Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"..."

The strange woman was about to turn and leave when Sanatos touched her shoulder without flinching.

Rives abruptly shook off the hand on her shoulder and stared back at the male god's eyes without blinking.

"I'll take care of Arya... as long as you promise me that, I'll cooperate."

Before he could answer, Rives really left this time, disappearing into the depths of the passage.

Seeing the indifferent attitude of the inhabitants of the underworld, Sanatos shrugged, but seemed somewhat pleased.

"Thanatos, I will kill the hero (Finn), you must, understand?"

"Oh, so you two seem to have some old grudges. Okay, I'll leave it to you. To be honest, I'm also having a headache if I don't figure out how to deal with him."

Sanatos nodded to Valeta, who was grinning maliciously at him.

"Ah." The male god, who was spreading a gloomy atmosphere, seemed to remember something at the end and told her:

"Call Baka over too."

Clang—, clang—.

A sound echoed in the dark passage.

The man's hands, wielding the hammer and stake, were stained with blood from countless hours of work.

Long bangs covered her left eye, and her right eye had accumulated large dark circles.

His skin was as pale as if it had forgotten the light of the earth.

The man, working endlessly like a moving puppet, seemed possessed, constantly digging a hole.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 7 - Chapter 1: The Current State of the Labyrinth City

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh...!"

Lefia was trembling.

Her body was swayed by uncontrollable emotions, and incoherent words escaped from her cherry-like lips.

This was all caused by "a piece of news" that caused a commotion at headquarters.

"That bastard...!!"

"Oh dear, Bert, hurry up and show it to me—!?"

Bert crumpled up a newspaper in the headquarters' large dining room, and Tiona yelled at him to hurry up.

They were surrounded by Ais, Tione, the young man (Raul), and the cat-woman (Angie). From first-level adventurers to low-ranking members, everyone showed astonishment and interest in the "news".

This happened this morning.

The excitement from a certain "grand event" had not yet subsided when new news, which had adventurers discussing it, quickly spread throughout Orario.

—The required period is one month.

—Bell Crane has been promoted to LV·3.

Let’s go back to a week ago.

The Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia engaged in a "wargame".

This "war of the gods' agents" began with a dispute and confrontation between two factions. Fueled by the amusement-loving gods, the situation escalated into a festival-like upheaval affecting the entire city, and surprisingly ended in a dramatic victory for the weaker faction (the Hestia Familia). It was a huge upset, defying the predictions of outsiders.

That incident had already stirred up the atmosphere in Orario, and before the excitement had even died down, this news had arrived. No wonder the members of the Loki Familia, like all the adventurers in the city, were taken aback.

"Look, look! Ais—! Argonaut Hero Level 3! That's amazing!?"

"Hmm...very, very impressive."

"But no matter how you look at it, ranking up in a month is too strange... All stats are S... Could it be related to what happened when we defeated the Minotaur? What do you think, Rivera?"

"It certainly can't be explained by 'unremitting efforts' alone. It's more reasonable to speculate that he possesses some kind of unconfirmed 'development ability'... no, 'rare skill' or something similar."

"Hmm—, but if we rely solely on special abilities, needless to say, it would be absolutely impossible for the bull to defeat [Phoebus Apollo], a second-level adventurer (Yacintos)."

“Tsk!”

Tiona beamed with excitement, while Ais was deeply moved and nodded repeatedly. Tione was no longer just doubtful, she was dumbfounded. When Tione asked her question, Rivera pondered deeply, while Finn seemed rather pleased and offered his assessment of the boy. Bert clicked his tongue loudly.

Right beside them, the cat-person Annaquite and the young (human) Raul said:

"This man named Bell Craney has been to the mansion (here), hasn't he?"

"Yes, he begged everyone to let him see Miss Ais. Everyone was furious and it was so hard to calm them down..."

The two were talking among the members of the [Family] army.

Some lower-ranking members, who initially harbored resentment towards Bell Craney due to various issues, were deeply impressed by this news. The young man's refusal to back down against a stronger opponent, demonstrating his ability to win in crucial moments, earned their admiration.

Even the core leadership, including Finn, has been drawn in, and now everyone in the Grand Diner is talking about the fastest rookie (young star).

"It was worth it for Ais and me helping out—no, that's a secret! Hehe, but I feel so happy~, my heart is leaping with joy!"

The boy's situation inexplicably lifted Tiona's spirits, and the atmosphere among her companions (familia) became lively, with her at the center.

Lefia looked at them, still trembling all over.

(What's going on here?! This is so strange!?)

The upset of 【Hestia Familia】 is alright.

Rather than saying it was alright, it was more like a great feat, but let's put that aside for now.

(Miss Tione is right, it's all too fast, you could even call it cunning...! Didn't she just reach LV·2 not long ago?!)

This is exactly what is meant by a bolt from the blue.

Speaking of which, Lefia and her group had just broken ties with the Kali Familia and returned from the port city of Melon when this incident occurred.

Just as everyone was exhausted and spending the night in their beds at headquarters, war suddenly broke out between the Hestia faction and the Apollo faction. Then, the gods, who were just stirring things up—the chief god (Loki)—joined the commotion, instigating it from the sidelines. Before they could even react, the "War Game" had begun. And then this "newcomer" got his upgrade.

For Lefia, it was like returning from a trip to find that the boy had become a Level 3, just like her.

It felt like I had taken a trip to the legendary Dragon Palace from a Far Eastern fairy tale.

(It took me two years to reach LV·3...!)

The white rabbit's rapid pursuit was unstoppable, almost surpassing Lefia, who was already at LV4. Perhaps this heavy blow would send... correct, it would be a blow to Lefia's smug satisfaction.

The group members passed around the "War Games" report, and then it reached their own hands. Lefia found the boy's portrait, her trembling hands threatening to crumple the paper at any moment.

"Hey! What does Lefia think of Argonaut, the little hero...?"

"I can reach LV4 as long as I have that intention, I'm not resentful at all...! Okay, I'm lying, this is completely against my conscience, it makes me angry, now is not the time to talk about this! If this continues, I'll be overtaken soon... I can't lose...!!"

Lefia muttered to herself, her whole demeanor eerie, so much so that even Tiona, who was calling out to her, dared not continue.

Tiona and the other members of the group saw an illusion of a great fire in the elven forest behind her and quickly kept their distance from her.

The elven girl, burning with competitive spirit towards the boy, made a new decision.

"Lefia is a bit scary—"

"Yes, Lefia is also... very, very amazing."

"She's just sentimental at that age, let her have some peace and quiet."

Tiona spoke frankly about her feelings, and Ais nodded to her. Riveria, as if sensing Lefia's inner turmoil, added a word of advice from an elder.

To be honest, Ais herself, who was pursuing great power, was also very interested in this upgrade of "Little Rookie"... but she was completely overwhelmed by Lefia's will.

I'll go see him again next time. The blonde, golden-eyed girl thought of the boy's face.

"They've been arguing about this since early this morning, but... guild leader..."

"What is it, Tione?"

"Another war game or something, a lot has happened, but what's next? It turns out the port city (Melon) isn't related to the second entrance to the dungeon... What's the next target?"

Ignoring Lefia, Ais, or the other members, Tiony asked Finn.

The day before yesterday, the Loki Familia traveled to the port city outside the city to find out the location of the second entrance to the underground city.

In order to stop the remnants of the dark faction and the "Filthy Fairy's" secret schemes.

"Hmm—I think Loki will give instructions soon..."

In response to Tione's question, the leader of the dwarfs (Palum) seemed half certain and told her his conjecture:

"They'll probably investigate 'Daedalus Road'."

★

"So the suspicious place should still be 'Daedalus Road'?"

After saying this, Loki looked around at the faces of the two gods before him.

The location is a high-end pub, in a soundproof private room to prevent any sound from leaking out.

"It should be said that there is nowhere else besides there."

"For the past three weeks, Dionysus and I have had the children search every suspicious location in the city, but we have come up empty-handed and found no noteworthy clues."

Dionysus and Hermes, seated at the round table, answered her.

This was the first time the Loki Familia had held a secret meeting since returning from the port city. The three celestials hadn't gathered together like this in a long time, and were now sharing information.

Each of the three was accompanied by an elf named Philwis, a chienthrope named Luluni, and a dwarf named Grice, who served as their guards. They reported their gains to each other while being observed by the elves.

"Although I actually knew it from the beginning. The saying goes, 'If you want to hide a tree, go to the forest,' so the entrance to the dungeon should be hidden in the labyrinth. I mean, how come you guys haven't even touched that place yet?"

"No, actually we did investigate 'Daedalus Road,' Loki, but without any results. In the vast Orario, that place is... much more special than other places."

Loki drank the wine from the glass on the round table like it was water, and Hermes shrugged at her with a wry smile.

When the three factions decided to unite to explore the second entrance to the underground city, Loki herself said that she had a general idea of ​​the suspicious locations.

That is "Daedalus Road".

This is a realm known as the underground city on the surface of the earth, created by a certain "master craftsman".

"Only that area hasn't been fully revealed yet. Considering that no one knows about the other entrance to the underground city besides the skyscraper facility (Tower of Babel), Loki's theory is highly likely. ...Most importantly, the location of 'Daedalus Road' is very close to the eastern part of the city where the 'Monster Philia' is held."

Loki nodded when Dionysus mentioned the "monster festival" in which the man-eating flowers appeared.

"That's settled then. The next target is 'Daedalus Road.' I'll go investigate there tomorrow."

"Is it alright, Loki?"

"Why are you so shameless? You were just planning to dump everything on me as usual."

Loki rolled his eyes at them. "Hahahaha." The two male gods laughed in a way that was both deliberate and hearty.

Their chemistry is so good that it makes you wonder if they're actually in cahoots.

Loki snorted, as if to say that she was too lazy to even complain.

"Well, after so many days, Finn and the others have rested enough... At this stage, the enemy's outline is becoming clearer."

Having investigated various incidents and found clues, we have come here along the thin thread leading to the truth.

Her implication was that they were now close enough to clearly see the enemy's true face.

"I'm going to crush them along with their lousy attempts to take over the labyrinth city (Orario), and make them clean up this mess."

After Loki calmly told the two, a warlike smile appeared on his lips, which shocked Lulune and Philweis, causing them to shift their bodies slightly.

Only Grace, who was waiting by Loki's side, sighed softly, always speaking of the chief god in a tone that suggested a fight.

As the family members reacted in different ways, Hermes maintained his handsome smile and asked a question:

"By the way, Loki, how's things going in the port city (Melon)? It seems like things have gotten pretty out of hand."

"Yes, we had a big fight with Kali's side, but it turned out they were unrelated to this, but we still gained something."

Loki laid out the intelligence he had gathered on the round table.

One is a mysterious human man whom Njord admitted to making a deal with, and the other is the Ishtar Familia, who is said to have transported the man-eating flower into the port city.

"To actually buy a carnivorous plant to protect the seas, the Fishery God (Njord) is really going all out... By the way, he said he made a deal with this person (human), where did they meet?"

"Njord said we'd meet in the city's underground sewers. I don't know if this gloomy kid is a remnant of a dark faction, but he definitely has some clues."

The detailed portrait painted by Njord was placed on the table.

The man, whose eyes were sunken and whose bangs covered one eye, was perfectly described by Loki as "gloomy." His somber expression even made him seem possessed.