Chapter 33. Approaching Malice

[Arc3] - 33. Approaching Malice

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"Ughhh—"

Bell sat on the ground hugging his knees, his eyes blankly staring at the campfire in front of him. The atmosphere of self-doubt around him was so heavy that the Amazon sisters, who had planned to tease the little white rabbit, gave up on their plan.

"Maybe we should just make sure they can never speak again. After all, their mouths aren't of much use," Cyd suddenly stood up.

"I think that's a reasonable idea," Welf said, standing up with a magic sword in each hand.

"Lili wants to join too!" Lili said fiercely while loading her ammunition.

Ais blinked, looked at Bell, then at Cyd, and silently stood up, drawing her sword.

"If possible, please don't do that," Finn sighed helplessly. "Even if you go beat them up, the outcome won't change."

"Did I... do something wrong?" Bell buried his face in his knees. "The heroes in the stories never encountered something like this. I must have messed up somewhere."

"Ah, Bell, you didn't do anything wrong. You did your best," Cyd sighed, sitting back down. "So well that it made others want to praise you."

"Then why did they..."

"Don't think about it," Cyd forcefully patted Bell's head. "You're not going to have any more contact with them in the future. Your horizons are broad, and they'll only get broader."

"That's right. This is just the 18th floor. If it's you, Bell, you'll definitely reach even farther," Finn nodded.

"Exactly!" Lili gave Finn a thumbs up.

"Ahem, I was just stating the truth," Finn coughed lightly. "If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay at our camp for a while."

"Huh—really?" Cyd raised his eyebrows. "Your goddess doesn't like me, though."

"[Hahaha, that kid isn't part of Hestia Familia after all. Gulp, gulp... I must lure him into my Familia, and then Freya will be nothing!] That's what she said," Finn perfectly mimicked Loki's voice.

Cyd could already imagine a flat-chested woman hugging a jug of wine, laughing.

"And besides, if you don't stay, this little one might prank you," Finn joked, pointing at Ais, who was looking at Cyd expectantly.

"Alright, alright," Cyd reluctantly shrugged.

Though she said nothing, seeing Ais' bright eyes and swaying body, she must be—no, she is definitely happy.

"Damn it!" Bete howled as he rushed out.

"Almost forgot Bete likes Ais."

"Hehe, that's never going to happen. He's probably looking for a place to sulk right now."

The Amazon sisters teased Bete with laughter.

"Don't say that in front of him," Finn scratched his head helplessly.

"Your Familia is quite lively," Cyd chuckled.

"Have you ever thought about joining our Familia?" Finn smiled slightly, then looked at Ais. "If Cyd joins, there will be more training together."

Ais' eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up, walking straight to Cyd. "Please join our Familia!"

"If only Bete were here."

"Yeah, I'd love to see his reaction."

"Should we tell him later?"

"Don't tease Bete on purpose," Finn said, somewhat exasperated.

"Ehe~"

Though the sisters had cute expressions, they clearly had no intention of not provoking Bete!

"No," Cyd blinked.

"Ugh..." Ais' face fell as she lowered her head in disappointment.

"But I'll call you when I train with Bell," Cyd raised his hand to pat Ais on the head, only to awkwardly realize the distance was a bit off.

Just as Cyd was about to stand up, Ais bent down, pressing her face against Cyd's hand.

"Oh, oh, oh! Bete, where are you? Come back!"

"What's wrong? You wanted to do this, right?" Ais tilted her head, not understanding why Cyd suddenly fell silent.

"Ah, ahem, nothing," Cyd coughed lightly and gently rubbed Ais' face. "Work hard in exploring the dungeon."

"Mm," Ais nodded, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Good thing Bete ran off," Finn covered his face with his hand. If that guy were still here, he would have probably howled for a duel with Cyd by now.

Ryuu quietly sipped a cup of hot tea, silently watching Cyd, then took another sip.

"Aren't you mad, Miss Ryuu?" Lili whispered as she leaned close to her.

"Mad? Why? Cyd is just playing around with his student," Ryuu said, a bit confused.

"Miss Ryuu, you really are calm," Lili sighed deeply. "If Lord Bell were to play around with another woman like that, I would definitely break them up."

"Why?" Ryuu tilted her head.

"Because... I want to monopolize him," Lili whispered, glancing at Bell.

Seeing the little girl in front of her blush, Ryuu smiled softly, but there was an unshakeable sadness in her smile. "I don't have that right."

…

In the bustling tavern, various adventurers were gathered, all of them having been stationed on the 18th floor for a long time.

"Hey, that Hero's Apprentice showed up."

A tall adventurer pushed open the tavern door.

"Ho—big shot's here. So what?" A burly man shrugged. "He's the talk of the town now, with gods fighting over him. Who knows, he might join a big Familia soon. Hero's Apprentice—so impressive."

"Your tone doesn't sound very admiring, Moldo," the tall adventurer sneered. "I heard he even scared you to the ground before."

"Shut up! He's just a goblin-slaying weakling. Killing goblins isn't something to brag about, but suddenly killing a Minotaur and leveling up to Lv.2? And now he's some Hero's Apprentice?" Moldo took a big gulp of his drink. "Why? He wouldn't be anything without those two pieces of equipment!"

"So?" The tall adventurer sat across from Moldo. "Same as before?"

"Of course," Moldo grinned. "It's time to teach this arrogant rookie some manners."

"Heh, but the kid did take down a Minotaur solo, even if it was with equipment. He's not someone you can handle," the tall adventurer sighed as if pitying him.

"Hah? Who said anything about a fair fight? That naive brat can be taken down easily," Moldo smirked. "Who's in? It's not every day you get to stomp on the rising star, the Hero's Apprentice."

"Count me in!"

"Hahaha, I've been thinking about this for a while."

In no time, adventurers gathered around Moldo.

Except for one group.

"Damn kid, why do you always get targeted?"

The scarred man put down his glass.