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

"..."

"They seem to really want to keep us away from the heart of the matter."

The goddess of beauty had already seen through Uranus and his companions' intentions, and with a smile that could "bewitch" all beings, she said, "Alright, it doesn't matter."

Tie. "

"Let's use this incident to offset the penalty for the brothel incident. We'll behave and not ask any more questions, but in return... right?"

"So……"

"Okay, let's hand over the gatekeeper duties to Ganesha and the others. We'll protect the city for them for one day."

Freya ordered her members to disperse to the eight city gates. After bowing, the followers of the goddess of beauty, except for the executives, quickly withdrew.

"I'm going back to the Tower of Babel."

"But the Ganesha Familia seems to have begun sealing off the area..."

"I can secretly seduce people to let me in."

"Would you like me to take you there?"

"No need, it's alright, Allen."

After smiling at the first-level adventurer known as "Vana Freia," Freya walked out of the hall and left the "Battlefield."

"What do you mean by telling us to standby!?"

In a room facing the passageway, the werewolf's rough voice echoed all around.

"It would be much faster if we went and took care of those monsters ourselves!! Why bother having those Ganesha guys do it!"

"Bert, you're so noisy—!!... But seriously, why are you making us wait? The broadcast alarm seems a bit confused too."

This is the "Twilight Mansion," the headquarters of the Loki Familia.

The mansion, renowned as the long residence, has a reception room where key members of the city's largest faction gather.

Ais, who had just returned from the guild headquarters, was also there. The Supreme God (Loki) sat unceremoniously at the table, watching the Level 1 adventurer talk about the state of the city.

"To be honest, this isn't the first time a town (Rivera) has been destroyed. How did it escalate to this extent?"

"Indeed, it feels like the problem has escalated too much... They've even issued mandatory missions affecting the entire city. Armed monsters... are they really that terrifying?"

"I saw an announcement on the guild's notice board saying they were carrying adventurers' weapons..."

Ais joins in a conversation between the Amazon sisters Tiona and Tione.

Beside them, the elven royal Rivia shared her insights:

"Those monsters are unusual; they are not equipped with natural weapons, but rather with weapons used by adventurers. It is reasonable to regard them as special monsters. They are also very likely 'enhanced species,' and in large numbers."

"Shouldn't we be the ones to go?"

"Calm down, Bert. Calling it 'normal' might be a bit strange, but I don't think this is just an ordinary anomaly... well, there's definitely something fishy going on."

Although the dwarf Gregorius was trying to calm the agitated Bert, he himself was frowning.

The Loki Familia gradually began to have doubts about the guild's continued restrictions on the release of information.

"Okay, whatever."

A voice interrupted Ais and the others' discussion.

They turned to Finn, the Lilliputian leader sitting in his chair, and continued under everyone's gaze:

"Things won't end like this, I'm sure of it... though it's just a gut feeling."

He licked the pad of his thumb, almost as if to confirm it to everyone.

And then finally.

Ais and the others asked the Supreme God to reveal His will.

"Hmm~, I don't really like staying out of things, but... I agree with Finn's opinion."

Loki slightly opened her narrow eyes and curled the corners of her mouth up slightly.

"I think this will cause a lot of trouble for a long time. And it will shake the entire Orario."

Shake, shake.

The city is shaking.

"Hehehehehehe...!! You messed up, Dix...!"

On a house that offers a commanding view of the street.

"This is getting interesting...!"

The laughing god (Ikelos) takes in the chaotic city; his tangled thoughts, filled with confusion, are about to form a huge vortex.

*

"What's going on now!?"

Welf roared.

The living room of the "Hestia Familia" headquarters, "Kamakura".

With his short, bright red hair and black kimono casual clothes swaying, the young blacksmith shouted in a tone that lacked composure.

"What do you mean armed monsters have overrun the town (Rivera)?! Could it be those guys... the Heretics?!"

"I don't know!! The sources of information aren't reliable enough, so there's no way to confirm it...!"

Lily yelled back with a panicked expression. Beside her were Haruhime, whose face had turned pale; Mikoto, who was gasping for breath; and Hestia, who had just returned to the mansion with Welf and the others.

Before noon, Welf and the others, who had left behind orders to leave the base camp with Haruhime, began running around the city as soon as they heard the alarm, hoping to find out some news. Of course, they also went to the guild headquarters, but when they arrived, the forecourt was already crowded with adventurers and ordinary people like a huge wave, and they couldn't even get into the headquarters.

Left with no other choice, Welf and his men had to return to base camp first.

"Haa, haa... Even if I wanted to, I could just go investigate... Huff, huff... The dungeon, along with the Tower of Babel, is already under lockdown... I've been called to take refuge...! Cough cough!"

Hestia couldn't hide her exhaustion from running around; her shoulders heaved as she spoke repeatedly.

After visiting Ganesha's headquarters, she worked in a shop at the Tower of Babel, but was suddenly forcibly removed from the facility along with other employees. She said that now, apart from close associates, there is no one left inside the white-walled tower.

"How's the situation in the city...?"

"It didn't cause a commotion, but..."

"Just like us. It happened so suddenly, we didn't know what to do."

Lily and Welf explained it concisely to those left behind at headquarters.

The towns that Welf, Lily, and Hestia saw on the road could only be described as "unstable".

Although no obvious chaos ensued, the city-wide sirens did indeed cause unease among the citizens. Unlike the familiar warnings about the kingdom (Lachia) invading, the unprecedented content of the warnings left the public uncertain. Many people leaned out of their high-rise windows or came to the main streets to stare at the white-walled tower in the city center. Even among the gods, some couldn't hide their excited smirks, while others fell into deep thought, each reacting in their own way.

Merchants with keen intuition or a sharp sense of smell deduced that monsters might be approaching the surface, nearly causing panic among some. However, under the swift instructions of the old god (Uranus), the guild's special operations team urged the crowd to remain calm, and so far, no major disturbance has occurred. The efforts of some benevolent deities' [familiars] to provide assistance have also had a positive impact.

Even today, many demi-humans still huddle together on the street or under the eaves, speculating about what has happened and sharing their anxieties.

"Even if they really did the right thing, why did they do it this way? What exactly is their so-called 'wish for coexistence'?"

"this……"

"...Could it be related to the poachers who lured the 'heretics' to their companions?"

In response to Welf's question, Hestia shared the information she had heard from the hunters.

Something happened that angered the "heretics".

The images that surfaced in everyone's minds made Lily and Welf's expressions tense.

"If...if it really is you 'heretics' attacking..."

"Haruhime-sama..."

"What will become of those lords... Lady Winnie and the others?"

Haruhime asked in a trembling voice, her ears and tail.

No one spoke, except Lily, who spoke with suppressed emotion:

"If the intelligence is accurate... since the town (Rivera) has already been destroyed by the monsters, Orario cannot possibly let them go... at the very least, they will try to end this matter."

Upon hearing Lily's answer, Haruhime's face turned deathly pale, and she lost all her strength.

The person beside her quickly supported her as she nearly fainted.

Faced with a possible impending end, Hestia and the others fell into a deathly silence.

"...By the way, where's Bell?"

"He's gone to the dungeon. He said he'll be back soon..."

Hestia looked up and asked, and Lily answered, puzzled.

Seeing that the boy had disappeared without a trace, and everyone was feeling uneasy—Ming turned around as if struck by lightning. Then, as if in response to this action, the doorbell rang to announce that someone had come to visit.

He ordered himself to go to the front gate and then return with the parchment scroll.

"who is it?"

"It's someone from the guild! Goddess Hestia, look!"

After answering Welf, he handed the scroll to the Lord God.

Hestia hurriedly opened the parchment, her eyes widening as she scanned the pages. Lily, Welf, and Mikoto and Haruhime were also huddled together, peering at the instruction book.

"As a reserve force in case of emergencies... uh, in other words..."

"The point is to maintain the status quo. No objections allowed, just stay on the surface and wait...!"

While the other members of the family were expressing confusion and frustration upon seeing the meager information and standby orders written on the paper regarding the mandatory mission, Hestia's reaction was different.

She opened her blue eyes wide and, while shouting, read aloud the hieroglyphs cleverly hidden in the vine-like patterns along the edges of the parchment.

"Add Bell to the 18th Floor Extermination Team!?"

"Huh!?"

"oops!?"

Welf, Lily, and Ming shouted in unison, and Haruhime, who hadn't caught up with the situation, jumped on the shoulder.

The format of this instruction is the same as the one given to Bell a few days ago as a classified mandatory mission. This is a code (message) that the old god (Uranus) wrote only to the goddess (Hestia) in order to avoid suspicion from guild members or others.

"What are you thinking, Uranus...!"

So, this incident really is related to the "heretics"? Seeing that the [sacred script] simply stated a perfunctory notice of borrowing her retinue, Hestia became even more convinced.

She couldn't stay any longer and ran out of the living room.

In order to get to Bell—the central square where the expedition team set off—ahead of others.

Lily, Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime followed in unison.

They even forgot to lock the door, and the entire Hestia Familia rushed out of the base camp.

"Let me give you a brief overview of the situation, Bell Craney. Don't miss a thing."

“Okay, okay!”

A stone underground passage shrouded in darkness.

In the "secret passage" leading down the hidden staircase of the guild headquarters, Bell followed Fels.

Just moments ago, Bell was detained by Eina and instructed to go alone to a room in the guild headquarters. He couldn't bring any companions, and upon arriving at the designated location, he discovered that the person in the room was none other than the black-clad magician. Ignoring Bell's astonishment, Fels led him to the path set up by the chief god (Uranus)—an emergency escape route unknown even to the staff.

Watching the black-clad figure carrying the magic stone lamp, seemingly explaining as he walked to save time, Bell followed him nervously.

"The intelligence is complex. We cannot determine the facts at this time. The only certainty is that the armed monsters—the 'Heretics'—did indeed attack the town (Rivera)."

"...!"

"Regardless of how it unfolds, we need to clean up this mess as soon as possible."

Of course, in the way we want—to ensure the safety of the "heretics" and to suppress them. Fels's words did not reach Bell's mind.

Instead, the faces of Reed, Rey, and others, as well as Winnie, appeared and disappeared.

"One more thing. It's certain that the 'heretic' hasn't moved since the 18th floor."

“Eh…?”