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

Seeing the girl's resolute profile as she tried to rescue Hestia, the goddess with whom she had had many interactions, deeply moved him.

Bell punched himself for stopping thinking and took a step forward.

"Me, I want to go too!? I want to... chase after the immortals!"

Bell straightened up from beside Ais.

At this moment, Loki, who had been silent towards him, spoke up.

"Hey kid, are you even listening to us? Ais already said she's going. Do you want to get in the way?"

"...!"

"What's your level? You know there's a difference in strength, right? Behave yourself."

One is Lv.3, and the other is Lv.6.

There is a difference in strength between Bell and Ais, even in terms of pure thinking, that is more than double.

Loki coldly laid out the facts before him, while also slightly opening her crimson eyes to try and see clearly the recently rising, hot newcomer—this adventurer who had a connection with her own family.

Hearing her cold words, Bell was speechless for a moment—then clenched her fists.

His eyebrows shot up, and he let out a roar that even the gods dared to defy:

"I am! A member of the celestial family—a member of the retinue of the goddess Hestia!"

He cleansed his deep red eyes of all impurities except for the light of his will, and proclaimed:

"I'll definitely catch up with her!! So... please let me go with her!!"

The loud wish, shouted at the top of its lungs, instantly swallowed up the surrounding noise.

Under the watchful eyes of the other few gods and adventurers, Loki saw Bell's resolve but did not express his agreement.

However, they didn't stop it.

"Whatever, I don't think you can even get in the way. Ais, if this kid gets paralyzed, just leave him there."

"……I see."

Ais paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement with the chief god. As for Bell, he bowed to the celestial being who had implicitly granted him permission to accompany the goddess Hestia, saying, "Thank you!"

The boy straightened up, met the girl's gaze, conveying "Thank you for your help," and at the same time, the pace of their discussion quickened.

Other adventurers consulted with guild staff, hoping they would turn a blind eye to their unauthorized departure from the city. Seeing that they were acting without waiting for orders from headquarters, the staff understood it was an emergency and silently nodded—no, they were forced to nod. The god, who was shouting loudly, "I am Ganesha!!", personally lured the chaotic merchants and citizens, while also gathering information on the kingdom's army's escape route.

"Besides Ais and the others, we need to send out other tracking teams. We're really short-handed. There's no time to wait for Bert and the others or the other Familias to gather. We'll lose track of our opponents."

"Just thinking about finding the little guy among all those scattered guys is exhausting. Is it really like I said before, that we really have to check them all?"

Just as Finn and Loki were discussing their concerns about the pursuit, a god appeared.

"How about you leave this matter to us?"

The handsome man with orange-yellow hair slightly pushed up his feather travel hat and smiled.

"Hermes, the god..."

"Our family's Asphie can find out where the Hestia are."

"—Huh!?"

Finn looked toward Hermes, who had placed his hand on Asphie's shoulder as she stood behind him, and embraced her with an irresistible smile. Ignoring the astonishment of his retinue, he spoke firmly.

"Huh? You spineless coward, what's your basis for this...?"

"Hey, Loki, Asphie is the famous 'Perseus,' you know? There's always a way to find out the kidnapped goddess."

Seeing Loki's doubtful expression, Hermes emphasized the nickname "The All-Powerful One".

Finn and the others looked at the leader of the Hermes Familia, who was also a rare magical item maker with "mysterious" development abilities. The person in question sighed wearily from the bottom of his heart.

Asphie swayed her light blue hair and pure white cloak, adjusting the position of her silver glasses.

"...If you could give me about thirty minutes, that should be fine."

Finn pondered her words carefully, lightly licked his right thumb, and said, "I understand," indicating his trust in her. Loki clasped his hands behind his head, a smile on his face, waiting to see what she was capable of.

Bell borrowed combat armor and other gear to quickly prepare for departure. He was surprised to see their conversation when Hermes approached him.

"It's just a small favor, so let me help out. Little Bell, [Sword Maiden], please bring Hestia back."

"I didn't want to say goodbye to her this way either," he said.

Seeing Hermes offer help out of concern for his friend, Bell felt a surge of emotion and nodded along with Ais beside him.

"yes!"

"I see."

The city gates, built atop the massive city walls, seemed to gape as if anxiously awaiting the adventurers' departure.

*

"The goddess Hestia has been captured!?"

Upon hearing the news brought by Mih who stormed into the headquarters, the members of the Hestia Familia, a faction of the goddess, were thrown into chaos and unease.

In front of the wide-open main gate, in the front yard of the mansion, Ming shouted loudly, and Welf guessed the reason for the kidnapping of the goddess without even hearing the whole story, and was stunned.

He immediately clenched his fists, his whole body trembling as he blurted out, "Are you kidding me...?!"

Welf felt deeply guilty for jeopardizing the goddess's bloodline. Haruhime, who had been wavering, looked at him with heartache, while Lily's expression changed drastically, and she ran towards Mih.

She looked up at the tall, handsome man before her and asked:

"What is Lord Bell doing right now!?"

"Bell is waiting for Hestia to return at the north gate of the city—no, that's not right."

Mich stopped halfway through his speech, turning his gaze from the front yard of the mansion to the northern city wall.

The final glimpse of the boy's profile seemed to confirm his suspicions, and he narrowed his god-like eyes.

"They must have already set off from the city to rescue Hestia."

Tear through the wind resistance and keep running.

With their long golden hair and white hair flying wildly, the two adventurers raced across the treacherous mountain road at a speed that no ordinary person could possibly achieve. This was in the "Bior Mountains," directly north of Orario.

This place is a mountain range with steep slopes and treacherous paths. The countless mountains that appear again and again after climbing many peaks are described as a "mountain city". Due to its proximity to the labyrinth city, the monster races that came to the surface "ancient" have taken root in this magical mountain. Because of the treacherous terrain, even adventurers rarely set foot here.

The gray rock face and muddy surface of the mountains are exposed, with few trees. Instead, the valleys surrounded by cliffs are lush with greenery. The undulating mountain ranges, with many valleys, cliffs, and towering rock walls obstructing the view, create a scenic landscape.

Bell and Ais ran relentlessly through the Bio Mountains, overlooking the gray sky.

Needless to say, wild beasts, and even man-eating monsters, hurriedly fled from the path the two were rushing along.

The large, reckless "Berg Bear" was cleaved in two by the girl's rapier.

As blood splattered among the surface monsters whose abilities were far inferior to those in the maze, Bell listened to the intense, piercing pounding of his own heart.

"~ ...

My breathing was erratic, the constant sweating was irritating, and my legs felt as heavy as lead.

Bell was slowly moving further away from the female swordsman in front of him, and he was panting heavily.

Wow, so fast!

Half an hour has passed since we departed from Orario.

Ais ran like a whirlwind, almost leaving Bell behind.

Faced with her unparalleled physical prowess, Belle was completely outmatched. Once they entered the high mountains, their situations became even more apparent.

She maintained perfect posture and balance on the undulating mountain paths, possessed the stamina to run down steep slopes in one go, and had inexhaustible energy. Most terrifying of all was her extraordinary toughness in maintaining speed without breaking a sweat.

The first-level adventurer's swift movement gradually left Bell behind, her advantage of "agile footwork" along with her confidence was completely shattered, and her figure grew further and further away.

"Haa, haa! Ha... Crack...!?"

He tried to get a breath of fresh air, but failed.

His feet, raised with all his might, his arms, flailing wildly, and his eyes, assaulted by the terrifying wind pressure, all screamed. Even with every ounce of his strength, the girl's figure cruelly and slowly receded into the distance.

【Fiora】Ais Wallenstein. Bell's goal, an unattainable beauty.

Bell was forced to witness it firsthand. To witness the immeasurable gap between them.

When the girl was training him on the city wall, he had never experienced such a pure difference in strength.

Let him see clearly where he and Ais are now. She is high up far ahead.

To think he could get close to her was wishful thinking; he had merely finally seen where the girl stood. The towering peak remained majestic, still too precipitous.

Bell was focused solely on saving the goddess Hestia, and with this willpower, he desperately tried to keep up with the girl's speed and pace, but he was about to succumb to the groans of his body.

His throat and lungs were enveloped in unprecedented heat, as if they were about to burn away, and Bell's legs were about to lose strength—at that moment.

Ais turned to look at him.

“——”

She turned her head slightly to face me, sending me a glance over her shoulder.

She continued to speed along, observing her own situation.

Ais observed Bell, who was embarrassingly panting, and slowed her pace.

—The girl hadn't used her full strength yet.

"!!"

Seeing Ais running while keeping an eye on him, Bell felt a surge of heat throughout his body.

Shame and boredom fueled a defiant spirit, and a man's ambition burned fiercely.

His heart yearned to spare her the sight of his wretched appearance, which manifested as a silent scream. His legs, which had nearly become useless, regained their strength, kicking the bald mountain with enough force to shatter the earth, determined to catch up with the girl.

In preparation for battle, he forcefully removed all the protective gear that other adventurers had given him—chest guards, gauntlets, shoulder armor, and waist guards—and threw them onto the hillside.

Having lightened his load by removing his gear, Bell used all his strength to close the distance between himself and the girl.

"..."

Ais remained silent, watching Bell chase after her like a raging torrent, relentlessly pursuing her.

The female swordsman's expression remained unchanged, like that of a delicate doll. She turned forward and quickened her pace, as if trusting the boy. After a moment of surprise, the sound of rabbit-like footsteps chased after her desperately.

Ais had Belle follow behind her as they raced across the barren mountainside, when suddenly she looked up at the sky.

With a soft drip, tiny droplets of water wet her face, while thick gray clouds churned in the sky.

The signs of impending rain drifted through the mountains—Ais paid no heed, squinting her golden eyes.

She looked ahead and saw a white figure with outstretched wings hovering in the sky above her.

"Hahaha! This time we can finally make Orario look miserable!"

Deep in the Bio Mountains.

On a treacherous mountain road with a ravine on one side of the view, Ares's loud laughter suddenly rang out.

This is a force of about thirty soldiers dressed in traveling attire, leading the main force of the Kingdom of the Supreme God, using mountain shortcuts to quickly distance themselves from Orario. Sometimes monsters leap out from the shadows of rocks or from under cliffs, but under the command of their troop leader, who possesses strength of LV.2 or higher, and the Kingdom's proud LV.3 generals, they are easily repelled.

Ares rode alone on horseback, surrounded by soldiers, his heart filled with joy.

"Hey! Ares!? What are you doing? Put me down right now!! Even if we know each other in the heavens, this is going too far!?"

"Shut up, you incompetent dwarf god! You're meant to be used to exchange for the Crozo boy's divine essence; it's an honor for me to use you!"

"Who are you calling the Dwarf God?!?!"

Hestia was forcibly tied to Ares's armor with ropes, her slender hands and feet flailing wildly.

The young goddess he had captured was also forcibly brought over. Hestia tried to untie the tightly bound ropes, but no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn't break them, not even loosening them a little. She wanted to at least retaliate by kicking and hitting wildly, but Ares said, "Behave yourself!" and gave her a knee strike to the side. "Ouch!?" She struggled in pain.

"You...you said I'm a hostage of a god...!?"

Hestia, who was in a semi-conscious state when she was captured, finally regained consciousness and understood the situation.

Hestia was filled with regret that she hadn't expected things to turn out this way after helping out at work. Orario must be in a huge commotion right now.

"Just you wait and see!! Bell and the others... the adventurers from Orario will be here soon!"

"Hmph! We've dispersed our troops and split into different groups; how could they possibly find you among them?"