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

"P-Please wait a minute, I'm not joking...!"

"Welf, you'll only suffer if you keep bothering us immortals, won't you? You won't be able to start a family anyway."

Hephaestus smiled, avoiding the flustered Welf, and told him this.

"Besides, I'm not qualified to be a woman."

Neither self-deprecation nor self-mockery, Hephaestus simply touched her right eye—the black eyepatch—as she spoke casually.

"Below this is an ugly face that would scare you to death."

"...!"

"It's unbelievable, isn't it? He's clearly a god. I've thought about it countless times, and he's even attracted the disgust and ridicule of other gods in the heavens."

She placed her hand on the blindfold covering the right half of her face and smiled bitterly.

Hephaestus, the goddess of forging.

The goddess who controls fire and forging possesses an ugly appearance that no god should have.

The goddess, who should be perfect, has flaws. Her true appearance, which even "divine power" cannot conceal, is the proof that she was able to become the goddess of forging, Hephaestus.

Regardless of whether she was a male or female god, all the other gods mocked and insulted her, calling her "ugly-faced," causing her endless grievances.

"Looking at the face beneath that blindfold, there was no mockery or fear, only Hestia."

That's why she and that young goddess had maintained their ill-fated relationship to this day, and why they were such unique and devoted friends. Hephaestus's features softened as she spoke her heart to Welf.

"Even the family members and children were frightened, so it's better not to choose someone like me."

Hephaestus smiled at him, then turned away.

The goddess took a step, her figure receding into the distance.

Welf, who had been standing still, strained his eyes and strode to catch up with her.

He knew it was rude of him to do this, but he still grabbed Hephaestus's shoulder with his right arm and forced her to turn around.

Welf faced the astonished goddess and reached out his left hand to touch her dark eye patch.

"What are you doing?!"

Ignoring the goddess's panicked voice, he touched her soft red hair and immediately removed her blindfold.

Hephaestus stood frozen in place, and for the first time, Welf saw both of her eyes at the same time.

Then the goddess's true appearance entered his field of vision.

Welf stared intently at her, who was shorter than him and had vacant eyes—his expression remained unchanged, and he simply said, "Ha!"

He snorted loudly through his nose and grinned.

"How disappointing, Goddess Hephaestus! Do you think this is enough to drive me away?"

Welf placed the blindfold back into the stunned goddess's hands and smiled resolutely.

"The iron block you forged won't cool down because of this little thing."

Upon hearing this, Hephaestus' eyes widened, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

The God of Forging looked up at Welf for a moment, then slowly smiled and put the blindfold back on his right eye.

She covered the right half of her face, shook her red hair from side to side, and stared at Welf.

"You really dare to say that."

"That evens things out."

"Really, all blacksmiths are so eccentric and unwilling to admit defeat."

Hephaestus smiled, and Welf returned the smile; the two joked with each other.

Having finally turned the tide, Welf felt a sense of satisfaction and pride in the goddess's enlightened expression.

The first rays of dawn illuminated the two of them.

In the morning air, the goddess and the youth smiled.

*

a few days later.

Apart from those directly involved, even the guild staff were unaware of the kingdom's soldiers' invasion.

This was a measure taken by the guild's higher-ups to avoid unnecessary chaos; the arrested soldiers will be temporarily detained deep within the Pantheon.

No one knew that an incident had occurred, and Orario continued to live her daily life as usual.

In this process...

"And then, Welf, Welf?"

In the office of a weapons and armor store.

The goddess, beaming with joy, kept making excited noises.

"I've heard this seven times already, Lord God..."

Seeing Hephaestus beaming at his desk while Tsubaki helps with chores with a stack of files, Tsubaki points this out with obvious disgust.

Ever since that incident, Hephaestus, the moment she caught Tsubaki, would tell her about the conversation she had with Welf—in other words, a flirtatious exchange. Needless to say, in front of Welf, she always maintained a dignified and awe-inspiring demeanor, never revealing her true feelings; however, once she was in her room, she became completely different.

Seeing her god with flushed cheeks, smiling and happily repeating the same thing for the eighth time, Chun sighed deeply.

"She's not young anymore, but she still looks like an innocent young girl..."

Chun sighed again.

She ignored the goddess who was doing nothing but getting excited, and muttered to the blacksmith youth who was taking revenge on her in this way, "You're something else..."

A few more days passed.

Just like with Chun, because the Goddess of Forging herself spoke out, her sweet words with the young man instantly spread among the gods. In particular, the young man's final decisive line was praised by the gods as "So melodramatic—!?" and received great acclaim, becoming a source of amusement for the entertainment-hungry gods for quite some time... no, a topic of conversation.

Based on this background, the title of the youth was quickly finalized at the naming ceremony of the "Conference of the Gods" held a few days later.

Welf Crozo's nickname is—[The Cold-Hearted Lgnis].

In the future, the young man will be surrounded by the wicked smiles of Hestia and Lily, the excited and admiring gazes of Mikoto and Haruhime, and the wry smiles of Bell.

Then, upon hearing the incredibly embarrassing nickname and its origin, they will blush and cover their heads in shame.

Volume 8, Chapter 4: My Dear Protector

"Welcome, adventurer. What do you need today?"

They will readily agree as long as you say you want to discuss future plans for exploring the maze.

"Okay, I'll go get the specialist now. Please wait in the interview room."

If they want to apply for an upgrade, they'll squint their eyes and wish themselves well.

"Congratulations. From this day forward, you have officially become a... Level 3 Adventurer. We look forward to seeing more of your active contributions in the future."

If someone were to invite them to dinner tonight with ulterior motives, they would immediately reply with a beaming smile:

"If you have no further needs, please leave."

Then, when new adventurers stand at the entrance of the labyrinth, they will greet them with a smile.

"Welcome to the labyrinth city of Orario. Our guild warmly welcomes you."

Guild headquarters, receptionist.

They handle all the adventurers' affairs and are the guild's beauties.

*

The guild headquarters was just as noisy as usual today.

The spacious white marble hallway was teeming with adventurers, almost suffocating them. The swords and shields they carried on their backs and waists clasped together, producing a clanging metallic sound. Elves carried staves or bows, dwarves carried axes or hammers, and so on; groups of various demi-humans were equipped with weapons and armor appropriate to their respective races.

Most adventurers headed toward the bulletin board or the huge notice board, or to the window where the waitresses were waiting.

"Good morning, adventurer."

"Yes, about this matter—"

"According to the rules, items found in the dungeon belong to the owner, so it's best not to have too high hopes of finding lost items..."

The waitresses stood side by side behind the counter, each dealing with the adventurers queuing in front of them.

These women, with their dignified demeanor, were of diverse races: humans, dog-people, cat-people, and elves. If there was one thing they all had in common, it was that every single one of them was exceptionally beautiful.

Without exception, all the guild's service girls were chosen to be beautiful.

Within the guild headquarters, the windows are the first place adventurers visit, and the service staff there form their first impression of the guild. Since an adventurer's positive feeling towards the guild affects their contribution to dungeon exploration—and more specifically, the recycling of "magic stones"—the selection of service staff prioritizes not only good manners and demeanor, but also attractive appearances.

Therefore, those who smiled at the mostly ferocious adventurers who looked like wild beasts were naturally all beautiful women or pretty girls.

"--The adventurer's quest has been confirmed as completed. Thank you for your hard work. The guild will notify the client on behalf of the client that the quest has been completed."

Eina, a half-elf, is also a waitress in the guild.

Shoulder-length brown hair, emerald-green eyes and glasses. Pointed ears reveal her half-elf blood.

Once the adventurer's commission arranged by the guild was completed, she transferred the reward, which the client had entrusted to the guild for safekeeping, to the orc female adventurers.

"Then this is your payment, please accept it."

Seeing the item boxes that had been taken out, the adventurers happily high-fived each other. Eina couldn't help but smile and bow in greeting. Not long after seeing them off, she immediately had to greet the next adventurer in line.

Eina started serving in the guild about five years ago.

After graduating from school, she chose to work in a guild due to family issues. However, Eina felt that the job suited her personality quite well. Of course, she encountered some sad things, but she discovered that the value of her work outweighed those. Eina also knew that she loved taking care of people, so she did her best every day to help the adventurers who ventured into the dungeon.

Today was no different; Eina managed to handle their dazzling array of demands one by one.

"Eina, hey, let's go eat!"

"Okay, sure."

Soon, it was lunchtime.

The once bustling crowd of adventurers had completely dispersed, and the sunlit lobby had found a semblance of peace.

After smoothly fulfilling the adventurer's request, as the waitresses raised their hands and stretched their bodies, the human girl from the window next to Eina called out to her.

Her pink hair swayed.

Its adorable doll-like face is full of expressions and very endearing.

Missia Flott, who is also a waitress like Eina and has been friends with her since their school days, seems impatient and urges Eina on.

"I'm starving! My stomach is practically touching my back!"

"Wait a minute, Missia, don't pull me!"

Eina was pulled up by Missia's arm and told the other waitresses that they were going to rest.

The colleague who was looking after the window for the two of them waved to them and told them to take care, and Eina and the others left.

"I recently found a really delicious restaurant in the West District."

"Missia, will you be able to get back during your break?"

"Hmm...it should be okay~"

"I'm talking to you..."

Seeing that Missia always thought things through so optimistically, Eina's expression was both exasperated and amused.

The meticulous Eina and the somewhat eccentric Missia have always been working together since they met.

She chatted happily with her friends, who had never changed since her student days, as she walked out of the back door of the guild headquarters and onto a street that was exactly opposite to the main road.

"E-Eina, my little sister—!"

"Ah... Mr. Dorumur?"

A loud voice reached Eina's pointed ears.

Turning his head towards the direction of the call, he saw a young dwarf there.

When Missia, who was standing next to him, was stunned for a moment, he raised his hand and ran over to them.

"What a coincidence! I just happened to be passing by here..."