Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2 (2 page)

“Obey…? Hang on, Ms. Eina, you can read hieroglyphics?”

“Yes, but only a little. I think I can read enough to understand statuses, though.”

Eina had attended her fair share of school and had excelled in theological studies. She could certainly read and write simple hieroglyphs.

“If I don’t see it with my own two eyes, I will never clear you to go deeper than the fifth level.”

“That definitely would cause a lot of problems for me…”

“I promise I won’t look at your magic or skill slots, so, please?”

“I don’t have any skills or magic anyway, so that wouldn’t change a thing…but okay.”

Bell gave in to Eina’s request as she bowed forward and clapped her hands together.

Eina had done so much to support Bell in the past; he felt that she deserved his complete trust, just like Hestia. Bell had no reason not to take her at her word.

“Well, um…I’ll take off my clothes now?”

“If you’re embarrassed enough to blush, don’t check with me first! You’ll make me uncomfortable, too!”

Both of their cheeks flushed red as Bell stood up and faced a far corner of the wide room. A flustered Bell unhooked his armor and quickly pulled off his undershirt.

Rather than immediately focusing on the status engraved on the boy’s back, Eina’s eyes were drawn to his remarkably chiseled back muscles for a brief moment. Shaking her head a bit, she forced her eyes back to the hieroglyphs.

Her pointed ears turned a light shade of red as her eyes scanned the markings left to right.

No way…

She couldn’t believe her eyes; her jaw dropped slightly in shock.

With the exception of Magic, he was definitely strong enough to keep up with monsters on the seventh level. Eina tended to judge adventurers by their defensive ability, so Bell’s low “Defense” grade made her a bit nervous. However, his hit-and-run combat style fit very well with his ability levels, so she came to the conclusion that he dodged most attacks anyway.

The fact that his “Agility” was already at grade
D
made her a little nauseous.

I can’t believe it…

Eina lightly coughed in her throat. It was the sound of her concept of “common sense” being broken; a cold chill worked its way up her spine. Working at the Guild and advising many adventurers, Eina knew just how abnormal Bell’s growth rate was.

His growth was more than through the roof. It was otherworldly.

—
A Skill?

The possibility popped up in the back of her mind.

Maybe he has a Skill that explains the unusual growth
, she thought to herself with a twinge. The only way to check…was to go back on her promise.

If it’s just a quick look…

Her eyes glanced below Bell’s abilities and took in the hieroglyphs.

Where Bell’s Magic and Skills were listed.

She had already come this far. It was too late to look away now. Wanting to know what was inside a treasure box after peeking through the lid must be a trait of demi-humans.

Her curiosity was piqued; she looked at all his Skill slot.

…Ahh, nope.

She couldn’t understand what was written.

The amount of complex characters was too much for her to make heads or tails of it.

It could be that his goddess, the overprotective Hestia, might have put an extra layer of protection over his status so that others couldn’t read it even if they had a chance. Eina didn’t have a full understanding of hieroglyphs’ size and stroke order, and she
didn’t realize that Hestia’s “protection” was actually just her own bad handwriting.

Eina had newfound respect for Hestia and her strategy for keeping Bell’s status a secret.

“Um…Ms. Eina? Are you finished yet?”

“A…ah! Yes!”

Eina’s ears jumped as Bell’s still-embarrassed voice reached them and she noticed the situation. Eina laughed out of her own embarrassment as she looked away from Bell’s status and bowed a few times in apology.

It’s true…
she groaned to herself.

There was no way she could withhold permission to enter the seventh level with a status like that. As long as he was careful, he should be able to go there safely, even alone.

—However, she did have one other problem with him going that far down.

“…”

“W-what is it?”

Fully dressed, Bell heard his voice waver as Eina’s eyes traveled his body from head to toe. Her gaze was overwhelming.

But it didn’t look like she doubted Bell’s ability or strength.

She wasn’t looking at his body; she was looking at the poor excuse for armor that was covering it.

“Bell.”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you have any plans tomorrow?”

“…Huh?”

A day has passed since our conversation.

I’m standing by myself in a half-circle-shaped park built just off of North Main.

Waiting for Eina.

Yep, I’m meeting her here.

Is this…a date?

No, that’s not possible
, I reassure myself.

Yesterday Eina asked if I had time to go buy some new armor with her. Seemed like she thought my current set wouldn’t be enough. Once again, she’s going out of her way to help me. She’s looking out for me.

So she’s not thinking of this as a date. She’s just being kind—kindly failing to mind her own business.

…Still, to anyone who didn’t know the details, this really would seem like…

All of the conditions are there.

Conditions like “Let’s meet at ten in front of the bronze statue in the park!” and “Just the two of us!”

Whoa! Whoa!!!

“Hey! Bell!”

“!”

And now the time has come.

The owner of the pretty voice comes jogging up to me waving her hand, her figure growing in my line of sight.

“Good morning! Aren’t you early? Was the idea of buying new armor that exciting?”

“Ah, no, I just…”

—I just think it’s strange to be alone with you, Eina.
I don’t have the guts to say that to her directly, though.

“Well, I was excited, too. I know this is your shopping trip, but I’m eager to get started.”

Eina is wearing clothes I’ve never seen her in before. Usually she’s in a perfectly pressed Guild uniform, but today she’s in a cute, lacy white blouse and a short skirt. She’s got a good sense of fashion. I can’t really look at her the same way I usually do.

Maybe it’s because I’m used to seeing her in that uniform all the time, but today she seems more grown-up. How do I put it…she’s practically glowing.

Yes, she’s very cute.

I am totally taken in by the charms of this new Eina.

“Do you think I’m strange for getting excited about buying possibly dangerous equipment?”

“N-no, not at all!” I vigorously shake my head, but Eina just giggles.
Whoa, whoa…

Eina is probably a contender for the first or second most popular Guild member among all adventurers. I wonder if all half-elves are like her…

“Ahem. Anyway, Bell?”

“W-what is it?”

“What do you think? Seeing me out of uniform? Anything to say?”

She looks up at me with the eyes of a mischievous child.

Whoa, whoa, now…

“You look…well…much younger than usual.”

“Hey! I’m still only nineteen, you know!”

“Owowowowowow!!!!!”

Eina whips her thin white arm around my neck, putting me in a headlock.

As I try to escape, my neck slips into her armpit, my cheek rubbing up against a very soft bulge…

“Hey! Say you’re sorry!!”

“P-please, forgive meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” I yell with all my might over the sound of Eina’s amused laughter.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been out shopping like this.”

“Really? I’m surprised that people can leave someone like you alone…especially guys.”

“Hee-hee, you’re good, Bell. But it’s true. I’ve been busy at work ever since I started at the Guild.”

The sky is a bright, clear blue.

Perfect for a date…is not what I’m trying to say, but the weather is very calming. I follow Ms. Eina southward on North Main, a cooling breeze at my back.

The main streets are always busy at this time of day. It’s difficult to
get anywhere. Employees of stores both large and small stand outside trying to bring in customers. I could swear the ground shakes when a dwarf yells out his store’s special deals.

A few of them call out to Eina (apparently mistaking me for a manservant) but she just waves them off with a friendly grin. One animal-person clerk looks really happy when she flashes him a smile.

“Um, can I ask where we’re going today? If we keep going this way, we’ll end up at the Dungeon…”

“Would you be angry if I said ‘Not knowing is part of the fun’? Okay, I’ll tell you.”

Orario has eight main streets all extending out from the core. There’s one that goes north, one that goes northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest. If you think about it from a bird’s-eye view, there are four thick lines intersecting in the middle of the city.

The Dungeon is right where they all come together.

But on ground level, the main streets all meet at Central Park. It’s right in front of us now. In the center of the park is an overwhelmingly large building. It blocks more and more of my view of southern Orario as I wait for Eina’s answer.

“Our destination is…the Dungeon.”

“Whaaaaaaa?”

“The tower above the Dungeon—Babel, to be more specific.”

Babel Tower functions as a lid over the Dungeon itself. It’s that big building casting a massive shadow over western Orario right now.

Being a “lid,” Babel is used to monitor and control the Dungeon entrance.

Managed by the Guild, it’s a building that adventurers see very often.

“Babel…Isn’t it just a public facility and a…shower room for adventurers?”

“You really are clueless, aren’t you? But you’ve only been an adventurer for a few weeks, so I guess it can’t be helped. Right, then, you’re gonna get some useful information today.”

I remember all too well her Spartan style of “summarizing” useful information about the Dungeon, and to be honest, that look in her eyes is scaring me.

Praying that it won’t get as intense as that time, I brace myself for the incoming lecture.

“Just like you said, there are shower rooms for adventurers as well as public facilities inside the tower under the Guild’s control. Did you know there are a cafeteria, hospital, and even an Exchange in Babel?”

“Huh? I thought that the Exchanges at the Guild’s main office and branches were the only ones.”

“Nope, there is one here, too. But it is a little understaffed, so I hear the lines get a bit ridiculous. Anyway, one more thing. The Guild rents out open space to shops and merchants, and that’s where we are going today.”

Okay, now I get it. The reason we’ve come this far is that we’re going to visit one of the equipment shops in Babel Tower.

“Babel was built right on top of the Dungeon, so naturally all the shops there cater to adventurers. Many of them are run by mercantile
Familias
that specialize. I imagine you’ve heard of
Hephaistos Familia
?”

“Y-yes.”

My heart jumps. My hand grabs the knife currently tucked into the back of my armor.

“How much do you know about
Hephaistos Familia,
Bell?”

“Well, um, I know that that
Familia
makes very high-quality weapons and equipment that all adventurers want…”

“Yep, that’s absolutely right. As it happens, we are going to a shop run by
Hephaistos Familia
today.”

“Wh-whaaaat?”

It’s the loudest I’ve yelped all day. Eina looks at me like a kid who just pulled a prank and I was her victim.

I hurry up to her, hoping for some kind of explanation. But she just steps to the side and reveals a wide-open space at the base of Babel Tower behind her.

“We’re here…”

Central Park.

It makes a perfect circle with the massive white tower in the center. With trees planted all over the place and fountains built into the ground, it really does feel like a park.