Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 3 Read online

  Prologue

  “ALEA JACTA EST”

  “Ottar. The boy has gotten stronger.”

  “Is that desirable, ma’am?”

  “Why, yes.”

  The room was dark. The weak light of dusk filtered in from outside the window.

  The corners of Freya’s lips curled upward in the flickering light from a single magic-stone lamp sitting on a table.

  This was the top floor of Babel Tower, built directly above the Dungeon itself.

  There were few furnishings in the room. While that might not have seemed suitable for the highest-class suite in the tower, each individual piece of furniture was beyond lavish. Likewise, every item was placed perfectly within the space to complement everything else.

  The décor included a massive bookcase, a bed so big that a normal mind could never have thought of it, and a stylish, dark red carpet. Framing the interior were large murals of the sun and moon.

  There, the silver-haired goddess Freya held a wineglass in her hand as she enjoyed a conversation with one of her followers.

  “I misjudged him. This isn’t simply about status. Just by obtaining magic, the boy’s soul now shines even brighter…To my eyes, it looks as if he has been polished.”

  She held her wineglass up in the cold moonbeam, gazing at the light as it reflected off the lazily sloshing liquid.

  The young white wine was crystal clear with no depth. And no flavor either, of course.

  But Freya smiled with her silver eyes as she brought the glass to her lips, almost as though she considered that pale color itself to be prized above all else.

  “His soul’s growth…is it so remarkable?”

  “Perhaps so. I wonder,” she replied to the stone-faced Ottar as he stood quietly in the corner of the room.

  He stood at attention, his eyes on his goddess.

  Her silver eyes meeting his rust-colored gaze, Freya slowly and deliberately lowered her eyelids.

  “However, there is something…just one thing keeping him from shining through. It’s holding him back, like shackles on his soul.”

  “……”

  “Yes, he has enough spirit to shine. Be that as it may, he lacks a strong core. No, he has a good core, but it looks clouded to me…as though something is missing, or blocking it.

  “Any ideas, Ottar?” asked Freya over her shoulder, seeking his opinion, as though needing the perspective of another male.

  The male animal person, built like a boulder, opened his lips to answer his mistress.

  “Perhaps his attachments.”

  “His attachments… ?”

  “Yes, it is as you have said, Mistress Freya: the boy’s attachments, his connection with the Minotaur…He may not even be aware of it himself, but some part of his past has become a thorn, constantly tormenting him from within.”

  Ottar knew of Bell’s encounter with a Minotaur in the dungeon. While Freya herself didn’t exactly hear the story from Bell’s mouth, she had gotten enough information to put the story together.

  It wasn’t much more than a guess, but she was fairly certain that Bell, with that weak body of his, had indeed lost to a Minotaur.

  Freya ran a curled finger down the side of her cheek, down to her chin.

  “He has some trauma, then…The children really are delicate. We may have a few attachments, but gods are not held back by the past. Very interesting…On the other hand, perhaps you see us as merely whimsical?”

  “Don’t be absurd.”

  “If you’d humor me every once in a while, I wouldn’t be so bored…”

  Ottar’s face remained unchanged. “Ah, well…” Freya muttered to herself as she cast her gaze back out the window and onto Bell.

  “So tell me, what can we do to free him from these restraints?”

  Freya narrowed her eyes as she glanced back at her servant and challenged him with the question.

  “A person can only break free from the chains of their past by their own hands. There is no other way.”

  The ever-stoic Ottar responded directly to his goddess’s question.

  “…Is that from personal experience?”

  “I believe that men are doomed to repeat their own mistakes.”

  Freya laughed quietly to herself before breaking eye contact.

  A cause for concern had just come to light. Freya’s good mood carried her deep into thought.

  If the shadow of this Minotaur monster is the cause, then the answer is simple: I don’t have to do anything, save wait. That boy will grow stronger still and climb over that wall…

  With enough time, Bell would become strong enough to defeat a Minotaur.

  All he had to do was escape from the past that still had him by the tail. There was no problem to solve.

  And the moment he slays the Minotaur, he will shine brighter than ever before…

  Once that happened, he would appear before her like a flower in full bloom; one radiant enough to make her fall for him all over again.

  She couldn’t wait, she admitted to herself. Bell was at the center of her universe now; he had become more appealing to Freya than anything else.

  She wanted him, very much.

  She wanted him to always be close enough to reach out and touch.

  Once her thoughts came to his point, Freya asked Ottar another question.

  “Ottar.”

  “What is it, ma’am?”

  “Do you not feel anything? I am becoming entranced with that boy, ignoring all of you already in my Familia.”

  Ottar’s face remained unchanged as Freya continued.

  “What would you do if that boy becomes stronger than you?”

  “……”

  “I might treasure him more than you. That place you are standing now might become his.”

  “As your heart desires, Mistress Freya.”

  “You wouldn’t be jealous?”

  Ottar responded with utmost sincerity and trust, without betraying any emotion as he spoke.

  “Your love is fair to all. While some may be special, no one is above the rest.”

  “……”

  “Even if you were to dismiss me from this post, I wholeheartedly believe that your love for me will not disappear.”

  Silver eyes locked with rusty ones.

  In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Ottar bent his gargantuan body forward and silently lowered his head.

  “I have said too much.”

  “I don’t mind. In fact, quite the opposite. You have become dearer to me.”

  “Your words bring me great joy.”

  They casually traded words as though they were so many blows.

  Freya let out a conniving laugh as she spun her beautiful voice into her response.

  “But it’s a shame. You’re always so rigid. I would’ve loved to see you green with envy.”

  “If that is what you desire.”

  “…Ha. Hee-hee! Ha-ha-ha! Would you please, Ottar? Please don’t make me laugh! If I saw your serious face burn with jealousy, I don’t think I could contain myself.”

  “……”

  Freya laughed, seemingly finding the notion truly amusing. She placed the palm of one hand over her mouth and hugged her waist with the other, as though she were a young girl trying to contain herself.

  As for Ottar, seeing his goddess like this finally got a reaction out of him, a small twitch of an ear. One of the catlike ears on the top of his head suddenly pointed in a strange direction.

  Once Freya had gotten her fill of laughter, she wiped her eyes and turned to face her very embarrassed subordinate to change the subject.
>
  “So Ottar, what do you think?”

  “…How do you mean?”

  “About the boy. Am I worried over nothing?”

  Ottar immediately repaired his posture.

  “He will soon become powerful enough to resist me. Powerful enough to break free from these ‘attachments’ you spoke of.”

  “……”

  “But, part of me is worried if that is well enough. I can’t explain it in words…Eventually, it’s just a matter of time, before I know it…All of those phrases keep going through my head, and I feel, somehow, timid. I know it’s not true, but I feel like I’m in the wrong.” Freya whispered under her breath, “Perhaps I’m overthinking it.”

  It was all she could do to muse, vaguely, that nothing was wrong, and that she had done nothing wrong.

  There were no particularly strong grounds for this. But Freya had watched many talented children grow in her Familia, and all of them had grown strong given enough time. Surely this boy would follow the same pattern.

  At this moment, Ottar squinted his eyes for the first time.

  “Ottar, do you think time will solve this problem, too?”

  “Yes, indisputably. Given enough time, it will happen. It’s just…”

  Ottar let his words hang for a moment before speaking with full confidence.

  “Those who do not go on adventures will never break out of their shell. That is a fact.”

  He fell silent.

  His true feelings had been revealed.

  Somewhere else in Orario, there was a half-elf with the opposite opinion.

  These, though, were the words of a man who had survived many close calls—a mature adult who had been forged in the flames of battle. He clearly stated that those who don’t go on adventures would never rise past a certain level.

  Ottar had pointed out the possibilities of an unknown that even Freya couldn’t see.

  Indeed, it wasn’t Freya, but Ottar who saw what the boy could become.

  “…I leave his development in your hands, Ottar.”

  The Goddess of Beauty set the glass of white wine down.

  Closing both eyes, it was as if she had turned her back on him.

  It was only then that Ottar couldn’t hide a hint of suspicion on his face.

  “…And what caused this change in the wind?”

  “It’s it obvious? You now understand the boy better than I do.”

  Freya’s head was down, her voice sounding like that of a pouting child.

  She then raised her head, laughing in a very glamorous fashion.

  “Enough to make me jealous.”

  Chapter 1

  THE KENKI APPROCHES

  The sun was shining down from directly overhead.

  Its light brightened the main street north of Babel Tower.

  Very few adventurers came up this way; civilians filled the street as well as a certain open café. The seats were occupied by people laughing and enjoying the warmth of the midday sun.

  Bell and Lilly sat across from each other at a table surrounded by the parasols of the many patrons enjoying their lunch outside.

  “So, you’re done with Soma Familia?”

  “Yes. Because Lilly has no doubt that they think she’s dead.”

  A day had passed since Bell and Lilly made their party anew.

  Bell wanted to know about Lilly’s current situation, and was listening to her explanation.

  “Since Lilly is dead, there is no reason for her to continue being involved in Soma Familia. At the same time, Soma Familia won’t come looking for her. Why would they? Lilly’s gone, after all.”

  Lilly continued, explaining that they shouldn’t cause a problem for Bell, either.

  Bell’s brow darkened slightly as he took in Lilly’s face, her clear eyes and charming features now clearly visible thanks to the disappearance of her bangs, which vanished upon her transformation.

  “Don’t worry about me…Anyway, are you sure you’re okay with being labeled as dead?”

  “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Bell. But it’s better to cut them off. Lilly doesn’t have anyone to rely on over there anyway…And as you know, Mr. Bell, Lilly is satisfied with that.”

  Lilly was speaking from her heart. Bell understood, and decided not to push any further on this topic.

  He didn’t want to reopen any of the girl’s wounds, so he considered the matter resolved.

  “I’ll take you at your word, Lilly. But I wonder if Soma Familia will find out? That you’re alive, I mean.”

  “Lilly can’t guarantee that they won’t, but she’s spent the past two days erasing any trail that could lead to her. There isn’t any need to worry. Plus, Lilly has this.”

  Lilly lightly placed her hands on her head with a small thud and rubbed her hair. Her usual chestnut-colored hair shifted to a dark brown as cat ears popped out of her head just behind her hands. Her eyes had become a golden brown.

  “Cinder Ella.”

  Thanks to this magic, Lilly always had an ace up her sleeve. No matter how anyone looked at the girl now, they would see an Animal People child. While the shape of Lilly’s face was mostly unchanged, she looked nothing like the prum she really was.

  As long as this “ace” was a secret, the chances that anyone else would be able to realize this girl was Lilliluka Erde were one in a million. Bell himself had been shocked when he found out about Lilly’s magic.

  “Umm, so then…”

  “Yes, there’s no problem. Even if someone found out, they would never be able to make trouble for you, Mr. Bell.”

  Bell grimaced and nodded, not worried about his own safety. Yet at the same time, he did feel relieved.

  With things how they were, there was almost no way that Lilly would get caught up in another dangerous situation. And even if she were, Bell would be able to help.

  Truth be told, Bell felt angry and sad after hearing what Lilly had to say—angry at those who would treat others as if they weren’t people, and sad that those who did would go unpunished.

  However, thinking about it from Lilly’s position, she shouldn’t be involved with Soma Famiila at all. To do so now would be like calling a pack of wolves onto both Lilly and Bell.

  As long as Lilly was safe, nothing else mattered. Bell forced his own misgivings out of his mind as he arrived at that conclusion.

  They’d already buried the hatchet.

  While it wasn’t completely gone, the distance between Bell and Lilly had almost disappeared. They were comfortable enough with each other now to reach out and shake hands.

  It’s a blank slate from today, Bell thought as a smile emerged on his lips.

  “……Mr. Bell.”

  “Eh? What is it?”

  “Is this really okay with you, Mr. Bell?”

  “Huh?”

  “Is it okay to forgive Lilly like this?”

  At that moment, Lilly’s expression was the exact opposite of Bell’s, dark and dispirited.

  She looked up at Bell with the eyes of a criminal begging for forgiveness.

  “Lilly tricked Mr. Bell. She took advantage of Mr. Bell’s kindness and betrayed him.”

  “……”

  “And there’s no way to return what Lilly stole. If she’s forgiven like this, Lilly’ll…”

  This was the reason the two couldn’t get much closer than a handshake.

  Lilly felt horrible. Guilt hung over her head. She craved redemption.

  She was tormented by the things she had done in her past. Bell had lost count of how many times she had apologized.

  Lilly had lost everything, due to recent events. All of the money and items she carried with her, as well as her life savings of gnome jewels, had been stolen from her by a former “ally” in Soma Familia. The knowledge that she had absolutely nothing to give Bell to help make up for what she had taken from him was driving her mad.

  No matter how many times Bell told her not to worry about it, rather than cheering up, she looked more and more depress
ed. It was like she wanted some kind of punishment, something more than just a slap on the wrist.

  But I’m not asking for anything like that…Bell’s face contorted as if he’d just lost an argument. He looked back over the table at Lilly.

  He wasn’t good at this kind of thing—not just deciding punishment, but even looking down on someone from a moral high ground made Bell uncomfortable.

  Up until now, his situation had always been the opposite.

  Bell racked his brain, trying to find some way to help alleviate Lilly’s feelings of guilt, when reinforcements arrived.

  “He-ey! Bell!”

  “Ah! Goddess!”

  Bell stood up as the voice of a young girl called his name. Just as he expected, the goddess Hestia had arrived at the café.

  Hestia wasn’t very tall. In fact, she wasn’t all that much different from Lilly in terms of height. The goddess wove through the vibrant crowd of customers and made her way to Bell and Lilly’s table.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you been here long?”

  “No, not at all. I’m the one who should apologize. You had to take time off from your job to come here…”

  “Nothing to worry about. So then…this is the girl?”

  “Ah, yes. She’s the one I told you about…”

  “I-I’m Lilliluka Erde. N-nice to meet you.” Lilly jumped off the chair and made a quick bow.

  The two of them had come to the café today at Hestia’s request.

  Her intentions were clear. She wanted to see with her own eyes the supporter working with the only member of her Familia.

  If Lilly didn’t receive Hestia’s permission, their newly reformed party could be disbanded before it even got started. Knowing that was a very real possibility, Lilly couldn’t hide her nervousness as she looked up to face the goddess.

  Sensing the tension, a small “ah” escaped Bell’s lips as if he suddenly remembered something important.

  “Oh no. I forgot to get a chair for you, Goddess…”

  “……! What, it’s nothing to worry about! With this many people, I doubt there’s a spare chair anyway. Go ahead and have a seat, Bell. I’ll sit on your knee!”

  “Ha-ha-ha, you sure like joking around like that, don’t you, Goddess? Just wait here for a minute. I’ll go find someone and get another chair ready.”