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

With shoulders drooping just like mine, I wandered aimlessly down the street.

Her hair was as white as the first snow, or perhaps as pure as a rabbit's. Her eyes were a vibrant deep red, and her body was slender.

Hestia, subtly concerned about the boy's retreating figure, followed behind him. While she sensed the close atmosphere between the two, the main reason was that she couldn't ignore that dejected profile.

I trotted after him, hiding behind objects and immediately turning my back. Bathed in the astonished gazes of passersby, I clumsily used my tracking skill until I learned the boy was aspiring to join the [Family]. He visited the headquarters of various factions, knocking on doors, only to be immediately turned away. It seemed that because he aspired to be an adventurer, he hadn't even received a chance to meet the main god, judged by his rustic appearance as having no future.

Seeing this fact, Hestia wondered.

Isn't this a good opportunity to persuade [family members]? She looked forward to it.

Even from a distance, it was clear that the boy was someone Hestia could identify with: simple, shy, and most importantly, pure. Hestia secretly watched his movements with an air that was unlike that of a goddess.

"Even so..."

He seems very lonely.

Hestia felt this way as she gazed at the back of the boy, who seemed lost and bewildered amidst the bustling crowd.

Unlike the anxious and expectant self that wonders if it can find the family it has longed for, this is a true child, decisively different from the gods who have lived for a very long time.

Hestia stared intently at the profile of the man who seemed to be searching for a place to stand, as if uncertain of his own fate.

(Oh dear, if I see that kind of expression... I won't be able to just leave it alone, will I?)

Hestia is in charge of fire, the light that protects her home, or rather, the fire that protects her.

Extend a helping hand to those who plead, and welcome the wounded and lost child with an inextinguishable flame like a furnace.

Hestia, who happened to have spotted the lost child, struck up a conversation with the figure from behind.

"Hey—, you over there—"

This seemingly insignificant encounter turned out to be the beginning of everything.

The goddess at that time was completely unaware of this.

BD Bonus Novel BD3 Short Cinderella

The online translation is from the Kingdom of Light

Image source: uiop031

Translation: pdapanda

Lililuka Arty was born into this world 15 years ago.

At that time, Orario was said to have the worst security in the city's long history.

The reason is the failure of the "Three Great Adventurers' Request".

The two factions of the god (Zeus) and goddess (Hera), who had long reigned supreme at the top of the labyrinth city—the world's strongest adventurers—faced a battle against powerful ancient monsters. Defeated by the last remaining dragon king, they were annihilated. The two [Familias], having lost their main fighting force, suffered a devastating blow.

Then, the weakening of the two powerful urban factions, which were feared by many, led to the rise of evil forces.

The long-cherished hopes of the entire lower realm were shattered, as if mocking the desperate populace, or as if laughing and declaring that this was the moment. Dark forces ran rampant in Orario. Led by an extremist group known as the Dark Faction, the outlaws, who had been suppressed until now, ushered in a period of chaos in the labyrinth city.

The changing of the guard among the leading factions. Two factions of goddesses, who suddenly rise up to fight as new hope, have driven out the defeated kings. Further on, there are the divine kin who constantly emerge to quell the chaos, raising the banner of justice.

Orario, a place where justice and evil, order and chaos constantly clashed, was indeed a time of upheaval.

It is filled with evil, and there is no punishment or retribution. It is the daily life of evil people who are ecstatic.

Lily was born in that era.

☆

"Can you give me some money?"

Lily began to remember things when she was three years old.

The first thing I learned was how to beg. Dressed in rags, barefoot, I stood on the somewhat dirty street, stretching out my hands to passersby. If I didn't have the blessing of kindness etched on my back, it wouldn't be surprising if I ended up dead in the street. Day after day, I followed my birth parents' instructions, waiting for sympathy and coins to fall into my hands until dusk and the moon rose.

"Bring the money over."

These were the words of repeated admonitions Lily received from her parents.

Neither her dwarf father nor mother had ever said anything like that to young Lily. Lily had no memory of them ever doing anything that parents would normally do.

Lily and her parents belong to the [Soma Familia].

This faction, formed solely to allow the god Soma to brew wine, is rife with twisted values. Driven by the god's need for vast sums of money, the faction has a system that rewards the wealthiest with "divine wine." Despite having his "divine power" sealed away, Soma creates top-quality wine, captivating many members and sparking fierce competition among them to make money. Just as the text describes, they reach a state of self-forgetfulness in their quest to taste the divine wine.

Lily's parents, like others captivated by the magic of the "divine wine," even went so far as to exploit the newborn Lily, desperately seeking to acquire money.

By the time I noticed, my parents had already passed away.

Seemingly too eager for money—no, for the "divine wine"—she was swiftly and cleanly killed by monsters deep within the dungeon. During a conversation with her guild members who scoffed at how foolish they were, young Lily, upon learning of her parents' passing, while unable to comprehend grief, understood the fact that she was truly isolated within her "Family."

They continued begging, sometimes scavenging for food like stray dogs to get through the painful days.

Nobody cared about little Lily. She wasn't even in their sight.

"I'm hungry."

As she looked down at her thin hands and traveled back and forth between headquarters day after day, Lily's questions grew. Who, after all, had raised her all these years? she wondered.

During this period from when she became aware of things until she could move around on her own, who took care of her? It was impossible for her to believe that it was her parents, who had essentially given up on raising her, who protected her. This question always lingered in Lily's young mind.

"Oh God!"

""

As if urged on by the groans emanating from her abdomen, on the day she wandered around the headquarters in search of food, Lily unexpectedly encountered her god, Soma, in the corridor.

An enigmatic god. Long bangs obscured his eyes, and he remained silent, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. Even now, with their object of worship transformed into the 'divine wine,' Lily knew that this serene and awe-inspiring figure was still feared by the other members of the group.

Soma stopped in front of her, peering down at Lily through the gap in his hair with his black eyes. Feeling the throbbing pain of the [ability value] etched onto her back, Lily hurriedly hid behind a corner of the corridor.

Lily, peeking out from around the corner, seemed to notice something, her gaze fixed on the paper bag Somo was carrying. Inside the bag, which emitted a faint aroma of oil and salt, were golden-brown fried potato balls.

Suddenly, her little belly made a sound.

Facing Lily, who was looking down at his body and stroking her abdomen, Soma silently approached her.

Lily was startled by the approaching figure and hesitated, but Somo gave her a fried potato ball.

With her eyes wide open, Lily nervously accepted the food offered to her and the unchanging expression of the main god.

In the next instant, she opened her small lips to their widest extent and took a bite.

As the warm outer skin crackled, the delicious flavor of the potatoes filled my mouth. This long-awaited proper meal filled me with a joyful tremor throughout my body.

"Um, thank you so much."

""

After he frantically licked his fingers and finished eating, even though he awkwardly expressed his gratitude, Soma still didn't reply.

Soon, seeing the back of the main god walking away from her again, Lily hesitated but still chased after him.

With a pattering sound, Soma followed Lily into the headquarters' shrine. Facing Lily, who was trembling as she passed through the door, the chief god said nothing and made no attempt to drive her out.

He placed a few fried potato balls on a small plate and put it on the chair.

It took Lily a while to realize that this was something for herself.

Ignoring Lily, who was quietly eating, Soma finished his meal after only eating one potato ball and began mixing plants that seemed to be ingredients for sake in a corner of the room. He used a mortar and pestle, making a crunching sound.

(This, the sound)

As Lily's fasting subsided and her eyelids slowly drooped, she felt as if she had heard the sound of this homework assignment before.

It was a sound like a lullaby, flowing from the gaps in a dream long ago, a sound from which no memory of it remained.

The regular, rhythmic sound quickly lulled Lily into a dreamlike state. She lay on the floor, curled up in a ball, and clear tears streamed down her tightly closed eyelids.

After a while, hands that belonged to neither her father nor her mother picked up Lily. As she was placed on the bed and covered with a warm blanket, tears streamed uncontrollably from under her eyelids, even though she should have been fast asleep.

Beside a God who said nothing, Lily experienced love from other people for the first time since birth.

Thus, this was the first and last warmth from the Lord God.

For Lily, the turning point, the fateful day, arrived shortly after her sixth birthday.

After days of repeating this cycle of begging and scavenging, followed by time spent in Soma's silent room, a summons was issued for all members of the [Family]. This was a gathering of only the Familia, excluding the chief deity.

"Thank you all for gathering here, gentlemen. From today onwards, I am the leader, commanding the factions on behalf of the Supreme God."

In the slightly dirty hall, the man standing on the hastily erected platform was named Sunnis.

In the Soma Familia, where the leadership was constantly changing due to the struggle for the "divine wine," Sannes was a strong enough individual to reach Level 2. Standing there, he had just finished off the troublesome leader candidate, and the commotion and whispers reached Lily's ears.

There was a vague, unsettling feeling that I couldn't shake off. The human male, who looked to be in his early twenties, snapped his fingers, and each member of the group received a cup.

"From now on, the goal of the Soma Familia is to expand further. Orario is in such a period. Let us recruit new members and cross the great wave of this era. This wine is the wine that awaits our active gods to treat us."

Wow! The venue suddenly filled with noise.

Newcomers, like Lily who had never tasted the "divine wine" before, and other lower-ranking members, all focused their attention on the wine that had been distributed. Knowing full well that Soma wouldn't serve them the "divine wine" like this—knowing it was something the new leader had stolen from the cellar—they brought the cups to their lips, seemingly drawn by its crisp, fragrant aroma.

Young Lily was no exception; unable to resist the magic of this "divine wine," she slowly raised her glass.

Sunnis narrowed his eyes behind his glasses and raised his glass high again.

"Cheers to the development of factions!"

Then, at the moment of drinking the "divine wine".

"——————————"

Lily has been reduced to a beast.

☆

After that, Lily never went to Somo's room again.

Instead, they began to infiltrate the underground city, which should have been taboo as the place where their parents died.

In order to obtain money, 'divine wine'.

—I want a drink!

—I want to drink it again!

--anyway!!

Her eyes changed color as Lily risked her life to meet the funding targets set by Sunny.

It was as if they were walking the exact same path as their parents, becoming adventurers and coveting the brilliance of the 'magic stone'.

""

Lily had no idea that upstairs in the headquarters, Soma looked down at her with disappointed and disheartened eyes, at her who had become a hungry ghost because of her single-minded pursuit of alcohol.

With Sannes's intentions—using the divine wine faction as a dividing line—the chief god completely abandoned his people.

"Bring in vast sums of money to enrich the factions! This is what our master seeks!!"

The fundraising efforts intensified.

The management and operation of the [Family] has become far more ruthless than before. It is no exaggeration to say that the factions act for the selfish interests of the new leader. The believers, captivated by the magic of alcohol, have not even noticed this. As long as you whisper the magical words "I'll give you the divine wine" to them, they will obey with fervent devotion.

The ruthless outlaws committed many evil deeds in secret that even the governing authorities could not fully detect, as if telling the story of the mastermind's cunning.

The distortion of the [Soma Familia] was quietly but dramatically expanding.

"Hahaha!"

On the other hand, Lily, who is poor and weak as a dwarf, continues to struggle far from the gears of the organization.

With her hands stained with blood, she brandished a dagger, slaughtering low-level monsters like goblins and ghouls in the dungeon. She would never charge in head-on. Instead, she would hold her breath in the shadows, battling the terror of being devoured, and then launch a surprise attack from behind when she estimated she could obtain the loot. Weak, cowardly, and inefficient—this was the desperate approach of young Lily.

However, it soon reached its limit.

The cost of weapon maintenance, items, and her body becoming increasingly worn and tattered day by day. High risk, low reward; every dungeon run leaves her in debt. She cries as she runs to the main god to update her [ability stats], but the result remains unchanged. This is the limit of self-study and self-reliance, and what's most tragic is that Lily lacks the qualities of an adventurer.

Unable to do what she could, Lily had no choice but to become a volunteer.

And then—the days of being exploited began.

"Wait, please wait a minute!? This isn't what we agreed on!"

"It's all because you're earning less money by being so slow! You should be grateful that we're even paying you!"

Team up with other members of your faction to explore this option, avoiding the ugly and unpleasant battles for rewards. Every time the adventurers are responsible for carrying the luggage for other faction teams, the adventurers bully little Lily.

Needless to say, their share was reduced, and they were also accused of crimes they had never committed, forced to work, and even had their weapons for self-defense and recovery medicines they had bought with their own money taken away.