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

Its true purpose was to prevent adventurers from killing the "heretics," or to prevent adventurers from being defeated instead—allowing the "heretics" to kill people.

Now that the incident has occurred, the guild must take action as the city's administrator.

On the other hand, even the guild's higher-ups were unaware of the existence of this group of rational monsters. To prevent the "heretics'" existence from being exposed, Uranus wanted to entrust Ganesha, with whom they had dealings, with the task of secretly and quickly handling the situation.

"What about the Hermes Familia?"

"Have them search for Ikeros and the others. After sending secret envoys to various factions, Fels, you will also travel with the [Ganesha Familia]." The old god indicated that he would give instructions on Loiman's side, and Fels accepted his orders.

Then, just before the black-clad magician was about to walk out...

Uranus spoke solemnly.

"Fels - Insert Bell Craney into the mandatory mission."

"...Uranus, this..."

"I need to see this clearly now. To see that boy clearly... that one who supposedly shook hands with the 'heretics'—the only adventurer."

"者."

Uranus narrowed his pale eyes as he recounted what had happened in the secret of the "heretics".

"Let's see if I'm just a child manipulated by circumstances, a puppet controlled by God, or..."

The whispers of God echoed from the dim altar.

Fels let the torchlight illuminate his black robe, and nodded after a moment.

"I understand... I will obey your will."

This time, Fels finally threw off his black robes and disappeared from in front of the altar.

Ahead, as the unmoving old god intently observes, the situation is rapidly unfolding.

*

A group of demi-humans have gradually gathered at the main entrance of the building, which can be seen from the front courtyard.

We sped up towards the ever-growing Pantheon—the guild headquarters—and ran inside with Miss Ais.

"!"

The noise and heat pattered against my skin.

The wounded were slumped on the ground, unable to get up; the adventurers were shouting and cursing at the window; and the guild staff were running around everywhere, making the entire lobby a chaotic mess.

After the alarm was sounded, Miss Ais and I ignored the advice and went straight to the guild headquarters.

Miss Ais was there to get accurate information, while I was simply not going to obediently wait for instructions. I rushed here before I could even calm down, just to confirm whether the city alert was real or not.

"These people, they are all...!"

"Yes, it's those people from the town (Riverra)..."

I looked around the hallway, breathless. Miss Ais beside me was breathing steadily and nodded calmly.

Clearly, a complex mix of information was at play. The residents of the town (Rivera) who were rushing to seek refuge had turned the guild headquarters upside down. In addition to me, many faction members and even some high-ranking players had come in person, wanting to find guild staff or anyone still able to speak to get some answers.

"There's no way to ask questions like this..."

Miss Ais is right, the situation is so chaotic, what should we do...!

Only when my restless heart was filled with anxiety, and I gritted my teeth, and couldn't help but look around, did the faces of adventurers covered in wounds come into my view.

The werewolf leaned weakly against the wall, the dwarf pressed his bleeding forehead for treatment, and the elf desperately called for help to his weakened teammates.

These really were all done by Mr. Reed and his men...?

I can't face reality.

I don't want to believe it.

I couldn't help but choose to escape and look away.

"Ah—Miss Eina!"

The moment I turned my gaze away, the half-elf employee flashed into my field of vision, and I called out to her loudly.

Miss Ais turned her eyes to look, and saw Miss Eina turn around with a surprised expression.

"Bell!? Even Miss Wallenstein is here!"

"Please tell us what happened!"

I disregarded everything else and went straight to the point, asking her for an explanation.

Miss Eina, who seemed hesitant to speak, perhaps seeing my agitation, gave up and, while keeping an eye on both me and Miss Ais, began to speak:

"Just like the broadcast said. The town (Rivera) is destroyed."

"The monster that attacked the town is...!?"

"According to the adventurers, they are equipped with weapons and armor. It is said that the monsters are led by a ferocious gargoyle, but the races are mixed... there are unicorns and lizardmen—"

Every time I heard her list of monsters, I felt my face grow paler and paler.

It was like having your escape route cut off, or the impact of a wooden stake driven into your heart.

"The guild mainly wants the Ganesha Familia to take full charge of the subjugation. They say they want to use their elite forces to strike... Bell, Ms. Wallenstein, if the guild needs to mobilize other Familias, they will issue orders immediately. You should return to headquarters and wait."

Her implication was that we would be in the way.

I barely managed to stay conscious and force myself to raise my eyebrows. I berated myself for being so easily swayed by circumstances, telling myself that if I had time to stand there and daydream, I should take action.

I exchanged a glance with Miss Ais beside me, and then we nodded to each other.

"Well... I'm leaving."

Miss Ais adopted an adventurer's expression and ran out of the guild headquarters first.

I also planned to go back to the [Family] first, so I only politely said goodbye to Miss Eina and then went to catch up with Miss Ais, who was gradually running away.

"—Huh!?"

Unexpectedly, just as I was about to start running...

The shout from behind made me stop immediately and turn around.

Miss Misia, looking uneasy, whispered a few words to Miss Eina, leaving her stunned.

She slowly raised her head, and with trembling eyes—she held me captive.

"...Wait a minute, Bell."

*

The whole city was in an uproar.

"What kind of mandatory mission is this... Could it be our turn?"

"No way, no way. Our faction is so weak..."

"But... but there are at least three high-level adventurers..."

Nestled in a quiet back alley, there is a deserted detached house called "Tianqing Pharmacy".

At the shop and headquarters owned by the Mih Familia, Daphne, Naza, and Cassandra, the only three members of their faction, gathered together. The dog-woman girl dismissed Daphne's concerns as unfounded worries, ignored Cassandra's words, and deftly packed up the merchandise to close the shop.

"Daphne! It's like this, I dreamt of a black beast...!" "Yes, yes, that's great." "I want to go and find out some information, you two come and help me too..." Listening to the girls' conversation, the chief god Mihe walked to the blinds with a solemn expression.

"Armed monsters... are they really related to that dragon girl (Vivel)?"

"Didn't you say they were kind-hearted, Hestia...?"

The main base of the Takemikazuchi family is the "townhouse".

In the old apartment building, Takemikazuchi muttered to himself.

"Takemikazuchi!"

"Sakura, are you alright?"

Seeing the leader (a human) and his team returning with hurried footsteps, the male god breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura and the others had just returned from the labyrinth, still carrying battle axes, guns, bows and arrows, and backpacks, and rushed to report:

"We heard the gist of it in the dungeon. Led by the Ganesha Familia, adventurers are being sent back to the surface one by one." "They said if any teams are still inside, everyone should urge them to return... The dungeon is in complete chaos..."

Following the burly man Sakura, Chigusa, whose bangs covered her eyes, added an explanation. "I see..." Takemikazuchi nodded, paused for a few seconds, and then looked around at the faces of his followers.

"I'm sorry to have to get you working so soon after you got back, but we have to go out on the streets. The citizens are probably even more confused than we are. Whether you want to calm them down or encourage them, I hope you can ease the public's anxiety."

"Yes!" The retinue obeyed the command of the supreme god. They left the main camp one after another. Takemikazuchi scratched his round bun by his ear and said, "Fine!" He then followed them out.

"What should we do, Lord God?"

The Hephaestus Familia branch is located on Northwest Avenue, commonly known as "Adventurers' Street".

Hearing the question from the faction leader who was also wearing an eyepatch, Hephaestus, who was looking out the office window, turned around.

"...For now, I'll follow the guild's orders."

Her faction was too large; if she acted without authorization, it might cause unexpected problems. Hearing her explanation, the leader, Chun, nodded and said, "Understood."

"Should we call the group members first? I don't think they'll call the blacksmith (us) first."

"Well... let's have everyone gather at headquarters first. I'll be there in a minute."

After watching Chun leave, Hephaestus turned her gaze back to the street.

Adventurers wandered the road. Many were restless and uneasy, as if affected by the atmosphere of turmoil.

The God of Forging, recalling the information that her goddess confidante had secretly told her about the "heretics" Mihe and Takemikazuchi, narrowed her left eye, which was not covered by an eyepatch.

"Hurry up, hurry up—!!"

"The checkpoint has received the order to change shifts! Call all the guys on the street back!"

"Seal off the Tower of Babel!! Do not allow anyone to pass except returning adventurers!"

Numerous adventurers ran in and out.

The stronghold of the Ganesha Familia is now shrouded in a panic rarely seen even in the vast Orario. A guild envoy has arrived to deliver a mandatory mission, entrusting them with handling all current issues concerning the dungeon.

The [Family], which prides itself on being the largest in the city, is about to do everything in its power to deal with this problem.

"..."

In the courtyard, where servants came and went incessantly, an owl landed beside Ganesha, who stood alone.

The familiar with the prosthetic eye rested on his arm, and parchment was rolled up at his feet.

When the owl flew high into the sky, the elephant-faced god looked at the open paper and remained silent.

"—I never expected to be called out in broad daylight."

Accompanied by the clear sound of footsteps, her long, shimmering silver hair swayed gracefully.

"Thank you for making this trip."

The stunningly beautiful goddess, proud of her unparalleled beauty, walked along a grand corridor with her boars retinue. She passed directly through the majestic central courtyard, which stretched out to the side of her vision like the inner courtyard of a palace, and had her retinue open the enormous double doors.

"How is the situation?"

Freya was greeted by the assembled members and faction leaders, her voice booming in the main hall of the headquarters, "Folkvangr."

Among those present were various demi-humans, including quadruplets, beautiful elves, and dark elves. Among them was a young cat-person with black and gray fur, named Alan Fromor, who walked up to her.

He bowed and explained.

"They're leaving this to Ganesha, and expect us to guard the city checkpoint...?"

"Yes, that's what the guild said."

Upon hearing the instructions brought by the guild envoy, Freya raised her eyebrows in surprise.

She clearly showed a sense of disharmony with the guild.

At the same time, she just laughed it off.

"To expect us to defend the city under these circumstances... is it due to a lack of trust?"

Even so, I think it's still too unnatural.

The attendant said that in an emergency, this method of mobilization was too cumbersome and time-consuming.

Freya's smile deepened as the other members watched in silence.

"It seems that the guild... no, Uranus and the others also have things they're afraid to admit."