Is It Wrong To Level Up In A Dungeon?

Chapter 36. The Distance Between Gods and Men

Ares growled, throwing his helmet across the room. "Then we'll get stronger! We'll regroup! I refuse to be humiliated like this!"

Back at the Hestia Familia mansion.

Haruhime stood in the courtyard, dressed in a simple black-and-white maid outfit that Mikoto had helped her pick out. 

The fabric fluttered softly in the breeze as she carefully hung freshly washed sheets along a line. Her movements were still timid, as if she feared being scolded for taking up space.

"This goes here..." she murmured to herself, stretching on her toes.

"Haruhime, wait—I can help with that!"

She startled as Bell suddenly appeared, reaching up to steady the sheet before it slipped from the line. Their hands brushed.

Haruhime froze, fox ears shooting straight up. "Ah—! I'm s-sorry!"

Bell pulled his hand back instantly. "No, it's my fault!"

Unfortunately, that was the exact moment Hestia stepped into the courtyard.

Her eyes locked onto the two of them. Silence followed.

"...Bell."

"Yes, Goddess?" Bell said, standing straight as a spear.

Hestia folded her arms, cheeks puffing slightly. "New rule. Effective immediately. Boys and girls in this Familia are not allowed to touch each other. Ever."

The reaction was instantaneous.

"What?!" Lili shouted from the porch.

"That's impossible!" Mikoto protested.

"Goddess, that's unreasonable!" Haruhime squeaked.

Hestia flinched at the barrage, then quickly waved her hands. "O-okay! Revised rule! No inappropriate contact between male and female members!"

The uproar subsided, though grumbling lingered.

Lili smirked. "Does that include gods?"

Hestia blinked. "Of course not. Relationships with gods are fine."

Her eyes slid toward Bell. "Speaking of which... Bell. Hypothetically. If a goddess asked you out, what would you say?"

Bell stiffened. "I'd... reject her."

The courtyard went silent.

Hestia stared at him. "Why?"

Bell scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "Goddesses are divine beings. I'm just... me. I'm not worthy of that kind of relationship."

The words hit harder than he realized.

Hestia's eyes shimmered. Her lips trembled. "I... see."

She turned away abruptly. "I'm going out."

"H-Hestia?!" Bell called, but she was already gone.

A pit formed in Bell's stomach. Without another word, he took off after her, heart pounding.

The battlefield beyond Ares's domain had long since ceased to resemble anything noble. What should have been a place of valor and strategy had become a sprawl of broken tents, dented armor, and wounded pride. 

Soldiers of the Ares Familia sat slumped against overturned carts and shattered barricades, some nursing bruises, others staring blankly into the dirt. Their defeat hung in the air thicker than the smell of sweat and iron.

Merchants had already moved in.

They were an odd sight—peddlers with wide smiles and sharper eyes, weaving through the defeated ranks as if this were a festival rather than the aftermath of humiliation. "Discount salves for broken bones!" one shouted.