As the small group chatted idly, someone's gaze caught a new pair entering the banquet hall.
-----------------------------------
At this moment, Asfi pushed up her silver glasses and signaled to Fron and Ais with her eyes.
Following her gaze, two figures came into view.
"Hmm, Fron, that child… I remember he's from your hometown, his name was… hmm… I can't recall."
Ais lightly tapped her lips with her finger, her expression blank.
"Uh, Bell. Bell Cranel."
Asfi nodded slightly.
"Lately, this child has been quite the sensation in Orario. Your record for reaching Level 2 the fastest was broken by him, by a full ten days. He's become quite the hot topic among the gods."
As she spoke, Asfi hid her eyes behind her lenses, making it hard to read her thoughts.
Her double-edged words, combined with the current setting, were enough that even Ais understood.
"You mean… this banquet of the gods is just a façade, and the real purpose… is that boy?"
The princess glanced at Ais approvingly and nodded lightly.
"When Fron suddenly rose to fame back then, the god Apollo also tried some underhanded tricks behind the scenes, but your god blocked them all. I heard the outcome wasn't too pretty for him."
"Unlike Fron, this boy's Familia is too weak, so far, he's their only member. That means Lady Hestia has almost no influence. If… and I mean if… Lord Apollo finds some excuse to stir up trouble at this Denatus, then… the Hestia Familia will be in danger."
Fron looked at Asfi in surprise. He never expected her to have guessed the situation so accurately, almost exactly right.
Should he say… that the Hermes Familia really lives up to its title as Orario's top information brokers? To deduce so much from just a few clues from the past few days.
Unlike Ais, who was a pure adventurer, Asfi excelled in strategy and intelligence. The two girls were entirely different types.
"Yo, Bell! Yo, Hestia!" The one coming up to greet them warmly, was Hermes again.
"Tch, you pretty boy!"
"Hey, hey, hey, Hestia, saying stuff like that really hurts! Orario is all about warmth and love, you know?"
"Hmph!"
"Hehehe, shorty, you've leveled up, huh? You actually managed to afford a dress!" Loki stood with her hands on her hips, bending slightly as her mischievous eyes squinted at Hestia.
The surrounding gods watched with amusement, each holding a glass of wine, waiting for the show.
"So, who's gonna win this round, Loki or the shorty?"
"Hmm… I bet on Loki last time, so this time I'll go with the little one!"
"..." The watching Familia members, having never seen such a scene before, looked at one another, not knowing where to put their hands, completely at a loss amid the market-like chaos.
Finally, Fron couldn't stand it anymore. With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead and walked over.
"Well then, excuse me for a bit."
Without hesitation, he hoisted Loki onto his shoulder, gave a small apologetic bow, and left with a blank expression.
Similarly, on the other side, Bell Cranel pulled away the little goddess.
"Um, Big Brother Fron!"
"Ah, Cranel, we'll talk later." Fron turned his head slightly, smiled faintly, and left with his company.
"Damn you, Fron! How dare you not help me!!! Put me down! I'm going to fight that shorty to the end!"
"...Give it a rest, you two are evenly matched anyway. One's a brat, the other's a shorty, what's there to fight about?"
"What!!! What do you mean 'brat'?! You'd better forget that nickname right now!"
Even as Fron carried Loki on his shoulder, she struggled wildly. Then… Fron suddenly let go, dropping her neatly onto the floor.
Plop. Sitting on the ground in embarrassment, Loki was stunned.
"Look, the main guest has arrived."
Just as Loki was about to jump up and throttle Fron, everyone's gazes turned in the same direction, and the lights in the banquet hall dimmed.
Ais and Asfi, wearing high heels, gracefully walked to his side and whispered softly.
"That's the god Apollo. Look at his Familia, his follower's eyes are fixed straight on Bell Cranel."
Fron looked at the young man with a ponytail and showed a faintly amused smile.
"The 'Sun's Favored Child,' Hyakinthos Clio, Level 3, captain of the Apollo Familia, huh… I actually dealt with him once before."
Recalling what happened a year and a half ago, back when he was still Level 2 and exploring the Dungeon alone, Fron chuckled.
"Hmm? What happened between you two?"
Ais tilted slightly, her heel lifting slightly as she leaned closer to whisper in Fron's ear.
The girl's scent, mixed with expensive perfume, drifted to Fron's nose, making his heart tremble. If this weren't a public place, he might have scooped her up and run off.
"Well, there's a bit of bad blood, not that I hold a grudge, but he does…" Then, in a low voice, the young man began explaining to the two ladies.
Back when Fron had just reached Level 2, he was training alone in the Dungeon to quickly adapt to his enhanced stats.
At that time, the Apollo Familia, led by Hyakinthos Clio, had suffered heavy injuries, more than half their members were down, and they were being chased by a horde of monsters. They happened to run right into Fron.
What happened next is obvious. Most adventurers would choose to divert danger onto others, and as captain of the Apollo Familia, Hyacinthus was no exception.
But… as Fron's body erupted in black flames and crimson lightning before their eyes, wiping out the entire horde in mere seconds, they never dared to look him in the eye again.
And because of that brief hesitation, several Apollo Familia members died.
Under such circumstances, with how complicated human nature is, it's impossible not to hold a grudge, especially for the morally dubious Apollo Familia.
After hearing the story, Asfi and Ais reacted very differently.
Asfi's eyes gleamed with disdain, while Ais remained expressionless.
Both were seasoned adventurers, having explored the Dungeon since they were young, especially Asfi, only two years younger than Fron.
Given the nature of their Familias, they had also seen far more of the darker side of the world.
Human nature, the flaws of adventurers, they both understood all too well.
"Things like that… you see them in the Dungeon all the time. It happens every day. The weak blame others for their lack of strength, and it just turns into endless resentment between Familias."