Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 11

by Fujino Omori

  “This is in return for the lap pillow you gave me before.”

  Forgetting all about my internal conflicts, I panic and try to jump back up. The hand resting on my head holds me in place.

  At the sensation of her soft thighs, my cheeks immediately turn bright red.

  “In return?! You forced me to do it that time…!” I say.

  “Hee-hee…Was that what happened? Well, let me force you this time, too,” she says playfully, lowering her voice.

  She begins to comb her fingers through my hair.

  “Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose your path. You may have lost some things, but other things remain by your side.”

  Her tone has shifted to one of gentle remonstration, and I stop struggling.

  I lift my gaze, as if something is pulling my eyes upward. Syr’s smile greets me. Her eyes are brimming with the same affection I saw when she was looking down on the children asleep at the orphanage.

  I flip onto my back on the bench. Raising one knee, I return her gaze. Eventually, she lays a hand gently over my eyes.

  “I…I like how you always keep on running,” she says with a sigh. Her voice is so quiet it’s practically a whisper.

  “What?”

  When I push away the hand blocking my view, Syr smiles cheerfully, her cheeks flushed.

  “…I mean I like you how you usually are!”

  Her huge smile cheers me up, as if it’s telling me not to worry.

  Amazed, I get up from Syr’s lap and look around. I realize that her smile, unchanged from before, has relieved some sort of tension within me.

  “…Somehow it seems like you’re always cheering me up these days.”

  She giggles.

  “Next time, should I hold you in my arms?”

  “Uh, no thank you!”

  I blush at her teasing and force a weak smile.

  The sky is still covered in ashen clouds, but my heart feels a bit sunnier now.

  “That’s why I’m saying you need to get the hell out of Daedalus Street in short order! How many times have I told you? Why do I have to come out here myself?!”

  In response to the raving, spit- and sweat-spewing Guild head Royman Mardeel, Finn Deimne, captain of Loki Familia, remained coolly composed.

  “If we withdraw, which familia will you assign to defense?”

  “Ganesha Familia, obviously! It’s the divine will of God Ouranos!”

  “I’ve heard Ganesha Familia is not functioning at full capacity right now, due to the damage from the mission.”

  “They’re still better than you undependable rascals! Breaking the standby orders the other day and doing whatever you damn pleased…Unbelievable!”

  The spot where Finn and Royman were talking was remote even for Daedalus Street: a section of Main Street that had been reduced to ruins in the battle with the monsters four days earlier. All around them, Guild employees were working on the repair and reconstruction effort, and Loki Familia members were on security patrol.

  Standing near the rubble created when the vouivre destroyed a wall, the rotund elven Guild head flew at the leader of the prums, his belly flab shaking.

  “Let’s stop the probing, yeah?” Finn said, looking up at Royman with his wise blue eyes. “What you Guild people are so worried about is the entrance to the Dungeon down below us…Am I wrong?” he continued.

  “…!”

  “We learned a few tidbits from God Ikelos before we handed him over to the Guild. He told us about Knossos, among other things,” Finn said, lowering his voice at the word Knossos.

  It was none other than Loki Familia that had captured the leader of Ikelos Familia, now expelled from the city. The god had answered their questions with a sly grin.

  “I can understand why you’d want to monopolize the information about Knossos and block any leaks, but I think you should reconsider the situation. The other familias already suspect the truth. They’ve guessed that this place is connected to the Dungeon.”

  Finn continued explaining to Royman, whose voice seemed stuck in his throat.

  “Royman, please put your own interests aside for the moment. These monsters defeated even Ganesha Familia. Who’s going to be able to suppress them here in the city?”

  “…You let them get away yourselves, if I’m correct. If that hadn’t happened, things would be a lot different right now…!”

  “There’s no excuse for that. But next time we will take them down. We understand the enemy’s strength now.”

  Finn shrugged, and then, shifting the mood, he broached a new topic.

  “The key to Knossos that Ikelos told us about…If we find it, we’ll give it to you.”

  “!”

  “In exchange, I want you to let us continue our work here. We, too, want to get the monsters under control as quickly as possible so the townsfolk don’t have to keep living in this fear.”

  Royman, who had been watching Finn as if evaluating his suggestion, finally opened his mouth.

  “Are you moving forward with investigating this dungeon we’ve been talking about?”

  “Yes. Gareth and Tiona managed to dig through the adamantite wall and get in. But an orichalcum door blocked the far side of the room they found, and as you’d guess, they weren’t able to break that one down. It takes time and labor to destroy things made of adamantite…and we decided we shouldn’t pointlessly demolish anything until we know what is hidden in Knossos. After all, we wouldn’t want to bring trouble to the surface.”

  “…We’ll need all the information about Knossos. The structure as you understand it so far, the location of the orichalcum door…Can you promise to report to us every detail you know?”

  “I can,” said Finn.

  Royman, who had launched into negotiation mode after hearing Finn’s explanation, waited for a moment, then nodded.

  “All right, then, I’ll accept your conditions. I will inform Ouranos…But! Don’t even think about deceiving me! I’ll cut you scoundrels off without a second thought if you try anything funny!!”

  “I understand,” Finn replied, a smile playing around his mouth.

  The Guild chief snorted and walked off with his bodyguards.

  A moment later, Riveria was standing in his place. The high elf vice captain had come from giving orders to the other members of the familia.

  “Whew…Seems like that guy hasn’t changed.”

  “Ha! I don’t trust Royman, but I give him credit. He’ll negotiate for mercenary reasons; that much is easy to figure out.”

  Riveria sighed at the thought of her unattractive, corpulent brethren. After listening to Finn recount their conversation, she responded with a question.

  “Are you certain? Knossos intel aside, you even promised to hand over the key.”

  “The god Ikelos said there was more than one. We’ll be fine if we keep one for ourselves,” Finn said, as if he could see into the future.

  “So you’re saying the Guild may have its own interests, but we can count on them to cooperate?”

  “At the very least, I think we can count on Royman. But just like with the mission, I smell something fishy going on. When it comes to what’s happening right now, I don’t think we have enough information yet to trust the Guild wholesale.

  “The Guild isn’t monolithic,” he added, licking the thumb of his right hand. “And speaking of which, Riveria, how’s Freya Familia?”

  “Seems they’re still serving as porters for the city. Their explanation that it’s due to these extraordinary times is reasonable…But they seem to be merely watching and waiting, which is unusual for them. They say they don’t want to get involved just now.”

  As Finn and Riveria were discussing Freya Familia—Orario’s other biggest faction, which together with Loki Familia was often likened to one of the city’s two heads—the girl with the golden eyes and hair approached them.

  “Good work on your rounds, Aiz.”

  “Thanks…”

  “Did you notice anything un
usual?”

  “…That kid, Bell, came to Daedalus Street.”

  Finn narrowed his blue eyes at the news.

  “He’s stepped out, has he?”

  Riveria, who had been watching Aiz out of the corner of her eye, asked the question that was on the young girl’s mind.

  “Finn…Are you suspicious of Bell Cranell?”

  “I am certain he’s a key witness in this incident. The adventurer I faced on that day was not the Bell Cranell I know,” Finn replied, looking out at the street where he and the boy had confronted each other.

  “God Ikelos said he had been capturing and smuggling monsters in order to sell them off to ‘monster lovers.’ But was that really all he was up to? Armed monsters, high intelligence levels, mutant subspecies like that black minotaur…Wouldn’t you say there’s a special something about them?”

  Finn thought back to the way Ikelos had smiled slyly just before they handed him over to the Guild. He hadn’t been lying, but he hadn’t shared the heart of the matter with them, either.

  Standing before him, Aiz seemed to be recalling something, too. A shudder passed through her shoulders.

  “If there is something different about those armed monsters…and Bell Cranell was led astray because he knew what that something was, then the events of that day begin to make more sense. And moreover, it means he was left with no choice but to oppose us,” Finn said.

  He noticed that Aiz was holding her tongue, and he laughed dryly.

  “Aiz, it’s not that I’m labeling Bell Cranell an enemy without letting him tell his side of the story. This is my way of saying I believe in him. As a person and as an adventurer.”

  “…”

  “But this time, things are different. I need to know for sure…if he is our friend or if he may become our enemy.”

  Speaking now as a faction boss, Finn looked toward the section of Daedalus Street where tall buildings clustered.

  “Riveria, I’m handing command here over to you. I have something to do on my own.”

  “Why alone?”

  “I don’t want to stand out or raise any alarms. Aiz, did Bell Cranell come to Daedalus Street by himself?”

  “…No, he came with his goddess.”

  “Ah, I see. And can you tell me where you saw him?”

  The prum adventurer continued, even as Aiz and Riveria fixed disbelieving stares on him. “I’m off to meet with Bell Cranell.”

  CHAPTER 2

  DIVERGING STRANDS, INTERSECTING PLANS

  After saying good-bye to Syr, I head back alone toward the spot where I left the goddess.

  Here again, everyone I pass on the street is emanating hostility. Syr may have cheered me up, but this just isn’t the kind of thing you get used to.

  I hurry along, my eyes on the ground.

  “Bell Cranell.”

  Someone is calling my name. I’ve been mocked plenty, but so far no one has tried to stop me on the street. I halt in my tracks, surprised.

  When I turn around, I see…

  “—!! Mr.…Finn?”

  It’s the golden-haired prum.

  Wearing armor and carrying a long spear, Loki Familia’s captain is staring at me.

  “Only a knife for self-defense, eh…? That’s pretty light weaponry you have there, given your current predicament.”

  My heart skips a beat at his comment, which he delivers with a smile that crinkles his blue eyes.

  I am wearing no armor whatsoever, because I know the Xenos are not dangerous. But the other adventurers wouldn’t understand that. Given how careless I must appear to everyone around me, I wonder what Finn is thinking.

  It’s not that I didn’t have time to properly prepare—I was just being stupid. I’m wincing at my blunder, but Finn continues as if nothing is wrong.

  “You’re by yourself, I see. I’m glad, because I wanted to talk to you in private about something.”

  I, along with the demi-humans who have been watching our encounter, start in surprise.

  The next moment, they’re giving me strange looks. Some even direct critical gazes at Finn, but the upper-class adventurer just smiles at me.

  But…is it wrong that I’m steeling myself against that outwardly friendly smile?

  “What do you say?” he asks.

  “…Oh, uh, okay,” I answer in a voice that’s stiffer than I intended.

  The look in those blue eyes makes me feel like “no” isn’t an option.

  I follow the prum’s small figure as he searches for a place free of passersby. Eventually we arrive at a blind alley that seems to be some kind of storage area piled with wooden boxes and barrels.

  “…”

  We’ve been in a similar situation before. Last time, the prum captain asked for my advice about his marriage proposal. This time, things are completely different.

  Why would he want to talk to someone like me who treated him like an enemy?

  As if guessing my thoughts, Finn faces me and begins to speak.

  “I intend to turn a blind eye to what you did that day. The priority now is resolving the current situation. I want to have a productive conversation,” he says, looking up into my surprised face.

  “A conversation…?”

  “Yes. You know something about those armed monsters that we don’t know, right? To take it a bit further, I’d guess you know everything about the recent incident.”

  I feel like the point of his spear has skewered me through the heart.

  Finn Deimne, Braver. Aside from his fighting ability, he is famous for his levelheaded leadership abilities even when facing the Irregulars of the Dungeon’s depths—in other words, for his sharp mind.

  Just how much of the truth has he discerned already? What does he know, and what information does he want? Is he an enemy, or might he be an ally?

  My wildly beating heart prevents me from thinking clearly. Flustered, I stare at him.

  “I consider what happened the other day to have been a small misunderstanding. If we’d been sharing information, things probably would have gone differently.”

  I rub my right hand over my chest. Finn is right that there might have been a wiser way to approach that situation. If I had told the members of Loki Familia everything during our encounter, the outcome might have been different.

  But the instant I decided to rescue Wiene, my body moved of its own accord. Instinct is the only word for it.

  And no matter what anyone says, I’m certain Finn was the one who butchered her during her rampage.

  Mercilessly, deaf to any pleas.

  When I saw those blue eyes looking down on us from the roof as he threw his long spear, I immediately discarded the option of negotiating.

  As a captain, Finn is a different breed. Even more of a realist than Lilly, he is able to objectively assess any situation and arrive at a decision without letting his personal feelings get in the way. He weighs his options neutrally, ruthlessly, and cruelly.

  If it was in the interest of a greater cause, he’d discard me without a second thought.

  “Plus, things are different now,” Finn says.

  He’s right. Things are different now.

  There is no out-of-control Wiene. No imminent threat to ordinary civilians. We have no reason to oppose each other. Putting aside the rest of Loki Familia, if only Finn would show me in some way that he understands the Xenos…

  I’m beginning to realize that Finn holds complete control over our current conversation. Still, I trust him, and I’m wavering over whether or not to open up about the Xenos.

  “Bell Cranell. If you know something, I want you to tell me.”

  “I, uh…”

  If I can ask for his cooperation…wouldn’t it be okay to tell him?

  My lips that have been sealed shut begin to crack open…when we are suddenly interrupted.

  “Hey, Bell! What a coincidence!”

  ““!””

  The cheerful voice echoes down the blind alley.

  “
Lord Hermes…?”

  “Yes, yes indeed, it is I, Hermes. What are you up to back here? Lost, perhaps? Or maybe young Bell is out collecting information in Daedalus Street as well?”

  Wearing his winged traveling cap, Hermes approaches us with a sprightly step.

  “Oh ho, Braver. Were you two in the middle of something?” he says, as if he’s just noticed Finn hiding in my shadow.

  “…No, no, we’re just finishing up, God Hermes,” Finn answers, searching the god’s smiling face.

  After a moment, he sighs as if he’s given up on something and starts to walk away.

  I feel flustered as he passes in front of me. As he leaves, he looks toward me.

  “Bell Cranell. Do you have the key?”

  “…?”

  At first, I don’t understand what Finn means. But an instant later, I shiver in surprise.

  The key…Does he mean the Orb of Knossos?

  An image of the magic item floats before my eyes. As I think of the ball inscribed with the glyph D—which I don’t have access to at the moment—my expression grows tense. Finn smiles at me.

  “Never mind if you don’t know about it. Forget I said anything,” he says, and walks out of the alley.

  I watch his small form disappear into the tangle of streets, then turn to Hermes.

  “Lord Hermes, what are you doing he—?”

  “Bell.”

  Before I can finish my question, he puts a hand on my shoulder and brings his face close to mine.

  “It would be best if you didn’t tell Loki Familia about the Xenos.”

  “!”

  I am doubly surprised, first by the word Xenos coming out of his mouth and second by the nature of his advice. He continues in a low voice.

  “Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it won’t make a difference even if you do tell them. Even if they know the Xenos are intelligent, in the end Loki Familia will inevitably choose to annihilate them.”

  “…!”

  “And even if they ask for your cooperation, I suspect they’ll just end up using you.”

  He continues with a firm voice and a serious face.

  “On this one point, you will not see eye to eye with the Loki Familia Braver commands. I’d be willing to bet on it.”