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

Chloe turned her eyes, which had been fixed on the air, to Seele, staring straight at her.

"Seele. The cat wants to confess its love to you, meow..."

"Confess...confess what?"

"The cat... can't help but feel excited by the boy's perfectly rounded, immature buttocks, meow...!"

"..."

"Whenever the cat fantasizes about unripe fruit stuffed beneath those thin trousers, a lewd lust makes the cat's whole body burn with desire...! The cat wants it, the cat wants it... Huff—, huff—!"

"..."

"Ouch...it hurts! I'm sorry, please, please let the cat go...ah!"

Stop! Stop! All the staff rushed forward and began crowding into one spot.

The tavern "The Abundant Mistress" was bustling with unprecedented noise early in the morning.

"Hey, you silly girls! Stop playing around and get to work!"

After a long time of work, the shop was still not ready, which finally made the female shop owner, Mia, unable to stand it any longer. She shouted loudly from behind the shop door.

The girls' shoulders jerked in unison, and they quickly returned to their posts. "Really," the dwarf woman peeked out and shrugged.

"...Hmm? Seele, what's that?"

"what?"

Seeing the human shop assistant pointing in a direction, Seele, who was nearby, turned her head.

That's the counter over there. It was a special VIP seat in the corner of the store that Seele prepared for Bell, who was visiting for the first time, a couple of days ago.

On the seat he had sat, there was a book.

"This is……"

"Did someone leave this here?" "What? What's wrong, meow?"

Behind Seele, who was holding books in both hands, the shop assistants peeked out one by one, staring at the books.

"Cats don't have knowledge, they can't read books, meow." "Same to the right, meow."

"Yes, I know. It's okay if you don't say anything, alright?"

"I really want to kill you, meow."

"Seele, what's wrong?"

"There's a book here...it doesn't seem to belong to anyone, so it must have been dropped by a guest?"

"Hmm—I don't think I saw this thing yesterday..."

"Okay, okay, Lunova got it wrong, meow. Are you trying to say that if it wasn't something a guest forgot, then someone sneaked in and left it here, meow? Pfft—, that kind of flawed reasoning makes me want to vomit, meow."

"That's what makes uneducated idiots so troublesome, meow..."

"Ugh—, I really want to kill you all—"

Ignoring the noisy outfield audience, Seele and Ryu observed the book.

This is a very thick book. The whole book is pure white and has a slight smell of old paper.

The cover was covered with random geometric shapes, and there was no title.

"...Wait a minute. This couldn't be...?"

Ryu seemed to notice something, but Mia's roar followed immediately.

"How many times do I have to explain? Or do you think you don't understand when I explain? Fine, then I'll teach you directly through your bodies!"

Everyone was terrified.

"Wait, wait a minute, meow, Mom. The cats have found something suspicious, meow!"

"This is it, this is it!"

"Seele, quickly take this to show Mommy, meow!"

"Hmm, suspicious item?"

Urged on by those around her, Seele responded with an "Ah, um," and took a few steps forward, turning her back to Ryu and the others. She let her light gray hair sway in front of them and showed the book in her hand to the surprised Mia.

"Miya's mom, it seems a guest dropped this book. What should we do with it?"

"...Huh?"

As all the staff watched in tense silence, Mia glanced at Seele, then at the book, and then frowned deeply.

(…?)

Ryu questioned Mia's expression. She, who still possessed the strength of a top-tier adventurer, had never before shown such a bitter expression.

Just as the elven girl was feeling confused, Mia gave the book a disgusted look, and then gave instructions to Seele in a tone that was slightly more subdued than usual.

"...Just put it in a prominent place in the store. Unless the person is an idiot, they'll naturally notice it's fallen and come back to get it."

"Yes, I understand."

After Seele bowed respectfully, everyone present quickly dispersed.

After Mia's reprimand, the shop assistants prepared more diligently than usual.

Only Liu stopped for a moment, but after seeing her colleagues secretly chatting and laughing, she breathed a sigh of relief and went back to her work.

★

"Lord Bell, danger! Right at your feet!"

"what?"

Lily's screams pierced my ears.

We are currently on the 7th floor. I was about to pounce on the killer ants, wielding the Goddess's Blade, when a sudden warning made me awkwardly reply.

Not to brag, but I know this floor like the backyard, yet I still can't quite grasp the situation.

"--grumble!"

"!"

However, it took me less than a second to understand the meaning behind Lily's warning.

"Needle-pricked rabbit".

A rabbit-like monster with sharp horns sprouting from its forehead crept in from a blind spot. A hit from those blood-red horns, which could be used as valuable weapon materials when they were dropped, would almost certainly be fatal.

Its bright red eyes gleamed with ferocity as the thorny rabbit aimed at my left foot.

"!"

My left foot was the one that had just stepped out, leaving me no way to dodge. I was in a running stance, with my right foot, which wasn't being targeted, hovering in mid-air.

In my haste, I bent my left knee.

My lower body was only equipped with armor (penetration armor) on my knees. I tried to block the enemy's attack, making a last-ditch effort—and then, without missing a beat, the unicorn's ambush was lured to my knees.

With a clang, the impact through the metal plate sent a jolt of pain deep into the bone.

With a sharp metallic sound, I lost my balance as I brushed past the Needle Rabbit.

"Aa ...

It was as if we had foreseen this, the worst possible time.

My original target, the killer ants, swarmed towards me. And there were two of them.

I've fought killer ants dozens of times in the past few days. I've even had a four-on-one battle with them.

There are only two of them now—I shouldn't have underestimated the enemy like that.

Without any mercy, it swept its four claws horizontally and flew right in front of me.

"Well!"

Parry. I'll use the green protective gear I've equipped on my left arm to shield my face from attacks.

My protective gear, which prides itself on its high level of protection, remained undamaged. However, the ridiculously large impact slammed into my left arm, sending my entire body flying to the side.

My center of gravity had long since shifted. Although I barely managed to stay upright, I staggered several steps.

Then, as if to press their advantage, the remaining killer ants launched an attack on me.

(--Oops.)

I'm about to be overwhelmed.

If I'm hit and knocked down, those four insect legs will pin me to the ground, and I'll be torn to pieces without being able to escape. Killer ants with hard shells are quite heavy.

Miss Eina had given me a serious warning about this matter.

With my slender build, being pinned to the ground by the monster was practically a death sentence for me.

(--ah.)

the second time.

Just like with the Minotaur, it was the moment when he foresaw his inevitable death.

My body was gripped by trembling and terror, unable to move. My breathing stopped. Time seemed to slow down.

The killer ant opens its gaping maw, revealing its hideous face.

Saliva dripped down, revealing a disgusting array of teeth.

My mind went blank; I was helpless as I watched the killer ants swarming towards me.

"no--!"

In the blink of an eye, Lily's scream and a ball of fire flew from the side.

"!"

"Zigaa ...

"Lord Bell!"

Faced with the killer ant struggling in agony after being hit on the head by a fireball, my body regained time.

Urged on by Lily's shouts, I made the Goddess Blade in my right hand flash.

“Gu!”

"Ughh ...

*Swoosh!* With a crisp, clean sound, I chopped off the head of the raging, burning killer ant. Then I dealt with the second one, and delivered a fatal blow to the bewildered monster.

My opponent's body was split in two. I didn't see that scene until the very last moment; I immediately flipped my gaze.

Facing the thorny rabbit that was about to leap and launch a surprise attack, I drew my short sword and stabbed it in retaliation.

"Chirp, ah..."

"……ha!"

After defeating the last monster in the cave, I exhaled the breath I had been holding.

Only then did the sticky sweat burst out all at once, and I half-squatted down to wipe my face.

That was really close.

Listening to my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I let my breathing rise and fall rapidly for the time being.

"Lord Bell, are you alright?"

"...Lily—. Thank you, I'm saved."

Seeing Lily running towards me, all my strength finally left my body. I collapsed limply onto the ground.

"You were too careless just now! Although the situation was indeed very difficult, Lord Bell also made a mistake!"

"sorry."

I have nothing to say in response.

I was too careless. No, I should say I was too arrogant.

I overestimated myself, thinking they were just two killer ants that I could easily kill instantly.