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

Haruhime's resistance to the internal coercion led to an uncontrollable conflict, which ultimately came to an end under the influence of external forces. Her emerald green eyes, dominated by silver, slowly closed.

Large tears rolled down her cheeks as the girl slowly leaned towards the ground, and the "Daughter of the Gods" caught her.

"To allow such pitiful girls to keep being born and multiplying... That man is truly a sinner. What a cruel and terrifying being..."

Just before losing consciousness.

In order to avoid causing further conflict and to avoid getting near the location of this bomb and being 'enchanted' and having their lives rewritten, they will forget everything in their final moments when they wake up again.

Chunji heard the voice in the darkness.

It was the voice of a girl that instantly shifted from hatred to sadness, filled with remorse.

"No, what's truly cruel... what keeps making the girls cry... is that we (Hill) can't escape from 'it'..."

Chunji didn't hear the end; her consciousness sank into darkness.

"Takemikazuchi. Has anything changed recently?"

South Street.

Here you can also see some equipment from the "Goddess Festival" that hasn't been completely cleaned up yet, and Mih and Takemikazuchi are chatting by the roadside.

"Yes. To be precise, it should be described as 'incongruous'..."

It is Mich and Takemikazuchi.

For the same reason, the two deities came to this main street without their retinues.

To investigate the subtle 'incongruities' felt in daily life.

"You mean 'Bell Craney'?"

"You think so too, Mich?"

"Hmm. The turning point was when Freya's kin (child) gave me that look on her face, like a little rabbit separated from its parents..."

In daily life, I noticed subtle deviations that I wouldn't normally pay attention to. While thinking about these, I encountered the gods in this place by chance, looked at the crowds coming and going, and lowered my voice.

"Why are you looking at us like that... Why am I suddenly paying attention to that boy... While pondering these questions, I discovered an 'incongruity'."

Is it somewhere between "present memories" and "past records"?

"That's right. The records that would have been perfect for including 'Rookie Adventurers' or 'Innocent Youths' are instead forcibly included with Naza, Daphne, Cassandra, or your Familia (children)... Why haven't we found it incredible yet? It's a 'twist' that even the gods can't understand."

It's like cutting out the illustration of a certain character (a boy) from a book and forcibly stuffing other characters into the resulting blank space—a subtle yet extremely forced "distortion." The gods gradually became aware of this.

It all began with his encounter with Bell Crane of the Freya Familia.

An omniscient, zero-power transcendent existence.

Even without the temperament of a craftsman or an overly profound yearning for heroism, a non-human being can still approach the core with what can be described as divinely inspired thought and a "divine intuition" that hits the bullseye. That is, to be certain that the unchanging days one is living are not "ordinary," but "extraordinary."

Mih and Takemikazuchi, who were gazing at the crowd, looked at each other.

"We wouldn't—"

then.

The moment the 'sense of incongruity' transformed into a clear 'doubt', both Mih and Takemikazuchi stopped what they were doing.

Their expressions vanished as if they were looking in a mirror, and they turned their backs to each other.

In order to prevent what had just happened from happening again, they each returned to their respective bases.

As a certain traveler noticed, it is a constantly repeating 'loop'.

Unlike a certain travel god, they still lack the opportunity to feel a sense of 'incongruity' with their memories—the travel god's situation is that of a letter from a good-natured old man outside the city.

I left this place in a state where I could no longer feel a sense of 'discomfort' if I didn't encounter the boy again.

Thus, the internal strife among the gods that could have threatened the "Little Garden" was swiftly suppressed by the gods themselves without anyone knowing.

"Shouldn't we sigh... truly worthy of being called gods?"

Hayd, who happened to witness this scene, sighed.

She, who leads the "Fat Cinderella (Andhrímnir)," went out to buy supplies and inspect the "Miniature Garden" to see if any abnormalities had occurred. Today alone, she has already witnessed the same scene as Mich and the others three times.

"Being turned into a slave to forgetfulness and misrecognition by the power of 'charm,' she still feels a sense of unease about the 'miniature garden' created by Lady Freya, which has even evolved into doubt... She really has a cheating device that can think beyond human intelligence and 'divine intuition.'"

The inhabitants of the lower realm wouldn't think that way. At least, their logic wouldn't lead them to that level.

As she thought this, the sigh on her lips turned into a long sigh.

"As expected, the brains of us children are structured differently from those of the gods."

Besides Mihe and the other many other suspicious gods, they also erased their former selves and returned to being "residents of the Little Garden" the moment they violated the "rules" set by Freya. No intervention from Hyde was needed.

She complained wearily, "It's a good thing we don't have to work more~", but her eyes were unusually sharp as she looked around.

Even if it is autonomously erased (Reset), the accumulated "disharmony" among the gods might still cause cracks in the "miniature garden." Even if it's not the gods, someone else might cause unusual events. Hyde did not shy away from this possibility, nor would he be blindly optimistic.

Everything was done to honor the revered goddess.

In order to fulfill her expectations.

Despite being busy with various affairs and not wanting to increase his workload, Haydre would even voluntarily patrol on his long-awaited days off just for this reason.

"Well, besides... Helen has had a tough time too—."

Because of her ability to transform into Freya, the "Daughter of the Gods," Helen is living an unprecedentedly busy life.

She's now also applying "charm" to every corner of the city, working to adjust the "miniature garden." She also has to "modify the memories" of new merchants and travelers arriving from outside the city. I heard she recently dealt with (care for) Sanjou Haruhime, whom she captured by chance. Freya is unusually proactive in maintaining the "miniature garden," but it's a rather heavy workload for Herren, the only one who can take her place.

To put it bluntly, Hayd was deeply jealous of Herren, who was literally linked to Freya. So she knew that her current behavior was also an ugly expression of jealousy and antagonism—in reality, it looked like a younger sister of similar age secretly helping an older sister in need—Hayd walked down the main street.

She swayed her beautiful, light red hair, tied in two braids, aimlessly walking step by step.

"Ah, Commander."

Hayd's inspection was natural yet thorough when suddenly a familiar figure entered her field of vision.

It is Ota, with a body as large as a rock.

Anyway, he never does anything that a leader should do, so let's just walk over there. Although Hayd thought this to himself, he felt a little sorry for him because the other members treated him the same way, so he took the initiative to sneak up on him.

"They really stand out no matter where they are. They get spotted immediately."

"...Is it Hayd?"

Where are you going?

"Dungeon".

He's really taciturn, but he speaks very directly.

Faced with a leader who was neither talkative nor funny, Hayid thought to himself, "This is another conversation that's just as unenjoyable as ever," and continued to ask.

"Could it be that they're going to train as martial artists? At a time like this~? I don't doubt the captain's loyalty to Lady Freya, but perhaps it would be better to consider the timing and occasion~?"

"……no."

"Then why go to the dungeon?"

Hayd unilaterally asserted and pushed the conversation forward, and while Ota's expression remained unchanged, the pig ears on his head curled slightly. It gave the impression that he had been spoken ill of.

Putting aside the insults and hostile attitude of the first-tier adventurers, the only one in the Freya Familia who dared to speak frankly to Ota was Hyid. Ota himself felt he wasn't good at dealing with her. To be precise, he felt guilty for doing nothing but fighting and training, thus increasing Hyid's workload.

Hayd played steadily, and although he saw through this, he still criticized Otto.

Of course, this is a daily routine of venting.

"【Rabbit Foot】...Bell went to the dungeon."

"!"

"They travel with me, but I will also secretly follow them."

The orc respectfully addressed the boy who was now his companion, causing Hayd to slightly open his eyes.

"...Is this a warning against those 'Xenos'?"

"That's right. The task on the surface has been handed over to Tamuz and his team."

The task of monitoring Hestia—one of the very few beings untouched by Freya's "charm"—had been assigned to other members of the crew, with the pigman only providing the necessary information. In any case, Hyde, who had known him for a long time, immediately understood his concerns.

Freya's "Charm" may have distorted the entire Orario, but it has no real impact on the dungeons. Once the rational monsters lurking in the underground labyrinth, the "Heterodox"—a force from beyond the surface who has become friends with Bell—make contact with the boy and mention "Bell Crane of the Hestia Familia," everything will vanish.

Since we can't 'charm' Bell himself, we absolutely cannot let him know that this 'miniature world' is fake.

Hayd grasped the situation and was about to fall silent in thought when...

"[The Mighty One], Your Excellency!"

A girl from the Far East came running over, panting.

——Yamato·Ming.

Having gathered all the information about the Hestia Familia, Hyde immediately recognized the girl. Based on this, and to avoid contradicting the setting of the "Miniature Garden," she took note of this and began her actions.

"I remember you're from the Hestia Familia, right? Our Bell really does dominate the conversation—and is even being called a promising newcomer candidate—."

"...!"

He deliberately mentioned the boy's name to observe her reaction.

Hyde, recalling the incident with Haruhime, began searching for clues to the unusual situation. However, seeing the panicked Ming, she deduced that the other person did not harbor any "discomfort regarding Bell." This was the correct reaction of an adventurer who was "surprised that the Freya Familia actually recognized them."

Although Hayd did not have an outstanding mind, he was very shrewd and quick-witted.

She was so shrewd, thoughtful, far-sighted, and courageous that she was recognized as "useful" by that cold-blooded and cruel vixen (Hedin).

Hayd did not let his guard down, and outwardly pretended to be as usual.

"You seem to have something to discuss with the group leader..."

"..."

"But as you can see, he doesn't talk much, so I'll do it. Ah, please be quick. We also have important matters to attend to."

Ignoring the silent Ota—being careful not to give him any openings—Hayd stepped forward.

Although they were members of other factions with whom she had no personal relationship, they would still listen to her. While maintaining this condescending attitude, she continued to observe, and the once timid Ming immediately spoke up.

"I'm so sorry to bother you so suddenly! But there's something I'd really like to ask you!"

"Okay, okay, so what do you want to ask—?"

"On the day Lady Haruhime was to become a human sacrifice for the 'Killing Stone'... when the Freya Familia stormed the entertainment district, it was you, Lady Mighty One, who saved me, wasn't it!?"

In the "If World (Miniature Garden)" created by Freya, the Ishtar Familia, just like in the official history, was wiped out along with the Apollo Familia because they had their eyes on Bell. Freya created this "false history."

So even though Bell's role was changed, the commotion at the "Killing Stone" still happened. Hyde quickly checked Freya and the other members' shared "false history," mimicking the reactions he should have taken, while also observing the situation.

"He did something like this before? The captain? He didn't help me at all, could it really be him~?"

"...So what if it is?"

Although it was an act, it was brilliantly ignored by Otta, who even took the initiative to ask about his fate. Hayd thought about whether he should give him a good beating, so he looked around for a suitable blunt weapon.

She didn't know if she had heard it from somewhere, but she found out that the person who saved her was Ota. She hesitated for a few seconds, and then suddenly leaned out.

"To save Lady Haruhime, I launched a special attack on the enemy lines! I chose to self-destruct, falling from the altar to the ground far below!"

"..."

"There, someone... caught me and saved my life! They even healed my wounds, and I went back to the altar! And this time, I finally freed Lady Haruhime... right!? How much do you know!?"

In the fictional timeline where Bell Craney doesn't belong to the Hestia Familia, since Apollo didn't provoke Hestia or launch a war game, Yamato Mikoto temporarily switched allegiance because she felt guilty towards Lily and the others after the mid-level monster giveaway incident. Furthermore, she already knew Welf, who was acting alongside Lily, and directly signed a contract with him.

Based on this, the Apollo Familia and the Ishtar Familia, along with the "Killing Stone" ritual, were defeated by Otto and his group's blitzkrieg. Led by Level 5 Freni Jamil, the main fighting force of the two factions was wiped out by Otto and his group, along with Bell. That's how it turned out. Therefore, the fighting force at the "Killing Stone" ritual site was weaker and lower than in the official history, which doesn't contradict the account provided. There's no room for inconsistency. It should have been this way.

Hyde quietly worked his mind, just about to interject for the sake of the peace of the "miniature garden".

"That's right. On that day, you became a 'hero'."

But before that.

Otta answered the question with a fierce and persistent tone.

In order to prevent the dedication and awareness of young women, which exist in both official and fictional histories, from being denied, the warrior men made a clear declaration.

Hayd frowned—his emotions were visibly beginning to spiral out of control.

"I am Lady Haruhime's hero... ...That's right. That's how it has to be! Otherwise, that night would have been a mistake!"

"..."