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

  Copyright

  IS IT WRONG TO TRY TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON?, Volume 7

  FUJINO OMORI

  Translation by Andrew Gaippe

  Cover art by Suzuhito Yasuda

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  DUNGEON NI DEAI WO MOTOMERU NO WA MACHIGATTEIRUDAROUKA vol. 7

  Copyright © 2015 Fujino Omori

  Illustrations copyright © 2015 Suzuhito Yasuda

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2015 by SB Creative Corp.

  This English edition is published by arrangement with SB Creative Corp., Tokyo, in care of Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2016 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Ōmori, Fujino, author. | Yasuda, Suzuhito, illustrator.

  Title: Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon? / Fujino Omori ; illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda.

  Other titles: Danjon ni deai o motomeru nowa machigatte iru darōka. English.

  Description: New York : Yen ON, 2015– | Series: Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? ; 7

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015029144 | ISBN 9780316339155 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316340144 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316340151 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316340168 (v. 4 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316314794 (v. 5 : pbk.) | 9780316394161 (v. 6 : pbk.) | 9780316394178 (v. 7 : pbk.)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Fantasy. | BISAC: FICTION / Fantasy / General. | FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.O54 Du 2015 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015029144

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-39417-8 (paperback)

  978-0-316-39422-2 (ebook)

  E3-20161121-JV-PC

  PROLOGUE

  THE DIVINE ARE MERCILESSLY EROTIC ROYALTY

  Distant lights sparkled in the damp darkness of a rocky passageway.

  The flickering dots created long shadows at the feet of monsters. Fire-breathing hellhounds growled as they sniffed the air. The white fur of a pack of horned almirage rippled as they looked around restlessly with their adorable faces, floppy bunny-like ears bouncing in time with their feet. The beasts were on the hunt, using their extraordinarily sharp senses of smell and hearing to locate the invaders crazy enough to enter their territory.

  Monsters tracked their prey as they snaked their way through the countless tunnels of the intricate maze known as the Dungeon.

  Somewhere deep within—KASHH KASHH.

  The sounds of digging echoed through the hallways.

  “Hey…is this really the right spot for mining?”

  “Ahhh, do you doubt Lilly’s information? Lilly did the proper research, and she knows that upper-class adventurers bring home lots of those stones from this area.”

  A young girl used a portable magic-stone lamp to illuminate an area for the young man to slam his mattock into the cavern wall.

  Welf and Lilly worked in a dark corner of the Dungeon while quietly bickering back and forth.

  “Sir Welf, Lady Lilly…still no success?”

  “M-monsters could be here any moment…I don’t know how much more my nerves can take…”

  Two new hushed voices joined the conversation coming from Mikoto and Bell.

  All four adventurers were careful to keep their bodies low and out of sight. The boy with ruby-red eyes and white hair and the young girl with long black locks tied into a ponytail were sidled up close beside where Welf and Lilly engaged with the cavern wall. Bell and Mikoto were serving as lookouts. Needless to say, they were watching for monsters.

  They were in a semicircular small room at the end of a long, narrow hallway. The four of them had come here to mine the Dungeon for a specific stone. If a group of monsters came barreling down the lone path or burst from the Dungeon walls around them, there would be no escape. With no end to their mission in sight, the two human lookouts shed another drop of nervous sweat every time the mattock hit the stone wall.

  The wall that Lilly and Welf were facing bore the scars of their labor while hundreds of pieces of stone littered the floor around them. As of yet, they had still not hit pay dirt, and as Bell listened to the pair’s unproductive bickering with an unreadable expression on his face, he happened to spy a spare mattock at Welf’s feet. Abandoning his post, the boy went to pick up the tool and set to work.

  The tool itself was made from the same material as many of the weapons and armor used by adventurers. Trying it out, Bell swung the metal tool against the cavern wall a few times.

  Just as he began, rock crumbled away and a few twinkling objects fell to the floor.

  “Ah.”

  “““AH!”””

  A few flashes of light caught their attention as the ore rolled on the ground.

  “W-we’ve done it! It’s blood onyx!”

  “You did it, Bell!”

  “As expected, truly!!”

  Relief and joy instantly spread throughout the party as they picked up three of the gemstones, stowed them in a small bag, and quickly left the dead end behind.

  Transitioning from the subterranean cul-de-sac into a much wider regular path in the Dungeon, they finally got a chance to breathe.

  “As requested, we have collected more than two blood onyx…And with this, our quest is complete, right?”

  Lilly took one of the minerals out of the bag as they walked through the room. She examined the black onyx’s surface, directing her gaze at the bands of bloodred and coal-black reflecting light from above. Welf and Mikoto, walking close beside their supporter to protect her, exchanged smiles as they were drawn in, too.

  “Our other quest for the almirage furs was fulfilled after slaying that pack a while ago as well…”

  “Yeah. Got ’em both done real quick…You know, Bell, ever since I joined up with you guys, drop items and stones like today seem to just fall into our laps. Do you just have really good luck?”

  “Ah-ha-ha-haa…”

  Bell had received two quests from Eina before Apollo’s banquet was held. The deadline was fast approaching, so the party of four adventurers had journeyed to the thirteenth floor in the middle levels of the Dungeon.

  Bell laughed drily at Welf’s comment. About one month ago, when he obtained the Advanced Ability “Luck,” Eina had taken a guess as to its effect—and now her words bubbled up in the back
of Bell’s mind.

  Now that he thought about it, drop items seemed to be appearing at a higher rate than before he leveled up…The boy tilted his head and mumbled to himself.

  “Is this really okay? There was no time left on the quests, but…There’s so much work to do with moving into our new home, but we dropped all that and came down here…”

  “It’s always necessary to think about the future, Mr. Bell. That doesn’t change just because the familia got bigger.”

  Following Lilly’s merry comment, Welf turned and smiled.

  “And I’m sure after the War Game and all, you wanted a chance to test out your current power, ain’t that right?”

  Welf keenly pointed this out almost like an older brother, leaving Bell speechless for a moment. The white-haired boy nodded sheepishly as he said, “A-a bit…” He was lost for words as he looked at the man resting a greatsword on his shoulder.

  They had overcome the fierce battles of the War Game, deepened their bonds, acquired new strengths, and become family in the process.

  Today was their first trip into the Dungeon as the reborn Hestia Familia.

  “—Everyone, get ready.”

  Mikoto, her eyes locked on the path ahead of them, sounded the alarm.

  Even before she finished speaking, Bell and the others drew their various weapons as quickly as Mikoto, everyone on their guard. All of them spotted the many sets of glinting eyes rushing in their direction from deep in the darkness.

  Welf and Bell moved to the front as the first wave of beasts came into the light.

  “I’m counting on you to take point!”

  “On it!”

  More than ten creatures leaped from the monsters’ ranks, aiming to slash at the party in a swarm.

  The hellhounds preparing to launch their ranged fireball attacks were the very first targets for the two flashing knives and greatsword. High-speed slashes dismembered the attacking monsters’ bodies, while a slash with the ferocity of a sledgehammer struck a particularly large monster, smashing it to pieces.

  “Lady Lilly, a spear!”

  Mikoto moved into position behind Bell and Welf, who had already begun fighting, with her long black ponytail fluttering behind her.

  Wasting no time, Lilly thrust a hand into her backpack and drew a short metal stake with a blade on one end. She threw the weapon with all her might, and when it flipped horizontally, in the blink of an eye, it extended into a two-meder-long pole before landing in Mikoto’s grasp.

  A collapsible silver lance. The former member of Takemikazuchi Familia wielded the weapon with ease from the center as she covered the flanks of the two forward attackers. Her swift, accurate strikes skewered the agile almirage one after another. It wasn’t long before a trail of monster corpses and piles of ash were left in her wake.

  Without missing a beat, she moved to intercept the natural weapons used by the monsters—stone tomahawks—and deflected them away from Bell and Welf.

  “Well, it appears that Lilly’s completely not needed anymore.”

  Standing by in the rear, Lilly looked over her comrades while admiring their handiwork. The entire encounter took less than a minute from start to finish.

  Bell had become strong enough to pierce enemy ranks, carrying the party on the offense. He and Welf had learned how to anticipate each other’s movements, their teamwork improving with each battle. Now that Mikoto had joined their group, they could count on additional support from the center of their formation. Since Bell could focus solely on attacking, their battle party was much more balanced than before and at least twice as powerful. With an upper-class adventurer and a High Smith strengthening their forward and center ranks, they had a distinct advantage over the monsters on this level.

  “There’s nothing to fear on level thirteen!” Lilly gleefully declared, happy instead of sad that she no longer had a role to play during battles. She hummed cheerfully while making her way to the line of monster corpses to perform her role as a supporter: to collect the spoils of battle.

  That’s when they heard something.

  Ferocious war cries of monsters and a noisy, deep-voiced yell.

  “Isn’t that…a scream?”

  “They are steadily approaching…I-it can’t be.”

  Thud thud thud thud thud thud! Bell and Mikoto were petrified as the sounds echoed and approached from the darkness.

  And a heartbeat later…

  Just as they had feared, a group of adventurers emerged from a hallway, pursued by an even larger horde of monsters.

  “They’re coming right for Lilly and everyone…?!”

  “Hang on a sec, hasn’t this exact damn thing happened before?!”

  The oncoming party of adventurers was madly running for their lives. That was, until they caught a glimpse of Bell’s battle party. Their leader sneered as his bloodshot eyes twisted with glee.

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…!” Mikoto desperately apologized in response to Welf’s outburst.

  “You guys—Hestia Familia, aren’t ’cha?! Be grateful, we’ll share our haul with you!”

  “Like hell you will!! As if we need ’em!”

  “R-run!”

  Passing off monsters from one party to another—a pass parade. Welf’s enraged shouts and Bell’s terrified screams overlapped as they approached.

  Bell and his battle party turned their backs to the oncoming adventurers and the thirty-plus monsters not far behind them and took off at full speed.

  “Who the hell was it who said we had nothing to fear on this floor?”

  “It depends on the time and place!! Gah, Lilly couldn’t even collect any magic stones…!”

  “Lady Lilly, quickly! Hand me the backpack!”

  “Wh-which way was the exit again?”

  Welf readjusted the greatsword against his shoulder and let his frustrations show. Mikoto took the large backpack from Lilly and quickly slung it over her own shoulders. Bell swooped in and picked up the short prum girl, running as fast as he could with her in his arms.

  The monsters picked up their pace, excited by the smell of even more fresh meat in front of them.

  The reborn Hestia Familia used everything they had to escape from the Dungeon.

  Night.

  Shrouded in darkness beneath the crescent moon, countless magic-stone lamps dotted the cityscape of Orario.

  Standing proudly in the middle of Adventurers Street—Guild Headquarters, the majestic Pantheon. The clang of metal upon metal rang out from the industrial districts. The business quarter truly came alive, with rounds of thunderous applause bursting from the theaters and excited cheers echoing out of the casinos. Indeed this city, blessed with the resources harvested from the Dungeon, never slept, the hustle and bustle never ending.

  In this thriving metropolis that seemed to symbolize prosperity itself, there was a certain place.

  Flirtatious voices came from within the many small buildings that lined the street there.

  Sometimes strong and sometimes barely above a whisper, these were the voices of men and women consumed by passion. Flickering candlelight illuminated the pairs of shadows intertwining on many of the windows and walls up and down the street, forms braided on beds.

  Here desires turned into money, filled with bordellos as far as the eye could see.

  The aptly named Night District felt completely different from the rest of the city. Dimly lit and seemingly standing apart from all the other streets and neighborhoods, it was always permeated with a mysterious, bewitching atmosphere.

  “…That shithead.”

  Where people indulged their cravings and appetites, the brothels.

  She sat above it all, watching from the highest floor of her own palace.

  The shapely woman was heavily accessorized with a golden crown, earrings, an ornate necklace decorating her cleavage, and bracelets around her wrists and ankles.

  The only piece of cloth on her body that could truly be called clothing was a thin skirt around her hips, he
ld in place by a cord tied at her side. There was nothing keeping her voluptuous breasts from view; only one strap of cloth prevented her from exposing everything to the world. Her perfectly proportioned hourglass figure and silky smooth coppery skin, openly displayed, were enough to make any man lose his mind. Her beauty was strong enough to bring a country to its knees—her divinity simply took it one step further. Truly, gender mattered not when looking at her body, which could hold anyone prisoner as it exuded a sweet, alluring aroma.

  Her room was dark, illuminated by only the crescent moon and stars above. With the room open to the night air on all sides, she had a perfect view of the tower standing in the middle of the city. She glared at it, as if trying to burn it down with sheer intensity and loathing.

  She stood in the highest place in all the Night District.

  However, she wasn’t satisfied.

  As for why, it was because of the chalk-white tower in the center of the city that pierced the skies, soaring overhead as though looking down on her, laughing at her.

  The woman stared daggers at the highest floor of that tower.

  That’s where that vile woman would be even now, a Goddess of Beauty like her—the silver-haired goddess whom she hated most of all.

  “Why are you there? Why is it you and not me who sits on the throne?”

  Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.

  That woman was always looking down on her from the highest perch.

  As if she were no different from the rabble when viewed from such heights.

  Her beauty allowed that goddess to take anything she wanted within Orario—no, the world. And she was rubbing it in her face.

  That deplorable vixen. Unbelievable.

  Were all the children of Gekai, and the other gods, blind?

  Ignoring her own unparalleled beauty and giving that their attention? Categorically inconceivable.

  Cursing that goddess with every fiber of her being, the goddess Ishtar’s beauty warped into something much more frightening.

  “Don’t get full of yourself, Freya…”

  Fully drawn curtains let in the moonlight, illuminating Ishtar in profile.

  The irritating truth was that that goddess was not only higher ranked in name but led a familia more powerful than her own. So powerful, in fact, that they could prevent others from catching up.