Chapter 24 - What is happening here? (Patreon)

I let out a sigh when I heard Tiona's question and replied, "Her name is Bella. She's a member of the Hestia Familia. The only member."

"I see. You two seemed really close. You invited her to dinner, didn't you? Be honest. You hit on every pretty woman you come across."

"Who do you think I am?" I said with a smile. "No, I didn't ask her out. I just helped her. That's all."

"Hmm... suspicious..." Tiona said.

Tione then stepped forward and said, "Why do you care so much about it, Tiona? It has nothing to do with you. Rui can be with whoever he wants." She clicked her tongue afterward.

Hearing her sister's words, Tiona rolled her eyes. "You're right. I shouldn't care about it." Her tone of voice was very strange. It was obvious that she cared far too much.

She's making our relationship so obvious that it's actually funny.

"All right, we should get going now. How are you, Rui? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt. I'm just a little tired since I've used my skill several times in a row." Even though the Boost skill didn't have a very strong effect, it still helped a lot. Well, it was only level 5.

I assumed level 10 was the maximum. Once it reached the maximum level, the effect would probably be really good.

'But what's strange is that my Falna doesn't show the skill's level, only the skill's name. I'm the only one who can see the levels of my skills.'

"All right, we'll head out first. Just follow us. Once we get home, you'll come with me to explain to the Goddess what happened."

"Sure."

Is that really necessary? I'm sure she'll know everything as soon as she updates our Falna.

Well, the Goddess doesn't update our Falna every day, so it makes sense.

'Come to think of it, the Goddess never mentioned that, did she? About the first time Tiona and I had sex inside the Dungeon.' I'm sure she knows what happened, but she chose not to say anything about it.

I think she would've said something if it had happened with Ais.

You could say that Ais is the member of the Familia she loves the most, and that's as obvious as the sun in the sky.

Still thinking about it, I followed Ais, Tiona, and Tione as they killed the monsters we encountered along the way. Since the monsters on this floor weren't a threat, we made quick progress.

My only job was carrying the bag and collecting the magic stones and item drops from the monsters.

As soon as we left the Dungeon, I spotted Bella in the distance. She was talking to two suspicious-looking men. I watched as I walked beside Tiona, and she noticed me looking at Bella.

"You really like her, don't you?" she murmured so Ais and Tione wouldn't hear.

"Something strange is going on over there," I said.

"Strange? They just look like they're talking."

"Those men are very suspicious. Besides, she looks visibly uncomfortable and scared."

"You're overthinking it," Tiona said with a shrug.

I pushed the bag into her hands and said, "I'll be right back."

"Hey, are you kidding me!? Why do you care so much about her?"

"I'm just helping a friend. Stop overthinking it. I thought you weren't jealous." I smiled at Tiona and walked away before she could say anything. Tiona and Ais looked at me, and I said,

"I'll be right back."

The two of them looked surprised and turned to Tiona, who explained what was happening.

I looked at Bella and noticed that she was being led away by the two suspicious men.

She was walking in front while the two of them followed closely behind her like bodyguards.

I approached them in an instant and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Huh?" Both men turned around at the same time.

They looked like a pair of pigs.

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POV: Bella

'Damn, what was that? Why did he suddenly take an interest in me? And the look that Amazon gave me... I think her name was Tiona. Scary...' I got out of there as fast as I could.

Still feeling tired and hoping I wouldn't run into any dangerous monsters, I finally left the Dungeon.

'They should be coming out soon too. I have to leave before that guy tries to kidnap me and take me out to dinner or something. Rui, right? The Goddess told me a lot about him.'

I didn't understand why before, but now I do.

The Goddess always said I was very beautiful, that I attracted a lot of attention.

"If Rui sees you, he'll want to get close to you. He's Orario's most famous womanizer."

That was probably what she was thinking when she told me to be careful around him.

But honestly, I don't know why she only warned me about him. There are plenty of other dangerous men out there.

'Being a womanizer probably isn't the only reason.'

I let out a sigh and slowly walked away from the Tower. My legs were trembling slightly.

'Today was pretty... eventful. At least I managed to get a Minotaur magic stone and a Minotaur horn.'

I held my bag as if it were the most important thing in the world.

'I'd better head to the Guild and exchange these for money right away. I don't want to risk losing them.'

But suddenly, two men stepped into my path.

They were about as tall as Rui, but they were much more heavily built. They looked nothing like him.

"Well, well, look who we have here—a beauty walking alone," one of the men said.

"Can I help you?" I tried to step back, but the other man moved behind me.

I looked around for help, but no one seemed to care.

"You're coming with us for a moment, all right?"

"What? No! I don't want to!"

"You don't have the option of refusing. Let's go before things start getting a little violent," the man behind me said.

My eyes met his, and I let out a sigh.

"Good girl. Follow me. This will only take a few minutes." The man smiled.

'I just need to find the right moment to run away. The problem is that I'm exhausted. My legs are trembling.'

I started to grow worried, looking around for someone to help me.

'Why doesn't anyone care???'

Just as I was about to scream for help, I heard Rui's voice.

"What's going on here?"