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

She gave a gentle smile and went out.

*

The guild headquarters at dusk.

The spacious white marble foyer, bathed in the setting sun, was crowded with adventurers returning from the labyrinth.

"Then, I'll go see Miss Eina."

"Okay, Lily, go with the two of you to exchange money."

"I'm just wandering around nearby."

I need to report to Miss Eina, who is in charge of guiding me. Lily, carrying her backpack which was bulging as it was today, along with Miss Haruhime, who was also carrying a cylindrical backpack full of things, and Miss Mikoto, went to exchange the "Magic Stones" and "Dropped Items" for cash. Finally, Welf said he would find something to kill time, and all the team members dispersed to different parts of the hall.

Like other adventurers around them, the Hestia Familia, returning from the dungeon, arrived at the guild headquarters.

Normally we handle currency exchange and other matters at the Babel Tower facility... but today, because we need to pay the [Family] tax to the guild, the whole team came here. Thinking about finally having to pay taxes, I'm a little nervous, so we decided to exchange our money for today's earnings before paying.

I went to the window and saw a long line of adventurers at the service counter. I knew the staff must be very busy, so I only gave Miss Eina a brief report. I didn't say anything more and took my leave early.

I knew there was still plenty of time left, so I walked toward the huge notice board in the lobby.

The guild headquarters gathers all the latest information that is helpful to adventurers, including information related to dungeons. So, it's always a good idea to come here often and diligently collect information, including advice from advisors.

The notice board will display the parchment commissioned by adventurers and information on new products from various commercial factions, and a large crowd of fellow merchants has already formed in front of it.

(Even if the Kingdom of Lachia attacks... it seems no different from usual.)

I heard that the Kingdom's army is still attacking outside the city walls, but seeing and hearing the usual scene at the guild headquarters—the crowds of all kinds of demi-humans and the hustle and bustle—makes me feel that this war doesn't seem to have much of an impact on us adventurers.

While some high-ranking factions were called upon to participate in the war, it seems that factions below the mid-tier level were not conscripted. Because the collection of "Magic Stones" is slow, Orario—the guild that manages the labyrinth city—will see a decrease in the export volume of Magic Stone products, resulting in reduced profits. Therefore, the guild may want adventurers to continue exploring as usual.

As I watched the crowd of adventurers armed with all sorts of gear, I pondered these things.

"Hey, hey, here again."

"That doesn't seem very believable."

……Um?

As I was pondering the Kingdom's army's attack in the corner of my mind, I heard a chattering noise.

The murmurs coming from the front row of the crowd in front of the notice board made me curious and repeatedly tiptoe to see what was going on.

I wanted to see the parchment pasted on the opposite side of the human wall, so I craned my neck again and again.

"It seems there are monsters around that try to steal adventurers' equipment."

"Ah, Welf."

Welf came to my side.

Those taller than me seemed to see over the top of the human wall and reach the information on the notice board.

"You said, steal equipment..."

"Yeah, it seems like some monsters take armor from corpses, and others defeat adventurers and steal their equipment."

Welf’s words surprised me completely.

The monster actually stole the adventurers' weapons.

Thinking about it, it's not surprising that monsters use natural weapons from the "Landform Arsenal"... but I was a little shocked to see them take away armor. If that's true, it would really be terrible for adventurers.

If all the equipment I'd worked so hard to gather were stolen... honestly, I'd be devastated, not to mention the weapons I'm used to.

The thought of a monster wielding an adventurer's blade is terrifying.

—The image of the Minotaur, a one-horned bull equipped with a greatsword, suddenly flashed through my mind.

So, so scary.

Having experienced it firsthand, my back involuntarily shuddered.

Having let my imagination run wild, I hurriedly asked Welf:

"Where did the eyewitness information come from?"

"It seems to be mainly the 'lower levels,' at least there seems to be no news about the levels above the 20th."

He told me that this information was brought by adventurers of level two or above.

Welf told me the story in a funny way, just like the others around him who thought it was hearsay; he didn't seem to believe it much either.

It seems like it was just curiosity at most, and they took it as a joke.

"There's other interesting news too."

Then, Welf's lips curled up even more, and he smiled at me.

"This rumor has been around for a long time. It says that a 'black Minotaur' wearing armor has appeared."

"Black, the Minotaur...?"

"Yes, that's what was rumored for a while, but it quickly disappeared; it was just hearsay."

The skin of the Minotaur is usually copper-colored.

I've never heard of any black individuals.

Is it a "subspecies"?

"Who knows? The source is completely unknown; it might be fake information."

I asked Welf if it might be a "subspecies"—a monstrous mutant that can be observed occasionally. He shrugged and smiled wryly, telling me I'd better not take it seriously.

Hearing the name Minotaur, I can't help but react and ask again:

When did Welf hear this rumor?

"I think it was exactly two months ago."

Two months ago... around the same time I leveled up to Lv.2.

Welf also said that he remembered us because we had just started teaming up around that time.

"..."

Amidst the clamor of adventurers, I gazed at the notice board.

Until Lily and the others came to call us, I kept staring at the image of the monster equipped with armor and a sword—a piece of parchment.

*

"Oh! Is Miss Seele also taking a day off today?"

After paying a month's tax for the [family/kinship], the next day arrived.

Bathed in the warm sunlight, I paused in front of the tavern "The Abundant Mistress".

"Meow, Seele skipped work again today, meow!?"

Miss Anya, the cat-woman, wagged her thin tail in front of me, looking sullen.

Even after the headquarters moved, I continued to get lunch from Miss Seele as I headed to the dungeon.

With more members, or rather, with Miss Ming's superb culinary skills, she would be the first to prepare bento boxes and rice balls for everyone. I thought I wouldn't have to trouble Miss Seele anymore... But no sooner had I thought that than Miss Ryu and the others came straight to headquarters, pleading... no, begging me to go get lunch again. "Why did you suddenly develop an unnecessary sense of crisis...!?" "At least think about the cats who are in charge of tasting, meow...!?" Miss Runova and Miss Chloe complained, while Miss Ryu was pale and clutching her stomach for some reason.

In short, I'm still bothering Miss Seele as usual... but I haven't received lunch yet.

I found it unbelievable, so I went to "The Abundant Mistress" to find out, only to find out that Miss Seele didn't go to work today either.

"Sometimes Seele just disappears all of a sudden, like she did now."

"Hmph, young girls all have secrets, meow... but that can be a burden for us cats, so come back soon, meow—!? Cats don't understand how to keep accounts, meow!?"

Not only Miss Anya, but also the shop assistants who came to greet me during my break, Miss Lunova, the human, and Miss Chloe, the cat-woman, kept talking non-stop.

I heard about this when Miss Ming and I came to ask for cake recipes, and it seems that Miss Seele has been on leave for a while... so it's been more than ten days.

"That's why I said that Seele is different from us; she doesn't live and work in the store. Seele also has her own personal matters, and sometimes she has no choice."

Miss Anya and the others were making a fuss, but Miss Ryu, the elf, calmly told them.

She didn't argue with the other pouting shop assistants; her sky-blue eyes remained calm and composed.

"Um...maybe we could go to Miss Seele's house and ask her directly what's wrong...?"

"..."

I told them they could ask her directly, but... Ms. Ryu remained silent.

Strange? I was tilting my head at her reaction, and Miss Anya and the others were also looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Yes, cats..."

"It seems like nobody knows where Seele lives?"

"It means the cats know nothing about Seele's private life, meow."

Miss Anya, Miss Lunova, and Miss Chloe spoke in turn, which made me unable to hide my surprise.

To put it bluntly, nobody knows about Miss Seele's life outside of working at the tavern.

As I was still in surprise, Ms. Liu, who was closer to me, also fell silent, subtly affirming what her colleague had said.

"I did ask her... but she just laughed and said it was a secret, and brushed it off."

After a slight shift in her gaze, Miss Liu said this.

"Since that's the case—young man, an adventurer has commissioned you! I want you to find Seele, follow her, and bring back that woman's secret!"

"Huh?"

"Oh, not bad!? Maybe we can even catch Seele doing something wrong, killing two birds with one stone!"

Little braids...

Miss Chloe and Miss Lunova, who suddenly became very interested, handed me this commission, which made me break out in a sweat.

Only Miss Liu, her eyebrows furrowed, tried to dissuade him, saying, "Don't do this, it will cause trouble for Mr. Crani." But the shop assistants had completely lost control and couldn't be restrained.

"As long as the cats are prepared with payment, they have no objections, meow!? How about this, meow... the cat will sing you a song, meow!"

"Oh, Miss Anya can sing really well?"

"Meow, how about I sing you something? My throat's feeling today—"

"Stop it! You tone-deaf disaster!"

"Didn't I tell you the customers would all leave, and that you weren't allowed to sing 'Meow'?!"

Miss Anya was about to start singing triumphantly when Miss Lunova and Miss Chloe pounced on her.

She was pinned to the ground by the two men and screamed loudly, "Hoo-ga—!?" I broke out in a cold sweat again.

Miss Anya, are you really bad at singing...?

"Mr. Craney, please don't take this seriously."

"Haha... I understand."

Hearing Miss Liu speak with such certainty, I gave a wry smile.

A little while later, I said goodbye to Miss Ryu and the others and left the tavern.

"What should I do next...?"

Under a clear, cloudless sky, I walked along the bustling West Street, filled with people of Asian descent.

Today is a rest day for dungeon exploration.

To be precise, it was the gods and Welf who reminded me, "You've been spending all your time in the dungeons lately, you should take a break once in a while," and ordered me to take a vacation.

Unlike Welf, who would do forging, or Miss Fate, who would sometimes take a proper vacation and leave the party, I spent a long time going to the dungeon every day, and everyone caught me and questioned me.

To catch up with the person I admire, I must work harder, but...

"...Sigh, it's okay to take a day off once in a while, right?"

The warm early summer sunlight made me squint and smile.

The gods are right. You need to rest your body properly for the dungeon raid to go smoothly. Miss Eina also said that rest is very important.

While it's not quite time to go all out and have fun, spending a day wandering the streets to change my mood might not be bad, so I decided to take a stroll as I pleased.

(But seriously, even though I live here, there are so many places I don't know...)