The two gods began searching for clues in places unknown to others. Clearly, the outside world had no idea about any of this.
After all, most of the people who did know were already overwhelmed dealing with the aftermath of the finishing blow delivered by Enyo in the final stage of the expedition.
For example, the other familia's who had taken part had suffered tremendous personnel losses, and even the Guild Headquarters had to re-evaluate the complete annihilation of the Dionysus Familia: the fate of the sole surviving member, Aura, all sorts of messy problems.
And if that weren't troublesome enough, Orario's strongest Familia forces had been severely damaged, drastically weakening the city's overall power.
[T/N: Two chapter's back, it was stated that Loki Familia did not have any losses?]
The impact was enormous, and they were all running around drenched in sweat trying to manage it.
As for the various factions outside the city, who cares whether Orario is the "lid" of the Dungeon or has some great mission?
Money makes the world go round, that's it! Like that bastard Ares...
...
Loki looked up at the sky and sighed in her heart.
Even if she asked the now-empty blue sky, she wouldn't get an answer.
Was Dionysus looking down upon her from the Tenkai right now? Or maybe, were those gods peering down at the Lower World watching everything unfold?
Perhaps Tenkai at this moment looked something like this, they might be pointing at Loki, laughing their heads off, saying that even though it's Loki, this is really disgraceful.
Normally, just imagining such a scene would make Loki, the "troublemaker," furious enough to blow them all away.
But for some reason, she felt none of that anger right now.
"......"
With her hands in her pockets, she lowered her head to hide her expression and emotions.
Her mind, however, wandered back to the intel she had gathered about Dionysus's behavior in Tenkai.
"That guy… according to the little runt (Hestia) and the others, he really did have a pretty crazy side up in Tenkai. Just like I used to be before descending."
Loki understood that feeling all too well, it was an illness mortals could never have, the divine sickness born from a poison called boredom.
Compared to her own past, Dionysus was far more reserved. No one understood boredom better than Loki.
Back then, she'd been so tormented by it that she made the gods fight each other, nearly turning half of Tenkai upside down.
Dionysus's antics, in her eyes, were just child's play. She didn't think he, that is, Dionysus, was involved with the ones behind the scenes.
Lost in thought, Loki wandered aimlessly down the street.
"Maybe… Dionysus was controlled? Wait, did he get controlled when his personality changed? No, impossible… that hypothesis is too terrifying. Could it be that in Tenkai…"
"Loki, long time no see."
...
A male voice called out to Loki, who was already breaking into a cold sweat from her own thoughts.
Her body stiffened in shock.
The man, Soma, slightly tilted his head with slow, puzzled movements.
"Hearing a familiar voice scares you that much? Or is it me who scares you?"
Loki wordlessly bared her teeth, then turned and tilted her head at him.
"Yo, Soma."
Suddenly, the black-haired god stepped out from the shadows.
Perhaps because he spent every day immersed in brewing experiments and rarely saw sunlight, he had deathly pale skin like Thanatos and deep dark circles under his eyes. His unkempt black hair draped over his shoulders.
Add to that the fact that he'd been punished and had his "hobby" confiscated for repeatedly ignoring Guild warnings due to poor Familia management… he radiated the gloomy aura of a depressed science nerd.
As the god who presides over the wine cup, Soma descended to the Lower World for an outrageous reason, unlike other gods who came seeking entertainment, change, the unknown, or epic tales…
He came simply to make "delicious alcohol." Even among Tenkai's multitude of eccentric gods, he was uniquely bizarre.
Since he presided over the wine, the Soma Familia naturally had ties to commercial ventures, wine inherently had commercial value.
Thus, besides their base of operations, they owned additional wine cellars.
In the eyes of a certain booze-loving goddess, talking about alcohol meant talking about herself (Loki), and talking about herself meant alcohol.
Because she wanted to drink the alcohol he brewed personally, Loki had met him a few times and had "some connection."
The two gods met. Loki was about to speak, but Soma calmly beat her to it.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
"..."
Loki swallowed her line and glared fiercely at him.
"Damn it, that's what I was gonna say!"
"Sorry, Loki."
"..."
Looking at this perpetually gloomy god, Loki didn't even know where to start ridiculing him.
In her mind, guys like Soma who hid in dark corners to focus on brewing (or doing something) were all "fun gods."
Then she suddenly realized, a guy who always hid in corners, practically a stay-at-home hermit, showing up here in Daedalus Street, of all places, a maze-like mess and a huge pain to traverse.It was only natural that Loki was shocked.
"Mm. I know my being here seems strange to you, but what I want to say is, I'm planning to put one of my wine cellars near this Daedalus Street."
"?"
Loki tilted her head, thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Ah, right, you did mention that. So… a craftsman's route?"
"Mm. Through this alley, around the corner, then a bit further."
Loki understood.
"Wait, no, isn't this whole area blocked off by that guy Ganesha and his kids? No entry allowed?"
Suspicious, Loki stared at Soma's face.
"No way, no way, no way, did you sneak in here? Hey hey hey, if you cause trouble, Ganesha's Familia will-"
"..."
Soma stared at the noisy Loki, glancing around guiltily.
"So, could you lower your voice a little? Can't you see I'm trying to act discreetly?"
"Eh?"