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

Page 471

This has created such a huge burden for everyone.

I am not qualified to be the regimental commander.

I'm definitely not cut out to be a faction leader.

I dared not look directly at everyone's faces, and an overwhelming sense of guilt welled up inside me.

My hand wouldn't obey me; it clenched into a fist on its own.

"Lord Bell."

at this time.

Miss Haruhime came closer and took my right hand, which was bowing its head.

"Please, please don't regret saving Lady Winnie."

I was startled and looked up to see Miss Haruhime staring at me, as if she wanted to get close to me.

She wrapped her hands around mine, raised them to her chest, and held them tightly.

"I was saved by you and Lady Ming—because of your help, I am so happy now. Lady Winnie must feel the same way; we have both been saved, so…!"

With tears welling in her beautiful emerald eyes, she sobbed as she told me her story.

Miss Haruhime earnestly begged me not to deny everything I have now, even if I am in trouble.

I opened my eyes wide and saw her standing in front of me with tears in her eyes.

After a while, Miss Chunji suddenly realized that she was holding my hand tightly, and two red clouds rose to her cheeks.

Then, Lily, with her icy gaze, walked up from behind and yanked hard on the fox's tail. "Empty!?" she cried out.

"Hey, anyway, don't apologize."

Just as Miss Haruhime disappeared from sight and I was sweating profusely, it was Welf's turn to speak.

"Isn't that what a family clan is all about? Supporting each other."

"Have you forgotten how much trouble I caused you and the goddess Hestia during the Kingdom (Lachya) war?" he said. Welf shrugged and gave me a mischievous smile.

"Give me some more trouble, or I'll lose face."

"Welf..."

I couldn't continue speaking, and Miss Ming smiled at me.

"We must share life and death, and go through thick and thin together."

She spoke with unwavering conviction, like a loyal Far Eastern warrior.

After staring into her narrow, bluish-purple eyes, I finally looked at Lily.

Miss Haruhime sobbed as she stroked her tail. Lily, standing beside her, smiled with lowered eyebrows. "Lily is willing to accompany you to the ends of the earth, because Lily is your supporter."

My companions all smiled and comforted me.

Surrounded by the smiles of the four people, the hands that were clenched tightly loosened their grip.

"……Thanks."

I will no longer apologize.

Instead, it was to express gratitude to everyone.

"..."

Hestia, who stood a step back and watched the conversation between her family members, couldn't help but smile at their deepening affection.

However, she immediately turned her gaze back to the mandatory mission instruction book in her hand.

There was a message saying "Go to the 20th floor" and vine-like patterns on the four sides of the paper.

At first glance, it looks like just ordinary patterns, but this is no ordinary decoration.

Cleverly hidden is the entire line of text that the goddess (Hestia) is used to seeing—[hieroglyph].

[After your family members depart, please proceed to Street 4, District 7. We have no intention of harming you.]

This is what the gods wrote in their writings.

Upon asking, it was discovered that when Bell received the instruction from Eina, she had instructed Bell to make sure Hestia reviewed it.

One of the other party's goals is to send his family away and contact the main god.

The goddess's blue eyes narrowed.

(Could it be that the person behind this is...?)

The coded message sent to herself made Hestia's expression tense.

I climbed the steps, which were dyed the color of the setting sun.

Looking out the window, I saw the sun was about to set. The maroon light, reminiscent of the word "dusk," shone on my cheek as I went upstairs.

After a long discussion, we began preparing for tonight's mandatory task.

Lily went out to buy antidotes and other supplies needed for the middle area, while Welf went to the workshop in the backyard to maintain our weapons in perfect condition. I asked Miss and Miss Haruhime to go out and buy food and water, and Shinji also said she had somewhere to go and left. Only Welf, Winnie, and I remained at headquarters.

I arrived at the third floor, the top floor of the mansion, and walked straight down the corridor.

When I got to my room, I slowly opened the door.

In a corner of the room, a young girl with fair skin and a bluish tinge lay on the bed.

She was wearing the same robe as yesterday, with heartbreaking tear stains at the corners of her eyes, and curled up like a fetus.

Just like what Haruhime and Mikoto, who later used the [Yatagaraja (skill)], said, after she cried herself to sleep, she never stepped out of the room.

It's like being afraid of the outside world.

"..."

I quietly walked to the bedside.

Making sure I didn't make a sound, I sat down next to Winnie.

The room was quiet, isolated from the noise outside, people's thoughts, and cruel malice. Time flowed steadily, with only the girl's soft, sleepy breathing tickling the ears.

It was a bit hot in the late afternoon as summer approached, but I didn't want to open the window. I didn't want anything to disturb this space, to interrupt my time with this girl.

The smell in my room was mixed with someone else's body odor.

Her fragrance brought back memories from just a week and a few short days.

"..."

Many things happened that really bothered me.

I can't go a day without screaming.

Even so, these seven days remain irreplaceable.

Countless warm memories trace a smile on my lips.

I reached out my left hand and touched Winnie's hair.

The hair of the silver-haired type is relatively stiff, but as smooth as silk.

Just like I've done many times before, I gently stroked her hair with movements I wasn't used to.

"...Ugh, um..."

The eyelids and the pale blue eyelashes trembled together.

Her amber eyes opened slightly, and her sleepy gaze quickly found me. A smile appeared on her lips.

"Bell, Er..."

"Um... I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

After I apologized, Winnie gently shook her head and said she wouldn't.

The single wing that broke through the folds of the long robe swayed slightly in sync with the movement.

She remained lying down, took the hand I was using to touch her hair, and pressed it against her cheek.

Ice and cold.

Half-asleep, the dragon girl squinted her eyes with delight.

"Winnie, I have something to tell you. Would you like to listen?"

"……Um."

Winnie slowly propped herself up.

She sat on the bed sheet, our eyes meeting as we sat close together.

The shadows of the two people facing each other on the bed stretched out across the room.

"Tonight...?"

"Yes, with Miss Haruhime and the others."

I told Winnie about the decision I had made with the gods.

Of course, some of the more complex parts and facts were concealed.

I told Winnie that we were going to the place where she was born.

"..."

"...You don't want to?"

I asked Winnie, who had her head down.

That reaction is understandable; I didn't properly explain why I was going to the dungeon. Suddenly telling her I was going to a place like that naturally caused her panic.

For Winnie, who has suffered so much, the dungeon must be a terrifying place.

I was struggling with how to persuade her—

"No... I'll go."

Winnie lowered her head, but spoke clearly.

Winnie looked up as I was taken aback.

"Bell...and Haruhime and the others, they went there because of me, right?"

I opened my eyes wide.

The red stone on the forehead before me gleamed faintly.

"Because of you, Belle, you always help me."

"Winnie..."

"I'm scared... but as long as I'm with you guys, I won't be scared anymore, okay?"

Winnie smiled with her back to the setting sun, her body trembling slightly.