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

It was all my fault; I caused her trouble and made her worry, so all I could do was keep apologizing. Miss Eina was really angry and gave me a long lecture, like an older sister scolding a younger brother.

"So, to you, I was just a girl you could call on and dismiss at will!"

"Miss Eina, Miss Eina—!? What you're saying will cause misunderstandings—!?"

The biggest bomb of the day made me scream.

The adventurers' gazes grew even more menacing. My reputation, already at rock bottom, was now worse than scraps of paper; words like "utterly rotten," "public enemy of girls," and "Die, rabbit!" rained down on me. Waaaaaaahhhhhh...!

I can't even look at Miss Ais anymore!

"Don't even think about leaving until you answer all my questions!"

"etc!?"

She wrapped her arms around mine, and the girl's body pressed tightly against mine again.

My face flushed red and then turned pale. My elbow had touched Miss Eina's chest, and the fierce atmosphere emanating from the adventurers, plus the gaze of my crush piercing the back of my head, were all contributing factors.

It felt like God was punishing me for making that girl cry that day. Of all the bad luck, I had to suffer this retribution in a place like this.

(Again... a girl...)

Ais clearly realized that Eina had come into contact with Bell.

(All of them are girls.)

Ais was utterly speechless, even in her heart. She squatted down, hugging her knees, staring intently at the boy's white hair. Ah, she had said, "A girl who comes and goes as she pleases."

The boy's profile flushed red and then turned pale, displaying a whole host of strange expressions.

Her long, golden hair cascaded down her shoulders. Ais tilted her head and murmured to herself:

"Is Bell... a delinquent?"

Immediately afterwards, the boy's cries echoed through the night sky.

*

"I've been hearing Lord Bell's screams ever since..."

"Hmm, I really want to remind him, but we're so far away, it's impossible..."

Hearing the boy's sobs emanating from the crystal, Haruhime, dressed in a kimono, was restless, while Hestia crossed her arms.

Hestia and Haruhime were currently in the southwest of Daedalus Road, quite close to the outer edge of the red-light district. They occupied the top platform of the deserted tower with a wide view.

"And Haruhime, the crystal will transmit your voice, so you can't get too close to talk to her, okay?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Upon hearing Hestia's instructions, the fox-girl covered her mouth with both hands and jumped away from the crystal in front of her.

Several eye crystals lay on the floor of the tower's platform, next to a map as large as a carpet. The map's name, written in the corner, was "Daedalus Legacy," a map of the labyrinthine streets completed by a sage using only his leg bones. According to Fels, "I almost couldn't get out several times, but I finally finished measuring it." Although he admitted to missing some secret passages or hidden doors, the map contained almost every route of the "Daedalus Road," a route even the locals couldn't fully grasp. Seeing the hundreds or thousands of paths and narrow passages recorded on it, Hestia initially felt a little dizzy, demonstrating the sheer volume of information.

One more thing worth mentioning.

That is, there are several names on the map that seem to be alive and move around everywhere.

"Uh—, Bell and the supporter have arrived in the south as planned..."

"Lord Fate and Lord Welf from the west haven't met up with you 'heretics' yet..."

Hestia pressed her knees and palms against the map, sliding her fingers across it; Haruhime, on the other hand, crouched down and peered out, tracking each moving name.

This is called "seeker powder," and it's one of Fels' magical items.

The method involves dripping blood into a large bottle of white powder, then sprinkling the red-stained powder onto a map. This way, as long as the blood donor is within the map's area, their name will appear on the map, allowing the map to pinpoint their location. Hestia and her companions collected their blood in a large bottle and, along with the eye crystal, gave it to their owl familiar to deliver, which then brought back the powder containing the "Heretic's" blood. Next, by sprinkling the "Explorer's Powder" onto the "Master Craftsman's Legacy" that Hestia retrieved from her meeting with the old god (Uranus), they created a "magical map" that could instantly locate Bell and his companions, or the "Heretic."

The drawback is that the "Explorer's Powder" will only work if the map is made using special magician's paper and map drawing techniques, because the magic paper needs to remember the correct path. In other words, not just any map will do.

On the map of the giant maze street, everyone's name except for the skeleton (Fels) and the gargoyle (Gross) is displayed in blood-red Common. Perhaps it was Fels's playful touch, but the names are displayed as quill-shaped markers that move continuously like chess pieces.

"Lord Welf, Lord Fate, uh... please turn at the third corner ahead."

"Go forward, and you'll see a sewer on your left. The 'heretics' hide there."

"OK."

"Thank you, Lady Haruhime, and Goddess Hestia."

They picked up the twin crystals connected to Welf's eye crystal and followed the instructions on the "magic map".

On this tower's summit platform, the two can instantly pinpoint their companion's location and establish contact using the power of "Explorer Powder" and the Eye Crystal. It serves as both a war room and a command center without a roof. The objective of this plan is to conquer the complex and bizarre "Daedalus Road" and infiltrate the underground "artificial labyrinth." This tower's summit platform is the strategic location that holds the fate of the "Heretics" in their hands.

The goddess with zero abilities (Hestia) is in charge here, acting as a behind-the-scenes staff member. Haruhime is her assistant, also serving as a support character who provides "level boosts" to Bell and the others in emergencies.

"What a pity. If we could also know the opponent's location, it would be perfect."

"That's right... that way we won't run into the Loki Familia."

As Hestia imagined what she couldn't have, she left the map and sat down with her legs stretched out.

She stared intently at the center of the labyrinthine street, where the Loki Familia likely had its headquarters.

(You can't exactly ask someone for blood, can you...)

The face of a goddess appeared in Hestia's mind, and her consciousness flew to memories of the past.

"Loki, I want to talk to you about the Armored Monsters."

Yesterday, Hestia and Bell temporarily parted ways at Daedalus Road.

She had a serious expression on her face, and that was the first thing she said.

"Right now, just the two of us."

"...Okay, fine, I'll give you some time."

Seeing Hestia's gaze, Loki perhaps had some ideas and decided to listen to her from a different location.

Hestia, facing her in the oval space with the fountain, spoke:

"The monsters that appear on the surface are called 'heretics,' which are monsters with reason."

Hestia explained everything, including the "heretics" and her family's relationship with them.

It was a gamble. Knowing Loki's personality, he might treat what he heard as a joke and spread it around the city. But if she knew the truth, it would definitely have a significant impact on the Loki Familia. Hestia prayed that Loki would retain at least a minimum of divine authority (personality) and told him everything.

"Oh... a monster capable of rational communication, right?"

After explaining everything, Loki didn't seem too surprised and slightly opened his crimson eyes.

"So, what do you want from me by saying these things?"

"...I hope you will help humanity coexist with the 'heretics.' No, for now, I just want you to spare them—"

Hestia was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

Loki laughed.

"You idiot."

With those words, she dashed Hestia's hopes.

"...!"

"Hey shorty, do you know who's the leader of my faction?"

"...[Hero] Finn Demna."

"What's the name of my faction?"

"...The largest faction in the city, the Loki Familia."

"That's how it is (…). Finn is the hope of the Tontatta race, the heartthrob of Orario. As for us, although we're troublesome, we're still at the top of Orario. If we side with the monsters, what will happen to the others… you understand, right?"

Hestia was speechless.

"If I dared to give a forceful order, the lovely kids would say, 'This joke is way too much!' 'There's a limit to hobbies and entertainment!' There would definitely be a lot of boos. They might even lose their temper and have a falling out with me. And Finn, who only joined out of self-interest—would absolutely cut ties with me."

At this moment, Loki spoke of the calm and insightful attitude of a "hero," but he seemed quite cheerful.

"What Finn wants is to restore the reputation of his race. He will never make a choice that would damage his own reputation, nor can he, let alone talk about living in harmony with monsters... What will happen if he's exposed? Your child has already proven that very clearly, hasn't he?"

“!…”

"Finn's ambitions and your situation will always be parallel lines."

The Loki Familia, led by the Hero, and Hestia and her companions, who want to protect the "heretics," can never understand each other. Just as the god (Hermes) said to the boy (Bell), Loki also asserted the same thing.

"To be honest, Finn had long ago roughly guessed the true nature of those 'heretics'."

"!"

"But Finn deliberately didn't say it outright in front of Ais and the others, do you know why?"

Hestia hesitated, and Loki continued:

"Because it would create constraints, and might cause unnecessary confusion among my lovely subordinates. Most importantly... once these 'heretics' are exposed, the labyrinth city (Orario) will inevitably be thrown into turmoil."

Saving "heretics" means making their existence known to the world, but it also raises questions about human life and safety.

Knowing that all adventurers are "heretics," can they still slaughter non-heretic monsters without hesitation? — The answer is no. A moment's hesitation will put an adventurer in grave danger. And for a labyrinth city that thrives on the blessings of dungeons, this possibility will be a fatal crisis. Finn understands this very well.

Hestia was aware of this as well. When the battle between the "Heretics" and the Loki Familia broke out in Labyrinth Street, neither she nor Fels could loudly advocate for the existence of rational monsters, for fear of causing irreparable risks and creating panic throughout the lower realm.

As for Fels, he probably already realized that Finn wouldn't listen to any of their demands. Even if he could prove that these monsters wouldn't harm people, the "Hero" would surely take the "monster's" life in front of the people, based on his unshakable spirit and ambition.

"That's simply impossible! Humans (children) coexisting with monsters (monsters) and all that."

"this……"

"If it were the gods (us), well, a bunch of idiots would probably be yelling about 'unknown' or 'entertainment.' But children are different; they utterly hate and fear monsters."

Loki sighed and said that it was beyond the description of being irreconcilable.

"Isn't there a disease that killed a bunch of children? What was it called again... Oh, the Black Death. Suppose this disease, which causes such drastic changes in society, said to everyone, 'We really want to love and respect humanity, and we won't kill anymore...'... Do you think humanity (the children) could make peace with them?"

"..."

"That's impossible... That's too far-fetched, it's impossible. The children know that even if the disease itself has no intention of harming anyone, it can still cause them and everyone else to die a painful death. And without any preparation, it's as simple as breathing."

The earth was ravaged, and hundreds of millions of our compatriots were brutally murdered. Even in modern times, monsters continue to attack humanity, causing casualties.

A menacing size, sharp fangs and claws symbolizing bloodshed, flames that bring death, and bestial roars—all are omens of slaughter. Loki's implication is that, to the inhabitants of the lower realm, monsters are synonymous with plague or calamity.

At the same time, the "diseases that bring about abnormal changes" she is referring to here are "heretics".

Accepting a disease that causes abnormal changes without any intermediary (vaccine) will only lead to the familiar path of self-destruction.

"Therefore, I cannot agree to your request under any circumstances. I leave everything to Finn and the others to decide, whether it's judgment or action."

Hestia had been biting her lip and lowering her head—but Loki's next words made her lift her head.

"In contrast, I won't get involved in this matter."

"what?"

"I mean, I'm ignoring everything you're telling me. I won't tell Finn and the others what your 'familia' is up to. I'll just stay out of it."

“…What do you mean?”

"It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Okay, if I had to explain... well, I'm one of those people who absolutely adores the 'unknown' or 'entertainment'~"

Loki answered with a grin, then turned and walked away.

"Ah, Loki!"

"Goodbye, little dwarf. Time's up."

The goddess with crimson hair waved and left Hestia's presence.

(Although I don't understand what Loki is thinking... it should be fine to leave it alone.)

This way, there's no need to worry about the Joker (Loki), who is arguably the most troublesome character in the world, getting involved.

That alone is a great achievement.

Hestia returned to reality from her memories and came to this conclusion.

"Next, it's up to Bell and the others..."

Hestia murmured as she looked up at the night sky where the clouds were gradually fading.

Beside her, next to the map, the pocket watch ticked the time.

*