Bell returned to the ruins of the church.
The moment he saw the person standing outside the ruins, Bell immediately quickened his pace and ran over.
"Bell-kun!"
The one waiting outside, of course, was Hestia, who had been worried all day.
Ever since Bell left in the morning, she had been anxiously waiting at home with worry because it was Bell's first time going into the dungeon.
She couldn't help but worry that something might happen to him. Now that she saw Bell return safely, she could finally stop worrying.
Filled with relief and joy, she rushed straight at Bell and, without giving him a chance to react, wrapped him in a tight hug.
Hestia's breast pressed firmly against Bell's abdomen. The sensation was so vivid that he could feel it even through his clothes.
Even someone as composed as Bell couldn't help but show surprise on his face. It wasn't that he lacked self-control around women—Hestia was just way too much for him to handle
"Mmm~ It's really you, Bell-kun, not some ghost."
The solid feeling confirmed for Hestia that she wasn't just imagining things. She couldn't help but put her hands over her heart.
The worry that had been hanging over her was finally able to relax.
"Hestia-sama, I told you I'd definitely come back from the dungeon, and the first floor is something I can handle."
Bell said gently.
"Mm... Bell-kun, it's not about whether you can handle it or not. Even if I know you can, I'm still going to worry."
Hestia quickly glared at Bell, but now that he was safe, she felt much more at ease.
"Bell-kun, how did it feel going into the dungeon for the first time today?"
She wanted to hear her own first famillia member's experience in the dungeon.
As a goddess, Hestia was someone who couldn't enter the dungeon and never had the chance to experience it herself.
Therefore, Hestia was also curious and wanted to hear from Bell about the dungeon.
"It felt... like the monsters in the dungeon were way stronger than I expected."
Bell said thoughtfully.
When Bell thought about the dungeon, the first thing that came to mind was the goblins he had fought today.
Those monsters possessed a certain level of intelligence. They surrounded him when they knew they couldn't win.
The methods he had used before didn't work easily again because the goblins would quickly alert and be ready for them.
"The goblins on the first floor are faster and more agile than regular people, and their strength is unusually high too. If an ordinary short knife couldn't cut their skin, it would be really hard to kill them. On top of that, they have a certain level of intelligence. The tricks I used once didn't work on them a second time."
'Intelligence?'
Hestia's eyes widened at the word. She couldn't believe what she had just heard that goblins possessed a certain level of intelligence.
Hestia stared at Bell seriously and asked again, making sure.
"Bell-kun, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"I don't think so. During the fight, I used the same tactic more than once, but the goblins who had seen it before immediately tried to counter me. I think that's a clear sign of at least some level of intelligence, right?"
Bell wasn't entirely sure himself, but he thought it was true based on the goblins' behavior.
Those goblins definitely had intelligence.
However, Bell wasn't sure if their intelligence was just something temporary during the fight or if all the monsters in the dungeon had some level of intelligence.
Hestia fell silent upon hearing this.
If what Bell said was true, the goblins really did display some degree of intelligence.
However, how did that happen?
Monsters were supposed to be mindless creatures with no intelligence at all. If they were capable of thought and decision-making... wouldn't that make them not so different from humans?
The reason adventurers can easily defeat monsters in the dungeon is because those monsters don't possess intelligence.
The monsters were seen as a threat to all civilians on the surface, and it might be the people who would die if they weren't killed.
But if monsters possess a certain level of intelligence and maybe even develop intelligence like the people on the surface, then when adventurers kill those monsters, are they really just killing monsters?
Hestia didn't have an answer to that question.
It was a question Hestia didn't dare pursue any further.
After all, she couldn't be sure if the dungeon would really end up like that, but… what if that day really came?
Hestia stared straight into Bell's eyes.
"Bell-kun, what if the monsters in the dungeon eventually gained the same level of intelligence as humans?"
Bell gently shook his head. He didn't know if that would ever happen, but he also didn't think it would be something that couldn't be dealt with.
"Hestia-sama, I already made my decision the moment I became an adventurer. If they don't stand in my way, I won't interfere. But if they become enemies in front of me, then I will kill them."
It really was that simple.
The world Bell had come from was already fucked up beyond repair. He'd given up on bullshit like helping people back in middle school.
Bell had learned that sometimes being kind only made him a target and taught himself to stay distant and not get involved.
'If someone is in trouble, what does that have to do with me? If it has nothing to do with me, why should I help?'
"If monsters with intelligence really do appear, the way to deal with them is no different from how I would deal with any other adventurer. If those monsters come looking for trouble with me, I won't go easy on them. Of course, I will help if I owe them... no matter what others might say behind my back, I'll choose to help them in return."
Bell looked at Hestia's surprised expression. He wasn't sure if his answer had been too harsh, scratching his cheek. He asked, "Hestia-sama, did I say something wrong?"
Hestia came back to her senses and smiled warmly.
'As expected, Bell-kun is such a good kid.'
With that thought in mind, she finally felt at ease.
She didn't know if the dungeon really held such secrets, but she knew that Bell had already made up his mind.
"There's no problem, Bell-kun. You're a good kid, and making that kind of decision was the right one for you. The good and evil can't always be clearly separated. They are just terms that depend on the individual's perspective. Bell-kun, you just need to do what you believe is right."