"Apologize?"
Puzzled by his serious tone, Hestia asked, "What did you do, Takemi, that you need to apologize to me for?"
"No, not me…" Takemikazuchi shook his head and stepped aside, revealing the people behind him. "Them."
"Ah! Aren't these your Familia kids?"
Seeing the three standing in a row behind him, Hestia walked out and smiled, patting Ouka's broad shoulder. "This must be Ouka, right? At the divine banquet, you really bragged to the other gods about finding someone with a war god's spirit…"
"Lady Hestia, I…"
At the words "war god's spirit," shame instantly flushed Ouka's face. His fists clenched, and his body trembled.
"I'm sorry, Lady Hestia!"
Under Hestia's kind gaze, he bowed deeply and shouted, "Because of my mistake, your proudest Familia member, Kai… he's still trapped in the middle floor of the dungeon!"
At that, Hestia's smile froze.
Behind her, Takemikazuchi's eyes widened slightly as he watched his fellow deity.
Ouka gasped for breath, but felt strangely lighter inside.
"You… what did you just say? I didn't quite catch that…"
Trying to keep her composure, Hestia crossed her arms and turned to Takemikazuchi. Her voice trembled. "Takemi… this isn't funny… You're just joking, right?"
Staring into her shaking blue eyes, Takemikazuchi exhaled and closed his eyes.
"Sorry, Hestia. Your child not returning is indeed tied to Ouka and the others."
"…"
His light words shattered all expression from Hestia's face.
"Kami-sama, you're up early to—"
Bell's voice came from inside the church.
"Bell."
Turning around, Hestia fixed him with an eerily calm gaze. "Didn't you say Kai was just training in the dungeon overnight?"
"Uh…"
Bell looked past her and saw the group outside. He immediately recognized Mikoto, the girl Kai had rescued.
It's no use. I can't hide it anymore…
Realizing the situation, Bell sighed and confessed everything he knew.
"…So since Mikoto and her teammates were rescued, then why hasn't Senpai come back yet?"
Facing Bell's simple gaze, Mikoto bit her lip and turned her head.
"I'm sorry… Kai stayed behind to cover our escape. He's still trapped in the middle floor."
"What?!"
Unlike Hestia's calm exterior, Bell's eyes widened.
"You… how could you leave him behind? That place—"
His words were jumbled. The thought of Kai still down there alone since last night made his chest tighten with pain and dread.
And just then—
Thud—
A loud crash sounded from the church.
Bell turned toward the noise and saw Lili glaring with eyes full of hate and sorrow.
"Bell Cranel! If it weren't for you… if not for you…!"
Meeting her fiery gaze, Bell lowered his head in shame. A hollow ache filled him, as if something precious had been torn from him.
If he had a second chance, he would never have let Kai face it alone.
Head bowed, Bell struggled to hold back tears, whispering with a hoarse voice.
"I'm sorry, Lili…"
"Sorry? Even if you apologize, Kai-sama won't come back!"
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Listening to their voices, the internal conflict within her Familia didn't change Hestia's expression at all. She simply stared at the three in front of her.
Ouka, Mikoto, and Chigusa all showed expressions of guilt under her silent gaze.
"Hestia, I understand how you feel. And your child only got involved because he was saving Ouka and the others, but—"
"Takemi."
Hestia's icy blue gaze silenced Takemikazuchi, and then she spoke coldly. "If Kai dies because of this, I'll never forgive you."
She didn't blame Ouka and the others directly. Instead, she unleashed her anger on Takemikazuchi.
Allowing underqualified children into the middle floor and dragging others down in the process, Takemikazuchi bore undeniable responsibility.
Facing Hestia's cold stare, he said nothing to defend himself and accepted her resentment.
Glancing indifferently at Takemikazuchi, Hestia shifted her gaze to the trio.
"Although this matter was indeed your fault, since Kai-kun was willing to go into the middle floors to rescue you, it means he had already prepared himself to pay the price. So I won't blame you..."
The three from Takemikazuchi Familia hung their heads low. The storm of scolding they had expected never came. Instead, they heard Hestia's calm and just voice.
"Then, may I now ask you to help me bring Kai-kun back?"
When they looked up, they saw a pair of gentle and compassionate blue eyes.
Behind the petite Hestia, the grand church shone radiantly in the morning light.
In an instant, an indescribably powerful emotion slammed into the hearts of the three.
"At your command!"
The three members of the Takemikazuchi Familia all knelt on one knee in unison, bowing their heads in respect.
Seeing his own familia members pledging their allegiance to Hestia in response to her compassion, Takemikazuchi narrowed his eyes slightly, but said nothing.
Having secured the help of Takemikazuchi Familia, Hestia turned back to Takemikazuchi. Her expression eased slightly.
"Takemi, you bear a big part of the responsibility for this, so you better help me properly."
"What do you intend to do?"
"Do I need to say it..." Hestia's eyes turned toward the towering Babel in the morning sky. Her voice was calm and resolute. "Of course, I'll mobilize adventurers from other familias to enter the Dungeon and bring Kai-kun back."
...
Dungeon.
Tap, tap...
Kai slowly walked out from the vertical stairwell. In his right hand, the blade he held dripped crimson blood along the dark edge, drop by drop.
He was now on the 16th floor.
Although there was no way to tell time underground due to the absence of sun and moon, Kai could still sense how long he had been fighting monsters nonstop.
The proof: ever since reaching the 13th floor, every level had been turned into rivers of blood.
Crack—
Just after arriving on the 16th floor, faint cracking sounds came from the surrounding stone walls.
Kai tightened his grip on the sword. A wave of soreness surged up his forearm. After an entire night of high-intensity battles against Lv.2 monsters, even his constitution and endurance over 60 points couldn't suppress the fatigue.
Yet despite the exhaustion coursing through him, Kai's eyes grew increasingly bright.
With the base class skill [Black Swordsman] fully active, he could clearly sense something emerging within his swordsmanship… It was hard to describe, but the feeling was undeniably real.
Crack… crack...
All around Kai, the sound of crumbling stone intensified.
Pairs of bloodthirsty and savage yet cunning beast eyes locked onto the lone black figure in the hallway through the crumbling walls.
Clang—!
Facing the monsters' gaze, Kai flicked his wrist. A cold, killing sword cry echoed across the floor.
The sword, king of all weapons, should be gentle and restrained like a nobleman. But it is also a tool of slaughter. Its edge cuts both ways—if not others, then oneself.
Kai stared coldly at the monsters emerging from the walls and raised his blade, body leaning forward.
The icy hilt felt like an extension of his own arm, pulsing with life.
The next moment—
Kai struck.
...
In the Hostess of Fertility tavern, Syr repeated her task of wiping the tables.
Usually, taverns like this had no customers in the morning, but she still took pride in doing her part.
After finishing one set of tables, Syr straightened her back and stretched, pressing her hands against her sore waist.
Then she tossed the cloth onto the counter, grabbed a chair and straddled it backwards, resting her chin on the backrest. Her gray eyes stared blankly at the empty street outside.
She suddenly thought of a customer who had recently frequented the tavern—always generous with tips.
"Ah, talking with a beauty like Miss Syr always feels healing. Is this some kind of magic?" That was the joke he always made after coming back from the Dungeon.
An utterly unserious customer.
"If he weren't so generous, I'd have already blacklisted him!" said the tavern owner every time she saw Syr being teased. But her tone never seemed truly angry. If anything, it felt amusing.
Because every adventurer who had tried to tease Syr in the past had been firmly punished—except for Kai.
Why was that? Was it really just because he tipped well?
The tavern owner had replied, "That kid isn't teasing you. He's just distracting himself... I don't know where he gets all that pressure. I worry about him. He's kind of pitiful."
Syr didn't really understand those words. From her perspective, that customer seemed pretty carefree. He had a harmonious familia, two juniors who admired him, and appeared to be a skilled adventurer who'd made plenty of money slaying monsters for magic stones.
[Black Holy Sword Wielder → Black Sword Saint]
She'd even heard stories—Lv.1 adventurer soloing a Minotaur, fastest level-up ever, Hestia's youngest sword, the Black Sword Saint...
Black Sword Saint… what a cool title.
When Syr first heard other customers call him that, she had felt envious for a while.
What was he doing now? Probably still hunting monsters in the Dungeon with his juniors, as usual?
While her mind wandered, a commotion outside snapped her back.
"Hey, did you hear..."
"...it's that Black Sword Saint..."
"Huh? No way..."
Catching the familiar words "Black Sword Saint," Syr stood up and rushed out to stop the passing adventurers.
"Excuse me, adventurers, may I ask what you were just talking about?"
The group paused, then noticed a pretty girl had stopped them. They didn't seem to mind. One burly adventurer answered, "It's like this: Lady Hestia is at the Guild right now, gathering high-level adventurers to rescue a familia member trapped in the middle floors. Apparently, it's that famous Black Sword Saint—Kai."
Then, without waiting, they turned and left.
Though Syr's looks were charming, none of the adventurers dared cause trouble here.
This tavern, the Hostess of Fertility…
Watching them go, Syr slowly turned and walked back inside, her expression a little strange.
So that generous customer… is in trouble?
She might never get his tips again. Might never hear those silly compliments again.
For some reason… it made her chest ache.
She sat down with her head low. A shadow suddenly fell across the table.
Looking up, she saw a green-haired girl with elf ears dressed in a similar maid outfit.
Staring blankly at the girl, Syr muttered, "Ryuu...?"
"Do you want to save him?"
The elf girl's voice was cold and beautiful, matching her appearance.
She hadn't said who "he" was, but Syr instantly understood.
"...Mm."
Staring blankly at the table, Syr nodded.
"I understand."
With that decisive reply, when Syr looked up again, Ryuu was already gone.