"Dionysus is suspicious."
Deep into the night.
A quiet, cold rain began to fall outside the window.
At Demeter's suggestion, Loki, Ais, Astrea, and Isagi, having finished a full day of "training," did not return to the city. Instead, they were temporarily staying at the beautiful matronly Goddess's Familia station located outside the city walls.
The hearth fire was burning, emitting a somewhat stifling warmth that dispelled the chill inside the room.
The girls had already gone upstairs to sleep. In the living room, only the three Goddesses and Isagi remained to participate in this small "meeting."
The atmosphere was very serious!
Although it was convened by Loki, they were, after all, discussing strictly business—
Specifically, the crusade against the [Artificial Labyrinth Knossos] in the near future.
Because they had already learned about the hypnotic Divine Wine beforehand, the Goddesses—not just Isagi—harbored a certain degree of suspicion toward all deities of wine within the city. Moreover, Dionysus had actively approached them not long ago, saying he wanted to participate in the operation against the Artificial Labyrinth.
"That guy, his personality was already quite nasty when we were in Tenkai. I thought he might have changed after coming to the Lower World..."
"If it really is him, there's no way to be certain."
The Divine Wine of a wine god can hypnotize deities, so he could certainly hypnotize himself as well, ensuring he wouldn't reveal any flaws.
The Goddess in charge of schemes and trickery thought of this almost instantly.
"Does Isagi mean we should beat him at his own game?"
Loki looked at the young man beside her with a smile.
In response to this.
Isagi nodded, but guided the topic in a different direction.
"I heard from Ais that your reconnaissance of the Artificial Labyrinth has already yielded quite a bit of intelligence, Goddess Loki?"
"We have, but it's actually made things more worrying."
Just a few days ago.
The captain of the Loki Familia, Finn, personally led the elite adventurers of the Familia, including Ais, to launch a "raid" on the Artificial Labyrinth.
"First, the interior is an intricate labyrinth formed by countless chambers and corridors connecting them. Furthermore, the floors and walls can flip, open, and close at any time. Originally unobstructed paths will suddenly have walls descend, and it is filled with various monsters and mechanical traps."
"Second, the whole thing is extremely vast. Finn and the others only explored down to the 6th Floor before returning, but that was far from the limit."
"Third, and most importantly, those guys let us in on purpose, as if they were showing off their strength."
The doors of the Artificial Labyrinth are cast from the hardest metal, [Orichalcum].
To forcibly break them open.
In the city, probably only the Freya Familia's captain, the sole LV7 adventurer [Warlord], could do it.
"Perhaps letting Riveria try would work too, but the Artificial Labyrinth is ultimately beneath the city. With that kind of magical bombardment, the city might be destroyed before the labyrinth is breached."
"So, they opened the door on purpose to let you in."
"That's right."
The adventurers of the Loki Familia were able to enter the Artificial Labyrinth entirely because the other side directly opened the main gates, as if welcoming the arrival of the adventurers.
"In that case, it's better to be careful."
Both Astrea and Goddess Demeter spoke with some concern.
The Guild held the same opinion.
Surround but do not attack; collect intelligence as much as possible. To avoid accidents, the Guild even planned to persuade the Freya Familia not to go on an expedition, avoiding a situation where something happens to the city while the other strongest Familia is entirely deep within the Dungeon.
Of course.
The Goddess of Beauty continued to do as she pleased and did not pay heed to the Guild's request.
Orario is not a single entity. The Guild is the nominal administrator, but in reality, it is merely a middleman "coordinating the gods and their Familias."
So now the problem fell to the Loki Familia: either attack the Artificial Labyrinth before the Freya Familia launches their expedition, or wait for the other party to return from their expedition—which would be a matter of at least a few months, or at most, over half a year later.
"Then let's wait."
"Inappropriate."
Isagi suddenly spoke up, interrupting the Goddesses' words and causing them all to let out a small "Eh?"
Why?
Even Loki cast a very intrigued look at the boy. Then, she heard him speak.
"We must seize the time. As the saying goes, 'Feint to the east and attack in the west.' Goddess Loki, do you remember how the Artificial Labyrinth was found in the first place?"
"Yeah."
It was an accident.
Because Isagi and Ryuu went to the harbor town of Melen to investigate, they ended up discovering that the large lake beside the town contained special man-eating flower monsters. Simultaneously, the Loki Familia encountered attacks from the same monsters in the Deep Floors.
Thus, they finally discovered that the local Njord Familia was connected to the Dark Familia, using the Magic Stones of aquatic monsters to cultivate these special man-eating flowers.
Following that trail, they discovered the entrance to the Artificial Labyrinth in the city's sewers.
From the above information, a very simple conclusion can be drawn.
"The Dark Familia is accumulating power and plotting some conspiracy, it's just that we discovered it ahead of time."
So, for them right now, the most important thing is actually time.
"The more we delay, the more we fall into their trap. The more the enemy needs something, the more we cannot give it to them. So we must seize the time and attack immediately!"
"Right!"
"So that's how it is!!"
Both Demeter and Goddess Astrea revealed expressions of sudden realization. The boy's logic was simple, but they hadn't realized it just now.
It was because of the difference in perspective and vision!
Do not focus on the Artificial Labyrinth before your eyes, but start from the overall situation.
"I think so too."
Loki smiled faintly.
The Goddess in charge of schemes and trickery looked at the boy with an even more appreciative gaze.
"The faster we are, the less prepared the Dark Familia will be. When I go back, I'll have Finn and the others formulate a plan. Also, regarding Dionysus..."
Narrowing her eyes slightly.
In an instant, the boy and she seemed to have thought of the same thing again.
The two exchanged a brief look, then nodded quietly, leaving the two Goddesses beside them somewhat confused.
Especially Astrea.
The Goddess of Justice was currently sitting beside her own child.
Facing Loki's incredibly passionate expression toward Isagi—a look like she regretted not meeting him sooner—she thought: Clearly, this is the Familia of the Goddess of Justice and Fairness, and he's the Vice-Captain. How did he suddenly become so like-minded with the Goddess of Trickery?!
Headache, such a headache.
Ugh...
Fortunately, Demeter was very considerate and immediately understood her distress.
She walked over gracefully, using her voluptuous body to directly block Loki's line of sight toward the boy, while speaking softly.
"Isagi must be tired too, right? Do you want to go back upstairs to sleep? Come, Mommy will carry you there."
"No... no need..."
How old am I, to still need Mommy... no, to be carried to bed by a beautiful matron! That's too embarrassing!!
Sometimes Isagi really couldn't understand if Goddess Demeter was joking with him as a mature woman, or if she really thought that way and was actually enjoying some strange play.
Following that, the boy quickly left the living room and ran thump-thump-thump up the stairs to his room.
The meeting ended.
Demeter actively brought out the fruit wine she brewed herself—a sweet little drink the beautiful matron was very fond of.
The Goddesses chatted for quite a while over the slightly sweet liquor and late-night snacks, but it was all city gossip and various unnutritious domestic trivia.
As a result, as they drank.
Loki suddenly noticed a very important matter!
That was—
"By the way, how come you two, Astrea and Demeter, got bigger again?!"
The topics between Goddesses are sometimes just that blunt.
Loki spoke indignantly, her hands clutching her own flat plains, wondering why she was the only one showing absolutely no signs of growth!
And in response to this.
Inexplicably, the first thing the two Goddesses—one of Justice and one "Housewife"—thought of was actually that they had been learning "massage" from Isagi recently.
Of course, calling it learning, they were actually mostly lying down and enjoying it.
The boy's massage technique was very comfortable. It was said that he learned the skills slowly by helping relieve the physical aches and pains of Cecil, who was often sore after blacksmithing.
Astrea had previously thought about "doing something" for the Familia children, so she had also massaged the boys and girls.
But her technique wasn't very good.
Later, she accidentally heard from Demeter that Isagi's technique was very good, and she even found it unbelievable!
So one night, the Goddess of Justice humbly went to ask her own child for advice, and it turned out to be true!!
Thus.
Recently, Astrea often called Isagi to her room at night.
The absolutely fair and impartial Goddess of Justice was truly learning seriously, thinking that once she mastered it, she would give back to the Familia children and let them enjoy it properly too!
Wait!
Astrea suddenly realized something was wrong. Speaking of which, Demeter, how did you know that Isagi's massage technique is very good?!
She discovered the key point all at once!
Subsequently, Astrea's expression couldn't help but become somewhat grave.
[Loki, at any rate, only lets her own beautiful girls run over to attempt to poach Isagi. But Demeter, how could she... This guy wouldn't be thinking of taking action personally, would she?!]
Regarding the Familia children's matters, she could still trust Cecil and Lefiya to help keep watch.
But if it were a Goddess, could it be that she had to step in personally...
Suddenly, she seemed to think of something.
The Goddess of Justice's pretty face, which was originally suffused with a charming flush due to the alcohol, suddenly became even more tender and alluring.
Isagi's Status Board was becoming increasingly complex as he leveled up, to the point where she could understand it less and less.
But.
Astrea was at least literate!
So just now, she suddenly thought of the four big words that had inexplicably popped up on the boy's panel: [Marriage with a God].
Inexplicably, her heart rate accelerated instantly, and she couldn't even hold the small wine cup in her hand steadily.
[Could it be... Don't tell me... This child really...]
Ugh.
Astrea couldn't help but fall into deep thought because of this...
Deep into the night.
Heith sneaked furtively back to [Folkvangr], the Freya Familia station located in the dead center of the bustling street in the Fifth District. How could she stay overnight at Goddess Demeter's place with Isagi and the others?!
The Grand Theater and the Grand Casino [Golden Continent] in the distance were still brightly lit under the starry night.
People came and went on the long streets, and noisy sounds were everywhere.
The woman, feeling very guilty like a thief, quietly pushed open a side back door, crossing the training area where usually an unknown number of Familia members would be fighting and killing each other.
She slipped into the main building, thinking of heading toward her bedroom located on the upper floors, thinking to herself that she absolutely must not be discovered by anyone, especially the Goddess—
"Heith."
In the corridor, the magnetic voice of the Goddess of Beauty came from afar.
"!!!"
Like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on! Or like a housewife who came home after stealing a meal, only to find her husband had been waiting for her all night!!
"Come to my room."
"Yes!"
The woman followed sheepishly.
Subsequently.
Entering the divine chamber and closing the door, she stood to the side, looking at the beautiful grey-haired Goddess lying gracefully on the deep red velvet chaise longue.
"Heith, I heard you've been very close with the boy from Astrea's family recently."
Found out!
And caught red-handed!!
How is the Goddess's information so well-informed?!
This is only natural.
The Goddess of Beauty, who is always playing the role of the pub girl "Syr," can always hear many, many things from all sorts of places.
"Goddess, I..."
"I'm not blaming you, Heith."
Freya said.
"I also heard that the boy is looking for a healer recently—"
It was heard from Lefiya, who came to the pub to deliver goods to Anya. The Elf girl had asked the dummy cat if she knew any healers she could introduce.
She probably thought that since the Cat Person girl was a LV4 adventurer regardless, she should have some connections in the city or something.
But she had absolutely none!
"Have you already formed a party with the boy?"
"Um..."
"Isn't that quite good?"
Eh?!
"Loki, that fellow, actually beat me to it..."
Freya had seen the red-haired Goddess's Familia members (always beautiful young girls) following beside that boy from the Astrea Familia more than once.
Vulgar!
That guy is definitely plotting something!
After all, they were already old acquaintances back in Tenkai. To the Goddess of Beauty, the boy who possessed an incomparably sharp and resilient soul was a worthy opponent to look forward to. She couldn't let any accidents happen because of Loki.
Arriving in Orario for only about a year, he had already leveled up to LV4.
This was intelligence known only to Lord Ouranos, the core personnel of the Guild, and a very small number of deities in the city, including the "anomalies" in the Dungeon related to the boy.
Freya was originally just waiting.
She hoped the boy could grow enough to become an opponent for her children.
A wild beast that has lost its enemies and no longer encounters danger will have its claws and fangs slowly recede, and its courage and skills will become rusty or even disappear.
The strong.
They are cast from iron and blood. The more a world loses powerful enemies, the weaker the people living there become.
Freya did not wish for this.
Every child in her Familia was a unique soul she had traveled the world to seek out. How could she let them gradually lose their color and luster because of this?
____
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