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

by Fujino Omori

  “Ooh, I hate this. It’s so scary. If the adventurers catch me, they’ll kill me on the spot. Why do I have to be the one to do it…?”

  Mumbling to herself dramatically, she prepared for what she had to do next.

  She lowered her chestnut eyebrows and closed her eyes.

  “Your scars are mine. My scars are mine.”

  As her petite lips uttered the chant, the magic once again transformed her appearance.

  In an instant, she was wearing a bulky blue battle jacket and a broken watch around her neck. She had a fluffy round tail, long ears, and round, shifty red eyes. She had become an al-miraj, or rabbit monster.

  So long as she resembled the thing she was transforming herself into, Lilly had the power to take on the appearance of a monster using Cinder Ella. Now that she was the al-miraj Aruru—whom she felt had the least unpleasant appearance of all the smaller Xenos—she bounded resolutely out of the shadows.

  “Kuuuuu!” [I can’t do this!] She shrieked with her no-longer-human voice.

  The adventurers quickly found her.

  “I—I see one!”

  “A monster! In the alley!”

  Shouting wildly, they poured from the main avenue into the side street.

  Mad with desire for a bounty, eyes bloodshot, swords and axes hoisted, they chased their prey as it hopped this way and that. Those greedy bastards! No wonder adventurers have a lousy reputation! Putting her own identity aside for the moment, Lilly uttered a rabbit’s curses.

  Still, the adventurers were a ferocious and quick-witted bunch. Cinder Ella allowed her to change her appearance but not to take on a Status higher than her own or a monster’s potential. Some of the adventurers pursuing her were upper class, and since she was merely an ordinary supporter, she feared they would quickly catch her. Fact of the matter was, they nearly did catch her more than once.

  Every time that happened, she fled into a blind corner and quickly deactivated Cinder Ella.

  “Stroke of midnight’s bell.”

  Once back in her own form, Lilly walked right past the demonic adventurers, feigning innocence.

  Transform, deactivate. Transform, deactivate. Her pursuers’ irritation mounted each time the al-miraj disappeared just before being caught. Every time their shoulders and bodies collided as they crisscrossed every celch of the narrow alleys, an exchange of shouting and verbal abuse would follow.

  With the sound of growing chaos in her ears, Lilly used her magic over and over again, panting as she frantically hopped around the Labyrinth District.

  “Oh, I hate Fels…!”

  Even as she cursed the sage who had devised this plan, however, Lilly poured everything she had into her designated role.

  “There’s an al-miraj on the loose!”

  “It’s over in that direction. Go get it!”

  Bell was in a different part of the Labyrinth District’s south side, but the frantic shouts of the adventurers had spread to where he was.

  “…!”

  Eina, who had been stunned by the howling of Lido and the other Xenos, was still holding Bell close to her. Now that an opportune moment had arrived, Bell carefully extracted his arm from hers. By the time she noticed, he was already running.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Eina!” he yelled, glancing back as he gained distance.

  “Huh?! Bell!”

  “You can get mad at me later!”

  “Oh, you…!”

  Eina’s indignation was only for show, however. In truth, she wanted to run after him. No—she wanted to stop him from going. She was beside herself with worry that he would run straight into danger and get himself hurt. But Bell was an adventurer and Eina was a Guild employee. She had come this far fueled by personal feelings and passion, but now she had to fulfill her duty as a worker.

  “…Uh-oh, I forgot to give him that bracelet he lost, the one Hermes gave me.”

  She glanced down at the band on her right arm, her expression changing from anger to worry.

  Meanwhile, Bell was running straight down the street away from Eina.

  “Bell. It seems that two of the lost Xenos are on the east side of Daedalus Street.”

  Hestia’s muffled voice filtered through his mantle from the gauntlet underneath. Fels must told her the location of the Xenos who responded to Lido’s call, and now she was relaying it to him.

  “Hmm…That’s a good distance from where I am on the south side. So…” he whispered into the oculus.

  “Please keep focusing on diverting attention, as we planned.”

  Bell nodded.

  Miss Aiz is still following me…and just like we wanted, other adventurers are tracking me, too.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Aiz, who was following him by running from rooftop to rooftop. As he looked back, he noticed that while some of his pursuers were closing in on him, he could also sense the eyes of others who were following at a set distance, neither approaching nor receding, like hunters. Perhaps on orders from their patron deities, they had not run off to chase the al-miraj but instead kept after Bell, the more certain bet. If he included those he couldn’t see clearly, there seemed to be quite a few chasing him. It was like they thought Bell would lead them to some enormous pile of gold.

  But if the eyes of Loki Familia aren’t on me, the diversion isn’t working. My only choice is to shake off these people once, along with Aiz, too!

  He increased his pace and turned down one of the innumerable alleys branching off the main road.

  “!”

  “Hurry up, before you lose sight of him!”

  Skirting the pack of adventurers on the wild goose chase after Lilly, Bell headed to the neighboring southeastern district. The adventurers followed. Bell was happy to lure them this far, but now he needed some way to pin them there so they would stay in the southeast while he continued on.

  Nahza and Lyu, I’m counting on you for the rest!

  He slipped into a shadow where his followers could not see him, withdrew a stink bag, and sprinkled the contents over his head to mask his scent. Then he pulled off his black mantle, turned it inside out, and threw it back on so that it covered his entire body. The next instant, he had disappeared without a trace.

  “?!”

  “Where’d the Little Rookie go?”

  Bell listened to the hubbub all around him. He could sense Aiz’s astonishment as well.

  He had used the Reverse Veil, one of Fels’s magic items.

  Like Asfi’s Hades Head, it turned whoever wore it invisible. But in contrast with the Kaos Head, which made its wearer invisible no matter what, Bell’s veil was reversible, so the user could benefit from its powers as needed. An ordinary mantle swiftly became a tool for secrecy and stealth.

  Leaving the surprised adventurers and Aiz behind, Bell moved away, still veiled.

  “Where is that little twerp hiding…?”

  The adventurers searching for Bell were growing irritated at the complicated streets and numerous obstacles. Just then, they noticed something.

  “What’s that sweet smell…?”

  The animal people were the first to notice, but soon others, too, were sniffing suspiciously at the faint perfume.

  They forgot their suspicion, however, when a human in the pack shouted out.

  “I saw him! The Little Rookie! He went into that house!”

  A crazed look came over the adventurers’ faces, and they rushed in the direction he was pointing. Swearing at Bell for putting them through so much trouble, they burst into a barrack in a back alley.

  “Not that one, this one! Over by the main road!”

  “What?!”

  “M-monster! It’s a monster!”

  Amid all the shouts flying back and forth, the adventurers began to get confused. What should they make of all the claims of monster sightings or of the fact that Bell Cranell seemed to be popping up in multiple places? Each band of adventurers began to distrust all the others, suspecting they were trying to trick the rest and slip away
.

  “Hey, I don’t see anything in here at all! Not a monster or the Little Rookie!” said a dwarf upper-class adventurer.

  “B-but it’s true! He’s over there—behind you!”

  The dwarf turned his head in the direction the animal person—also an upper-class adventurer—was pointing, but not a soul was there. Flushed with fury, he punched the animal person in the face.

  “Wow…these things really do make people hallucinate!” Nahza murmured.

  She was standing at a distance, listening to the angry and confused voices inside the building as she pressed a damp scarf to her nose. In her other hand, she held two wilted flowers. Their petals were blue and red, and when she looked closely she could make out fine grains of golden pollen floating from them. They were another of Fels’s magic items.

  To use the flowers, the person first had to impress a certain image on their memory. Whoever breathed in the pollen after that would see visions of that object or person. Certain abilities warded off the illusions, but in a large group of adventurers like this, they were rather effective. Lower-class adventurers and upper-class adventurers who hadn’t yet gained any immunity shouted out alerts about whatever they saw. The flowers had plunged both the southern sector, where Lilly was, and the southeastern sector into chaos.

  Holding the magic flowers in one hand, Nahza wandered through the night streets as she pleased. Bell had explained how the flowers worked and asked her to simply walk around the southern part of Daedalus Street holding them.

  “I wonder where he got these…I’d sure love to know.”

  Fascinated by the flowers, Nahza tilted her head quizzically.

  “What could Bell and his familia be up to…?”

  “He’s disappeared?”

  Aiz had been sprinting from roof to roof as she followed Bell. Now she peered down, astonishment in her golden eyes.

  She’d thought he was simply hiding in the shadows for a moment, but he’d suddenly disappeared.

  She stopped running and searched the surrounding area from her high perch.

  No, he’s still here.

  She had sensed his presence. No matter how well he erased his scent and form, he could not evade the perceptive powers of the first-tier adventurer, who was able to discern the faintest footsteps and hints of presence. Immediately, the veteran swordswoman guessed that he had become invisible.

  While the confused adventurers below her chased after mistaken sightings of the boy, Aiz sped through the Labyrinth District in pursuit of the real Bell.

  “Sword Princess.”

  “!”

  A figure was blocking Aiz’s way forward. The masked adventurer who stood before her wore a long hooded cape and long boots resembling Aiz’s own. She drew a wooden sword from her hip.

  “I ask you for a contest.”

  Aiz looked at her in surprise.

  “Now?…Here?”

  As a leader of the city’s largest faction, Aiz had dealt with surprise attacks many times. An assault from an unknown foe was nothing surprising. Neither was it unusual for a fighter confident in her swordsmanship to ask for a contest with the Sword Princess.

  She was only surprised that it was happening in this situation.

  “I am a creature of the shadows. It is only in a situation like this that I can match my sword against yours,” the mysterious figure said.

  Her quiet voice did not sound as if it was lying. And interestingly enough, this fighter had an aura not entirely unlike the Sword Princess’s. Aiz felt a twinge of something akin to empathy.

  But could the timing really be a coincidence?

  Her hand on the hilt of her favorite sword, she thought of the boy speeding away from her.

  “Pardon me, but I insist.”

  Aiz was still trying to decide whether or not to ignore the request when the masked adventurer flew at her on sure feet, her sword slicing the air.

  She was incredibly fast!

  The speed of the stranger’s wooden sword suggested she was a first-tier adventurer. Left with no choice, Aiz drew her own weapon. As the sound of blade hitting blade echoed into the night, the momentum of the fight carried the two combatants from the roof down to the alley below.

  Aiz knew that even if she had prioritized the pursuit of Bell, the masked adventurer would likely have followed her. Since that would prevent her from watching the boy properly, she had decided to return the attack of the opponent at hand.

  Those sparks of light…

  Watching as brilliant specks drifted from beneath the masked adventurer’s cape, Aiz remained locked in swordplay.

  “Um, is that elf going to be okay…?”

  A worried look on her face, Haruhime gazed in the direction of the masked adventurer. Hestia, who was looking down at the magical map, also followed her movements.

  “All we can do is trust in the elf. She is a very capable fighter, but judging by what I saw in Daedalus Street, that little Wallen-something-or-other is unbelievably strong herself…”

  Shortly before, Lyu, the masked elf, had visited Hestia and Haruhime at their post on the southern edge of the Labyrinth District. Bell had asked her to prevent Aiz from following him, and as per his instructions, she had come for a level boost. Haruhime’s powerful sorcery was indispensable if Lyu was going to take up much of the Sword Princess’s time.

  And so, in the southeastern section of the Labyrinth District, a battle far too fierce for an ordinary skirmish was playing out between Level 5 and Level 6 adventurers.

  “Goddess!”

  “Bell?”

  “Thanks to Lyu, I was able to get away from Aiz…but I haven’t been able to attract any of the other Loki Familia members. Maybe it would be better if I went to Wiene and the others…?”

  He was worried that if he couldn’t draw attention toward himself, the Xenos would be risking capture.

  “Wait a second, Bell,” Hestia said. “Not knowing your location must be scary for Loki Familia. At the very least, worry will be lurking at the back of their minds. You know yourself how difficult an invisible enemy can be, right?”

  “Well, yes…”

  “Do you still have any magic items? If you do, I want you to stay invisible and cause some disturbance among the adventurers. And don’t let Loki Familia find you. Our supporters should be making their move soon, too.”

  “…Got it!”

  Having convinced Bell to hold firm, Hestia let out a sigh of relief. But a moment later, she was frowning.

  “I know I just said that to Bell…but damn. Loki Familia’s formation hasn’t budged.”

  “Lady Lilly and Master Bell are doing their best…” Haruhime said.

  Despite the frenetic movements of Bell’s and Lilly’s symbols on the map, however, Loki Familia still encircled the central zone of the Labyrinth District. At least the magic-stone lanterns they could see from the roof hadn’t moved.

  Lifting their gazes from the magic map, the goddess and the girl looked out impatiently at the central zone.

  “So they’ve made their move,” Finn murmured.

  Information had begun to come in after the monsters signaled the start of the battle with their howls.

  “Word is an al-miraj showed up to the south! And there have been multiple monster sightings in the southeast, too!”

  “Bell Cranell was in the southeast as well! And, uh, Aiz has lost track of him…”

  “As I said before, Bell Cranell is a diversion. Leave him to Aiz and forget about it. We don’t need to do anything in the south or the southeast yet. The west is where I smell something suspicious. Elfie, tell Tione and the others in the northwest to move to the ninety-eighth block and take up positions there.”

  In fact, the news that Bell had managed to shake off Aiz surprised Finn, but he didn’t let it show as he rapidly fired off commands. Seeing the calm demeanor of the captain, the other familia members remained composed themselves, responding with a “Yes, General!” before briskly setting to work.

 
; They were in Daedalus Street’s central zone. Like Hestia, Finn had installed himself on top of a tall building with a good view of the whole district. The wide-open, windswept rooftop brought to mind an old castle.

  Loki Familia communicated by signaling with magic-stone lamps. Familia members were on standby on various rooftops, continually updating central command about what was happening on the ground by flashing the lamps.

  Something must have prevented Aiz from moving. An ambush? I hadn’t expected the enemy to be so strong…but it’s fine. Aiz will probably be back on track soon.

  Finn had rested the shaft of his long spear against his right shoulder and was thinking about the situation.

  The enemy group is probably fairly large. The fact that our lookouts and scouts haven’t spotted any of them and they haven’t gotten caught in any of the nets most likely means either that one of them is very familiar with the terrain in Daedalus Street or they have some kind of magic item. Maybe both.

  Finn had deduced that the enemy was clustered in one main group due to the likely number of keys to Knossos. Based on the information from Ikelos, he guessed there were no more than two. And there would be no point in the monsters reaching Knossos, which was below the zone that Loki Familia was currently guarding, if they weren’t able to open the door. Counting adventurers from other factions, Finn’s side was patently superior to the monsters in both number and might. And if the two sides encountered each other, it was very unlikely that the enemy would spread out and attack from all directions. That would not be an option for creatures so unwilling to leave behind any of their brethren. Finn had witnessed their strong camaraderie when he crossed swords with them before.

  The fact that they had risked revealing their location by letting out those howls must mean they were signaling the jet-black minotaur and the other monsters who had been separated during the battle several days before.

  The enemy’s movements are what worries me…despite what I said about the west being the most suspicious.

  Finn looked down at his right hand. His thumb was not throbbing.

  He looked back out at the Labyrinth District, then turned to a faction member he had held back with him.