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

by Fujino Omori

  So now we have a key…but it’s meaningless if we can’t get to a door. Loki Familia is sure to notice us if we try to take a path leading underground—

  “—Ah!”

  A light blinks on in my mind, and I look up.

  “Master Bell?”

  Ignoring Haruhime, who’s looking at me curiously, I desperately try to reel in the threads of memory.

  A path leading underground…A route leading to Knossos.

  I’ve never seen it myself. There’s no proof. Still—

  “There is! There is one! There’s another entrance!”

  I look from one surprised face to another, raising my voice in hope.

  The residents of Daedalus Street have followed the orders from the Guild to evacuate. Thanks to that, the northwestern sector where we are located now seems nearly abandoned. Keeping an eye out for the adventurers who pass by occasionally, we follow the goddess’s directions down one shortcut after another, finally arriving at our destination in the north of the Labyrinth District.

  Maria’s Orphanage, where the children live.

  We make it to the back garden without anyone noticing us.

  “Did you know about this place, Master Bell…?” Haruhime asks in surprise.

  “Bell, you’re amazing!” Wiene chimes in excitedly.

  “No, I’ve just happened to come here before…” I reply with a hollow laugh. As we descend a set of stairs, I activate a magic-stone lamp embedded in a wall.

  The garden behind the church housing the orphanage leads to a sea of ruins. Hidden among them is a stone slab door. We use it to enter the underground passage that I explored with Syr and the children a month or so earlier.

  …The underground room where the barbarian was.

  “It’s so big…”

  “To think a place like this would be down here…”

  Fia and Lett murmur in awe as they look around. I, too, survey the place using a torch I lit with the hellhound’s flame. Our stone surroundings are just as I remember them.

  After the incident down here, I filed a report with the Guild through Eina…but considering how poorly the investigation was done, I guess they hushed it up before it ever reached Ouranos. I hear they’ve gotten very uptight about things ever since the Monsterphilia incident when the monsters escaped…

  “…”

  In one corner of the room, there’s an enormous pile of ash and the burned remains of the barbarian’s body hair. I look at it in silence, then lead everyone to the far end of the room.

  There before our eyes is the door to a passage, sealed tight.

  “Bell, I can’t believe it…”

  It was the hunter with the goggles who mentioned the passage to me.

  Yeah, we caught that big oaf.

  Before we had a chance to ship it off, it gave those idiot workers of mine the slip and actually escaped.

  We tried to chase it, but it disappeared down the end of that crumbling underground passage.

  The “big oaf” was the barbarian I’d encountered down here, and the crumbling underground passage is the door we’re standing in front of right now.

  Lett looks down at my right hand, where a white light is pulsing again and again as a bell chimes.

  The hunters who were capturing Xenos used to go in and out of Knossos as part of their smuggling activities, so it’s only logical to assume there’s a door down here that the barbarian escaped through.

  I’ve been charging for two minutes.

  I tell Wiene and the others to step back and thrust out my right arm to use my skill.

  “Firebolt.”

  The massive bombardment that I’ve charged up blows away the brick door to the passage in one blast.

  “!”

  Haruhime and the others press their hands to their ears at the tremors and roar.

  When they look up, they see a half-destroyed doorway where the bricks were and, beyond that, an underground passage leading into the distance.

  “Yessss!” I whisper as I catch sight—far in the distance, among the crumbling stone walls—of the glint of adamantite.

  There’s no mistaking it. This passage leads to Knossos.

  “If you head down here, you should reach a door to Knossos. I don’t know the way, though…” I say.

  “We’ll be fine. The scent of our brethren is still lingering in the farther reaches of the passage. Probably…”

  “Woof!”

  Helga the hellhound, who’s been sniffing the air noisily, finishes Fia’s sentence with a bark, as if to affirm her suspicion. Probably it’s the scent of the smuggling victims…

  The Xenos in our group cheer at the path that’s opened before them. After a moment, they turn to Haruhime and me.

  “Bell, thank you, thank you so much! We will not forget your help. Next time, if you are in trouble, it is we who will rush to your aid,” the gentlemanly red-cap says.

  “Creatures of the surface, I hope you are able to visit us in our home again. Let us sing and dance together once more,” the ever-curious harpy adds.

  “We will…and next time, we’ll bring Mikoto.”

  The red-cap and the harpy shake my hand and Haruhime’s in turn.

  As the peculiar al-miraj and hellhound snuffle at our legs as if to say how sad they are to part, I overflow with happiness that Haruhime has held the hands of the Xenos.

  “Bell.”

  The last to say good-bye is Wiene.

  The dragon girl stands in front of us and looks up into our faces.

  “I’m going back with everyone. If I stay here on the surface, I’ll only hurt you both.”

  “Lady Wiene…”

  Wiene smiles, so that Haruhime, who already sounds heartbroken, doesn’t feel even sadder.

  “You know, when we parted the last time, I cried and cried because I was so lonely,” she says.

  “…”

  “But if I do that again, you’re going to worry about me, aren’t you? So I’m not going to cry anymore. You don’t have to be upset.”

  “Wiene…”

  She sounds like she’s trying to free herself from her position as the protected.

  What caused her to change so much in such a short span of time?

  Was it all the people she met? The malice humans showed her? Her brush with death? Whatever it is, I know in the depths of my heart that I wouldn’t trade the sight of her smile right now for all the gold in the world.

  I know that it doesn’t matter if she’s a monster or a human—this girl who protected me is a noble creature.

  “You know what Lido told me? It might not be possible right now…but he said that if people like you exist, then our dream might come true one day!” she says, a smile blooming on her face.

  I smile back at her.

  “We’ll meet again, won’t we?” she asks me.

  “Yes, we will.”

  “And we can live together one day?”

  “…Yes, for sure!” I nod.

  I’m not merely consoling her. I am determined to make it happen.

  “I promise you. I don’t know how long it will take…but one day, I’ll create a place where we can live together.”

  Wiene blushes and beams at me.

  Haruhime, who’s been watching us with kind eyes, claps her hands together.

  “Let’s pinkie swear!” she says.

  “Pinkie swear?”

  Wiene and I both look at her questioningly. She explains how in the Far East, people link pinkies to make a promise. Then she hooks my pinkie together with Wiene’s and recites the promise.

  “Th-this is embarrassing!” I mutter shyly.

  “No it’s not!” Haruhime insists.

  Wiene giggles, and Haruhime links pinkies with her. Then she hands Wiene the oculus as if she’s giving her a present, and the two of us wrap our arms around her.

  She hugs her pinkie to her chest like it’s her most precious possession, then follows the other Xenos down the passage.

  “Good-b
ye, Bell, good-bye, Haruhime! We’ll see you soon!”

  Their strange forms grow smaller and smaller.

  Wiene’s glittering amber eyes as she turns back give away the tears she was hiding. I’ve been hiding mine, too.

  Haruhime and I shout our good-byes and watch as the Xenos, still waving, fade into the darkness.

  We stay there until they disappear completely.

  “A promise…”

  I look at my still-warm pinkie.

  I have to make it happen. I can’t let it be a lie I told because I didn’t know what else to say.

  Even if it’s as preposterous as a child’s fantasy, even if it’s a pipe dream, even if it’s an out-of-reach ideal. We have to smile at each other on the surface once again.

  To make that happen, I have to do more from now on—

  “…”

  I look down at my palm and squeeze it tightly into a fist.

  A minute later, Haruhime smiles, wiping away her tears, and I smile back.

  Today, right now, I’ve engraved a new promise into my finger.

  “Really, Fels? Wiene and the others have really entered Knossos?!” Lido shouted.

  He was covered in wounds that told the story of his fierce battle with Loki Familia. But in contrast to his battered appearance, his voice overflowed with joy and excitement.

  “Yes. It seems that Bell Cranell led them there,” Fels answered, holding the oculus in one hand. The stone passageway where they stood echoed with the cheers of the monsters. They were advancing down one of the underground routes leading to Knossos.

  Thanks to Welf, Mikoto, and the black mist, a short while earlier they had made it to a hidden staircase in the central zone of the Labyrinth District that led underground. The persistent attacks of Loki Familia had taken a heavy toll, and the scattered group had been on the verge of collapse, but with strong defense by Lido, Gros, and Rei, they had somehow made it this far. Now, knowing that Wiene and the separated Xenos were in the clear, their last worry was gone.

  The line of monsters picked up its pace toward the door to Knossos.

  “It seems that Lett and the others passed through the door without incident, but the enemy’s underground forces appear to be moving with dizzying speed. Most likely, Braver realized we have Daedalus’s Notebook,” Fels said.

  “And thanks to that, we made it here just in the nick of time,” the lizardman responded.

  “But there’s not a single enemy in this passage. Must be one of the enemy’s blind spots,” the gargoyle pointed out.

  “Gros is right. Loki Familia doesn’t know that this underground passage exists. Looks like the plan was our trump card after all,” Fels said, looking down at the blueprint of Knossos copied from Daedalus’s Notebook to determine their route forward.

  The western orichalcum door was just around the corner.

  “Well then, Fels…” the siren Rei said.

  Fels nodded.

  “Yes. I don’t know if we can call it a victory, but we’ve almost reached our destination.”

  They hurried down the dim passage.

  “Whew…I wasn’t sure there for a while…but I’m glad they’ve made it,” Hestia said, sinking to the ground and letting out a long sigh as the tension drained from her body.

  She was still in the desolate tower on the southwestern outskirts of the Labyrinth District. It was no surprise that her shoulders had finally relaxed now that she had safely delivered the Xenos to Knossos. She deserved a prize for her meritorious service directing Bell and the others from place to place via the oculi.

  Beneath the night sky over her open command center, Hestia returned her gaze to the magic map spread out on the floor.

  “Bell and Haruhime are in the north, Lilly is still wandering around in the east, Welf and Mikoto are heading south…I guess we’re done. Looks like everyone will be okay from here on out.”

  The names of the Xenos had already disappeared from the magic map. That was because the Legacy of Daedalus that Fels had drawn up did not include the underground passages leading to Knossos. Since the Seeker Powder couldn’t turn the plan of Knossos into a magic map, Hestia no longer had any way of tracking the Xenos.

  “It sure is lonely here. I think I’ll go meet up with someone,” Hestia—who had been alone on the tower since Haruhime left—muttered, pulling the Notebook lying next to the map closer to her.

  “Boy, did Bell surprise me. I didn’t realize that passage existed…I mean, it’s not even in the plan,” she continued, puzzling over the underground passage he’d brought Wiene and the others to.

  Some of the passages seem to be dead ends…I wonder if the descendants of Daedalus constructed them, she mused to herself.

  It wasn’t impossible. In fact, there was a decent possibility that was the case.

  Hestia nodded to herself and flipped through Daedalus’s Notebook.

  “To think this book is a thousand years old…and it really saved us this time.”

  The book’s ragged condition spoke to its age. Drawings of the multilayered maze covered pages that had clearly been turned countless times, and here and there amid the text she came upon characters she couldn’t read. The words laid down in obsessive pursuit of that masterpiece of creation—the maze—together with the bloodstained binding were truly a testament to tenacity.

  As Hestia reread the pages of the ancient book that had helped them outwit Loki Familia, it suddenly slipped out of her hands.

  “Oh!”

  The book tumbled across the rooftop and, of all the worst luck, landed in a depression in one corner that was full of water from the previous day’s rain.

  “Oh no!! Not this th-th-th-th-th-thousand-year-old book!!”

  Of course, she should have been handling the precious tome with the utmost care. Fearing the worst, the suddenly pale Hestia rushed to pull it out of the puddle.

  “Captain, I’m extremely sorry…but we’ve lost track of the monsters.”

  As Finn stood at Loki Familia headquarters in the central zone of Daedalus Street listening to the report from his faction member, he was deep in thought.

  Should I have sent Riveria out when Gareth was held up? That black mist really threw a wrench in our communications…No, it’s a waste to think about it now.

  Finn’s instinct when he dispatched Gareth was to kill the group of monsters. They’d outmaneuvered him due to his fatal underestimation of the enemy’s strength—no, the strength of Hestia Familia standing behind the monsters—and having been stingy with his troops.

  And we still haven’t found the black minotaur. Did someone kill it…? No, I don’t think so. Something is going on with that minotaur.

  He had failed to achieve his main goal. Now his options were limited due to a number of factors, including the Knossos situation. He looked out at the Labyrinth District, which was still buzzing with the chaotic shouts of adventurers.

  More than anything, it’s because I can’t get a read on the enemy’s movements…

  If everything had gone according to the enemy’s plan, then their leader must be formidable. Finn acknowledged that. But there was still something he couldn’t understand.

  “You’re sure you lost sight of the monsters near the twenty-first district?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Finn frowned.

  The twenty-first district…No way, we surveyed that area, and…

  Finn’s guess had been completely off. He’d been totally outwitted.

  No, something was going on.

  “…”

  Finn looked down at his right hand.

  His thumb was throbbing with surprising force.

  “…Where in the world is the enemy heading?”

  “The mortal plane has gone crazy.”

  Somewhere in the world, someone cried out.

  The innumerable stories playing out on the world below belonged to the children, but still, the deities lurked in the background.

  Like marionettes on strings, or actors liste
ning to their lines whispered to them from backstage, or dancers whose performance was rewritten mid-step, the children were led by the divine will of the deities.

  “We are merely puppets of the gods and goddesses.”

  Somewhere in the world, someone gave up.

  “Fels, what next?”

  “Right at the next corner! That’s where the door is!”

  The Xenos advanced. They were heading for the red mark on the map that represented their one hope.

  Clawed feet struck the stone floor. Wings beat the air. A snake’s belly slithered over the ground, hooves beat it, and tails scraped across it. The monsters ran with all their might.

  Finally, they rounded the last corner.

  “Oh, it’s soaked!” Hestia sobbed, holding the book she had retrieved from the puddle.

  Then she gasped.

  “—Huh?”

  She felt as if time had stopped.

  “What? How could—? I can’t believe it!”

  Incoherent fragments fell from her lips as she held the wet binding in her hands. Her eyes widened as she stared at the page open before her. She lost all remaining composure.

  “How can this be…?”

  Trembling with fear, she let out a piercing cry.

  “Ouranos, what is the meaning of this?!”

  “…”

  On the altar in the underground shrine, the aged god drew his brows together and shut his eyes tightly.

  “What the—”

  The Xenos rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a horrifying sight.

  An enormous stone wall, without a single crack or seam, filled their entire field of vision.

  A massive wall blocking their path forward.

  The door that was supposed to save them was nowhere to be seen.

  “A dead end…?” Lido said in astonishment.

  “Fels…what’s going on? Did we make a wrong turn?” Gros asked.

  “This is impossible! I’m sure I read the map right…” Fels answered, looking down at the plan.

  The mage had followed the drawings the whole way, heading for the western door that Loki Familia was unaware of. But still, there stood the enormous wall.

  Is there a hidden door? No, the map didn’t indicate anything like that…

  Unbelievable. It’s like someone’s been manipulating us the whole time…