Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (19 page)

She opens her eyes with her teeth still in my crepe and smiles like a mischievous fox before taking another massive bite from the pastry. She pulls back, her cheeks stuffed like a pretty little chipmunk’s.

Just what does my face look like…?

There’s a spot of cream on her cheek.

Must have come from the inside of the crepe. I can take care of it for her real quick.

I stop my hand in midair. What am I doing?! She’s a
goddess!!!

She doesn’t want to be treated like this! Especially not by a human like me! Get her a napkin, idiot!

I start to pull my hand back, but she grabs my wrist with those delicate fingers.

“Hee-hee-hee, I want you to.”

“……”

She smiles sweetly at me, blushing with eyes full of trust.

I slowly run my finger up her cheek. Her eyes clench and her body wiggles as if it’s ticklish.

Whew…

Blood is pounding into my head.

My whole body is on fire, an itch I can’t scratch. This is so embarrassing… or am I just shy?

She’s got me wrapped around her finger.

“Well done, Bell! Next up, potato snacks! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

“W-we’re going to keep going?”

“Of course! We almost never have time to enjoy something together!”

She takes my hand again and leads me back down the street.

I may have one foot in the grave, but for some reason I’m smiling, too.

Come to think of it, she’s right.

We are a two-person
Familia
. We’re always busy trying to make enough money to see tomorrow. I’m in the Dungeon; she’s at her part-time job.

I can count the number of times we’ve been outside the room together on one hand.

We weave in and out of the many races of people flooding East Main.

I may look very out of place, but the goddess is happy. That’s exactly what I want.

It started with a big roar from the crowd.

Released from its chains, a monster howled as it charged forward into the arena, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. The Battle Boar stood more than two meters tall. Only a short-haired female tamer stood in its path. She nimbly rolled out of the way, her hair swinging around her head.

The crowd erupted at the display of sheer athleticism. Fifty thousand strong in the stands create a whirlpool of energy all flowing to the stadium floor.

The stadium, Anphiteatom, was located in Eastern Orario.

The curtain had just been lifted on Monsterphilia’s main event. Thousands of citizens filed into the stadium to witness the spectacle.

The Battle Boar had been captured for just this purpose. It kicked off the stadium floor, intent on mauling the woman in its way. The beast’s overwhelming power left cracks in the surface of the floor with each step. However,
Ganesha Familia’
s tamer was unfazed. She adeptly dodged all of the boar’s charges, much to the delight of the crowd.

This battle was very similar to a bull fight. An attractive person in flashy clothing faced down a beast armed with a whip and a cape. The beast charged many times, but the tamer dodged by the smallest of margins.

It was her mission to tame the beast, not kill it. Seeing her calm demeanor in the face of life-threatening danger inspired awe
and respect among the audience. They wanted to see more. They applauded every time the tamer emerged from a charge without a scratch on her.

The monster’s bloodcurdling roars were amplified throughout the stadium by magic stone microphones to make sure even people in the upper deck seats got the full impact of the show. The stadium was absolutely electric.

“They’ve started…,” Eina muttered to herself after hearing the noise erupt behind her.

She was stationed outside the stadium but could feel the vibrations of the monster’s howls in her skin. She looked over her shoulder at the stone wall between her and the action.

Eina had been assigned this post by the Guild. She and a few other coworkers were in charge of directing fairgoers into the stadium as well as supporting
Ganesha Familia
’s members.

Monsterphilia was not an event held by the gods just for the fun of it.
Ganesha Familia
supplied the monsters and tamers for the show, but the Guild itself was responsible for setting up everything else.

It’s not my place to question it, but why is there a Monsterphilia in the first place?

The managers of the Guild approved it. Eina had no input in the decision and simply had to do what she was told. She was not entirely comfortable with it.

While there was almost no risk to the city, monsters should not have been brought out of the Dungeon. Eina would have objected if she could. If the Guild was as concerned with city management and safety as they claimed to be, then they should have done more to restrain the monsters themselves. Declawing them would have been a good start.

The monsters were scary beasts, after all.

The main purpose of this event couldn’t be taming the monsters. It had to be for amusement. Creating this potentially dangerous situation just for fun was something that should have been brought to
an end. At the very least, the Guild shouldn’t have been involved. Eina’s thoughts continued through to this conclusion.

“And now… the freak show. That hurts a bit.”

“Huh? You say something, Eina?”

Eina shook her head. A coworker had overheard her grumbling to herself.

Orairo was home to many
Familias
and their adventurers. This might have sounded like a good thing, but most adventurers were not the friendliest of people. They had a tendency to play by their own rules. Their lack of manners around townsfolk caused a lot of problems for the Guild. It was up to employees like Eina to smooth things over.

In order to reap the benefits of the Dungeon, the Guild had to keep their adventurers in line as well as protect them. This festival was the only way to get the average citizen to see adventurers in a good light, so the Guild turned a blind eye to the danger. It couldn’t be helped.

The words “yearly freak show” still lurked in the back of Eina’s mind. She knew the Guild’s reputation was on thin ice, and the festival was the best way to relieve the pressure.

Just as long as nothing goes wrong…

Fair season always made her nervous. She wouldn’t be able to relax until the final curtain fell. Or maybe she was just too uptight.

Her friends and coworkers complained about not being able to see the show. She was busy contemplating the place of the Guild and massaging her temple.

“No, not here, either…”

“Maybe they’re already inside?”

Hmm?

Someone she knew was walking toward her. It was Bell.

His head was on a swivel as he walked around the outside of the stadium, as if he was looking for someone. The goddess walking next to him must have been the head of his
Familia.

Eina took a quick look at her coworkers. Seeing that they were still
griping, she figured they could hold down the fort for a few minutes. She walked forward to greet the adventurer in her charge.

“Bell.”

“Ah, Ms. Eina?”

“Bell, who is this half-elf?”

Eina chuckled for a moment at the blank look on his face before making a polite bow to Hestia and introducing herself.

“My name is Eina Tulle. I am a member of the Guild’s secretariat and also Bell’s adviser for Dungeon activities. It is nice to meet you in person, Goddess Hestia.”

“Oh, that’s how you know each other. Bell’s counting on you.”

Satisfied with the explanation, Hestia shook Eina’s hand. Eina gave another bow while Bell watched in silence. He snapped out of his trance and asked a question:

“Why are you out here, Eina?”

“The Guild is in charge of the fair, so all employees have a job to do. I’m an usher of sorts, helping guests to their seats. So did you come to see the opening event, Bell?”

“Not yet, I’m looking for someone, actually. Um, she’s a waitress… but she wouldn’t wear her uniform out here. Ha-ha… Have you seen a human girl who doesn’t have any money?”

“Not too sure I have…”

Eina couldn’t hide a chuckle at Bell’s way of describing the girl. Bell looked away, scratching his head. “Should have known…”

Eina went on to tell him that there was a small entrance fee to get into the stadium, so the chances a girl with no money got inside were slim. Bell nodded and lowered his head in a thank-you.

“Well, then, I’ll keep looking around outside the stadium before heading back to East Main. She might not know about the fee and wind up here anyway.”

“Sounds good. If I see a girl like that, I’ll tell her to wait here.”

Bell bowed one last time and turned to leave. Hestia saw an opportunity to speak with Eina privately and stepped forward once Bell was out of earshot.

Eina was a little confused but turned to face the goddess.

“Ms. Adviser.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“You wouldn’t use your position to try to make a move on Bell, would you?”

Hestia didn’t break eye contact. Eina knew in a moment Hestia was serious.

“I like to keep my personal and professional lives separate…”

“Okay, I’ll trust you.”

Hestia patted her lightly on the arm, a solemn look in her eyes.

Bell, noticing the goddess was not behind him, came back looking very confused. Hestia walked out to greet him before the pair went on their way.

Eina felt like she had been pricked by a needle. She watched the two of them walk away, a trickle of sweat running down the back of her neck.

Massaging her temple again, she went back to where her coworkers were stationed at the base of the stadium.

“What the hell’s going on over there?”

“Complain all you want later, get some people over there now.”

“…?”

The mood had changed; voices were raised everywhere.

Eina’s eyes narrowed as she walked up to the group. “Excuse me, what’s going on?”

“Guild staff stationed at the west gate collapsed for some reason.”

“… Huh?”

“They’re awake, but they’re all sitting down on the job or lying on the floor… Could just be a bad hangover from last night. But everyone’s too far gone to do their job, so we’re sending some more people over there.”

The animal people Guild employee rolled his eyes in frustration.

But Eina felt a cold chill in her chest. She wasn’t just nervous now, her whole body started to tense up.

Am I overreacting…?

Another roar from the crowd echoed over the stone wall behind her. She looked up at the top of the wall, trying to steady herself.

However, a different echo, one from a monster’s roar beneath the ground, reached her ears as well.

It was a dark, dirty room with almost no light.

A single magic stone lamp hung from the ceiling, casting long shadows over everything in the room. Boxes standing a square meter tall lined the dusty, dank storage room. Different types of weapons and items hung on the walls.

Many cages were in here as well. The sound of chains echoed as the beasts inside the cages fought against their restraints. The iron cages were built in a lattice pattern. Monsters stuck their snouts out of the openings, baring their fangs and howling.

The room was under the stadium’s main stage. It was being used as the monsters’ waiting room.

Their cages would be moved to the surface by a staff member when it was their turn onstage. A tamer would be waiting for them when their chains were broken.

“What are you doing? We’re ready for the next one! Why won’t you raise it?!”

Clop-clop-clop.
Sharp steps in high heels echoed off the stone floor outside the storage room just before the door opened to reveal a female member of
Ganesha Familia.

She was the team manager for monster transportation. Her assistants never missed a beat, so when the next cage failed to show up on time, she rushed to investigate.

She was ready to scold them, but no one responded.

“W-what’s wrong? Hey!”

Her team members were on the floor all over the room.

The four men she had left in charge were sitting down, leaning against boxes with absent looks on their faces.