Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 4 (26 page)

Hestia’s sizeable chest had made contact with Bell’s back. He could feel the soft pressure of
something
and heard an accompanying
squish
.

The shirtless Bell felt every inch of those somethings as they pressed up against him. Completely overwhelmed by the feeling of skin on skin, the boy shrieked repeatedly as his entire body blushed red under pressure.

Hestia pulled the boy up with her arms, making sure that he felt every inch of her as she pressed down.

Screams never stopped coming from the floors of the old church that night.

“I can hardly believe that Bell…!”

The next day.

Bell never cracked. Hestia had been in a particularly foul mood because of that all day. Even after coming home from her part-time job, she made no effort to hide the displeasure on her face.

Sitting on the sofa and reading a book, Hestia turned the pages with a lot more force than necessary.

Seriously, it’s almost like he’s daydreaming about money now instead of adventures in the Dungeon…There’s no way he’s being seduced by some strange woman, and she’s making him buy gifts for her…

Bell’s sudden devotion to crawling the Dungeon spurred on thoughts that normally wouldn’t have come into her mind. Hestia knew that her own family wasn’t that foolish, but her frustration only added fuel to the fire.

Then just destroy everything!
She pictured Bell being lured into the lap of some Amazon woman, the two of them getting touchy-feely with each other before suddenly shaking her head.
I don’t wanna see that
, she angrily quipped at herself.

“Eh…?”

Clop-clop
, the sound of shoes on the stone steps outside the door echoed through the room.

Now he’s too early
, she said to herself as she waited for Bell to come through the door. She forced her eyes off her book and stared impatiently at the entrance.

The door should open at any moment.
Knock-knock
to dry thumps came from outside the door.

“I’ve come to pay you a visit, Hestia.”

“Huh……Miach?”

Someone a lot taller than Hestia was expecting made his way through the entrance.

Long hair the color of the ocean and a gray robe worse for wear, the god Miach was greeted by a wide-eyed Hestia.

“Word is you’ve created a
Familia
. I know I’m a little late, but I thought I should at least stop by and say congratulations.”

“What, you came all the way out here just for that?”

Despite only recently meeting him after descending from Tenkai, Miach had a lot in common with Hestia, especially in terms of their
Familias
. Since Miach had helped out Hestia a few times, the two of them had become casual friends. Miach took a step inside the room under the church as Hestia’s face changed into a warm smile.

“Ha-ha-ha, there is no such thing as wasted time when there’s a chance to get a new regular for my
Familia
. Think nothing of it.”

“Hee-hee, nothing gets past you.”

Miach Familia
produced and sold healing items, like potions. Since his
Familia
was not very well known, Miach went to great lengths to reach new customers. After explaining that today was no different, he shared a laugh with Hestia.

“That being said…” he continued as he took a vial of blue liquid from his robe and handed it to the beaming Hestia.

“Think of this as a sample and as a gift to ensure that our
Familias
stay on good terms. Please accept it.”

“Ah, thanks! This helps a lot!”

“Sorry to change the subject, Hestia, but have you registered your
Familia
with the Guild?”

Miach asked her as Hestia reached out to accept the vial.

Huh?
Hestia tilted her head, a look of confusion in her eyes. The male god took it as his cue to explain.

“Whether members of a
Familia
go into the Dungeon or not, as long as the group resides in Orario, they must inform the Guild. That’s what the registration is for.”

In name, the Guild was only in charge of overseeing the Dungeon. However, since the Dungeon was at the center of Orario’s economy, the Guild was in a position of considerable power within the city. Efficient and fair management had resulted in a peaceful city and considerable growth using the resources provided by the Dungeon. The Guild had presided over the Dungeon since the Old Age, acting as a caretaker of the city as well.

The Guild controlled everything that happened in the city, and
Familias
were required to be a part of the system.

“Oh, so
Familias
have to register just like adventurers do, huh? Well, they let us live here, so it’s only natural.”

“That’s exactly right. Just another one of the charms of Gekai.”

“All these complicated things had no place in Tenkai, eh?”

Yup, yup.
The two deities nodded in agreement.

“So then, what to do? Since it looks like you haven’t registered yet, shall I go with you?”

“Are you sure? Actually, it would help me out a lot…”

“To tell the truth, I have nothing to do after this. So rather than being lonely during my free time, it would be better to help out a friend in need.”

“You’re the spitting image of what a god should be.”

“Ha-ha-ha, I get that a lot.”

The two of them left the hidden room under the church, emitting the passivity unique to the gods.

“I should fill all of these in, right?”

“Indeed. Don’t forget to sign your name using hieroglyphs.”

They were standing in the wide lobby of Guild Headquarters.

Hestia filled in the Guild registration paperwork as well as she
could on her own and asked Miach for help when she had a question, as adventurers from many different
Familias
went about their business around them. A feathered quill in her hand, she had to stand on a stool to help her lean over the counter to write.

Light from the evening sun came in through the ceiling windows, casting the white lobby in an orange hue. Considering it was around the time that many adventurers left the Dungeon, many races of human and demi-human were making their way into and out of the Guild at this hour.

A party of smiling prums made their way out of the Exchange; a few animal men were making passes at the cute Guild receptionists across the way; an elf and a dwarf were engaged in a deep philosophical discussion. There was so much to see in the wide, white marble lobby of the Guild.

The only gods in the room, Hestia and Miach watched all of the adventurers with great interest.

“Miach, what is this thing here,
Familia
Rank?”

“A measure of a
Familia
’s influence as determined by the Guild…It’s a grade. While the content of a
Familia
’s activities is taken into account, the most important factor is combat potential and overall strength.”

Each
Familia
in Orario was given a ranking from
S
to
I
, the same scale that was used to rank an adventurer’s basic abilities in a Status. The higher the rank, the more trust and respect was given to that
Familia
by the Guild and other organizations. Of course, fear as well.

The gods who treated everything on Gekai as a game did everything they could to raise the rank of their
Familias
and enjoyed every minute of it.

“A mercantile
Familia
’s rank increases when they make an impact. A high rank means that customers can trust their products, and more adventurers choose to do business with them.”

“By the way, what’s your
Familia
’s rank, Miach?”

“Ha-ha-ha, it’s
H
.”

It went without saying that the newly formed and dirt-poor
Hestia Familia
would be assigned the lowest rank,
I
.

Familias
were subject to the taxes of the city; the higher their rank, the more they paid.

“If you don’t mind my asking, Hestia, what does the child in your
Familia
look like?”

“Well, that question was out of nowhere.”

“What? The two of us are hopefully going to be working together for a long time, so I would like to know the child you have chosen to be your first member.”

“…A human boy with red eyes and white hair. His name is Bell Cranell.”

“Red eyes and white hair, huh…Oh, could that be him over there?”

“Huh?”

Hestia’s feathered pen stopped in mid-sentence and her head snapped up.

Following Miach’s line of vision to the corner of the lobby, she saw a white-haired human boy talking with a Guild employee.

“Bell…”

“I thought that was him. And…is he trying to give her something?”

The two deities watched as a very nervous Bell held out a small box in front of him and opened the lid to show the girl behind the counter what was inside. The girl, a half-elf looking very sharp in her Guild uniform, glanced down at the contents for a moment before saying a few things and smiling.

“A gift for his lady friend. Heh, looks like your boy’s got some skills.”

“…”

Hestia didn’t respond to Miach’s words and just watched the scene unfold in front of her.

The girl tapped Bell on the nose as the boy blushed and hid his face in embarrassment.

…Soooo, that’s how it is.

Said Hestia in the back of her mind, her eyes sending icy daggers at the two of them.

The reason that Bell had been getting up so early and working so
hard in the Dungeon to make money was all to buy a present for that beautiful half-elf.

Hestia’s mood suddenly plummeted like a rock.

Hestia felt more and more displeasure watching her make fun of him, Bell’s face beet red and hands waving in front of his chest.

“Humph.”

“Oh…? Hestia?”

“Sorry, Miach. I’m going home.”

Shoving her paperwork to the employee on the other side of the counter and ignoring Miach’s attempts to stop her, Hestia left the Guild Headquarters. Leaving behind the boy who’d never even noticed her, she tore through the front garden with quick footsteps.

Damn it, I didn’t wanna see that…

Frustrated thoughts filled Hestia’s mind as she made her way down Northwest Main.

As for why she hadn’t wanted to see, Hestia already knew the answer.

The goddess wanted full possesion of him. No one else, just Bell.

At long last she had a family—something that she had longed for. So seeing him getting involved with someone who wasn’t her hurt.
Don’t go to her, I’m the only one you need
, and other selfish, childlike thoughts raced through her mind.

Hestia didn’t know if she was reacting like this because Bell was Bell.

A new image suddenly jumped into her head. What if Bell wasn’t the first child she blessed…? If he hadn’t been her first family member, then her heart wouldn’t feel like this. She wouldn’t care.

Bell, you’re such an idiot…

Hestia arrived at her
Familia
’s home an absolute wreck of intertwining emotions.

She walked straight to the back of the room and in one motion plopped facedown on her bed. Eyebrows locked in an angry frown, the sulking goddess pulled all of the sheets and covers into a mountain around her head.

She did her best to chase thoughts of Bell out of her mind. Hestia slammed her eyes shut; no light was getting to them, anyway.

Clink, clack.

The light sounds of dishes being softly placed on the table outside her cocoon reached Hestia’s ears.

Hestia gently opened her eyes in the darkness under her bed covers, the noises slowly waking her up.

Blinking over and over, she sluggishly started to emerge from beneath the blankets.

The sudden light from the magic-stone lamp as she popped her head out of the corner of the bed stung for a moment as her eyes adjusted.

“…”

Her vision was blurry, but the first thing she saw was the back of a boy with white hair.

She watched him walk between the kitchen counter and table many times as quietly as he could.