss—is the only source of

light on this floor. Is she collecting some?

“Lady Lilly, are you…? Surely you aren’t planning to sell that
on the surface…?”

“Are you so concerned with our familia’s finances that you

must take measures even at times like this?”

“Of course not! Lilly knows there is a time and a place!!”

The combination of Mikoto’s groan of disbelief and

Haruhime’s genuine surprise draws a snappish retort from Lilly,
her face suddenly bright red.

Well, I’ve heard that Lamp Moss sells for about the same price
as the crystals from the eighteenth floor, but…

I want to believe that Lilly has something else in mind.

“There’s no pleasing some people…Lilly’s finished. Let’s go.”

Gathering the Lamp Moss in a small pouch and pulling the

drawstring shut, Lilly tucks it into her robe.

Welf and I nod to each other as she stands up. It’s time to
press on.

“Bell…”

“Miss Wiene, please stay in formation. You don’t need to

worry about Mr. Bell.”

Lilly gives Wiene a sharp warning from a different part of our

formation, though her voice is dampened by the moss and tree
bark covering the walls around us.
 Welf and I lead the formation, a simple column with no mid-
dle rank, where Lilly, Haruhime, and Wiene bring up the rear.
Mikoto is at the tail end.

Normally, Mikoto would be occupying the middle, but this

floor is filled with monsters we’ve never encountered before.
Yatano Black Crow won’t fully protect us from those monsters, so
she’s in the back to respond to ambushes as quickly as possible.
That way, Lilly can immediately provide her with whatever
weapon she needs. Although Mikoto prefers to fight with a
katana, she’s just as good with a bow and arrow. Her ability to ad-
just to any situation and any position has often proved invalu-
able.

Lilly and Haruhime serve as our middle ranks in the forma-

tion, providing support with fresh weapons and items as neces-
sary and, of course, Haruhime’s Level Boost. Despite nominally
being the weakest among us, they are the party’s core. With
Wiene between them, I can’t allow any attacks to get through.

As the only Level 3 adventurers, Welf and I have the most dif-
ficult job—engaging monsters head-on or breaking past them.

All this is to protect the one at the very center of our party:
Wiene.

“…Bell.”

“I know.”

Welf whispers to me, the lights surrounding him catching the

corner of my eye. I keep my gaze trained on the path and nod.

Several enemies are already lurking in the darkness ahead of

us. I bet we’ve got only ten seconds or so before they show them-
selves, so I tighten my grip on the Hestia Knife and Ushiwaka-
maru-Nishiki.
 …Focus on what’s important. No matter what shows up, I will
protect Wiene.

A quick glance over my shoulder and I make eye contact with

her. Her anxiety is written all over her face.

—What if the monsters we encounter start talking just like

her?

—What if they possess the same feelings we do and can shed

tears just like us?

I tamp down those questions with the determination coursing

through my mind. Those excuses that once held me back are
gone.

My heart is set; my eyes are focused. I am determined.

Ready for battle, our party ventures deeper into the expansive
wooden labyrinth.

Clouds passed in front of the moon high in the night sky.

Hestia looked up at the lines of gray clouds traveling across

the heavens as she crossed the city streets. Her familia had just
ventured into the Dungeon, their mission under way.

The date might have changed, but the few people still in the
bars and restaurants along Northwest Main Street—Adventurers
Way—were still loud enough to be heard. Hestia traveled among
flickering pockets of light around the magic-stone lamps, catch-
ing bits and pieces of their conversations as she passed by.

“Fourth block of the seventh district.” That was the address on

the document that detailed her familia’s mission and where she
was supposed to wait.

In truth, the place she once called home, the “hidden room
under the church,” was in the same neighborhood.

Simply put, it was inside a poor residential area.

“……”

Hestia arrived at the location and examined her surroundings.

With no streetlamps, the clouds in the sky hampered what lit-

tle moonlight reached the dim alleyway. Hardly a sound came
from the houses that lined the narrow street, almost as if no one
lived there. The only identification she could find was a sign that
read FOURTH BLOCK nailed to a wooden stake at the corner.

Everything about this dark street gave her the sense that
something was about to appear.

—And she was right.

“…I suppose it would be foolish to ask where you came from?”

A ripple passed through the darkness on the other side of the

street as a figure silently entered her line of sight.

The mysterious, human-shaped shadow was swathed entirely

in black.

The figure came to a stop about five meders away from Hestia,
midnight-colored gloves creaking at its sides as the person flexed
their fingers.

Hestia forced herself to smile at this person’s unexpected ar-

rival and slightly unnerving aura. The corners of her mouth
curled upward.
 “It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Goddess Hestia.
Thank you for traveling all this way.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. So, mind telling me who you are?”

The black-robed figure’s voice was so indistinctive that it was

impossible to discern the gender of its owner.

Was the cloak that masked his or her identity a way to counter
deities, who could see through the lies of those who lived in the
mortal realm?

Hestia’s eyes narrowed as she carefully observed this new-

comer. There was nothing to suggest anything about their iden-
tity as she pressed for answers.

“You don’t strike me as a Guild employee. So why would you

drag me all the way out here—”

Hestia held up the mission document in one hand as she

spoke, waving it from side to side before words suddenly left her.

She froze in stunned silence.

Divine eyes quivering, she peered deep into the darkness

under the figure’s hood.

“Are you really one of our children…a human? Something tells

me you are…”

“…My, my. No disguise can truly fool a deity.”

The robe shifted as if its wearer was laughing drily at Hestia’s

dumbfounded expression.

The hooded figure’s leisurely demeanor was in stark contrast

to the trembling goddess’s forced calm.
 “What in the world are you…?”

“I would be more than happy to answer that and any other

questions you have. However…”

The hooded figure raised its gaze to a spot well behind Hestia,
the top of a nearby building.

“…it’s difficult to have a meaningful conversation while being

targeted.”

Hestia’s eyes flew open. With those words, the hooded figure
spread both arms slightly.

“I suggest a change of scenery.”

Thick black fumes poured from the robe’s sleeves a heartbeat

later.

“—A smoke screen!”

Miach leaned in for a closer look.

He was on the roof of a building overlooking the fourth block

of Orario’s seventh district. At the handsome deity’s side was an
equally surprised chienthrope, Nahza, her longbow set and arrow
nocked, who also watched in disbelief.

Hestia had requested their “protection” only a few hours ear-

lier during the previous day’s evening. The goddess came to
Miach and his followers after her own children were assigned
their mission. She told him that the same message had sum-
moned her to that spot.

Since Hestia had personally come to his home on her own,

Miach accepted her request. He told his followers that it was a
mission from the Guild but kept the information about talking
monsters a secret from them.

Nahza, Daphne, and Cassandra had taken up positions around

the appointed meeting place and watched over Hestia from afar.
If the goddess ever appeared to be in danger, Nahza would use
her Sniper skills to eliminate the threat. She had been standing
by, ready to loose an arrow at the first hint of suspicious move-
ment.

“…?!”

Nahza, eyes trembling, was stunned that the mysterious

hooded figure was able to sense her.

The ever-expanding cloud obscured Hestia in a matter of mo-

ments and blocked the entire alley from view. Miach watched the
smoke screen—no, the black fog—inundate the area from his
perch on the roof.

He could also see the other deities who had answered Hestia’s
call for help—Hephaistos, and Takemikazuchi with his familia—
dart out from their hiding places…However, the alley was empty
by the time the haze lifted.

The hooded figure and Hestia were gone.

“Lord Miach!”

“…They saw right through our plan.”

Miach donned a sour expression as Nahza raised her head to-

ward him from her kneeling position on the rooftop.

With Hestia gone, regret overwhelmed him.

“O-ooooh! That was the ghost! The ghost, Daphne…!”

 “Ghost? The heck is that?”

“A black shadow that patrols the halls of the Guild Headquar-

ters in the dead of night…! The spirit of an adventurer killed by a
monster long ago, unable to pass on…!!”

“Let me guess, another dream of yours? Like I’m going to be-

lieve that.”

“N-no, it’s nooot! I didn’t dream it! My old adviser at the

Guild, Misha, told me about it…!”

“Quiet down, you two!”

The bickering of Miach Familia’s new additions irritated

Nahza, who was well within earshot.

Miach took a deep breath before issuing orders to his follow-

ers.

“We’re going. Staying here any longer would be pointless. For

starters, we need to meet up with Hephaistos and the others.”

Nahza, Daphne, and Cassandra nodded before taking their

leave.

Miach was about to join them, but he cast his gaze over the de-
serted alley once more and watched the last of the fog evaporate.

“Hestia…”

More clouds rolled in overhead, completely blocking the moon

from view.

“GRAHHHHHH!!”
 Welf roared as he brought his greatsword down on top of the
mad beetle, cleaving it in two.

No sooner did the bug monster fall in a spray of blood than a

new monster trampled the corpse to take its place in the front
line.

It was a fierce battle.

Bell’s party encountered a mob of particularly aggressive mon-

sters in a room located along the main route through the nine-
teenth floor.

“YAAAAA!!”

“GAH!”

In addition to mad beetles, Welf sliced into waves of bugbears

on the ground as several gun libellulas swarmed overhead.

A monster fell with each swing of his greatsword: instant kills.

There were no exceptions. Haruhime’s Level Boost gave Welf

Level 3 strength and speed, allowing him to send enemies flying
with ease. His thick blade tore through their bodies with no room
for resistance. Filling the dual role of attacker and wall, the High
Smith single-handedly stopped the horde in its tracks.

“!!”

Meanwhile, Bell engaged the monsters at an even faster pace,

leaving a trail of corpses behind him.

Arcs of violet and crimson light cut through the air and van-
ished. With movements surpassing those of a normal attacker,
more on par with finishers, Bell fought side by side with Welf to
reduce their enemies one by one.
 After sending a bugbear flying with a single spinning kick, Bell
unleashed an electrifying inferno into the air.

“Firebolt!”

The gun libellulas unfortunate enough to be directly in the

spell’s line of fire were incinerated on the spot. Others in the area
of effect caught fire from the intense heat and crashed to the
ground.

The surviving aerial enemies came around for another pass.

Bang! Bang! The monsters launched a volley of the metal pro-

jectiles that grew naturally inside their bodies.

Bell dodged the first round before using his Swift-Strike Magic
to counterattack. Although he kept an eye on Welf’s battle with
the mad beetles and bugbears, Bell prioritized the dragonfly mon-
sters because of their long-distance attacks.

Lilly, Haruhime, and Wiene crouched down in a tight circle

behind Welf and Bell, who stood on the front line. Lilly’s and
Haruhime’s Goliath Robes deflected every one of the missiles but
did little to protect them from the impacts. Gritting their teeth,
the two desperately held their ground to avoid getting knocked
down.

Their party had never experienced simultaneous ground and

air attacks of this magnitude on previous levels in the Dungeon.

Mikoto stood farther behind them, providing cover fire with a

bow. Her main objective might have been to protect the support-
ers, but she also found time to assist Bell and Welf from the rear
ranks.

…Wiene! They’re going after her!

 The metallic rounds descended on them like rain. However, it
was easy to see that most were aimed in Wiene’s direction.

Cold sweat rolled down Bell’s face.

Monsters, not much different from Wiene, pursued her with

the same murderous intention as people above. It wasn’t just the
howling bugbears that had her in their sights, but the mad bee-
tles’ and gun libellulas’ insect-like, multifaceted eyes were clearly
focused on the vouivre girl.

The gun libellulas launched another volley. Wiene’s amber

eyes trembled as she watched from beneath Haruhime’s embrace
the missiles intended to kill zip toward her.

Bell flipped through the air, landing in front of her like a

knight to the rescue, and knocked down each of the projectiles
with his knives.

“Miss Mikoto, how many are there?”

Assisting the front lines with her handheld bow gun, Lilly
called out when she realized the enemy numbers weren’t dimin-
ishing.

Mikoto responded with an equally panicked yell after punctur-

ing a mad beetle’s head with an arrow.

“Seventeen, no nineteen—it’s still rising!!”

Now that Mikoto had fought these monsters, Yatano Black

Crow told her that their relentless foes were about to receive rein-
forcements.

Sure enough, more of the creatures poured through the en-

trance on the other side of the room.
 “Ngh…I’m using it!!”

Lilly watched as Bell and Welf took down monster after mon-
ster without making a dent before she reached to her belt and
withdrew a golden dagger—a magic sword.

The two young men immediately jumped away as soon as her

voice reached their ears. Her path clear, Lilly brought the blade
straight down with all her might. A stream of energy burst from
its tip.

The electrical blast cut a straight line across the battlefield to-
ward the entrance on the opposite side of the room. Every fiend
in its way burst into crackling flame, bringing the fight to a swift
end.

A boom exploded within the room a second later as though the

intense blast of energy had collided with a wall farther down the
passageway.

“…!”

Crack! Not even a moment later—

The yellow blade shattered.

Several hours had passed since they set foot on the nineteenth
floor. The monsters they’d encountered were so strong that the
group had been forced to use the magic weapon several times just
to keep going forward.

It had reached its limit. Golden shards fell from Lilly’s grasp.

“It gave out…Guess we relied on it a bit too much.”

“But just now…!”

 “I know. We needed it…but it just wasn’t strong enough.”

Several emotions crossed Welf’s face as he looked at the re-

mains of his handiwork and stopped Lilly’s counterargument by
raising his hand.

While it was true that Crozzo Magic Swords were extremely

powerful, the blades themselves were actually rather frail.

“This is my problem,” Welf bluntly stated, caught between his

skills as a magic-sword maker and his pride as a smith.

At any rate, the battle was finally over.

“Bell, is everyone okay?”

“Yep, I’m fine. Didn’t get hurt.”

“But currently there are only two of Welf’s magic swords re-
maining…Lady Lilly, what is our location?”

“We have pressed past more than half of this area. The twenti-
eth floor is close.”

Wiene bounded up to Bell, her salamander-wool cloak flap-

ping behind her like a flag on a windy day, with a big smile on her
face. At the same time, Mikoto approached Lilly for an update on
their location.

Pulling out a map of the floor, Lilly pointed to a spot about

three-fourths of the way down the main route. One of their three
magic swords was gone, and they had consumed far more potions
and magic potions than expected. However, the rest of their
weapons were still intact and in good working order. Leaving
their item situation aside, the party remained on track.

The group paused for only a moment to share the update be-
fore moving on to their next task.

Lilly instructed everyone to gather the loot scattered about the

battlefield.

“Again, please don’t leave behind a single magic stone. Bad

things will happen should a monster find and eat one. Take any
drop items that will fit…As for the larger ones, we have no choice
but to throw them into thicker grass.”

“Y-yes.”

“I’ll help, too.”

Lilly issued the orders to make sure that their secret mission
remained a secret by covering their tracks. The fighters and
Wiene helped the supporters finish the job before pressing for-
ward.

“I’m just gonna put this out there. I know that the monsters
here are stronger and there’s a higher encounter rate, but…Bell
and I didn’t run into this many last time. Or is it just my imagina-
tion?”

“That’s probably because there aren’t as many other adventur-

ers. More than likely, there’s nothing else to distract the monsters
from us.”

Consecutive battles were unavoidable, but the numbers were

staggering. Lilly tried to offer an answer to Welf’s doubts.

There were many reasons—one being that suspicious adven-

turers often flocked to this floor—but very few parties passed
through during the night and early morning hours. Even adven-
turers who used Rivira as a base camp preferred to avoid operat-
ing during this time of day. Lilly explained how hungry monsters
would gather from far and wide when prey was scarce.
 “……”

“Lady Wiene?”

“This place is…familiar…but scary…and cold.”

The vouivre timidly wrapped her arms around her body as she
scanned the Colossal Tree Labyrinth.

Haruhime wasn’t faring much better, fox ears and tail visibly
shaking. Even so, seeing Wiene so afraid was worse. Putting on a
brave face, she reached out and held the girl’s hand.

Bell glanced at the girls in the center of the formation before

resuming his constant vigil. Mikoto, who had slain the many
types of monsters they had encountered thus far, never forgot to
activate her Skill periodically as they advanced. Lilly and Welf
were just as quiet as the rest of the party, inspecting the walls
around them as if the bark might crack open at any second to re-
veal another wave of monsters.

The ceilings inside this sylvan domain were surprisingly high,

and small hollows dotted the walls. While birds or small animals
might have called these alcoves home on the surface, they were
the perfect places for monsters to stage an ambush. Clusters of
plants indigenous to these floors popped up all over the place,
fascinating the adventurers who passed through.

Bizarre mushrooms with red and blue spots, grasses with

golden thistles sprouting like cotton, and an astounding amount
of vines hanging off the walls like snakes filled the passageways.
Bell caught a glimpse of a dead-end room with beds of silver flow-
ers, and it was so beautiful that he would have loved to paint the
scene if he had the talent.

Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the next en-
counter. These moments of peace were just the calm before the
storm, so they stayed in tight formation and gained as much
ground as possible.

…We’re still being watched. And…

There were more of them.

Bell studied the surrounding fauna, his head on a swivel, as

goose bumps broke out along his skin.

Had the unknown watchers from aboveground followed them

this far?

There were more of them here on the nineteenth floor. Of that

he was certain.

The hollow alcoves above his head, the treelike network of

branching paths, the dark spaces behind massive leaves—Bell’s
gaze traveled from one suspicious spot to another, seaching for
any movement in the shadows. While he saw nothing, he knew
their observers were concealing their presence somewhere
nearby.

Just who were they? What were they trying to do?

The ominous air made Bell’s heart beat a little harder.

His shallow breaths quickening and dread saturating his veins,

Bell knew he had no choice but to keep pressing forward.

He tightened his grip on the Hestia Knife in his right hand.

“…?”

Without warning—

An unexpected obstacle halted the party’s considerable

progress.
 It completely blocked their path. Confusion ran rampant
through the group at the very sight of it.

They came to a stop in front of a motionless wall of mush-

rooms.

“No way forward…”

“A-are we going the right way?”

“Hey, Li’l E, what gives?”

“P-please wait a moment. This shouldn’t…”

Stretching from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, a colony of gi-

gantic mushrooms sealed off the route.

A silent barrier of red- and blue-polka-dotted mushrooms

stood in their way.

Mikoto and Haruhime voiced their disappointment at reach-

ing a dead end. Lilly defended herself from Welf’s frustration as
she pulled out the map and opened it for a closer look.

“This is…weird.”

Welf sniffed and grumbled under his breath.

An inexplicable feeling of recognition overtook Bell upon hear-

ing those words.

……

And he realized immediately why those warning bells were

ringing in his head.

However, this was more than a sense that something was off
or baseless déjà vu.
 It was the knowledge of the lessons drilled into his head by a
certain half-elf “older sister” of his.

If you think you’re in trouble—it’s already too late.

Many of the gigantic mushrooms making up the colony

opened slits that looked remarkably like eyes beneath their large
umbrellas.

“……”

Dropping the act, the mushrooms of many sizes revealed their

dark-purple bodies at once and moved as a unit.

“It’s not a wall—they’re dark fungi!!”

A wave of cold fear swept through the party as Lilly screamed

loud enough to injure her throat.

Dark fungi.

The mushroom-like monsters had evaded Mikoto’s Skill due to

the fact that she had zero experience dealing with them. These
monsters preferred to wait for prey to come to them, hiding
among the gigantic fungi that naturally clustered together inside
the Dungeon.

Just as infamous as the many species of insect monsters in-

habiting the Colossal Tree Labyrinth, these creatures produced
enormous clouds of poisonous gas.

“!!”

The mushroom caps swelled right before their eyes.

Their clouds of toxic spores made the purple moths’ poisonous

pollen in the upper levels look like child’s play. It was potent
enough to inflict Status ailments on contact and could even bring
large-category monsters to their knees with little resistance.

A series of explosions rang out a second later as the fiends ex-

pelled their gas.

It was too late for Lilly and the others to get out of range as the
purple clouds flooded into their path.

In the same instant—

“Firebolt!!”

—Bell made his move.

As the only one equipped with Eina’s lessons, it was up to him

to keep the venomous clouds at bay.

Nine bursts of electrifying flames burned through the cloud.

As waves of extreme heat surged through the dense mass of
spores like a tsunami, the Swift-Strike Magic slammed into the
colony of dark fungi directly behind it.

The purple clouds that threatened to engulf the party went up

in smoke.

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”

Susceptible to fire, the mushroom monsters writhed in pain as

they perished in the flames.

The conflagration engulfed fungus after fungus, and even the

actual gigantic mushrooms ignited to become towering torches in
the passageway.

Bell’s quick reaction bought Lilly and the others time to escape
the edges of the poisonous gas cloud even as bits of the spore
cloud burned in midair—but the Dungeon wouldn’t allow them to
escape so easily.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared on the other side of the in-

ferno, and a colossal boar burst through a moment later.

“A battle boar?!”

Nearly two meders tall, this was truly a large-category mon-

ster.

The wall of flames parted in its wake as the monster charged

through with sheer brute strength. Its eyes locked on the adven-
turers, and its fur bristled.

It wasn’t alone, merely leading the charge of its peers. It

roared at the top of its lungs as a swarm of bugbears and other
monsters followed it through the flames.

“Damn it!!”

Welf planted his foot on the ground and charged back into the
poisonous purple haze.

Casting aside his greatsword, he grabbed the large shield

hanging from Lilly’s backpack on the way.

He held it directly into the boar’s path to protect his friends.

“OOOO!!”

“!!”

The silver shield, forged by his own hands, collided with the
monstrous boar.

Only with the strength granted to him by Haruhime’s Level

Boost did Welf, twinkling lights still hovering around his body,
manage to stay on his feet and absorb a blow that would have
sent many upper-class adventurers skyward. Digging in his heels,
he lost only a few steps’ worth of ground before bringing the
monster to a complete stop.

That was when Mikoto rushed into action.

“HYAAA!!”

Jumping clear over Welf’s head, she drew Chizan, one half of a
set of twin daggers that she always kept on her person, and drove
it into the monster’s neck from above.

It was a clean strike, sending a gush of blood into the air, but it
was not enough to behead the battle boar. Mikoto carved several
more slashes into its hulking body as she spun through the air.
The monster collapsed to the ground at the same moment the
blood-spattered girl landed at its side.

“—HA!!”

Bell dashed by the boar’s body and straight into the oncoming
rush behind it.

He brandished his double knives—a flash of violet light

slashed through a bugbear’s neck, sending its head tumbling
through the air, as a crimson streak rode the momentum to strike
another monster down in the same moment. Bell’s trademark
agility caught the oncoming horde by surprise; they were power-
less before him as he drew them into the fray.

He tore into the bugbears, slaughtering them one by one as

Welf and Mikoto arrived with bigger blades, greatsword and
katana; the three of them joined forces to take care of the rest.

“Haa, haa…!”
 Bell slew the last monster as the combat came to an end.

The three humans struggled to catch their breath, faces illumi-

nated by the burning mushrooms.

Haruhime gawked at the piles of corpses surrounding them

and was about to rush to her companions’ aid when Lilly grabbed
hold of her wrist. “It’s not safe yet,” said the prum, her eyes fol-
lowing the last wispy trails of poisonous spore clouds.

“Sorry, but could a guy get an antidote…?”

“Y-yes, right away!”

Welf groaned as he staggered his way back to the supporters,

skin glistening with sweat.

Haruhime quickly retrieved a vial of green liquid and handed

it to him. Inhaling the toxic spores inside the purple cloud had
poisoned Welf. He downed the concoction in one gulp.

“Seriously, Bell roasted most of them, and I still got hit…Guess

this means upper-class adventurers can’t just blindly charge in
and hope for the best.”

“Consider yourself lucky. There are worse cases of poisoning,

and those take much longer to recover from…”

Lilly continued by explaining how the unlucky ones would

have died on the spot and rummaged through her backpack as
Welf’s breathing returned to normal. Pulling out a few items, she
turned to the others.

“Mr. Bell, Miss Mikoto, how are you feeling…?”

“It hurts, but I can stand up…”

 “Everything feels heavy, no energy.”

Mikoto and Bell returned to the supporters, their faces off-

color.

Unlike Welf, the two of them both possessed the Advanced

Ability Immunity. However, it wasn’t effective enough to com-
pletely nullify the poison yet, and they became painfully aware of
the dark-fungus spore cloud’s potency.

Sharp claws and fangs weren’t the only things adventurers had
to worry about in the Colossal Tree Labyrinth.

“Lady Wiene…You look perfectly normal.”

“…? I’m fine.”

Being a type of dragon and born in the middle levels, Wiene

must have been born with a high resistance to Status ailments. All
the adventurers were looking at her with concern, but she
couldn’t understand why.

Lilly sighed before instructing Haruhime to drink an antidote,

just to be on the safe side, and then followed suit.

“Lady Mikoto, Master Bell, what will you do…?”

“Conservation is of the utmost importance. Sir Bell and I will

share one.”

Living in poverty as a member of Takemikazuchi Familia for

so long had taught her to scrimp and save whenever possible.
Mikoto didn’t give it a second thought when answering
Haruhime’s question.

Bell took the antidote—stamped with Miach Familia’s emblem

—from Haruhime and said, “I-in that case…” After drinking half
of it, he handed the bottle to Mikoto.

Her heart skipped a beat. With the half-empty vessel in her

hands, the realization that Bell had just drunk from it shot
through her like lightning. She stared at it for a moment before
her face became bright red. Only then did it hit Haruhime, fox
ears standing up straight as she quickly covered her eyes.

“One, two, and…” Mikoto whispered to herself, cheeks still

flushed, before drinking the rest.

Even Bell started blushing. A cunning strategy…Lilly thought

to herself, fists clenching as she watched with jealousy in her
eyes.

“……”

Then, once everyone had recovered…

Wiene’s ears started twitching.

“I hear…something.”

“You do?”

Wiene turned, her elfish tapered ears guiding her.

Their surroundings were quiet. Bell followed the girl’s gaze

down the path from which they had come. There was nothing out
of the ordinary.

Welf and the others started to wonder if something was wrong

with Wiene when…

“…Ah.”

“I hear it as well…”
 Bell and Mikoto definitely sensed it.

A strange sound.

One that they hadn’t yet encountered during their time on this
floor.

Wiene possessed enhanced monster senses, far superior to the

adventurers’. Fear flashed across her face—an omen of what was
to come. The vouivre girl took a step back.

“Are those wings? No, not quite…”

It wasn’t the telltale signs of other adventurers locked in com-

bat, nor was it a monster’s howl.

The unusual sound reached Lilly’s ears. She, too, thought it

was the flapping wings of a bird at first, but it was too metallic. A
bead of sweat rolled down her neck. She adjusted the straps of
her backpack as Welf lifted his greatsword into a defensive posi-
tion.

The peculiar noise grew louder.

Something was approaching along the path.

The entire party took a few steps back as the ominous tension
became too much to bear.

When their nerves had been wound tighter than a bowstring—

the sound’s source revealed itself.

“Are those…bees…?”

Haruhime asked her question in a shaky voice as black shad-

ows began to appear at the very edge of her vision.

Their insect-like bodies were covered in thick black plates re-

sembling armor. Angular and menacing, each shadow was as tall
as an adult human. Pincers shaped like scissors jutted from their
jaws, but the adventurers were more concerned about the other
end—a poisonous stinger shaped like a pike.

“…Deadly hornets.”

Bell turned pale as he said the species’s name.

They normally appeared on the twenty-second floor and below

as one of the monsters that prevented third-tier and second-tier
adventurers from advancing into the deep levels.

Its fearsome pincers were one thing, but the deadly hornet’s
stinger was powerful enough to pierce heavy armor and even kill
Level 2 adventurers in one thrust. Those who survived its sting
usually succumbed to blood loss soon after. With armor strong
enough to deflect attacks that didn’t land just right, they were like
killer ants with wings.

Killer ants were known as “novice killers” in the Dungeon’s

upper levels; in the same vein, deadly hornets had a nickname of
their own: “upper-class killer bee.”

Each of the lethal monsters was equipped with four wings, two
on each side. More and more shadows emerged, their number
surpassing twenty.

“—RUN!!”

Welf’s scream was the signal.

The whole party turned their backs on the deadly hornets and
took off as fast as their legs could carry them.

“Hornets—really, really big hornets!! And too many to count!”

 “Please stay focused, Lady Haruhime!!”

“Bell, I’m scared!”

“So am I!!”

Racing past what was left of the gigantic poisonous mushroom

colony, the party sprinted down the middle of the wide main
path.

The screams of the terrified adventurers joined the near-deaf-

ening buzz of their deadly insectile pursuers as they fled. Many
had painful memories involving bees, such as a grandfather
drawing off a swarm to help him escape or the searing pain in her
tail when she had been stung at her family’s home, but nothing
compared to this very moment.

If the hornets caught up, they would be impaled before those

massive pincers devoured them.

Bell’s party raced across the wooden ground, their bodies

soaked with sweat.

“Why do deadly hornets have to show up now of all times?!”

“This ain’t a time for questions, Li’l E! Run for your life!!”

“LILLY IS RUNNING!!”

Lilly screamed, lamenting the Irregular that had ascended sev-

eral floors to meet them. Welf howled back, greatsword resting on
his shoulder.

The supporters were the slowest members of the party, and

the others had no choice but to keep the same pace. Lilly and
Haruhime were going as fast as they absolutely could.
 “…I’ll slow them down with Magic!”

“No, Bell! It won’t work!”

The insects were too fast. A ranged attack would never land
against monsters that could move so freely.

In this wide and cavernous passageway, taking down any one

of the extremely agile deadly hornets with Firebolt while on the
run would be next to impossible. What was worse was that magic
swords weren’t an option because there was too much space over-
head, nearly ten meders. They could easily dodge the blast.

But above all else, there were too many.

Welf yelled out that it would be like trying to empty an ocean

with a bucket.

“And we do not have time for that…!”

“!”

Mikoto screamed as she saw something farther down the pas-

sageway. Bell’s head whipped around, his eyes going wide.

Dark shadows shaped like mad beetles slid over the walls up
ahead, right in their path. Mikoto and Bell sped up, their faces
contorted in desperation.

It was up to them to eliminate the obstacles and clear the way

for the rest of the party.

“Hah! Haa, haa…!”

Run. Run. Run.

Their formation was in shambles. Welf was in the back, furi-

ously pumping his arms and legs.
 The supporters raced past the corpses Mikoto and Bell left in
their wake, sprinting deeper and deeper into the Dungeon.

Their lungs burned as their ragged breaths echoed through the

hall. Their pursuers were gaining; the swarm wasn’t going to let
them escape.

“Lilly, what’s up ahead?”

“This is a straight path to the twentieth floor! Should be al-

most there…!”

Bell slipped under a bugbear’s claws, his counterattack slicing

the creature in half as Lilly’s desperate, almost pleading voice
reached his ears.

The party ran through the curving path and, just as Lilly had
predicted, they spotted a large hollow alcove at the other end.

It was the entrance to the next floor.

Their goal suddenly in sight, everyone’s eyes flashed as they

dashed toward the hole with even more vigor.

However…

Crack!

“—”

Crack! Crack!

The sounds were coming from their destination as well as the

walls on both sides of the path. A mere fifty meders stood be-
tween them and the entrance, but ominous cracks spread out like
spiderwebs. Their environment was crumbling before their very
eyes.
 The party fell into stunned silence as a massive horde of mon-
sters was born simultaneously in the passageway.

A monster party.

The most underhanded of all Dungeon gimmicks.

Mikoto reflexively triggered Yatano Black Crow. Forty-four en-

emies.

Mad beetles, bugbears, gun libellulas, dark fungi, battle boars

—a nightmarish parade was advancing toward them.

They were trapped in a pincer attack from ahead and behind.

The Dungeon had bared its fangs yet again, sending the adventur-
ers into the deepest pits of despair.

“Aahh—”

Wiene’s face froze in fear, the deadly appendages reflected in

her eyes.

The rest of the party wasn’t faring much better, terror threat-
ening to overtake them.

That’s when—

“—KEEP GOIIIIIIIIIING!!”

Welf didn’t let it happen.

He screamed at his allies, ordering them forward just as they

started to slow down.

Bell, Mikoto, and the rest decided to put their faith in the voice
urging them from behind.

Kicking at the ground, they sped up.

 Right into the jaws of the ferocious beasts roaring in their
path.

“!!”

Welf sheathed his greatsword and jumped into the air.

With a clear view over his allies’ heads, he grabbed a

longsword’s hilt with his right hand—removing the magic weapon
from the other sheath strapped to his shoulder.

He brought the crimson blade down in one swift motion.

“Breakthrough…!!”

Roaring flames.

The magic sword came to life in response to its creator’s call

with a burning howl of its own.

Torrents of flames crashed into the monsters barring their

path. Even their dying howls of agony couldn’t escape the inferno.

The rest of the party watched in awe, their eyes opening as

wide as they could.

Their path had been transformed into a smoldering gorge.

The Dungeon itself seemed to scream out in pain, the magic

sword’s overwhelming power incinerating the walls and ceiling
and every plant in its path.

Bell led the party straight into the charred wasteland at full
speed. Enduring the heat and holding their breath to avoid burn-
ing their throats, they raced through the passageway’s charred re-
mains.
 At the same time, a crick! sounded from the magic sword.

Releasing that much energy at once took its toll on the

weapon. Cracks appeared along the blade, now close to its limit.

“Come on, buddy, hang in there…!”

Welf called out to the sword in his hand, fearing the worst.

Even as it started disintegrating, the magic sword continued to

glow as if to reassure its wielder that it would fight to the end.

“ !!”

The swarm of deadly hornets closed in.

There was almost no space left between them. The closest ones
flapped their wings at a frantic pace, the echoes reaching a
crescendo as if building suspense before the kill.

Their prey was in range—the fleeing adventurers right in front

of them. They raised their stingers.

“!!”

In that moment, Mikoto leaped off the ground.

The farthest ahead, she dove the final four meders and landed
inside the hole.

Bell, Lilly, Haruhime, and Wiene were right behind her, jump-
ing through the threshold one after another.

As his companions bounded down the stairwell composed of

tree roots, Welf made it inside.

“Of course you’d follow! Take this…!”

 The deadly hornets didn’t hesitate. They swarmed into the
hole en masse, determined to catch their prey.

Welf twisted his body mid-leap to face the tenacious monsters,

lips creased into a grin.

His unblinking eyes on the deadly hornets, he gripped the

magic sword with both hands and lifted it high above his head.

Flight was meaningless.

In this narrow tunnel, no amount of agility could save them in

this constrained space.

For the second time, Welf roared along with his weapon.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

A massive fireball engulfed everything in its path.

Every deadly hornet began glowing like hot steel in a forge.

“ Ahhh!!”

The swarm of lethal insects, having been drawn into the con-
necting tunnel, were vaporized into nothingness.

At about the same time, the magic sword let out a high-pitched
ring and shattered.

“—Thanks.”

This was no apology but gratitude.

Welf smiled at the hilt still in his grasp as he performed its last
rites.

The shards gave off one last crimson sparkle as if offering their
own farewell.

Then, the explosion launched Welf, Bell, and the rest of the
party into the air, as if to hurl them out of the wooden cavern.

““““““?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
?!?!?!?!””””””

Torrents of wind carried them down the stairwell.

Light appeared at the end of the tunnel, causing one boy to ex-
perience a serious case of déjà vu. Suddenly, the adventurers flew
through the exit.

Thud! Thump, thump! Thud, wham! Dull impacts rang out

one after another.

“The twentieth floor…”

“Finally, we made it…”

“W-we…we’re here…”

“Hurry up and get off Lilly!!”

“Ooph, oh…”

“Ouch…!”

Mikoto tried to regain her bearings; Welf smiled through his

bumps and bruises; Bell was filled with relief and Lilly with anger
while Haruhime and Wiene shook their heads in pain.

The party slowly untangled themselves after landing in a big

pile. And an unexplored labyrinth filled with looming trees
spread out before them.
It all happened so fast.

She remembered speaking to someone wearing a black robe

before a black fog enveloped them. After she coughed a few times,
some kind of fabric had been slipped over her head, muffling any
noise.

After that, there was just steady swaying like she was being
carried, and then she was here.

“…Was that some sort of magic just now?”

“Nothing that impressive. Just a simple magic item and a

shortcut, Goddess Hestia.”

The cool air inside the stone passageway chilled her skin.

Hestia trudged along behind the black robe’s shadow through

the man-made tunnel.

The tunnel itself was rather cramped, barely wide enough for
three people to stand side by side, along with a low ceiling. While
she couldn’t tell what material the walls were built from in the
dim light, she could see the seamless surface was engraved with
many patterns. Without any windows or doors to speak of, Hestia
was certain this was a secret passage of some sort.

Well, I sure got outplayed…Hestia thought to herself. From

the moment her “guide” told her to follow, she had done so with-
out complaint. Taking the immaculate planning and execution of
her captor into account, she knew it was useless for a powerless
goddess like her to resist.

She still spoke with her usual casual tone, but both knew who
was really in control.

“Very few individuals are aware of this shortcut. It’s possible

to count on one hand the number who have used it.”

It went without saying that the black-robed figure lighting the

way with a portable magic-stone lamp had their back to Hestia
while speaking.

Her guide seemed confident that the goddess wouldn’t try to

escape. Either that or knew that Hestia could be easily caught if
she did make a break for it. Probably both.

Hestia held in a sigh, frowning slightly at the mysterious fig-

ure. Whoever it was, they didn’t seem to have any interest in
hurting her. So she focused on the passing walls instead.

“A shortcut, you say…”

If her captor had been telling the truth, she must have been
carried into this “shortcut”…That meant the entrance was ex-
tremely close to their meeting point in the fourth block.

Visualizing a map of the city, Hestia thought about where the

main streets and landmarks were to get a general idea of her cur-
rent location. Then she asked another question:

“Is this a shortcut for your master to use to escape in an emer-

gency?”

“……”

Hestia was confident in her theory, but the black-robed fig-

ure’s response was only silence.

Except she got the funny feeling this person was smiling be-
neath that hood.

Not planning to answer me, I see…That’s fine. If my guess

was right, then soon…
 She would learn everything she wanted to know.

Her captor’s master would tell her.

Hestia didn’t pry and kept up.

“Oh? A dead end?”

They reached the end of the tunnel a little while later.

Hestia raised a suspicious eyebrow as the black-robed figure

reached out to the wall and ran a hand across the grooves carved
into the surface.

“—”

As soon as a few words like an incantation came from beneath

the hood, the wall started sliding away with a low rumble.

Did whoever this is say “Open sesame”…? Hestia jokingly

thought to herself as the hidden door opened, disappearing into
the adjacent wall to let them pass.

It connected to a chamber shrouded in darkness.

“……”

Hestia followed the robed figure up a small flight of stairs and

into a stone hall.

She looked around the room as details emerged from the

gloom.

The floor was covered with large slabs. The ceiling was high
overhead, its shadows seeming to hover in the air around her.
The stones that composed the walls were showing their age. Per-
haps it was once a temple, built in the Ancient Times and long
forgotten.
 Disregarding the “shortcut,” there was only one other entrance
to the chamber. It was located at the top of a stone stairwell, sig-
naling to Hestia that they were underground.

Then her gaze fell toward the middle of the chamber.

“He” was present, sitting on an altar among four lit torches

that provided the only source of light.

“—Ouranos.”

The guide led Hestia to the front of the altar. She turned to
face the deity, looking him square in the eyes.
The majestic yet wizened god sat on his throne—a large stone
structure fit for a king. Over two meders tall when standing, he
exuded an intensity, a presence, and a divine authority that were
in a league of their own, unmatched by other deities. Heralded as
a “Supreme God” while residing in the heavens, he was one of the
truly influential deities.

White hair and a similarly colored beard spilled from beneath

the hood of his robe. His robust arms were propped on the
throne’s armrests—a god immovable. He simply existed in that
spot, surveying the chamber like a ruler and a statue at the same
time.

A towering, unyielding king, the true leader of the Guild lifted

his chin to look down on Hestia.

“It’s been a long time, Hestia.”

“Yeah, Ouranos…I haven’t seen you in, what, over a thousand

years?”

There was no joy in this reunion. Ouranos maintained his

calm expression and aimed his booming voice toward the young
goddess.

Hestia wasn’t the least bit intimidated by his overwhelming

presence and addressed him like an acquaintance from days long
past.

The goddess had only recently arrived in the mortal realm as a

participant. She didn’t know much about Ouranos—especially
over the last thousand years—other than he was often referred to
as the “Father of Orario.”

She did know a few basics, such as the fact that he was part of
the first group to descend to this world, one of the gods who
brought an end to the Ancient Times and settled in Orario.

He had worked together with the mortal children to plug the

“Great Hole” in the ground that constantly spewed monsters—
helping to build the “lid” that turned the Labyrinth City into the
first line of defense.

With his familia eventually becoming the Guild, he oversaw

both the city and the Dungeon. However, he realized that some-
one with that much power must maintain a constant stance of
neutrality. Therefore, he bestowed his followers with political
power rather than Falna.

The last thing Hestia knew about Ouranos was that he spent
his days beneath Guild Headquarters, offering constant “prayers”
to the Dungeon.

These prayers—powered by his immense divine authority—

kept the Dungeon in check. It was his will that prevented hordes
of monsters from reaching the surface and plunging the world
back into the original state from the Ancient Times. That was how
it was explained.

Given Ouranos’s presence here, Hestia reasoned that she must

be in the Chamber of Prayers beneath Guild Headquarters.

The two deities observed each other with the same shade of
blue eyes, directly under Orario’s governing facilities.

“This ends my role here, Ouranos.”

“You have done well, Fels.”

Behind Hestia came the sound of fabric shifting.

Then the person called Fels started to take his leave.

 “Well then, I shall excuse myself. I’ll be late if I don’t set off
soon.”

With those words, Fels returned to the hidden door.

“Please make yourself at home, Goddess Hestia.”

Fels said a final good-bye before disappearing into the dark-

ness.

Hestia watched until the figure vanished, and then she re-
turned her attention to the god before her.

“I have a lot of questions, Ouranos. Mind if I get some answers

first?”

“I’ll allow it.”

Hestia had known Ouranos was the one who ordered the mis-
sion the moment she saw the hieroglyph message on the docu-
ment.

While she didn’t know how it would happen, she had had a
feeling that the two of them would meet face-to-face at some
point.

“Was this mission only your idea?”

“It was indeed. No Guild employees have been informed.”

“Are Bell and the others safe?”

“They’re in the Dungeon. There are no guarantees.”

Hestia’s first order of business was to ensure her followers

were safe. She frowned at the god dodging her question, but her
shoulders relaxed.
 I can still let him have it after I find out everything he has to
say, she promised herself before she reined herself in.

“Such an elaborate scheme…What’s with the roundabout

process?”

“It was necessary to take expedited measures to ensure our

meeting remains absolutely secret. I was prepared for you and
your followers to be wary.”

Most likely, Ouranos didn’t want anyone else to know that he

had summoned Hestia to the Chamber of Prayers. This forceful
method was probably chosen as the least risky course of action.

Hestia felt that they were being tested at the same time.

Ouranos knew from early on that Hestia and her familia were
harboring Wiene.

Everything that had transpired up to today, including the mis-

sion, happened under his watchful gaze.

He saw their decisions, their reactions.

It was all to determine whether or not she was worthy of an

audience with the deity.

“Am I correct in assuming that you’ve called me here because

of the vouivre girl—because of Wiene?”

Hestia changed her course of questioning.

The large, wizened god looked down at her from atop his altar.

“Just what is she? Do you know something, Ouranos?”

“……”
 “What is happening in the Dungeon right now? What are you
hiding?”

Ouranos remained silent as Hestia piled on more questions.

Her voice reverberated around the dark chamber. Before her

last words faded, Hestia asked the most important question yet.

“What is your will?”

Crackle! Sparks burst from one of the torches.

Ouranos slowly opened his mouth, his majestic form illumi-

nated on all sides by the flames.

Eyes as blue as the midday sky locked onto Hestia.

“I shall inform you, Hestia, of our secret…”

The clash of swords echoed through the labyrinth.

Slashes and their answering counterstrokes. A cutting edge

stopped in mid-swing, met by a blade and a burst of red sparks.

A shield immediately blocked the subsequent reprisal. The

warrior wielding the weapons felt the impact. Waves of pain shot
through its arm, and it let out a bloodcurdling roar through its
pulsating throat.

The deep, beastly roar filled the passageway and shook the
battle party to the core.

The Dungeon, twentieth floor.

Bell’s party had made good progress, pressing even deeper

into this floor they were seeing for the first time.

Not much different from the nineteenth, this level of the

Colossal Tree Labyrinth was overflowing with plant life. Its walls
covered in tree bark, the twentieth floor was a green maze that
dazzled adventurers who traveled through its halls. Their faces
were illuminated by the steady, dreamlike blue glow emanating
from the moss-covered walls.

Lilly guided the party through the halls using her map. The
monsters they encountered were similar to the ones upstairs,
with mad beetles and dark fungi, among others. Mikoto’s Skill,
Yatano Black Crow, kept them safe from ambushes, while Bell
and Welf knew how to deal with them on the front lines. The
group’s efficiency had improved, making their journey much
safer and faster than before.

However, a new enemy had appeared.

It was currently crossing blades with Bell and Welf.

“RUOOOHH!!”

“OO! OOOOOGH!”

The lizard warrior howled as it charged the party on two pow-

erful legs.

A blade’s flash catching their eye, the two young men blocked
it at the same time.

“These things are pretty damn good!”

Welf growled to himself, not taking his eyes away from the
red-scaled monsters called lizardmen.

Standing upright and wielding weapons in both arms, the two

monsters attacked much like adventurers would. About 170 celch
tall, they could look Welf in the eyes. Bell had fought against
many creatures in the Dungeon, but this was the first time he felt
as though he was engaging other adventurers in battle.

Mainly because these two monsters attacked with swords.

Their clawed fingers were wrapped around sword hilts and

shield grips.

“Flowers as nature weapons…?”

The two lizardmen were carrying “landforms”—naturally oc-

curring weapons that the Dungeon supplied.

These metallic flowers grew straight from the Dungeon walls.

Removing the stem from the flower resulted in a round shield
measuring fifty celch in diameter. What’s more, each of the petals
could be individually plucked from the flower, becoming daggers
as wide as swords and worthy of the nickname “cutters.”

The nature weapons they had encountered up to this point in-

cluded tree-stump clubs and stone tomahawks, but this was the
first piece of equipment that provided monsters with the offen-
sive and defensive support equivalent to an adventurer’s sword
and shield. Welf parried a cutter away from his body as a lizard-
man blocked Bell’s knife with its round shield.

“SHAAAAAAAAA!!”

The two adventurers were forced to simultaneously deal with

the tenacious lizardman assault and the ranged attacks of a gun
libellula mob coming from behind. The monsters used powerful
side sweeps, quick downward slashes, and sudden forward
thrusts to overwhelm them. The blows shattered the floor be-
neath them, and the two humans’ limbs trembled under the
strain of receiving the attacks.
 Their technique might have relied mostly on power, but it was
unmistakably swordsmanship.

“Monsters with sword skills…Well, guess what?!”

Welf yelled back at his unusually skilled foes.

The tables turned as soon as Mikoto and Lilly finished wiping

out the gun libellulas with a slew of arrows.

Welf blocked the lizardman’s following strike and, with a well-

timed twist of his blade, sent the creature’s flower-petal dagger
flying. He exploited the second it took for the disarmed lizardman
to regain its balance, raising his greatsword high into the air.

Surprised realization passed over the monster’s face as it lifted

its shield up to defend. Welf smirked at the useless gesture.

He then used every muscle in his body to bring down an over-

arching slash that cut straight through the shield and plunged
into the monster’s body.

“GEH—!”

Welf’s sword tore right through its magic stone. The lizardman
crumbled into ash before the halves of its shield hit the ground.

As the remaining lizardman reacted to seeing its companion

slain, Bell kicked off the ground with the speed of a rabbit.

“GAH!”

A crimson arc carved straight through the creature’s midsec-

tion as the boy slid by, holding Ushiwakamaru-Nishiki in a back-
hand grip.

The blade tore red scales off its body as it bit deep into its
flesh.

The creature staggered for a moment with a massive gash in

its torso before loudly collapsing to the ground behind Bell.

“That was a real surprise at first, but they’re really rough

around the edges. Those weren’t techniques.”

“Bear in mind that if monsters like that appear in greater

numbers…the way forward will become much more arduous.”

Welf returned his greatsword to his shoulder, scoffing at the

fallen monsters like a seasoned veteran, while Mikoto exchanged
an empty arrow quiver for her katana. Lilly and the supporters
quickly set to work, collecting magic stones from the battlefield.

“I wonder if any of them live long enough to learn how to do

more than just swing.”

“While Lilly can’t guarantee there aren’t…it wouldn’t make

sense, Mr. Welf. Once it was identified, the Guild would immedi-
ately issue a bounty for such a monster and send exterminators to
eliminate it.”

Bell listened to his allies’ conversation and thought about the

look of insatiable bloodlust in the lizardmen’s eyes. The battle
over, he led his party deeper into the Dungeon.

“Lilly…how far do we have to go?”

“According to the map, our destination is close. Please turn

right up ahead.”

They had diverted from the main route quite a while ago.

Lilly’s eyes never left the red circle over a room close to a
pantry in the back corner of this floor, their mission’s destination,
as she spoke.

Every party member could sense their anxiety increasing with

every step.

Backpacks over their shoulders, Lilly and Haruhime desper-

ately tried to hide their exhaustion and keep their nerves under
control.

Even Welf, who always lightened the mood with a few jokes,
was unusually quiet.

Mikoto’s Mind was little more than fumes after triggering her
Skill so many times. She took out a Dual Potion, drank the whole
thing, and silently wiped her mouth.

Bell led the group at the front, holding idle thoughts at bay
while keeping his eyes and ears wide open. He glanced back over
his shoulder.

Wiene looked up, her trembling amber eyes meeting his al-
most as if on cue. They seemed to exchange thoughts and feelings
in that long moment.

The inside of the girl’s hood was glowing red with the light of
the red jewel in her forehead.

The party encountered several more groups of monsters after

that.

The path required them to climb over a series of thick, matted

tree roots, up a hill, and through a thicket of lush plant life.

Until finally…

“We’re here…”
 They had arrived at their mission’s destination.

The room was a long rectangle about ten meders wide, and the
ceiling was just as tall. Tree bark covered the walls and canopy,
just like every room they had passed by on the way, and it was all
carpeted with Lamp Moss.

Green grass and an assortment of small white rings came to-

gether to form a flower bed growing out of the floor like a patch-
work garden.

However, they were not what the party noticed first.

“Quartz…”

Maybe because the pantry was nearby, but the deep-green

quartz that resembled emeralds stuck out from the floor, walls,
and ceiling in every direction. The verdant light of the rock for-
mations reminded Bell of the quest that he and Lilly once under-
took at Nahza’s request. For others like Haruhime, this was their
first time seeing quartz in every size and shape like this with their
own eyes. The sight took their breath away. The largest cluster
was situated at the other end of the room, directly facing the
party—and covering the wall almost like a miniature iceberg.

Other rooms located close to pantries had the same manner of

quartz formations.

“I’m glad to hear this is it, but…”

“There’s nothing to see and no one here…”

The group came to a stop at the entryway, Welf scanning the

chamber as Mikoto frowned.

There were no monsters waiting to greet them, let alone a

party of people. Everyone agreed that the quartz was beautiful,
but nothing special enough to designate this room as their mis-
sion’s destination.

Bell and his party stood in the room’s only entrance.

Of course, a way to go even deeper into the Dungeon from that

spot didn’t appear to exist.

“Lady Lilly, are you certain our location is accurate…?”

“I am absolutely sure. This…has to be correct.”

Lilly again examined her map, along with the one provided
with the mission document, as an uneasy Haruhime asked for
confirmation.

Bell paused in front of the tranquil room, the moss’s blue light
mixing with the quartz’s green in front of his eyes. He set foot in-
side.

The room was brighter than the path they had taken thanks to
the quartz. The party followed Bell, staying in a tight cluster in
case a monster came out of the Dungeon walls. They also kept
their eyes open for a clue as to why their mission had brought
them here.

But it was all for naught.

“There really is…nothing…”

“Dammit, Guild, what did you want us to do?”

At a loss for an explanation, they returned to the entrance.

Welf voiced the frustration everyone was feeling and massaged

his neck. Haruhime’s Level Boost was nearing its time limit, so
the motes of light hovering over his body were vanishing as they
spoke.

The fatigue they had been hiding, the exhaustion from relent-
lessly pressing forward through the Dungeon, had reached a
breaking point and weighed heavily on everyone’s shoulders.
Meanwhile, the white flowers at their feet gently swayed back and
forth.

—Now that I think about it, the ones watching us…

Bell raised his head from his spot in the middle of the party.

All the gazes he had sensed after they entered Babel Tower,
which had only increased once they arrived on the nineteenth
floor, had vanished.

There was no mistake. Whoever had been observing them was

gone.

Bell racked his brain, trying to figure out what it could mean,
when—

“ ”

Twitch.

Wiene’s pointed ears twitched again.

“I hear…”

“Huh?” Everyone’s attention suddenly focused on Wiene.

She looked over her shoulder to the opposite side of the room.
Her gaze fell on the wall of quartz on the other end.

No way…The party was in denial as they watched the vouivre

girl focus on sounds only she could hear. But once they tried…
 “ ”

…they could hear it, too.

It was a song none of them had ever heard before. Growing

louder, the reverberations rang in their ears.

Every eye went wide as the adventurers tried to find words.

“A song in the labyrinth…”

The tone was pure and steady, forming a melody that conjured
images of the ocean under a calm night sky. Lilly whispered to
herself, having heard about this somewhere before.

“Is it…calling?”

Wiene’s eyes opened fully as her gaze raced along the quartz
iceberg, trying to locate where the song was coming from.

The others had figured it out, too. The sound waves were com-
ing from even deeper in the Dungeon, from behind the cluster of
quartz crystals.

No one said a word as they climbed to their feet and drifted to

the wall as if the melody were magnetic.

They came to a stop in front of the gorgeous quartz formation.

It looked like one solid piece at first glance…but then they

found a dim spot among the crystals.

The song had grown so loud that now even the quartz vibrated
ever so slightly in time with each note. Exchanging glances,
everyone nodded.

Welf stepped forward, took aim with his sword—and brought

it down in one swift motion.
 Crash! The quartz broke into pieces, shattering like glass to re-
veal an alcove in the wall.

“…Well, how were we supposed to find that?”

Welf groaned, whispering at the opening.

The Dungeon always healed itself, repairing the damage it sus-

tained during battles, but quartz grew back abnormally fast. In
fact, the process was already under way. The party quickly strode
through the opening as new crystals formed before their eyes.

Shards of broken quartz littered the path under their feet as

they watched the entrance seal itself behind them.

“…Let’s go.”

The song was gone, as though it had served its purpose.

Peering down the slope into the depths of the tree, Bell urged
his allies forward.

Tension held them in its grip once again as the party formed a
line and pressed onward.

“Could this place be…?”

Lilly’s quiet voice trembled in through the dim, bark-covered

passageway.

While everyone knew exactly what she was trying to say, no

one spoke. Breathing as quietly as possible, the party was so on
edge that they became drenched in sweat.

The path was narrow, but there didn’t seem to be a danger of

monsters bursting from the walls. There was no Lamp Moss on
any surface. Small quartz crystals dotting the passage provided
just enough light for the adventurers to see one another and their
immediate surroundings.

Bell led the way. Wiene, directly behind him, reached out to
take his hand.

The boy didn’t say anything as he felt her thin fingers wrap
around his, giving them only a tight squeeze.

Having accepted the portable magic-stone lamp from Lilly in

one hand, Bell pointed forward with the other as the group con-
tinued their descent.

“…A spring.”

A body of cool, clear blue water awaited them at the bottom of

the hill.

The bottom of the wide pool appeared to be five meders deep.

It could have easily passed for a small pond.

The little light the quartz crystals provided glinted off the
water. Bell used the lamp to scan the room, sweeping the beam
from one end to the other.

“Looks like the path ends here…”

“That can’t be…The song came from here, did it not?”

Haruhime didn’t want to believe what Bell just said.

Casting light on the ceiling and the walls revealed only solid
bark. There were no openings that could possibly lead to another
path.

Lilly and Welf tilted their heads, examining the room in an ef-
fort to puzzle out what had happened to the mysterious singer.
 “…?”

That was when Mikoto discovered something on the water’s

surface.

A single floating golden feather.

The idea came to her as she stood transfixed by the feather’s

speckled, golden sparkle.

“Sir Bell, the light.”

Mikoto approached the shore with purpose in her stride.

The light from Bell’s lamp passed through the clear water,
reaching the bottom with ease.

As every detail came to light, Mikoto caught a glimpse of an

opening in the submerged wall leading away from this apparent
dead end.

“I have a theory…”

Mikoto spoke as she removed her katana, armor, and the rest
of her equipment from her body.

Down to a single layer of battle cloth, she dove into the water.
Trained in the unforgiving rivers of the Far East, she used her
ninja-like coordination to glide through the water toward the
opening like a fish.

Wiene, Bell, and the others watched with bated breath…Bub-

bles rose before Mikoto’s head breached the surface a few sec-
onds later.

She pushed the wet hair plastered to her face out of her eyes
before giving a firm nod to her allies above.
 They all exchanged glances and began to disrobe.

Mikoto briefly emerged to collect her katana and knives. They

followed her example, leaving everything but the essentials be-
hind before entering the water. Lilly and Haruhime removed
their Goliath Robes and backpacks, filling small pouches with as
many items as they could fit.

Joining Mikoto and Ouka on trips to nearby rivers in her

youth had served Haruhime well. She swam with relative ease
while Welf walked along the bottom, weighted down by the mas-
sive sword he refused to leave behind. Lilly held her dagger-
length magic blade tight against her body as she zipped through
the water like a minnow. Wiene, who had been reluctant, held on
to Bell’s arm as he helped her in.

The water blurred their vision and chilled their skin as they
filed into the hole.

It opened into a long submerged passageway that was illumi-

nated by quartz crystals poking out of the bottom as if to guide
the way.

Their Statuses allowed them to hold their breath much longer

than the average person could. Mikoto led them to a fork in the
underwater path. Once there, the group noticed light filtering
down from above and changed course.

Kicking their legs as fast as they could, the party made a break
for the surface.

“—Pwah!”

Their heads popped out of the water one by one only to find
what resembled a limestone grotto instead of the wooden alcove
from whence they came. With black stone walls extending in
every direction, only the dim quartz light remained consistent.
The party climbed out of the water, Wiene and Haruhime shaking
their bodies to dry off.

Bell was quick to find a new path in the blackness—one lead-

ing even deeper into the rocky labyrinth.

“So this is…” said Lilly, appalled, as she peered into the dark,
unexplored corner of the Dungeon.

“…‘Frontier.’”

The Guild possessed a great deal of Dungeon map data.

While it was being used to assist modern-day adventurers, it

was the adventurers who came before them as well as the brave
explorers from the Ancient Times who had originally gathered it.
These people had blazed the trail with no knowledge, putting
their lives on the line to discover new routes and make maps of
every floor. These were grand achievements.

However, there were still areas yet to be explored.

The Dungeon was far too immense to ever be completely

mapped.

People sometimes overlooked branching passageways in the

never-ending journey deep into the Dungeon.

There were also special cases like this one, where pristine ter-
rain had yet to be touched by explorers.

“Frontier.”

Just as the name suggested, no one had ever been here before.

It wasn’t recorded on any map—not even top-class adventur-

ers knew this area existed. Lilly, Bell, and the rest of the party
gaped at the thought.

“……”

A large opening connected to what seemed like a dark abyss.

Bell’s party quietly took their first steps.

They fell into formation around Wiene. Bell held the magic-
stone lamp high as everyone followed his path.

Quartz crystals provided nothing more than a slight glimmer.

The lamp’s beam was all they had to cleave through the darkness.
They were so on edge, a few confused their own heartbeats for
far-off footsteps and the rock crunching beneath their feet as a
sign of danger. The passage was quiet, but the party heard every
little sound. Without the occasional familiar monster cry in the
background, the silence was deafening.

There was no way to know what creatures they would en-

counter.

Should an as-of-yet-undocumented Dungeon gimmick or an

Irregular occur, death was a very real possibility.

This was pure, unbridled “unknown.”

Their throats were dry, but their skin was slick with perspira-
tion. Their five senses were focused beyond their intended limits.
Their minds had never endured such stress, and yet, at the same
time, they also felt sharper than ever before. Nothing was more
reassuring than a familiar hilt in their grasp. The “unknown” re-
vealed more of itself with each step, just like it had for their fore-
bears.

Bell led the party farther and farther into the Frontier. Just as
everyone’s anxiety hit its peak, the rocky tunnel’s end came into
view.

“It’s dark…”

And it opened up.

Bell and Welf were suddenly freed from the claustrophobia

that plagued them in the tunnel. This new space was extremely
wide, overwhelmingly so. The words that fell from Welf’s lips re-
sounded off into the darkness.

This was probably a large room. However, it was pitch black.

The lamp’s illumination couldn’t penetrate far enough into the

darkness to find the opposite wall.

“……Um, Mikoto.”

“Sir Bell?”

“Are there any…monsters in here?”

“N-no, not as far as I can tell…”

Bell struggled to control his trembling voice as he asked.

Something was there.

There was definitely something in here.

More somethings than he could count were watching them.

They hid in the darkness, masking their presence while ob-

serving the adventurers’ every move.

Terror crept into Bell’s veins as he realized how very many

eyes were looking at him.
 Mikoto’s Skill couldn’t detect them. That left only three possi-
bilities: these were people, they were monsters they hadn’t en-
countered before, or they were simply lurking just outside Yatano
Black Crow’s range.

A fresh wave of cold sweat ran down Bell’s neck as his mind
raced. He had to issue orders, get Haruhime to recast her Level
Boost, make sure Wiene was protected, and so on.

However, there wasn’t time.

An incredible killing intent swelled within the darkness.

““““““!!””””””

It swept over Bell, Lilly, Welf, Mikoto, Haruhime, and Wiene

like a jolt of electricity.

The animosity was intense enough to halt these upper-class

adventurers in their tracks.

Suddenly, thud thud thud THUD THUD THUD!! The unmis-

takable sound of feet charging directly at them reached their ears.

At the same time, whoosh! Several feathered wings took flight.

“!!”

Bell’s left hand guided the lamplight toward the closest on-
coming sound.

The beam cut through the darkness, but Bell could make out
only one thing—scarlet scales.

“—RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”

Bell’s eyes flew open as he recognized the reptilian-warrior

howl.
 —A lizardman?!

A lizardman with bloodshot eyes didn’t give Bell a chance to

attack as it stepped deep inside his space.

The lizardman wielded a long curved blade in its left hand—a

scimitar. A flash of silver scythed down with blinding speed.

“ ”

The invisible swordsmanship stole Bell’s breath away.

The Hestia Knife in the boy’s right hand had moved to the
right place out of sheer luck.

The two blades collided directly in front of his chest.

Immediately after, he felt the impact with his entire body,

making his vision swim before hurling him to the side.

“Bell!”

The boy slammed into the ground, rolling away from the party
as Welf’s yell reverberated through the room.

The lamp fell from Bell’s grasp, and a reptilian foot crushed it
beneath its talons.

With the light source gone, the area was plunged back into
darkness.

“What the hell is going on—?!”

“HYAA!!”

“—?!”

Welf’s heart was racing in his darkened surroundings when a

small shadow zipped toward him.

He promptly raised his greatsword overhead, where it crashed

into something with a high-pitched metallic ring. The impact was
strong enough to drive him to his knees.

Sparks scattering from the collision briefly revealed the at-

tacker: a diminutive monster wearing a red hat.

“A goblin?!”

The plump bottom-rung monster disappeared into the veil of

darkness. Welf watched with stunned eyes, unable to believe its
strength.

“!”

“!!”

Even farther back in the rear guard, Mikoto recognized the

sound of projectile weapons whistling through the air. Jumping
over to land by Wiene, she deflected the shots with a sweep of her
katana.

“—Feathers?!”

In the instant it took her precise blade to repel the projectiles,

she realized what they were as they fluttered before her eyes.

Still recovering from the shock, she realized another volley of

feathers was heading right at her from the same direction.

“Everyone! Wiene!”

“GAAAAAH!!”

“!”
 Bell had gotten back on his feet while yelling in his party’s di-
rection, but then another flash of silver descended upon him.

He dodged the lizardman’s blade by the slimmest of margins,

and the monster howled as it pressed the attack.

Bell moved to engage an opponent he could barely see.

“Wh-what in the world is…?!”

A metallic ring echoed in the chamber; a burst of sparks scat-

tered through the air. The bestial howls combined with the ad-
venturers’ panicked gasps in the chaos.

Bell’s party was forced into a desperate last stand, relying only
on sound. The battle left Haruhime powerless to do anything. In
the obfuscating dark, the pandemonium reached a fever pitch.

“!”

At that moment…

Lilly’s hand, which had plunged into her spare pouch the mo-
ment combat began, brushed against what it was so desperately
searching for. While fighting against fear and panic, the devoted
supporter of the party made a quick decision and grabbed what
she needed to overcome their trial.

She pulled a small bag out of her pouch, opened it, and flung it
forward with all her might.

“Lamp Moss!”

“!”

“?!”

The bioluminescent substance spilled out, spreading across

the ground.

It was the Lamp Moss Lilly had harvested on the nineteenth

floor.

Pieces of the Colossal Tree Labyrinth’s primary light source

lifted the shroud of darkness surrounding them.

Friend and foe alike were caught by surprise as the battlefield

came into view.

“…!”

That’s when Bell’s party definitively learned the true identity

of their attackers.

“Huuooo!”

“OooOOooOO…!”

A lizardman, a goblin, and a harpy flapping its wings in midair

appeared.

The species of monsters might have been different, but they

each had one thing in common: all of them had equipment,
whether scimitar or hand ax, shield or armor.

“Monsters…!

“…With weapons…!”

Bell and Welf could hardly believe their eyes.

Both clearly remembered the posting on the Guild’s bulletin

board:

A report stating that monsters had been seen stealing equip-

ment from adventurers or looting it from dead bodies in the Dun-
geon. It had even displayed a sketch of them with the gear. Both
young men felt as though that drawing had come to life.

“H-how many of them are there…?!”

At the same time, Lilly was more distracted by the other mon-
sters farther back.

In addition to the harpy, a gargoyle and a griffin circled the

space above their heads. Meanwhile, on the ground
were…lamias, al-miraj, formoires, war shadows, the humanoid
spider called arachne, unicorns…The horde was composed of
myriad monsters hailing from the upper, middle, lower, and even
deep levels of the Dungeon. The space almost seemed big enough
to fit the surface’s Coliseum, and the number of eyes watching
them in the room made Mikoto and Haruhime turn pale.

Wiene fearfully looked around at the numerous monsters that

had many of the same features she did.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

The lizardman facing Bell let out a ferocious roar, and the
other monsters started to move all at once.

The blue-green light emerging from the ground illuminated

claws and fangs as well as the raised swords and axes.

“All these guys…!!”

“They’re after Lady Wiene?!”

The attacking monsters’ weapons were all aiming for the

vouivre girl at the center of their party.

Breathing ragged and eyes filled with bloodlust, they headed

for Wiene with drool spilling from their mouths. Welf and Mikoto
desperately tried to hold back the onslaught threatening to over-
whelm them.

“The magic sword isn’t an option like this…!”

The battle had transformed completely into a wild melee in the

darkness. Engaging the monsters in hand-to-hand combat, Welf
and Mikoto could potentially get caught up in the blast.

The chamber’s entrance, their only escape route, had been

blocked off at some point during the fight. Lilly yelled in frustra-
tion, frowning as she loosed a barrage of arrows into the air only
to have the harpies overhead launch a volley of feathers in her di-
rection.

“Lilly! Haruhime!”

“Lady Wiene!”

As the attack neared the supporters, Wiene shielded them with

her one wing.

Haruhime and Lilly embraced the girl as her peculiar ap-

pendage spread open. The pain and shock from the attack drew a
groan from her.

“I-it hurts…”

Another round of feather missiles descended on the girl—but

then Bell turned toward them from his distant location.

“—FIREBOLT!!”

A roar.

Swift-Strike Magic streaked across the chamber to protect

Wiene and the girls.
 Several thunderous bursts of flame cut through the darkness
and collided with the harpy and the griffin in midair. Shrieking in
pain, the monsters fell to the ground in a trail of smoke. The gar-
goyle, along with the other airborne fiends, used their wings to
shield themselves from the magical attack like Wiene had done
earlier.

“SHAAAAA!!”

“!”

The snarling lizardman charged forward and slashed at Bell as

if to remind him who his opponent actually was.

Bell had been interrupted in the middle of launching more

ranged attacks and only barely managed to dodge.

The lizardman carried two weapons: a longsword in its right

hand, a scimitar in its left. A breastplate was firmly strapped to its
chest over its scarlet scales. Metal plates covered its forearms,
waist, shoulders, and knees, protecting the vital areas. The equip-
ment might not have been the highest quality, but the lizardman
could be described as fully armed and armored, standing a head
and shoulders taller than Bell.

Bell grimaced as he drew Ushiwakamaru-Nishiki and faced his

opponent with double knives.

This lizardman…It’s strong!

Not only was its first strike fast enough to create afterimages,
it was smart enough to exploit the darkness for offense and de-
fense.

Being on the receiving end of the monster’s onslaught, Bell

was well aware of the creature’s potential. There was no compari-
son between this lizardman and the one he fought earlier on the
twentieth floor. Its strength, speed, and skill with the sword were
in a different league. Welf might have been joking around about
one of them honing its technique, but this monster fit that de-
scription. The possibility that this could be some subspecies of
lizardman popped into the back of his head.

In terms of Level, the monstrous warrior could be beyond him

—while only a guess, Bell couldn’t shake the thought.

Bell’s rubellite locked onto his foe. It glared back at him, run-
ning its tongue eagerly back and forth behind its sharp fangs.

He would never reach Wiene and the girls without winning

this fight.

Silencing every doubt, the boy held nothing back as he charged

forward to defeat the lizardman.

“Hya!”

“GRWAAA!!”

The Hestia Knife slashed forward, leaving an arc of violet light

in its path while the monster’s longsword came down with its full
strength behind it.

The two closed upon each other and collided.

““!””

The blow confirmed Bell’s suspicions. The lizardman was in-

credibly powerful.

At the same time, the lizardman was taken aback by the boy’s
incredible speed.

Rubellite eyes met reptilian pupils.

 The faintest of grins appeared on Bell’s lips, and the lizardman
bared its fangs in what resembled a ferocious smile.

““—OOOOAAAAHHHHH!!””

Bell and the lizardman roared at the top of their lungs as they
crossed blades again in a flurry of strikes.

“Li’l E—do it!”

—Elsewhere, Welf stood as the last line of defense holding

back the advancing horde.

He yelled over his shoulder, using the flat part of his blade as a
shield against the onslaught.

“But—”

“JUST DO IT!!”

The formoire laid into his makeshift defense with a metallic

club. Knowing that the next block might be his last, Welf wasn’t
about to let Lilly object. The prum was hesitant, glancing to the
other side only to see Mikoto fighting for her life against several
monsters at once.

Tightening her grip on the glistening dagger-shaped magic

sword, Lilly bit her lip before finally hardening her resolve.

“FIRING!!”

With that, she swung the red dagger with all her might.

A river of flames surged from the Crozzo Magic Sword in a

straight line.

Welf and Mikoto noticed a sudden wave of red light in their

periphery and immediately dropped to the ground. Using their
incredibly quick reflexes, the monsters jumped out of the fire’s
path at the last moment. The beasts shrank away as a corner of
the room erupted into a ball of flames.

“AHHHH!!”

“RUOOO!!”

Bell’s battle with the lizardman continued unabated, the two

going blow for blow as flames danced in the background.

Their profiles were cast in a soft orange light as longsword and

knife collided. The scimitar streaked through the air, only to be
intercepted by a crimson blade. Then as a violet slash arced for-
ward, the longsword halted its advance.

The monster had displayed a powerful fighting style that in-

cluded fierce kicks and an approach to swordsmanship that made
good use of its combat instincts, all backed by sharp, unyielding
counterattacks.

Bell’s body became a blur, and the lizardman’s blades sliced

through empty air. Sparks erupted from the armor that stopped
the boy’s attack. The monster knocked him backward, but not be-
fore a line of scarlet scales was ripped from its body in a spray of
dark-red blood.

Then…

“SHAA!”

“WHA—?!”

Their stalemate was broken.

Bell was trapped between the scimitar and the longsword.

Caught in simultaneous attacks on the left and right, he blocked
both weapons with his knives. In that moment, something flew in
from an impossible angle and nailed him in the stomach.

—A tail!!

The third strike came from an appendage as thick as a log.

The completely unforeseen attack from a creature that

shouldn’t be very experienced fighting adventurers sent Bell reel-
ing.

It was the perfect final blow. Striking from an angle that the
boy never thought to defend, the lizardman’s tail knocked Bell off
his feet. Now was the monster’s chance to finish him off, and it
used the opportunity to drive its clawed foot into Bell’s chest in a
powerful kick.

The boy hurtled backward through the air.

“GAH!”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

The lizardman declared victory with a roar as Bell’s body

bounced deeper into the room like a river rushing through broken
levees.

He lost his grip on the Hestia Knife and Ushiwakamaru-

Nishiki, and the weapons flew from his hands.

The lizardman warrior wasted no time in turning around,

shifting focus to its original prey. Its bloodshot eyes landed on the
vouivre girl surrounded by adventurers, and it charged.

“ !!”

Wiene reflexively cringed in fright at the pounding footfalls

and savage roar.

Cutting straight across the scorched battlefield, the lizardman

raised its longsword high overhead.

The monster’s long shadow fell over the girl unable to stand
when…

“No!!”

“!”

Haruhime jumped in front of her, arms open wide as Lilly em-

braced Wiene, placing her own body in front like a shield.

Two more shadows jumped into the fray as the strike hurtled
toward its target.

“Oh no you don’t!!”

“I won’t let you!!”

A terribly battered Welf and Mikoto brought their greatsword

and katana crashing into the longsword.

Two blades came together in time to catch the longsword.

Their weapons audibly groaned as the two adventurers fought the
incredible power and weight—and then it stopped.

The longsword came to a halt a tiny distance from Haruhime,

who was positioned directly in front of Wiene.

Rattle rattle rattle! The lizardman tried to force its weapon

forward, its orpiment-colored reptilian eyes wide with shock at
the strength of the humans holding it back.

“ ”
 Just then…ring, ring.

The lizardman’s ears picked up a chime.

Shifting its gaze to the source of the sound, it saw an adven-

turer bounding toward it like a blood-splattered rabbit. And then
a punch of bright white light.

A five-second charge.

Bell’s eyes flashed as he unleashed every bit of anger with his

entire body.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Impact.

“GOHOO!”

The glowing fist collided with the lizardman’s cheekbone.

Several broken scarlet scales soared through the air. Now it

was the lizardman’s turn to be sent flying.

The blades fell from its grasp and loudly tumbled across the
floor.

It worked…!

Bell had used his Skill, Argonaut, while moving at high speed.

Seeing Wiene in danger had provided him with an extra spark

of emotion and determination. Up until now, he’d been able to
charge Argonaut only with his feet firmly planted on the ground.
The situation had forced him to do a Concurrent Charge.

The lizardman bounced off the ground and hurtled through

the air into a pitch-black stalagmite a good distance away, finally
coming to a stop.

The other monsters had fallen back, forgetting to even bellow

after seeing the magic sword’s destructive potential. Silence hung
in the air.

At the same time, Bell paid no attention to his numerous in-

juries and stood with his back to Wiene, ready to face the next
challenger.

“GEH—”

Clawed fingertips digging into the floor, the lizardman pulled

itself up using the stalagmite for support.

Still seated on the ground, the monster made a noise in its

throat—when it suddenly lifted its head and cried out toward the
ceiling:

“GUH-GYA-GYA-GYA-GYA-GYA-GYA!!”

Bell, Wiene, and the rest of the party watched in disbelief.

The murderous aura and rage that had been washing over
them just moments ago were gone. It was almost comical to see a
lizardman holding its gut and cackling like this.

Scanning the room again, the party realized that the other
monsters’ threatening glares had disappeared as well.

“GYA-GYA-GYA-GYA-GYA—!”

Slowly but surely, the cackling cries began to change.

“—HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!”

They started to sound much more like a person’s laughter.

 “Eh…?”

“Wha…?”

Haruhime’s and Lilly’s astonishment at the sound was plain

on their faces. Welf, Mikoto, and Bell were just as dumbfounded.

Unable to comprehend what they were seeing, there was noth-

ing to do but stand and stare.

Realization started to set in. Each member of the party

glanced at Wiene before returning their gaze to the lizardman.

“That’s new! Never met adventurers like these before!!”

Never in the familia’s wildest dreams had any of them ex-

pected a lizardman to start speaking, let alone with this level of
fluency.

The monster happily slapped its knees a few times before

climbing to its feet.

“Adventurers willing to sacrifice themselves to save a monster!

Haaah! Don’t know what this feeling is, but I like it!”
“—Didn’t I tell you, Lido? These ones are different.”

Flap! A new set of wings took flight.

A single golden feather fluttered to the ground from overhead.

One of the winged monsters—a siren—glided down.

“I know that voice…”

“There’s no way…”

Bell and Welf flinched as soon as they heard the new voice’s
unusual inflection. The golden-winged siren landed with a smile
on its face.
“So we meet again.”

One look at the monster’s sky-blue eyes was all Bell and Welf
needed to be certain.

It was the strange robed person—no, monster—they had en-

countered on the nineteenth floor.

Seeing her face for the first time, they were shocked at just
how warm and friendly she seemed. Neither Bell nor Welf could
string words together to respond.

Just like Wiene’s, her beauty was breathtaking. Her long, dull
golden hair was light blue at the tips. Not unlike the half-hu-
man/half-bird harpy’s, both of her elongated forearms formed
beautiful golden wings. Similarly colored feathers covered most
of her lower body, the exception being the birdlike talons on her
feet.

As she wore a battle cloth that Amazons would have approved

of over her pronounced bust, her un-feathered stomach was com-
pletely exposed.

The siren standing in front of them was a far cry from the fero-
cious beasts they had heard of that froze adventurers in their
tracks with earsplitting screams.

“Yeah, it’s just as you said, Rei! These guys are different!”

The lizardman addressed the golden-feathered siren, Rei, as it

giddily approached the group, its thick tail swaying back and
forth.

The two monsters walked right up to Bell as the other party

members watched in various states of shock. Lilly was perfectly
still, slack-jawed. Mikoto was confused beyond words, and
Haruhime tried to figure out what to do.

“Sorry about that. You were too fast for me to hold back.”

“Umm…huh? I…um……”

It took Bell several moments to understand that the lizardman

was talking about the battle that had just ended.

And for good reason. The monster that nearly killed him mo-
ments ago was suddenly more interested in having a conversation
than cutting him to shreds.

“First off, let me apologize. We’ve been testing you from the
start.”

“Test…ing…?”

“Yeah. We had to know if adventurers had truly taken in one

of our comrades or not. Would they abandon her at the first sign
of danger? Use her as a decoy to make their escape…?”

Those words surprised not only Bell but the entire party.
Wiene was no different.

“We’ll explain the details later, but…I’m sorry for scaring you
like that and inflicting so much pain.”

“……!”

“Thank you for protecting our comrade all this time.”

The lizardman no longer felt like an enemy. In fact, it appar-

ently had never intended to kill them in the first place.

Its lowered reptilian head and sincere voice all but confirmed
it.
 Next, the lizardman shifted its gaze to Wiene and opened its
mouth to speak. However, the startled girl dashed for the safety
of Haruhime’s shadow.

The lizardman chuckled to itself, not reproaching her in the

slightest. Giving up on the endeavor for now, it turned back to
Bell.

Urhh…

Bell was in serious agony, with open cuts all over his body and
a throbbing pain in his chest where the creature’s foot had con-
nected that showed no signs of dulling. But the ache couldn’t be
farther from his mind.

Sharp claws and fangs; skin covered in scales. These were not
familiar traits for a person. And yet the lizardman was interacting
with Bell, a human, without making him fear for his life as any
other monster would.

A lizard warrior equipped with adventurers’ gear.

A talking monster.

The same as Wiene.

“I’m Lido; as you can see, I’m a lizardman. Nice to meet you,
Bell Cranell.”

“H-h-how do you know my…?”

“Ahh, I heard it from Fels.”

—Well, they were the same to a point. Wiene had a mostly hu-
manoid form, making her appearance easier to accept.

That was the main difference between the lizardman looking

down at him from just above eye level and the vouivre girl. He
bore a perfect resemblance to others of his species. If a wolf
walked up to a lamb and tried to start a conversation, the peace-
ful grazer would probably have the same reaction.

Bell’s mind was moving too fast to pay any attention to the
word that sounded like a name. On the verge of passing out, he
managed to come back into the moment.

“Hey, mind if I call you ‘Bellucchi’?” Lido asked.

“Uh, um, sure…G-go ahead.”

The lizardman narrowed its reptilian eyes, focused on Bell.

Smiling…perhaps? It wasn’t the hungry stare that hunters

wore in front of their prey.

Many thoughts ran through Bell’s mind as he looked into the

lizard’s squinting eyes, but it was difficult to make sense of any of
them.

“Bellucchi.”

“Y-yes?”

“Let’s shake hands.”

Huh?

Bell came back into the moment as its right hand appeared in
front of him.

It was covered in red scales and protected by a metallic glove,

its fingers ending in sharp claws.

Pupils shrinking to nothing but red dots, Bell stared at the

hand hovering in front of him.
 He knew what following through on the gesture would mean,
and it made him feel faint.

“M-Master Bell…” “Sir Bell…” “Bell…” “Mr. Bell!”

His allies couldn’t bear the tension and called out to him, but
they didn’t move from where they stood.

Haruhime was pale as a ghost, Mikoto dizzy and on the verge

of becoming physically ill, Welf unable to hide his anxiety, and
Lilly struggling with her growing alarm.

All of them knew that what they were seeing defied logic. They
called out to their leader, voices like hands desperately reaching
out to stop a fall.

“……”

Sweat poured from Bell’s skin. It wouldn’t stop flowing.

A handshake. A sign of friendship. A bridge between man and

monster. Unprecedented. “Unknown.”

Bell couldn’t help but feel that he was making a mistake some-
how. It seemed like the instinct to refuse that right hand and turn
away was overwhelmingly correct. His completely nonfunctioning
mind thought so.

He wanted nothing more than to run away from a decision

that would turn all common sense on its head.

However, the lizardman was patient.

He waited for Bell to either make a move or reject the offer.

He was afraid.

Bell was terrified.

 Of those fangs, those claws, all those scales. Of the reptilian
gaze, of the creature’s terrifying visage.

Every fiber of his being wanted to put as much space as possi-

ble between himself and the lizardman looking down at him.

Logic screamed in his ears that it would be easier to listen to

reason and flee.

But.

Bell glanced over his shoulder.

“Ah…eh, uh……”

He saw the vouivre girl’s bewildered eyes.

He thought back to when they first met, remembering how he

felt during that fateful encounter.

“…”

Finally…

Bell smiled.

A bit clumsily.

—If this is a mistake, I’d rather make it for the right reason.

“A-hem.” He cleared his throat.

And worked up his courage.

“………P-pleased to meet you.”

Bell stiffly stretched his lips and took hold of the extended
hand.
 Haruhime and Mikoto watched with bated breath. Welf
flashed a grin and let his shoulders relax. Lilly looked up at the
ceiling and let out a long sigh.

Bell shook hands with a monster.

“—Pleasure’s all mine!”

The lizardman—no, Lido—bared more of his fangs in a broad

grin and gave Bell’s hand a firm shake.

One heartbeat later—“WOOOOOOO!!”

The adventurers nearly leaped out of their skins as a burst of

sound roared through the room.

The monsters that had been just as anxiously watching Lido

and Bell as the adventurers—they were celebrating.

The red-cap goblin applauded. Harpies on the ground skipped

excitedly. The formoire pumped its fists into the air, albeit slowly.
al-miraj hopped around in circles. The cheers continued.

Friendship between man and monster—this day would go

down in history, and all were elated to be a part of it.

“Hey, over there, hit the lights!”

Lido’s booming voice cut through the celebration to issue or-

ders.

Hellhounds and other agile monsters brought the magic-stone

lamps out from hiding places in the rock landscape and flipped
them on using claws or fangs.

“Monsters…using magic-stone lamps…”

 Mikoto was dumbfounded at the sight of monsters operating
the man-made devices.

Harpies had already taken to the air and started pulling back
pieces of thick cloth to reveal the quartz crystals hidden under-
neath.

Every detail of the limestone cavern-like room came to light in

a matter of moments.

“—A g-green dragon?!”

“One of those was in here the whole time…?”

Far away from the entrance where the party stood, a dragon
more than ten meders long lay at the base of a quartz pillar. Its
body covered in scars, the wizened beast observed the adventur-
ers with quiet eyes that seemed to contain the wisdom of count-
less years. Lilly and Welf recoiled at the presence that had been
watching them from the shadows.

“Please, let me greet the surface dwellers!” “Uuuu…” “Me too!”

Some who could speak, others who could not, as well as those
who had difficulty with pronouncing words—every sort of mon-
ster gathered in front of Bell.

“I have heard stories about you. It is an honor to make your

acquaintance, Signor Bell.”

“S-Signor?”
“To be able to shake your hand, I am very happy!”

“Th-thanks.”
“I’m Laura. Good to meet you.”
 “N-nice to meet you, too…”
“……”

“Eep!”

The red-cap goblin who called him “Signor” was the first in
line as monsters approached Bell one at a time to shake his hand.
His face had gone entirely stiff, and at times he would quietly
shriek—such as when a silent large-category monster, a formiore,
held out its massive hand toward him.
“I apologize for the late introduction. I am Rei, a siren.”

“I’m…B-Bell Cranell.”
“Yes, I am aware…Bell, thank you for saving my comrade.”

The siren from before came to exchange greetings with the

young boy as well. She offered her wing, the tip extended out like
a finger. Bell clasped it.

Feeling the soft feathers in his hand and noticing Rei’s ravish-
ing smile, he blushed bright red.

“They’re all happy, too. They’re glad to meet a person who

doesn’t reject us.”

The lizardman warrior, smiling from ear to ear, watched the

monsters approach Bell one after another, sometimes shaking his
hand again and again.

Bell looked around after hearing Lido’s comment.

The gentlemanly red-cap goblin, the harpies bursting with

emotion, the lamia that spoke in halting sentences, the silent war
shadow…It didn’t matter if they could speak or not, or even if
they were humanoid or monsterlike, Bell could see consciousness
in every one of the monsters who came to shake his hand. Some
had tiny palms, others were large and covered in fur, but every
one of them was warm.

As an indescribable feeling swelled within Bell, the monsters

chanced glances over in the direction of Lilly and the other ad-
venturers.

However, Welf and the others uncomfortably avoided the in-

coming gazes.

“…Uuuu.”

As for Wiene…

She watched the cluster of monsters surrounding Bell like a

child whose treasure was about to be stolen from her.

“Kuuu…”

“A-al-miraj…”

She watched as a new, smaller monster briskly stepped up to

Bell. It wore a loose blue battle jacket and had a broken pocket
watch hanging around its neck like a pendant. The white rabbit
looked up at the boy with cute round red eyes. Bell bent over, the
same awkward smile on his face as he held out his hand.

“Kuuu!” The al-miraj wiggled its long ears and leaped at him.

“H-hey, wait, that tickles…! Wh-why are you licking me?”

“Aruru…She cannot speak, but it seems she’s taken a liking to you.”

“When you say ‘she’—it’s a girl?!”

The al-miraj had already jumped onto his chest and was hap-
pily licking his cheek when Rei offered an explanation. Bell al-
most screamed hysterically. Lilly and the other adventurers
weren’t sure what to say as they watched the indescribable scene
of two “rabbits” frolicking together—and that was when the
dragon girl finally exploded.

Rushing out from her hiding spot behind Haruhime, she ran
straight for Bell.

“N-no! You can’t have Bell, no!!”

“Kuu?!” The al-miraj yelped as the vouivre girl physically

pulled her away and latched on to Bell’s arm.

The monster came bouncing back, hopping adorably to

protest. But Wiene let out an “Uuuu!” and wouldn’t retreat even
one step, which was when she noticed—

—that she was surrounded by monsters, and they were all

looking at her.

The creatures that were as fantastical in appearance as she,

the ones she’d been too afraid to face, were now right in front of
her.

The siren Rei stepped forward, and Wiene tightened her grip
on Bell as she approached.
“Would you please share your name with me?”

“…Wiene.”
“Wiene…It’s a very good name.”

Rei smiled at the quiet voice.

Wiene blushed, squirming as though she were being tickled

after the compliment on the name Bell and the others had given
her.
 A few moments passed before a winged hand was extended to
her.

The vouivre girl hesitated, fearfully reached out with her own
hand several times, then quietly settling into a grip.

The golden-winged siren smiled with her blue eyes.

“A pleasure to meet you, our new comrade. No one here will hurt you. We welcome
you.”

Just as the boy and his familia had done, she had been ac-
cepted as a “comrade.” Wiene’s amber eyes opened wide.

Touched by the kindness and acceptance, she quietly wept.

After the soft wingtip reached out and dried her tears, the
smallest of smiles bloomed on the girl’s face.

The surrounding monsters howled to the ceiling, as though

giving their blessings.

“…Um, please tell me.”

Around the time the echoes started to die down…

Still not fully grasping the situation around him, Bell spoke
while still hugging Wiene.

“All of you, and Wiene—what are you?”

It was what they’d been trying to find out ever since the day
they met the fantastical girl. Bell and the party wanted to know
the answer to that question more than anything else.

Every monster turned to face the adventurers.

As the representative of the group, the golden-winged siren

answered.
“We are Xenos.”

“—Xenos?”

Hestia whispered under the light of the crackling torches.

Ouranos, still seated on his throne, nodded in response.

“That’s how we refer to them…Monsters endowed with intelli-

gence.”

In the Chamber of Prayers beneath Guild Headquarters, the

elderly deity, who knew everything about the situation, informed
Hestia as to Wiene’s true identity.

Xenos…A word that gods and goddesses used to describe

heretics.

They were anomalies expunged from the established system.

“You’re saying that Wiene is also one of these Xenos, or what-

ever you call it?”

“Indeed. All of them share one thing in common: an intellect

that far exceeds what is normal for monsters…They possess the
capability to understand—but more important, they all have
hearts that are in no way inferior to our children in terms of will
and emotions.”

“……!”

“Abnormal monsters that aren’t dominated by the urge to

murder and destroy…”
 Hestia almost forgot to breathe as she listened to Ouranos
bring these facts to light.

His voice continued to resound in the Chamber of Prayers,

adding that the human-shaped monsters looked almost no differ-
ent from the people who inhabited the mortal realm.

“As for when the Xenos first appeared, it is not known. How-
ever, those of us who have observed them with our own eyes and
come in contact with them have ever since offered them support
under the pretext of ‘protection.’”

“Support…? The Guild is supporting monsters?!”

What the hell are you thinking?! Hestia was about to embark
on a rant when something occurred to her.

She and her followers had done exactly the same thing for the
vouivre girl. They had harbored and continued protecting her.

It was just as Ouranos said. That pure, innocent girl had a

heart of her own, no different from Bell or any of her other chil-
dren.

The elderly god did not budge as he watched Hestia’s mouth

snap shut. Then he continued.

“This mission’s purpose was to return a Xenos who had

reached the surface back to her allies in the Dungeon. That Xenos
is none other than the vouivre girl you and your children have
been protecting, Hestia.”

“…I won’t bother asking how long you’ve known. Just tell me
where Bell and my children are going right now…”

“They should be headed to where the Xenos reside—their Hid-

den Village.”
 The mission had been to take Wiene home.

The unrest spreading throughout the city after the other

night’s commotion must have been the impetus for creating the
mission.

Hestia let that idea sink in. At the same time, a new question
arose. The goddess couldn’t stay silent.

“Ouranos, why did you bother asking us to carry it out at all?

Couldn’t you have kidnapped Wiene and brought her back by
force? Why let us learn about these ‘Xenos’ at all?”

“There are several reasons, including that Bell Cranell and

your children have already become aware of monsters that could
communicate using language. However, the most important one
is…”

Ouranos paused for a moment before he told Hestia.

“I decided it was possible your familia, no matter how minus-

cule the chance…could become our hope.”

“Hope?”

“Yes,” said Ouranos with a nod.

“To bridge the gap between people and monsters and lead to
the path of coexistence.”

“This is a dream, right…?”

“Would you like Lilly to pinch your cheek to check…?”

Welf and Lilly spoke as though they were in a trance.

 Bell heard their mutters, unable to hide the cold sweat running
down his own cheeks.

“Food! Drinks! Bring out everything we have! Today, we need

to celebrate our new comrade and the first people we’ve ever had
as guests!”

The monsters erupted with excitement as soon as they heard

the lizardman Lido’s booming voice—the room shook from all the
noise.

A wide array of food, including fruits, nuts, and herbs found in

the Dungeon, was circulating. Barrels of alcohol carved with
marks that read RIVIRA were rolled out. People and monster alike
sat in a large circle encompassing several bright magic-stone
lamps.

The whole scene was reminiscent of the night spent with Loki
Familia around a campfire. It was truly a banquet.

“Bellucchi, eat all you like; don’t be shy! Try this!”

“Wh-what is it…?”

“You humans call it ‘mruit.’ Supposed to be a real delicacy on

the surface!”

Lido, seated on Bell’s right, held out what looked to be a red

fruit in the palm of his hand. Very slowly, Bell picked it up and
took a cautious bite. It felt like he was biting through a thick slab
of soft meat, but his taste buds disagreed as a mellow, fruity fla-
vor washed over his tongue. The texture was unlike any beef,
pork, or chicken and he could describe it only as the finest steak
of some sort, eliciting his surprised reaction. “It’s so good…”

Honey-cloud fruits and more were placed in front of Lilly,

Welf, and the other adventurers as well. Smaller monsters like
the red-cap goblin and al-miraj were in charge of distributing
giant mushrooms grilled by hellhound flames atop wide leaves in
lieu of plates.

“Um, sorry for hitting you so hard back there…”

“Don’t even sweat it. Everything’ll grow back soon enough.

And I didn’t exactly hold back, either.”

Bell gingerly brought up Lido’s left cheek—specifically the

painful-looking wound his fist had made. He apologized guiltily,
but the lizardman warrior merely brushed off worn-out scales
with his arm.

“Nothing to lose sleep over,” said Lido, his sulfurous yellow

eyes forming crescents. Most likely, he was smiling.

Bell was getting to the point that he could recognize their fa-
cial expressions, even if they didn’t look like people. It had been a
real struggle at first, but the young boy felt as though he was get-
ting the hang of it.

Lido’s low voice and ferocious appearance made him seem

much more intimidating than many of his comrades, but he was
surprisingly personable. It was thanks to his constant laughter
that Bell was able to stay somewhat calm despite their company.

He felt proud of himself for adapting so quickly—then again,

he might’ve also just become numb.

Those thoughts made him want to laugh in spite of himself.

“Now that I think about it, you guys drink liquor…?”

“Yeah. At first I thought, What the hell is this? but then I got a
taste for it, and now it’s become a habit! People really make the
most interesting things!”
 Lido was drinking from what was most likely a bottle that had
been discarded somewhere in the Dungeon. His breath smelled of
alcohol as he slapped Bell on the back several times. Around
them, a stunningly beautiful lamia was as red in the face as the
lizardman, and several other monsters were not far behind, ei-
ther.

“Never been less drunk in my life…”

At the same time, Welf and the other adventurers weren’t as

social.

A troll passed by, giving out wooden tankards filled with the
cheap brew. Welf had hoped liquid courage would save him, but
to no avail. Lilly sat next to him, sinking further into silence.

Mikoto and Haruhime sat on their heels, incredibly tense, as a

group of harpies gathered around them with eyes gleaming in cu-
riosity. They seemed most interested in Haruhime’s scent, sniff-
ing the air around her as the renart seemed on the verge of pass-
ing out.

“And then Bell came back to save me.”

“Did he? That makes me jealous. Bell is certainly stra—Ahem, very kind.”

“Yep!”

Wiene sat on Bell’s left. Receiving warm welcomes from all the
monsters, despite her bewilderment, she would every so often
flash an unworried smile. At the moment, she was speaking with
the siren Rei, recounting the events up to the current day.

While it was a little bit embarrassing for Bell to hear his name
mentioned a few times, the entire party was overwhelmed by the
monsters’ hospitality.
 “So then this alcohol and equipment…Is all of it from adven-
turers…?”

Their hosts continued rolling out more food and drinks. Bell
watched in awe, glancing at the armor covering Lido’s body be-
fore cautiously asking.

The Guild had posted notices on the bulletin board about

monsters seizing adventurers’ equipment. Bell was pretty sure he
was looking at the culprits right now.

“Weeell, yes and no. The alcohol was a gift, but these blades
once belonged to an adventurer who suddenly attacked me.”

Lido let his gaze fall on the scimitar and longsword lying by his
feet as he set his bottle down on the floor.

“But he dropped them and ran away as soon as I started fight-

ing back…Thought I might as well try them out. Adventurers take
monster claws and fangs home after slaying them, right?”

“Th-that…Yes, it’s true.”

“People seem to want them back even after they’re dead, so we

try to return what we can…But adventurers get angry at us for
carrying their weapons. It’s hard to know what to do.”

Lido spoke with a nostalgic air, as if remembering a specific

incident in the Dungeon. Bell couldn’t respond.

“I gotta tell you, liquor is amazing, but crafted weapons are re-
ally something else! They cut better than those flowers over there
and are a whole lot harder. There’s no way we could make those!”

Words excitedly pouring out of his mouth, Lido spoke with

tremendous respect for people and their creations.
 Many other monsters wore some type of battle cloth, Lido in-
cluded, even if they didn’t have armor. A few of them wore nor-
mal clothing, like the scarf that the red-cap goblin had wrapped
around his neck.

Perhaps they were trying to imitate people…copying what they

saw.

Bell felt that each of them had grown fond of the handiwork of
surface dwellers for one reason or another.
“—Lido, stop this nonsense at once.”

The speaker hurling venomous words toward them weaved

through the banquet’s commotion.
“They’re people. They aren’t worthy of trust!”

“Are you still on about that, Gros? You saw how Bellucchi and
his friends protected Wiene with everything they had. We only
had to go through all that because you insisted on testing them.
Ain’t that right?”

Standing apart from the monsters who had joined Lido in wel-
coming the party, there were others who had separated them-
selves from the group.

A gargoyle, an arachne, and a griffin, among others, were

seated atop a nearby cliff. All of them were glaring at Bell. Its
body composed of ash-colored rock, the gargoyle called Gros im-
plored Lido to see reason. Instead, the lizardman turned back to
Bell and waved off Gros’s words. “Don’t mind him,” he said reas-
suringly.

“Sorry, they…All of us have been through a lot. The news that

people would be coming here had everyone on edge.”

“Th-that’s, um…It’s okay.”

 “From what we’ve seen of you on your way here and in battle,
we know that all of you are different from normal adventurers.
That includes them.”

“Wait a second, on our way here…? You were the ones watch-
ing us in the Dungeon…?”

“Oh, you noticed? That’s right, our comrades kept an eye on

you until your arrival.”

Lido went on to say that, in addition to testing them, Xenos

members had trailed the adventurers to make sure that they
could rescue Wiene in a worst-case scenario.

That explained why Bell felt they were being watched in the
Dungeon.

“Were you guys only watching us in the Dungeon? Was anyone

on the surface…?”

“Nope, Lett and his team started observing you upstairs, on

the nineteenth floor.”

Lido scratched his scaly chin, clearly stating that he didn’t

know of anyone going any higher than that.

Bell’s mind began turning again once he realized that those

first watchers were someone else.

“…Hey, was that true, what you said a second ago? Are you in
league with the Guild?”

Slam!

A wooden jug was set on the floor with more force than neces-
sary.
 Welf had been following their conversation and couldn’t hold
back any longer.

Surprised that Welf had spoken up on his own, Lido blinked a

few times before flashing his fangs in a grin.

“Yeah, all true. They’ve pulled a lot of strings to keep us hid-

den, as well as provide us with food and equipment…They’ve
done more than enough for us.”

“…Lilly cannot take you at your word that the Guild would
dirty its hands to keep this secret. The risk of discovery is too
great, and the benefit…What benefit could there be?”
“We are not simply parasites that rely on the Guild’s charity. We accept their re-
quests to investigate situations or strange incidents while suppressing uprisings in the
shadows…Our relationship is ‘give and take,’ as they say on the surface.”

Lilly made her skepticism known while Rei stepped in to sup-

port Lido’s explanation.

The Guild asked the Xenos to respond to Irregulars before ad-

venturers were alerted to the danger or when the situation was
too difficult for adventurers to handle by themselves.

“We got similar goals, that’s all.” Lido casually dismissed the
notion.

“But I’d say that we’re more connected with a god named
Ouranos than with the Guild itself. Most Guild employees have
no idea we’re down here.”

“L-Lord Ouranos…”

Orario’s founding deity. Several of the adventurers gasped at

the name.

The Guild claimed to lack any form of military power, yet here
sat their—no, Ouranos’s private army. Suddenly, Lilly and the
others realized where Lido and the rest of the Xenos stood in the
hierarchy.

“So then, it’s just as you said. This mission…”

“That it is, Bellucchi. Lord Ouranos contacted us, and we

agreed to test the people who lent a helping hand to one of our
comrades.”

The mission hadn’t been issued by the upper levels of Guild

management but from Ouranos himself, its true head.

They’d been dancing in the palm of his hand—being appraised.

Bell and his party knew the whole truth now.

“However, hearing about you got our hopes up a bit.”

Just as Bell was about to ask for clarification—

A booming voice came from the other side of their makeshift

magic-stone campfire.

“REI! SING!”

“OOOOOOOOOOO!!”

A couple of drunken monsters started demanding a song, and

more howled in approval.

The siren, still seated close to Bell, sighed and looked up at

Lido. He nodded, eyes twinkling with expectation.

Rei grinned and stood.

“I suppose I must. I shall sing and add some color to this banquet.”

Taking a few steps forward, whoosh! One flap of her wings and
Rei landed on top of the tallest magic-stone lamp with the grace
of a feather.

She turned on her heel to face Wiene, Bell, and the others,
wearing a delicate smile.
“A new comrade and guests from the surface are here. Let’s make this one special.”

With that, Rei closed her eyes and drew a breath.

Silence hung in the air for a fleeting moment before a beautiful

voice replaced it.

“Wow…!”

“This song…”

Hearing the high-pitched notes, Wiene suddenly smiled with

joy, while Bell and the others reacted with surprise.

It was the gentle soprano that had guided them through this
Frontier.

The siren brought one of her golden wings to her chest,

singing happily and enjoying her solo with a smile on her face.
There were no instruments or lyrics. The pure melody alone was
enough to ensnare the hearts of her listeners.

A single siren, weaving a song with her eyes closed, ringed by

people and monsters sitting side by side.

The scene, illuminated by quartz and magic-stone lamps, was

so elegant and beautiful that it seemed to come from another
world.

This hardly seemed to be the same dark labyrinth filled with

monsters deep underground—but then again, perhaps it was one
of those moments when the Dungeon would allow its audience a
glimpse at sacred mysteries and illusions.

The song reverberated deep into the maze.

Bell and the others had never heard a song so captivating, so

beautiful, and the passage of time left their minds.

“Let’s dance, surface dwellers! May I have this one?”

“Eh? Wha…wai—Please don’t, I’m not a dancerrrrrr!”

“M-Mikotooo!”

A young harpy girl dragged Mikoto out, leaving a wailing

Haruhime to chase after them. In the ring’s center, two shadows
danced together. A curious and energetic monster girl twirled
hand in hand with Mikoto, or perhaps it was more accurate to say
she swung her partner about. A human hand and a winged hand
were clasped tightly together.

The singing siren chuckled to herself for a moment before

changing the tune.

Her beautiful ballad became an upbeat, toe-tapping rhythm

similar to a waltz.

Completely drunken Xenos rushed to join Mikoto. They called

out to one another, pairing off. The red-cap goblin and a lamia
joined hands, hellhounds ran stride for stride with al-miraj, and
the formoires joined the trolls, using their gigantic fists to pound
the floor like drums. Other monsters came up to Wiene and whis-
pered in her ear to join. “Okay!” she replied cheerfully, heading
toward Haruhime. Meanwhile, the gargoyle and his group
watched the tumult from their distant seats, unamused.

The song, cheers, and laughter wouldn’t stop.

 Wiene pulled along a flustered Haruhime all the way to where
Mikoto and her partner were, before starting their own dance.

The long shadows of people and monsters stretched across the

floor, mingling together.

“…Things never get this crazy.”

Lido’s eyes were filled with delight as he muttered. And his

lips were definitely turned up in a smile.

Bell, Lilly, and Welf were convinced they were dreaming and
still at a loss for words. But before they realized it, all of them
were laughing.

The siren’s soothing song and the echoes of joyful howls sere-
naded them.

“Lido, what did you mean earlier when you said we got your
hopes up a bit…?”

“Hmm? Ahh…”

Bell watched Wiene and the girls for a time before turning
back to Lido.

The reptilian warrior didn’t look away from his dancing com-
rades as he responded.

“You gave us hope—that maybe things can change…”

“People and monsters coexisting…?!”

Hestia wasn’t sure how many jolts of surprise shot through her
body after what Ouranos had just said.

The elderly deity’s face was as stoic as ever. He did not turn
away from her stunned expression.

“Do you understand what you’re saying, Ouranos…?!”

“Of course.”

People and monsters living together in peace was impossible.

Hestia had already reached that conclusion, and yet Ouranos

responded with a deep nod. He knew what that meant.

Those born in the Dungeon were the greatest enemy of sur-

face-dwelling races. People killed monsters and monsters killed
people. With such overwhelming fear and ingrained hatred on
both sides, they would like nothing more than to avoid each
other. They could not be together.

The various races residing in the mortal world were fated to

kill and be killed by monsters.

That was their destiny ever since monsters first emerged from
the “Great Hole” back during the Ancient Times.

They were doomed to fight for all eternity.

Then Ouranos arrived with the divine will to turn that undeni-
able truth on its head…Hestia frowned, unable to overlook such a
desire from the Guild’s master, of all people.

“However, the Xenos do not attack people instinctually but in-

stead wish to engage with them in dialogue.”

“!!”

“Rather than with fangs or claws, they wish to use words and
logic to make their voices heard. They want to walk on the sur-
face. They want to know our children…to learn more about peo-
ple.”

Wiene’s face appeared in the back of Hestia’s mind.

“Self-aware Xenos are constantly under threat even from nor-

mal monsters. They live in alienation and exile. They have no
place to belong on the surface or in the Dungeon.”

“…”

“With no one to hear them, their easiest choice as monsters

was to resign themselves to oblivion. However, they possess de-
termination as well as the means to express their thoughts and
wishes. Just like our children,” he said. “Then I discovered them.”

Ouranos lowered his eyes ever so slightly.

“As the one who offers prayers to the Dungeon…No longer

could I withstand their lamenting as they perished.”

Someone sure is diligent—Hestia tried to force herself to poke

fun at Ouranos but she couldn’t manage to get the words out.

Because she had met Wiene.

Could she really bring herself to abandon the vouivre girl now?

Could she become a treacherous and deceitful goddess for her

familia’s sake?

Hestia’s thoughts swirled, trapping her in a whirlpool of

choices and decisions. After a few minutes of heavy silence, she
lifted her face and started asking Ouranos another question.

“Are you serious about bringing harmony to the children and

monsters?”

“The will of the divine has been set. However, it is an impossi-

ble demand. The truth is that it is beyond my control.”

Ouranos had no qualms about confessing everything in re-

sponse to Hestia’s question.

“If our goal is harmony between our children and monsters,

then we must question the reason of their existence in detail.”

—Prove that monsters themselves were important.

From birth, they were constantly stigmatized because of their

physical features that diverged from what was considered nor-
mal.

Threatening physiques, claws and fangs that were symbols of

bloodshed, death-heralding flames, and voices tinged with sav-
agery.

In order to break free of their reputation as icons of slaughter

and violence—as well as for the sake of establishing peace—there
was no choice but to demonstrate their role in this world to the
children of the mortal realm. In order to realize their dream of
basking in the surface’s sunlight, it was imperative to overcome
people’s hatred and fear by proving their significance.

One option was the cruel subjugation method known as tam-

ing. Although it would allow them to be recognized by the masses,
it required living with a collar of thorns. What’s more, that path
would never lead to true peace.

“…So basically, in your quest to prove the meaning of their ex-

istence, you thought there’s a possibility Bell and my other chil-
dren could become a bridge between the two sides?”

“That is correct.”

Hestia let her head hang limply at the revelation. The elderly
deity was so unbelievably open about these secret plans it was al-
most refreshing.

She understood Ouranos’s reasoning. After getting to know

Wiene, she also wanted to help the Xenos find happiness.

However, this path put Bell and their familia in a very precari-
ous position.

Ouranos mentioned alienation and exile. If the fact that Hestia

Familia had assisted these “monsters” became public knowledge,
not only would their standing in Orario be at risk but their place
in the entire world. Just like the Xenos.

Perhaps it was impossible, but Hestia preferred to not have

their fate hanging in the balance.

Even if that means running away, the goddess thought to

herself.

“Is what you just said the Guild’s opinion on the matter as
well?”

“Currently, it is mine alone.”

That made sense.

Declaring peace with monsters would shake the world to its

core.

Even Ouranos, the one heralded as the founding deity of

Orario, could not help but lose political power as cracks formed in
his base.

“The highest levels of Guild management, including Royman

and his closest advisers, have been kept in the dark on this mat-
ter.”
 His employees had been ordered only to deliver the mission to
Hestia Familia. Most likely, Royman believed that Bell’s rapid
growth had caught Ouranos’s attention and the deity intended to
test the boy’s strength with the mission.

Ouranos explained this to Hestia.

“So the only ones who know are…”

“Among deities other than myself, Hermes, because he accepts

my requests…and Ganesha.”

“G-Ganesha?!”

Hestia was completely taken aback at the unexpected name.

“You must be kidding,” she said, wide-eyed.

But then, her shoulders jolted.

“Don’t tell me the Monsterphilia is…?”

“Correct. It was conceived five years ago in order to soften

people’s hatred for monsters, no matter how slight, and has con-
tinued ever since.”

The Monsterphilia: an event that turned taming monsters into

a spectacle.

The festival had been proposed and organized by the Guild. It

hadn’t been the brainchild of deities who craved entertainment. It
was still relatively new, and Hestia had heard that the Guild
didn’t offer much explanation about it during Denatus.

Now she was able to connect the dots.

Ouranos had been the driving force behind the event. Putting
on a show despite the dangers of bringing monsters out of the
Dungeon was all his idea.

He wanted to soften the public’s opinion of monsters by show-

ing the majestic tamers interacting with them, making the beasts
less alien, providing a foundation for future change.

It was all to lay the first stepping-stones that would lead to a

day when the Xenos could revel in the sun’s rays.

It wasn’t just “Monster Festival” but “Monsterphilia.”

But that merely served as the first stage, and its impact was
rather limited.

“I informed Ganesha in order to gain his support.”

While the Guild oversaw the event, it was Ganesha Familia

that provided tamers for the show.

Ouranos would never have gained Ganesha’s confidence by

being manipulative. So the elderly deity had no choice but to re-
veal his divine will.

Never thought it’d be Ganesha…

Out of everything she had heard, that had been the most sur-
prising. Hestia wiped the sweat off her neck with visions of the
friendly god wearing an odd elephant mask popping up in her
head.

She promised herself right then and there to take some time to
get to know him better.

“Is that everyone working with you?”

“No,” Ouranos responded plainly to Hestia’s question.

The god looked down at his feet as if he were gazing deep into
the Dungeon far beneath.

“Fels is also with us.”

“Well…this certainly exceeded my expectations.”

A serious voice devoid of any shock or mockery reached the

banquet, still as lively as ever with singing and dancing.

Bell and everyone else who heard the remarkably monotone

voice turned toward the entrance of the room to see where it
came from.

“Fels, you made it!”

What they saw seemed like a living shadow, wearing a long

black robe and black gloves adorned with intricate patterns. Bell
and the adventurers were quick to react to this mysterious indi-
vidual, instantly ready for a fight, but Lido opened his arms and
gave the newcomer a friendly wave.

Fels. A name that both Lido and Rei had mentioned quite a
few times.

The adventurers still watched the hooded figure for a bit as he

approached. However, Fels seemed more interested in watching
Wiene and the other dancers.

“You’re here earlier than I thought you’d be.”

“I came as fast as I could. But please, Lido, I could do with a

quick explanation. To tell the truth, I’m quite startled.”

Fels asked the lizardman warrior climbing to his feet to re-

count what had happened.

The adventurers followed suit, standing as Lido brought the

stranger up to speed. “Oh-ho?” A light chuckle emerged from the
hood. “You all may be more important than we thought.”

Fels looked down toward Bell and the others, offering words
that were difficult to discern as praise or ridicule.

The black-robed figure stood just a little shorter than Welf.

Examining each member of the trio in turn, the shadow come to
life continued speaking.

“First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Fels. I act as a liai-

son between Ouranos and the Xenos—a messenger, if you will. I
also take on odd jobs as necessary.”

“O-odd jobs?”

“Yes, that’s right…Perhaps you would understand if I were to

say that I was the one keeping tabs on you and the vouivre girl?”

“!”

Bell, Lilly, and Welf were stunned.

Something resembling a laugh spilled from the darkness of

Fels’s hood as a gloved hand rose into the air.

“Bell Cranell, Lilliluka Erde, Welf Crozzo…as well as Mikoto

Yamato and Haruhime Sanjouno. I’ve been observing your activi-
ties over the past week.”

Those were the only words they needed to hear to put the
pieces together.

The person in front of them was the Guild’s “eyes” who had
taken the liberty of thoroughly investigating them without their
knowledge.
 “Are you…Are you a monster, like them?”

Lilly knew that something was odd about this person; some-
thing felt off. Fending off her confusion, she pressed for answers.

“Nah, Fels is a person,” Lido replied, and Fels’s black hood

fluttered up and down again.

“Formerly a person may be a better choice of words.”

Huh? Bell nearly whispered under his breath.

“I’ll show you.”

Two black gloves took hold of the hood and pulled it back.

“—”

For Bell, Lilly, and Welf, time came to a screeching halt.

The eyes that were supposed to be there didn’t exist—just two

pitch-black cavities, empty eye sockets.

The skin they expected to see was also missing. Perfectly

aligned teeth protruded from the exposed jawbone.

The face simply didn’t exist.

A white skull of death stared back at the adventurers.

“A…a skeleton?!”

“Hold up, hold up, hold up…!”

“A spartoi?!”

Three voices shrieked.

 There was no doubt that it was a skeleton’s head—no eyes, no
nose, no ears, no hair, just bones. The horrifying personification
of death itself was proof enough that this being was no living per-
son.

Bell was reminded of the skeleton monsters from the deep lev-
els called the spartoi. But Fels slowly shook his skull side to side
to refute the boy’s terrified scream.

“Sorry, but I am not a monster. As I said, I am formerly a per-

son.”

“F-formerly a person…?”

“What…what the hell happened…?!”

Lilly could only echo Fels’s words as Bell struggled to speak,

mouth opening and closing again and again. Meanwhile, Welf
clenched his teeth together in a desperate attempt to remain calm
but couldn’t hide the fear scrawled across his face. Fear was a
natural reaction to a voice originating from a skull with no skin or
throat to speak of.

While the three of them stood dumbfounded, it was Lido who

spoke up with an answer:

“Fels is the Sage. An awesome Magus.”

Those words.

It was as though Bell and his companions had been doused by

water, all of them going silent.

That is, until a moment later, when Lilly let out a cry.

“The Sage?! As in THE Sage?! The one who created the

Philosopher’s Stone in the Kingdom of Magic—the only one to
ever successfully create the elixir of eternal life? That Sage?!”

“Y-yeah…Probably that Sage, I guess…?”

The lizardman was unfamiliar with what was considered com-

mon sense on the surface, so the prum’s red-faced outburst
caught him by surprise. Overwhelmed by this demi-human girl
only half his size, Lido took a step back as a stunned Bell remem-
bered the story Eina had once told him about the Sage.

Just as Lilly said, that legendary person created the Philoso-

pher’s Stone, a magic item that granted the user eternal life.

Mastering the Advanced Ability Enigma, the Sage became the

most powerful Magus in history.

He brought his creation, the Philosopher’s Stone, before his

god only to watch the deity smash the stone on the floor…

If that story were true, then the being standing before him was
worthy of being named among the heroes in fairy tales and leg-
ends. Bell’s eyes opened as wide as they would go.

“Another correction, if I may. I am what became of the one

once called the Sage.”

The Magus shocked the adventurers further, explaining with a

shade of self-deprecation.

“As my story will be handed down to future generations…and

as it is told even today, I came to loathe the deity who destroyed
my precious stone. I became more driven than ever before in my
pursuit to acquire more knowledge, to unlock the secrets of im-
mortality…and became what you see now.”

The skeleton recounted the traumatic experience with that god

while running black gloves up and down the robe that hid the rest
of his body.

“My methods took their toll, causing my skin and flesh to rot
off my bones. Now I have become something more revolting than
a monster. I’ve forgotten the sensation of hunger and thirst…I am
no more than a living ghost.”

Fels finished by saying that all his experimentation produced

was a “curse.”

Learning the other side of the story, one that had been lost in
history, the adventurers gulped as the Sage’s fate came to light.

At the same time, they were in awe at how cruel the deusdea
could be, completely ruining the lives of their followers.

“I now go by the name Fels the Fool.”

“Fels.” A fitting name for someone who had once been known
as “Sage,” only to have been reduced to a farce.

Incapable of expressing even the slightest emotion, the skele-

tal Magus who could no longer even smile now went by that
name.

“…Mind explaining how the Sage ended up in a place like

this?”

“It’s a long story, to say the least. Suffice it to say that Ouranos
took me in despite my wretched state after I wound up in Orario.”

Welf certainly looked uncomfortable, but he posed his ques-

tion without fear. Fels responded openly, making the peculiarly
indistinct voice friendlier in tone.

“Now I’m privy to a front-row seat in the ‘center of the world,’

the driving force behind the changing times.”

Pulling the hood back up, Fels spoke as though satisfied with
the state of things.

As Bell stood frozen in place, he had thought nothing could

surpass the shock of encountering Lido and the other Xenos. Now
his eyes were spinning from a second knockout blow.

“The Sage, huh…Well, of course I’ve heard of him. So that kid

from earlier has become your right-hand man, Ouranos?”

“I do not deny it. Outside of my agreement with the Xenos,

Fels is the one piece I can move at will…My private soldier.”

Ouranos nodded at Hestia’s inquiry.

Several familias, including Ganesha Familia, worked closely

with the Guild to create a public face. Meanwhile, Fels, a Magus—
a being who had a firm handle on the intricacies of Magic—
worked in the shadows, conducting dirty jobs and taking on se-
cret missions.

“I take it Fels played a major role in keeping the Xenos a secret

up until today?”

“Indeed. We have already worked together for centuries.”

Fels also filled the role of Ouranos’s personal bodyguard.

Many Guild employees had witnessed his movements through
Guild Headquarters, with rumors of an elusive “ghost” circulating
among their ranks through the generations, each with a common
thread.

“Monsters with the capacity to think and feel…I first encoun-

tered Lido and his kind fifteen, maybe sixteen years ago.”
 Fels continued to speak even as the siren sang among the hap-
pily dancing monsters in the background.

At that time, members of the familia close to Ouranos cap-

tured them. The deity managed to keep their presence a secret
from the rest of Orario by issuing a strict gag order. That familia
fell into ruin and no longer existed.

Fels obeyed Ouranos’s divine will and had served as a messen-

ger ever since, eventually becoming the Xenos’s first contact with
the world aboveground.

“After talking with Lido and his companions, we decided to

dub their group of heretics ‘Xenos.’ They now live as a community
under the same name.”

“A community?”

“Yeah. Others like us are born throughout the Dungeon. We

make contact with our comrades to form our own organization.”

Bell asked for clarification from Fels, but it was Lido who pro-
vided the answer.

“We gather in Hidden Villages like this one and travel between
different floors in the hopes of finding comrades nearby.”

As soon as Lido explained that most of their activities took

place in the lower levels, Lilly jumped back into the conversation
to ask about something that had been stewing in her head for
some time.

“…This has been bothering Lilly for a while, but…do monsters

not spawn in this room?”

“Oh? You noticed, Lillicchi?”

 “L-Lillicchi…?”

As the prum struggled with how to feel about being addressed

in such a strange manner, Lido glanced out over the chamber dot-
ted with dark-green quartz jutting from the walls and ceiling.

“This place…You might call it a safe point. There are plenty

more just like it.”

“Eh?!”

“Of course, adventurers haven’t found them. That’s why we

call these places Hidden Villages.”

Lido ignored the astonishment on Bell’s, Welf’s, and Lilly’s

faces and carried on with his explanation.

The Xenos frequented undiscovered Frontiers in the middle

levels all the way down to the deep levels—places adventurers
didn’t know existed—using them as base camps in their search of
monsters who shared their unique gifts.

They were a community of monsters, a traveling brigade.

“There are about forty Xenos at the moment…The numbers go

up and down, but Lido, Rei, and Gros were members from the
start.”

“It has been a long time, yes?”

Fels glanced at the siren and gargoyle while the lizardman

flashed a toothy grin.

“…That would make you the leader, wouldn’t it?”

Welf finally asked what he and Lilly had suspected for a while
now.
 “Yeah. Gryuu used to hold that title, but his dragon body can’t
move like it used to. So I’m leading everyone in his stead now.”

“Then the strongest member is…”

“Of course! You’re looking at him!!”

Lido proudly puffed out his armored chest.

Bell thought that might be the case after fighting the lizard-
man one-on-one. Lido was most likely holding back at the time,
but it still summoned flashbacks of Ishtar Familia’s first-tier ad-
venturer, Phryne, during the battle. Therefore, the boy had sus-
pected that the lizardman’s potential strength could very well ex-
ceed hers.

“…Well, that’s what I’d like to say.”

—However, Lido let his reptilian head droop, shoulders

slumping right away.

“One of our newest comrades took the title from me in no time

flat…”

“O-ohhh…”

Welf wasn’t sure what to do with the clearly depressed lizard-

man. Bell, however, was stunned.

The question had to be asked.

“Um, so, what’s this new member like?”

“He isn’t here now. He’s a strange one, I tell you. Went off to
the deep levels on his own for training.”

“Th-the deep levels…Do…do you think that’s okay?”

 “Knowing him, I think worrying would be a waste of time.”

Lido drily chuckled to himself as if he was exhausted just

thinking about it.

“…Mr. Fels.”

“What is it, Lilliluka Erde?”

After some time had passed…

Tired of singing and dancing, the revelers were starting to seat

themselves on the floor. Mikoto, Haruhime, and Wiene were
among them.

Lilly had been lost in thought when, finally, she looked up at

Fels.

“When the siren Rei…Miss Rei spoke with us, she described
the Xenos’s relationship with the Guild as ‘give and take.’”

“Yes, this is true.”

“Lord Ouranos provides support, and in return the Xenos

scour the Dungeon for new members…Is that really everything?”

Her chestnut-tinted gaze bore into the darkness beneath the

Magus’s hood, but his only answer was silence.

“Lilly can’t help but feel that this relationship is too one-sided.
There’s something oddly urgent about these heretics’ chosen
words and actions…”

A group that used several unknown Hidden Villages and had

members capable of traveling alone in the deep levels possessed
considerable power. The brigade of monsters called Xenos should
be able to take care of itself with or without assistance from Fels
and Ouranos.

Lilly acknowledged that the Guild, in charge of the city and

Dungeon management, would want to keep an eye on them to
prevent mass panic from spreading through Orario. However,
from what she could tell, the deal was incredibly unfair.

Above all, the Xenos members seemed to yearn for something

more.

Lilly spelled it all out.

“If this is simply charity, then Lilly will drop the suggestion
now…However.”

Averting her eyes and hesitating for a moment, she made her
point.

“Are they in this relationship because they want something

only Lord Ouranos and Mr. Fels can provide?”

She’d kept these misgivings to herself ever since arriving at the

Hidden Village, voicing them only now.

Bell and Welf stayed silent, ears perked and waiting.

A look of quiet contemplation grew on Lido’s face.

As their conversation reached a standstill, only Wiene’s laugh-

ter and playful monster howls could be heard.
“—To walk on the surface.”

Just then…

A voice cut through the still air, clear as day.

“Miss Rei…”
 “That is our desire.”

Rei stepped lightly as she approached the group, winglike

arms folded as if she were hugging her own body.

Bell, Lilly, and Welf gazed at the siren’s resolute blue eyes in
amazement as her words sank in.

“…I have dreams.”

Lido’s soft voice brought them back into the moment.

“Dreams about a ball of red light sinking behind a massive pile

of rocks…A sky that can’t be found here, burning red, so red and
beautiful it makes me tear up. Getting redder and redder as time
goes by…”

“Wouldn’t that be…a sunset?”

The lizardman warrior looked up at the dark shadows that hid

the Dungeon ceiling from view, but his gaze seemed to reach far-
ther, going beyond.

Bell could easily visualize what he was describing.

“You may be right,” Lido answered with a nod.

“But is that just a dream…? You’ve been outside on the sur-

face, haven’t you?”

“Not even once. Which means that maybe sometime in a past

life I broke out of this dark hell and spent some time above.”

Lido’s suggestion made Bell and the others freeze.

“In…a past life…?”

“You couldn’t mean…”

 Lilly and Welf whispered in astonishment. Then Bell’s voice
shook as he asked:

“Reincarnation…?”

Lido and Rei didn’t respond, staring off into the distance.

“You know, Bellucchi, that Wiene’s a real talker.”

“Huh…? Oh, y-yeah, she is.”

The seemingly abrupt change in topic caught Bell off guard,

but he recovered in time to nod his head affirmatively.

Lido watched the laughing young vouivre girl play with

Haruhime and Mikoto as well as chat with harpies and al-miraj.

“Some of us can use language, but some can’t speak a word.

There are those who know how to express themselves while oth-
ers have no clue. Don’t you find that strange?”

Lido amusedly mentioned that was where the individual dif-

ferences ended, though.

“Here’s what’s crazy. The really good ones can speak right
from the start. Almost like they’re recalling something they al-
ready know.”

“!”

“Maybe they’d watched people for a long time in the past…

Jealous of them, yearning after them.”

—“Lots of people, just like Bell…Protect someone from me.”

—“I see those people, and I feel cold.”

—“But those people were beautiful.”

 The vouivre girl’s words, whispered under the covers of a very
cramped bed only a few days ago, came to the forefront of Bell’s
memory.

A surge of disbelief accompanied them.

Wiene and those like her really did—

“—A powerful longing.”

Fels’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Each of the Xenos has their own unique thoughts and feel-
ings. However, they all have one thing in common: an intense
yearning for people or the surface world.”

The Xenos remembered in their dreams their jealousy of the

people who resided beneath the sun and the sky and their desire
to do the same.

They had seen beautiful things among the violent hostility and
murderous intent.

Humans desperate to save one another’s lives. A dwarf coura-

geously standing tall despite the numerous injuries covering him
head to toe. An elf on the edge of death and still carrying herself
with pride to the end. Or perhaps ones who showed mercy, spar-
ing a monster’s life. Even something as simple as a beautiful blue
sky and the setting sun.

The Xenos remembered their “past lives” in their various

“dreams.”

And each possessed an intense desire that gave them a strong

reason to keep living.

“I want to live in that world with a beautiful sunset one more

time.”
“I want to spread my wings in a world filled with light, but in exchange, these arms
can never hold…I want to be held by someone I love.”

To be with people in the sunlight. That was their wish. What

these men and women desired.

They were looking for a way to make it happen, with help from
Fels and Ouranos.

All to accomplish a goal that would have been so simple if only

the Xenos were human.

They were also fully aware how difficult it was, how long a
road they would have to take. Both Xenos stopped speaking, let-
ting their words hang in the air.

Lido and Rei smiled wanly as Bell and the stunned adventur-
ers came to the same realization.

“We know what we are. Our place is in the shadows—halfway

between man and monster, neither side accepting us…Even so,
we want to keep dreaming.”

They wanted to follow those dreams and the permission to do

so.

Lido cast his gaze at the labyrinth ceiling once again as he

spoke.

“Maybe Mother wanted beings stuck in the middle like us to

have a place to go when she made Hidden Villages like this…The
thought crosses my mind every now and then.”

“M-Mother…?”

“Mother—you know: Mom. The one who gave us life.”

 “In other words, the Dungeon.”

Rei’s words astonished the adventurers again.

“We still do not know how Mother feels about us…Why those who should be our
brothers and sisters attempt to take our lives. Even so, we are allowed to exist. It is our
quandary.”

Lido and Rei seemed to be asking the Dungeon despite know-

ing there would be no answer.

On top of everything, they still wanted to pursue their dreams.

“So that’s why…we couldn’t be happier to meet you, Bellucchi,

and everybody else.”

After looking off into the Dungeon with Rei, Lido returned his
gaze to the adventurers.

At about the same time, Wiene and the others stood up and re-
joined the rest of the group.

Bell heard someone happily call his name and glanced over his
shoulder to acknowledge it before turning his attention back to
the Xenos.

“We’re not asking for help or favors. It’s enough to know that
there are people who accept who we are…That alone means the
world to us.”

Lilly and Welf stood motionless with Bell at their side.

The Magus watched from underneath the shadowy black robe.

The siren smiled.

Lastly, the lizardman shyly scratched his nose.

“I’m glad I met all of you.”

 “—Ouranos, last question.”

In the stone chamber illuminated by crackling torches…

Hestia’s voice echoed.

“What’s happening in the Dungeon?”

“…”

“These ‘Xenos’…Do you know why Wiene and others like her
were born in the first place?”

Rogue monsters, subspecies, Irregulars. If these were all it

took to explain the situation, then that was that.

However, she was convinced there was something more to the

Xenos due to the simple fact that not even the deities could ex-
plain their existence. Hestia had to know why.

After a long silence descended upon the chamber, Ouranos

slowly opened his lips.

“What do you think happens to monsters after death, Hestia?”

“……?”

Hestia frowned at having her question answered with another

question.

The elderly god didn’t wait for her response and carried on.

“The souls of our children return to the heavens, are judged

and sorted by our kind, and then many are reborn into the
world…So what about the souls of monsters? No, it would be bet-
ter to phrase it as…If these monsters who are not our children
have souls, where do you think they would go?”
 Shudder.

Hestia felt her heart tremble.

“Could it be…?”

“This is only my speculation, but I also have confidence it is

correct.”

Ouranos was gaining momentum.

“After death, monsters return to the mother from whence they

came, the Dungeon…They’re given new form somewhere deep in-
side the labyrinth and then are born again.”

A cycle of death and rebirth—monster “souls” were in constant

circulation inside the Dungeon.

The motionless, elderly god declared it while his deep-blue

eyes narrowed.

“Monsters have…souls…?”

“Yes. They have shown change during their centuries of death

and rebirth.”

Specifically, they became self-aware and capable of learning.

The “change” started to manifest itself in individual monsters

after so much time had passed that the Ancient Times felt like a
distant dream. Strong feelings of attachment and desire accumu-
lated in each soul as it completed countless revolutions in the
cycle.

Hestia’s dumbstruck voice tumbled out.

“I can’t believe something like that…What could possibly be

the cause?”
 “The driving force is either the monsters’ strong yearning and
desire…or—the Dungeon’s will.”

Ouranos’s words vanished into the shadows enveloping the

chamber.

The banquet at the Xenos Hidden Village was coming to an end.

Bell and the others were making preparations to return home.

Lido and the rest of the Xenos were planning to move to another
Hidden Village soon after.

Haruhime and Mikoto wore awkward smiles as they shook

hands with their dance partners and said their good-byes to mon-
sters who had become something close to friends.

The magic-stone lamps were extinguished one by one until

only the glow of quartz illuminated the area.

“……”

Enveloped in their green radiance, Bell watched his allies ex-

change words with the Xenos around the dim cavern.

He hadn’t had time to think about it before, but the monsters

with human characteristics were all genuinely attractive individu-
als. Some spoke with ease while others couldn’t say anything at
all. It was just as Lido said. Every one of them was different. Even
their body types were incredibly varied. They each had their own
personality, their own way of living.

He had learned that they had aspirations. He had heard they

had hope.

And he had also discovered that before they gained these feel-
ings, they were bloodthirsty beasts incapable of even shedding a
tear.

That was just as true for the openhearted Lido as it was for the
beautiful Rei.

—Can I point a blade at monsters the way I used to ever

again?

The thoughts he’d been keeping locked away started resurfac-

ing in the corners of his mind.

As Bell stared into the palm of his hand, he could almost hear
the whirlpool of anguish inside him.

“…Bellucchi!”

Lido spotted the boy lost in thought. He waved one hand high
above his head and approached him.

Bell looked up to see the lizardman warrior slowly wagging his

thick tail back and forth as he pulled something out from beneath
his breastplate.

“You know what this is?”

“That’s a magic stone…isn’t it?”

Lido nodded as he pinched the purple stone between his

claws.

Suddenly, he brought it to his open mouth and plopped it in-

side like candy.

“!”

“Do you know what happens when we Xenos…we monsters eat

magic stones?”
 Crunch! Crunch! Bell wasn’t sure how to react as he watched
Lido purposely chew louder than necessary.

At the sight of a lizardman gulping down a magic stone, one of

the facts that Eina had drilled into him rose from his memory.

“Enhanced species…”

It was like how adventurers became stronger by receiving ex-

celia and updating their Status, but for monsters.

They gained a power boost by consuming another monster’s

“core”—a principle of the monsters’ world where only the
strongest survived. The ones who gorged themselves on magic
stones and became too powerful were identified by the Guild and
subsequently marked for extermination via missions.

Bell couldn’t respond as he watched the phenomenon first-

hand.

“We kill any monsters that aren’t our comrades. Then we

pluck out their magic stones and eat them.”

“!!”

“I’m sure you already knew that other monsters attack us on

sight. We aren’t about to lie down and let them kill us without a
fight. We kill to survive and eat to see tomorrow.”

They had meticulously honed swordsmanship and the poten-

tial to match top-class adventurers…Bell reflected on their earlier
battle, the strength and power the lizardman possessed, and
knew at once that Lido was telling the truth.

The Xenos were forced to commit cannibalism every day to

stay alive in the Dungeon.
 Purely because their lives depended on it.

Blood drained from Bell’s face as Lido made his point.

“So please don’t waver. Don’t hold back for our sake. Those
things are scary as hell, and they’ll kill you if you hesitate for even
a moment. You’ll die, Bellucchi.”

“Lido…”

“And even if they can speak, if they attack you, kill them for
me.”

This den of monsters is already littered with corpses and ash.

While he didn’t say it directly, the lizardman warrior truly

wanted Bell to prioritize his life above anything else.

“Don’t you ever die. I want to see you again.”

The Xenos themselves had killed countless other Dungeon-

dwellers and would continue to do so.

So don’t you hold back, either. So we can meet once more.

Bell’s eyes trembled at Lido’s argument.

“Bellucchi.”

“……?”

“Let’s shake hands.”

Reptilian eyes smiling, Lido stuck out his right hand.

Bell paused for a moment, looking between the lizardman’s

face and his hand…but then he managed a grin.
 Hearing the same words as when they first spoke, the boy
smiled at the row of fangs right at eye level.

He took the hand offered to him.

Bell felt Lido squeeze back, scaly skin rough on his own.

“…So, why did you arrange for us to meet them, exactly?”

The prum was busy tying an item pouch to her waist when she
caught a glimpse of Bell and Lido’s handshake. Then she turned
to the Magus standing beside her, looking up at the concealing
hood as she spoke.

Fels didn’t meet her stare, but a response emanated from deep
within the dark confines of the robe.

“We wanted you to know them. That’s all…at least for now.”

At the deep, cryptic answer, her chestnut-colored eyes nar-

rowed.

Her glare said it all: We’d rather not have more trouble to
deal with, so please excuse us and leave us out of it.

The black-hooded figure shrugged good-naturedly.

“I don’t think I need to remind you, but please keep what you
saw today to yourself.”

“Would anyone believe Lilly if she told them?”

Clenched fists trembling in frustration, Lilly stomped away to-

ward the center of the room where Welf and the others were wait-
ing.

Bell and Lido weren’t far behind. The people and monsters
gathered at the quartz pillar before going their separate ways.
 “Bell, let’s go home.”

Wiene immediately broke away from her conversation with

other Xenos as soon as she saw him coming.

Turning around with a smile on her face, she reached out to

take his hand.

Bell weakly smiled in return and was about to let her.

However, Lido got in the way.

“Your place is here, Wiene.”

“Huh?”

He grabbed hold of her bluish-white arm and dragged her

back toward the Xenos group.

Shocked, Wiene yelped and started struggling.

“Lido! No! Let me go!”

“No. You’re staying here in the Dungeon.”

“I don’t wanna! I want to be with Bell!”

Her thin arms stood no chance of breaking Lido’s grip. Tears

of desperation began forming in her amber eyes.

Bell watched, unable to speak as the lizardman knelt down to

the girl’s height.

“If you’re with them, Bellucchi, Lillicchi, everyone will wind up

crying.”

“!”
 “Bad things happened to you on the surface, yes? Only this
time, that might happen to Bellucchi.”

All those angry, jeering voices. Cold, hard stones striking her
skin and the weapons maliciously pointed her way.

Wiene’s slim shoulders trembled as memories of that night

came to mind.
“…We cannot live on the surface yet. But no one will be cruel to you here. You can
live here with us.”

The siren’s voice reached them. The young girl’s dragon wing,
the feature that clearly identified her as a monster, quivered.

A flurry of emotions flooded the vouivre girl’s mind as she

looked at each of the other monsters in turn.

“Lady Wiene…”

Bell didn’t move.

He heard Haruhime behind him as she did her best not to cry.
The moment of separation came much more abruptly than he’d
expected, and surprise was written all over his face.

No—it was just an act.

The moment he met Lido and the other Xenos and learned
there were others like Wiene who considered her a friend, he had
done his best to ignore the possibility. Immersing himself in the
new discoveries and revelations had allowed him to run away
from reality.

The reality that Wiene had a place here.

That saying good-bye would be the obvious conclusion.

 “There is a group of hunters that indiscriminately try to cap-
ture the Xenos.”

“!”

“After all, they’re monsters who can communicate with lan-

guage. The ones with humanoid features possess enticing beauty.
If they’re rare enough, anything becomes exciting for these
hunters. After capturing Xenos, they apparently smuggle them
out of the city and sell them to gourmets.”

Lilly and the other adventurers were as genuinely shocked as

Bell at Fels’s explanation.

The black-robed Magus spat out the words with disgust.

“They put out tidbits of information, calling the Xenos ‘mon-

sters wearing armor’ and the like, but they never leave a trail to
follow. They must have a base of operations, a place to hold their
captives, but…”

Fels cast his gaze toward Bell from beneath the concealing
hood.

Staying with Wiene will only result in disaster. Bell got the
hint.

Ikelos’s ominous smile appeared in the back of his mind, seal-

ing off his last hope of escape from the reality. He turned to face
the young girl.

“Beeeell…”

As the lizardman and siren gently held her shoulders, tears

rolling down her face, Wiene cried Bell’s name as though hanging
on to him.
 A realization hit Bell as Lilly, Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime
watched with worried eyes.

—I won’t let her be alone. I won’t let her die.

He could keep the promises he made to himself without being

there to protect her personally.

“Bell! I…!”

A large group of intelligent monsters stood directly behind

her.

Behind him was the family he’d gone through so much with up
until now.

Bell was surrounded by those precious to him, before and be-

hind.

For this girl’s happiness…

And his familia’s, everyone’s, his goddess’s—

“…See you, Bellucchi. We’ll head out first.”

Lido said his good-byes before turning his back on the adven-
turers.

Bell couldn’t stop him, couldn’t even take a step forward.

The monsters began to disappear into a corner of the cavern

shrouded in darkness, Wiene with them. She looked around one
last time.

He could see her amber eyes glistening with tears. Bell

clenched his hands and shouted even as his expression was on the
verge of breaking.
 “This isn’t good-bye! We’ll see each other again!”

He left her with that reassuring promise, unsure if he could

keep it.

Wiene sobbed, mouth opening and closing as if trying to tell

him something, but she couldn’t turn her feelings into words.

It wasn’t long before every Xenos faded into the darkness.

“……”

With his allies silently watching over him from behind…

Bell only stared at the spot where he last saw the vouivre girl.

Morning fog filled the air.

The puddles dotting the stone pavement suggested rain must

have fallen the previous night. Wide-leaved trees appeared to be
shedding tears as water droplets fell from their branches every so
often. Another one splashed on the stone surface and vanished.

The sun wasn’t out yet. Only the smallest traces of light were
starting to appear on the horizon.

Silence hung over the sleeping city.

It was early morning at the base of Babel Tower.

Bell’s party returned from their mission a little more than a

full day after their departure.

Fels, who accompanied them to the surface, had already disap-

peared. The party of five stepped out from beneath the white
tower’s entrance.

Hestia waited for her followers outside the gate alone before
sunrise.

Noticing that they numbered one fewer than when she saw
them off, the goddess’s shoulders sank in sadness as she said,
“Welcome back,” with a weak smile.

“Goddess…”

“…What is it, Bell?”

The group was completely alone in Central Park. Bell opened

his mouth to speak.

“What…is the Dungeon?” he asked, turning to face Hestia.

Welf and his other friends quietly watched as she averted her
eyes.

“The Dungeon is…the Dungeon…”

She gave him the same response deities had given the children
of the world from the beginning.

The goddess wouldn’t say more than what had already been
said.

Bell stood like a statue as her words faded away.

The boy stared at the ground as if the world itself weighed on

his shoulders.

Dawn broke on the other side of the city wall, ushering in a

blue sky.
 EPILOGUE
Boundless Malice

“Damn bastard!”

Wham! A loud kick landed on the cage.

The sound of the rattling chains that restrained four limbs and
shrill screaming halted at precisely the same moment.

The one who had been howling and pleading, saying “It hurts,
let me out from here,” had fallen completely silent as though fear-
ful of its master’s furious voice.

A man’s sharp, angry breaths echoed off the stone walls.

“Glenn, keep it down, would you? Want me to feed you to the

monsters?”

“Gah…s-sorry, Dix. But come on, we were so close to finding

their nest…!!”

A hulking human named Glenn howled in frustration, fists

clenched at his sides.

The goggled man, Dix, sat on top of a black cage while resting
the shaft of his red spear against his shoulder.

“Tailing Hestia Familia and the vouivre monster was going so

well, too!”

Surrounded by a ragtag group of animal people, humans, and

Amazons, he let out a sigh loud enough for all to hear.

Thanks to his deity investigating Hestia Familia, as well as as-

suming that the female vouivre had caused the ruckus in town,
Dix had instructed his subordinates to stake out Hestia Familia’s
home.

Of course they noticed when Bell’s party left the building with
the disguised vouivre in tow. They had planned on jumping them
right away, but they quickly deduced that the group was headed
for the Dungeon after seeing their equipment. So they had de-
cided to wait. Returning the beast to the Dungeon—had the
vouivre told them where the talking monsters’ nest was located?
Were they on their way there? That was Dix’s theory and why
they hadn’t made a move.

In fact, they almost hit the nail on the head. They followed the
party into the Dungeon, drooling at the idea their target would
lead them directly to the nest.

Unfortunately—

“Burn in hell, Hermes Familia! Who would’ve thought we

were being followed?”

Dix and his companions had been denied their prize by a sec-
ond familia tailing them.

They were so focused on Bell’s party that another group of ad-

venturers went unnoticed.

Since Hermes Familia members were equipped with magic

items, Dix noticed their pursuers only by lucky coincidence. Bug-
bears were known for their keen sense of smell—and a few of
them seemed to be looking for someone who wasn’t there. Get-
ting a bad feeling, he ordered them to give up the chase and split
up.
 Once the enemy’s presence was revealed, they had scattered
through the Colossal Tree Labyrinth to make a clean getaway.
Now they had regrouped.

That was the true identity of the many “eyes” Bell had sensed
outside Babel Tower before the mission began.

Some of them belonged to Dix’s group, members of Ikelos Fa-

milia; the rest were Hermes Familia’s.

“Damn that god of ours. Just when he finally makes himself

useful, he pulls shit like this.”

Dix grumbled and complained about his deity.

“Hermes’s kiddies may have noticed…” Ikelos had mentioned

in passing, smiling in anticipation. However, the deity was not
present now. Most likely, the idea of a three-sided struggle en-
ticed him—and he was keeping a close eye on the show involving
his own familia from someplace close by. The god thought of his
followers as nothing more than pieces on a board that he could
manipulate for his own amusement.

Dix was all too familiar with their deity’s hunger for entertain-
ment, having experienced this kind of thing many times before.
“Damn that god,” he muttered with his lips curled back.

“So it’s Hermes Familia that’s sniffing us out…meaning they

know about our dealings. Is the Guild on to us, too? Tsk, such a
pain.”

There was yet another side to Ouranos’s secret mission.

Bell and the party, in addition to bringing Wiene to the Xenos

Hidden Village, had served as bait to draw out the hunters, Dix
and his subordinates.
 That was the mission in its entirety.

“Thinking logically, they didn’t jump us when we were trailing

the brats…meaning we were stronger. My bet is they were trying
to find this place.”

The pursuers had been more interested in the location of their

base than themselves.

Dix ridiculed their opponents while analyzing their actions.

“Wh-what are we supposed to do, Dix? At this rate…”

“The hell is there to do? There’s no way we’re gonna stop

doing something so interesting. You all are having plenty of fun
all the same, ain’t that right?”

Dix chuckled from deep in his throat as he looked out at the

not-quite-humanoid figures locked inside the cages.

Several of the captives trembled upon hearing his cruel laugh.

“If the Guild is getting involved, I doubt they want word about
talking monsters spreading around the town. There’s only so
much they can do…We continue the hunt.”

Dix stood up and paced back and forth while spinning his
spear around in his hands.

“We pretty much know what floor the nest is on. Maybe we
should use it for the first time in a while.”

Walking down the line of black cages, Dix took about ten
steps.

Holding his breath, he came to a stop outside one particularly

silent enclosure.
 Hyy! A small, fearful cry emerged from among the bars.

“You’ll do nicely—better prove yourself useful!”

He thrust the wickedly curved spearhead deep into the cage.

An earsplitting shriek of pain flooded out not even an instant
later.
 AFTERWORD

I believe that it is best for a novel’s main story to be resolved be-

tween the covers, and I do my best to make that happen.

Normally, light novels take at least three months to write.

While that time span remains constant, I’ve noticed that three
months feels like less and less time with age. However, I’m sure
that many young people would disagree with that statement. At
the very least, I remember three months feeling like an eternity
back in my teenage years.

Of course, the fact remains that readers want to know what

happens next regardless of age. That urge to “read the next chap-
ter” is a trait we all share. Which is why I understand fleshing out
a story is very important—but at the same time, I try to bring the
story to a close by the end of each volume, even if that means in-
creasing the page count.

After saying all that, I must admit that no, that was not possi-
ble this time.

Volume nine and the next, volume ten, are parts one and two
of the same story. To all my readers, I offer you my sincerest
apologies. Here I was, talking about the beginning of the “Third
Act,” making all these bold claims, and I wind up with something
this embarrassing. What have I done…?!

Painfully aware of my own needlessness, having to resort to

this makes me want to swear off it for good.
 Allow me to lightly touch on this novel’s content. I think it
opens a brand-new world.

I’ve wanted to write this particular episode since I started the

series back in Volume 1 if an opportunity arose. As an author, this
new world is my own “adventure.” Fantasy building on fantasy.
That being said, longtime readers who have been with me since
the start of this journey may feel blindsided.

I believe that every event that has taken place in the main se-
ries can retain its meaning while this new addition adds an en-
tirely new flavor to the story. Also, characters who got a running
start in the side story have joined the main cast. I’ll try my best to
keep everything thrilling.

Changing gears for a moment, I forgot to mention something

during the previous volume. Chapter 4, “Beloved Bodyguard,”
was originally printed in GA Bunko Magazine under the same
title and updated for volume eight. My apologies.

This afterword was really all over the place, but the time has
come for me to express my gratitude.

To my supervisor, Mr. Kotaki; to the one who always takes

time out of his busy schedule to provide beautiful illustrations,
Mr. Suzuhito Yasuda; to everyone involved, thank you for making
this volume possible. Lastly, I would like to express my deepest
appreciation to every reader who picked up this book.

Concerning volume ten, a certain heroine who barely appeared

in this volume will most definitely have a role to play. A certain
other heroine, who has gone “dark” if you believe the rumors, will
also make an appearance. They will bring forth devastation the
likes of which has never been seen before.

Since the story had to be divided into two halves, I am working

night and day to make part two available as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your patience.

Thank you for reading this far.

Let’s meet again in the next installment.

Now I will take my leave.

Fujino Omori