Free Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2 by Fujino Omori

depends on what that person is made of, if they can stand in front of a monster and not crumble under the pressure. In fact, it’s quite common that an adventurer who can slay weaker monsters all day can’t lay a finger on anything after that.”
    “……”
    “The fact is that these weaker adventurers become support specialists…So, yes, they’re an easy target for discrimination.”
    The mood in here is getting heavy. Eina’s face tells me everything Ineed to know about her thoughts on the matter; she doesn’t like it at all. I don’t think she likes talking about it, either.
    But it’s all coming together now. This explains why Lilly was so humble—she was labeled a “weak supporter” by those around her. So she stays away from her
Familia
. Everyone.
    ……I hate this.
    Just what the hell is this feeling? It’s not even my problem, but I can’t sit still or calm down.
    Resisting the urge to yank out my hair, I do my best to pull myself together and stand up from the chair.
    I would have been lost in thought for hours if I sat still.
    “Thank you, Ms. Eina. I will think about what you said and make a decision.”
    “It’s no problem. You can see me anytime, so when you have something like this on your mind, come and talk with me. Okay?”
    She gives me a nice smile. I bow one more time in thanks.
    Standing back up, I lightly turn to face the door.
    “Um…Bell?”
    “Yes, what is it?”
    “What happened to your knife?”
    “Eh?” I’m still lost in thought, so my reply sounds kind of stupid.
    Eina is now halfway out of her chair, her face filled with worry and her eyes on my lower back.
    “Knife…?”
    I reach around my back.
    My dagger, there.
    Pouch for magic stones, there.
    Divine Knife, there.
    …But only the sheath.
    “………”
    There is only dry air where the handle should be.
    Sssss…Blood drains from my face at an alarming speed.
    Eina watches as I frantically pat down my body, mouthing the words “It can’t be…”
    The Divine Knife is…gone.
    My face turns blue.
    “…I
dropped
it?!”

    The thief continued on through the backstreets.
    The overall atmosphere back here was completely different from the big shops and bright colors of Main Street.
    Looking up, the thief saw only a long strip of the sky was visible between long brick houses. The bottoms of the clouds were dyed orange by the evening sun’s weak light. The day was ending. A group of cats gathered around a shabby garbage dump, their golden eyes all pointing this way. Nyaaaa-nnn. They all scattered at the thief’s approach.
    Thump, thump, thump.
The echoes of small feet bounced down the alleyway.
    The thief ran through streets even more complex than the Dungeon itself, entirely certain of the destination. After turning many corners, the thief found the looked-for building.
    An ancient dwelling stood in the middle of a small clearing. The thief didn’t know whether it actually was ancient or not, but it certainly had that feel.
    A dusty, hard-to-read sign could be seen above the one-story wooden house.
    The thief opened the door and entered, causing a sad little bell to ring.
    “Ooh, it’s you, my friend.”
    “I have some business.”
    A completely bald gnome with a white beard looked up from a newspaper. He was wearing a red hat, but the thief knew he had no hair. Without a word, the thief set a knife on the counter.
    “You’ve brought me somethin’ strange again today, I see…”
    Adjusting his glasses and thoroughly inspecting the blade, the master of the shop said, “Back in a jiffy,” and left the counter. His round head disappeared into the back of the shop—a space filled with hundreds of antiques. Looking around, the thief saw there were many breathtaking jewels lined up in a glass case.
    The gnome was very quick to return.
    His face seemed surprisingly sour.
    “Just what is this? Did you pick it up at the garbage pile on your way here?”
    “Huh—?”
    “The blade won’t cut, stab, or