Chapter 39 – Who Fell into the Trap?
The next day.
Early in the morning, Shirou returned the "Hassan's Dagger" to Bell.
"He-He-He-He-Heavens!!!"
Upon seeing the dagger returned, Bell was so ecstatic that he nearly went crazy with joy.
He excitedly asked, "Shirou-Nii, where did you find it?"
"I got it back from a black market dealer," Shirou replied calmly. "Most likely, after you dropped it somewhere, someone picked it up and sold it to the black market boss."
"I see."
Bell readily accepted Shirou's rather clumsy explanation.
He also believed that he probably lost the dagger somewhere by accident. Now that the dagger had returned, his face finally showed a bright smile.
While Bell was still absorbed in his happiness, Shirou suddenly said:
"Bell, today — no, for the next few days — I'll go with you to the dungeon."
"Eh? Shirou-Nii is going to the dungeon too?" Bell looked surprised at first, then quickly became thrilled. "That means I get to fight alongside you?!"
"No."
Shirou shook his head silently at Bell's excitement. "I won't be fighting. After all, if I step in, then clearing the dungeon won't help you grow stronger anymore."
"…That's true."
Hearing Shirou's reasoning, Bell quietly nodded.
He knew Shirou was powerful — at least, the upper layers of the dungeon posed no threat to him at all. If Shirou really fought seriously, Bell probably wouldn't even need to lift a finger to clear the dungeon.
While that would certainly be easy, for Bell, who sought to grow stronger, it was not something he desired.
"Wait a minute, then why are you coming to the dungeon with me?" Bell asked with confusion. "Are you looking for something in there?"
"Let's say it's something like that."
Shirou didn't explain his true intentions.
After all, as far as he was concerned, the less Bell knew, the easier it would be to lure out the supporter who had stolen the dagger.
Thus began the first full-party dungeon expedition of the Hestia Familia — though in reality, it was just the two of them.
With Hestia sending them off with a concerned expression, Shirou and Bell arrived at the central plaza of the dungeon.
Under the clear sky, the vast circular plaza was, as always, filled with fully armed adventurers.
"By the way, Bell," Shirou asked casually, "will that supporter you mentioned before be coming again?"
"Yeah, we agreed on it," Bell replied as if it were a given. "Lili and I have already gone into the dungeon together a few times, and we promised to keep adventuring together in the future."
"A promise, huh…"
Shirou silently nodded.
After waiting in the plaza for a while, a brown-haired little girl with beastkin features approached them from a distant path.
As soon as she arrived, she walked straight up to Bell and looked surprised when she saw Shirou.
"Th-This is…?"
"My name is Emiya Shirou. I'm a companion from the same Familia as Bell," Shirou replied on his own, facing Lili directly.
"I-I see. Hello, Mr. Emiya," Lili quickly nodded. "Are you joining us in exploring the dungeon today?"
"That's right. I also want to reach level 2 soon, so I can learn the development skill for forging."
Shirou spoke slowly, explaining himself.
"Eh? You're a blacksmith?"
Lili looked genuinely surprised.
"What's wrong? Is that a problem?"
"No…"
Lili instantly thought of the dagger on Bell's person when she heard Shirou call himself a blacksmith.
But after hearing that Shirou wasn't even level 2 yet and hadn't learned the [Forging] skill, she concluded that there was no way he could have forged the dagger.
Moreover, since he was a level 1 blacksmith, he likely had little to no combat power. That made Lili even more confident. She smiled and said:
"Then please come with us. I'll be sure to do my job properly as a supporter."
"Mm."
Shirou nodded and entered the dungeon with Bell and Lili.
But before stepping into the dungeon, he suddenly noticed faint gazes from behind. The glances were subtle — imperceptible to most.
However, with Shirou's observational skills, he instantly became aware of the stalkers hiding in the shadows.
"Are these helpers that this girl called Lili brought with her?"
That was Shirou's first instinct.
As a result, he changed his original plan of "dealing with Lili the moment they entered the dungeon" and decided to observe a bit longer to figure out exactly what this girl from the Soma Familia was up to.
After all, with his level of strength, no matter what kind of trouble appeared, he could easily resolve it.
.
.
.
Back in the familiar darkness of the dungeon maze, Shirou couldn't help but feel an itch in his hands as he looked at the danger-filled surroundings.
If Lili wasn't here, he might've projected a weapon already and charged through the dungeon all the way to the lower levels.
"Next time, I should come explore the dungeon alone," he thought, just as Lili's voice came from the side.
"Mr. Bell, may I ask where you stored that dagger…?"
"Since I lost it once before by accident, I didn't want to drop it again — so this time, I put both the dagger and its sheath inside the pocket of my armor," Bell replied, showing the reinforced bracer on his arm.
"I see."
Hearing Bell's words, a faint trace of disappointment flashed across Lili's face. But she hid her emotions well, believing that no one noticed.
Then the three of them began their dungeon exploration.
But although it was supposed to be a three-person expedition, in reality, only Bell did any fighting. Shirou idled nearby the entire time, and Lili had no combat ability as a supporter.
However, because they were still on the lower floors, and especially since Bell had greatly improved after defeating the Silverback Ape, he was strong enough to eliminate all monsters by himself.
"You really are amazing, Mr. Bell!" Lili praised. "With your strength now, you should have no problem exploring the tenth floor!"
"The tenth floor, huh?"
Bell didn't get cocky upon hearing Lili's words.
He had a clear understanding of his own strength. The first few floors posed no danger, but once they got into the double-digit floors, safety could no longer be guaranteed.
"It wouldn't hurt to check it out," Shirou said, trying to persuade him. "If we encounter any danger, we can just retreat immediately."
"…Alright then!"
Hearing Shirou's words, Bell dropped his hesitation.
After all, he had absolute trust in Shirou.
Unexpectedly, Lili revealed a hint of suspicion and wariness. She hadn't expected her plan to proceed so smoothly.
But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see anything special about either Shirou or Bell.
Especially Shirou — just a level 1 blacksmith. He shouldn't be able to cause any problems...
"Alright, let's head out."
In the end, Lili didn't voice her doubts. She convinced herself that her judgment was correct — had to be correct.
Because by now, she had no way out.