Change of Destiny

"GROAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

The Minotaur's roar terrified Bell to the point that his legs trembled, almost unable to stand.

"N-No! I just became an adventurer!"

In a desperate situation with no way out, Bell felt time slow down as he recalled many things.

'Is this what they call a flashback before death?'

He remembered his childhood when his grandfather told him stories of heroes and took him to see girls, and when he once peeked at goddesses in the Divine Bath.

His grandfather was his greatest motivation to become an adventurer.

Bell wanted to grow strong, to be a hero like in fairy tales. He wanted more than just friendship with sweet girls. He wanted to meet women of all different races.

Was trying to meet girls in the Dungeon, wrong... Building a harem?

'I'm foolish for thinking I was destined to find my dream girl in the Dungeon. Come to think of it, I was very naive to decide to search for my dream girl in a Dungeon where hundreds of adventurers die every day.'

"GROAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

The Minotaur then charged, moving its entire body while aiming its horns at the target.

Bell closed his eyes in fear of facing death.

*SWOOSH* *SWOOSH* *SWOOSH*

*Pu-chi* *Pu-chi* *Pu-chi*

"GROAAAAAAAAAAAR—"

The anticipated pain never came; instead, the sound of flesh being sliced and the dying screams of the Minotaur echoed in Bell's ears.

"...?"

When Bell opened his eyes, his face was splattered with blood gushing like a fountain from a large hole in the Minotaur's belly.

"Are you okay?"

That was when he saw a young girl, no... a Fairy emerging from the remains of the bull monster.

Her slender body was clad in a sleeveless white top beneath, green shorts that exposed most of her snow-white skin, and a green flower-shaped hood.

The Fairy stood tall despite her petite frame. Her prominent chest was tightly packed beneath the thin clothing, accentuating her perfect figure.

Her green hair hung down to her shoulders, looking beautiful like the trees in the forest.

She pointed the wooden sword down, blood from the Minotaur dripping to the ground.

Although the Fairy covered her nose and mouth with a green mask to conceal her identity, Bell was sure the other was an Elf after seeing her pointed ears.

'She's the most beautiful Elf I've ever met... She's even more beautiful than Eina-san... I feel like I've seen her somewhere, but where?' Bell thought, pondering.

To be honest, he had a fetish for Elf. This was evident from his choice of a beautiful Elf as his advisor when registering as an adventurer at the Guild.

"Mhm... Cranel-san, are you okay?"

The Elf was none other than Ryuu Lion, one of the maid at the Hostess of Fertility. Of course, she recognized Bell, who had recently become close to her good friend, Syr Flova.

After hearing that Charlie was fishing for Evilus who might be hiding in the Dungeon, Ryuu wanted to try her luck to see if she could find them. After all, she had an unforgivable grudge against Evilus.

That's why she requested a day off from Mama Mia using a random excuse, then secretly entered the Dungeon with the goal of finding Evilus.

Upon reaching Floor 5, Ryuu heard someone's hysterical scream. She thought perhaps Evilus was trying to kill another adventurer, which was a normal thing for Evilus to do. So, she rushed toward the source of the sound.

To her surprise, she saw a Minotaur that was supposed to appear on Floor 15 chasing a rookie adventurer on Floor 5. Moreover, the young man being chased was someone Syr liked. Ryuu decided to help.

Facing the Minotaur was not difficult for Ryuu, who was a First-Class Adventurer with Level 4.

"..."

'No, I'm not okay. My heart feels like it could explode and shatter at any moment. This is not okay!' Bell couldn't take his eyes off her.

His cheeks flushed as he stared at her with sparkling eyes.

'Love blooms within me instantly. My soul is lost; it belongs to her now. Is it wrong to try to pick up a girl in the Dungeon? No! I'm not wrong! What my grandfather said is true, Orario is the best place in the world to find beautiful girls!'

His heart raced, and Bell swallowed hard as he looked at Ryuu, who was only wearing very short shorts that resembled underwear, exposing her calves.

"Cranel-san? You should go back to the surface. Normally, Minotaurs only appear on Floors 15-17. There might still be other Minotaurs on the Upper Floors, so report this to the Guild for immediate investigation."

Unaware of Bell's lewd thoughts, Ryuu earnestly urged him to end his Dungeon exploration for the day.

She didn't want Syr to be sad if Bell died.

"..."

Still no response, Bell looked dazed.

"Clean the blood off your face with this."

Thinking Bell was traumatized by the earlier incident, Ryuu approached him and wanted to give him a handkerchief.

"AAAAAAAAA!!!"

Something unexpected happened. Bell suddenly ran away quickly, leaving Ryuu stunned by this change of situation.

"Am I that scary? Cranel-san got scared when I approached."

Her self-esteem took a slight hit. After all, Ryuu was a beautiful woman. This was the first time she experienced a man running away from her.

"Forget it. The most important thing is that Cranel-san is safe. Charlie Avalon said there are remnants of Evilus hiding in the Dungeon, and he seemed very sure about it. Let's investigate this matter."

*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*

The sound of hurried footsteps approached quickly. Ryuu became alert to the approaching person.

"Sword Princess Aiz Wallenstein?"

Her vigilance eased when the person who appeared turned out to be Aiz. As long as it wasn't Evilus, Ryuu wouldn't show any hostility.

"Did you see the Minotaur?" Aiz asked.

"What actually happened?" Ryuu asked in return.

"A group of Minotaurs ambushed us as we were returning from an expedition. After defeating several Minotaurs, the remaining Minotaur fled to the Upper Floors. Right now, we are chasing the fleeing Minotaur to prevent it from harming rookie adventurers."

Aiz didn't hide anything and straightforwardly stated the facts.

"So that's it... No wonder the Minotaur appeared on Floor 5. By the way, I just killed a Minotaur."

"Thank you, that was the last Minotaur we were chasing."

Upon hearing that the other party had killed the last Minotaur, Aiz sincerely expressed her gratitude.

"No problem. Well then, I'll be going."

Not wanting to get involved with Aiz, Ryuu turned toward the entrance of the Dungeon. She didn't want to cross paths with the executives of Loki Familia. Therefore, she abandoned her intention to search for the remnants of Evilus hiding in the Dungeon.

Meanwhile, Aiz also returned to her party.

❀❀❀

On the other side.

Charlie was unaware that his casual words during dinner with Aishia at the Hostess of Fertility had changed the destined meeting between the protagonist and the main heroine.

"Huft... Next, let's coat the walls with cement to make them sturdier."

Letting Aishia wipe the sweat from his forehead, Charlie took a moment to rest after making the basement prototype.