Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 6 (10 page)

Swish.
The god raises his arm and wiggles his fingers as if beckoning someone forward. Forward they come, all at once. Many people come to the front of the crowd, forming an even closer ring around us.

Witnesses…The other customers at Hibachitei? I don’t remember seeing any of them, but all of them in turn say they were there and side with Lord Apollo. The strange thing is, they all grin at me right after doing so.

Were they paid off? Were they really there?…Either way, this is no coincidence.

I’m starting to get a really bad feeling about this.

“Wait, Apollo. It was my child who made the first move. Surely Hestia does not deserve all of the blame.”

“Ah, Hephaistos, what a beautiful friendship you have. But you need not stick your neck out for her. It is clear as day that Hestia’s boy is the one who sent your child to do the dirty work.”

Lord Apollo quickly dismisses Lady Hephaistos’s claim, adding that she could ask any of the witnesses present for the full story. The goddess’s good eye, the one not covered by a bandage, narrows.

He’s trapped us in some kind of elaborate blame game, saying who did this and who didn’t do that. Unfortunately, Lord Apollo has brought a large number of supporters with him. His argument is much stronger.

“One of my beloved followers was badly wounded. I cannot accept this lying down. The reputation of my
Familia
is on the line…Hestia, will you not take responsibility for his actions?”

“Enough already! Like hell I’ll accept that!”

I watch Lord Apollo’s face contort after Hestia’s refusal—into an evil visage.

The corners of his lips curl upward into a dark expression unfit for a deity.

“Then you leave me no choice! Hestia—I declare a War Game!”

My goddess is just as flabbergasted as I am.

—“War Game.”

It’s a staged battle between two
Familias
with a strict set of rules. Each deity deploys their followers like pieces on a board game and sends them into battle in a test of wills.

In other words, followers fight a war for their god.

The victorious deity steals everything from the defeated. The winner receives the right to order the loser to do anything. Normally, they take all money, property, and even
Familia
members for themselves.

One of Eina’s more recent lectures flares to life in the back of my mind. It’s not long before I’m completely speechless.

Hestia Familia
, just me and my goddess, against an upper-mid-level
Familia
like
Apollo Familia
in a War Game?

That’s not even funny.

“Apollo’s done it now—!” “What a bully…” “Actually, I’d like to see that!”

Voices erupt all around me as soon as Lord Apollo makes his declaration.

The gods and goddesses are always looking for entertainment, and this seems to have piqued their interest.

The ring of people around us voices their support for Lord Apollo. The goddess and I are surrounded on all sides. I scan the crowd and catch a glimpse of a silent Lady Loki and briefly meet the gaze of a very concerned Aiz.

“Should my side prevail…I demand you surrender the boy Bell Cranell to me.”

Those words practically knock Lady Hestia off her feet.

“
What?!
” My eyes snap back to Lady Hestia in time to see her whip herself into a frenzy. “This is what you were after all along…!”

I’m so confused—what are they talking about? I look back and forth between the two deities over and over again.

A horrifying smile filled with greed appears on Lord Apollo’s face.

“—It’s
unfair
, Hestia. You keeping such a cute boy all to yourself…”

Zing!

Every hair on my body stands on end. The color drains from my face.

Lord Apollo’s penetrating gaze bores right through me.

Never before in my life have I felt such a powerful sense of foreboding. The goddess told me a little while ago that Lady Freya would “devour” me—now I think I understand what she meant by that.

“You vile pig…!!”

Lady Hestia casts her infuriated eyes on Lord Apollo as if he was the root of all evil. The deity just glares back at her.

“Harsh, Hestia, very harsh. We sang the melodies of love once. I even offered you my heart back in Tenkai, now didn’t I?”

“Lies!! All lies!! Don’t get the wrong idea, Bell!! This airheaded creep wouldn’t leave me alone, and I shot him down right away! Do you think a goddess as young and pure as me would accept an offer from a perverted bastard with standards like that?!”

“O-of course not…!!”

The air around Lady Hestia is pulsing, the heat from her red face pushing me back.

So that’s the reason why she doesn’t like Lord Apollo—he asked her to marry him. Lady Hestia’s energy must’ve just run out. “Haaah, haaah.” Her shoulders heave up and down as she wipes sweat off her chin.

But I get it. I understand.

Most likely, Lord Apollo is attracted to those who look like my goddess…or me. Man, woman, it doesn’t matter to him. Once he sees something he likes, he’ll stop at nothing in his lustful pursuit.

Apollo Familia
…Now that I think about it, all of the members of his group that I’ve seen fit that description: young, innocent-looking men and women. The staff here, Daphne and Cassandra when they gave me the invitation…even Luan the prum has the same kind of cute features.

Passion that has gone too far, burning bright like the sun.

—Phallus.

A god whose desires carry him to comical lengths…That’s Lord Apollo.

“Starting the fight at the bar, everything that happened, it was all part of your plan, Apollo…! Everything was to steal Bell away from me!”

Realizing she’s trapped, Lady Hestia glares at each of the deities who had thrown their lot in with Lord Apollo for sheer entertainment. What few allies we have are in disarray. Nahza and Mikoto are looking around in confusion. Lord Miach and Lord Takemikazuchi are frowning, silently watching the events unfold, powerless to stop it. Lady Hephaistos sighs, massaging her temple. Lord Hermes is standing right next to her, grimacing alongside Miss Asfi.

We’re isolated, alone. My head starts spinning as I desperately look from face to face, and I happen to spot Lady Freya quietly sipping from her wineglass. We lock eyes for a moment.

“Hestia, what is your answer?”

“I have no obligation to accept, now do I?!”

The goddess turns her back on Lord Apollo when he asks for her response.

If this really does escalate to a War Game,
Hestia Familia
doesn’t stand a chance. I would have to take them on myself.

Lady Hestia outright rejects him.

“Are you sure you won’t regret this?”

“Hardly! Bell, we’re leaving!”

Lady Hestia’s eyes flash at the smirking Lord Apollo as she grabs my wrist.

“So dull…” Several deities voice their disappointment as they step aside, allowing us to pass. Honestly, I don’t think they want to be the one to get in Lady Hestia’s way right now. She may be small, but the fury emanating from her is terrifying. We leave the ballroom and walk down the stairs.

“—”

A handsome young man is standing right next to the exit. We make eye contact.

Hyacinthus’s cold stare burns itself into my memory.

“…”

The goddess pulls me past him, but I look back over my shoulder.

I watch as the palace of the building and the follower of that deity shrink into the distance.

It’s almost like they’re telling me that this isn’t over.

The sun has risen on the morning after the Celebration of the Gods.

Hestia updated Bell’s Status in their
Familia
’s home, a hidden room beneath an old church. The two of them were busily preparing for the day.

It went up a little…

Bell slipped a potion into his leg holster as he held a sheet of paper in his left hand.

He looked over his Status one more time, his gaze trained on his Defense, which had improved since his return from the Dungeon.

He hadn’t set foot belowground since the battle with the Goliath on the eighteenth floor five days ago. A full two days had passed since the brawl at Hibachitei. The hit he took from Hyacinthus during the fight that day was strong enough to earn excelia and be reflected in his Status.

His Level 3 wasn’t just for show. Bell scratched the back of his head as memories of that embarrassing sequence of events floated to the surface.

“That jackass. War Game this, War Game that…”

At the same time, Hestia had just changed into her uniform. She’d been muttering curses under her breath since the moment the two of them arrived at home last night. She closed the closet door, sat down on the sofa, and called out to the boy.

“Bell, please be careful. I doubt he’d be stupid enough to try anything today, but some of his followers might try to pick another fight.”

“I-I will…”

Bell lightly nodded at his goddess’s warning.

Apollo Familia
was in the midst of a grand scheme to steal Bell away from her, and she would have nothing of it. Updating Bell’s Status, despite his lack of dungeon crawling, was one of the countermeasures she was using to prepare for their next stage. Of course, they didn’t have many options, but she felt it was necessary to do everything she could.

“Promise me, Bell—promise me you’ll run away at the first sign of danger. Never travel alone, and always stay in areas with lots of people.”

“I will.”

“And for the time being, it might be a good idea to work with Mikoto and her group. Také knows what’s going on, so they should allow you to join their battle party.”

Bell took his goddess’s words to heart. He had heard from both Aiz and Lilly many times that ambushes were common in the Dungeon. He knew that he couldn’t be too careful.

The boy had equipped the armor that was still damaged from the battle on the eighteenth floor of the Dungeon. He was wearing his old boots in place of the greaves that had been completely destroyed. Hestia Knife and Ushiwakamaru strapped firmly to his lower back, Bell stood in front of the door, ready to reenter the Dungeon.

“Bell, both of us are going to Babel Tower anyway, so let’s go together?”

“Yes, good idea.”

Hestia smiled back at the boy. She was due to work a shift at one of
Hephaistos Familia
’s shops in the tower. Bell opened the door and led the way up the staircase that connected their room to the surface.

The short staircase was dimly lit and lined with dusty, unused bookshelves. Bell listened to Hestia’s footsteps as he pulled back the segment of wall in the back of one of the church’s old storage rooms.

Emerging from the narrow room, the boy took a look around. The worn-down place of worship still had an altar at the back, but weeds of all shapes and sizes were growing out of the floor. The ceiling, or rather the roof, had many holes that let through beams of late-morning sunlight. Bell paused for a moment to look at the blue sky through one of the larger ones and resolved to find the time to make this place look a little better.

…Magic?

Bell had just started walking forward again when his senses tingled. He looked up.

It was the slight ripple in the air produced when mages were either in the middle of their trigger spell or casting Magic. It was very faint, but since Bell was not a magic user himself, he didn’t know what it was for sure.

He took another look around, much more quickly this time. He caught a glimpse of Hestia emerging from the narrow storeroom. The two exchanged awkward glances, heads tilted to the side.

Sensing danger, Bell motioned for the goddess to stay inside and took a step outside of the doorless entryway.

“—”

Then, the moment the sun’s rays touched his face in front of the ruined old church—

Countless figures emerged on the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

Eyes glared down at him from every angle. The figures had created a perimeter around the front of the church. They were carrying bows and staffs.

—Apollo Familia.

A cold sweat covered Bell’s body the moment he identified the emblem of the sun engraved on their armor.

All weapons were drawn the moment Bell came into view. Archers drew back their arrows, magic users stood ready with only the last line of their trigger spell left unsaid. The whole city block was inundated with magical energy, an unnatural breeze cutting through the morning stillness.

A male elf with half of his face hidden by a scarf raised one arm as if he were in charge of this team of adventurers. Bell’s body took over—sprinting back inside.

He made a mad dash for Hestia, still standing in front of the storage room. Bell swept the surprised goddess off her feet and drove toward an old congregation room behind the altar in the back of the church.

Not even a moment behind, the elf thrust his arm down—and a deafening explosion followed.

The seventh block of Orario lay just north of West Main Street.

Many citizens lived in this area sandwiched between West Main and Northwest Main. The loud explosion caused this quiet little block to erupt in chaos.

“What’s going on?”

“A fire, meow?!”

“It’s morning, have your fight later, meow…”

Employees of the The Benevolent Mistress, the human girl Runoa and the catgirls Ahnya and Chloe, ran out of the building and onto the main street. People were already out, stopping and staring at the dark pillar of smoke rising only a few streets away.