CH. 270: Asfi?

This Daedalus guy was everywhere. This confirmed that most of the Evilus members escaped. Let's hear what the scapegoat has to say about them.

I teleported back to Aimi. The yandere was busy carving red lines on the cat beastman's wrists. Tied on a chair, he could only scream helplessly. Thankfully, Aimi used a barrier to block all the noise. It wasn't long before he spat out everything. More like nothing as he didn't know much about where his fellows went. The most he knew was about an Evilus member named Valletta Grede was meeting a new sponsor. He also confirmed Dix Perdix and Ikelos Familia being part of their cult.

One more thing, this dungeon also had pathways leading outside Orario. The Evilus might have fled the city. The chances of this happening were extremely low. Will someone bother spending millions only for a safe passage outside the city? Their main goal must be something inside the main dungeon. My enhanced instincts considered this as the most likely option.

We still had a chance at catching this Valletta woman and this sponsor red-handed. As per Dix's words, Valletta was in a meeting with this new sponsor. Only two or three hours had passed since. For that we need to investigate every rich god and goddess in Orario.

It's the aftermath I'm more worried about. What if Evilus's sponsor is not one but multiple deities? Astraea Familia was one of the strongest, but even she'll be hard pressed to take action against several high level Familia. I also couldn't destroy them like I did with Apollo without creating chaos in Orario.

It's troublesome.

We need a strong political backup just in case things go that extreme. I had an ally too. One of the two goddesses who knew my secret.

You guessed it.

It's none other than Loki.

Her Familia idled around after their last expedition in the dungeon.

With their help, Astraea Familia could bring down any Familia in Orario. Maybe not Freya. If she is the culprit, I'll have to deal with her.

A war between Loki and Freya will destroy Orario. We don't want that happening.

I called Grayfia inside. "Can you take this trash to our home? We'll come soon."

"Very well, My Lord."

He will act as our witness to the Guild.

(My love… thank you for not using my teleport marks to send him.)

The goddess was tearing up over my thoughtful choice.

"Don't let Astraea see him."

Grayfia nodded and vanished in the magic circle's glow.

With the murderous scene out of the way, I called the others. Kaguya tried to ask about Jura, which I ignored and told her about the new information.

Ryuu's blue eyes quivered. "This might be a deeper scheme than the last time."

Lyra clicked her tongue, a frown on her cute face. "Valletta Grede is the woman we fought… a strong level 5 adventurer. We still don't know about her patron deity."

Kaguya sighed. "With this little information, we can only assume every god and goddess in Orario as a suspect."

A level 5 adventurer. This cult sure had deep connections.

I looked at Alise pondering in silence. "Captain, do you blame me?"

Alise widened her eyes a tad before shaking her head. "Everyone makes mistakes. Not everyone can be perfect like me."

It was nice to see her narcissism back. Knowing how imperfect her temper could be, this narcissism made her strangely cute. The single spank brought back her energetic self.

I walked up to Ray. "Go with Rini. We'll discuss your circumstances after dealing with some stuff."

She nodded solemnly as though realizing the gravity of the situation. I patted her head and touched the thick strands of hair forming a natural ponytail. The dull golden hair sprang back up, refusing to stay down.

Her flabby ears twitched cutely. Monster girl or not, she was cute. I coughed and turned to others.

"Don't tell Astraea-sama about Ray. I'll talk to her myself."

Taking their silence as an agreement, I smiled. "It's time to return."

"Wait! Don't go!"

A female voice called out hastily. I spun around and frowned at the newcomer. A lady with fair skin and blue hair reminiscent of a beautiful sea. Her cyan eyes behind the thin glasses had a serious and sharp look.

Who in the world—wait, isn't that Asfi! The Captain of Hermes Familia!

What was she doing here?

I felt Ray clinging to me, shaking in fear. I narrowed my eyes. Did Asfi hurt Ray? It could be a possibility as everyone in Orario treated monsters without any mercy.

"Asfi! I'm glad to see you."

Asfi acknowledged Alise's greeting with a smile before pointing at Ray. "Do you know who she is?"

The question was directed at both me and Alise.

I tilted my head. "She is a Xenos."

Surprise flashed in Asfi's eyes. She didn't expect me to know the term 'Xenos.'

"Although Hermes entrusted me with this duty, will you send Ray to her village?"

So Hermes also knew about Xenos and their village. The cunning god had played a big role in Bell's journey. Even though I liked his character a little, anyone with Zeus on their friend list got a big cross on my radar.

"Can we talk in a few hours? As you can see we're in the middle of something important."

"Hugging Xenos is an important matter," she muttered under her breath. "Do you need help?"

"Nope."

Not gonna take any help from that guy.

"I'll go to Stardust Garden before dinner time."

She declared and walked away from the place, dumping Ray's responsibility on me. Ray separated from me, her face twisted.

"...I'm sorry."

Why was she apologizing? I might spend too much listening to her if she started.

As everyone in the room was a woman more or less acquainted with me, I requested Klyscha's aid in returning to the meeting room of the mansion. Rini and Ray were sent to my room.

The adventurers became baffled as their surroundings suddenly changed.

Astraea and Grayfia discussed on the table, spreading mature energy in the air with just their presence. Astraea blanked out, staring into the distance. Was she thinking about me? Knowing her, she must be more concerned about our wellbeing.

"Back to our home…"

"Astraea-sama… How?"

Kaguya and Alise couldn't get over the shock of their first quick teleportation. Ryu silently looked at me with wonder in her eyes. The elf had become a little closer to me after I gave her a big ol' hug and some headpats. She looked too devastated to be left unchecked. I was prepared for some curses after hugging. Surprisingly, she thanked me for my effort. The elf who rejected me for touching her ears was fine with an intimate hug.

(Time to lewd the elf!)

Well, yeah. I'm gonna slowly seduce her.

"Welcome back." Astraea got up with a sweet smile. She gestured toward the seats in the room. "You must be exhausted. Have a seat."

Alise returned a bright smile, far from the one she had when we met in the morning. "Astraea-sama is unfazed. Such calm and composure. She isn't my idol for nothing."

"We got no time for rest. Lyra, can you compile a list of the wealthiest Familia in Orario?"

"Wealthiest Familia," she said before a sly smile crept up on her face. "I see what you're tryin' to do, Asahi! But can we achieve it on our own? Most deities won't allow us to enter their property."

"Don't you worry about that, girl. I got everything covered. Just make the list. I've got an errand to do."

Every woman in my harem was strong enough to beat the strongest adventurer into pulp (Leme and Shizuka being the exception). Plus they had Stealth. Invading a deity's territory won't be a big hurdle.

"Errand?" Alise asked in a blank voice. "Don't even think about bailing on us this time!"

"Yes, My Lady, Yes. I'm just gathering some allies for this plan."

"Not m-my lady. Call me Captain as you do."

"I'd love to sit around and find new names for your perfect self. But I got things to do. See ya later."

Without requiring a word, Klyscha sent me to Loki's room. As if tempted by some unknown force, someone opened the door.

"Whatcha doing here, brat? Tell me before I knock out yet teeth with this thing."

She flashed the booze in her hand. A fragile bottle like it will break before scratching my skin.

"It's not even night, and you're going to drink? What a nasty habit you have."

She grinned. "I earned this bottle after completin' my shift. Say what do ya want?

"Your help."

Loki's mischievous smile vanished. She sat on the chair with a serious look on her face.

"What happened in the hidden dungeon?"

I briefed our trip to the dungeon.