"Those man-eating flowers, they came drifting from Orario's sewers five years ago… no, four years, right?", He began recalling past events.
Njord discovered that the man-eating flowers had a particular fondness for "magic stones," and conceived the idea of using them.
He quietly infiltrated the upstream source of the monsters, namely, Orario's underground waterway, back before the city sealed the outlets with refined metal grates.
Njord recalled, "I encountered a strange human in the underground waterway then. He had long bangs covering his eyes, his skin was so pale it seemed he'd never seen sunlight, and he looked so frail as if he were a ghost."
"After I explained my intention, that person surprisingly said he was willing to make a deal with me," Njord smiled bitterly.
("God, if you agree to my terms, I can lend you those man-eating flowers.")
From then on, Njord reached a secret deal with that mysterious man.
The man supplied him with man-eating flowers, and in return Njord helped smuggle contraband from the port city.
Loki: "So you even involved the mayor and the guild branch manager, didn't you?"
Njord: "Yes, that's right… at first it was like that, but later, the guild branch got a bit out of control."
He gazed at the distant horizon, "Though it may sound like an excuse, I swear by the name of god, Borg and I truly acted for the future of Melen."
The god of fisheries, Njord, and Borg, who had been in charge in the Murdock family for centuries in Melen, both had deep feelings for the port city.
In contrast, Rubato's term was limited; his goal was simply to benefit as much as possible before his departure.
Njord brought Rubato in to use the guild's channels to acquire magic stones that could control the man-eating flowers. In exchange, Rubato took a share of profits from the smuggling.
Loki asked, "What do you mean by 'out of control'?"
Njord hesitated, seeming reluctant to speak. Loki narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Spit it out."
The god sighed and resignedly began, "The Ishtar Familia… they were the intermediaries between that sewer man and us."
He continued hopelessly, "Those warrior courtesans were responsible for transporting the man-eating flowers from the city to the port or lake. And if any of them got out of control and grew too strong, they were also responsible for disposing of them."
"But starting half a year ago, they suddenly stopped doing it."
"They stopped?"
Loki raised an eyebrow, "Quitting something like colluding with the Evilus so easily… But if it's that beauty goddess…"
The two gods exchanged a glance, sharing a subtle expression.
"A willful beauty goddess." ×2
They sighed this.
Whether it was retaliation from the Evilus, threats, or punishment from the city, none of it mattered to her; that's the beauty goddess.
Njord smiled bitterly, "Ishtar didn't explain anything. She just suddenly quit. After that, branch manager Rubato from the guild branch began dealing directly with those people."
Because the intermediary Ishtar Familia unexpectedly withdrew, Rubato rose to power.
Then the smuggling scale expanded unabated. Rubato even began privately raising more man-eating flowers, causing even Njord and Borg to become uneasy.
Loki shook her head, "I won't say much about your past actions, since it seems Melen really has become peaceful. But from now on, do not use man-eating flowers anymore."
"Understood…", The sea god nodded.
"Also, from now on I expect you to work like a beast as compensation, be prepared mentally."
Meanwhile, Emiya and Riveria quietly listened to the two gods' conversation.
When Njord mentioned the Ishtar Familia and how the goddess Ishtar suddenly changed her mind half a year ago, Riveria instinctively pressed Emiya's shoulder with her finger.
———
Orario and the port city Melen are quite close; before noon, everyone had successfully returned to the city.
"I'm so tired."
Tiona rubbed her sore shoulders and sighed, "I thought going to the seaside would be a relaxing trip, but this was even more tiring than usual."
In the Loki Familia's lodging, the Twilight Manor, the Amazon girls dropped plop onto familiar sofas, faces full of exhaustion.
"No choice, they encountered the Kali Familia…"
Alicia packed equipment while replying, "And don't forget, we weren't here on a trip from the start."
Indeed, although the goddess Loki intentionally arranged swimsuits and beach time for the port city visit, their main task was investigation, not holiday enjoyment.
While Ais, Tiona, Alicia, and others accompanied Emiya in training, the rest diligently investigated various parts of the port city without a break.
Meanwhile, in the city, Finn and others continually investigated the dungeon's hidden entrances.
"Mainly because Shirou-kun was too strong."
Tiona said, "Although we kept winning, it was four versus one, even five versus one, it doesn't count."
Initially, it was Ais, Tiona, Alicia, and Aki training against Emiya four-on-one; later Tione joined, making it five-on-one.
Alicia nodded, "If it was one-on-one, only Ais could barely stand against Shirou."
"Indeed, Ais is the strongest among us," Tiona marveled.
This was also because Ais isn't Elf or Amazon; Innocent Monster suppression isn't as extreme.
"Shirou-sama even defeated Lv.6 Argana and the others, right?", Tione softly said, her eyes dreamy.
"Because of training with master all this time, I think our stats have improved quite a bit," Ais nodded, her eyes sparkling.
"Once we return to Orario, at least we won't have to worry about the Kali Familia's entanglement."
Alicia brought up another point, "The guild definitely won't allow them into Orario."
The labyrinth city is extremely sensitive about adventurers leaving. It welcomes foreign strong adventurers entering, hoping to avoid losing high-level combat power while attracting outsiders' strength.
But the Kali Familia is a special case, they're too strong.
Two Lv.6s and two Lv.5s, all fiercely proud Amazons, such a faction, the guild wouldn't dare let them into the city lightly.
Moreover, just yesterday they directly killed the guild's branch manager in the port city.
Mentioning this, Tiona and the others couldn't help but feel chills. Not out of sympathy for that self-inflicted branch manager, but the scene was too horrifying, the Lv.6 Bache, with enhanced poison magic, merely grabbed Rubato's face, and within minutes, only a puddle of humanoid poison water remained.
"That man was named Rubato, right? He unleashed those man-eating flowers, causing the Kali Familia to go bankrupt," Tione said with a smirk of schadenfreude.
"Now it seems they can't even return to the Battle Nation."
The Kali Familia's ship to Orario was half destroyed by the sea beast Setes and sank near the port city. Buying a new ship used all their funds.
But on the first day using the new one, it got destroyed again.
Alicia shook her head, "I wonder what they plan to do next."
Tiona shrugged indifferently, "Who knows, as long as it's none of our concern. Now Bache and the others completely don't care about us anymore…"
On one hand, due to the Amazonas' warlike personality, the Lv.5 Shirute sisters cannot evoke enough fighting desire and satisfaction in the Lv.6 warriors Argana and Bache.
On the other hand, as Amazons who have been defeated by a male, their lives are effectively over.
"But next, it'll probably be Shirou-kun's turn to suffer," Tiona took pleasure in the scene.
Although the guild strictly bans the Kali Familia from entering Orario, if Argana and the others really attempt infiltration, the city authorities can't stop them.
Tiona: "Sis, watch out. Argana, Bache, Berylnice, and Elna, they overlap a lot with your 'attributes.'"
Sexy Amazon first-tier adventurer, there are now far too many such roles.
"And those Ishtar Familia girls are also training seriously. A few years from now, one of them might reach Lv.5. Sis, don't become just a common passerby from now on," Tiona teased.
She didn't need to worry about this. Among all first-tier Amazon adventurers, even counting Lv.4s, Tiona is the only "flat-chested" one.
This was perhaps the first time she felt happy about that.
———
While these girls chatted, Emiya and the others discussed serious matters.
At one end of the conference table, Finn clasped his hands and said earnestly, "Thanks to assistance from the Hermes Familia, we finally discovered a highly suspicious area in the underground waterway. It can now be almost confirmed as one of the hidden dungeon entrances."
The underground waterway location matched exactly the information Njord had provided earlier.
Once a pearl embryo parasitizes on a monster, it easily gestates a Lv.6 or above Fallen Spirit, and by devouring magic stones, their strength rapidly grows.
If such powerful monsters emerge on the surface, a huge disaster would erupt.
Therefore, whether it's the dungeon's hidden exit or the mastermind behind it, they are targets to be eliminated.
"Next, our enemy will probably be the true puppet master behind the Fallen Spirits."
———
While Emiya and the others conducted investigations in the port city, Finn and others discovered a door at the end of the underground waterway.
A week after discovering the door, on a certain night, several adventurers gathered in the secret passage to prepare exploration.
The boy's fingertips slowly slid over the cold metal door in front of him.
After a moment, he softly said, "It's adamantine."
Emiya hesitated, not because he couldn't identify the metal's composition. For the city's strongest blacksmith, the unique texture of adamantine is unmistakable.
He felt confused, confused that such a rare and expensive material was used to make a door, an act of extravagance.
Adamantine, a top-tier material in the forging world, is indispensable for crafting special weapons with the Unbreakable attribute, known as the hardest refined metal ("master-grade ingot").
Its strength surpasses the ultra-hard steels that can be mined in dungeons, it is one of the most resilient metals in the world.
Like Mithril, adamantine's manufacturing technique originated in ancient times. An era when monsters rampaged the surface, forcing humans and demi-humans to unite their wisdom and strength.
At that time, humanity did not yet possess the development ability Smithing, nor Falna, yet they used human and demi-human ingenuity and strength to create this wise crystallization: adamantine.
Within the Hephaestus Familia, the greatest consumer of adamantine among blacksmiths is Emiya.
Many first-tier weapons he personally forged, for example, Ais's Storm King and Tiona's Golden Impact (Modified), use adamantine as their main material.
And the massive door in front of them was also forged with this precious metal. What lies beyond it must be extraordinary.
Gareth, who has mining experience, frowned, "A door forged from the hardest metal, almost no one can easily break it."
Finn nodded, his gaze grave, staring at the door, "Constructing such an ostentatious door here is equivalent to telling us there's 'something' behind it."
"So how was this place discovered?", Emiya asked.
Riveria answered, "Thanks to Asfi, she crafted a magic tool overnight to locate hidden spaces, and then found this place."
"Apparently she learned the method from Senior Friana," She added.
Upon hearing "Senior Friana," Emiya nodded, recalling the elven senior child he once saw, even remembering her proud smile.
After the Antares incident, Emiya and the others returned immediately to Orario, while those from the Hermes Familia remained to handle aftermath duties.
During that time, Asfi learned a lot from Friana. The magic tool used to locate hidden space was one of the techniques she learned from the elven senior.
"So, is there any way to break this door?"
Bete asked with a frown, "Even if it's 'unbreakable' material, if master smiths can forge it into weaponry, surely there must be a way to deal with it, right?"
Gareth shook his head, "Very difficult."
Although not a smith, Gareth is a dwarf and once worked as a miner before becoming an adventurer, so he has some knowledge of various metals.
"Generally speaking, only master smiths with the Smithing ability can handle adamantine. Even then, it's a process requiring huge time and patience, and must be done with the aid of a high-level furnace."
He stopped and looked at the heavy metal door, "Spending all that time forging a piece of adamantine is one thing; breaking a door made from adamantine is a completely different matter."
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