CHAPTER 1 ORARIO NOW
“Nnnnnggghhhhh…!”
Lefiya was shaking.
As her uncontrollable emotions sent shudders through her body, a wordless, guttural moan tumbled out from her thin lips.
For you see, a certain piece of news had made its way to her home, Twilight Manor, setting its residents abuzz.
“That bastard…!!”
“Bete, you big lug! Lemme see!!”
Bete was holding the parchment with the news between tightly clenched fists in the manor’s dining hall while Tiona pressed him so she could have a look. A considerable crowd had already gathered around him. Aiz, Tione, Raul, Aki—everyone, from first-tier adventurers to the rookies, couldn’t believe their ears when they heard the news.
It had hit the papers that morning.
Before the excitement of a certain “meeting” had a chance to die down, a bit of information was stirring a frenzy of excitement among the adventurers.
—Bell Cranell had reached Level 3.
—In a mere month.
Everything had started a week prior, when Hestia Familia and Apollo Familia had conducted their War Game—a “proxy war” of sorts meant to settle their dispute. Given the pleasure-seeking antics of the gods and goddesses in Orario, it had turned into a major affair involving the entire city. Then, somehow or another, the underdog, Hestia Familia, had come out on top—a feat that had everyone buzzing with stories of slaying giants.
But now this? While Orario was still at fever pitch? It was only natural for the members of Loki Familia to be equally as flabbergasted as the rest of the city.
“Aiz, Aiz, Aiz, look, look, look! Little Argonaut! Level Three! Can you believe it?!” Tiona bounded over toward the swordswoman in question, all smiles.
“Yeah, he’s…really something else,” Aiz responded with a series of thoughtful nods.
“Still, don’t you think it’s a little bit…weird?” Tione said, as perplexed as everyone else. “Maybe it has something to do with that time he beat the minotaur. When all his abilities maxed out, you know? What do you think, Riveria?”
“It’s certainly not a feat achievable by mere effort alone. An undiscovered growth ability perhaps…or a rare skill? With something like that, it’s considerably more plausible.”
“Hmm, well, I don’t think even the most extraordinary of powers would make it easy for him to trounce both the minotaur as well as Phoebus Apollo’s Hyacinthus…”
Bete only offered a disgruntled “Hmph!”
Next to the group, the catgirl and human pair, Anakity and Raul, were having a conversation of their own among their fellow second-tier familia members.
“Bell Cranell…Didn’t he come to the manor once?”
“Sure did. He said he wanted to see Miss Aiz. Pissed everyone the hell off, too…”
Bell Cranell wasn’t exactly a favorite of Loki Familia’s lower-level members—for multiple reasons—which made this piece of news particularly unwelcome. None of them wanted to acknowledge this new feat of his, no matter how well he’d stood his ground against opponents that far outranked him.
Needless to say, the latest development in the tale of the Little Rookie was the number one topic of conversation in the dining hall that morning, and it even drew in Finn and the other elites, as well.
“Bet it’s all thanks to my and Aiz’s help—Whoops! That’s a secret! Eh-heh-heh…Still, though. Pretty exciting!”
In an especially animated mood, Tiona gushed to her enthusiastic companions.
Lefiya, on the other hand, could only stand there shaking as she eyed the others.
Just what is going on here?! Does no one think this is bizarre?!
So what if Hestia Familia had felled the giant? Big deal!
Well, it certainly was a big deal, but that was a different matter entirely.
It’s just as Miss Tione said—his growth is simply too fast! Suspiciously so…! He reached Level 2 only a short while ago!!
That feat had been remarkable enough. Now this!
And Loki Familia hadn’t even had time to catch their breath upon returning from Port Meren and their scuffle with Kali Familia. In the time it had taken them to sleep off their fatigue back in the manor, a conflict had broken out between Hestia and Apollo, the already overzealous gods had stirred the pot—even Loki had joined in—finally culminating in the War Game. To top it all off, the Little Rookie had leveled up.
For Lefiya, she had returned from her trip only to find her rival was suddenly the same level as her. All in all, it seemed much more likely to have occurred in the Dragon Palace of the fairy tales of the Far East than in reality.
It took me two years to reach Level 3…!
The white rabbit was practically on the verge of overtaking her, though she could already hit Level 4 if she wanted. Still, the shock hit her like a two-ton brick to the face.
The War Game report made the rounds from adventurer to adventurer until it reached Lefiya’s hands. As she stood there, staring at his portrait, her hands began to tremble, the paper clenched between them threatening to release a crumpled scream.
“Hey, hey! Lefiya! What do you think of Little Argonaut’s…erm…?” Tiona started.
“If I felt like it, I could become Level Four anytime I want… I’m not bitter at all! Not one bit…!! No, that is a lie! An infuriating lie! How could I think of saying that at a time like this, when…when in the blink of an eye he could very well…No! I refuse to lose. I refuse…!!”
The sheer demonic energy exuding from Lefiya’s every pore as her body shuddered was enough to stop Tiona in her tracks. Everyone in the vicinity quickly backed away, envisioning the great fire that had destroyed the elven forest.
With the flare of animosity, the elven magic user’s determination was born anew.
“Is it just me, or is Lefiya kinda terrifying right now?”
“Yes, Lefiya is also…really something else.” Aiz nodded at Tiona’s comment.
“Well, she’s at an age of complicated emotions. We should give her some space.”
Riveria seemed to have gotten a sense for how Lefiya was feeling and offered some advice to the others as their elder.
Aiz, in her own way, also had considerable interest in the Little Rookie’s recent level-up due to her constant desire to become stronger, but…even her concern paled in the face of Lefiya’s current state. Nevertheless, as the boy’s face rose to the forefront of her mind, she made a mental note to pay him a visit.
“It’s quite lively for this hour of the morning…” Tione muttered. “Captain?”
“What is it, Tione?”
“Do we have plans for what to do next? I know there was the War Game and all, but…we never did find anything on that second entrance to the Dungeon during our investigation of Meren. Where do we go from here?” she asked, glancing at Lefiya, Aiz, and the others.
Loki Familia’s recent trek to Meren had been for exactly that reason—to find any information they could on the elusive second entrance to the Dungeon. They’d need to uncover it if they had any hope of putting a stop to the secret maneuvers of both the Evils’ Remnants and the Corrupted Spirit.
“Hmm…Well, I’m sure Loki will figure out something for us shortly…” the prum captain concluded, only half believing his own words. “Who knows. Maybe we’ll move our investigation to Daedalus Street?”
?
“So! To no one’s surprise, our top contender for Orario’s most suspicious spot is Daedalus Street, am I right?” Loki asked, looking out at the faces of her fellow gods. They were occupying their usual high-class pub—in the room with the soundproofing to ensure no prying ears caught wind of their conversation.
“More like there’s nowhere else left, I’d say.”
“I’ve been combing the streets the last three weeks together with Dionysus’s kid. We turned any place even remotely suspicious inside out, but no cigar, it would seem. Not a single noteworthy find.”
After Dionysus spoke from his spot at the round table, Hermes quickly added his own comment.
This was the first time they were meeting since Loki Familia’s return from Meren, and the three gods were taking the opportunity to share the new information they’d uncovered after some time without seeing one another. They’d each brought with them their respective escorts to watch over the proceedings: Dionysus had the elf, Filvis; Hermes had Lulune, the chienthrope; and Loki had Gareth.
“We’ve had the answer in front of us the whole time; we just didn’t see it. Think about it: If you wanna hide a tree, stick it in a forest. Likewise, you wanna hide an entrance to the Dungeon? Hide it in a maze…Have we actually found anything there, by the way?”
“On Daedalus Street? Not a thing. And we searched, Loki, trust me. That area is…special, even compared with vast Orario as a whole.”
Hermes shrugged, his smile laced with irony as Loki took a glass of wine sitting on the table and downed it like so much water.
It was just as Loki had said herself back when they’d first formed their unlikely alliance: They already knew their most likely target.
Daedalus Street.
Known as the Dungeon on the surface, the area was the brainchild of the master craftsman Daedalus himself.
“That’s the only place in the city we’ve yet to untangle. Considering the general populace is still very much in the dark about this second entrance, Loki’s guess may very well be correct…What’s more, Daedalus Street is a stone’s throw away from the city’s eastern side where the Monsterphilia was held.”
When Dionysus mentioned the surprise appearance of the violas at the event, Loki nodded.
“Daedalus Street it is, then. Maybe we’ll head out there tomorrow and check things out.”
“And you’re all right with that, Loki?”
“Oh, stop asking me like you weren’t gonna have me do it all anyway! I know you.” She flashed them a cold stare, which elicited forced chuckles from the two gods in question.
They were so in sync, Loki couldn’t help the suspicion forming in her mind as she watched their chummy behavior. She snorted to let them know she thought complaining about it was more trouble than it was worth.
“At any rate, Finn and my kids will have had enough time to rest up by this point…plus we’re finally about to get a good look at our enemy,”
It was true—between the various situations they’d dealt with and the clues they’d uncovered, the threads connecting the fragments of the truth were starting to come together. They were on their way to finally ripping the mask off their enemy.
“Time to make ’em pay for thinkin’ their harebrained scheme could actually take down Orario,” Loki added quietly. The hawkish smile rising to her lips was enough to make Lulune and Filvis flinch. Gareth, on the other hand, merely sighed beside the warmongering god.
Hermes continued unfazed amid the reactions, still wearing his ever-charming smile as he asked, “By the way, whatever became of your Meren investigation, Loki? I’ve heard tell it became quite the ordeal.”
“Oh, that? We made a few finds. Completely unrelated to that ridiculous fight with Kali and her troupe, though.”
Loki offered a short explanation before spreading out documents on the round table—they described Nj?r?r’s mysterious human contact for his dealings, as well as his accomplice in transporting the violas into the city: Ishtar Familia.
“Nj?r?r certainly went to some surprising lengths to protect the peace in the ocean…Quite the bold plan, buying up violas. Where did he come across this human?”
“In the sewers, apparently. No idea if he’s got anything to do with our Evils friends, but somethin’ sure smells fishy,” Loki replied, placing on the table the refined portrait Nj?r?r had drawn of the individual in question. One eye was covered by his long bangs, and the other was deeply sunken, making him seem rather suspicious. His doleful expression indicated he was a man with an obsession.
“And then there’s Ishtar. Considering what we know of her and where she spends her time, an investigation itself wouldn’t necessarily be difficult. However…” Dionysus started, his princely features crinkling.
“Honestly? She’s bound to be even harder to feel out than our sewer dweller,” Loki agreed. “Though, at least accordin’ to Nj?r?r, she’s interested in him for her own reasons.”
Ishtar Familia was one of Orario’s premier familias. Not only did she have her fair share of military might with the Berbera under her command, she also controlled many of the city’s brothels—which meant the majority of the Pleasure Quarter. This grip on the Night District made her nigh untouchable from the Guild’s perspective. To wrongly confront her would mean turning the Pleasure Quarter and all its supporters against them. Considering how many people worshipped the Goddess of Beauty, there was bound to be considerable backlash from that angle, as well.
Above all, Ishtar was clever, as was already apparent during the Meren ordeal. Just thinking about her and the disturbances she seemed to be connected to was enough to make Loki wrinkle her nose in frustration.
“Ishtar, huh…?” Hermes suddenly murmured after his long, contemplative silence. “Perfect…Loki, Dionysus, allow me to look into this, would you?”
“Huh?”
The other two gods eyed him suspiciously at his sudden offer.
“What’s this all of a sudden, huh? You’re usually the one passin’ the buck—not takin’ it!” Loki balked.
“Oh-ho-ho, I can do my part sometimes, too, you know.”
“You do realize you’re going up against one of Orario’s most distinguished familias, yes? One careless move and you could very well lose your head,” Dionysus pointed out.
“Really now, there’s no need to be so concerned. I just so happen to be right in the middle of fulfilling a request for Ishtar. Even if I probe a little, it won’t seem suspicious at all. And if something did happen…my adorable children would be there to catch my fall!”
“G-gimme a break, Lord Hermes…!”
Hermes answered with a laugh while Lulune groaned with a long-suffering expression and drooping tail, unsure if the deity under her watch was being serious or not.
“Loki has already expressed her displeasure. I’ll do my work properly…so leave Ishtar and hers to me,” Hermes finished with a soft smile, standing up from the table. Grabbing Lulune, he left the room.
“…A real troublemaker, that one. Does whatever the hell he wants whenever the hell he feels like it. Not sure I’ll ever understand why he does what he does,” Loki grumbled.
“I’m afraid he’s always been like this…” Dionysus responded, nonplussed. He glancing toward the door Hermes had gone through. As his golden hair shifted, he narrowed his glass-like eyes. “And yet I’d watch out for him if I were you, Loki…”
“Huh? Where’d that come from? Kinda late in the game to be saying we can’t trust ’im, don’tcha think?”
Dionysus kept his eyes on the door. “I’m sure you’ve noticed this already, but…we’re not the only ones Hermes is cooperating with. He also has Ouranos on his side.”
“…”
“I understand that Hermes, too, suffers the pain of having lost a child—a victim, the same as us—so I don’t doubt his reasons for cooperating…However, I’m positive that old god is pulling the strings. Giving him too much information and allowing him free rein will only play into Ouranos’s plans,” Dionysus explained. His distrust and unease toward the Guild’s overseer was plain.
“If yer so worried, why’d you invite him here in the first place?”
“I thought he might be of some use…And also, I’m interested in knowing just what Ouranos is hiding,” he replied, eyes turning toward the goddess. “Loki, I know you’ve said he may very well be clean, but even if he doesn’t have anything to do with the Corrupted Spirit, he’s hiding something else…something bigger…it could very well make Orario fall into chaos. Or, at least, that’s how I feel. Which is why I just can’t bring myself to trust the Guild…or him,” he told her clearly. “I wonder if some calamity doesn’t await us in the old god’s divine will.”
Loki remained quiet, neither agreeing nor dissenting.
“Also…I have reason to believe Hermes may have his own goal, as well. A personal one.”
“?”
“Colluding with us, playing lapdog to that old man—everything’s part of his own plans. You saw the grin on his face as he left. He’s up to something.”
That was when Dionysus finally fell silent, almost as though he were about to warn Loki of some unbeknownst Irregular. When they saw the look on his face, both Filvis behind him and Gareth in his spot beside Loki gave him their undivided attention.
“…Which is why all I ask is that you watch out for him. I get the feeling we could be in for some rough waters thanks to him.”
“…”
Dionysus let out a tired sigh before bringing his now-cold tea to his lips.
Loki glanced at him before turning her attention to the door, recalling the image of Hermes and the meaningful smile on his lips just before he’d left.
?
Daedalus Street was an expansive residential quarter located in southeast Orario.
Residential though it may have been, its architectural makeup bordered on the obtuse. Stairs ran the length of the multistoried buildings rising from the stone in all shapes and sizes, and the sheer amount of alleyways or side streets was enough to confuse even the most directionally gifted. It was called the “Dungeon on the Surface,” and for good reason—one wrong turn was enough to become forever lost in the neighborhood’s mazelike roads, and not just for those unaccustomed to its twists and turns. Even those who’d long lived there had to be careful lest they lose their way.
It had been constructed close to one thousand years prior—almost immediately after the gods had descended from the heavens, apparently—in what was known as the Divine Era. A monument to Orario’s past artisans, it was created by the renowned craftsman (and its namesake) Daedalus.
“This place always amazes me…”
“If one were to get lost here, I highly doubt they’d be able to find their way back…”
The sun had just started its ascent from the eastern horizon when Loki Familia began their trek to Daedalus Street.
As soon as they entered the labyrinth, Tiona murmured her impression, taking in the sights around her, and Lefiya echoed the sentiment. As Aiz listened to their comments, she found herself mentally nodding in agreement.
If it was possible to disregard the signs of modern life—laundry hanging out on lines, old folks absorbed in their games of chess along the roadside—it was easy to mistake the area for a set of ancient ruins.
“Like I discussed back in the manor, there’s a mighty high chance our elusive quarry is right here on this very street. Alls we gotta do is find it. I know it’s gonna be a pain, but…let’s do it!”
Loki exclaimed exuberantly from the front of the group, doing her best to avoid naming the target of their search: a second entrance to the Dungeon. Behind her trailed the women of her familia, Aiz included, and no one else. Finn and the rest of Loki Familia’s men were off on a mission of their own.
“Find it, sure. But how? All we have to go off of is this picture!”
“Asking the locals, maybe? After that, not much else we can do but search every single nook and cranny.”
Holding the sketch of the man they were targeting, Tione gave a weary groan at Loki’s answer.
There likely wasn’t an adventurer in all of Orario who’d take on a task like this—searching Daedalus Street for a person who may or may not be there—no matter how much money was involved.
“The Sword Princess…Amazon the Slasher…Jormungand…and is that…Nine Hell, even?! Hot damn!”
“Lai, what gives? Stop pushin’!”
“They’re so pretty…and so cool, too.”
The appearance of the most famous familia in Orario was enough to draw the awed gazes of the locals, watching from a short distance away. Aiz directed a soft smile toward a trio of children—human, chienthrope, and half-elf—who were staring at her particularly starry-eyed as they walked past.
I don’t come here too often…she thought, her golden eyes scanning the perimeter. The fashion of the area was very different from what residents of the Main Streets usually favored. More subdued.
Many of the city’s underprivileged made Daedalus Street their home. In fact, not even the most downtrodden of familias or adventurers frequented its streets anymore, while more and more it was becoming a nesting ground for rogues and thieves. Though this lack of public order wasn’t obvious by looking at the locals, it still required attention. The area certainly made for a perfect place to hide a second entrance to the Dungeon—alongside other plans of nefarious intent.
“I’m startin’ to think this place is even more of a labyrinth than the Dungeon itself!”
“I’d ask what you mean by that, but I’m more interested in what you’d have us do next, Loki.”
“Guess we can find a meetin’ place of sorts, then spread out to look for clues…Huh?”
Loki started to answer Riveria’s question before coming to a sudden halt as something caught her eye.
Aiz and the rest of the girls came to a stop, too, following Loki’s gaze to where a crowd was beginning to gather nearby. In front of the assemblage, with her back to a fountain in the middle of the square, stood an elderly goddess.
“Bring out your valis, filthy with the prints of covetous fingers! Relieve yourself of the excess of the body and soul! Only when you truly have nothing can the bounties of your hardships be reaped! Only then can your souls be cleansed!” the goddess exclaimed. In one hand, she held a bone wrapped with fresh meat and, in the other, a bottle of wine. Food particles and flecks of her drink decorated her wrinkled lips.
As she held out her arms, the crowd of people cheered in exuberance.
“Hail Lady Penia!”
“Lady Penia! Please accept this wretched pittance I have hoarded for my own selfish desires—a humble offering for your ladyship!”
One after another, impassioned demi-humans brought forth large offerings of valis, presenting them to the goddess. Soon, a sizable pile had formed at her feet, swelling until it was enough to put the musicians and bards who earned their money on the streets to shame.
“What in the…world?” Tiona murmured in bewilderment, voicing the thoughts currently running through the rest of Loki Familia’s heads. It was a strange sight to behold.
“You! Gawking at me from the street! You, too, shall offer before me…Oh? Is that Loki I see?”
“So this is where you ended up…is it, Penia?” Loki mused, equally as astonished at the unseemly state of her fellow deity.
The elderly goddess, Penia, could be described in a single word—squalid. Clothed in a set of rags that could barely be called a robe, her long white hair hung down in tangles from the top of her head. While her divine nature kept her skin free from stains and dirt, it did little for her dignity, which was nowhere to be found. In fact, she looked altogether like an enchanting witch from the fairy tales of old who had since aged and fallen on hard times—or, at least, that was the first thought that popped into Aiz’s mind as she took in the sight of the old goddess.
“Is this goddess a…friend of yours, Loki?”
“Friend might be a bit too strong of a word for our relationship…”
Riveria’s brows furrowed as she whispered in Loki’s direction, unable to believe the person they were examining could be a goddess, and Loki replied somewhat ambiguously.
“I know her…but it ain’t like there’s a god I don’t know, so…” she prefaced before continuing. “She’s kind of a joke among us gods. ‘Oh no! Here comes Penia the disease! Don’t let her touch you!’ That kinda thing. But it’s true most everyone’d hightail it away as soon as they hear her name. Up in Heaven, she’d go around snatchin’ all our savings right out from under our noses…She’s like poverty on legs.”
The goddess Penia.
Ruler of poverty.
Black sheep of the gods.
“There’s no need to be rude, is there? Especially when penury is the one thing that can cleanse both human and god alike! Really now. The only one who doesn’t treat me like some babbling old kook is Hestia!”
“Hey, I just call ’em like I see ’em, you eternally destitute panhandler…What are you even doing, anyway?”
“You can’t tell? I’m preaching the wonders of poverty to my adorable children!” Penia replied with a broad grin.
Apparently, all the people in the square were her worshippers, hanging on her every word and abiding by her teachings. Some appeared to be merchants of considerable fortune, presenting her generous donations of extraneous money and goods. The sight was less like a proper familia complete with god and followers and more like a new religion.
According to Penia, wealth was nothing but a “corruptor of the soul.” Something that would “deprive the body of manual labor.” Which, to be fair, made sense. It was a common message and seemed rooted in truth.
The problem was Penia herself, preaching these ideas while feasting greedily on fresh meats until her cheeks bulged. All in all, it smacked of hypocrisy, at least to Aiz and the rest of Loki Familia. In their eyes, Penia was nothing more than a goddess taking advantage of her children in order to enjoy an indulgent life in the mortal realm.
“They seem like a familia and yet…they’re not…”
“It’s not altogether uncommon, though. Gods descending to this world in search of their own salvation, soliciting help from their followers rather than bestowing their blessings…”
“What are you saying, that they’re brainwashed?”
“Look at how much money she’s made without havin’ to lift a finger!”
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