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

"Eek!?" The male scout was too frightened to utter a sound by Allen's utterly enraged expression. Ignoring the gasps of the other valiant warriors, Allen gripped the handle of his silver spear as if he wanted to snap it in two, and glared fiercely towards the west.

"That good-for-nothing...!!"

The warriors who she once regarded as symbols of hell now focused their gazes on Anya as if they wanted to kill her with their eyes.

Her brother, who lives somewhere on the island, has probably already received the news and is probably cursing her in a fit of rage.

Despite being surrounded by psychological trauma, Anya stared straight ahead without any fear.

"Just a worthless abandoned cat! It didn't learn its lesson and came back to get itself into trouble!"

"Weren't you heartbroken by Ellen and the goddess Freya—no, by Lady Seele!?"

That happened when the city was "enchanted" and turned into a "closed world".

Not only was Anya rejected by her own blood relatives, but the goddess also revealed the truth to her in the worst possible way.

Overwhelmed by reality, Anya locked herself in her bedroom and lived a life of self-destruction.

Faced with the insults and questions from Du Hualin and Alfred, two of the four brothers, Anya nodded politely in response.

"The cat was really heartbroken. No, the cat was completely broken up and a mess... it couldn't understand anything anymore, meow."

As Anya poured out her heart in a calm yet inexplicably melancholic tone, Lunova, Chloe, and the others fell silent.

"But the cat will no longer be confused, meow."

Anya suddenly changed her attitude and stared straight ahead.

Let's turn our attention to a more distant location behind the four Jaliba brothers.

I gaze upon the westernmost edge of the island where a certain "girl" resides—the "House of God."

"The cat is here to help Seele, meow!"

Anya revealed a look of relief, dispelling the gloom in her heart, and loudly declared her determination on the battlefield.

Volume 18, Chapter 9: Giving You the Language of Flowers ②

*

Backtrack a little bit.

"What are you doing here, you useless goddess?"

"What does it matter? This is a tavern, right?"

On the eve of the start of the war game.

In the tavern "The Abundant Mistress," which bears a "Closed" sign, a goddess sits at the bar, sipping her drink with her cheek in her hand. Needless to say, it is Loki.

"Hey, Mia's mom...why don't you want to participate in the war game?"

Because Mia refused to serve her wine, the goddess brought her own and got completely drunk, looking up at Mia's face.

Even when those red eyes were staring intently at her, Mia remained unmoved.

"Go away, it's no use no matter how many times you come."

As Mia said, Loki has been visiting the "abundant mistress" for days on end.

To be precise, Loki had been lobbying ever since the rules of the war game were finalized.

"Although my family can't participate in the battle, the guild hasn't forbidden me from wandering around outside the battlefield~ I really don't want the little dwarf to steal the spotlight, but this time, I'm determined to secretly help her defeat Freya~"

"This is none of my business."

"My entire family (Bert and others) are furious! Finn even shared all his secret knowledge with us!"

Mia, who had heard Loki's endless monologues countless times, looked dumbfounded.

She started wiping the wine glasses as if she couldn't be bothered to deal with a drunkard.

"Sigh, Mother Mia, actually the gods have been secretly running betting odds on this war game. Do you know what the odds are?"

"How could I possibly know?"

"It's 100 to 0, every god is betting on that infatuated girl to win."

"..."

"Because this way, betting couldn't be opened at all, so the bookmaker simply canceled the event. Today's battle was so predictable, all because of that idiot in the guild, it was just a disguised public execution."

Loki made no attempt to hide his contempt.

So what if it's a request from the three great adventurers? They're a bunch of idiots. She kept muttering and complaining.

"However... under certain additional 'conditions,' the odds could become 99 to 1."

The goddess raised her head, abandoning her nonchalant attitude.

"Miya's mother, that's the side where you joined the faction alliance."

"..."

"Based on my personal prediction, if the former leader of the Freya Familia, Mia Grande... Lv.6 Demi Ymir, is willing to defect, there is a sliver of a chance."

This is about Ota's past before he became the captain.

Mia, who had already partially left the Freya Familia during the "Dark Period," was able to easily endure the harsh "baptism" with a disdainful attitude. If she were to join the faction alliance, given her familiarity with the Freya Familia and the "blessing" of the goddess she still carries, she would not only be a valuable asset but would also be a "trump card."

However, Mia remained silent as always.

This situation is different from what happened in the "closed world". After seeing Freya's determination to get Bell at all costs, Mia is unable to act rashly - as can be seen from the hard work Hestia and Hermes put in to break the "charm" - in short, Loki is willing to back down.

But this time it's different; Freya can no longer use "Charm".

Therefore, Mia had no reason to continue acting so negatively.

"You secretly helped push that boy before, why won't you lend a hand now?"

Mia was still wiping the wine glasses.

He just kept wiping the wine glasses.

It's not like she usually does when she wipes things so badly.

Mia sighed as she grew increasingly disgusted with those all-seeing divine eyes and her own foolish thoughts.

"...I have a 'contract' with that goddess."

""contract"?"

"The contract stipulates that I cannot interfere when she finds a partner."

Mia omitted many details and instead brought up events from the past.

This is a story from when the dwarf was still a very young girl and met a goddess in a flower field.

"Partner... So, is that infatuated girl's destined partner the white-haired boy?"

"I guess so."

"How incredibly stupid... That infamous Mia Grande, actually adheres to the contract so strictly?"

Mia did not condemn Loki's reaction.

After all, she couldn't stand the goddess's actions this time, so she "rebelled" and chose to "revolt." In addition, Bell, who was clearly at his wit's end but still kept struggling, touched her, so she gave the boy a push from behind.

However, Mia also had another idea in her mind.

If she hadn't done anything, perhaps the goddess of beauty would have found a partner.

Even if the outcome is ugly and twisted, she can at least fulfill part of her "wish".

"Do you know what that goddess was doing when we first met?"

"...? Isn't it supposed to be the same as now, with a condescending attitude, saying things like 'Become my familiar~'?"

"She was crying. She was sitting in the flower field, covering her face and weeping bitterly."

"!!"

Faced with Loki's astonishment and disbelief that he had misheard, Mia gave him a look of longing for the past.

"When we first met, she wasn't an unattainable goddess, she was just a 'girl'... I just happened to find out that the goddess's true nature was the other way around."

The image of the "girl" weeping alone in the flower field shrouded in twilight remains etched in Mia's mind, impossible to erase.

Freya had not yet formed a contract with Herren at that time, so she naturally did not yet have the appearance of a "girl".

But in Mia's eyes, the goddess crying in the flower field was just a lonely and helpless "girl".

"Because she dared to lay a hand on Chloe, Lunova, and Anya... my bunch of silly daughters, that's why I got so angry that I gave the kid a little push from behind to help him."

"..."

"However, the girl you're talking about, to me, is also one of my silly daughters."

"..."

"If I really betray that idiot this time and punch her in the head... I'm worried she'll just... completely break down."

Mia placed the cleaned wine glass on the table and shook her head weakly.

This is a sense of bewilderment and hesitation that only she, who has more contact with "girls" than anyone else in the clan, can understand.

Mia stared at the fist that used to be able to punch the goddess in the head, but now she couldn't bring herself to do it anymore, and then slowly closed her eyes.

Loki stared silently at the dwarf who was lost in sorrow.

"I understand that you can't bring yourself to treat 'Freya' or 'Sister Seele' cruelly."

"..."

"But, Mia, compared to you, my friendship with that infatuated girl is much longer, you know?"

Loki recounted the past of the Celestial Era, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

"She's an incredibly competitive and annoying queen. I think she accidentally made things spiral out of control this time, so she just had to grit her teeth and keep pushing forward."

“…What do you want to say?”

"If Freya is trying to find a compromise, would you be willing to step in and stop her?"

To avoid being fooled by the gods' rhetoric, Mia insisted on not distorting her own will.

"I won't help this silly daughter unless she asks me for help."

At that very moment—

Loki, like a con artist who uses traps to capture his prey, smirked maliciously.

"You said it yourself?"

"……What's the meaning?"

"You can't go back on your word."

The deity rose from his seat and spoke:

"Come with me, Mia."

Because it was just before the war game, many of the Familia's headquarters in the labyrinth city were deserted.

This part needs no further explanation; everyone has already headed to the "Ruins of Osa City." Most factions, including the [Hestia Familia], have requested help from the guild and the city's military police (Ganesha Familia) to guard their bases. Some [Familia] have also entrusted the task to factions with which they have good relations and who are not involved in the war, or have arranged for a few members to stay behind.

The Freya Familia belongs to the latter category.

Because the Freya Familia is the culprit behind the distortion of the citizens' memories, no one, including the guild, is willing to express their support for them. Furthermore, Freya doesn't want to ask for help under these circumstances, so she arranges for about twenty high-level and low-level adventurers to remain in the vast "Battlefield".

The assets owned by the largest faction in the city (the Freya Familia) are incalculable. The "Battlefield," which is like a gold mine, is indeed less guarded at the moment, but no one is foolish enough to break in and steal.

Regardless of the majority of citizens, even all the gods in charge of managing the factions firmly believed that Freya would be the winner of this war game. Therefore, even if someone successfully stole the gold and silver treasures inside, they would eventually be completely annihilated by the victorious and valiant warriors.

Therefore, no foolhardy thief would dare to sneak into this place, let alone lead a group to attack it.

Besides "them"—

"Let go of the cat! Meow!!"

Anya's loud voice echoed all around.

The one carrying her on his shoulder as she struggled violently, her legs flailing wildly, was a "werewolf".

"Let go of the cat! [Fierce Wolf]! You kidnapper! No, you kidnapper of cats, meow~~~! You wicked devil! How dare you imitate your brother's voice to kidnap the cat~~~!!"

"Stop joking, you stupid cat! Who wants to imitate that stinky cat's voice?!"