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

Even if Bell dies, Freya will surely pursue his soul. In other words, she will return to the heavens and lure Bell into her arms. Otherwise, she wouldn't have knowingly entrusted the matter to Otto, knowing the danger to her life.

Bell's life or death is no longer relevant. Whether she lives or dies, the goddess of love awaits her in the future.

This is not jealousy.

This is baptism.

(If you are destined to receive that goddess's favor, then surpass it.)

Oh, what it wants is to prove its worth. To demonstrate that its soul is worthy of the goddess Freya's love at first sight.

It doesn't matter if I steal her attention. It's fine if I monopolize her affection.

However, no one shall be allowed to tarnish the noble name of that goddess.

Since Freya has taken a liking to you, this is your duty, O whispered in his heart, speaking words of encouragement that he would never have the chance to convey to her.

"Buzzing!"

"...I'll correct you. You have to be flexible in your application."

He easily deflected the wildly swinging greatsword.

To enable the monster before him to fulfill its duty, Oo took a heavy step and prepared to teach it a lesson.

The flying sparks never stopped, and the metallic screams echoed and overlapped throughout the vast cavern. Hours passed, then tens of hours.

It's all for Freya.

It focuses solely on fulfilling the mission it is entrusted with.

●

"Lord Bell... why are you covered in injuries without even venturing into the dungeons lately?"

"Haha... for some reasons."

I brushed off Lily's question with a pathetic smile.

Two days have passed since I began Miss Ais's brutal training... cruel discipline.

Seeing that I was covered in wounds every time I explored the dungeon, Lily couldn't help but show a look of disbelief.

But I can't tell the truth. I don't want to tell the truth either. I don't want to reveal how ugly I am...

From the beginning until now, I have been beaten up and covered in bruises every time, without exception.

I know there's no such thing as a free lunch; you can't become stronger in just a few days. But... all the confidence I've built up over time has crumbled so easily.

Although I knew this a long time ago, I just didn't expect that I was still so far behind.

The distance between that person's location and where I am is unimaginably far.

I walked through the gates of the Tower of Babel with a sense of loss.

Upon entering the lobby on the first floor, one sees large circles painted on the floor, primarily in white and pale blue. The floral patterns, reminiscent of stained glass windows, remain as beautiful as ever.

Many adventurers were coming and going at the entrance to the Tower of Babel. Most of them, like us, were about to enter the labyrinth, but there seemed to be a group of people exploring in the middle of the night as well.

Among the adventurers who passed us, there were teams laughing heartily and teams with obviously gloomy expressions, forming a stark contrast.

Their expressions truthfully described the results they had achieved in the dungeon. As we were about to head to the labyrinth, we naturally tensed up, lest we follow in their footsteps.

This is neither funny nor is it something that is none of my business.

"I'm sorry, Lord Bell, you're already tired, and I'm making you carry Lily's bags."

"No, I brought this on myself... and carrying an empty backpack isn't that tiring."

As we descended the next step of the stairs leading underground, Lily hunched her shoulders apologetically. I smiled and re-slung my still-empty backpack over my shoulder, indicating that it wasn't heavy at all.

At this moment, my equipment was the exact opposite of Lily's. To put it more clearly, I was carrying Lily's backpack, dressed as a supporter.

Lily wasn't wearing her usual robes, but rather a simple, seemingly durable leather jacket. She also carried my protective gear as a scabbard on her back, wielding a double-edged short sword… but it was just for show.

We pretend to be on the opposite side in order to prevent the members of the Soma Familia from finding Lily.

At this moment, Lily disguised herself as an orc child to let others see her. However, given her height, if she were carrying a mountain of luggage, perhaps those with keen intuition would find her familiar.

It's already unusual enough for a dwarf (Palum) to carry such large luggage, let alone children from other races.

We were extremely careful, using all sorts of tricks to hide Lily's true identity.

"Besides, it will be switched over soon. You don't need to worry."

This is just for show. We'll exchange equipment once we reach a place where we won't attract the attention of adventurers. Specifically, it will be near the 9th floor, just before we reach the 10th floor. From the 10th floor onwards, the dungeon will be fogged up, so we won't need to worry about being seen from our surroundings there.

On the return trip, I will split the luggage with Lily to avoid arousing suspicion.

It's only been a few days since the incident, so I think it's safer to be a little overly cautious right now.

"Waaah—, Lily feels so guilty about owing Lord Bell..."

Lily lowered her voice slightly, speaking somewhat sullenly. The tips of her tiny animal ears, which had sprouted from her head, deftly curled up.

I smiled wryly and looked at Lily's face again.

The double-edged dagger I used as a short sword grew larger the moment Lily picked it up, which was quite amusing. She has long, grayish-brown hair and large, golden eyes; it seems she's dressed as a werewolf beastman today.

Her long, flowing hair cascading down her back was enough to change her aura, leaving me somewhat mesmerized. It was as if she had transformed from a mischievous, cheerful child into a well-behaved, book-loving aristocratic young lady.

Other characteristics have also changed, making her completely different from the usual impression Lily gives.

"Um...doesn't that look weird?"

Perhaps noticing my gaze, Lily looked up at me uneasily this time.

I don't know if she was referring to the adventurer's attire or the transformation into an orc, but I just smiled and shook my head.

I told her it wasn't surprising at all.

"It's different from your usual style, it's...fresh? I think it's cute!"

“Really?”

"Yes, it suits you very well."

The anxious look in his eyes, along with his expression, brightened.

Lily, her face turning bright red, immediately turned forward, but her animal ears stood straight up, and her tail, which had grown out of her skirt, swayed back and forth.

I don't know if she was unaware of it, but she was also curious about how her tail moved. I had a bunch of thoughts in my mind. In short, Lily, who was so cute that she was sometimes happy and sometimes sad because of my words, made me smile.

It's like having a cute little sister. It feels like I've been healed.

Although I have to be constantly wary of the adventurers' gaze, ... perhaps to outsiders, we look like a close brother and sister.

"The Rabbit and the Wolf..."

"The Little Wolf and the Big White Rabbit..."

"Rabbits are servants (supporters), so... I get it, it's food."

"An emergency food supply (stand-in) for unexpected situations, huh... How pathetic."

"That's terrifying. Besides, you can't judge someone's [ability] from their appearance, which is why you can't underestimate adventurers."

……strangeness.

Why do I feel embarrassed?

The adventurers around them whispered among themselves.

They unleashed a barrage of pitying glances at me with eyes that would never normally be seen with such tenderness.

The last whispered word, "How pitiful," heard from the male elf, inexplicably lingered in my mind.

My smile twisted inexplicably, but when I saw Lily dressed as an adventurer, a question suddenly arose in my mind.

I looked at my companion, who was still in a great mood, and said:

"Hey, Lily. Lily probably won't be able to update her [ability stats] anymore, right?"

"What's the meaning?"

"...So you mean if you can't get close to the Soma Familia now, you can't see the gods either?"

I whispered in Lily's ear so that no one else could hear.

Lily will be unable to meet the chief god Soma for quite some time. This also means she will be unable to update the [ability stats] engraved on her back.

The inability to update [ability stats] is a fatal blow to adventurers. Supporters should feel the same way. As I increase the number of floors I can reach, the monsters will naturally become stronger, and the danger will increase...

What I was really asking Lily was: Aren't you feeling uneasy?

"To be honest, Lily is also a little troubled by this... but Lily thinks it should be alright. At least for now, things are going well."

“Is that so?”

"Yes, Lily thinks she should be able to hold on. Lily is very good at dealing with monsters... For the past six months, Lily hasn't updated her [ability stats] even once, and she's still managed to survive."

"Half...half a year!"

What Lily said stunned me.

I don't need to say more, right? Not updating [ability stats] is entirely detrimental and brings no benefit whatsoever; it's like asking for trouble.

Seeing that I was speechless, Lily explained with a wry smile.

"To update the [Ability Values] of the [Soma Familia], you must reach the fundraising target amount."

"Huh... is that because..."

"Yes, it's a personal problem of Soma."

According to Lily, Somo God initially seemed to be diligent in updating his [ability stats].

This might sound strange, but for Somo, updating the members' [ability stats] is like a necessary expense. He has to raise funds to pursue his passion for brewing wine, and if he doesn't let Lily and the others become stronger and earn money, Somo himself will be in trouble.

However, as the number of members in his [Family] increased, he seemed to find even this troublesome...

It is said that he still wants to focus on his interests, so he casually announced that he would only look at the [ability stats] for people who exceed the target amount.

"So, Lily can't update her [ability stats] because she didn't earn the target amount?"

"Well, actually, that's not quite right. Lily doesn't want to attract attention."

"striking?"

"Reaching the target amount means you've earned quite a bit. Lily, unable to fight, will be used as a cash cow by others."

I exclaimed "Ah!" and unfortunately understood what Lily was trying to say.

In other words, Lily...

"In other words, although Lily reached the target amount for allocating funds, she didn't hand over the money. This was to deceive others and make them think I didn't have much money. The inability to update [ability stats] is a drawback of this approach."

She attended every faction gathering, seemingly to deliberately show that she had no money.

Lily concluded by saying that she only asked Somo to look at her a few times after the "magic" manifested, and after that, she really never updated her [ability stats].

...The fact that a [Family] cannot enhance its [ability stats] because it cares about the gaze of its companions is a serious problem.

This made me realize once again that Lily was truly lonely.

Even with low [ability stats], she can still survive in the dungeon every day, probably because of the harsh conditions she faces.

Lily has survived to this day solely through her intelligence and hard work. Her confidence that she can endure without updating her [ability stats] stems from her distorted environment.

This time, I finally couldn't help but frown.

"Don't you find it disgusting?"

"what?"

"Lily means, do you look down on Lily, who lies all the time? Lily is made of lies from head to toe."

Just as she had guessed, the topic of conversation took a complete 180-degree turn.

The golden eyes didn't look at me; they were only looking ahead.

Lily's calm tone left me speechless.

"Lily hates adventurers. Apart from Lord Bell, Lily still despises everyone else... She's always been prejudiced against them."

"..."

"No matter how Lord Bell views Lily, Lily will not apologize for what she has done so far... nor will she reflect on it."