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

Monsters never care about the situation of humans.

Ari bought a longsword for self-defense at the market and learned basic self-defense techniques, but compared to professional mercenaries, her combat ability was still quite limited. If she were surrounded by monsters, she would definitely be powerless to resist.

The free-spirited and beautiful goddess really did not hire any guards and set off directly. Ari was originally worried about what she was planning to do—but in the end, it turned out that she was worrying too much.

“────!?”

The large desert lizard, the "desert monitor lizard," was killed instantly before it could even make a sound.

The reptilian monster, exceeding two meters in length including its tail, was killed by a spear that pierced out like lightning, leaving no trace of its body. Ari couldn't even see what happened in that instant.

The cat-man wielding the silver spear swiftly dispatched all the monsters that had approached by following the scent.

"...I see, no wonder you said you didn't need guards."

"Yes, my family (children) are all here. I originally intended to travel alone, but since I've come along, I'll leave the work to them."

Only then did Ari understand the goddess's divine will.

The Freya Familia is the strongest Familia, so famous that even the local residents of the Chaos Desert are familiar with them. With them by your side, it would seem foolish of Ari to suggest hiring mercenaries.

"But if you want protection, wouldn't it be enough to just keep them by your side...? Where are they hiding anyway...?"

Ari glanced at Ellen, who had suddenly appeared to protect them—or rather, to protect Freya. The cat-man, who was only covered from head to toe by a simple coat, helplessly brandished the spear in his hand.

Judging from Allen's reaction, it was as if he had completely ignored Aly from the very beginning, as if she didn't exist.

"This guy is really cold-hearted... Is he the only one who came along, while everyone else stayed in the city?"

"They're all here. What a bunch of worrywarts."

"W-What!? Where are they!? I don't see them at all except for this cat-man!"

"They're all nearby. The children are keeping a certain distance from us to avoid disturbing us."

Ari turned her head and looked around, but all she could see was endless desert. She couldn't see a single person, let alone the guards who were some distance away. Were they hiding somewhere? Or were they simply beyond Ari's comprehension?

The girl's expression froze, wondering who these people were.

Freya, on the other hand, who gave a relaxed explanation, had already jumped off the camel's back.

The reason was that her buttocks hurt from sitting.

And I'm starting to get carsick.

Seeing the goddess holding the reins and walking alongside the camel, Ari sighed and reluctantly jumped off the camel.

Even if the goddess's actions are beyond reproach, Ari would still feel some resistance to abandoning the goddess and continuing to ride the camel.

"Ariel, I know it's a bit late, but how did you end up as a slave?"

"...it was to escape the pursuit of the enemy (Varsha). Our army was in a state of disarray at the time, and after the troops were scattered by the enemy, I happened to encounter a group led by slave traders, so I deliberately let them capture me."

"So you mean you deliberately became a slave? You really dare to do that?"

Ari had warned Freya not to waste her energy on idle chatter, but Freya still brought it up out of boredom. Finally, Ari gave up and answered the goddess's retreating figure:

"It was purely because I had no other choice... In order to avoid being recognized, I took off my royal armor and clothes and pretended to be a helpless girl. Even if I was treated cruelly, from my position, my priority was to survive. Everything else... was insignificant."

He hesitated slightly before uttering the last sentence. Freya must have heard it, but she didn't say anything more.

Under the scorching sun, the shadows of a young girl, a goddess, and two camels can be clearly seen cast on the desert.

They would occasionally take out their leather water bottles and use the water to moisten their dry throats.

No matter how far you go, the surrounding scenery remains unchanged; as far as the eye can see, there are only hills made of yellow sand.

Along the way, you can see mummified corpses lying by the roadside from time to time.

It looked like an animal that had exhausted itself halfway through, or perhaps the skeleton of a monster. Aly thought it was the latter.

A vast, boundless desert.

Even Aly, who grew up on this land, once wondered if the sea of ​​sand stretched all the way to the horizon.

"—Spit!"

Ari and her friends encountered monster attacks multiple times along the way.

Allen, wielding a silver spear, was always in charge of handling the situation.

He pushed off with all his might, and before the sand kicked up by his feet could land, the monster was already splattering blood and screaming in agony.

By the time Ari sensed the monsters' presence, they had already been annihilated, and this had happened countless times.

At first glance, it looked like a gust of wind stirring up a bit of sand and dust. The desert giant lizard's head had been removed, the sand scorpion was dismembered on the spot, and the falcon flying in the air had its wings broken and was pierced through. The fighting cat's attack left only a sharp and wild afterimage; Ari couldn't see it clearly, but it still amazed her. She hadn't expected the inhabitants of the lower realm to be so powerful, even so "extraordinary."

At the same time, Ari also figured out why she hadn't seen any other members of the Familia besides Eren.

Because this cat-person is the fastest in Freya's Familia.

It can protect the main god most efficiently without any danger.

That's why they left the fight to Allen, while the others kept watch. Whether it was based on trust or a forced acceptance of the situation that led them to stand by, Ari had no way of knowing.

"You brat, stop staring at me like that, it's getting on my nerves."

"You brat...!?"

Having gained a glimpse into the power and terror of the Freya Familia, Ari couldn't help but stare at Allen's profile after the battle, only to receive such a harsh remark.

"Look at yourself, you're just as short as me!" Aly wanted to retort loudly in anger... but she held back at the last moment.

She inexplicably felt that this sentence was a taboo word for Allen.

Ari was worried that if she said this, she would be torn to pieces.

"...Why are you so loyal to that goddess?"

Instead, she blurted out this simple question.

The reason Ari asked the question was simply because she felt she couldn't swallow her anger if she didn't respond.

"I have no need to tell you, you donkey egg, this kind of thing."

"Hmm...! You've seemed really irritable ever since you left the city. You're probably just annoyed by the trouble of protecting the main god, aren't you!?"

Faced with the profanity she received in return, Ari lost her temper on the spot.

Seeing Ari's reaction, Allen felt extremely impatient and turned around to answer:

"In order to remain myself, I have dedicated my body and soul to that great man."

"!"

"To be honest, I want to chain 'that person' to myself, but doing so would make 'that person' no longer herself, just like I would no longer be myself. In that case... it's better to let myself be bothered by troublesome things. That's all."

After hearing Allen's reply, Aly was quite shocked.

(Despite her terrible attitude and violent personality... how could such a powerful subordinate say such things? Just how magnanimous does that goddess possess...?)

Moreover, this incident inexplicably highlighted the gap between Ari and Freya as "kings".

On one side is herself, separated from her allies and once reduced to slavery; on the other is a goddess with powerful soldiers swearing allegiance and possessing the demeanor of a queen. Although it is truly presumptuous to compete with a god, Ari deeply realizes her own immaturity.

Ari – Prince (Aram) does indeed have loyal subjects, and these people are willing to devote themselves to Prince (Aram).

Conversely, however, Aly did nothing at all.

She entrusted everything to her capable and competent ministers, only issuing orders herself. No, they might not have considered these orders as objective criteria. Otherwise, how could the capital have fallen? And how could the army have collapsed so swiftly?

"A prince in name only"

This is Aly's self-assessment, given that she even fakes her gender and cannot show her true self to the world.

"...Why are you all so loyal to that goddess?"

"……What?"

It's probably due to feelings of inferiority.

By the time Alyssa came to her senses, those words had already slipped out.

Allen was about to return to his post when he heard this, so he stopped and slowly turned his head.

"That goddess is too willful. Even if she has the demeanor of a god, she is ultimately too domineering. It feels like she would even laugh and say that this is all just entertainment, and all she thinks about is satisfying her own desires. She doesn't look like a queen at all, but a vixen."

"Shut up, I haven't received permission to slit your throat."

Because the supreme god had been insulted, Allen's tone, which usually sounded impatient, was clearly hostile.

But he simply expressed his displeasure quietly.

Faced with the situation, Ari couldn't help but think of a worthless mouse squeaking loudly in front of a cat that was grooming itself. The fact that the cat completely disdained to stoop to her level infuriated Ari, causing her to lose her temper on the spot.

Freya, who was walking ahead, also stopped. Under her gaze, Ari shouted loudly:

"Anyway, you're all just intoxicated by the goddess's beauty, reduced to mere puppets who only obey orders! You've been completely 'bewitched' by that woman!!"

The next moment—

What Yali saw was a sky.

"--Huh?"

It took her a full second to realize that her "front" was facing "up".

Then, after another second, I realized I was lying on my back in the desert.

Then she slowly raised her head, and it took her a second to realize that "a long spear" had appeared in front of her.

"────"

It wasn't until the fourth second that Ari finally realized she had almost been killed.

Alan Fromer swept his leg, knocking the girl to the ground, and thrust the tip of his gun towards her forehead. His icy eyes radiated a murderous intent that showed no mercy.

Behind Allen stood a boarman warrior, who was gripping the handle of his gun with one hand.

To the left and right of the girl (Ari) stood a dark elf and a white elf, respectively, their black swords and rhomphairs intertwined to block the spear tips.

In addition, four dwarves surrounded the cat-man, each holding a sword against his neck.

Ari realized that she had been saved from death thanks to these seven people, and at the same time, she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Stop, Allen! This is against the will of the goddess."

Allen was about to stab the girl in the face when Ota, standing behind him, stopped him with a deep voice.

Allen's anger was still burning.

He had no intention of uttering a single extra word; he only wanted to kill Ari with the purest killing intent. And this was the fire of anger he felt towards those who offended the supreme god with their words.

Just as Ari was so frightened by the cat-man's fierce gaze that she forgot to breathe, she suddenly realized something.

Ota and the others did not stop Allen because they were afraid of killing him.

They were actually furious with Alyssa, but they stepped in to stop Allen for the sake of their goddess.

"Allen, put the gun down."

Freya, who had been standing aside watching, slowly uttered these words.

Even though his weapon was blocked, and even though a blade was pressed against his neck, the cat-man who wanted to kill the girl on the spot finally lowered his spear after hearing the goddess's words.

However, Allen's movements were very slow, and it was easy to see that his anger and loyalty were still vying for control.

"I'm glad you're angry for me, but don't be violent. You scared Ari."

"Are you sure?"

"It's alright, I'm used to it."

Despite Allen's icy tone, Freya smiled as if she didn't care at all.

Then she stepped forward and extended her hand to Aly.

Still shaken, Alyssa, lying on the ground, instinctively grabbed that hand and stood up.

After putting away their weapons, Ota and the others quietly left the scene and returned to their posts. As they did so, the goddess of beauty—

"let's go."

He finished speaking so briefly, as if nothing had happened, and continued on his journey.

Perhaps her sore buttocks had recovered, and she immediately mounted the camel.

While the other camel and Aly, who had been thrown down, were still standing there, Alan, the only one still at the scene, spoke.