Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2

by Fujino Omori

  He turned his neck to look back over his shoulder, down the stairway connecting the lower first and second floors.

  “What’s the matter, Mr. Bell?”

  “…Did the Dungeon just shake?”

  Lilly looked up at Bell as he tried his best to look deep into the second level—no, even farther into the Dungeon.

  “Shake? Lilly didn’t feel a thing.”

  “…Was it just me?”

  Bell’s senses were on full alert. Even waiting for a few moments didn’t calm him down. Craning his neck and cocking an eyebrow, he decided that it really just was his imagination.

  “It was a long day today.”

  “Yes, it was. But not just a long day, a very long day! It’s already twelve o’clock at night.”

  “Huh? Really?!”

  She nodded yes, her golden watch necklace clasped in her hand.

  The big and small hands on the clock face were very close to overlapping.

  “Whoa, I had no clue…”

  “Because the monsters kept coming at the end.”

  Lilly said that there was no time to look at her watch, her bulging backpack shaking with every word. They had picked up many drop items that day, and there was no room left in her oversized backpack.

  Several days had passed since they signed their contract.

  With Lilly’s help, Bell had had some very productive days in the Dungeon. Perhaps he had adjusted to the life of an adventurer. His daily kill count was increasing by leaps and bounds, far greater than it had been when he worked solo. Now he was going full speed toward his own goal.

  Bell was continuously surprised by how much difference the presence of one supporter could make.

  Meanwhile, Lilly was confounded by the freakishly high kill count of this supposed newbie adventurer every day.

  “So then, fifty-fifty on today’s loot?”

  “…Mr. Bell, I think you need to learn about the value of money and common sense. It may not be Lilly’s place to say, because Lilly is very grateful…but Mr. Bell is too generous.”

  “But you need money now, right, Lilly?”

  “That’s true…But it’s like Lilly can’t stand to see you vulnerable, like Lilly’s taking care of someone else’s pet rabbit and is worried about every little thing…Lilly feels like she’s being poisoned.”

  She’s been giving me a lot of these lectures recently, Bell thought to himself.

  Their relationship had been like an ordinary person working with an aristocrat until a short while ago. But the etiquette and protocol for interacting with strangers had been long-since discarded. Bell felt as though the gap between them had been bridged—like he and Lilly were becoming friends.

  Bell and Lilly traveled through level one, tossing any goblins that appeared in their path aside like tissue paper, and left the Dungeon. After a quick shower and a trip to Babel’s Exchange, the two of them left the front gate.

  “Wow, you weren’t kidding! It’s very late…”

  Central Park, the open area around Babel Tower, was covered by a curtain of darkness.

  Amid the lights of the magic-stone lamps embedded in the walls of the city, there was a silence that was completely different from the afternoon.

  On the other hand, all the bars in the distance looked as lively as ever even at this hour.

  “…It really is huge.”

  Bell’s eyes did a circuit around Central Park until his gaze finally landed on the tower itself.

  It pierced the evening sky. Babel stood calmly, looking down over them.

  Even though it was impossible to see at this time of night, Bell knew that there were meticulous designs carved into the tower from corner to corner.

  The outside was almost a work of art; it didn’t match the practical facilities on the inside. Bell took a deep breath, staring at the tower that embodied the extravagance and dignity of the gods themselves.

  “I wonder, why is Babel Tower so tall? It’s great that the Guild rents out spaces to tenants, but hauling things all the way up to the fiftieth floor seems like more trouble than it’s worth…”

  “Mr. Bell, the Guild’s tenants only go to the twentieth floor, you know?”

  “Um…is that right?”

  Lilly lips twitched ever so slightly at the look of cluelessness in Bell’s eyes.

  Slightly embarrassed, Bell decided to ask her directly.

  “If it’s not filled with stores, then what the heck is above the twentieth floor?”

  “Gods and goddesses reside on those floors, Mr. Bell.”

  “…The gods?”

  “Yes. Just the heads of the many Familias in Orario are allowed to live there, but their rooms go up to the top.”

  It seemed only natural that gods, who had a taste for the extravagant, would want to live in Babel Tower, the symbol of the Labyrinth City Orario. Each room was equipped with the most advanced and elegant amenities, but the real draw was the view. No other buildings were allowed to climb that high, so the gods could see the entire city from out their window.

  Gods paid a very high rent to the Guild in order to live there. However, if they had enough money to ignore that detail, then they could inhabit the highest-class dwelling in all of Orario.

  In other words, only the richest, most powerful gods and goddesses could live there.

  “Ohh…So there are gods who don’t live at home but choose to live apart from their Familias.”

  “Think of it like a private room, Mr. Bell. While there are gods who like to talk and interact with us, there are other gods who like their privacy. That’s how their image has been since ancient times.”

  Bell nodded in understanding.

  “Lilly has heard that Babel Tower wasn’t always this high. It used to be the lid over the Dungeon, but it wasn’t any bigger than the other buildings around it.”

  “Well, then why is it so big now?”

  “When the first gods came down, the tower was destroyed…They came down like shooting stars and hit the tower.”

  Like they did it on purpose.

  Those gods completely destroyed the finished tower and laughed at the crying faces of the ancient people of Orario. In his mind, Bell could see the citizens’ faces, mouths half open, tears rolling down their cheeks, as well as the cackling gods trying to apologize. He let out a dry chuckle.

  “Since then, it’s been known as Babel the Falling Tower. That could be another reason why gods live here now.”

  Lilly continued by saying that the gods apologized by contributing to the rebuilding effort…and by deterring the Dungeon monsters. Their method: Falna.

  The people of the time revered the blessings of strength they received from the gods and allowed them to live in Babel as a way of showing their appreciation.

  Soon, many gods and goddesses began appearing on Gekai—the lower world, to them—and created the groups known as Familias in many places around the world. Their worshipper–worshippee relationship continued as Babel was built higher and higher to represent the gods’ influence on Gekai.

  Babel Tower grew to its current height as a result, as well as gained the image of a shrine to the power of the gods.

  “I think I understand…Whenever I hear stories about the gods, I can’t help but wonder just how boring their world is. They’d have to be bored enough to want to leave the heavens and come down here, right?”

  “Maybe they hated their jobs enough to run away?”

  Bell had been looking at the tower during their conversation, but these words got his attention and he turned to face Lilly.

  “Lilly’s heard that the gods had many responsibilities in Tenkai—the upper world. Their most important one is taking care of us, their children, when we go to eternal sleep.”

  “Isn’t that…?”

  “Yes. They’re in charge of guiding people after they die.”

  Hearing those words, Bell felt his heart speed up a little.

  That was not the typical reaction to this topic, but he
sensed his destiny in Lilly’s voice.

  Lilly’s point, in short, was that the gods would decide what happened to mortals after death.

  To put it another way, they judged everyone’s souls.

  The treatment of a soul could vary wildly, depending on the god responsible for it. It might be allowed to live on in Tenkai, or it could suffer unimaginable pain, or be forced into endless, meaningless hard labor…If one were to begin listing the possibilities, the list would never end.

  The fate of all the souls released from the bonds of Gekai hinged on the caprices of the gods. The concept of being a good or bad person during life didn’t enter into it.

  The gods either liked you or they didn’t. Their mood determined heaven or hell.

  A “judgment” free of rules and regulations, instead based on whims and opinions, awaited them.

  “Then again, most souls just get reincarnated anyway…Since there is all this work to be done, the gods still up in Tenkai have to pick up the slack left behind by the gods living down here. They’re overworked with no time to rest. They’d be angry, wouldn’t they? The next ones to come here will have a very intense ‘discussion’ to determine the order they leave.”

  I don’t wanna go there…I don’t wanna die…Bell was deep in thought.

  If he were to go up there now, they’d put him through to hell. For fun.

  As if she could see where Bell thoughts were taking him, Lilly reached up and shook his shoulder.

  He snapped out of it and gave her an embarrassed smile.

  Something was off.

  “…But there was a time when Lilly longed for death.”

  That was it.

  Those words were like a punch in the gut.

  “…eh?”

  “If Lilly went before the gods…if Lilly could be reborn…the new Lilly would surely be better than the current one…”

  Lilly stared at the top of Babel—no, farther out into the heavens as she spoke.

  Her hood folded back as she looked up, exposing her chestnut hair and big, round eyes. They were blank.

  It seemed like she was looking into the sky, yearning to go home.

  “L-Lilly!!”

  Bell suddenly yelled.

  He felt like if he didn’t, Lilly might just disappear.

  Lilly slowly closed her eyes, breaking off her staring contest with the stars, and looked up at Bell with her eyes hidden behind her bangs.

  “Sorry for saying such an odd thing.”

  “……”

  “That was a long time ago. Please don’t take Lilly seriously. Lilly’s stronger now. Lilly doesn’t have those thoughts anymore.”

  Bell couldn’t say anything.

  She had to be telling the truth. Lilly puffed out her chest with a small grunt, and there was no sadness in her body language whatsoever. She must have recovered from something in her past.

  That was yet another reason Bell couldn’t put his emotions into words or action.

  “Well, it’s already very late, Mr. Bell. Let’s hurry on home. Lilly has to go back to her Familia tonight, too.”

  A bright and cheerful Lilly turned her back to the tower. She moved away from it, taking little steps.

  Bell glanced down at her shoulders, shoulders that were much too small to be carrying that much weight.

  He watched her carry that backpack, unnaturally large on the girl’s tiny frame, with a heavy heart. A moment later, he ran after her.

  “So, you’ve gotten even stronger.”

  A voice from above whispered.

  Below, a white shadow, running after another shadow and getting farther away.

  A woman’s excited eyes followed this shadow with the utmost intensity.

  Clouds in the night sky shifted, flooding the woman’s room with moonlight.

  The entire outer wall of the room was made of glass. The woman standing next to the glass wall was so clearly illuminated it was as though the moon were casting a spotlight on her.

  Her thin yet luscious body was wrapped in a sheer black nightgown.

  Her fair, light skin gave off a mysterious air as it was bathed in the lunar glow.

  Silver hair reaching almost to her waist sparkled as if made of ice.

  “That’s wonderful. You must shine even more…”

  Clap. The woman—Freya—put her hands together, her outrageously beautiful figure reflecting off the glass.

  It was the highest floor of Babel Tower.

  Freya resided in the highest, most glamorous room in the whole building. She watched Bell from her window wall.

  “More, more, shine even brighter, child. It’s your duty, now that you have my attention.”

  A deep love was in her eyes, along with the absolute authority of rank.

  Freya was obsessed with the boy, with Bell.

  Obsessed enough to ignore other trifling things and to be caught up in a burning passion of love. The goddess of beauty was entranced by him.

  Freya possessed the Eyes of Insight, an ability that allowed her to see the truth inside the souls of the people of the mortal world.

  This was a natural gift of hers, not one of the abilities known as Arkanam. The gods had an agreement forbidding the use of these powers on Gekai, but Freya’s Eyes of Insight weren’t affected. She had once used those eyes to judge souls of dead people that came to her temple in Tenkai, especially the souls of warriors who fell in battle, and to transport them.

  Into her collection, that is.

  Freya could determine the nature of a soul faster than any other god, and she quickly embraced her favorites.

  Souls who received her judgment after death were the lucky ones.

  Those who caught her eye as they were dying were extremely fortunate.

  This is because they would be loved by the goddess of beauty for all eternity.

  Even if they were forever restrained and denied their freedom.

  Freya controlled both love and beauty.

  For better or worse, she was a wild and cruel goddess.

  “Grow stronger, grow more befitting of me…That is your task.”

  Like many other gods, Freya had left her temple and Tenkai itself to come down to Gekai, but that didn’t mean her “hobbies” had changed. She used her eyes to see the true colors of the children and to add the most talented, brightest souls to her own Familia.

  No one refused her. No one could refuse her.

  No one had ever been able to resist the magic that was her beauty.

  For that reason, members of Freya Familia had strength and power completely separate from those around them. Even among the powerful Familias of the Labyrinth City, Freya Familia stood apart in its might.

  The goddess Loki knew perfectly well about Freya’s eyes, and called it the “rot in hell, you lousy cheater” power.

  “I just happen to like strong men.”

  She had discovered Bell by coincidence.

  It was early one morning. Her silver eyes spotted him walking down West Main.

  —I want that.

  That emotion went through her at first sight.

  It had been a long time since she felt like that. Her whole body lightly shook in anticipation; her stomach jumped; a breath of euphoria escaped her lips. Just as it had always happened with her, she became no better than a child who’d found a new toy in a toy store. A pure but ugly urge to possess him consumed her.

  Bell’s soul was a color that Freya’s eyes had never seen before: clear.

  What color would he become? Or would he stay clear? Anything with an element of uncertainty could keep a god interested indefinitely.

  That’s why she couldn’t stop.

  So she decided to wait and watch. It would be fun to turn him into her own color, but she felt as though there would be plenty of time to do that later.

  “I can’t wait. How strong will you get? How bright will you shine? What color will you become?”

  There was indeed love in her silver eyes as she watched the boy from
her room, but it was a corrupt love.

  She placed a finger on her full lips and playfully bit the tip.

  For a moment, a provocative scent filled the room.

  “What’s this…? …Ha-ha-ha, noticed again, did you?”

  The boy was already quite small in the distance, but he had come to a complete stop and was looking around.

  It was as though he’d lost something and was frantically searching the area to find it. Freya’s eyes closed slightly as a large grin enveloped her face.

  He’d done the same thing the first time she saw him on West Main. He noticed her gaze when she focused on him with all the excitement built up in her body. His perception was better than she thought.

  Almost as if her gaze had been too strong.

  He doesn’t have the talents of other children before him…Why, then? Could everything be due to his growth? Mmm…very intriguing.

  Looking back on that moment, she should have made her move.

  She felt like she could have easily controlled him like a puppet as she’d watched him speak with some familiarity to a girl on the street. Even though he had another god’s blessing, she had no doubt she could have persuaded him.

  She restrained herself because she didn’t know which Familia he belonged to—which god would move to protect him. She didn’t want to quarrel with someone like Loki and her Familia. That, and—

  After seeing his innocent smile, her urges waned, and she didn’t feel like it.

  I’ll have to remove Hestia from the picture…but that boy is mine.

  But for now, changing the plan and watching him from the shadows wasn’t such a bad thing. Freya nodded to herself.

  One would tire of always having a cat in one’s lap. It was good to let it play to its heart’s content outside in the garden from time to time.

  After all, it was her garden.

  She could retrieve him at any time.

  “I will wait for a while before I make you mine…It’s strange, part of me doesn’t want you to come. Now might be the time when thoughts of you dance in my mind the most.”

  Just like everyone before him, once he became hers, she would lose interest over time. He would become a favorite toy on a shelf, one of the dolls sitting in a row. Occasionally she would remember him, take him off the shelf to play, and then put him back.