The anticipated infiltration operation ended in a massive failure, not because they were discovered, but because the process was completely meaningless.
Isagi had originally wanted to use his new toys... like the Shinobi Prosthetic's "Whistle" to attract enemy attention; or perhaps "Firecrackers" to startle the hounds patrolling the yard;
If all else failed, throwing stones would have worked too.
Isn't that the standard procedure for ninja stealth? As it turned out, none of it was necessary.
Ryuu's speed was too fast. Then Isagi realized his own speed wasn't slow either. Although he couldn't keep up with his senior's footsteps, the guards in this mansion couldn't detect him at all.
The gap between a Level 2 and a Level 1 adventurer was just too vast. It was finally his turn to crush others with raw stats!
And so, it was a breeze.
The two had already arrived at a certain rooftop deep within the mansion.
Ryuu skillfully moved aside a small tile, allowing the bright glow of the Magic Stone Lamp inside, along with some irritable and angry voices, to filter through all at once.
"Haruhime was taken away by Goddess Ishtar and her group! I'm a victim too! If you have a problem, go talk to the Goddess! What's the use of talking to me?!"
"That bastard... thinking back now, something wasn't right. How could it be such a coincidence? I was just about to return to Orario when I was attacked by Orcs..."
"Sure enough, getting involved with that guy just leads to misfortune..."
"I get it... I know... Tell him the goods are the same as always, and don't come bothering me anymore! Get out!!"
Inside the room.
A middle-aged Pallum merchant wearing a gorgeous kimono was pacing back and forth, looking hurried and burning with rage. Obviously, the reason for his anger wasn't just that a dozen of his men had been taken out by [Gale] not long ago.
The one being scolded was a burly Demi-human, who appeared to be a Chienthrope, with fluffy brown hair and a pair of large, long ears.
"Yes, I understand, President Blu."
The burly Chienthrope left the room submissively, but the haze of gloom in his eyes was palpable even to Isagi and Ryuu, who were peeking at the scene.
"What now?"
"Kidnap him."
The loud conspiracy suddenly coming from above shocked the Pallum merchant guild president named "Blu." He looked up, just in time to see the two descending from the sky. Immediately, his vision went black. He didn't even have a chance to open his mouth and scream before he was knocked out cold...
...
"Speak. Who is the Dark Familia collaborating with you?"
In a dark alley not far from the mansion just now, the Elven girl held a sharp dagger, intentionally keeping her distance from the Pallum merchant before her, questioning him in a terrifying and icy tone.
"G... Gale..."
Look how scared the poor guy is.
Ryuu's name had become quite infamous in Orario's "Underground" over the past year.
President Blu, who specialized in human trafficking, was trembling in his legs. Unable to stand steady, he sat directly on the ground. It looked like if she pushed him a bit more, he'd lose control of his bladder and bowels...
Tsk.
"Senior Ryuu, asking like that won't get you anything."
Isagi shook his head.
He knows he'll die if he talks, so why would he? Besides, the Elven girl only looked ruthless; she wasn't skilled at interrogation or torture. How could she possibly get anything out of a guy like this?
"Then what do we do?"
"Watch this."
Isagi thought for a moment, then decisively punched Blu unconscious again. Immediately after, he prepared to take the guy away and signaled Ryuu to follow.
A long time later.
The sky grew slightly bright; another sunny spring day was about to rise.
Ryuu was hiding in a small alley not far from Central Park. From a distance, she saw Isagi coming out of the Dungeon.
The boy was carrying a large backpack, looking just like an adventurer who had pulled an all-nighter in the Dungeon.
Soon, he walked towards her pretending nothing was amiss, and the two met up deep in the alley.
"He talked."
Isagi said easily as soon as he arrived.
Just now, he had taken this Pallum merchant guild president into the Dungeon for an "experience."
Generally speaking, the entrance to the Dungeon is guarded by the Ganesha Familia, and non-adventurers aren't allowed in. Of course, they aren't very strict about it.
There are so many adventurers coming and going every day. Although the Ganesha Familia has many members, they have to maintain order across the entire city, so it's impossible to check everyone carefully.
Ordinary citizens, or even certain Gods who can hide their Divine Aura to look like normal people, can slip into the Dungeon.
Isagi had knocked Blu out and stuffed him directly into the kind of extra-large backpack adventurers carry—luckily, the guy was a Pallum. Even though he was a middle-aged uncle by age, his height and build were about the same as a normal human child, so he fit perfectly.
As a result, just upon reaching the 1st Floor, the ordinary Goblins and Kobolds scared the living daylights out of him.
After all, monsters really do eat people.
"So he told me everything."
"That simple?"
"That simple."
Under Ryuu's incredulous gaze, the boy casually uttered the name of a God.
"[Magatsuhi-no-Kami]."
He is the Patron God collaborating with Blu.
It was too easy. Ryuu felt it was somewhat unbelievable. A few hours ago, she never imagined she would gain such a huge harvest today.
But this was inherently a simple matter. Just as Isagi had criticized before, she was the one who had complicated things.
"What about him..."
"Keep him for now, lock him up for a few days."
Isagi said, seemingly wanting to wait and see how things developed.
"Let's start investigating this Magatsuhi Familia first."
"Okay!"
...
A few days later, another bright spring noon. In a certain farmhouse belonging to the Demeter Familia outside Orario, Isagi and Ryuu met in a room.
The Pallum merchant president caught earlier was also locked in the farm's pigsty.
This place wasn't far from the small woods where Isagi and Anya usually trained. It was also vacant, so no one else would come, making it very secretive and safe.
The boy brought a bento lunch for his Familia senior.
Naturally, it was made by Goddess Demeter. It contained stewed chicken, sandwiches with ham, bacon, greens, and cucumber, and hot stew soup.
Elves didn't seem to like eating meat much. Isagi remembered that when Lefiya ate before, she only ate vegetables and fruits.
It was only after she started physical training that she began eating meat fiercely, and as a result, her chest started developing excessively.
Looking at the current situation.
Ryuu didn't seem to have any dietary restrictions in this regard. Whatever it was, she ate it all in big mouthfuls—perhaps because she hadn't eaten a proper meal in the past year?
Isagi sat quietly to the side, watching his Familia senior eat silently.
The Elven girl had already changed back into her daily attire.
Although it was simple—a pure white short-sleeved vest, a green cloak, gray shorts, and matching long boots—it was a common outfit for adventurers in the city.
99 points.
If her hair was styled a bit, it would definitely be 100 points. Elven beautiful girls... judging by appearance alone, the quality is really high.
"If it's not enough, there's more."
"Mmph... No... No need..."
She seemed to feel that her ravenous eating was a bit embarrassing in front of her junior.
But the lunch made by a God was truly too delicious, especially since it inexplicably had a "taste of home," as Demeter is the Goddess representing "Motherhood."
So warm.
Ryuu thought so. Then, under Isagi's gaze, she took the tissue he handed over and wiped her mouth somewhat shyly.
"Let's talk business."
Attempting to change the subject.
The bright afternoon sun fell into the room from the window, shining onto the simple round table.
And so.
Whether for Isagi or Ryuu, the boy (girl) sitting opposite seemed to be bathed in the golden sun, yet not dazzling, only making one feel calm and warm.
Because he told Anya he would be busy for an hour or two, the daily training after lunch was postponed. The Cat Person girl was probably sleeping in the big trees outside the farm right now.
Hopefully, that idiot doesn't fall out of the tree while sleeping again.
Thinking this, Isagi nodded and took over the conversation, sharing all the intelligence gathered over the past few days with his Familia senior.
The target of the investigation was naturally the [Magatsuhi] Familia. His sources were mainly the two gossipy girls, Cecil and Lefiya, as well as Goddess Astrea and Goddess Demeter, and the circles familiar with the Goddesses.
The harvest was plentiful, mostly coming from Goddess Demeter.
As the largest production Familia in Orario, she was also among the first batch of very senior Gods to descend to the Lower World.
It is said that the Goddess, who had good "popularity" in the Heaven, remained the same after coming to the Lower World. She could talk to almost most Gods and Familias. While she might not know deep intelligence, surface-level information was easy to come by.
"Magatsuhi-no-Kami is a God from the Far East. He came to Orario a few years ago, during the dark period before the [Great Feud]. However, his Familia's strength was very ordinary, so no one paid attention to them."
"After the [Great Feud] ended, he conducted commercial Familia activities in Orario, mainly acting as a mercenary group, protecting merchant caravans leaving the city to their destinations. They have quite a few members, and many small mercenary groups are affiliated with their Familia."
Orario is the center of the world, and commerce is exceptionally prosperous. While the number and strength of monsters outside the city are nowhere near as exaggerated as in the Dungeon, it isn't exactly a safe place.
Therefore, protection of caravans by adventurers is necessary.
The Guild often has similar quests, which are the main choice for many adventurers who don't want to go into the Dungeon.
"In short, on the surface, this Familia looks very normal."
Isagi said.
But the truth was obviously not like that. According to the intelligence Ryuu gathered over these few days, it showed—
"Magatsuhi is the God in charge of [Calamity] and [Misfortune]."
A God's nature can often be glimpsed from the aspects they govern. Generally speaking, Gods on the side of the Dark Familias basically govern things like [Destruction], [Slaughter], [Ruin], [Plague], [Death], and so on.
And the Rudra Familia that Ryuu was hunting, their God was the incarnation of [Violence/Evil].
"Goddess Demeter also said that Magatsuhi didn't have a very good reputation in Heaven, but she isn't very familiar with him in the Lower World. At least on the surface, he behaves honestly."
The children of the Lower World influence the personality and actions of the Gods; this is one of the "unknowns" the Gods look forward to.
Take Loki, for example.
In Heaven, she was a God of Chaos and Trickery who would orchestrate battles and slaughter between Gods out of boredom. Of course, the other Gods, also bored, would play along with her plans and pretend to kill each other, because Gods cannot die.
They just have to wait thousands or ten thousands of years to resurrect, and time has no meaning to them, at least not in Heaven.
But after coming to the Lower World, her personality has obviously changed a lot.
This is almost a well-known rumor in the city. Besides Loki, many other Gods are the same.
That was all the intelligence Isagi could gather, so...
"Detailed in-depth investigation will still rely on you, Senior Ryuu."
"Mn!"
The Elven girl immediately stood up, seemingly ready to start activities right away, but was stopped by Isagi again.
"Senior Ryuu, when was the last time you slept?"
"Eh?"
Last time she slept?
She couldn't remember at all. Maybe yesterday? Maybe the day before? Or the night she met the boy?
Ryuu had completely lost the concept of "time." To her, there was almost no difference between day and night.
Seeing the Elven girl like this, Isagi spoke in a commanding tone.
"Rest first. The body is the capital of revol... ah, revenge. Don't worry, there's no one here, and I'll be outside."
"?"
She didn't understand what the boy's last sentence meant.
However.
Almost under the semi-coercive gaze of the other party, she lay down on the bed to the side. Leaning into the pillow, Ryuu watched Isagi smile and wave goodbye as he left, and for the first time in a long while, she felt a certain sense of security.
To adventurers, a Familia is like a family, especially a Familia with such a good atmosphere as the Astrea Familia originally had.
This reminded Ryuu of the past again.
Only it was the warm past, in the Starry Flower Garden full of blooming flowers and always sunny...
...
___
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