Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 6 (33 page)

And so the curtain fell on the War Game, with
Hestia Familia
standing victorious.

The exploits of combatants on both sides became the talk of the town. Bell and his allies became hometown heroes overnight. They were the center of attention wherever they went after returning to the city.

Obeying Hestia’s demands,
Apollo Familia
was disbanded immediately. Apollo said his good-byes and released every one of his followers from their contracts before being escorted out of the city for the last time.

As for the now
Familia
–less adventurers, they went their separate ways. Some went on journeys of self-discovery, others were scouted and joined other
Familias
, and a few fell into despair. A small group, including Hyacinthus, went against the laws of Orario by leaving the city to follow their god.

The effects of the War Game were felt in many places.

The fervor had yet to die down, but there was still something that needed to be taken care of.

“…This is the money owed for Lilly’s release, as promised.”

The small girl held out a bag stuffed full of gold coins.

Soma, clad in his dirty robe, took the bag from her without a word.

Two days had passed since the War Game ended. Lilly had journeyed to
Soma Familia
’s home by herself.

Every val that had been held in Apollo’s name now belonged to
Hestia Familia
. Lilly took a large part of it and returned to her former home to exchange the money for the Hestia Knife, which had been used as collateral.

Her new family offered to go with her, but Lilly declined. She told them that she had to see this through to the end on her own.

“…”

She had a reputation to uphold as a member of their
Familia
. Soma accepted the money without a fuss.

He didn’t even check the contents of the bag before pulling the knife out from inside his robe and handing it to Lilly.

Lilly was taken aback by how quickly this exchange transpired. In a room full of different types of plants and a wide array of wine bottles, she blinked a few times before straightening her posture.

Clearing her throat, she prepared to say her final good-bye.

“Thank you for everything, Lord Soma…”

There was no hint of irony or resentment in her voice. She wanted to end things well.

The Status on her back clearly identified her as a member of
Hestia Familia
. She no longer had any connection to
Soma Familia
.

Her loose robe bent around her small body as Lilly bowed. Her face down, she never had a chance to make eye contact with Soma. One step back, turn, a few more steps, and she paused for a moment in front of the door.

“…”

Soma was standing in the corner of his room, the muscles in his face shifting as if he were deep in thought. He stared at the back of his former child…and spoke to her.

“Lilliluka Erde…I have done you wrong.”

Halfway out the door, Lilly froze on the spot.

She looked over her shoulder in surprise. The deity’s expression was hidden behind his long hair as he continued.

“…Make sure to take care of your health.”

The first words he had ever spoken to her.

Slowly but surely, Lilly’s chestnut eyes began to moisten.

She had wanted to hear his words for the longest time, but at least now, at the end, she was grateful to hear them. Lilly nodded, her chin hitting her shoulder.

“Lilly will…” she said in a quivering voice to the deity who had remembered her name.

One last step, and she left the room behind.

“…”

Soma stood in silence for a while after Lilly disappeared from sight. Finally, he turned to face the shelves on his wall.

Removing all the wine bottles, he carried them to a wooden box in the corner of the room, slipped them inside, and closed the lid.

Filling the empty spots with the now useless wineglasses, Soma’s eyes narrowed from behind his long bangs.

The conditions within
Soma Familia
gradually improved from that day.

A large manor stood in the middle of a wide garden.

Hestia took a deep breath.

“Ta-da! This is our new home!”

““Ooohhhh—””

Bell, Lilly, Welf, and Mikoto stood in awe of the building Hestia pointed at.

It was three stories tall; they had to crane their necks to get a good look at the top floor. Hestia went on to say that there were covered passages along with more gardens inside. The property was surrounded by a tall iron fence. Flowers and trees hid most of the bars from view.

“But was it really okay to take
Apollo Familia
’s home…?”

“Oh yes, he blew mine into a million pieces. I don’t want to hear any complaints!”

Lilly muttered as she looked up at the manor, but Hestia cut her off right away.

It was a prize from the War Game—the building that
Apollo Familia
had once called home was now theirs. Bell was just as surprised as Welf and Mikoto at this sudden upgrade in living conditions.

None of the mortals could believe their luck as they looked over their new home from the outside gardens.

“The ones who lived here before had…strange tastes. So, since we’ve got a lot of money, I say we do some remodeling! If you have any requests, let me know!”

“L-Lady Hestia, I humbly request a bathhouse!”

“Lady Hestia! Would you build me a forge?!”

Mikoto and Welf didn’t waste any time in suggesting what to build to replace any remnants of
Apollo Familia
. Hestia turned to them, holding her arms out, saying, “Wait, wait,” and smiling.

“Now that we can finally puff out our chests and say we’re a proper
Familia
, don’t you think we should decide on an emblem first?”

““Good point!””

All of Hestia’s followers nodded in unison. Bell was the most excited among them. He’d been wanting to have his own
Familia
emblem for quite a while.

Hestia took a seat on the front steps of the manor. Pulling out a small piece of paper and a pen, she set to work on sketching a picture. Bell and the others formed a half circle around her, watching her pen move while standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Hee-heee, I put a lot of thought into this
^___
”

Hestia’s pen didn’t stop for an instant until she turned the paper around to show her new family, grinning from ear to ear. Welf, Mikoto, and Lilly each held the paper in their hands and gave the design a once-over.

“This is fire and…”

“I see. This is the Lady Hestia’s idea of protective flames.”

“That’s not it at all. This emblem, it’s all about the relationship between Lady Hestia and Mr. Bell!”

Welf and Mikoto whispered to each other, but Lilly’s eyes twitched in annoyance.

The three of them had different reactions, but Hestia used her authority as a goddess to ignore them and said in a very satisfied voice:

“What’s the problem? This
Familia
started with me and Bell, after all.”

At last, the paper made its way into Bell’s hands.

His ruby-red eyes opened wide as he studied the emblem design.

“Goddess, isn’t this…?”

Hestia giggled as she looked at the surprise on the boy’s face.

Smiling once again, she made eye contact with Bell and said:

“Now, Bell. Today is the real debut of our
Familia
.”

Bell looked back down at the paper as he listened to her words. A few moments later, he smiled back at her with an expression as radiant as the sun.

The boy held out the paper once again for everyone to see.

The design on the paper in his hands consisted of a bell surrounded by flames.

A dungeon fantasy story that never once ventures into a dungeon: that’s book six. I suspect this pattern will continue for the next few volumes…However, you can visit the Dungeon many times in the spin-off! Please excuse the self-promotion. If you’re interested, have a look.

I’m particularly fond of stories where the characters increase one by one.

The main character’s journey is a solitary one until he or she meets a healer, then a beautiful and mysterious fortune-teller, then adds a young mage as the fourth member…I get excited when a new ally joins the fight in manga, novels, and of course video games. Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment after assembling a well-balanced party.

At the same time, the early stages where very few characters must face difficult odds to build their relationships is one of the most important, and in my opinion the most entertaining, parts of the story. I took my time in developing this part of my own work in books one through five, sacrificing larger story arcs in the process. Back when I first started writing the stories, I don’t know how many times I heard the phrase “Wouldn’t it be a good idea to increase the party size?” I would like to thank everyone who worked with me for listening to my selfish desires and allowed me to take my time in developing each character in turn. You have my gratitude.

Gods, family, and
Familia
all came together to form the backbone of the story. As soon as the idea for a “War Game between the Gods” came to me, the story for this book fell into place with support from loyal readers. I can’t thank you enough.

I would also like to recognize my adviser Mr. Kotaki for providing me with inspiration and guidance throughout this project; Mr. Suzuhito Yasuda, for producing beautiful artwork equal to or exceeding the magnificent designs from earlier installments; as well as every other person involved in this project. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Also, I would like to thank all of the guest artists who came together to produce the limited-edition art book that was released along with this volume. NOCO, Ms. Haruko Iizuka, Mr. Eiji Usatsuka, Mr. Noboru Kannadu, Mr. Ki Takaya, Mikeo, YASU: thank you for lending your talents and individual vision to this project. Each of you deserves great praise for your marvelous drawings.

I cannot wait to pick up my pen and start in on the next volume. Now then, I will take my leave.

Fujino Omori