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

When asked about Ryu's question, Aisha, shaking her long black hair, smiled boldly and fearlessly, or perhaps seductively.

"Who knows?"

The conversation between the two parties then came to an abrupt end.

Soon, the two parted ways. Ryu went to a private room in the tavern, presumably to get some equipment; Aisha seemed to have arranged to meet her somewhere and headed in the opposite direction.

After the two women's presence had completely faded away, Seele, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation through the wall, quietly released her hands from her mouth.

"Is that all there is to it?"

Then Seele turned around and faced away from the wall. Standing in front of her was Mia, the dwarf shopkeeper with her arms crossed.

This is the tavern's food storage room, with a small window slightly ajar near the ceiling of the wooden warehouse.

Mia and her friends used this gap to eavesdrop on Ryu and her friends' private conversation behind the shop.

"Seriously, how many times has this happened now..."

The dwarf adventurer completely concealed her presence, so much so that even the two second-level adventurers who noticed Seele's presence couldn't detect her—furthermore, she used the commotion of the shopkeepers meowing and shouting as cover. She sighed deeply, looking utterly helpless against Ryu.

"I knew from the beginning that girl was no good at being a shop assistant. She can't cook, she can't smile, and most importantly, she's too soft-hearted towards her own people. It's because of her troublesome sense of justice that she can't stay in one place."

"I thought she'd finally changed recently," Mia muttered, then glared at Seele.

"Go tell Ryu that if she wants to go anywhere, she should leave this shop as soon as possible. If she doesn't want to stay, she'll only cause me trouble."

"...Understood, I will tell her."

After a brief silence, Seele nodded in response to Mia's instructions.

"So...could you please turn a blind eye this time as well?"

Seeing Seele look up and plead, Mia seemed very unhappy and put on a stern face.

Then, she sighed again.

"Anyway, I don't think many customers will come today, so there's nothing to do."

"Yes."

"And then, that kid is already a regular customer of ours... If a regular customer disappears, it means we've lost another guy who can come and enjoy good food."

"So?"

I'll just pretend I didn't see it.

Seeing the shopkeeper's serious face as he answered, Seele smiled broadly.

"Thank you!" Seele said happily afterward.

"Even if the guests don't come, there's still work to do. With Ryu gone, you'll have to do three times the work for me."

Mia answered her in this way, and then left the warehouse with heavy steps.

She was left alone, and the smile on her face froze.

*

Kuang Qiang, Kuang Qiang.

As if resonating with the riots taking place in the distance, the sounds of the shaking cages and the clanking of chains echoed incessantly.

"Dix!"

"Huh? Don't bother me, Gran. I'm about to teach the monster a lesson."

In the dimly lit, enclosed stone hall, Dix, armed with a terrifying spear, turned to look at the group members rushing in from behind. The burly human interrupted his dismissive rebuke, firing off a rapid-fire barrage of words:

"I heard that armed monsters have stormed the town (Rivera)... It's a huge mess outside!"

“…What’s going on?”

Seeing the burly man's barely concealed wavering, Dix's crimson eyes behind his goggles sharpened.

At his urging, Gran gave an explanation. He said that the monster group had invaded the 18th floor, causing panic throughout Orario.

"Armed monsters... Wait, is this for real? If it's true, doesn't that mean our prey has come to us?"

After saying this, Dix looked into the depths of the passage behind Grant.

On the cold stone floor, several black cages were lined up like a prison. The cages varied in size and were arranged in several rows, stretching all the way to the other end of the hall.

Inside each cage, countless shadows, bound by chains, writhe and squirm.

"So it's understandable that they went berserk? To us hunters?"

"I...I don't know..."

"However, the reason they attacked the town (Rivera)... oh, I see."

We were truly defeated by that monster.

Dix couldn't help but let out a slightly angry smile.

He already knew almost everything that was happening outside this "residence (secret base)".

"How's town?"

"...It's all destroyed. I heard the situation is extremely serious, to the point that the guild has issued mandatory quests."

Big Man (Gran) lowered his voice and gave the report. Listening closely, besides the cries coming from the cage, one could also sense the hunters' wavering due to the sudden situation.

"Did we alert them? It seems there are a bunch of monsters that are even more terrifying than we imagined!"

That's what he said, but his mouth never lost its smile.

Even upon hearing that the enemy's fighting strength was enough to conquer the town (Rivera), Dix remained calm and chuckled contentedly. Only when he saw the man's audacious and ruthless demeanor did the burly man (Gran) regain his sense of security and smile.

At the same time, he was also sweating profusely, with a different meaning than before.

"The Supreme God still hasn't returned... What should we do now?"

Dix tapped his shoulder with the butt of his gun and turned to look.

In front of her, the dragon girl, bound by chains like a sacrifice, was still unconscious, her face streaked with tears.

*

"—Taming the target of your subjugation!?"

The young voice of the woman was drawn into the blue sky.

As the sense of unease and a certain excitement began to rise, the entire city's attention was focused on the central square.

Adventurers, ordinary citizens, and gods. A human wall formed along the perimeter of the plaza as people watched from afar the strong adventurers gathered there—the Ganesha Familia.

One piece of news caused a stir among the expeditionary forces.

"What's going on? Isn't this an emergency?!"

"This...this...the Lord God (Ganesha) only gave the guild's secret letter to me...instructing us to act secretly."

"What do you mean by that! Explain yourself clearly!! Uh... so-and-so!"

"Please don't make things difficult for me, Miss Ilta!? And my name is Mondaka!?"

Facing the brown-skinned, red-haired female warrior (an Amazon), the youth member cried and shouted, claiming his name was Mondaka.

Just as they were about to depart for a mandatory mission, the guild's urgent notification left the members of the Ganesha Familia utterly bewildered. It was obvious without explanation that taming monsters required subjugation, which was far more time-consuming and laborious than simply defeating them. This was especially true when dealing with the ferocious monsters that had conquered the town (Rivera).

Upon hearing the guild's incomprehensible and unreasonable instructions, the members, centered around the first-level adventurer Ilta Fina, began arguing incessantly.

"Calm down, Miss Ilta! That must be it! Those guys in the guild definitely want to capture those incredibly rare and exciting 'subspecies' of Armed Monsters! They want to use them as the main attraction of their Monster Festival!! It's absolutely true!! These guys are so clueless! Have some sense!! Since things have come to this, let me use my fire magic to seal those monsters into a vortex of karmic fire! Aa ...

"Ibri, shut up!? You're part of the surface-level rear guard!!"

"Wa ...

"Please calm down, okay?! And Ibri, you're so noisy!!"

The faction's festival man, who claimed to possess "talking fire magic," was like throwing a bomb into a fire, fueling Ilta's indignation. Seeing the usual state of their faction (familia)—which would be even more chaotic if the main god were added—the young member (Mondaka) and the other members panicked, realizing that now was not the time to act recklessly.

The surrounding citizens, observing the situation, began to feel uneasy.

"Ilta, calm down. Everyone else too."

"Elder sister, but..."

"Commander Shakti... I'm sorry."

Seeing the members' panic, Shakti Bama, the leader of the Ganesha Familia, spoke up.

With her blue hair cut short to her neck and her delicate, intelligent features, coupled with a tall figure well over 170cm, she was perfectly suited to be described as a beauty. Her long arms and legs were equipped with metal fists and metal boots, designed for close combat. This first-class adventurer, nicknamed "Ankusha," was human, just like the world-renowned "Sword Maiden."

The heroine, who was praised by the female warrior (Amazonian) Ilta and even (forced) to become sworn sisters, looked at the young member of the group (Mundaka) who was bowing his head in apology.

What did Ganesha say?

"He...he wants everyone to follow the guild's instructions..."

The female leader, who always remained calm and composed amidst the bustling atmosphere of her own faction (family), said "Is that so?" and closed her eyes.

Soon, Shakti opened her eyes and told the group members:

"We must tame the monsters. Not kill them, but capture them alive."

"Big sister, is this really okay!?"

"Our master is [the group leader (Ganesha)]. We must believe in him and follow him. Isn't that right, Ilta?"

Seeing Shakti's unwavering gaze, Ilta widened her eyes, then nodded with a tense expression.

Their unwavering trust and loyalty to the Supreme God were awakened, and the other members also regained their composure. "We're about to set off, get ready!" At Shakti's command, everyone shouted a battle cry.

"Wow, that's amazing..."

Upon hearing the shouts that shook the central square, Bell couldn't help but blurt it out and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

At this moment, Bell put on a long robe and backpack to conceal his entire body over his equipment—just like Lily—to disguise himself as a supporter.

He stepped inside the boundary separating the excited crowd from the Ganesha Familia, and had already mingled into the expeditionary force.

"Ganesha said you'd be helpful in explaining the reasons, so we reluctantly let you come along. But... you'd better behave yourself, 'newcomer.' I'll tell whoever finds you that you're a temporary supporter, so please try not to attract attention. It would be troublesome if Miss Ilta and the others caught you."

"I...I understand...I'm sorry."

Bell apologized nervously to the youth group member (Mondaka) who had stealthily approached.

After the unfortunate members of the Ganesha Familia gave a few words of advice and left, a small voice came from beside Bell.

"It seems that the god Ganesha handled the matter well, including the commissioned taming."

"Fels..."

"The extermination team acknowledges your presence. Let's proceed directly to the 18th floor."

A murmur arose in the space that should have been empty, reaching Bell's ears.

The one who spoke was Fels. Like the helmet that Bell had seen on Asphie before, he also wore a magical artifact that could make him invisible.

After arriving near the central square from the guild headquarters tunnel, Bell put on the complete set of equipment given to him and disguised himself as a supporter. The black-clad magician, who looked completely suspicious, became invisible and infiltrated the extermination team that had gathered there.

"It's time to leave. I'll go into the tower first."

"OK."

Bell vaguely sensed that the invisible magician was heading to the Tower of Babel to avoid bumping into others, when suddenly...

"Bell!!"

"Bell!" "Lord Bell!"

"!"

The voice calling his own name grabbed Bell's shoulder.

He reflexively turned around and saw Hestia, Welf, Lily, Mikoto and Haruhime emerging from the crowd in front of him.

The remaining members of the Ganesha Familia surrounded and sealed off the skyscraper (Tower of Babel) like a fence, pushing and shoving Hestia and her companions through the human wall. Even though Bell was wearing a hoodie, they still found him and desperately called his name.

How did they get here? But the shock was short-lived.

Bell looked back at Hestia and the others, who were watching him with concern, with a look that hinted at determination in his eyes.

I'll be right back, please let me go.

Lily and Welf seemed to have something to say, their faces showing anxiety. So did Mikoto and Haruhime. The situation didn't allow them to follow or stop them.