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

"...Did the dungeon shake just now?"

Letting Lily, who was following closely behind him, look up at him, Bell stared at the floor of the second floor—no, his gaze was fixed on the lower floors further down.

"You mean shaking? Lily didn't feel anything!"

"...Am I being paranoid?"

Bell held his breath and waited, but nothing changed. He tilted his head, feeling utterly puzzled, and finally thought that he must have made a mistake.

"It took a little longer today."

"Yes. Actually, it's not just a little, it's been quite a while. It's almost past midnight."

"Huh, really!"

"Yes," Lily replied, holding up her gold pocket watch.

The single and double stitches are about to perfectly overlap on the number twelve.

"Whoa, I didn't even notice..."

"Because in the end we were surrounded by monsters."

"I don't have the extra time to check," Lily said, shaking the large amount of luggage piled up on her back. The huge backpack, which contained many dropped items, looked like it was about to burst.

Several days have passed since the two entered into the contract.

With Lily's help, Bell was enjoying smooth sailing every day. Perhaps it could be said that he had finally gotten on track as an adventurer and was gradually settling down. His monster-hunting efficiency had increased significantly, and his daily income was incomparable to when he was exploring alone. He was ready to go all out towards his goal.

Bell was amazed that the addition of a single supporter could change so much.

However, Lily was astonished that Bell, a novice adventurer, had set incredible monster-breaking records day after day.

"Then, Lily, is it alright if today's pay is half of your earnings?"

"...Lily thinks that Lord Bell should know more about so-called common sense and material desires. Although Lily shouldn't say these things from the perspective of someone who's being paid, but...you're just too kind."

"But doesn't Lily need money right now?"

"That's true... But seeing Lord Bell like this really worries Lily, or rather, it's like having a friend leave a rabbit with me, making me so nervous that I accidentally over-take care of it... Ugh—, I feel like you've influenced me too much—"

Belle thought to herself, "I've been getting nagged by her more often lately."

Not long ago, she had unilaterally drawn a line between them as master and servant, but now that distant attitude had gradually eased. Perhaps their relationship was getting better; Belle felt the chasm between herself and Lily was slowly being bridged.

While driving away the attacking goblins, Bell and Lily advanced through the first floor, leaving the dungeon. Bell first took a shower, then ran to the money exchange in the Tower of Babel, before stepping outside through the main gate.

"Wow, it really is! It's so late..."

Night fell over the central square surrounding the Tower of Babel.

The streetlights, inlaid with magic stones, glowed with phosphorescent light, and the surroundings were filled with the unique tranquility of the night.

In contrast, even at such times, the distant taverns remained brightly lit and bustling with activity.

"...It really is huge."

Bell's gaze swept around the central square, finally settling on his own back.

A colossal tower pierces the night. A white-walled skyscraper stands serenely, overlooking Belle and Lily.

Although it was too late to see every corner with the naked eye, Bell knew that every tiny part of this enormous tower had been meticulously crafted.

The highly functional interior belies the stunning beauty of its exterior, which resembles a work of art. Seeing the imposing grandeur of the Tower of Babel, a structure truly built by the gods with extravagant luxury, Bell's gaze was fixed on the top, and he sighed in awe.

"Why was the Tower of Babel built so high? Even if it were meant to be rented out as shops, having to climb fifty floors to buy something would seem exhausting..."

"Lord Bell, the guild's rented shop only goes up to the twentieth floor?"

"Huh... I see?"

Seeing Belle's wide-eyed expression, Lily gave a wry smile.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Bell honestly asked:

"If there are no shops, what's on the floors above the twentieth?"

"It is the space where the gods reside, Lord Bell."

"...Do gods live there?"

"Yes. Only the foremost Familia deities in Orario can reside there; they live all the way up to the highest level of the Tower of Babel."

The Tower of Babel, a symbol of the labyrinthine city, was naturally inhabited by a group of gods of high status and extravagant luxury.

Each suite is fully equipped and extremely luxurious inside. The biggest selling point is the panoramic view, which offers an unparalleled view of the vast city from a position far superior to other buildings. There is no more beautiful view than this.

These suites are rented out under the management of the guild, so you have to pay extremely high rents, etc. However, as long as you ignore the cost, you are guaranteed to get the highest quality of living in all of Orario.

In other words, this is a high-class place where only the wealthiest gods are qualified to reside.

"Oh... So some deities don't live at headquarters, they go out of their way to live elsewhere."

"You can think of it as the realm of the gods (private room). Some gods like to communicate with us, but others, as people have always perceived them, are rather aloof."

"I see," Bell nodded.

"The Tower of Babel wasn't originally this huge. Lily heard that when it first began to function as a 'lid,' suppressing the monsters pouring out of the labyrinth, it wasn't much different from the surrounding buildings."

"How did it get so big?"

"When the first gods first descended upon this place, the tower collapsed. ... It was the gods, falling like meteors, who struck the top of the tower."

"..."

He thought it was probably broken on purpose.

Just as the people of the city were overjoyed and weeping over the tower that they had finally managed to build, the gods launched a devastating attack and shattered it to pieces... Bell could almost imagine the gods looking at the speechless, frozen old Orario residents, laughing and apologizing at the same time, and couldn't help but chuckle dryly.

"From then on, this tower was called the 'Collapsed Tower'... the 'Tower of Babel'. That's the background behind why the gods live in this tower."

Lily tells Bell that the gods who destroyed the tower intervened to help rebuild it as an apology... or more accurately, they made a huge contribution to suppressing the dungeon's power. The method was nothing other than "divine grace."

The inhabitants of Orario, in reverence for those who granted them power, dedicated the tower to the gods as their dwelling place.

It is said that until the gods appeared in various parts of the lower realm and expanded the [familia] system to the whole world, the two sides maintained this respectful superior-subordinate relationship, and the Tower of Babel was built higher and higher in order to show the majesty of the gods.

As a result, the Tower of Babel has reached its current height and continues to serve as a palace for the gods.

"I understand the general idea, but... um—every time I hear these stories about the gods, I get really curious. Is the 'Heavenly Realm' really that idle? So idle that the gods want to descend to the mortal world?"

"Maybe he skipped work because he didn't want to work?"

Bell, who had been looking up at the Tower of Babel, turned to Lily because of the unfamiliar saying.

"I've heard that there are certain obligations in Heaven that the gods must fulfill. The biggest example is the fate of us children, who are now eternally asleep in the mortal realm."

"you mean……"

"Yes. It refers to what happens to people after they die."

Hearing this made Bell feel his heart rate shorten.

The topic was supposed to be unrealistic, but the inevitable disillusionment of everyone made him listen intently.

In summary, what Lily said meant that the gods were responsible for managing the fate of people in the mortal realm after death.

If I had to describe it in words, I would probably call it a reckoning of the "soul".

Each god has a different way of dealing with the afterlife. Some allow the dead to live in heaven, some inflict unimaginable torment on the dead, and some require the dead to perform endless and meaningless heavy labor... The examples are countless.

Children liberated from the philosophy of the lower realm will be governed, entirely at the discretion of the gods. This process has nothing to do with their actions or concepts of good and evil in their previous lives.

Whether God likes you or not depends on the God's mood at that moment.

It's arbitrary and without rules; what exists here is only "God's judgment" made based on dogmatism and prejudice.

"However, I heard that almost everyone was eventually able to reincarnate... Anyway, for these reasons, in order to make up for the rapidly decreasing number of gods in the celestial realm, those who chose to stay are said to be working tirelessly until now. It seems to be quite a bloodbath, doesn't it? It seems that the order of the next journey to the mortal realm will also be decided through a bloody and rigorous 'discussion'."

I don't want to go to that kind of place, no, I don't want to die... Bell couldn't help but think this seriously.

Now, if I dared to meet the faces of the gods in heaven, I feel as if I would be unceremoniously welcomed with the gates of hell wide open. This is to vent my anger.

Perhaps seeing through Bell's thoughts, Lily looked at his face, swayed her shoulders, and giggled incessantly.

Bell smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

I don't know why, but I just found it funny.

"...However, Lily once longed for death."

Perhaps that's why.

This statement was a surprise blow to Bell.

"...Huh?"

"Lily thought, if only I could return to the gods just once... perhaps a reborn Lily would be a little better off than the Lily she is now..."

Looking up at the Tower of Babel, no, at the even higher, vast night sky, Lily murmured.

Her hoodie was askew to one side, her chestnut bangs were spread out, revealing a pair of large eyes gazing into the distance.

It's like yearning for that sky, which is dyed black.

"Lily... Lily!"

When Bell came to her senses, she had already called out her name loudly.

If you don't call out, Lily seems about to drift away.

Lily slowly closed her eyelids, her gaze no longer fixed on the sky, and turned her face, which was covered by her bangs, toward Bell.

"...I'm sorry, Lily was just talking nonsense."

"..."

"That's all in the past. Please don't take it to heart. Despite Lily's current state, she has become very strong. She won't have those thoughts anymore."

Bell was speechless.

She must be telling the truth. The girl's spirited posture, with her chest puffed out, showed no trace of sorrow. She must have pulled herself together by now.

But precisely because of this, Belle finds it even harder to express the emotions she has no outlet for and to convey them to Lily in words.

"Alright, Lord Bell, it's getting late, you should head back now. Lily also needs to go back to the Familia's headquarters today."

With a cheerful, gentle smile, Lily turned her back to the Tower of Babel. She took small, slow steps forward.

Bell looked at her shoulders. They were far too thin to carry such heavy luggage.

Watching Lily's back as she carried an ill-fitting backpack, Belle, still feeling frustrated, desperately chased after her.

●

"Hmm. You've gotten stronger again."

A muttered word fell from above.

A small white figure can be seen far below. The figure is chasing another figure walking ahead, running further and further away.

With a still somewhat excited expression, she cast a passionate glance at the figure that was gradually running away.

The clouds moved, and the bright moon floating in the night sky illuminated the dark room.

The rectangular glass that occupies the entire wall clearly highlights the figure of the person standing by the window like a spotlight.

She was wrapped in a black chiffon nightgown, showing off her slender yet plump figure.

Bathed in the cool moonlight, her delicate, fair skin adds an air of mystery.

Her long silver hair, almost reaching her waist, sparkled as if inlaid with many ice crystals.

"That's right. You can become even more dazzling..."

Facing the glass that reflected that insanely beautiful face, she—Freya placed her hand on it, causing the glass to clang.

The top level of the Tower of Babel.

In one of the highest-quality rooms in the tower, she, the owner, was looking down at Bell.

"You want to be even more dazzling and radiant? You're someone I've chosen, so you have that obligation..."

There was deep love in his eyes, as well as a sense of absolute superiority over those who were at a disadvantage.

Freya is infatuated with Bell.

She wished she could put aside all trivial matters and simply release this burning infatuation. The beautiful goddess was so infatuated with a young man.