Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 6 (11 page)

“Those are the booms of battle, meow.”

Chole’s ears twitched as she watched the plumes of smoke rise. This was no kitchen fire—only spells could make explosions that loud and smoke that thick. Soon the echoes of another salvo rang out and even more smoke rose into the sky. The girl’s sharp eyes instantly spotted black figures running on the rooftops before they disappeared behind another building.

“Could this be…?”

“Two
Familias
having at it, meow?”

“Been a long time, meow.”

Other people in the street also came to the same conclusion and immediately ran for cover.

In a city with as many
Familias
as Orario, disputes among the groups were not uncommon. Despite being in broad daylight and right beneath the Guild’s nose, many of them had experienced an outbreak before. So, none of them wasted any time in getting clear of the area.

Horse-drawn carriages swerved into wide U-turns and citizens fled in fear as Syr and the rest of the employees of The Benevolent Mistress made their way out onto the street. The one exception was the owner, Mia. She simply threw back the curtain of her window and stuck her head outside.

The pillar of smoke had worked its way up into the clouds.

“The
Familias
living around here…Do you think they’re after ol’ White Head, meow?”

“Quiet.”

Runoa scolded Ahnya for her lack of tact.

A pair of silver eyes filled with worry watched the smoke billow out overhead. A basket was in her hands, filled with food for a boy who had yet to arrive to pick it up.

Another explosion, closer this time. The basket shook in her grasp.

“…”

Lyu, the last of the employees to arrive on the scene, turned to look in the direction of the blast.

Waves of magical energy reflected off her sky-blue eyes.

The explosions’ shock waves overlapped and compounded one another.

The old church collapsed under a barrage of Magic attacks and arrows laced with explosive powder.

The crumbling statue of an ancient goddess that had decorated the deteriorating structure above the doorway fell to the ground and shattered.

“?!”

The wooden door at the back of the church flung open so fast it fell off its hinges.

Bell emerged from the new opening along with a suffocating cloud of smoke. Clutching Hestia tightly against his chest, the boy stumbled as he made his way through the debris. He looked over his shoulder as soon as he regained his balance.

All that was there to greet his eyes was a burning pile of rubble. All that was left of home.

“
^____
SHYAAA!”

“?!”

He didn’t have time to mourn. The next wave of figures jumped down from above.

A group of animal people brandishing shortswords and daggers landed on the ground, surrounding the two fugitives as if they had been waiting for this very moment. Shifting Hestia to his left shoulder, Bell withdrew the Hestia Knife with his right hand and deflected an oncoming blade.

Block, dodge—his already damaged armor received fresh scars as Bell weaved his way around the attackers and back into the cloud of smoke.

The attackers froze, not sure how to proceed. Sensing their hesitation, Bell used the smoke as cover and found his way into the closest back alley.

“BuAHH!”

Hestia coughed hard the moment they emerged from the cloud of smoke.

Bell wrapped his right arm around her legs, completely ignoring the ash coating his face. He took off as fast as he could in an effort to get away from their pursuers.

—They set a trap?!

In broad daylight, in the middle of the city!

Apollo Familia
’s merciless attacks sent a fresh wave of fear coursing through Bell’s mind.

This wasn’t an ambush in some dark corner of the Dungeon. Their enemy openly invaded their territory on the surface with an all-out attack.

Since the War Game was rejected, had they opted for the real thing?

Had
Apollo Familia
officially decided that
Hestia Familia
was their enemy?

Had they thrown all formalities to the wind, even ignoring the Guild’s impending retribution?

Bell’s mind was spinning, each of these questions adding to the turmoil. When suddenly—
If the worst happens, the entire city of Orario will become a battlefield if two
Familias
fight head-to-head—
Eina’s words came to the forefront of his thoughts.

Bell realized he was now officially involved in a battle of
Familias
.

“Bell, who are they…?!”

“
Apollo Familia
!”

The two yelled at the top of their lungs as Bell charged through the three-meder-wide back alley.

Hestia rested her chin on Bell’s left shoulder and looked up at the smoldering pyre in the distance.

“Th-that monster…?! Destroying my and Bell’s love nest…!”

“Eh?!”

Hestia’s choice of words caught him off guard, but there was something much, much more to it.

Bell took another look for himself—he had no place to return to; the one place he called home was gone. That fact shook him to his very core.

“Bell, they’re in front of us!”

Bell had the look on his face of a child lost in the streets, his eyes moistening. Hestia’s voice snapped him back into the present.

Looking forward, he immediately spotted a group of five adventurers at the other end of the alley. Each had weapons drawn, blades faintly flashing in the dim light. The boy made a hard right onto another street to avoid them.

The sounds of hundreds of footsteps echoed through the back alleys, the voices of the attackers called out to one another—“He went this way!” “Over here!” From the right, from the left, from behind, from ahead, they could hear their enemies surrounding them.

Bell’s face contorted in frustration. He couldn’t engage them in combat while carrying Hestia in his arms.

His only option was to escape their net. Choosing the narrowest path, Bell willed his legs to go even faster. Just beyond that—

Ten archers appeared, standing on the roofs that lined the path.

“?!”

Five on each side, the team of elves and animal people already had their glinting arrowheads pointed in his direction.

Bell glared at them. Hestia’s gasp filled his ears, but she didn’t take another breath.

The boy leaned forward, kicked off the ground, and focused solely on the end of the path. Sprinting straight ahead, he was able to avoid the volley of arrows loosed at him from both sides.

“He got away?!”

“The hell are you doing up there?!”

Bell tore through the path, every inch the rabbit that had become his reputation. Not a single arrow hit its mark. Angry yells and the sound of footsteps on shingles filled the air as Bell managed to put more distance between them.

—I’m completely surrounded!

The hunters had caught up to him, running parallel to his position on the rooftops.

The city block was completely inundated with enemies—far too many to evade or overcome. The full force of
Apollo Familia
was overwhelming.

Despite knowing these paths like the back of his hand, he would never be able to get away. Bell bit his lip when he realized that no amount of speed was going to get him out of this. Even still, he ran with all his might, turning and looping his way through the intricate backstreets.

“Bell, that’s a dead end!” Hestia shrieked as she held on for dear life.

Indeed, the side of a house completely sealed off the end of this road.

Even though they were trapped in a cul-de-sac, Bell increased his speed.

“Goddess, hold on tight!!”

Hestia’s mouth opened, but no sound emerged. Her eyes shot open as the air pressure pushed her even tighter into Bell’s chest.

The wall was fast approaching until Bell slammed his foot into the ground—and took to the air.

“Uu—WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

A great leap.

Using the incredible increase in strength and speed provided by leveling up, Bell managed to clear the eight-meder wall.

Bell’s trajectory arced only slightly as Hestia’s scream reverberated behind him. Only the tips of his right toes made contact with the roof of the house, but it was enough. His left leg slung forward and he landed with a soft thud just as Hestia ran out of breath.

Free of the claustrophobic confines of the backstreets, Bell enjoyed the feeling of the morning breeze through his hair and the blue sky above. He scanned his surroundings, taking in the roofs of expensive houses and catching a glimpse of the Pantheon to the north.

My only choice now is to hide inside the Guild…!

They were the highest authority inside Orario. None of his attackers would be able to lay a finger on him there once he got inside.

The solemn Pantheon, that was Bell’s only escape route. He had to take it.

“You should give up.”

“!”

Bell spun around to face the voice that came from behind him.

Standing on the same roof and accompanied by another battle party of adventurers was Daphne. Cassandra, wearing a long skirt-style battle cloth, was among them.

Daphne stood tall, unblinking even as her short hair danced in the breeze.

“Lord Apollo chases any child he likes to the ends of the earth. At least until he has them.”

“…!”

“It was the same for Cassandra and me. He chased us from the moment he saw us. City to city, country to country…Until we resigned ourselves, he was always there. It’s just a matter of time now. It’s merely a question of sooner or later.” Daphne revealed a piece of her past mixed with a warning.

She had been in his shoes, so she could sympathize. Hestia’s face turned sour.

“I didn’t think he was this clingy…!”

Daphne’s story made Hestia realize what was really going on. Apollo was taking away all of Bell’s options one by one. She was instantly filled with regret, and her dislike of the passionate god turned to utter hatred.

—He is extremely…tenacious.

This time, it was the words that Hermes shared with him at the Celebration that flared up inside Bell’s head.

“Surrender? You’re going to be my ally soon, so I’d rather not get rough.”

“…I refuse.”

Tap, tap.
Daphne hit the palm of her hand against the swords strapped to her waist a few times. Bell shook his head no.

Bell declined her offer and took a few careful steps back. Hestia sighed in his arms.

“Should’ve expected that. Okay, then—sic ’em!”

Daphne drew her sword at the same moment she gave the order and pointed directly at Bell. Three of her team moved as one, charging straight for the boy.

However, Bell turned his back to them and ran across the rooftop toward the Guild.

“Our target is slippery. Have Lissos’s team cut them off!”

Another one of her subordinates nodded and took off in another direction. Daphne withdrew a dagger and threw it straight at the fugitives.

Bell’s ears alerted him to the danger. Showing no fear or panic, he rotated his right shoulder into position to intercept the white blade.
Shing!
The weapon didn’t penetrate his armor, but the impact threw him off balance.

The team of three attackers saw their window and moved in.

“…! Goddess! I have to fight!”

“O-okay!”

Bell regained his footing and turned to engage. At the same time, he cradled the goddess against his left side and pinned her there with his arm. Hestia suddenly blushed. If the circumstances had been any different, this would have been her favorite moment in history.

Bell whipped his now-free right hand around his back and grabbed the Hestia Knife. Their opponents arrived a heartbeat later.

“Uwah?!”

Bell swatted away the oncoming sword with his knife before spinning and intercepting a spear coming in from the side. He sidestepped a slice, dodged a stab, ducked under a sweep. He avoided their attacks by the narrowest of margins.

The oncoming adventurers’ formation and movements were extremely well timed, with the next attack about to hit just as the previous one was avoided. They were a well-trained and highly experienced team.

Amid all of his dodging and spinning, Bell suddenly realized that they were preventing him from making any progress toward the Guild.

At this rate…!

He wouldn’t be able to escape from them with Hestia hanging onto him.

There was no hesitation in Bell’s movements.

Locking eyes with Hestia for a moment, he passed her the knife. Bell thrust his right arm skyward at the same moment that Hestia caught the hilt of the weapon in midair.

His three assailants all happened to be above him at that moment. Bell shouted.

“Firebolt!”

An electric inferno burst from his palm.

Three bursts of his Swift-Strike Magic sent all three adventurers flying backward.

Exposed skin burned and armor charred, the attackers landed painfully on the roof, shrieking in pain.

Daphne was taken by surprise, but her reaction was swift.

“Cassandra!”