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

"Haruhime told me about it. She said there's a story on Earth called 'The Snow Spirit (Fairy) Repays a Kindness'."

"Repaying a debt of gratitude...?"

"Yes, she said that snow spirits thank those who have helped them and repay their kindness with various gifts. So, we can do that too in the future..."

The garnet-like red stone set on Winnie's forehead sparkled, and she smiled broadly.

"Bell and his team are helping us now, so we can help them a lot in return, right?"

Seeing those innocent eyes smiling at him and recounting their memories on the surface, Reed was filled with surprise.

The girl who would weep all day after parting with the boy and his friends is no more.

"Winnie...you've changed."

"?"

The girl who once turned to dust and fell into the abyss of death, perhaps she had come to an understanding. And it must have been unconsciously.

She came to understand the cruelty and malice of humanity, as well as the brilliance and gentleness of humanity that were no less than that malice.

Nestled in the boy's arms, Winnie found contentment in the embrace of her tiny "longing." It was just him, but his gentleness, bordering on foolishness, that saved her. The dragon girl broke free from her past life's obsession with "longing" and found her next wish.

That means if someone has embraced you with a gentle heart, then you should treat others with a gentle heart in return.

The girl met the boy, and things changed.

Seeing Winnie tilt her head in confusion, Reed narrowed his bright yellow eyes as if he had seen a dazzling treasure.

"You're right... Once this is over, kid, we have to properly repay Little Bell and the others!"

"Um!"

Reed and Winnie laughed as they said that Rey, Gloss, and the other "heretics" looked at them with gentle eyes.

Fels also shook his black clothes, as if revealing a slight smile.

"...Let's get back to the main topic: how to get to the 'artificial maze'..."

Fels took out a magical item marked with the letter "D" from the shadows of his robe.

"Our only advantage is that we hold this 'key'."

The eye of the Master Craftsmen (Daedalus) family was embedded inside a fine metal ingot to create the "Daedalus Jewel".

This precious gem can be used to open or close doors made of the hardest metal (orogen).

"Did you steal this from that big man I killed...?"

"If Asterios is unharmed, he should have another 'key'..."

The "key" that Fels currently possesses was originally with the burly man (Gran) of the Ikeros Familia. The man was killed by Gross after throwing the cursed spear at the out-of-control dragon girl (Venee), and Fels obtained it from the dead man.

The "key" that Bell took from Ryu's bag eventually ended up in the hands of the black bull (Minotaur).

"Neither the adventurers nor the Loki Familia likely obtained this 'key'."

"That means..."

"That's right. As long as we know the location of the entrance, we can infiltrate the 'artificial labyrinth' from anywhere. Once inside, we can close the 'door,' and even the Loki Familia won't be able to catch us."

In other words, Fels and his companions would win if they could reach the "artificial maze".

Seeing a ray of light shining into the darkness, the half-human, half-snake (Lamia) and the large-scale (Giant) group high-fived each other in excitement.

"Next, just as I told you at the beginning, we need to seek help from Bell Craney and the others, and head to the 'Man-made Labyrinth' as ​​quickly as possible."

"You said you wanted to ask them for help, which means you want to arrange a meeting with Little Bell?"

"No—I want Bell Craney to be the 'bait'."

However, the moment the Fool (Fels) uttered these words, more and more of the "heretics" began to show their anger.

Not only Reed and Rey, but even Gross frowned, and Winnie was on the verge of tears.

"Fels, are you going to use Mr. Bell again...?"

"Bad guy."

"bone."

"I hate Fels!"

"Wait! Don't slander me! And bones have nothing to do with this!! And Winnie, it really hurts me to see you cry, please let me finish what I have to say!?"

The singing bird expressed its contempt, the gargoyle and the lizardman started cursing directly, and the most hurtful thing was that the dragon girl stared at him with teary eyes, making the living skeleton almost scream in agony.

Fels reveals his true thoughts about these "heretics" whose obsession with teenagers has reached an extreme level.

"The series of disturbances has made Bell Craney too much of a spectacle. Even now, the whole city is probably still condemning, envying, and speculating about him. But I'm going to take advantage of that now."

"...You mean a feint attack?"

"That's right, which means I need to ask him to split up with us so that the adventurers' attention will be focused on him."

Guross had guessed correctly, and Fels confirmed his answer.

The gods and some other forces have likely already realized that Bell Crane is the central figure in this incident. Therefore, Fels and his companions must take advantage of the fact that the gods are keeping a close eye on the boy's movements, and move stealthily to reach the "artificial labyrinth".

"So, does that mean we won't be able to see Bell?"

"Yes, please bear with it for a moment, Winnie."

Reed and the others accepted it, and beside them, Fells kindly comforted the heartbroken Winnie.

The magician in black revealed the core of his plan to the "heretics":

"I want Bell Crane to attract the attention of the Loki Familia."

"That's definitely what they're thinking."

In a corner of the labyrinthine street, lies the stronghold of the "Loki Familia".

Almost all the members of the Youth League, including the cadres, gathered together, and Finn convened a meeting.

"The armed monsters will likely use Bell Crane to create a diversion and take advantage of the situation to invade the 'artificial labyrinth.' Therefore, we need to lay traps elsewhere, and even pretend to fall into their trap. What we really need to watch out for is the direction exactly opposite to Bell Crane."

Night had fallen on Daedalus Road after the rain stopped. Adventurers had set up several magic stone lamps and gathered in one place, like campers, the phosphorescent light illuminating their profiles.

After hearing the explanation about future development, the group members were in an uproar when Werewolf Bert, with a sour face, spoke up:

"Hey, Finn, is that brat really in cahoots with those bastards?"

"You seem very unhappy, Bert."

"Stop arguing!!"

"At least Bell Craney was used. Whether he did it willingly or was deceived is unknown."

Bert roared back at the elven royal, Riveria; Finn glanced at him, then, considering Ais who had been silent since earlier, carefully chose his words:

"In any case, Bell Craney will not be on our side this time... Please recognize this."

Upon hearing Finn's words, Ais and Tiona—the two who had accompanied the boy during his special training in the War Games—looked troubled. The blond, golden-eyed swordsman remained silent, while the innocent Amazonian girl beside him clasped her hands behind her head.

"Hmm, I'm not too sure, but just make sure we don't get distracted by Argonaut, okay?"

"Yes, of course we can't just leave him alone, so we'll still send people to monitor him, just like we're sending Koss and his team to keep watch now."

"How about we just arrest him first, Commander? Before he causes any trouble, let's forcibly take him down."

"Hmm—even though everyone sees Bell Crane as a bad guy right now, arresting someone without clear evidence might turn the blame onto us. The guild is already keeping a close eye on us, and offending the goddess Hephaestus, who has a close relationship with the Hestia Familia, could have dire consequences."

After Finn answered Tiona, he advised Tiona against making extreme remarks in the style of a female warrior (Amazon).

"There are so many things to consider," Tiony said, frowning, then asked again, undeterred.

"Commander, there's one more question. I already know that the armed monsters possess high intelligence, but are they really that smart? Could they even devise this kind of combat strategy…?"

"Because there's a 'leader' behind these armed monsters. Right, Grace?"

"Hmm, when we were fighting in the labyrinth street (here), that person was also looking down at the battle from the rooftop of a building. But the other person was wearing a black robe, so it was impossible to tell whether he was human or monster... Well, it shouldn't be a problem to just assume he was a beast tamer."

Finn had the dwarf Griss provide further explanation, which cleared up Tiony's doubts.

At that moment, Tiona suddenly remembered something and asked:

"By the way, is it alright if we don't go to the underground sewers? Haven't other adventurers witnessed monsters there a few times?"

"This would disperse our fighting strength. If the defenses of the labyrinth street become weak and the enemy breaks through, it would defeat the purpose. That is likely the enemy's real objective, which is why they deliberately let others discover it over the past few days."

The exceptionally intelligent leader of the dwarf race accurately saw through the enemy's objective—the leader's (Fels') thought process. For the monsters, it was like being in a nightmare.

Based on this, he expressed his doubts:

"The thing we must be most careful of is that black bull (Minotaur)... That monster has an extremely strong ability to break through enemy lines, so we must not be careless even if it is seriously injured."

The moment the monster's name was mentioned, the atmosphere among the group members immediately became tense.

Bert and Tione, among others, glared at each other, and even Ais's expression tightened.

"If Tione hadn't gone berserk back then, we would have defeated him long ago~"

"What did you say?!"

"The 'skills' aren't anything special; as long as you burrow into my arms, I can handle anything. The problem is... that thing's abilities (strength) are far too outstanding compared to any monster I've killed so far."

Tiona grumbled that her sister's outburst of temper was hindering all their coordinated efforts, which made Tione want to lash out again. Bertley ignored the sisters' argument and irritably pointed out that the Minotaur's "skills and tactics" were still immature, while also acknowledging that their opponents' potential was far greater than their own.

Bert said that the monster didn't take their counterattacks seriously at all, and just kept launching attacks, overwhelming everyone.

"It's really unusual that they can withstand that much damage. No matter how Tione and the others attacked them, it was like they were only slightly hurt. It wasn't until they directly faced Ais's 'wind' that they finally started to back down."

"If that monster is a 'subspecies' of the Deep Species (Black Rhinoceros), and the Black Rhinoceros's hide is already tough, if it's further strengthened, it'll be incredibly difficult to deal with. In my opinion, when fighting it, we can't treat it like an ordinary monster anymore; we should treat it like a 'floor master.' As long as we deal with it correctly, just like Tiona said, we can win."

Riveria and Grace offered their opinions calmly and objectively, and Finn agreed.

"but……"

At this moment, Ais opened her mouth and spoke.

"That monster... will get stronger again."

Upon hearing her words, all the Loki Familia officers fell silent.

That was the intuition, and the conviction, held by first-level adventurers.

Everyone believed that the pitch-black monster was still growing.

The other members swallowed hard, making a gurgling sound in their throats.

"Only that black bull (Minotaur) must be dealt with. If its strength from last time was still in its growth stage, it's too dangerous. It could become a threat one day."

After announcing this to the band members, Finn stuck out his tongue and licked the pad of his right thumb.

"From the 18th floor to the surface... judging from the armed monsters' route, the enemy must possess the 'key'. We must defend every entrance to the 'artificial maze' we discover."

The leader of the little people raised his head and gave orders.

"I will deploy all the members on 'Daedalus Road' and set a trap."

"—That's what the heroes must be thinking right now."

In the "Prayer Hall" underground of the guild headquarters.

In the underground temple illuminated by four torches, Hermes spoke to Uranus, who sat firmly on his throne.

"Using conventional methods, it's absolutely impossible to fool the [Hero]. He's a bit too clever. In terms of experience, the former sage might have a better chance... It's just a pity that the level of the thrilling situations they've experienced is different."

"To put it another way, Fels is like a civil official, who naturally can't defeat the military officer 'Hero' on the battlefield."

Hermes moved the chair he had prepared to the altar, sat down, and began carving wooden blocks with his dagger. In the blink of an eye, his skillful hands had carved exquisite chess pieces—little figures holding guns and magicians in robes—which he placed on the chessboard on the pedestal. This chessboard was also something he had taken without permission from the shrine (bedroom) at headquarters.

While talking to Uranus, Hermes continued to carve out the other chess pieces.

"The remains of the golem have been recovered by us (the guild), but the [Hero] has probably already realized that it was not a monster."

"In other words, when he goes into battle, he takes into account that a magician is assisting the 'heretic.' Moreover, the 'Hero' possesses a keen 'intuition' that even makes the gods (us) break out in a cold sweat."

Swordsmen wielding swords, fairies with staffs, berserkers raising cleavers and giant blades... More and more new pieces are appearing around the little chess pieces, and correspondingly, lizardmen or gargoyle pieces are being placed around the magician.

"How many magical artifacts does the sage possess that are beyond the hero's expectations... If there is still a way out, it all depends on this."

Finally, on the chessboard, the factions of humans and monsters were determined.

Just as they looked down on the children's actions from the sky, Hermes and Uranus surveyed the two opposing forces and correctly assessed the situation.

"If anyone else is going to do something to cause trouble... it's probably only Miss Freya, right?"