Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 12 Read online

  Copyright

  IS IT WRONG TO TRY TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON?, Volume 12

  FUJINO OMORI

  Translation by Winifred Bird

  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. 12

  Copyright © 2017 Fujino Omori

  Illustrations copyright © 2017 Suzuhito Yasuda

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2017 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 © 2018 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 try to pick up girls in a dungeon? ; 12

  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.) | ISBN 9780316394161 (v. 6 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316394178 (v. 7 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316394185 (v. 8 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316562645 (v. 9 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442459 (v. 10 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442473 (v. 11 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975354787 (v. 12 : 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: 978-1-9753-5478-7 (paperback)

  978-1-9753-5479-4 (ebook)

  E3-20180926-JV-PC

  Contents

  Cover

  Insert

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Character & Story

  Prologue: Deities and Blood and Familias and Stories

  Chapter 1: Rabbit Close-Up

  Chapter 2: Adventure Intermission

  Chapter 3: New World ~Water Island~

  Chapter 4: A Hunter at the Water’s Edge

  Chapter 5: Bride of the Water Capital

  Chapter 6: The Hero’s Sacred Flame

  Epilogue: Gale Wind’s News

  Afterword

  Yen Newsletter

  PROLOGUE

  DEITIES AND BLOOD AND FAMILIAS AND STORIES

  A single drop of blood fell, setting off ripples.

  A thousand long years ago, this was called a ceremony.

  A mortal vessel would receive the droplet from a deity, then begin their climb toward the next level. Some said this ritual was the key to grasping the future, providing people with the strength needed to crush evil and overcome great challenges.

  But the gods heard that story and laughed, saying there was no need to overcomplicate things.

  The blood was a stimulant, merely a trigger. It released the potential that was shut away within mortals, unlocking limitless abilities that even the gods could not foresee. These mortals were the ones who carried themselves along unending paths, overcame cresting waves, withstood torrential rain, and faced storms head-on. They were the ones who pulled their oars through the vast sea as they journeyed to places beyond the horizon.

  One deity apologized, saying it was wrong to push their Wills upon the children.

  One deity dodged the issue, saying that all parents found happiness in watching their children grow.

  One deity prayed for a hero to shoulder the burden of the appointed era.

  Across the ages, many deities bled their fingers and, with their own designs in mind, drizzled their blood onto the world.

  Ever since long ago and still to this day…

  After the falling droplet set off ripples of light, the human’s skin trembled like the surface of a pool of water as it was splashed with ichor. All at once, black characters danced across the flesh. The flitting symbols looked exactly like the words of an oracle floating within a sacred flame. One by one, as a slender finger traced them, they became part of a carved seal that resembled an epitaph.

  Hieroglyphs.

  Using excelia—the invisible chronicle of the children—in place of ink, the hand of the deity induced the Falna to sublime into a new form.

  As if she was writing down a new story.

  As if she was turning to the next page.

  She enjoyed this sensation. Her heart danced indescribably as the fragments of a tale filled the blank page. It was her special privilege to be the first to read the story. It was a treasure that no one could steal from her. This was a special time, a moment of her personal, unique connection with the boy. More than anything, that was what she held dear.

  Like a child whose eyes glittered as she listened to a fairy tale, she smiled faintly at the orbit of the story’s star.

  And then she turned to a fresh page.

  Drawn on his back, the true names of the deity and her familia members glimmered subtly alongside their symbol, a flame.

  Finally, she stopped moving her hand and pulled away from his back.

  Having finished penning the story, the goddess spoke with emotion, as if letting out a breath she had held for a long time within her breast.

  “Congratulations, Bell…You’ve leveled up.”

  CHAPTER 1

  RABBIT CLOSE-UP

  “Thank you.”

  Bell rose and bowed to Hestia.

  “So it took, what, two months for you to go from Level Three to Level Four? Last time it was one month, so leveling up is getting steadily harder…but wow, your growth is truly astounding.”

  “Uh…sorry.”

  “What are you apologizing for?”

  Hestia and Bell were inside one of the rooms within Hearthstone Manor. Bell had been sitting on the edge of a bed while Hestia updated his status until he rose to take the stat sheet from Hestia before sitting back down. She lowered herself beside him. As he looked over the Koine text, his expression remained calm and quiet—or rather, earnest.

  He hadn’t shown any sign of surprise at hearing he’d leveled up, either.
/>   Perhaps he’d sensed it would happen—a feeling that his vessel would rise to the next stage.

  After all, he had made it through a life-or-death struggle with his greatest rival.

  “Bell.”

  “Yes?”

  “That black minotaur…Asterios, right? Was he…strong?”

  “…Yes.”

  He nodded as if lost in thought.

  The Guild had determined that the potential of the black minotaur—officially, it had been designated a subspecies of black rhino, a creature found in the deep levels—was Level 7. They’d recorded it as a first-class bounty monster based on the fact that during its rampage through the city, it had fought numerous adventurers, including some members of Loki Familia, making it as dangerous as a Monster Rex.

  Bell hadn’t taken Asterios down, but he was the only one to fight him head-on. A Level-3 adventurer took on a Level-7 monster and had come back alive. Without a doubt, it was a tremendous achievement. There certainly seemed to be adequate justification for Bell’s leveling up, even though he had lost to Asterios.

  But in this boy’s case…

  Hestia reflected on the current situation. The defeat might have meant something exceptional to Bell. Just as Freya had said at the most recent Denatus, some excelia had a special meaning, and this was one of those cases. As Hestia looked at the sitting boy whose eyes were downcast as if recalling a memory, she couldn’t help but feel that was the case. The rematch with the minotaur had drawn out his potential. Fate was an apt word to describe it.

  Of course, the groundwork for leveling up had been laid before the fight with Asterios. There had been Bell’s struggle with Ishtar Familia, his steady progress to reach the twentieth floor of the Dungeon, and then his battle against the violent hunters over the Xenos. There was no doubt about it—ever since he reached Level 3, he had been continuously accumulating high-grade excelia that was essential to leveling up.

  The battle with Asterios had only been the final push.

  “…Anyway, about your status…As usual, the count for your basic abilities has been reset, so the numbers start from zero again. There was only one development ability to choose when you leveled up, so I went ahead and gave it to you. Was that okay?”

  “Yes, that’s fine.”

  “Also, you’ve probably already noticed, but…you have a new skill.”

  Hestia had shaken off her meditative mood and was updating Bell on his Level-4 status. He nodded firmly, as if he was receiving something important, but that was all. Hestia shifted her gaze to his back.

  Bell Cranell

  Level 4

  Power: IO Defense: IO Dexterity: IO Agility: IO Magic: IO Luck: G Immunity: H Escape: I

  Magic

  Firebolt

  • Swift-strike magic

  Skills

  Liaris Freese

  • Rapid growth

  • Continued desire results in continued growth

  • Stronger desire results in stronger growth

  Argonaut

  • Charges automatically with active action

  Ox Slayer

  • When fighting minotaurs, all abilities are exponentially enhanced

  To start with, his new development ability was Escape.

  According to information provided by the Guild, this ability greatly enhanced speed during evasive maneuvers. More simply put, it allowed the user to make a quick exit. It only appeared at Level 4 or higher, and it was rare…but on the other hand, it was considered dishonorable because it manifested only in adventurers who had shown a truly extraordinary propensity for running away in the past.

  Thinking back on it, ever since the time he was a Level-1 adventurer all the way to the present, Bell had always been chased by something. From the minotaur and the silverback to Apollo Familia and Ishtar Familia, Bell Cranell’s story was a timeline of escapes.

  Hestia knew that, and she accepted that this ability had manifested for Bell. She did have some thoughts on the subject, but in the end, development abilities were rare and it was important to take whatever was available.

  She was more interested in the third skill.

  Ox Slayer was a slayer-type skill, meaning it could be used only against a specific type of enemy.

  By this point, there was little need to explain why it had appeared. It was the boy’s instinct, potential, and sheer will, made manifest through the mortal struggle with his old adversary. In all likelihood, the skill would allow Bell to draw on battle abilities well beyond his level whenever he fought Asterios or other minotaur-type monsters. It would make Bell an Ox Slayer in both name and reality.

  Hestia had been silently examining the status sheet, but now she slowly shifted her gaze away from it.

  “…”

  Bell looked as if he had finally come to his senses.

  Unlike when he had leveled up in the past, this time he hadn’t romped around like an excited little kid. But even though his expression was calm, he had forgotten to put his clothes back on, and his eyes were practically burning a hole in the sheet. Having accepted his new strength, he was completely absorbed in his thoughts, as if he was reflecting on some distant scene.

  Hestia had never seen him look like this before.

  He’s changed, she thought to herself.

  The same single-minded desire to “grow stronger” still emanated powerfully from his body. But the feelings and meaning contained in those words had changed.

  He had shed a skin, broken through his shell.

  Perhaps that was the way to describe it.

  “You’re really…just getting cooler and cooler.”

  “Huh?”

  “Nothing, never mind.”

  Unlike the unchanging deities, Bell did evolve, and Hestia would have been lying if she said that didn’t make her a little bit lonely. But that feeling was outweighed by pure joy—both as a patron deity and a girl—over the boy’s growth.

  “Hey Bell, listen to this.”

  “…?”

  “I have this other name that’s a symbol for what I do and also kind of like a title…Vesta.”

  “Vesta…”

  “Right. In the language of the deities, it means ‘sacred flame.’”

  “…Why are you telling me this now?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I looked at you and I just wanted to tell you.”

  Bell looked up, and Hestia narrowed her eyes and grinned a little. Still sitting next to him on the bed, she turned her gaze toward the ceiling, squeezed her eyes shut, and let the smile spread over her face.

  The sound of footsteps echoes through the air on a gentle wind.

  Under a blue sky, Orario is neither too hot nor too cold. The temperature is perfectly comfortable. The height of summer has passed, and the breeze that brushes against my skin brings a hint of still-distant autumn. Soon it’ll be harvest season.

  That’s where my thoughts go as I gaze out at the landscape beyond the city parapets—a scene of green forests, wide-open grasslands, and modest mountains.

  Once again, I’m atop the city walls. For the past few days since my status was updated, my feet have been carrying me here as if by habit.

  Or maybe I wanted to send a message down to that underground maze where my promises and my final fight await…to declare that I’ve leveled up, and now my feet are starting to move in earnest.

  “…In order to move forward, do I need to rest?”

  Rest your body and soul well.

  That’s what Hestia said to me after the Xenos incident came to a close.

  I pushed myself relentlessly for ten days after Ikelos Familia initially stirred up trouble. Now that I’m free from that upheaval, I’ve given myself over to peace and relaxation. That’s part of an adventurer’s job, too. The goddess was right when she said that a warrior’s rest is very important. Thanks to her advice, my body is well on its way to full recovery.

  Aside from my own physical state, a lot of my weapons and equipment were half-destroyed or lost a
ltogether. Right now, our smith, Welf, is swamped with the work of fixing and replacing everything—although he sounded very happy when he told me this was an opportunity to craft new things. So this is also a period of preparation as I wait for my new gear to be ready.

  Honestly, though, I can’t sit still.

  I promised myself I’d get stronger, and that vow is roaring in my chest.

  But for now, it’s like the goddess said—I should be resting. I’ve got to hold back my impatient heart and build myself up for the coming challenges. I recall the image of my opponent’s black back heading toward the Dungeon and look down at my palms.

  …I feel strange.

  I’m terribly calm, and this calmness strikes me as odd. In the past, I would have been restless at a time like this, searching for something to do and rushing desperately forward. But right now, I’m so calm and collected I surprise even myself.

  When that worthy opponent beat me, regret and frustration overwhelmed me, and I cried pitifully. But after that, something seemed to change inside me.

  And speaking of changes…

  Ever since that day, my surroundings have changed a bit as well.

  First of all, the harsh treatment I was getting from the townsfolk has softened considerably. The change isn’t as dramatic as it was after I dominated the War Game, but at the very least I’m not the target of quite as much criticism and disdain. Lilly says the townsfolk started to see me differently after they witnessed my battle…and it’s true that people greet me more often out on the streets now, especially those hot-blooded dwarves.

  The biggest shock was when Lai and the other kids from the orphanage visited our home. To my surprise, Maria led them to our front door, where they apologized to me. The children said their thanks, too. We’re sorry we said all those bad things, thank you for saving us, you were so cool…I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to hear Lai and Fina say those earnest words while blushing. But I felt bad at the same time.

  Lai and the other kids don’t know about the Xenos. They simply think I rescued them from scary monsters. That’s true for the townsfolk, too. Lilly happened to be there with me when the kids came, and both of us shared in the same guilt. A wave of dejection that I can’t put into words rose up in my chest. But the half-elf Ruu washed that feeling away.