Loki had barely raised the question when Hermes immediately followed up with an answer, seamlessly.
It was obvious both gods were thinking of the same name; such a thing wasn't some amusing coincidence.
After pondering for a moment, Loki suddenly laughed, her eyes opening slightly, half-smiling.
"And what proof do you have?" Hermes had no answer. Instead, he shifted to another topic.
"Did you know? After the incident on the 24th floor, the one keeping watch was Falgar?"
"...Oh? So you were suspicious of him from the beginning?"
"How could that be? That was only a probe, nothing confirmed, that's all."
A god's intuition, Loki guessed.
She didn't know what Hermes was thinking, but her own impression was that the man's outward actions were too frequent.
Yes, that kind of awkwardness that would be strange not to notice. His movements might fool adventurers and his subordinates, but in the eyes of fellow gods like Loki and Hermes, he was full of openings,
No, it wasn't just a feeling; even so, everything he did was indeed flawless, which was precisely why they couldn't pin anything down.
That was the root of the awkwardness.
As for the Dionysus Familia, Loki thought:
Even though they had managed to remain an upper-ranking faction in the city for a time, at least until the "Nightmare of the 27th Floor", after that event and up to today, at best they were merely large in number, with overall strength around Lv.1, Lv.2, at most Lv.3.
In the entirety of Orario, their strength was barely mid-tier.
Although it seemed they were thoroughly hiding their power under a veil of "strict secrecy", similar to the Hermes Familia, using remnants of the Evilus and underground forces like the monster tamers as enemies was simply too far beyond their capability.
To put it bluntly, it looked more like arrogance. Dionysus wasn't some greenhorn who had just descended from the heavens.
Fifteen years ago, after the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia were "entirely wiped out" in the Black Dragon subjugation, the labyrinth city entered the Dark Age.
Dionysus should have understood perfectly well how dangerous Orario was back then, how strong, how cunning the enemies were.
And because he should understand, Loki couldn't figure out why he would voluntarily join the expedition force this time.
Even up to the moment before the operation began, the only one he sent to assist was the Lv.3 Filvis Challia, that alone was telling.
Seeing Loki's thoughtful expression, Hermes spoke.
"Dionysus and I are both gods who know a bit of each ither. Loki, I dare say I understand male god better than you do."
"Oh? I've heard rumors from your side too. Something about triggering a 'fit' and trying to instigate mutual slaughter?"
"My, my, I didn't expect you to know about that."
The two did not mention specifics; their words vague, clearly unwilling to delve into what lay beneath.
Besides those points, there were other suspicious things.
For example, Ouranos, who once strongly opposed the Loki Familia's intervention.
Though Loki's side later learned that Ouranos was hiding the Xenos, which was why they could only join forces (to provide intelligence) now, it was also true that Dionysus's stubborn remarks had worsened the hostility between both sides.
Loki had even personally gone to Ouranos's altar to question him.
With so many suspicious points piled up, how could they not suspect Dionysus?
But the more this went on, the more Loki wondered,
Were they even doubting the right person?
Because these clues were all too obvious, almost as if someone were deliberately guiding them to suspect Dionysus.
But as a shrewd and calculating goddess, Loki kept her expression neutral, simply burying that doubt in her heart.
Hermes, ignorant of Loki's thoughts, continued speaking of what he knew.
"In Tenkai, Dionysus was dangerous. If you don't believe me, you can ask other gods. And even without that, that guy is simply too close to the center of all this chaos. His shadow appears everywhere in this incident, doesn't it?"
With Hermes's explanation, Loki roughly pieced together the contours of his temperament.
"I also have a strange question for you. Since we're allies, you won't mind answering, right, Loki?"
"What is it?"
"I'm curious, since you've been suspicious of him for a long time, why did you bring Dionysus into the artificial dungeon expedition?"
Obviously, ordinary people would never do such a thing.
But that was only "ordinary people." For Loki, hiding something like this was nothing.
As the Goddess of Lies and Deceit, she had confidence.
"Well, for one thing, before the expedition began, he hadn't shown any slip-ups. That's one reason."
"And next, if the enemy is in their own stronghold, right beside us, then no matter how cautious they are, how much restraint they have, they're bound to make some move eventually…"
"As an enemy, they should be prepared for that, right? After all, I, their supposed foe, am right within arm's reach."
Hermes's lips twitched.
How could he not understand Loki's meaning?
This was clearly entrapment, using herself as bait.
In all of Orario, only Loki would have the gall to pull something like this. Maybe Freya, too.
And the two had one thing in common: Familias powerful enough that they could entrust their lives to them.
For example, Fron. With him around, Hermes didn't believe anyone foolish enough would dare to harm even a single hair on Loki's head under his watch.
"Right, you know me, don't you? I'm very sensitive to the scent of lies… but from the god Dionysus, I haven't smelled that scent at all. That's what confuses me."
Compared to evidence or speculation, Loki trusted her "divine intuition" more.
Some things couldn't be explained, yet they truly existed. And this trait could solidify into skills and magic in adventurers, so in gods it was even more unquestionable.
To her, Dionysus's words and actions certainly carried traces of "suspicion."
But the will behind his words, the sorrow hidden deep inside, those were undeniably real.
What played a decisive role was what had happened a few days ago.
Before his Familia's graves, the "vow" he offered, Loki simply could not doubt it.
In short, the contradictions between intuition and clues, tangled together, leaving Loki and Hermes completely unable to tell which was the real truth.