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

Ais put the doll mask back on, thankfully she could continue being the [Sword Princess] when she turned around.

"Let's go back."

"...Okay, okay."

Ais turned around and walked away from the front of the cabin.

Bell, who had been standing still, hurriedly caught up with them.

He approached Ais, secretly observing her expression, but asked nothing. Her expression was one of being lost at the boundary between reality and illusion.

Ais didn't think there was anything wrong with this. She hoped Bell wouldn't ask anything. Because if she were asked now, Ais might become impulsive and say whatever came to mind.

It was just the distance between shoulders, but it felt so far.

It was so far away that it reached a point of despair.

Ais felt as if the boy's existence had vanished from her in an instant.

No, it is I who have alienated myself from the world.

In the village shrouded in twilight, in this small world, Ais felt as if she had become all alone.

*

It took Ais a lot of effort to calm her troubled mind.

She left herself alone, closed her eyes, and extinguished the flames in her heart while touching the "Sword of Despair," finally feeling a little better.

Ais slipped away from the unfinished festival preparations and returned to the village chief's house, standing by the window in the corridor and gazing outside. Several thick logs were piled up in the square, presumably to be lit as a bonfire.

She silently watched the festival approaching, the laughter filling the air, and gazed at the village protected by the dragon.

Do you hate this village?

"!"

The one who spoke to her was the village chief, Kam.

As Ais was still in shock, an elderly man who had come alone without his daughter stood beside her, facing the view outside the window.

"Because I feel that your eyes look different than they did this morning."

"This, I..."

"No" or "Nothing".

She wanted to deny it, but couldn't bring herself to say the words.

Ais stammered, desperately trying to answer, but Cam didn't seem to mind and continued:

"Our village is protected by dragon scales. To outsiders, it must seem quite unusual."

"I……"

"It's perfectly reasonable for you to find it strange. For adventurers who must defeat monsters, or... for those whose cherished people and things have been taken away by monsters."

"!"

Ais's eyes widened.

"It's as if I know it all perfectly well," Kam said slowly, smiling as he faced forward.

"At first, I also hated this village."

“Eh…?”

When Ais couldn't help but express her doubts, the elderly human replied:

"It's embarrassing to admit, but I was once a familiar of a goddess... However, I failed to protect her and lost her. Disheartened and wanting to die, I ventured into the 'Bio Mountains'."

Seeing the old man's profile bathed in the glow of the setting sun, and his eyes lost in reverie, Ais realized that he had once made a vow of love to that goddess.

"However, I ended up in this village. At first, I was furious with the villagers who saved my life, cursing them for not letting me die."

"So, this is why you hate this village...?"

"Yes. But... the villagers refused to abandon me. When I was lonely and helpless, they reached out and helped me up..."

Kam said that this is how he found salvation.

Even though she had already given up hope of the world, she still shed tears.

Kam told Ais this with a composed smile.

"Everyone in this village, except for the children born later, carries a sense of 'pain.' They were driven from the world they originally lived in, lost hope, and cried until their tears ran dry..."

"..."

"Perhaps this is just a form of mutual comfort for 'healing.' But thanks to them, I've changed my mind."

The old man gazed at the scene in the village, squinting his eyes.

"It makes me feel that I am not 'alone'."

Ah, this is just like—

Just as Ais was about to unlock the door to her memories, Kam turned to her.

"Miss Ais... I think you and I look somewhat alike."

"..."

"If this offends you, please forgive me. Please just take it as the ramblings of an old man and let it go."

At that moment, Ais noticed.

She discovered that the sunset was a disguise; in fact, Cam's complexion was worse than when she first met him.

Ais was startled, but Cam maintained his smile and continued speaking:

"I hope that someone will appear... to soothe your unhealed 'wounds'."

For a long time, Ais couldn't say anything.

She could neither deny nor evade the question of an elderly woman tinged with the colors of twilight; she simply met her gaze.

Kam said he was not alone.

However, even now, he still carries the heartache of losing his beloved.

His expressed hope was perhaps an encouragement to Ais not to become like him.

Ais remained silent, unsure of what to say, only uttering the words that surfaced in her heart:

"……thank you."

It was night when the sun had completely set.

As scheduled, a festival was held in "Aidas Village".

Centered around a roaring bonfire, the square was set out with a variety of dishes to entertain everyone, and villagers holding drinks made the square lively. The young children, who had probably been looking forward to this day for a long time, ran around among the adults who were drinking heavily, shouting and jumping. The unique feature of "Aidas Village" is that all races of demi-humans gather together, with half-demi-humans being the most numerous.

"Um, are you really alright, God? I'm serious, you shouldn't push yourself too hard..."

"I'm fine! Belle, you all took such good care of me, how could I not be better!"

Hestia smiled as she answered the worried Bell.

Perhaps feeling much better after three days of rest, Hestia dragged Bell and Ais along, wanting to attend the festival. She wore the blue outfit Lina had worn as a child, contrasting with Ais's red dress. Lina even joked that they looked like sisters standing together.

(...Now that Goddess Hestia has recovered, we can leave the village tomorrow...)

Ais listened to the cheerful conversation of the Hestia Familia and thought to herself absentmindedly.

She harbored mixed feelings about this village and wanted to leave as soon as possible before she lost her composure. She had that thought, to be honest. But what about now?

It wasn't a feeling of restlessness or anything like that, but rather... yes, a sense of unease.

It felt like my feet were wobbling unsteadily.

Although talking to Cam calmed Ais down a bit, she remained distracted.

Ais and Belle watched intently as the firelight rose into the night sky.

The natural light source, so different from the magic stone lamp, made Ais murmur to herself unconsciously, "So beautiful..."

"Ah, my goddess!"

"Has your body fully recovered!?"

The villagers gathered around Ais and the others.

They heard the whole story from Kam and were all worried about Hestia. Some even went to the mansion in person to give them some nutritious herbs and other remedies.

In "Aidas Village," there are no gods, and the villagers, regardless of age or gender, all gather around Hestia. The young children, in particular, are filled with curiosity about her. "Thank you," Hestia said, her face breaking into a smile after her initial surprise.

at this time……

"Um……?"

Ais heard the singing.

The villagers' lively and cheerful singing and the sound of clapping their hands drifted over, and before they knew it, boys and girls had paired up and started dancing around the bonfire.

"Is that a village dance? It seems to be mostly performed by young people..."

"Oh, that's... well, it's not exactly a village custom... we have an unwritten rule that if an unmarried young man invites a girl to dance, it's basically a confession of love. If the girl agrees, the two become a couple..."

"Is that so?"

"Today is a festival to pray for a bountiful harvest. If you don't mind, Your Majesty, why don't you join us for a dance?"

"Please grant us abundant blessings!"

Upon hearing the other party's reply, Hestia first became restless, and then, as the villagers prayed to the goddess for blessings, she coughed very deliberately.

"Ah—, Bell? It seems I suddenly have to fulfill my responsibilities as a god… Well, how should I put it?"

In the firelight, the goddess seemed a little distracted and gave the boy a flirtatious look.

"As long as you dance with me... I won't pursue that matter anymore."

Ais realized that "that matter" was the "argument" that Bell had mentioned a couple of days ago.

Hestia's speech drew cheers from the surrounding villagers, while Bell blinked several times before finally nodding shyly—as if trying to suppress a smile.

For some reason, Ais's gaze remained fixed on the way the two were talking.

"I understand... Let's dance, fairy."

"Please try a little harder to invite me, Bell. Like you and that Miss Warren over there... dancing at the banquet of God (Apollo)."

Ais was stunned when she was suddenly called out by the goddess.

She couldn't help but tilt her head slightly, but then she understood what the goddess wanted to say.

"Anyway, you must have said some cool lines to invite her, right? I'd like to dance with you properly."

In other words, that's the gist of it.

Ais danced with Bell at a banquet before. Hestia didn't seem to get to dance then, so if she insists it's her turn now, she's not wrong to ask.

Ignoring Bell's blushing and flustered expression, the villagers started to jeer.

Ais observed how things would unfold.

She stared intently at it.

Bell, sweating profusely, looked at Ais, then at Hestia... and finally seemed to have made up his mind, reaching out his hand to the goddess.

"...Please, please dance with me, goddess!"

"Um!"

The goddess and the blushing boy walked hand in hand toward the blazing fire.

The villagers clapped and cheered, and sparks floated up as if welcoming the two.

The two held hands and danced an impromptu folk dance. The goddess laughed happily, and the boy returned a wry smile, seemingly pleased as well.

"..."

The goddess and the boy are dancing affectionately.

Ais felt a sharp pain in her chest.

Ais believed it was because she saw dragon scales.