The dungeon air is damp and heavy, but at least it's quiet. No gawking eyes. No judgment. Just me, Bell, and a bunch of kobolds begging to be turned into magic stones.
We made it. After all the crap we went through, we actually made it down here.
Ever since the rumors spread, adventurers wouldn't stop staring. Some even had the guts to pick a fight. I was this close to blowing my cover—having to act weak just to keep things calm. But now?
Now I'm breaking kobold necks like twigs.
"I almost killed a god. What gives them the right to bully me?" I mutter, crushing another kobold without even looking.
"Still mad about the other adventurers?" Bell asks, brows furrowed with concern.
"Yeah. They're lucky Ms. Eina told me to hold back. Otherwise? They'd be buried six feet under."
"Don't worry," Bell says, flashing that innocent smile of his. "Once the Guild figures things out, you won't have to hide anymore."
I laugh. Of course he finds the silver lining. That's just who he is. We keep clearing out kobolds, hours passing like minutes. That's when a random memory surfaces—something I heard on the way in.
"Hey Bell... why do they call you 'Tomato Kid'?"
Bell flinches.
"Well… uh… it's a long story," he mutters, face already turning red.
He starts explaining while I casually lay traps for any kobolds trying to sneak in. After he finishes, I burst into laughter. The poor guy's face is redder than ever. Not from embarrassment—but because he's noticing the battlefield is a little too clean.
I quickly disable the traps and stand.
"Nice story, Bell. But seriously, don't let those idiots get to you."
"Funny, coming from the guy who almost turned a group of adventurers into dungeon decorations," he says with a laugh.
"You didn't see anything."
I scoop up the magic stones, hand Bell his share, and ask if he's ready to head back. He nods, still wondering why so many were just lying around.
Timeskip
Back at the mansion, Bell gets his status updated. His stats skyrocket—160 points across the board. We're celebrating… or we were, until I noticed Hestia.
She's not smiling.
She stands, abruptly pulling on her coat. Bell catches her before she walks out.
"G-Goddess? Um… why did I grow so much, so fast?"
"Don't ask me!" she snaps, storming to the door.
We both call out, confused. She ignores us—until Bell hits her with one more question.
"Where are you going?"
"A-A party. With my co-workers!" she fires back.
Bell and I exchange baffled looks.
Then she turns, fire in her eyes.
"You two go have a wonderful dinner and an amazing time—without me!" she yells before slamming the door behind her.
We're left in stunned silence.
"She's mad… that you leveled up?" I mutter.
"She should be happy," Bell says quietly.
No point standing around. We shrug it off and head to the pub.
Timeskip
We're standing in front of the pub now. "Hostess of Fertility." Weird name, but whatever.
Before I can knock, a girl peeks out of the door.
"You're that adventurer! And you brought a friend too!" she says cheerfully.
She steps outside with a graceful little bow.
"I'm Syr Flover. Nice to meet you both."
The moment we sit, two massive plates of pasta land in front of us. Our jaws drop. I glance at the woman behind the counter—Mia Grand. She just smirks.
"So you're Syr's friends?" she says. "Pretty cute—for adventurers."
Bell freezes. "P-Please leave me alone…"
He starts counting the price in his head, visibly panicking. That's when Mia casually drops a fried catfish on his plate. He jumps. I laugh and pat his back.
"Relax. We pulled in 120,000 valis from the crystals today. You're fine."
"That's right!" Mia calls out. "You two need to eat big to stay strong."
"Having fun?" Syr suddenly appears beside us, startling Bell.
"A little overwhelmed..." he mumbles.
As Syr talks about meeting new people, Bell quietly frets over the cost again. I can feel the guilt eating him alive.
"Come on, Bell. Don't kill the mood. Let's celebrate. We'll earn more tomorrow."
Suddenly, the cat-eared waitress announces the arrival of guests with a reservation.
The pub goes silent.
The Loki Familia walks in like celebrities. Everyone turns. Including Bell—who immediately locks eyes on the Sword Princess.
"The Loki Familia… one of the top-tier groups, up there with Ishtar and Freya," an elf whispers beside me.
'Not for long,' I think, smirking.
I keep eating. Bell doesn't. He's too busy staring at Ais Wallenstein. Syr is still talking, but he's somewhere else.
'Didn't my best friend join Loki's Familia?'
I try to recall her name. Her face. But all those years spent chasing revenge… everything else got buried. Was it Ais Wallen... Wallstein?
Before I can remember, loud laughter jerks me back. I tune in.
They're talking about Bell.
He's shaking, fists clenched. He tries to run. I grab him.
The commotion draws the attention of the one person I didn't want to deal with right now.
Bete.
"Well, well, look who it is! Tomato dork and Mr. Level-20 himself! This is gonna be fun."
I can feel the anger bubbling up again. I got harassed this morning. I'm not doing this again.
"I'll deal with you later, Tomato. First, let's expose this liar!" he sneers, turning to me.
"You say you're level 20? Prove it. Fight me!"
"Bete, enough!" Riveria commands.
"Relax, Riveria. I'm just giving these weaklings a lesson in respect."
That's when I break.
In a flash, I'm on him. My hand clamps around his throat, and I lift him off the ground like he's nothing. His cocky grin vanishes. I slam him to the floor, hard. My fingers tighten. His face starts turning purple.
"Bete!" Loki screams.
The Loki Familia rushes to intervene—but their efforts are laughable. They tug at my arms, shouting, casting spells—nothing works.
Gareth raises his massive axe.
He brings it down on my arm.
And that's when it happens.
Something impossible.
Something no one saw coming.
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