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

Miss Ais watched from the side, her expression probably glowing... and she seemed to smile slightly.

"Argonauts, little heroes—!"

Just then, Miss Tiona arrived. Hearing that address, I knew she was calling me.

Behind her was her sister, Miss Dione. The twin Amazon sisters stopped in front of me, and then... plopped down on my left and right sides.

"what?"

"Tell us some stories. We've been so kind as to offer you a meal and a place to stay; surely that's not an unreasonable request?"

"Mmm, I really want to hear it, I really want to hear it—"

Lily was startled when Tione forced her way in, and Miss Tiona, who had squeezed in between us, also made Miss Ais turn her head away. With my sides occupied, I was breathless from their close proximity. Or rather, my face turned bright red.

Lily's eyebrows shot up, giving off a fierce aura, but Miss Tiona to my right continued to laugh innocently and ask me questions.

How can I get all my skill levels to S?

My face twitched.

I turned to my left with a spasmodic smile, only to see Miss Tione, her eyes narrowed, revealing a slight smile. It was as if she were saying, "You're not leaving until you confess."

My abilities have been exposed to so many people? How did they know my previous stats? I was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, my heart pounding wildly.

Besides, even if I wanted to answer honestly... even if I honestly said "through hard work," they might not accept it. I'm just single-mindedly pursuing my dream goal.

As for that person they longed for, they hugged their knees, feigning nonchalance, but their ear was pointed towards us, intently eavesdropping. Longing can be cruel sometimes.

Mr. Finn and Miss Rivera, watching from afar, both sighed but said nothing. Mr. Grace, on the other hand, stroked his long beard, seemingly finding it quite amusing.

"What, little Welf, are you here to chase us? Heh heh, what a cute fellow," Welf was being pestered by the blacksmith. "Hey, stop it, damn it, don't come any closer!" That scream was definitely not a joke. Lily was glaring at Miss Tiona and the others, and me.

Isolated.

I was sweating profusely, and if I could, I would have just passed out.

"——Goooooooo!"

Just then, unexpectedly...

"!"

A voice that was all too familiar, but which should never be heard in the maze (here), reached my ears.

I looked up abruptly and met Lily's gaze. Her eyes widened, and she nodded, confirming my suspicions.

"Excuse me, I'll go take a moment!"

I stood up before Miss Tiona and the others could answer.

I rushed over, and Lily chased after me. Welf, though a step slower, also started running.

Following the sound, we arrived outside the campsite. Soon, the forest thinned out. In the distance, we saw rock walls and a wide-open cave. That must be the connecting path between the 17th and 18th levels.

A group of Loki's Familia members had already gathered in front of the cave, which was partially obscured by the trees, taking turns on guard duty. I peeked through the shoulders of those who had arrived earlier—

"Whoa whoa whoa…! I, I've never heard of such a big monster!"

"Hahahaha! I almost thought I was going to die—!"

Then I saw a deity panting heavily, standing on all fours.

I opened my eyes wide. Beside the goddess Hestia, a male god sat on the ground laughing heartily, and beside him, there was a group of adventurers panting heavily, their shoulders heaving—the female adventurer wearing glasses looked particularly exhausted for some reason.

The sense of déjà vu, almost like we were experiencing the same thing, told me that they, like us, had narrowly escaped death from the thread owner's situation.

"……ah."

Noticing the crowd gathering, the deity raised his head and fixed his eyes on my position.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise, and then she started running, tumbling and crawling.

"—Bell!"

"Whoa!"

The human wall was split apart, clearing a path. A deity, rushing in straight ahead, collided head-on with my stomach.

The stick-like body, which had been standing still, fell down and landed on its bottom.

"Bell, Bell! It really is Bell, right?!"

"God, God...!"

She pinned me to the ground, her hands groping all over my body, finally pulling and tugging at my cheeks. My face was distorted from her grip before she finally managed to stop.

I propped myself up, about to ask her, "How did you end up here?"

But she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly, preventing me from asking questions.

"...!"

My eyes widened and my face turned red.

A small, soft touch enveloped me. Between our tightly pressed bodies, there was a squeaking sound as we embraced.

The goddess Hestia buried her face in the crook of my shoulder, as if unwilling to let me go. Her hot breath made my skin tremble, and my shoulders and neck became even more tense.

My mouth opened and closed, and I was just wondering what to say...

"……Very good……"

The faint, delicate sound reached my ears.

I immediately stopped being nervous and calmed down.

The goddess Hestia trembled like a child. Her delicate arms pulled me closer, holding me tightly. Her sobbing voice reached my ears through her neck.

There's no need to ask her why she's here.

She was worried about me and came here specifically to find me, regardless of what others thought.

I glanced furtively at the dark strands of hair beside my face.

Our bodies, breaths, and hearts were so close. Through the warmth of our mingled skin, it felt as if something irreplaceable and precious filled my heart.

A moment later, I wanted to hug Hestia's slender back. I hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to reach out... but then I noticed the stares of those around me.

Long ago, a bunch of people were watching us carry each other around.

I froze at first, then my shame returned.

I held my hands halfway up, unsure of where to put them, and they hovered in mid-air.

"Have you hugged me enough, Goddess Hestia?"

"Ah, what's wrong! Don't disturb our touching reunion! Let go of me—!"

Lily grabbed the fairy's collar. Although the fairy struggled desperately, flailing her arms and legs, Lily, who had received the "blessing," was stronger. And so, the little girl was dragged away by the other little girl.

Freed from the embrace of the gods, I watched the scene while sweating profusely.

"Mr. Crannie, you are alright."

"Eh...is that...is it Ms. Ryu?"

The masked adventurer walked over and whispered in my ear as I sat on the ground.

Hearing a familiar voice, I widened my eyes and turned to look at her. I saw her slender fingers slightly part the hood of her cloak, revealing part of her beautiful face and sky-blue eyes.

No mistake. It's that beautiful elf lady who works at the "Abundant Mistress" shop.

"Even Miss Ryu is here..."

"A certain deity has given me an adventurer's request. He said he hopes I will join the search party to help find you."

The sky-blue eyes beneath the hoodie shifted their gaze.

I followed her gaze and saw the handsome man from before.

The male god, who had been sitting on the ground, shook his orange-yellow hair, looked around, dusted himself off, and stood up.

"OK, I understand the situation."

Looking at the faces of Miss Ais and the others who had gathered there, a knowing smile appeared on his face.

Then, my crush noticed my gaze.

When I saw him walking over with a smile, I jumped up immediately.

"Are you Bell Craney?"

"Yes, yes."

Its slender, orange-yellow eyes stared intently at my face.

I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there dumbfounded. At that moment, my crush quickly narrowed his eyes.

"Ah... I've wanted to see you for so long."

He told me this, and his eyes returned to their crescent shape.

"My name is Hermes. Please take care of me from now on."

"Hermes, God...?"

"That's right. Nice to meet you, little Bell."

He reached out his hand to me, and I looked down and timidly reached out my hand in return.

Hermes shook my hand with a warm smile, and to be honest, my first impression of him was that of a benevolent god.

"Horse, Hermes? Well, that..."

"Oh, you want to ask why I, a complete stranger, came to save you?"

"Yes, yes."

"It's nothing, I'm just doing Hestia a favor because I'm her best friend. I'm helping her fulfill her wish to save you."

After seeing the gods arguing with Lily, Hermes smiled at me.

I opened my eyes wide and said, "Thank you so much," while bowing deeply.

They must have been able to bring the goddess Hestia all the way to the middle level of the dungeon thanks to this goddess. One can imagine he must have tried every possible means to achieve this.

Hermes smiled affectionately.

"No need to thank me, thank the other children besides me. We were able to get here thanks to the efforts of that masked adventurer and others."

Following Hermes' gaze, they met the eyes of the adventurers still standing in front of the cave.

Besides the female adventurer with light blue hair and glasses, there were three other adventurers wearing identical equipment—the same color scheme and style of armor and combat suits—who appeared to belong to the same [Family]...

"...Hey, Bell."

I noticed it before Welf told me from behind.

Those people are—

Those bluish-purple eyes seemed familiar. I had brushed past that tearful girl on the 13th floor.

The initial trigger that led us to the 18th floor... was the adventurers who brought us a large group of monsters.

Their faces were solemn, and the "sword stuck in the ground" emblem on their armor seemed to radiate a dark, reproachful light.

□

"I'm so sorry."

Inside the tent that someone lent us.

Having reunited with the goddess Hestia, let's return to this tent for now. Miss Ryu, as well as the god Hermes and his retinue, Miss Asphie, are not here.

A young girl knelt before me, her palms and forehead touching the ground, and apologized to me with a dignified posture.

Witnessing that seemingly sacred and inviolable posture of worship, "Oh wow...!" I and the deity, standing close together, were both taken aback.

This is the "dogeza" of the truly established (Takemikazuka family)...!

"...No matter how much you apologize, Lily will not forgive you easily. Because we almost lost our lives."

"Sigh, it's definitely not that easy to let go of it."

I made a gurgling sound, but even as Miss Fate kowtowed and apologized, Lily and Welf remained firm in their tone. No, it's also possible that they were intimidated by Miss Fate's aura.

Miss Mikoto's insistence on apologizing first, despite her rigid and meticulous nature, caused Mr. Sakura and Ms. Chigusa considerable trouble. The two women raised their heads to face Lily and the others directly. Miss Mikoto maintained her upright posture, but no longer kowtowed.