Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2 (26 page)

Lilly had used this special magic to fool many, many adventurers.

Her victims would charge after her in a rage, but she would change her appearance and make them think she was someone else. They had made a mistake; they couldn’t do anything to her. The rumors going around among adventurers about a “group of thieving prums” was a testament to the power of her magic.

Sometimes she became a supporter. Other times she was an innocent civilian.

Lilly had used this magic not only to change her appearance but also to change her race, and she had committed hundreds of crimes up to this point.

Looks like being careless enough to let that adventurer see me transform was a big mistake…

The man who had pursued her the other day was a victim of one of Lilly’s schemes, and he happened to see her reverse the effects of Cinder Ella. He saw her true face. That was the full story behind the incident in the alleyway.

She’d made a clean getaway, but now it seemed like that adventurer had told Bell some things he didn’t need to know.

Ever since she’d spotted them having a secret meeting that day in Central Park, the boy started acting much different toward her. He was always looking at her, and he hid information from her anytime she tried to ask why. It was almost as though he was suspicious of her, or he knew that she could change her appearance and was on the lookout for it.

It looked as though deciding that this was her last chance and making her move was correct…

…This really is it…

What a waste
, she thought to herself as she remembered all the money she made while working with Bell.

It was over—the good mood and security he’d provided were gone. A part of her felt the loss.

This was a strange feeling for a thief such as herself. She didn’t understand.

But there was something that she did understand: No matter how much she thought about this odd feeling, it was nothing more than a useless emotion.

There was no way to continue any connection with the boy.

She couldn’t ignore the risks of continuing the contract after what that man had told him.

Now that Bell knew everything, there was no way he would forgive her.

“……”

Lilly’s face became downtrodden. But she took a deep breath and shook her head from side to side.

Who cares?
she thought to herself as she dismissed any feelings of guilt. For someone like her to be moved by the kindness of an adventurer—what a joke.

Because all adventurers were the same.

Adventurers…adventurers…!!!

Lilly had been born into
Soma Familia
. Her parents were members, which meant that from birth, Lilly had no choice but to join
Soma Familia
herself.

Just by being who she was, the gears of fate might well have been snarled from the beginning.

The world had not been kind to Lilly.

Both of her prum parents said over and over how they wanted to save money to support Lilly when she was just an infant. However, they never did anything that could be considered parental, and before she knew it they were dead. Their desire for money—for Soma—drove them to prowl dungeon levels that were way out of their league. Apparently they were killed by a monster before they even realized what had hit them.

This left Lilly on her own in
Soma Familia
to fend for herself, in a group that was always stealing Soma from one another. She was alone. No one in the
Familia
looked after her. Those were very painful days.

Since the moment she drank Soma when being officially inducted into the
Familia
, she too had fallen under its spell.

There was no one she could depend on. So she decided to go it alone and make money by herself. But it was futile. She didn’t have what it took to become an adventurer and was forced to work as a supporter.

Then she was exploited.

Whenever she worked with a party, they would always say: “You stole some magic stones for yourself, didn’t you?” “You swiped some cash, didn’t you?” “You should be punished.” “You’re not getting any of our shares.”

She frantically tried to tell them there was a mistake, that she was innocent. But all they did was turn their backs on her, smirking.
When she was in the clutches of a monster, inches from death, they didn’t help her. They even refused to heal her afterward. She was kicked around all the time. They threatened to do all sorts of things to her if she lost the bags.

She’d never fit in with
Soma Familia
. After returning from the Dungeon, a fierce argument and fight over the money earned were always waiting for her.

Lilly hates adventurers…Lilly loathes them…!

After the effects of Soma wore off, she ran away from the
Familia
, a waterfall of tears in her wake.

She threw away the title of being a member of
Soma Familia
and tried to live a normal life in the city. Once she had acquired a sense of stability and happiness, it was taken from her. Members of
Soma Familia
destroyed her new life.

How they found her, she didn’t know. But they came, their eyes driven mad with greed, and stole everything from her. Not only that, they ransacked where she was living.

The nice elderly couple who had let her stay at their flower shop kicked her out after that. Lilly could still remember how they looked at her, like a soiled, rotten piece of garbage.

Even here,
Soma Familia
tormented her.

Lilly held a grudge against the god at the top, Soma. She wondered why he had created such a
Familia
.

She bore no ill will or malice toward him. Soma wasn’t interested in them, anyway. There was no connection of any kind.

Soma never did anything for them. He wouldn’t. She didn’t even think he knew what was going on in his own
Familia.

Perhaps, from his point of view, it was pointless to take pity on any of his “children” despite being their “father,” their god. But Lilly’s grudge against him never went away.

In the end, Lilly’s only option was to return to
Soma Familia
and work as a supporter to survive. If she made a bad choice—if she failed to play her part as the faithful little supporter—all it did was invite more hurt. Even if she was on good terms with a few members of the
Familia
. Even if she worked for free.

Yes, all adventurers were exactly the same.

All of them did horrible things to Lilly, just because she was weak.

Even that boy, surely…surely…

Even Bell…Even Bell—!

No matter how nice he was, he would have eventually raised his hand to her. There was no doubt.

What was so wrong with betraying someone before they betrayed you?

The elderly couple had treated her like their own granddaughter. Just thinking about them made Lilly remember their eyes. Yes, no matter what she did, she would always be thrown away at some point. She would always be abandoned.

Her thoughts did nothing to ease the ache in her heart. She picked up her pace, trying to drown out the pain.

“A Guild inspector will come today. Even if you make a mistake, don’t do anything stupid, newbie.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hestia returned to her post after the half-dwarf store manager finished his lecture.

Hestia had learned much about how to work with store employees who didn’t treat her as the goddess she was. Her twin black ponytails swished lightly from side to side as she set to work.

Her main job was to interact with customers, so she was the one to greet the Guild inspector. When the inspector arrived, she looked like a half-elf Hestia had seen somewhere before.

“Ah, aren’t you…”

“I have come here on behalf of the Guild. My name is Eina Tulle. I am here to conduct an inspection, as scheduled.”

Eina greeted her very professionally. Hestia thought about it for a moment but dismissed it as common sense and led her into the shop.

Keeping her visit completely by the book, after introducing herself to the store manager, Eina pulled out a piece of parchment and a pen before walking around the shop.

“Goddess Hestia.”

“Eh?”

“I would like to speak with you. Do you have a moment?”

While looking over weapon racks and the magic-stone air-conditioning, Eina made her way to Hestia’s side. She spoke in a low voice and never made eye contact. Hestia was a bit surprised at first, but then took a quick look around before casually filling her role as guide and leading Eina into a corner.

“I’m surprised you’d approach me like that. You plan for everything, don’t you, Ms. Adviser.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

The two of them continued their conversation while pretending to work, never looking at each other.

In response to Eina’s “Do you have a moment,” Hestia shook a weapons rack to cover her as she nodded yes.

“I have information concerning the supporter employed by Mr. Bell Cranell.”

Hestia’s hands stopped as a shiver ran up her spine, making her shoulders twitch. She turned to face Eina.

“I’m going to tell you about the
Familia
she belongs to, so please listen well.”

The more Eina told her about what she’d learned last night at
Loki Familia
, the tenser Hestia’s expression became.

Even though the possibility of her being under the influence of Soma was rather low, the supporter working with Bell might have had another motive—like depriving him of all his possessions—when she’d approached him.

Eina said that she would encourage Bell to break off all interaction with said supporter before something serious happened.

“Goddess Hestia, can I ask you to convince him for me?”

Eina looked down at the goddess with her emerald-green eyes.

Hestia looked back at her, speechless.

Since leaving Bell behind, Lilly had stayed on one clear path straight to the upper levels. She cleared the tenth level and ninth level with no trouble at all before arriving on the eighth-level floor.

Lilly knew every twist and turn of the Dungeon down to the eleventh level like the back of her hand.

Her method for relieving adventurers of their valuables was, like she had just done to Bell, to create a diversion and make her move during the ensuing commotion before making her escape—before the mark even noticed she was gone.

However, if they caught up to her, it was all for naught. The only way she had to avoid this was to memorize the dungeon maps sold at the Guild.

Even if she encountered monsters, she had become an expert at leading said monsters to other adventurers and letting them take care of it. In fact, that was about all she did.

Once she got to the surface, all she had to do was return to her normal self and sell off the goods. There was no way any of her victims could catch up at that point.

Alone, she could do nothing. But with a bit of planning and a vicious mind-set, Lilly had tricked many adventurers.

Her reason for stealing from adventurers? To put it simply, revenge.

She decided that she’d take back what was once hers from the people who had tormented her all of her life. She had repeatedly bared her fangs at members of
Soma Familia
.

She felt no remorse for her actions; it was her right as the victim.

All adventurers were
adventurers
. That had always been her reasoning, and that was never going to change.

…Everything so far had been the same, until she felt cruel looking away from one boy’s face.

Now that it’s mine, Lilly almost has enough money…

She had no interest in Soma. Actually, quite the opposite—she hated it. A piece of her had a grudge against it as well.

Even just the smell of it might make her fall under its spell again, make her go crazy like an animal.

Therefore, this money was going toward her salvation.

Someday, she was going to trade a large sum of money for her release from
Soma Familia.

The point was, Lilly was a possession of the god Soma. She tried to get the Guild involved, but they didn’t have the resources to help her and did nothing. The only thing she could do was convince Soma to let her go by offering an extraordinarily large amount of money in exchange for her freedom.