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

"...All I know is that I absolutely do not want to be with Bert, who says such things."

"What a disgrace."

"Shut up, old woman. ...What if that brat dared to tell you he likes you or loves you to your face? Would you accept it?"

"..."

—Kakaka ...

"Ha, of course not. Someone weaker, cowardly, and hopeless than you, a nobody with all the drive but no results, has no right to stand beside you. You wouldn't agree even without anyone telling you."

"A minor character like her is not worthy of Ais Wallenstein."

I kicked the chair away and stood up.

Escaped the throngs of onlookers and rushed outside the store.

"Mr. Bell!"

I raced past pedestrians, leaving the surrounding scenery behind, and pushed the voices calling to me to the back of my head. I ran wildly through the night streets.

✟

"Mr. Bell!"

A figure disappeared outside the store like a burst dam, with the young girl who worked there chasing after him.

The events unfolded in an instant, leaving most of the people in the tavern with no time to grasp the situation.

A faint, confused murmur began to emanate from all around.

"Huh? Are you trying to dine and dash?"

"Wow, how dare they cause trouble in Mia's mother's shop... They really don't know their own limitations."

Ignoring Bert and the others who had the same reaction, Ais got up by herself.

Through honed dynamic vision, I was able to clearly see the figure of a person rushing by like a bullet.

White hair and a thin body.

Its eyes, deep red and glowing beneath the drooping water, were the same as the ones I saw yesterday (rubellite).

(That was back then...)

She walked to the store's entrance, leaned against a pillar, and turned to look outside.

On the right, the figure of the young shop assistant gradually disappeared at the other end of the street.

The boy had disappeared without a trace.

(Bell...)

She parted her small lips slightly and uttered the name the girl had called out.

Compared to the urging calls of his companions behind him, that name echoed strangely in his heart.

"Hey, Ai-Si. What are you doing?"

"..."

The woman who had led the drinking at the banquet stood behind Ais, her arms wrapped around Ais's abdomen. She pressed her body so close to Ais that her breath fell on her, and even pressed her pubic bone against Ais's buttocks.

If this deity weren't the chief god of the Loki Familia—no, if it weren't of the same sex—Ais would have already given it a good beating. But Ais couldn't very well resort to violence against her.

Even though Ais thought that way for a moment, she still grabbed the hand wrapped around her abdomen with a troubled look, twisted it, rammed it hard with her elbow, and slapped it across the face as the other woman stepped back.

"Hey, why are you still using violence against me...! Your expression and actions are completely inconsistent, Ais-chan...!"

"Please don't touch me."

Just as she saw the other person rubbing their cheek with maple leaf marks, their eyes trembling with tears, she instantly perked up and exclaimed, "Cool and cute Ais is so adorable—!"

Ais really wanted to look away from that thing.

"Okay, okay, don't make that face. If you don't want to drink with Bert, I'll ask Mia's mom to hang him outside the shop."

She seemed to have misunderstood why Ais was heading towards the exit.

Upon closer inspection, the orc youth, who was shouting loudly, was being pinned to the ground by everyone and bound tightly with ropes.

He was even stepped on the head by the elves who had just been arguing with him.

The other guests were just randomly getting up and leaving, their faces flushed.

"Okay, come on. Miss Ais, pour me a drink."

"..."

As the other person gently persuaded her to take him back into the store with their arm around her shoulder, Ais glanced outside again.

The boy was nowhere to be seen on the road ahead, illuminated by the twinkling lights of the magic stones.

As night fell, the clouds, seemingly about to weep, gradually covered the moon.

✟

(Damn it, damn it, damn it!)

Bell was running. Tears welled up in the corners of his distorted eyes and trickled down his back.

What I remember is what just happened.

He felt utterly pathetic and ashamed, being ridiculed and mocked, and even being protected in the end. This was the first time he wanted to disappear from his current state.

(Idiot, I'm such an idiot!)

Every word the young man uttered to him was like a knife twisting in his heart.

Cowardice, poverty, weakness, frailty, timidity, insignificance, obscurity, gentleness, baseness, fragility.

It's wrong to think you "don't know what specific things to do" in order to improve your relationship with her.

"I have to do everything," otherwise he wouldn't even be allowed to appear in front of a young girl.

His murderous intent was not directed at the young man who despised him, nor at others around him who looked down on him.

Instead, it's the foolishness of not putting in any effort but expecting to get something for nothing.

(I'm so angry, I'm so angry, I'm so angry!)

My cowardly self actually agreed with the young man's words.

Feeling powerless, he couldn't refute a single word.

To her, his own ridiculous self was nothing more than a pebble on the roadside.

What infuriates me most is that I don't even have the slightest right to stand next to her.

"...!"

His deep red eyes stared into the distance.

The skyscraper facility built atop the labyrinth has opened its entrance to the underground, awaiting Bell's arrival. The goal is the underground city, and a higher level.

With tears welling in his bulging eyes, Bell ran without looking back toward the towering structure standing in the darkness.

Volume One, Chapter Three: The Night Before Awakening

Water droplets falling from the sky kept tapping against the window.

Sitting at her desk, Eina slowly raised her head and looked out at the view.

(It's starting to rain...)

Just moments ago, the golden moon hung high in the night sky, but now the sky is covered by thick clouds, and a torrential downpour is pouring down on the ground. Outside the buildings, pedestrians are running everywhere, desperately searching for shelter from the rain, and in the blink of an eye, there isn't a single person left on the roadside.

Eina, who was handling affairs at the guild headquarters, put down her work, listened to the continuous sound of rain, and looked out the window at the rainy scene.

"Ugh—not only did I have to work overtime, but it also rained heavily on my way home. What bad luck!"

"...It's probably just a sudden downpour; I think it will stop by the time I get off work."

Carrying a mountain of documents, Eina's colleague staggered to her side and couldn't help but sigh when she saw the heavy rain.

It was past nine o'clock at night. In the office adjacent to the window facing the foyer, there were still many guild employees struggling with unfinished work. Ignoring the superiors who were making a final sprint to finish their documents with creepy expressions, the human girl who was Eina's friend and colleague looked like she had had enough and was leaning on Eina's back.

"I know it's bound to be busy with the festival coming up, but can't the higher-ups be a little more understanding? Not everyone is as efficient as Eina—"

"Ouch, Missia, you're heavy! You're getting in my way!"

"Huh? Eina, you haven't finished processing the festival proposals yet, have you?"

Her colleague ignored Eina's protest and stared wide-eyed at the files spread out on the desk.

She piled the documents she was holding aside and, without waiting for Eina to say anything, snatched one of the forms.

"The one in charge of the adventurers' introductions... Ah, is this the new recruit Eina was assigned to?"

"...The team leader asked me to submit this to him, so I've compiled the current detailed information."

Eina knew there was no point in saying anything more, so she answered her with a sigh.

My colleague was holding a piece of paper with basic information about the person. It included their race, place of origin, experiences, and the [familia] they belonged to—all the essential information needed for adventurers to navigate the labyrinthine city of Orario.

The name written at the very top of the paper was [Bell Crane].

"What?! He managed to reach the 5th floor solo in just half a month! This kid's really something!"

"Yeah, right. Not every floor has a proper strategy. I just got carried away and ran downstairs, and luckily I made it to the 5th floor. I almost lost my life there."

They wouldn't listen to my advice. Eina raised her neatly shaped eyebrows.

Seeing that she was genuinely worried about the boy, which naturally made her words and actions somewhat stern, her human colleague was taken aback at first, then turned into a wry smile.

"But I remember that time it was because the Loki Familia released a Minotaur, right? If you suddenly run into a monster like that, even a non-rookie wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Indeed, the Minotaur appeared suddenly... but for that child... exploring the fifth level is still too much of a challenge for Bell."

Eina retrieved Bell's file from her colleague and browsed through the notes she had written for the boy.

"Starting from the 5th floor, the monsters will change, and the dungeon's structure will become more complex. If Bell were to wander around on that floor now... he would definitely die."

The weaponry is currently far too weak. A solo play environment with no companions to accompany you through the dungeon.

Most importantly, their [ability values] are still immature and at the beginner level.

The dungeon wasn't so easy that a new adventurer who had only been playing for half a month could clear it easily. Taking all factors into account, Eina's definitive conclusion was that it was too early for Bell to attempt anything below the 5th floor.

"In short, as long as I have a breath left, I will never let him go to any deeper floors."

"You're being too protective of him—. Could it be that Eina has feelings for that child?"

"--What!"

This came completely unexpectedly.

A friend's unintentional remark launched a surprise attack on Eina's unsuspecting heart.

The words the boy had said to Eina as he left a few days earlier, "I love you the most," immediately flashed through her mind. Recalling the half-joking confession and that innocent smile, Eina couldn't help but blush reflexively.

Feeling her pointed, half-elf ears begin to heat up, Eina calmly took a deep breath and then glared fiercely at her colleague and friend.

"...Misia—?"

"Oh no—, how scary—!"

Watching her colleague pick up the pile of documents and walk away with a smile, Eina finally relaxed her narrowed eyes and leaned back deeply in her chair.

(I got laughed at, really...)

Eina pouted as she thought of the boy who was the culprit.

The boy, who was just a cute little brother to her, was being scolded in her mind, desperately bowing his head and apologizing. Before Eina could even calm down from her overly realistic imagination, she almost burst out laughing.

(...Is Bell currently doing something?)

She looked out the window at the intensifying rain.

The gloomy sky, which refused to stop weeping, poured down heavy rain as if an emotional outburst had occurred.

✲

step.

He kicked it to the ground.

"Eee-ah!"