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

Startled by being left behind, Bell and the others hurriedly chased after the girl.

"【Little Rookie】Let's run together with Haruhime!"

"Well, that's no problem."

"The prophetic dream about mantis eggs falling like rain—that's what it was all about! Little Naza cried out in distress after her experiment with the eggs failed, but I thought it was all over!"

"Ugh, Cassandra! At a time like this!"

Bell grabbed Haruhime's hand and they ran. While Cassandra, still marveling, was being scolded by Daphne, a panting Haruhime glanced behind her. A large swarm of shimmering crystal mantises was now chasing after them with terrifying momentum.

It seems that Haruhime could turn the tide if she used her "spell." However, it would be difficult to use Rank Ascension against Daphne and the others. Although it's not that he doesn't trust Daphne and the others, Aisha had given him strict orders, so he's trying to avoid using it. Besides, with this many enemies, there's simply not enough time to delay the incantation.

"What exactly do you want to do, Miss Lena!?"

Lena didn't answer Bell's shouts. Although the worst thing would be to run around and be attacked by other monsters appearing from the front, she kept turning her head and looking around, seemingly searching for something.

While Bell and the others were wondering, only Daphne seemed to realize something and whispered "Ah."

"I think I know what to do."

The moment those words were spoken, Bell and his group, led by Rena, arrived at the spacious "large room".

Inside the dome-shaped space, there happened to be other adventurer teams who had defeated the monster.

"Is that Mr. Morde over there?"

Bell recognized a familiar face among them.

It seems to be the same trio that has always been there, along with other adventurers, as they explore together.

"Huh? What's that 'Little Rookie' over there?"

"Following behind them was a huge swarm of 'Crystal Mantises'!?"

"Those bastards, could it be!?"

Morde, Scott, and Gale were horrified when they saw Bell and the monster.

Seeing this reaction, Bell and his team understood their situation objectively.

Above all, could it be that he was looking at Lena's back like this?

Lena, who was at the very front, waved one hand and rushed towards Morde and the others without hesitation.

"Sorry, I'll leave it to you!"

"What the hell?! Are you kidding me?!"

Immediately afterwards, Mord and his companions roared in unison with the monsters' charge.

"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" ! 』

"Ughh ...

The army of Crystal Mantises clashed with Mord and his comrades, who had been made scapegoats and were now wailing in despair.

Faced with the sudden appearance of widespread wailing, Bell's facial muscles twitched.

"Strange, a 'monster presentation'!"

This is precisely one type of combat that takes place in the dungeon. The monster horde is pushed towards other adventurer teams, forcing them to take emergency evasion. The effect is as expected: Mord and his companions, desperately and frantically wielding their weapons, are fighting the monster army in place of Bell.

Bell had suffered from the "Monster Presentation" before and had been trapped in a desperate situation.

"Did Mr. Sakura and the others feel the same way back then?" As he recalled the situation, the boy, who never expected to become the perpetrator, was suddenly struck by a fierce pang of conscience.

"Tch! There are just too many! We can't escape either!"

Some of the Crystal Mantises that had stormed into the "Big Room" crawled up the ceiling and slammed down on Daphne and her companions as they brushed past Mord and the others.

They had no choice but to fight back, and the two teams engaged in a chaotic battle with the monster army.

As Haruhime, shielded behind Bell, held her breath...

"Haruhime! Sing now!"

"Eh?"

"We've pushed back some of the monsters and reduced their numbers. As long as we have [Little Rookie] to defend, that should be enough! Because of this situation, no one will notice the 'amazing sorcery'!"

"!"

Hearing Lena's words while she was fighting and shouting, Haruhime and Bell, who was standing to the side, suddenly realized what was going on.

Indeed, both Mord and Daphne were too busy to care for themselves, so even if Haruhime started singing, no one would have the time or energy to pay attention. Rena's decisive "Monster Presentation" was precisely for this purpose.

Haruhime and Bell exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

"[Grow bigger—]"

Bell cut down several attacking 'Crystal Mantises,' and Haruhime began chanting behind him. Ironically, her figure, highly focused on magic and incantations, was only concealed from the adventurers' view by the thick wall of monsters.

Bell will not allow any monster to get even a little bit closer to Haruhime.

Cut down the monsters' attacks one by one.

"[This body, having swallowed divine delicacies, is bestowed with divine golden light. The gavel is returned to the earth, and blessings are granted—]"

As the boy attacked, the girl's chanting also accelerated.

Feeling their breaths overlap, Bell and Haruhime both laughed.

It seems like this has never happened before, with the two of them working together in such close proximity.

This is exactly what "dungeon dating" is all about. It's a feeling that arises naturally when two people's hearts connect without any effort on their part.

"—【The Magic Hammer】!"

A large number of light particles were imparted to the boy.

Having reached what appeared to be Level 4, Bell used lightning-fast movements to wipe out the army of Crystal Mantises.

Summer is approaching in Orario, and the sunset time is correspondingly becoming later.

It took Bell and his crew quite a while to get back to the ground, but the sky had just turned a dark red.

After Ping'an wiped out the Crystal Mantis army, Bell and Chunji humbly begged Daphne and the others to give some of the Magic Stones and Dropped Items to Mord and his group as atonement.

"Since we're in the same industry, there's no need to worry too much. 'Monster presentations' and such happen all the time."

Although Lena had said that with an innocent smile, she didn't dare repeat it in front of Mord and his men, who were radiating murderous intent. Bell's muttered words, "The adventurer's profession is truly murky," left a deep impression on Haruhime.

Say goodbye to Daphne and Cassandra in the central square, and part ways with Reina in the guild courtyard.

After exchanging "dropped items" and receiving her reward, she smiled and said, "The two of you should enjoy this together~", handing over 100,000 Valis.

Feeling completely manipulated from the start by the departed Amazonian girl, Haruhime and Bell laughed as they headed towards the eastern part of the city. Their destination was the final one, the one they shared.

It seemed that Aisha and her group had successfully diverted the crowd, and the city was no longer filled with any signs of disturbance.

Bell and his companions walked side by side down the main road, which was tinged with the colors of dusk, and arrived there.

"This is the Great Library of Norme."

"Wow, this is my first time here too!"

The building, which even requires looking up, has four stories and exudes an atmosphere that is almost like a solemn church.

As they approached the entrance, Norm, dressed in an expensive uniform resembling that of a bank clerk, was preparing to close the museum. After hurriedly running over and saying he wanted to enter, the short, lower-ranking elf looked up at Bell and his companions for a moment, then swayed his beard and let them pass.

"Wow!"

The moment she passed through the entrance, Haruhime couldn't help but let out a breath of emotion.

This is a vast world of books and bookshelves.

Due to the structure of the connecting corridor, the space is divided, with bookshelves packed tightly together on the first, second, third, and even fourth floors. The bookshelves themselves are very tall, and even the spaces inaccessible without a ladder are filled with books. Most of the bookshelves are dominated by a heavy, dark brown color, and the smell of old paper makes Chunji's nose itch. Looking up, the ceiling is covered with numerous murals depicting gods, elves, and heroes.

The solemn space constructed by this elf is itself as dreamlike as the world of a 'story'.

"So many books..."

"Wow, that's amazing! How many volumes are there?"

Both Chunji and Bell had their eyes shining and their hearts pounding like children.

The two who exclaimed "the best exclamation of the day" couldn't hide their smiles and immediately went inside.

As it was almost closing time, there was no one else around except for the Gnom librarian. Haruhime and her friends had the whole place to themselves. Although they felt a little apologetic, their excitement was the dominant feeling. After passing through a bunch of tables set up in the center for free reading and checking the library clock hanging on a large pillar, they headed towards the area where their target books were located.

Haruhime and the others headed to the top floor—which, as expected, contained bookshelves filled with all sorts of heroic tales.

"Needless to say, there's 'Labyrinth Oratoria,' 'Guardian Belial,' 'Galard's Adventure,' 'The Bewildered Dillard,' 'My Song of Eno,' and 'Utopia (Arcadia)'!"

"There are also 'a thousand children'! Even the stories from the Far East have this many!"

As expected of the library of the labyrinthine city where "heroes" were born, the number of hero tales is astonishing. The four entire floors built along the walls seem to be dedicated to storing stories of heroes or based on mythology, making it a veritable treasure trove for Haruhime and her companions.

Like two young children holding hands on an adventure, the two lingered in front of the bookshelves.

"ah"

"Miss Haruhime?"

at this time.

Chunji stopped in her tracks in front of the title of a book that caught her eye.

That's an abandoned bookshelf. It's a small graveyard for books waiting to be discarded due to damaged bindings or the like.

As Bell turned around, tilting his head in confusion, Haruhime pulled the book out of the bookshelf.

The book's title is—"The Adventures of Billgames"

"This is the tale of heroes."

"Yes, an ancient epic of heroes. Among the many adventures is a story of an encounter with a great prostitute."

This is also the story of how the idea that "prostitutes are symbols of destruction" was instilled in Chun-hee.

In subsequent tales of heroes, prostitutes mostly met tragic ends, or faced a fate where their efforts were unrewarded. Of course, there were prostitutes who offered advice and assisted in the fight, but none of them truly married the heroes or stood by their side.

The book itself is already tattered. The binding is damaged, and if you look at it by the pages, there are many scratches that make it unreadable. It feels like the pages would fall apart if you blew on them.

"This is a story that scared my daughter when she was little. Why would she do such a terrible thing to a hero?"

""

"Then, now, it's a story that resonates with us. A prostitute, immersed in desire and bringing misfortune to many, becomes pathetic in front of a dazzling hero she encounters, and helplessly, is drawn to him."

He spoke quietly to Bell, who remained silent, tracing the barely legible pages with his fingers.

"I know it all, you lewd Babylon!"

Just how many evil deeds have you committed!

How many men have you seduced and ruined, leading them to their doom?

Have some shame, you vixen!

So what, Bill Games the Hero.

I crave men. I crave love. I crave everything.

If you want to fill the void in me, even using everything in this world wouldn't be enough!

However, I always thought only you could fill the emptiness in my heart!

I must abandon you!

Whether you are as beautiful as a pearl sunk to the bottom of the sea, or as innocent as a child who knows nothing of sin!

If the truth is that you're harboring a monster inside your body!

Oh, gods, behold! My sword will strike the scathing hammer upon the licentious queen, at that very moment!

"Then die! Die!"

If he can't be the man I want, then I don't need him!

Even if that killing sword cuts my body in two, it's the same!

I will pray forever in the abyss that you and everyone connected to you will face annihilation!

The hero swung his sword without mercy, while the prostitute was filled with resentment.

The story ends abruptly here. The text is blurry, and the rest is completely illegible.