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

Miss Ming and I discovered a carriage parked in front of the headquarters' main gate.

Even from a distance, you could see that the box-shaped carriage was magnificent. Almost the instant we saw the carriage, a whip cracked, and the carriage drove away with the neighing of the horses.

Confused and somewhat shaken, we rushed back to headquarters, only to find Welf and Lily standing in front of the main gate, along with the goddess Hestia, who was holding a piece of parchment in both hands.

"Welf, Lily! Amazing!"

"Ah, Bell, you're still alive! You're back!"

"What was that carriage just now?"

The three men turned around when they heard my voice, and Miss asked them.

Hearing her question, Lily looked at the parchment the fairy was holding and replied:

"It's a request from an adventurer from a trading company."

"A trading company?" I repeated it to him, and Welf nodded.

"This is probably the effect of war games; greedy guys have come knocking on our door."

The fairy sandwiched between Lily and Welf looked down at the commission form, "Hmm..." her lips pursed into a ヘ shape.

The organization that carriage belonged to seemed to be called "Erbil Trading Company".

They are said to be one of the major trading companies that support one end of the city's economy, and they directly made a request to the [Hestia Familia].

Resources available only to those in the labyrinthine city are, needless to say, extremely precious. In places unknown to us adventurers, the trading of monster treasures, and the gathering and mining of resources takes place daily.

It is said that merchants across the continent are particularly willing to pay exorbitant prices for the spoils of the "middle" and "lower" levels. Furthermore, since the number of [Familias] and adventurers capable of infiltrating the depths of the labyrinth is limited, merchants are all vying to establish business relationships with them.

In short, the purpose of the Elbil Trading Company's negotiations this time was probably to preemptively establish a relationship with us—the Hestia Familia, whom they considered promising—after our rise to fame in the war game.

"It can't really be called an investment... Anyway, it's very common in Orario."

Merchants often provide assistance to adventurer parties in exchange for dungeon-gathering items.

Adventurers can get support (sponsors) from merchants, and can also ask merchants to pay for exploration costs such as purchasing items, so both sides can benefit.

While there are risks associated with the contract terms, the advantage of concluding a contract directly without going through a guild seems to lie in this.

"Because this wasn't directly requested by the guild, it's not considered an official adventurer's request, but the other party's background is quite clear."

As I sorted through the events in my mind, Lily confirmed the merchant's mark on the parchment.

"Moreover, the client is a merchant guild, which is much more trustworthy than unofficial adventurer commissions."

Listening to Lily's insights, I posed a question to the most important adventurer's quest itself.

"Uh, what are the details of the commission?"

"It says on it that quartz is mined in the 14th-level pantry."

The deity answered my question.

Welf and his companions also glanced at the parchment and carefully read the contents.

"The compensation is too high for the scope of the commission."

"It's obvious they want us to be their regular customers in the future."

Welf and Lily were dumbfounded when they saw the reward for the adventurer's request, while Miss Me and I were suddenly startled.

We leaned forward, getting closer to the deity holding the power of attorney.

"How much is the reward?!"

"One million Fali."

"One, one million...!!"

The fairy's brief reply made Miss Ming and me tremble with excitement.

The first opportunity to raise the target amount for "redemption" has come knocking on our door so quickly.

"What do you think we should do, Goddess Hestia?"

"Hmm, I don't really want to get involved with businessmen or trading companies."

The deity seemed to dislike complicated procedures and responses involving interests, or did not want to create any vested interests; his tone suggested he was not very willing.

"Although I feel bad for them, I'll decline this request—"

"Should we accept it?!"

"Wow!?"

Miss Ming and I pleaded desperately at the same time, interrupting the deity's speech.

Seeing us approaching with flushed faces, the goddess Hestia leaned back dramatically.

"It's not that I want to do them a favor, it's just that I feel I should take whatever benefits I can get. I know it's shameless, but anyway, we need the money as soon as possible!!"

"I...I think so too!?"

I stood with Miss Ming and explained to the deity in rapid succession.

We gestured wildly, desperately trying to persuade the gods.

"Hmm... Well, after all, I did owe someone money without permission and caused you trouble... Just accept this as payment for the adventurer's request, that should be okay, right?"

The deity was sweating profusely from our aggressive manner, and after glancing at the power of attorney, changed his mind.

"Thank you so much!"

I thanked Miss Ming, raised my hand high, and gave her a high five.

"What exactly happened...?"

"It seems they've found their target."

Seeing us suddenly become energetic and lively as if we were in our element, Lily was dumbfounded, while Welf laughed as we saw that we had shaken off our gloomy morning.

Miss Ming and I returned their smiles shyly.

"I feel like Bell and Meteor have gotten along really well, it's strange... Anyway, let's go back to headquarters first."

The fairy said she wanted to discuss the adventurer's request, so the four of us followed behind her.

Now that there's no need for fighting anymore, let's discuss Miss Haruhime's redemption with everyone.

My steps became as light as Miss Fate's. "Ah, right," I said.

"Immortal, do you know about the 'Killing Stone'?"

"'Killing Stone'? Hmm~ I've never heard of it."

Considering Hermes's reputation as a deliveryman, I'll only briefly reveal that the goddess Ishtar seems to possess the "Kessho-seki" (killing stone), though the gods don't seem to know what it is.

I looked at Welf and the others.

"Do you know?"

"No, Lily hasn't heard of it either."

Their reaction was just like that of gods.

Nobody has ever heard of it... It seems that the "Killing Stone" is a very rare item.

Although I was concerned, I decided to put it aside for now and headed towards headquarters.

■

As a result of the discussion, we decided to formally accept the adventurer's commission from the Erbil Trading Company.

When the topic of Haruhime's "redemption" came up, Hestia glanced at me with a rather reluctant expression upon hearing the word "prostitute." However, after hearing Lady Nozomi's wishes, she reluctantly agreed. Later, Lady Nozomi apparently went to the Takemikazuchi Familia to report on Haruhime's redemption and other matters concerning her.

Lily and Welf had no objections, and the Hestia Familia decided to set off to obtain one million Fali.

"So, I've come here again for an adventurer's request."

Our current location is on the Hth floor of the dungeon.

Two days after the discussion, we spent a day preparing for the exploration and confirming the contacts for the adventurers' requests before diving into the labyrinth. Lily's voice, carrying a large backpack, echoed in the long, cavern-like passageway.

The passageway was filled with faint phosphorescence, gray rocks, and humid air. The labyrinthine rock formations resembled caves, with numerous grottoes that reminded us of past nightmares.

The four-person team quickly broke through the "upper level" and reached the "middle level," successfully entering the 14th floor.

"Alright everyone, let's go!"

Standing at the forward position, or rather, at the front of the squad, Miss Ming urged loudly.

Whoosh! She swung the Japanese sword in her right hand up and down, just like a bouncy little child.

Seeing Miss Ming's overjoyed expression, Welf and I, who were following behind, couldn't help but smile wryly.

"We're going to break into the grain depot, so we'd better not be too careless..."

As for Lily, she felt a sense of crisis about the food depot where the entire floor was filled with hungry monsters. Seeing Miss Fate's cheerful steps, she suppressed a sigh. She carefully checked the camouflage and other props stuffed in her bag (backpack).

With a wry smile, I checked the equipment.

Her only equipment—her weapons are the "Goddess's Blade" and two red swords forged from the horns of a Minotaur. She has no shield; her secondary weapons, including a short sword, were entrusted to her supporter, Lily, along with Miss Fate's. Her armor, like in the war game, is a rabbit armor meticulously crafted by Welf.

Having been busy with the headquarters relocation, Welf can finally focus on forging. He seems to dislike us using half-baked equipment, so there aren't any new weapons or armor yet.

"But speaking of which, 'redemption'... I never imagined there was such a system."

"I'm at the center position on the team," said Welf, who was walking next to me carrying a large sword.

His expression showed that he was convinced and thought it was good that the matter could be resolved peacefully.

"Yeah, saving money might be a little tough... but it will help her this way."

Although Miss Xiaoming was too excited, my enthusiasm was no less than hers.

To save Miss Haruhime—I remembered the face of that fox-girl and gripped the dagger in my equipment tightly.

"However, the standard amount for redemption is three million... Just in case, it's best to save five million for safety."

"Ugh... Just listening to it makes me dizzy."

"In that case, we should consider adding more floors to the access list."

We kept an eye on the surrounding maze and the presence of monsters while talking to Lily, the defender.

Welf suggested going deeper into the building to make more money.

"Bell has already reached Lv.3, so he should be able to reach around the 20th floor, right?"

Welf turned to look at Lily and grinned.

The middle level of the Lv. 2 standard is from the 13th to the 24th floor. According to the standards set by the guild, I, at Lv. 3, basically meet the standard for reaching the "lower" level, below the 25th floor.

Upon hearing Welf's suggestion to go to the 20th floor, Lily, the squad's strategist, shook her head.

"Even if you reach level 3, you still can't withstand being defeated by monsters. That's what dungeons are like."

Perhaps it was the desperate act on the 18th floor that made Lily remember it, and she always stuck to her conservative opinion.

Even after reaching Level 1, which is the first floor we've ever been to, there is still considerable danger in easily stepping onto a floor we're unfamiliar with—she painstakingly explained the difference between "knowledge" and "experience."

She's right... Randomly adding floors to the route is indeed very dangerous.

Although I'm a bit impatient, we can't just focus on individuals. We need to strengthen the team and make careful preparations beforehand to challenge the new floors. Ms. Ryu probably taught me that for floors below the middle level, the focus is not on individual strength, but on the team's strength (balance).

I have goals, but I must not be anxious or arrogant; I remind myself of these things.

We must now focus on the adventurer's request at hand.

"--Stop, please."

Miss Ming, who was walking ahead with high spirits, suddenly switched her focus and turned around sharply.

With her bluish-purple eyes, she stared intently at us, the center and guards, further back.

As we turned around and quickly switched places with Lily... as if confirming Miss Fate's warning, from a distant cave behind us, silently...

A tiger monster with a huge, swaying body appeared.

"A 'fanged lion-tiger'...!"

"Looks like they climbed up from the lower floors."

I was surprised to encounter a monster that appeared below the 15th floor, but Lily calmly determined that it was an irregular situation.

Whether it had attacked other monsters or adventurers, its teeth and claws were stained with bright red blood. The enormous tiger, its bristles bristling and sharp edges too sharp for even a rough blade to cut, growled at us.