Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2 (20 page)

“What’s this? You’re already finishing up, Eina?”

“Yes. About to.”

Eina nodded at her coworker.

They were in the lobby of Guild Headquarters. The floors and walls of the first floor were constructed from white marble, giving the space a somber feel. Evening sunlight shining in through the windows lit up the lobby like the neighboring houses.

Eina looked around the Guild lobby as she cleaned off her desk and stood up.

“Wow! Right at closing time?! The Eina I know never leaves right away…Could it be…surely not…a date?!”

“Why is that the only…”

Eina waved off the idea, politely refuting the idea, and forced a smile before taking her leave.

Saying a quick good-bye to her other coworkers, she left the building through the employee exit.

“Well, then…”

Tat, tat, tat.
The funny excuse for shoes the Guild provided her
echoed off the stone street as Eina set off in the opposite direction from her home.

This area of West Main was completely devoid of street vendors and stalls. The evening sun bathed long rows of large stores on both sides of the street in red light. Being very close to the Guild, almost all of the stores targeted adventurers as their main customers.

People who lived and worked in this neighborhood referred to this Main Street as “Adventurers Way” for that reason.

The street was wide enough that adventurers wearing heavy armor could easily pass by one another without incident.

After all that searching through the Guild’s resources, I couldn’t find anything other than the usual information on
Soma Familia…

Eina had been trying to find information about the inner workings of
Soma Familia
for the past few days.

If she was asked why, she simply answered, “There’s something I need to know.” If said person asked for more details, Eina would add that she was concerned about the possibility of Bell being caught up in a difficult situation.

Even talking to people in charge of
Soma Familia
’s adventurers, they all say the same things…Let’s see what I can find out myself.

Despite going through all of the Guild’s records and talking to as many people as she could, the results were less than promising.

She’d gotten as far as understanding, superficially, that all of the members of that
Familia
were obsessed with money, and it seemed as though there was something forcing them into a frenzy. Eina did her best to focus on the important points as she organized her thoughts.

A god uses their
Familia
to further their own ends…No, nothing makes sense.

Where there was smoke, there was fire. The “smoke” seemed to be coming from two places: the members’ unending desire for money and the sheer number of members in that group.

Soma didn’t have the type of reputation that could bring in the large numbers of members and followers that belonged to
Soma Familia
.

What if the god Soma isn’t the cause? What if there is something else…something making the members of
Soma Familia
act like that?

Eina stopped walking for a moment as she reached that point in her train of thought.

A large bar was in front on her.

“Hmmm…It might be useful to go in here, but…”

It had always been true that a bar was the best place to gather information.

However, it was the one place that Eina preferred to avoid.

For her—no, for all elves—bars where large numbers of adventurers gathered were usually unlucky places.

Basically, men of all races swarmed to her like bees to a flower.

“Ah-ha-ha…No, don’t think so.”

Thinking about what might be waiting for her beyond those doors, Eina laughed quietly to herself before walking past the bar entirely. Her pace quickened when the wild voices of the adventurers inside echoed through the entrance.

Not trying to flatter myself…

Eina was always very conscious of her appearance.

Despite being half human, the blood of elves—considered to have the most beautiful men and women among all the races—also ran through her veins. She had to accept the fact that, to a degree, men of other races would be attracted to her.

It’s not that I’m not open to the idea of dating…

The surprised look on her coworker’s face after she asked about a man or a date just before leaving work jumped into Eina’s mind.

Eina wasn’t trying to come across as some innocent virgin. She was already nineteen; it was perfectly acceptable for someone that age to have a partner. She did feel a bit empty from time to time.

That void was normally filled by work, however.

But then again, I’ve never really felt like “That one!” about anybody…

Most of the men who had approached Eina in the past were robust, capable adventurer types.

All of them were dependable men who could sweep her off her feet as well as protect and support her.

But because they were like that, there was one thing about them that made her a little nervous:

Maybe it would be better if they weren’t so reliable…

She was a workaholic, so perhaps someone who was a little more unpredictable would be a better fit…Never before had she been so honest with herself.

She’d be struggling with problems alone, trying to overcome them by herself, but then in the end someone would just come into her life. She wanted that kind of person. She laughed to herself as she envisioned getting a little too involved with him, working together to make something great, a hold-and-be-held relationship. Someone who would depend on her and let her feel like a protector would be just right for Eina.

Ahhh, I wonder if there’s a man like Bell anywhere—

Yes, that was it.

The answer was clear. It was hard to miss, putting it into words.

So a man like Bell would be perfect—ahhh…
Eina had found the most satisfying answer.

…Wait.

Hey, hey! Her hand flew into the open air beside her.

A man like Bell…Well, then—that was it, wasn’t it?

“Hee-hee-hee…” No one was there to see Eina’s ears turn pink or to hear her giggling.

“Ah! There it is, there it is!”

She was alone but still said her thoughts out loud and much louder than necessary.

Her face still flush with heat, she entered a two-story item shop made from stone. The billboard above the entrance to the shop read R
ETAIL
.

The reason she wanted to come here was to investigate
Soma Familia
’s wine.

Part of it was that she had exhausted most of her options, but the fact that they sold so little wine didn’t seem right to her. While she didn’t think she’d crack the case with this, Eina thought there was some value in looking into it.

I haven’t been here in ages. I wonder if they have a larger selection.

Transparent cases that were many times stronger than glass lined the inside of the shop like army camps. Eina craned her neck to look at the highest shelves.

Many products were stored on each shelf. Round-bottomed flasks filled with blue liquid were potions. Green fluids in cylindrical tubes were antidotes, and elixir was sold in fancy bottles with intricate designs. All of them were made by
Familias
that specialized in sales.

Many item shops sold items produced by only one
Familia
. This particular shop had secured a spot on Adventurers Way by having a good reputation and carrying many different types of items.

Eina walked right past the adventurer items and over to a corner of the store marked G
ROCERY
.

Yes! Here it is!

Eina happily clapped her hands together when she spotted
Soma Familia’
s label on a shelf lined with wine.

The container on the shelf wasn’t very appealing, being nothing more than a typical glass bottle. The liquid inside was clear. For something so highly sought after, it didn’t look very good at all.

However, out of all the varieties of alcohol on the shelf, there was only one of
Soma Familia
’s wines left. Its popularity must be the real deal.

“…
Soma
”?

Eina blinked her emerald eyes a few times as she looked at the most boring and thoughtless label in the shop.

Same name as its creator…Had the god Soma named it after himself?

Eina tilted her neck as she thought about it. She was thinking about calling over a sales clerk to open the closed case for her when her eyes saw the price tag.

Sixty thousand vals.

Thunk!
Eina’s forehead hit the shelf.

Wha…huh—? This is just wine?!

Unbelievable! It cost more than all of Bell’s equipment combined!

Eina rubbed the red spot on her head and looked at the bottle one more time.

The price was equal to or above the value of specialized weapons and armor for adventurers. While it wasn’t impossible for an average person to purchase a bottle of this wine, at that price it was highly unlikely.

The value of the contents and the shoddiness of the bottle didn’t match in the slightest.

How much money do I have on me? No way I brought enough…

The average pay of a Guild employee was more than what a run-of-the-mill adventurer made but nowhere near enough to justify walking around with 60,000 vals in their pockets. Buying even one bottle would put immense strain on Eina’s living expenses. Not to mention the fact that she’d bought a piece of armor as a present for Bell just a few days earlier.

Eina stood in front of the wine shelf, a fierce debate raging in her mind.

“…Aren’t you Eina Tulle?”

“Huh?”

A clear voice caressed her eardrums. Eina turned around to find the person who said her name.

Behind her stood a stunningly beautiful and surprisingly tall female elf.

Her glimmering jade-colored hair was tied into a single ponytail that hung halfway down her back. Her ears stuck up like leaves on a tree, guiding her gorgeous long hair backward. Even among the beautiful and refined elves, the woman looked on par with royalty. Her looks could even be described as otherworldly.

Fitting right in with her elegance, the woman’s emerald eyes were the same emerald green color as Eina’s, if not a little deeper shade.

Eina’s body snapped to attention.

“Lady Reveria?!”

“So it is you…It’s been a long time. You have become very beautiful in my absence. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

While it wasn’t quite a smile, the lips of Reveria Riyos Ahrve softened and curved upward. Eina was very quick to show respect.

“I am honored, my lady. To receive such high praise, I will hold your words dear…”

“Stop talking like that. This isn’t the elven homeland. You were not born in the homeland in the first place. You have no reason to hold me in such high regard.”

“Even so, I mustn’t forget to be humble and show the utmost respect to royalty such as yourself. Mother always told me—”

“So even that Aina would force this upon her daughter…It is
regrettable. She escaped the homeland alongside me, to end up like this.”

Eina looked on as Reveria let out a wistful sigh before fixing her piercing gaze on her.

“It is prudent to carry the smallest amount of respect, but any more than that is needless. I find it tiresome to be placed in that particular cage. If you say that you want to respect and honor me, then you must comprehend what my heart desires.”

“M-my lady…”

Reveria’s overpowering words left Eina speechless.

The fact remained that Eina was born in a free city with its doors wide open to any and all races. Her knowledge of elves in the homeland was very limited but…she knew that the elf in front of her was royalty, a high elf.

The elven half of her blood was forcing her to bow her head.

“I’m not asking you to break the system. Only don’t go overboard.”

“U-understood.”

“Good.”

Reveria gave a satisfied nod, but Eina wasn’t sure how to feel. Even her eyebrows weren’t on straight.

Eina felt like she had lost an argument and tried her best to keep that feeling hidden. So rather than dwell on it, she decided to be happy about their reunion.

When they were both young, Eina had met Reveria many times at her childhood home. However, they hadn’t seen each other even once since then.

Eina knew about Reveria’s activities as soon as she entered the Guild. Due to their schedules and job responsibilities, there hadn’t been a good opportunity to meet again.

Not that there wasn’t the possibility, but neither of them had made an effort.

“I’m glad to see that you are well. To think you would work for the Guild, of all places…”

“Please forgive me, I meant to contact you…”

“Pay it no mind. I’ve spent my days in the Dungeon ever since
arriving in this city. There has been no time for much else. Our meeting would have been delayed over and over, no doubt.”

All of Reveria’s movements, even her short head bow, were extremely polished and refined. Eina had grown up watching her mother carry herself with dignity and grace, but the high elves were on another level entirely. The two girls came from completely different walks of life.

“Why are you here today, Lady Reveria?”

“What? I used up the last of my items the other day in the Dungeon. Simple as that.”

“Would it be silly to think…that Lady Reveria can’t use healing magic?”

“Why, yes. However, magic is not perfect. If an item is on hand, nothing is better. What about you, Eina?”

“Oh…”

Reveria’s question reminded Eina of her mission. Her knees wobbled for a moment before she decided to answer as best she could without bringing up her investigation of
Soma Familia
.

This was to avoid the possibility of rumors going around that someone working for the Guild was investigating a specific group.

“Ahh, this wine. There are many in my
Familia
who adore it.”

“Um…can I ask you a question, Lady Reveria? Do any of them show signs of dependence or act strangely?”