Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Sewer?

Chapter 1

Sitting in a safe alcove of the dungeon, Bell looked down at his lunch. It was a neat little box wrapped in a white cloth with orange designs on it, tied off neatly on the top with a tight bow. This was Bell's lunch, otherwise known as Syr's morning rations. Why she made these lunches for him was beyond him. He'd been meaning to figure out some way to repay her, but he always came short. Looking at his party, he figured that they might have some insight.

"Hey guys, I have a question."

Everyone looked up from their food and focused their attention on Bell.

"Y'know how Syr's been making me these lunches every day for some time now, right?" Bell asked as everyone nodded their assent. "Well, I wanna repay her somehow, but I'm not sure how. Any ideas?"

The party stopped eating for a second to consider the question. Welf was the first to speak. "You could make her some food in return? I feel like she'd like that kind of thing."

"That's a good idea, but I'm not the best cook," Bell replied.

"Ooh, maybe you could bring her a dungeon drop, like a gem or something, and make it into a necklace!" Lili suggested.

"That's a good idea, but where the heck am I gonna get a gem? The magic stones probably wouldn't be a good idea since they're, you know, magical."

"That's a good point, hmm..." Lili mused, rubbing her chin.

The party went silent until Mikoto spoke up. "Say, doesn't she like you, Bell?"

Bell looked up at Mikoto. "I have no clue... I mean, she did say that she fell in love with me a while ago, but I feel like she was just making fun of me..."

"But she makes your lunches every day. And she goes out of her way to give them to you. And she seems really concerned about you being in the dungeon every time it's brought up," Mikoto pointed out.

"Okay, sure, but that's probably just her being a good fri- ACK! What was that for, Welf?!" Bell exclaimed, after being pegged in the forehead with a pebble by Welf.

"You're an idiot. She likes you," said Welf, slightly annoyed at the boy's cluelessness.

"W-well, so what if she does?"

"That depends. Do you like her?" Welf pressed.

"I mean, she's cute but, I don't know..."

"Do. You. Like. Her," Welf pressed again, but more stern this time.

"I... Yes! I guess... I just don't know what to make of it, though..."

At that moment, Lili's heart dropped, but for his sake, she'd roll along with it. "Well, in that case, then why don't you take her out on a date when she's free? Kill two birds with one arrow, or whatever. Figure out what's going on with your feelings and repay her for the lunches. Bam. Simple." In her mind, she was hoping that his feelings weren't real, but she wasn't going to say that.

"...you make a good point. Alright, I'll do that, then. I'll take her out somewhere, I'll just have to figure out where."

Just then, Bell had a sudden realization. "Oh no, what's Hestia gonna think?"

The party collectively winced. Everyone knew how much Hestia wanted to keep Bell all to herself. Taking a deep breath, Bell made a final decision. "I think it's time to tell her how I actually feel. I'm attracted to her, but I don't think I'd want to be with her long term, because she's a goddess, and I'm just a human. Although I do love her a lot and we get along well, it just doesn't feel right. Besides, I don't think I'd ever feel worthy dating her while dating her. How do I tell her that though?"