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

Runova grabbed Ryu by the collar and slapped her several times.

The long, slender ears twitched in pain, and the elf in the bar uniform finally regained her senses.

"Lunova, Chloe... what's wrong with me...?"

"We told you we found Seele and the others!"

"—Huh!? Is this...really!?"

"Don't let the cats say the same thing so many times, meow! Cats, hurry up and get going, meow! Go check if the boy's little butt has lost its virginity, meow!!"

"Seele doesn't have that kind of fetish!!"

"Ryu~ Runova~ Chloe~! What are you doing, meow? Hurry up and go find them, meow~!"

A chop to the neck and a backhand punch exploded on Chloe's body as she gasped for breath.

After a bit of playful fighting, the three of them quickly ran towards Anya, who was waving vigorously.

"Please, Hermes! Please help me!"

"Hey! Stop pulling my clothes!! Hestia!!"

While the bartenders were busy searching for the person—

The cries of the goddess and the god echoed on the east side of the street.

"Bell didn't return to base yesterday! Who knows, he might have already been devoured by Seele or something!! Please, please help me find him!!!"

"I've already sent Asphie to gather information! So please let go now!"

Faced with Hestia, who was desperately clutching her trousers and wailing, Hermes, in order to avoid being exposed in public, desperately held onto his pants.

Hestia and Ais, who had been searching for Bell since early morning, ran into Hermes and his group on the street a few minutes earlier. The Virgin Goddess, pale and disoriented like the other elf, pounced on Hermes upon seeing him, completely losing control of her emotions.

Hestia concluded that since she couldn't find any clues on her own, she could only rely on the Hermes Familia, which had a vast intelligence network.

Hestia, having nearly ripped Hermes's pants, finally released her hold on after hearing him accept the request, collapsing onto the cobblestone pavement. Hermes, now free, breathed a sigh of relief. Ais, who had been watching from the side, spoke with a guilty expression:

"I'm sorry, God Hermes... we simply can't find Bell on our own..."

"Ah, Ais... don't worry about it. After all, Hestia is willing to join forces with you, so the situation must be quite serious. Besides, I'm also a little worried about Bell and the others."

Ais gently patted the little goddess who was lying on the ground, sobbing and crying "Bell~~~~~", while at the same time feeling puzzled by what Hermes said after he had calmed down.

"Hermes seems to care a lot about Bell and the others...?"

"To be precise, it's Seele, my little sister."

Ais looked puzzled as she looked at those slightly narrowed, orange-yellow eyes.

Even as Ais pressed for more information, the male god simply stared at the "Tower of Babel" without offering any further explanation.

After a period of time──

"Hormes has located Bell Crane and the others; they are currently in the second district on the northeast side of the city."

"Wow, well done, Asphie!"

The next instant after a gentle breeze blew, Asif appeared before the three of them as if she had materialized out of thin air.

This was all thanks to the magical flying shoes and the black helmet. Asphie used her invisibility to avoid being noticed by ordinary people and searched for Bell and the others from the air.

"—The second district in the northeast of the city! Bell is there!?"

"Yes, he was with Leon's colleague... Seele Frova."

"Finally caught you! Let's go! Miss Warren...!"

"Ah, yes."

Hestia suddenly jumped up from the ground, grabbed Ais, and ran away as fast as she could.

Asphie caught a glimpse of this scene and couldn't help but sigh.

"I should still be on vacation... but you still insist on dumping trouble on me, Hermes."

"I'm so sorry!!"

"Then please allow me to deliver a punch to your face..."

When Asphi saw the main god's bright smile, she clenched her fists in anger, then sighed again and immediately followed closely behind Hestia and the others.

After turning into the alley, we jogged through the intricate, spiderweb-like dark lanes.

As if trying to escape something, they kept hurrying away from the main road and deeper into the second district.

As I was being pulled along by the hand, I asked the pale gray hair swaying in front of me:

"Um, may I ask if you could explain this first...?"

"Sorry, we need to get going now...! Go as far as possible...!"

Her dress swayed with each step she took.

She was carrying the same small handbag as yesterday, the contents of which rattled as she ran.

She kept breathing through her mouth, and the steps she took in her flat shoes eventually stopped, as if announcing that her owner's strength had been exhausted.

"Huff... huff...!"

There were wide, upward-reaching staircases, an arched bridge overhead, iron gates, scattered wooden crates and barrels, and a familiar, dirty signboard. This was deep in a secluded alley; someone who had never been here before would definitely get lost.

There was no one around, and all that could be heard was her panting.

Looking at her, I still couldn't hide my confusion, and reached into my pocket.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should bring it up at this time, but after much deliberation, I took everything out of my pocket in one go.

"this."

"ah……!"

I handed over the "silver jewelry" that I had collected from the hotel table.

She paused for a moment when she saw the ornament decorated with pale blue—the other half of the pair.

They just stared intently at what I was holding.

It looked as if he had witnessed something he had said goodbye to reappear before his eyes.

Then, she slowly picked up the ornament.

"I'm sorry... it seems I forgot to take it with me when I left the room."

"...That's really going too far. It was Miss Seele who insisted on buying this in the first place."

"Hehe... I really... I'm so sorry."

She wore the silver jewelry as a hair accessory.

The pale gray accessories perfectly complemented her light gray hair, making her as elegant and beautiful as she had been yesterday.

However, the smile on her face still gave people a sense of unreality.

—Because continuing to possess it is probably pointless.

Judging from her lip movements, she seemed to be whispering something in the next instant.

She suddenly threw herself into my arms.

"Huh...!?"

"Please, Mr. Bell, this is the last time."

I quickly supported her shoulders, and she said this as if squeezing out a sound while her head was lowered in my arms.

When she looked up, I couldn't help but gasp.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled with tenderness.

She is like a girl in love, but also like a puppet controlled by her inner impulses.

Those pale gray eyes stared straight at me.

"This is my last chance. If I miss this opportunity, I will never be able to fulfill my wish in my entire life."

"...What are you saying...?"

"Because this is a 'contract,' something I 'negotiated' to obtain. I will definitely be forced to separate from you in the future."

This sentence sounds very reluctant, as if it were a plea for help, and is very fragile.

She looked up at me and spoke with all her might.

Then she stood on tiptoe and brought her face close to mine.

I was so frightened that my whole body trembled, and I tried to press down on her shoulders to stop the situation from escalating—

Please...don't resist me.

--The situation is different from last night.

That night, Miss Seele did not appear so eager.

The "deadline" seems inescapable and is fast approaching, as if we are eagerly anticipating escaping our "fate".

To me, it looked like she was crying out.

Then she slowly brought her lips to his—

"【Let the slaughter continue until the feast is over】."

The next moment.

The chanting began.

"──"

Within the cracks of time.

In that fleeting, almost eternal moment, I was startled by the strange phenomenon the very next second—

Driven by my instinct to scream, I slammed my foot into the ground.

"【Black Essence Demon Sword】".

A fierce flash of sword light passed before my eyes.

That was a pitch-black slash capable of severing everything in the world.

It was nothing short of a miracle that I was able to react to that blow coming from above.

The moment I grabbed her and jumped away without a second thought, the stone pavement shattered.

"~ ...

We were both thrown away by the shockwave and rolled several times on the ground until we finally stopped. I quickly looked up.

The spot I was standing in just a second had shattered. Looking at the ground that looked as if it had been torn apart by a dragon's claws, I broke out in a cold sweat.

I looked in horror at the attackers, and saw a dark elf standing amidst the swirling dust...

I spoke, my voice trembling.

"...Hegney, sir?"

A black cloak fluttering in the wind, a sinister-looking black longsword, and an unusual sense of oppression.

After shaking me off, was he deliberately avoiding eye contact with me, secretly following me again? Befitting his status as a first-class adventurer of the [Freya Familia], he suddenly appeared in the dark alleyway where there should have been only the two of us.

--Strange? Who is he?

Something seems off. Is he really the dark elf I met before?

Mr. Hegney exudes such a completely different aura.

I have absolutely no idea what's going on.

The only thing I'm sure of is that a level one adventurer slashed at me with his sword.

(No, according to the previous position—)

The attack just now was not aimed at me.

The black sword was aimed at her!?

"What do you want to do?"