Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 9

by Fujino Omori

  Eina wasn’t fond of Royman.

  She was sure Guild employees who didn’t have issues with him were in the minority.

  But the fact remained that, no matter how much he spoiled himself, he held authority.

  Working at the Guild for over 100 years wasn’t just for show. While his lavish tastes might have rubbed some people the wrong way, he made many contributions to the Guild on the whole.

  If he hadn’t, those around him—especially the Guild’s “true leader”—would never have granted him permission to rise so far in the first place.

  He must be exhausted…

  Everything that bothered her about him, all the complaints eating away at her even now, could be attributed to the stress of being at the mercy of the deities’ every whim…Thinking about it in those terms made it possible to sympathize with him.

  Eina repeated that to herself over and over, clinging to her faith that everyone was good deep down. She maintained perfect posture in his presence.

  “Hmph, so you’re the one using her feminine wiles to ensnare adventurers. Oh yes, I know. You used that body of yours to sweet-talk your way into the laps of two upper-class adventurers, the ones making money for our city. Your promiscuity is causing the rest of us a lot of problems.”

  Royman’s eyes traced the curves firmly held in place by her suit, and Eina felt naked under his intense stare. She wanted to flinch, but she suppressed the knee-jerk reaction and held her ground.

  This was an attempt to get under her skin.

  In his case, it wasn’t so much sexual harassment as an insult. She could put up with that.

  “…That’s a misunderstanding, sir. Nothing that you have insinuated has taken place.”

  “Shut your mouth! Use what little elvish blood you have to feel proper shame.”

  Royman didn’t appreciate being contradicted about the incident a few days ago involving the dwarf Dormul and the elf Luvis, and his face flushed red as he growled.

  Eina swallowed a sigh—and Royman’s eyes flashed, glaring at her.

  “But worst of all, you’ve been keeping information about Bell Cranell from us, haven’t you?”

  Ah…

  He didn’t miss a thing.

  Eina hadn’t reported on Bell’s Advanced Ability, Luck, or on his magic attack, Firebolt—the first of its kind that didn’t require a trigger spell. The latter had already been revealed during the War Game, but it was his astounding rate of growth that had propelled the Guild to investigate. More than likely, Royman was trying to force her to divulge any information she had. To make matters worse, Eina had never submitted Bell’s level-up model. This was a document detailing how he had leveled up and was, at that very moment, still buried deep within her desk. A scolding like this was inevitable, but it was too late to worry about it now.

  She had, however, submitted reports along the guidelines set in place to protect adventurers under her counsel like Bell and their familias…Royman must have thought she’d left a few things out after seeing the reports.

  Once again, Eina had to prevent her shoulders from flinching under the pressure of Royman’s astute observation.

  “You’re deliberately withholding information to keep him from becoming some god’s new toy, aren’t you?”

  “N-no, it’s not like that…!”

  “Do not lie to me! You’ve sided with adventurers ever since the day you got here, have you not? As his adviser, failing to divulge the secret to Bell Cranell’s growth is costing us far more than you can imagine!”

  Slamming his fist onto the desk and grunting like a pig, Royman maintained his verbal assault. Eina could only try to bear the storm of criticism and wait for it to pass.

  Royman did eventually calm down.

  Forehead and saggy chin soaked with sweat, Royman took a deep breath.

  “…As to why you’re here.”

  Eina tensed again as the leader of the Guild wiped his face on a cloth and reached for something on his desk.

  “See to it this reaches Hestia Familia…Give it to Bell Cranell.”

  “Eh?”

  He thrust a sealed letter out to her from between two towering piles of paperwork.

  Stunned, Eina reached for the document with trembling hands only after Royman’s gaze became too intense to bear.

  “Um, sir, what is…?”

  Sealed with the Guild’s official stamp, it appeared to be some sort of notification.

  Perhaps a quest?

  Royman spoke up, answering Eina’s question before she could ask.

  “I should tell you that it’s no quest but a mission.”

  “!”

  Eina’s eyes widened in that moment.

  “A secret one at that. Hestia Familia is the only group allowed to know, and no Guild personnel have clearance. Take extra care when you give it to him…I don’t think I have to say it, but you are forbidden to pursue this matter any further.”

  A mission.

  A direct order from the Guild that no one could refuse. All familias and adventurers residing in Orario were required to obey it.

  What’s more, this one was top secret. Eina couldn’t understand why Bell, an adventurer under her counsel, would be tasked with something this important.

  “You are his adviser. This is your job.”

  Royman delivering the order himself would attract too much attention, given his position.

  He explained the situation as he reclined back in his chair before an astonished Eina.

  “Give it to him, clear? I won’t allow you to say no.”

  “S-sir, what is upper management thinking—?”

  “An underling like you doesn’t need to know. Now get out of here. I’m busy.”

  Royman spat out his retort.

  Then he unleashed another verbal barrage, reminding Eina—so many times she couldn’t get his voice out of her head—to make sure that the goddess Hestia also saw the mission. With nothing more to say, Royman demanded that she leave his office.

  A secret mission…But why…?

  Closing the doors behind her, Eina stood in the middle of the passageway.

  Her emerald-green eyes quivered as she looked at the seal on the document in her hand.

  Upper management’s decision? But in that case, why would Royman see to it personally…? Was it his preference?

  No. She shook her head once she reached that conclusion.

  What if he was ordered to—?

  —It couldn’t be.

  A gut feeling shook her to the very core.

  The organization known as the Guild had a true “leader” that outranked upper management.

  Something was happening behind closed doors.

  Suddenly anxious, Eina felt her heart lurch in her chest.

  We made it back home during the night.

  Somehow, we managed to keep Wiene and her new wing out of sight along the way.

  Night might be over, but there’s nothing we can do to stave off the stifling gloom descending on the manor. Everyone—except for Lilly, who forced herself to go back out into the city to gather information—has stayed inside ever since we returned. We’re lying low, staying as far away as possible from the commotion in the streets.

  Except for one thing.

  I’ve been summoned to Guild Headquarters. Just me.

  “I’m sorry for asking you to come here on such short notice.”

  “I-it’s fine.”

  We’re in the consultation box.

  Eina is standing right in front of me, and it takes every ounce of willpower I have to keep my body from shaking.

  A messenger from the Guild arrived with the summons, complete with Eina’s signature, at around noon. The letter said it was urgent, so I hurried to the Guild as fast as I could.

  My nerves won’t calm down.

  Why’d it have to be today of all days?

  Am I a suspect on their list for what happened last night?

  Then again, Eina sent me the message. She’s m
y adviser, so I doubt she’d be the one to contact me if that is what’s happening.

  Wiene did finally fall asleep after a long night before I left, but I’m still worried about her.

  Neither Eina nor I take a seat in the soundproof room. She seems unusually stiff as we stand face-to-face.

  “…This is for you.”

  “Huh?”

  Suddenly even more nervous, I glance down at the sealed document in her outstretched hand.

  “Miss Eina, what…?”

  Not sure what to think, I take it from her. She pauses for a long moment before telling me.

  “It’s a secret mission. I was instructed to give it to you personally.”

  Well, that’s…surprising.

  A mission from the Guild? A secret one, at that?

  It’s a direct order from the top. Usually they involve taking care of an Irregular in the Dungeon or exterminating a particularly strong monster, or maybe dealing with something outside the city wall. Sure, Hestia Familia has been in the spotlight recently, but we barely qualify as average. Why would we be chosen for such a mission?

  If something is so important that it needs to be done in secret, then wouldn’t one of Orario’s strongest familias or adventurers get the call…?

  I look down at the paper in my hands in disbelief.

  “May I…open it here?”

  “Yes. But don’t show it to me…I’m not allowed to know.”

  Our conversation is stilted and awkward.

  I slowly pull back the seal as Eina watches, her mouth slightly agape.

  Hands moving at the speed of molasses thanks to my nerves, I slowly unroll the piece of parchment.

  “Each member of the familia, including the vouivre girl, is hereby ordered to proceed to the Dungeon’s twentieth floor.”

  “……………”

  Time freezes.

  My body goes ice cold. I can’t even feel my hands and feet anymore.

  The simple Koine letters, those swashes of ink dancing across the page, almost triggered a panic attack.

  “Please make sure Goddess Hestia sees this as well…Bell? What’s wrong?”

  I hear sounds, not words.

  I can’t even blink, reading the message over and over as I struggle to breathe. The letters keep going in and out of focus.

  But how…? Since when—?

  So many questions flare up in my head that none of them can finish before the next one begins.

  “Vouivre girl.” That’s Wiene for sure. Someone knows that Hestia Familia is protecting her?

  The Guild knows everything?

  Is this a threat?

  If that’s true—

  What’s the point of this mission?

  What is the Guild trying to do?

  How can I figure this out with my brain going in every direction at once?

  “Bell! Bell?!”

  Eina calls my name again and again as I start coming back to myself.

  Her voice pulls my gaze away from the parchment. I stare up at her, white as a ghost.

  “Miss Eina, what does the Guild—?”

  My throat stops moving; the words are stuck.

  I can’t ask.

  I can’t ask her what the Guild knows.

  If they’re friend or foe.

  I don’t know who I can trust anymore.

  I can almost hear Eina’s face twisting.

  Is it possible that even she—?

  —No, that can’t be true!

  I shake my head free of those thoughts before they get out of control.

  This person would never investigate me. She’s not watching my reaction looking for clues.

  Eina is just an employee at the very bottom of the Guild’s hierarchy.

  She said it herself: She wasn’t “allowed to know.”

  I can’t let this situation make me doubt someone who’s always been there for me.

  That’s it. This right here is—

  A mission assigned by the Guild’s higher-ups.

  I gulp down the air in my throat.

  A powerful force is at work, and we’re about to get swept up in its wake.

  “—Please, Bell, talk to me.”

  “!”

  Eina takes a step closer as I struggle with our predicament.

  I raise my head to meet her imploring, straightforward gaze.

  “If something is troubling you, please tell me. You have my word I will not tell a soul. I can’t just sit back and watch you be in pain.”

  Her eyes quiver as she bears her heart.

  “Even if I fail as an adviser in the eyes of the Guild, I want to do everything I can to help adventurers like you.”

  My eyes are trembling, too.

  “This is all I can do, to listen to what you have to say. So please—”

  —Trust me.

  Her plea cuts deep.

  She doesn’t know anything.

  But if I tell her what’s going on right now, if I give in to her kindness, then she’ll get dragged into this mess, too. She’ll be stuck in this dark quandary because of me.

  I…I can’t let that happen.

  “—It’s…nothing…Please don’t worry.”

  It took everything I had to form those words.

  Eina hunches over as if collapsing on the inside. She looks despondent.

  I can’t meet her eyes.

  Even staring at the floor at her feet, I can tell she’s looking away.

  A barrier stands between us. I can almost hear it rising.

  Leaving Eina behind, I make a quick exit from the box as if to flee.

  “A mission…”

  Resisting the invisible force pulling me back toward the Guild, I return home.

  Not wasting any time, I go straight to the living room where everyone is waiting. Welf whispers to himself in disbelief with the parchment in his hands.

  “So they know? Because of what happened yesterday?”

  “It’s too sudden for that. The vouivre girl…Miss Wiene kept her face and body well hidden, and yet they know what type of monster she is…The only explanation is that they’ve known for some time.”

  Wrinkles form on Welf’s brow as he forces himself to remain calm while listening to Lilly’s terse explanation. Mikoto and Haruhime are standing like statues off to the side. The goddess is reading the document herself right now, deep in thought and silent as the grave. Wiene isn’t here.

  No one in the room is sitting down.

  As we exchange glances, I see I’m not the only one thrown for a loop.

  “Lilly is more concerned about what this mission entails…”

  She takes the document from our goddess and reads it herself.

  I’m not used to seeing so much uncertainty on her face as her chestnut-colored eyes work their way across the page.

  “Lilly can’t understand what the Guild is trying to accomplish. This is not a warrant for our arrest, nor is it a demand to surrender Miss Wiene into their custody…Why send us to the Dungeon?”

  In addition to the mission document decorated with a vine-like pattern, there’s another sheet with detailed instructions.

  Written in red ink, there’s a big circle on a map of the twentieth floor. Our destination is in the deepest part of the floor, way off the main route.

  It even tells us what time to leave:

  Tonight at midnight, when it’s darkest out.

  “So the Guild doesn’t intend to arrest us…?”

  “For the time being, at least.”

  “We are to escort Lady Wiene back into the Dungeon…Whatever for?”

  “Beats me. Maybe she’s part of a plan to start something in the Dungeon…and we’re making a delivery?”

  Lilly answers Mikoto’s question, prompting Haruhime and Welf to share their thoughts.

  Welf takes the documents from Lilly while everyone is talking, his frown deepening by the second as he reads through the mission a second time.

  “Can we even make it there? Us? Down to
the twentieth floor? We’re only going to get one crack at this.”

  “…Continuous use of Miss Haruhime’s magic will provide us with the strength of two Level Threes, including Mr. Bell, and one Level Two. The twentieth floor is still in the Dungeon’s middle levels, so our party should be okay—theoretically. The problem is our frightening lack of experience on that floor.”

  Adventurers usually take their time on each floor, learning the lay of the land and how to deal with monsters before pressing forward, for safety reasons.

  But we have to skip all that and go straight to the heart of the twentieth floor, a place we’ve never been…One thing’s for sure: We’ll be venturing directly into the “unknown.”

  As Lilly pointed out in her answer to Welf’s question, we have to endure the uncertainty and fear that accompany a new area, unfamiliar surroundings, and new monsters.

  “…What’s our course of action?”

  After our discussion comes to a stop—

  —Mikoto’s voice fills the quiet living room.

  “I don’t think we have any choice but to go…”

  “This is a mission. We don’t have the right to refuse.”

  Welf and Lilly speak up, sounding weighed down by the circumstances.

  The Guild, in charge of everything that happens in Orario, is aware of what we’ve been doing. That alone puts us between a rock and a hard place. If we try to resist—for example, make an attempt to flee the city—they’d shut us down before we could even get past the wall.

  All they have to do to destroy Hestia Familia is tell the world that we’ve been harboring a monster in our home.

  What’s going to happen to Wiene…?

  There’s no point in guessing without knowing what the Guild is trying to accomplish. I understand that.

  I know that we don’t have a choice, just as Lilly pointed out.

  It’s just—I can’t help but wonder what will happen if we do manage to pull this off…That’s the one thing I can’t stop worrying about.

  Then again…I doubt the Guild would send us to the twentieth floor without knowing something that we don’t.

  There’s the Dungeon, where Wiene was born.

  And that monster, the one that called the vouivre girl “one of its kind.”

  I have no clue how this mission will play out.

  But there’s one thing I do know: It’s entirely possible that the Guild knows something important about Wiene and has a plan for her.