Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 7

by Fujino Omori

  “Above all else, Lady Hestia would bear the largest burden. She might not realize it herself, but after the War Game, she has territory. Other deities will want to take it from her and cast her out.”

  We shouldn’t bring this to her attention. The goddess has enough to worry about as it is.

  Lilly’s small rant comes to an end. Her frigid tone held nothing back.

  Bringing up the goddess felt like the final lock of a straitjacket. There’s nothing I can say now.

  Mikoto can’t even look at Lilly. She’s slumping over, clearly hurting.

  “Hey, you don’t have to play devil’s advocate.”

  Welf tapped Lilly on the back of the head a few times with the book in his right hand.

  Lilly didn’t know how to react at first. But then she smacks the book away.

  “L-Lilly’s no devil’s advocate!”

  But she’s blushing. I watch for a moment and realize what’s going on, thanks to Welf.

  Lilly was forcing herself into this role—playing the bad guy.

  Doing it for our familia, for the goddess, and for us.

  Mikoto’s figured it out, too. Lilly hides her face as Welf steps forward and takes on the persona of a big brother.

  “As a member of this familia, I have to agree with Li’l E. I refuse to put us in danger.

  “But.” That word catches my attention. Mikoto and I immediately look up at him.

  “If the two of you want to do something, I’m here to help. I’ll see it through to the end, right next to you.”

  Words of encouragement! I see Mikoto’s face light up as a new hope swells in my chest. I still can’t form words, but for a completely different reason.

  My position, my hopes, and the responsibilities that come with them.

  I’m weighing all of it in my head, but it’s so heavy that I can’t move.

  There’s no clear answer, but it has to be here…I open my mouth to speak when suddenly—

  “HEY! Back to work! We’re not leaving here until this place is spotless!!”

  The goddess came to check on us. She’s standing in the doorframe, yelling at the top of her lungs.

  Our conversation comes to an immediate halt. Muscles springing back to life, all of us quickly jump back to our stations and our hands grab the first books in sight.

  “This conversation stays between us. Lady Hestia can’t know about it.”

  Lilly whispers just loud enough for us to hear after Lady Hestia exits. She warns us that it would only make the goddess worry.

  All of us give her a quick nod. “And!” She locks eyes with me.

  “Mr. Bell, please don’t even think about going to the Pleasure Quarter tonight! It will only cause more problems!!”

  “O-okay.”

  How did she know that I wanted to go check on Haruhime? Lilly goes on to say that as long as those Amazons have me marked as a target, going there would only put the familia in more danger. Now I really am forced to stay.

  I turn back to the bookshelf, feeling absolutely powerless. The goddess comes back into the room and tells us to split up. Each of us is assigned to a different area.

  “Sir Bell, thank you for informing me.”

  “Miss Mikoto…”

  Mikoto thanks me as we make our way through the hallway. I catch a glimpse of the side of her face as we part ways. She’s usually very composed, but I can see her true feelings are threatening to spill out…But I have a job to do right now.

  I go up the stairs and into another storage room. The air is pungent with the smell of old books.

  This is where it all started. The goddess gave me her Blessing in this room.

  Bookcases stuffed to their limit stand in front of all four walls, and the floor is littered with piles of books.

  A new wave of emotion sweeps over me as I step inside and set to work.

  “…”

  My eyes are drawn to a certain book sticking out of one of the bookcases. Checking to make sure I’m alone, I make my way over to it.

  Carefully picking it up by the spine, I open it.

  It’s a collection of heroic stories that I remember reading when I was young. I flip through the pages as my eyes race across them.

  There are quite a few of them in here. Memories come bubbling up as I go, until my eyes fall on a specific picture with the passage:

  “I know of the atrocities you have committed, wretched Babylon!

  How many men have you ensnared and dragged down a path of darkness and pain?

  Have you no shame, common whore?”

  It’s a scene where the main hero rejects a confession of love from a prostitute.

  The hero is standing over the lewdly clad prostitute, glaring at her.

  There are piles of male corpses in an arc behind the woman. There’s no denying that the hero is in the right.

  —“Prostitutes are the ruin of heroes.”

  Haruhime said that to me last night.

  Yes, prostitutes are the min of heroes.

  At the very least, it’s written here in this book about heroes.

  This hero just happens to have experienced a lot of pain by getting involved with one.

  By rejecting her, he incites her rage. She attempts to seek revenge but is slain by the hero’s hand in the end.

  Prostitutes are the objects of contempt, compassion, or empathy, perhaps, but never as someone to be saved from their fate.

  Those women have gone down an unclean path and are often the subjects of scorn and disdain.

  The heroes I’ve looked up to since childhood more than likely wouldn’t try to help them.

  “…No.”

  It’s just as Haruhime said.

  Prostitutes, who have sold their bodies and hearts for profit, would never have a hero come to their rescue.

  They wouldn’t be allowed to…stand among the heroes.

  “…”

  My eyes glance over the tragic story of this hero as I stand next to the bookcase.

  Feelings of powerlessness and gloom grip my heart. If it was going to make me feel like this, maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place, shouldn’t have felt any compassion for her, shouldn’t have learned anything.

  I keep asking questions and trying to answer them inside my head, hoping that some passing thought might solve all my problems.

  But I know I don’t want to regret meeting her.

  Each meeting is something special to be treasured, I’m sure of it.

  “…Gramps, I…”

  I replay the conversation downstairs in my mind. Things that I should do, things that I want to do. My head heavy with words and voices, I glance outside at the twilight.

  The deep red in the western sky is being overtaken by the darkness of night.

  A golden-yellow moon hung high in the night sky.

  Haruhime stared up at it from her place in the gallery.

  She gazed at the light beaming down, tracing its path all the way to the other brothels in the red-light district. Tonight was just as busy as last night.

  Sitting next to her was a large group of humans and other demi-humans, all wearing red kimonos. The eyes of many potential male customers passed over them.

  However, on this night Haruhime sat on her knees with her back pointed straight up and her eyes looking through the crowd of men.

  —Is he there, is he there?

  She was looking for the white head of the boy she met last night.

  Her golden bushy tail flicked back and forth each time a new face came into view.

  Last night was truly…

  Fun. It was like a dream.

  She hadn’t experienced anything like it since the olden days when her friends would come and take her out of the manor in her hometown.

  His kindness and warmth had had a profound effect on Haruhime.

  And his ruby-red eyes were stunningly beautiful.

  They were so pure she could see clear into his heart.

  She couldn�
��t help but smile every time she remembered any one of the stories they talked about. Her chest felt warm whenever she thought of his voice.

  “Maaaster!”

  One of the women seated in front of Haruhime in the lineup called out to a passing man, her lusty voice filled with excitement.

  There had once been another woman who worked alongside Haruhime who developed feelings for a customer.

  Another animal person like herself, Haruhime could still remember the triumphant look in her eyes when she declared, “You wouldn’t understand.

  “Only when you fall in love will you know.” Those were her words.

  That, or something close to it, might be what she was feeling now.

  It was just like those stories she’d read in her youth. A hero would suddenly appear and whisk her away to a different world, saving her from an empty life, just like how the heroines fell for their rescuers.

  If…if that boy…

  The power of her imagination had deteriorated substantially since her childhood. But now it was reinvigorated.

  While few in number, she did know of a few prostitutes who had received “redemption” from an adventurer and left the Pleasure Quarter for good.

  Most of them, however, were once again alone after said adventurer failed to return from the Dungeon and they fell on hard times…The others left Orario behind, traveling the world together as partners.

  If this dream came true for her—Haruhime’s train of thought came to a crashing halt.

  It was only her imagination, but she couldn’t believe that she let such a frivolous idea connect itself with the boy.

  Prostitutes didn’t deserve that kind of opportunity. She couldn’t do anything and therefore was worthless.

  But more importantly, Lady Ishtar would never let me leave.

  “…”

  Haruhime ran her fingers down the black collar around her throat. She let her head fall, resigning herself to her fate.

  Despite being surrounded by the other prostitutes in the vibrant Pleasure Quarter, she had never felt more alone.

  There was a great demand for them in Orario.

  The fastest way for someone to earn money in the city, other than becoming an adventurer, was to sell their body in the Pleasure Quarter. Once they had gained notoriety—by developing connections with famous adventurers and influential familias—they could wield a bit of power.

  With a strong familia in their court, Haruhime had been told, the feeling rivals that of becoming a queen.

  There are many prostitutes who heard stories of this as well and came to Orario of their own free will. Even without a Blessing, they were able to use this power to set up their own establishments.

  Just like for adventurers, becoming well known in the Labyrinth City meant that a person acquired influence as well. The promise of power had drawn in most of the prostitutes she knew. Very few shared a past like hers.

  The only reason that she had value as a prostitute was because of her race. Renarts were extremely rare and would attract many customers.

  …I…

  It might have been easier for her to scream out, “Why was I doomed to this fate?”

  Or she could have directed all her anger at the prum noble who created this mess in the first place.

  But she lacked the courage to scream and was too afraid to hate another person.

  Haruhime knew this about herself.

  “Not that face again. Flash a grin already.”

  The more experienced prostitute sitting next to her quietly scolded Haruhime for looking depressed in the lineup.

  Her head and shoulders snapped up as a reflex. Her face emerged above the front row of the gallery, revealing her to all the men standing outside the brothel that served as her prison.

  She had been very proud of her golden locks as a child living in the manor. But now, they were her least favorite feature.

  Her ears and golden hair made her stick out like a sore thumb. Every one of the men standing outside instantly looked at her.

  It was the same as always.

  A dreamy expression overtook a slender chienthrope when their eyes met.

  Never look away from a customer, even if he’s not your type—the voice of her superior jolted through her mind. She maintained eye contact with the dog person and did her best to make a doll-like smile.

  She could see the wheels turning in his head, the courage he was trying to build up. The dog person kept his eyes on her as he ran to the brothel entrance connected to the gallery.

  That’s right, the boy was quite surprised…

  Last night’s chance encounter replaying in her mind, it looked like she’d be selling herself once again tonight.

  Her face remained as emotionless as a smiling doll’s, but the other prostitutes in the lineup spotted something interesting outside.

  “Hey there, lover boy!”

  “Hunky man, why don’cha call on me tonight?”

  A new face had appeared just outside the wooden fence—a young human with graceful features. The working ladies immediately greeted him with enthusiasm.

  He was looking at each of the prostitutes in turn, until finally his gaze landed on Haruhime.

  His eyes shot open as the young man jumped forward and clung to the wooden fence with all his might.

  “Lady Haruhime?! It is I—Mikoto!”

  Haruhime stopped breathing.

  The voice, and the serious, straightforward look in the human’s eyes were enough to know “he” was telling the truth.

  It was her childhood friend who should be far away from here—Mikoto, disguised as a man.

  Haruhime had been unable to witness the War Game because no Divine Mirrors had been opened in the red-light district. She’d had no way of knowing that someone from her past was living in the same city. Confusion and panic now threatened to overtake her.

  Frozen in place, her body began to shake so hard that a small ring on her collar started to clatter.

  —Why here, why now?!

  This was not the joyous reunion she had envisioned, but the deepest pits of her despair.

  The final dream she’d kept, returning to her homeland and happily embracing the friends who had meant so much to her, was gone, shattered. Her past self who lived in their memories was completely destroyed, now that they knew what had become of her.

  So embarrassing!! So humiliating!! So utterly humiliating!!

  The last of the shame she possessed set her body on fire from within. She wanted to scream, “Don’t look at me!” at the top of her lungs. She would have given anything for a knife to cut the soiled clothing off her body so she could tear it to shreds.

  Why…

  Why now? Why did she have to come now?

  If only this day had come a few days later, she would never have had to face this shameful reunion.

  The other women followed Mikoto’s line of sight; now everyone was staring at Haruhime. Trembling from head to tail, she forced her mouth open to speak.

  “…You must have me confused with another. I do not know you…”

  Tears started to well up behind Mikoto’s wide, unblinking eyes.

  A woman appeared in the doorway that led to the reception desk. Taking in the moment, she raised her voice.

  “Haruhime, you have a customer.”

  “At once…”

  Willing her body to remain still, the renart rose to her feet.

  Mikoto pressed herself against the fence and desperately called out to Haruhime before she disappeared from sight.

  “Wait, please wait, Lady Haruhime!”

  Looking away from her childhood friend, Haruhime left the gallery.

  “Don’t make a fool of yourself today.”

  Haruhime passed a particularly tan Amazon in the hallway. She said nothing in response to the other woman’s blunt instructions.

  “Yes, ma’am,” she finally said, her mind surfacing for a brief moment from the darkness that had overtaken her. The Amazon continue
d on her way, leaving Haruhime alone with her thoughts as she walked to the room where a man was most likely waiting for her.

  The glowing lanterns of the red-light district glistened far below.

  Aisha watched the flow of people going through the Far Eastern–style portion of the Pleasure Quarter until the squeak of a door signaled the arrival of the one who had called this meeting. She stepped away from the window and walked to the middle of the room.

  Members of Ishtar Familia had gathered in a spacious meeting room on the twentieth floor of their home.

  A group of Amazons had grabbed chairs and sofas from the space and dragged them into the middle—said Amazons being the leaders of the familia as well as the strongest warriors among them. The Berbera had assembled. Phryne claimed one of the largest sofas for herself and occupied a spot in the very middle of the room.

  Aisha roughly plopped her full weight onto an open sofa and waited for their deity, Ishtar, to walk up to their makeshift circle of sofas and chairs.

  “Looks like everybody’s here.”

  Her personal assistant, Tammuz, was quick to pull up a chair for his goddess. Ishtar took a long drag from her pipe before taking a seat.

  The reason that everyone had gathered here tonight was because Ishtar had issued an urgent summons.

  “Calling a meeting out of the blue like this, what happened, Lady Ishtar?”

  “I was plannin’ on huntin’ down a particularly nice male tonight.”

  Ishtar paid no mind to the Amazons’ complaints and opened her mouth to speak.

  “All of you avoid Freya’s brats—and bring me Bell Cranell.”

  The congregation fell silent.

  Then, almost immediately, “But you’ll just devour him, Lady Ishtar!” And a wave of other complaints surged forward from the Amazons. The jealousy in their voices was obvious, but all Ishtar did was say, “Settle down,” with a grin.

  “What was the part about avoidin’ Freya Familia?”

  Aisha leaned back onto her sofa and raised a different question. Ishtar answered.

  “It seems that she’s obsessed with the boy but isn’t making a move for some reason. And I’m going to snatch him before she does.”