Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"You mean Miss Liu? She's busy with Aunt Mia's shop, she probably can't come..."

At this point, Bell added, somewhat reluctantly:

"And, how should I put it? She refuses to meet with me... it's like she's avoiding me..."

Members of all factions participating in the "Factional Alliance" gathered at the entrance of the [Deankait Familia] clinic. As comrades who had shared life and death over the hardships of the "Expedition," they all came to inquire about the recovery progress of Bell, whose injuries were the most severe.

Aside from Aisha, who had complained that "the Lord God wanted to see me," the only other person not present was Ryu.

Knowing that Ryu was from a race with obsessive-compulsive disorder (elf), Bell was worried that he might have unknowingly done something to offend her. Only Lily had an expression that seemed to guess what was going on.

She knew what was going on, but said nothing. Of course, she couldn't say anything. "First Lady Cassandra, then even Lady Ryu...? No, no, that's too much, impossible, absolutely not..." she muttered to herself.

Her appearance made Chunji tilt her head slightly in confusion.

"Um, so...? Mr. Bell? With your arm like this, exploring the dungeon is......"

Cassandra, whose cheeks were still flushed, timidly peeked out from behind the overly annoyed Daphne's shoulder, asking him a question.

Bell nodded with a smile.

"Yes. Anyway, the 'Expedition' just ended... I want to rest for a while."

Looking up, you can see a vast, clear blue sky.

As if to offer a brief respite to adventurers who have safely returned from arduous trials, the sky was clear and cloudless.

"Because the gods told me that resting and recuperating is also the job of adventurers."

Volume 15 Interlude: Growth, Present, and Black Bread

Bell Craney

Lv.4

力量：I0→C676　耐久：I0→B701　灵巧：I0→B724

Agility: I0 → B718 Magic: I0 → C655 Luck: G → F

Abnormal resistance: H→G Escape: I

〖magic〗

【Flame Lightning】

·Quick attack magic.

〖Skill〗

【Liaris Freese】

·precocious.

• Maintains the effect simultaneously with feelings of longing.

The stronger the longing, the greater the effect.

【Hero's Wish (Argonauts)】

• Has the power to implement active actions.

【Ox Slayer】

• When fighting against bull-like creatures, all abilities receive a super high bonus.

"Bell, what exactly have you done?"

This was the first thing Hestia said after her [Ability Values] were updated.

She stared at the boy's back, her expression becoming extremely serious.

However, the tone of his voice when asking the question was very rigid, completely lacking in intonation.

Because of his cast, Bell was sitting in a chair to receive his updated assignments, which made him shift his body awkwardly.

The location is the "Heartfire House," the headquarters of the Hestia Familia.

They were in an empty room on the first floor.

Since surviving the "expedition," Hestia and her companions haven't had the time to work on updating their [ability values], which was originally scheduled to be done.

Because they had to take off their clothes, only the two of them were in the room; Hestia put her hands, which she had been working on, on her knees.

She even wanted to take a deep breath, wipe the sweat from her forehead, and flash a bright smile.

It's just an escape from reality.

--The total proficiency level of the ability parameter exceeds 3400.

This is definitely the teenager's personal best. Could it be that this will rewrite the world record?

No, other gods' followers could do it too if they wanted to—as long as they didn't update at all, accumulated as many experience points as possible before unlocking their abilities—it wouldn't be impossible, so if they looked hard enough, he might not be the only one... But making such comparisons is pointless now. He can't even proudly boast, "I've gained so much proficiency from just one 'adventure'!"

Conversely, this fact means that family members are likely to have fought their way out in many "tragic and heroic battles," and one wrong step could mean they are no longer here.

"Uh──..."

Bell, who accepted the replacement paper, wasn't much better off, showing a very embarrassed expression.

He couldn't even be happy about the astonishing growth in numbers; he bent the fingers of one hand and said:

"...I've probably almost died eight times."

Okay, I know.

The mere mention of that "Enhanced Species" monster was terrifying enough, and Bell was also battling incomprehensible adversaries like the Deep Species (Lemton) and the Destroyers, only to be forcibly taken to the "Deep Layer" to linger on the brink of death in the dark; she had indeed heard the whole story of these "expeditions." And after hearing the whole tale, she was so dizzy and lightheaded she almost fainted. Okay, actually, she did faint.

And now that the story has been restored with ability values ​​as evidence, Hestia couldn't help but press her hand to her forehead.

"...Bell, could you please tell Miss Supporter that I'll update her stats another day? Sorry, I'm feeling really tired..."

"Ah, okay... I'm sorry..."

She asked to stop updating in an extremely tired tone, which made Bell look extremely apologetic.

If the guild's advisor heard about this, she'd probably be slumped over the table too. I can almost feel a strong sense of kinship with her. Maybe I should invite her out for drinks next time and check how strong her attraction to Bell is. Hestia's gaze drifted into the distance as she daydreamed.

To be honest, she felt that upgrading wouldn't be a problem, but she decided to remain silent.

Is it because this is purely her personal feeling?

Maybe Hestia made a mistake?

She wasn't worried at all because Bell had only just leveled up to Lv.4, or the Grand Assembly of the Gods hadn't ended for long. If she dared to say "Bell [leveled up]" now, the gods would definitely be drooling with envy, their eyes darting around in a frenzy of excitement, right? Really not worried? If she says it's true, then it's true—!

As Hestia waged a strange battle with the inner voice surging within her, she let out a breath that seemed to stretch on forever.

"...You've really grown a lot, Belle."

then.

She spoke with confidence, more emotionally charged than anyone else.

"You've really grown up since we first met."

As she spoke, she smiled at the boy who kept blinking—her first "family member".

*

"Well then, I'm heading out."

Having finished updating my [ability stats] with the gods, I left the base camp.

Today I plan to wander around and take a casual stroll.

One reason is, of course, to rest, but the biggest reason is to eliminate the side effects of lingering in the "deep layers" for too long.

It felt as if my body was saying, "I want to fully bask in the long-awaited light from the earth's surface."

Considering that my left arm is in a cast, walking around for too long might not be good, but I think it should be fine if I can rest occasionally.

Since I have this rare opportunity, I'd like to take my time strolling around the streets.

"It's been so long since I've strolled around the streets with Belle like this."

"Yeah. It feels like I haven't done anything with Welf alone lately."

Calling it "accompanying" seems a bit strange, but anyway, Welf volunteered to accompany me out in my cast.

He just finished repairing my and Miss Life's weapons, yet he kindly came to keep me company. Actually, Lily seems to want to be with him too... but she's currently heading to the "Guild" to submit her "Expedition" report, which is due soon.

We encountered a whole host of "irregularities," not just in the "lower levels," but even in the "deeper levels"; however, Lily insisted that we shouldn't tell the management (guild) about these facts.

Her statement was:

"If they find out we've reached the 'Deep Layer,' even though the chances are slim, our Familia's rank could still go up. What would happen then? That's right, the taxes we pay to the guild would increase—how awful! And what if the guild tells us something like, 'Then the next target is the 38th floor!'? Even the simplest condition for completing future expedition missions, 'reaching more floors,' would become difficult. Lily isn't trying to imitate Lady Welf, but she still wants to curse, 'Are you kidding me?' If it weren't for Lady Aisha or Lady Ryu, not only would the 'Deep Layer' be dangerous, but even the 'Lower Layer' would be dangerous! No way, no way, absolutely no way. And who can guarantee they won't throw some difficult adventurer quests or mandatory missions at us? Of course, it's better to keep the significant increase in the number of floors reached a secret—no doubt, no doubt, that's the ultimate truth. ...Besides, this 'expedition' was a forced march from beginning to end; it was a complete loss."

That's what she said.

Hearing the staff officer's rapid-fire speech, not a single person, including the immortal, dared to object.

Incidentally, when Lily mentioned the part about "only losing money and never making any profit," her eyes were shrouded in a darkness even deeper than the 37th floor. Miss Haruhime and I were terrified, while Welf and Miss Fate could only remain silent…

Frankly, Uranus and Fels both know our predicament, so I don't think it's necessary to be so neurotic...

In short, Lily would rather be punished by the management for the failure of the "expedition" than let the Hestia Familia remain a core faction that has not yet achieved much.

In fact, ever since we encountered the "enhanced species," we haven't had the time to collect the designated "dropped items," so this forced mission was a failure. I vividly remember Lily's retreating figure, clutching a hefty fine bag, gritting her teeth as she headed towards the guild headquarters. Incidentally, Miss Haruhime was also forcibly taken along, supposedly for her to observe and learn.

Miss Yuki and Mr. Sakura, who came to check on the situation, along with other members of the Takemikazuchi Familia, took over the duties of staying behind. The immortals will be going to work later.

"Hey, Bell, ever since you went back to base, you sometimes wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, right?"

"...You knew all along?"

"Yeah, because I'm sleeping in the room next to yours. I guess you've been staying in the 'deep layer' for too long, right?"

"Hmm... because we could only rest for a maximum of five minutes there, and we could be attacked by monsters at any time. I guess even now that we're back on the surface, my mind and body are still a bit oversensitive..."

I walked side by side with Welf, chatting as we went down the street.

Perhaps worried that being suddenly thrown into the "deep layer" might cause me psychological trauma, Welf looked at me with concern.

"That must be very painful. So you probably haven't been sleeping well lately, have you?"

"I-I'm fine! Don't worry! Besides, Miss Haruhime seems to have noticed that something's wrong with me; she comes to check on me every time I wake up!"

"--Hmm?"

"She meant it's because she's an orc, and... because of the 'nature of her job' at the brothel, she seems to have been trained to pay close attention to whether guests turn over after falling asleep, or whether they're awake or asleep...!"

"--Hmm?"

"She would hold my hand until I fell asleep, or read me stories of heroes...! I think if I had a sister, she would be like her, making me feel so happy... No! Anyway, I'm fine, don't worry!"

"...Please don't tell Goddess Hestia or Little Riko about this."

Not wanting to worry Welf, I blushed and desperately recounted what had happened between Miss Haruhime and me in the middle of the night, only to receive an indescribable expression from him. Strange, what did that expression mean?

—After all, I've fought one battle after another, so now I just need to relax my tense nerves.

I think so.

This is just my personal imagination, but I think that those who return from "expeditions," including Miss Ais and the other first-level adventurers, might also settle down in "leisurely time on the surface." For example, taking a walk like me, gazing at the sky absentmindedly, or following the footsteps of the crowd.

Is it a "ritual" to restore oneself...? I'm not good at describing it, but if you stay in the dungeon for too long, you'll feel out of place in the atmosphere of the surface, or confused by the slow passage of time. In short, you'll feel a sense of "disparity".

The person who can overreact and wake up at the slightest sound while lying in bed is probably the best example.

In a sense, this might be a kind of occupational disease, known as "underground city disease."

You must adapt to "peaceful" times and relax your mind and body, otherwise you won't be able to rest properly.

Therefore, such moments are still necessary for adventurers.

"That's a rising star... no, it's a Rabbit Foot?"

"And Ignis is here too."

"Hey kid! Not going to the dungeon today?"

"We got some nice fruit today! Would you like to take some if you don't mind?"

"Big brother with white hair! What happened to your hand?"

"You were injured in the dungeon?"

"It hurts!"