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

by Fujino Omori

  The Hestia Knife cut nothing but air, and Ushiwakamaru was stopped in its tracks. Neither one of the blades could make it past the heavily decorated flamberge. Its blade glowed with the intensity of the sun with each swipe. Each impact hit with the veracity of flame. The metal sang out with a high-pitched screech and was accompanied by a shower of sparks every time it hit the Hestia Knife and Ushiwakamaru with incredible force.

  It was a special blade, the Solar Flamberge, that only the leader of Apollo Familia was allowed to carry.

  It moved so fast that Bell’s eyes couldn’t follow, only track the afterimages in its wake.

  “Civilized rabbits do not howl.”

  Bell saw Hyacinthus smirk just before the man’s entire body became a blur as he picked up speed.

  He felt the impacts before he saw them.

  The crimson light of Ushiwakamaru’s blade was redirected out to the side at the same moment that the violet Hestia Knife was knocked backward. The blur in front of Bell’s eyes seemed to flow, a truly beautiful technique—both of Bell’s arms looped around his body as if swimming through the air. He couldn’t breathe, and time seemed frozen in place.

  Before his eyes could blink, the flamberge slashed from below.

  His body’s reflexive retreat wasn’t fast enough this time. Bell’s breastplate was sliced clean in half. The tip of the longsword met flesh, carving its way through skin, muscle, and bone alike in one long, graceful slice. Extreme pain shot through Bell like a wildfire.

  —He was hit.

  His eyes managed to catch a glimpse of the rouge blade on its top swing.

  Suspended in midair and bleeding profusely, Bell didn’t have time to dwell on what had just transpired. Hyacinthus was on top of him once again.

  “Gah?!”

  The hilt of the man’s weapon connected with Bell’s cheek in a sideways swipe. Jumping forward, Hyacinthus raised his right elbow and brought it down hard.

  The elbow hit Bell square in the throat, making his body flinch. He couldn’t even yell out in pain before the man’s fist buried itself in his gut—and was followed up with a spinning kick. Momentarily blinded by his opponent’s boot, the next thing Bell saw was the sky as his back hit the stone pavement.

  Hyacinthus came out of his spin, keeping close behind. The man’s golden earrings jiggled as he landed.

  “B-Bel…?!”

  Hestia’s scream became an inaudible sound before she could finish his name.

  Bell’s body didn’t move. He looked like little more than a bloody corpse lying in the street. His chest wound was deep, the still-flowing blood forming a small puddle around his body. Even his face was stained red. At long last, one shaking hand grabbed ahold of the top of the stone. His body lurched to the side as Bell tried his best to sit up.

  Hestia was stunned speechless at the sight of her bloodied and broken follower in defeat.

  “Ah, gahhh, uwh…?!”

  “Still conscious, I see.”

  Bell’s vision was blurry as he willed his upper body off the ground. Tears welling up in his ruby-red eyes, he looked up at Hyacinthus.

  This was—a second-tier adventurer.

  Hyacinthus was an authentic Level 3 adventurer. He didn’t depend solely on his superior Status; his technique and strategy were top notch. This was completely different from facing a monster in combat—there was no time to plan or even use Magic. Trying to charge his Argonaut Skill would be downright suicidal. There was no way Bell could win.

  He was outmatched, plain and simple.

  As an adventurer, Hyacinthus was in a completely different league.

  The feeling of being slammed into the mud in defeat overtook him. Rivers of tears flowed out of his eyes.

  Bell had no words as the physical pain and mental anguish raging within him expressed themselves on his face.

  “Such a horrendous face, so unlovely…Just what does Lord Apollo see in you?”

  “Whuh?!”

  Hyacinthus stood over Bell, taunting him before mercilessly kicking him in the ribs.

  Unable to defend himself, Bell’s body rolled farther down the street before sliding to a stop in an open intersection.

  “Stop this at once!”

  Hyacinthus did not respond to or even look at Hestia as he approached Bell.

  “I have sworn my body and soul to him. Only I am worthy of his affection…The rabbit shall be captured.”

  The man’s words were laced with jealousy as he crouched down in front of the boy.

  “…Can’t have you causing a fuss. You’ll be healed no matter what I do to you, so a few severed tendons won’t make much difference.”

  Smiling like a man possessed, Hyacinthus rotated the flamberge in his left hand and pointed the tip at Bell’s face. Fear flashed through the boy’s eyes.

  Hestia was running to his aid, but she wouldn’t make it in time.

  The rouge blade flicked upward and was about to swing down onto Bell’s shoulder when suddenly—

  Several arrows pierced the stone pavement where Hyacinthus had been standing just a moment ago.

  “What?”

  He had dodged the sneak attack by the skin of his teeth. Bell and Hestia were just as surprised by the sudden turn of events.

  All three of them looked to find where they came from. In the distance, a little ways off of West Main, was an old, run-down bell tower. It was very faint, but there was the shadow of an archer holding a longbow on top of the roof.

  An extremely long-range attack executed with pinpoint accuracy—“A sniper?” Hyacinthus muttered to himself. “Chienthrope…”

  Hyacinthus narrowed his eyes just as the next round of arrows was released.

  “This is why I despise upper-class adventurers…”

  Nahza frowned as she watched Hyacinthus dodge every one of her arrows.

  Drawing rounds of arrows from the quiver attached to her waist, she continued her barrage in an attempt to support Bell from afar.

  She was quick to comprehend what Apollo Familia was trying to do, and she immediately grabbed her weapon, came to the top of this tower, and located Bell. Miach Familia’s former third-tier adventurer was a skilled archer whose accuracy was second to none. She was so far away from Hyacinthus that a normal person wouldn’t have even seen a human outline, let alone be able to come within a celch of hitting the target.

  “Bell, run…”

  As if her plea had been answered, Bell staggered to his feet just as she was whispering to herself. The boy grabbed Hestia’s hand and the two raced down another street. Hyacinthus started to give chase but was cut off by Nahza’s next round.

  The man looked straight at her, eyes burning with fury. She fired yet another arrow, aiming straight for his chest. Without missing a beat, the rouge longsword knocked the arrow harmlessly out of the air.

  He must’ve given up pursuit for the time being, because as soon as the arrow hit the ground, Hyacinthus took off in the opposite direction. Nahza saw his white cape swish as her target disappeared from sight.

  “Too many enemies…”

  The dog person turned her attention to the other shadows pursuing Bell on the rooftops and proceeded to take them down one by one. It was like dispatching individual bees in a swarm, with no end to it.

  From her vantage point, Nahza roughly estimated that there were at least two hundred adventurers pursuing Bell.

  Tossing an empty quiver aside, Nahza equipped a new one.

  She was firing so many arrows that she didn’t have enough time to watch them hit their targets. Instead, she listened for the distant yelps of pain and soft thuds as the hunters fell from the rooftops.

  “Lord Miach, please hurry…”

  A solitary bead of sweat worked its way down her anxious face.

  “Bell, are you okay?!”

  “I-I’m f-fine…”

  Bell’s breath was shallow and ragged as he responded. Hestia was on the verge of tears.

  Hyacinthus had inflicted considerable dam
age; the boy’s entire body was in pain. It’d taken every high potion he had to close the wound in his chest. They ran with everything they had, putting one foot in front of the other in a desperate attempt to gain some distance. However, Bell couldn’t keep his balance and needed Hestia’s help to stay upright.

  His body may not have been moving as well as he would’ve liked, but luckily his ears were at full strength. They picked up the sound of the spell coming from not too far away.

  “?!”

  “Magic?!”

  Hestia noticed, too. Sure enough, there was an elf mage directly above them holding an outstretched staff.

  Using that particular building’s architecture to shield herself from Nahza, the mage had been lying in wait while casting an enchantment. What’s more, her hiding spot was out of Firebolt’s range. Bell and Hestia immediately took off in the other direction, but it was too late to completely escape the imminent blast.

  A lightning spell with a particularly long range flashed right behind them.

  “—?!!”

  The hair on the back of his head singed, Bell hugged Hestia in close as the two hit the street and rolled.

  Bell did his best to shield Hestia from the blast, but the lightning magic carved its way into the surrounding buildings and ground. Everything around them was instantly blown to pieces; the air was inundated with smoke.

  “Lissos, I have them!”

  “Superb! Send word to Daphne!”

  Bell’s and Hestia’s ears were ringing, vision hazy as many footsteps rushed in to surround them. The first figure to appear on the other side of the thinning smoke was an elf wearing a scarf that covered his mouth—the same one who had led the attack on the church. This time he was accompanied by five more adventurers.

  Lissos, a rather handsome elf even by their standards, glared at the two fugitives and said, “Chests to the ground, now.”

  Bell rolled over to protect Hestia, his dirty face locked on the elf—then, a new group appeared on the scene.

  “Huh…?”

  “This game of yours looks like fun. We’ll play, too.”

  Six figures appeared behind Hestia and Bell, a party of adventurers.

  Watching the party move to confront their attackers, Bell’s eyes were instantly drawn to the large man leading them. He was none other than Takemikazuchi Familia’s captain, Ouka.

  Next to him was Chigusa, brandishing a spear of her own. Mikoto was standing tall, ready for battle.

  “Imbeciles…Do you not realize you are threatening members of Apollo Familia?!”

  “Oh, that’s what we came here to do.”

  “We refuse to sacrifice our bonds of friendship when allies are in need!”

  Ouka answered Lissos’s enraged warning by drawing his greatsword. Mikoto accentuated his sentiment with a few words in her own high-pitched voice.

  The two factions stared each other down. Apollo Familia and Takemikazuchi Familia drew weapons and shouted battle cries as they prepared for combat.

  “We made it in time…!”

  “M-Miach?!”

  Both groups charged in, trying to land the first hit, when suddenly Miach emerged from the backstreet, trying to catch his breath.

  Hestia was first to notice his presence and raised her head to greet him. The god looked down and nodded with a short “Ah.”

  “I requested the aid of Takemikazuchi Familia when the explosions first rang out. Are you all right?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Miach, friends like you are just so…!”

  The deities smiled at the look of surprise on Bell’s face and the gratitude radiating from Hestia’s eyes.

  Nahza had been operating independently while Miach joined Ouka’s battle party on the way out here.

  “Unfortunately, we cannot linger. Leave this fight to them. You, Bell, get moving.”

  “Wha…but—”

  “Listen to me. This battle will not end until your safety can be guaranteed. You must understand this.”

  Bell hesitated. In that moment, more loud voices announced the arrival of yet another group.

  More hunters. Reinforcements.

  Bell struggled for breath as Miach looked at him with pleading eyes.

  “Now, go!”

  “…Sorry about this, Miach!”

  Hestia climbed to her feet. Bell fought back the pain and nodded.

  The two made it to the entrance of the closest back alley. Bell took a quick look over his shoulder at Mikoto’s group, locked in fierce combat. The fact that others were now involved in this mess weighed heavily on his heart.

  At that moment, Bell understood what a conflict between Familias truly implied.

  As soon as one group made a move, others would be forced to meet them in battle—it becomes a quagmire. Combat would become more intense as time wore on. Bell was convinced, rather forcefully, that no Familia was going to pull any punches.

  “That’s the city wall! They forced us all the way out here…?!”

  Hestia looked down the back alleyway, running as fast as she could while supporting the injured Bell.

  The imposing curtain of rock that surrounded the city loomed over them. Hestia guessed that, based on their distance from the wall, the two had been forced all the way to the very western edge of the city.

  They met up with a monumental roadblock and hadn’t been able to plan their escape. In their desperation, they’d gone in the complete opposite direction of the Guild.

  “Over here!”

  “…?!”

  They were surrounded by the sound of enemy footsteps in no time.

  The hunters had to use the architecture for cover against Nahza’s arrows. But now, they caught up to Bell and were ready to attack.

  Three figures jumped over the top of Bell, their shadows blocking out the sun.

  “—You want a piece of this?!”

  “?!”

  A new black figure launched itself from one of the side streets, colliding with the three hunters in midair. Holding a greatsword in his left hand, the figure sent two of the hunters hurtling to the ground with one sweep.

  Additionally, a golden arrow plunged into the cheek of the hunter the figure had missed, and he fell to the street just short of the boy and his goddess. The black figure landed a moment later, delivering a kick that sent the final hunter careening into a wall.

  “…Still breathing, Bell?”

  The figure’s long black jacket furled as the red-haired figure turned to face him.

  “Welf?!”

  The young man rested the greatsword over his shoulder as the two comrades made eye contact.

  “Mr. Bell!”

  Lilly emerged from the shadows and rushed to join them.

  Reloading the bow gun strapped to her right arm, Lilly called out her friend’s name.

  “Supporter, too…”

  “Why…why are you here…?”

  “We were worried about Mr. Bell and Lady Hestia, obviously!”

  “Everyone’s talking about a ‘rabbit hunt’ around town. Word travels fast.”

  Lilly, still in her werewolf form, stopped right in front of a very surprised Hestia as everyone exchanged information.

  The two newcomers were stunned by Bell’s appearance. Exposed skin covered in dried blood, an enormous scar crossed his chest where his breastplate should have been. What was left of that piece of armor hung loosely below his chest. Lilly flung her backpack to the ground and instantly withdrew three vials—a high potion she had purchased from Nahza for their Dungeon trip and the two dual potions. Wasting no time, she shoved all three of them into Bell’s hands.

  “Thank you, Lilly…”

  A searing pain coursed through Lilly’s heart as she looked at the weak smile on Bell’s battered and beaten face. How cruel, she thought as the boy winced. Her eyes trembled as if she could see herself in his position.

  Bell uncorked a vial of dark blue liquid and did his best to overcome the twinges of pain as he chugged it
down.

  “We can’t stay in one place. We need to move, now.” Hestia turned to face the others when she spoke.

  “Lilly thinks she understands the situation…This is all a result of that night at the bar?”

  “No, that’s part of it. This is all part of Apollo’s plan.”

  Lilly asked the question as the four of them took off. Hestia answered her right away.

  Whether it was all true or just some elaborate prank, everything that Bell knew was on the line. Lilly nearly tripped as that information sank in.

  “Yo…We’ve got company!”

  “!”

  Welf, who was leading the way, spotted more figures up ahead. There were three in the front with a few more joining them from behind.

  Bell’s and Hestia’s faces tensed up, but it was Lilly who urged them forward.

  “Please proceed to the Guild!”

  “We’ll clean up here and be right behind you! Don’t worry about us!”

  Bell knew by the number of oncoming enemies they wouldn’t have a chance, but Welf waved him off. Lilly locked eyes with Hestia, pleading her to go.

  “We’re counting on you!” she said with a reluctant nod and grabbed Bell’s wrist.

  “Cover me, Li’l E!”

  “Of course! But will Mr. Welf be okay on his own?!”

  Bell and Hestia went down a different side street as Welf and Lilly rushed to meet their enemies head-on.

  Welf cocked an eyebrow at the prum girl as if annoyed by her concern.

  “Well, I’m a hell of a lot stronger now—”

  The first three hunters rushed in.

  Both hands clamped firmly on his greatsword, Welf swung his weapon low and brought it arcing forward into a full swing.

  His wide-eyed opponents were too slow to dodge the oncoming blade and were flung backward to a chorus of their own shrieks of pain.

  “—so I’ll be fine!”

  “…Being strong is all well and good, but clear a path!”

  The airborne hunters spun and flipped over Lilly’s head and landed behind her.

  Lilly hid just how thankful she was for Welf’s Level 2 and yelled a stern warning instead.

  The enemy reinforcements arrived a moment later and immediately engaged them in combat.