In the end, Bete and Tiona never actually came to blows.
Just as Elfy Colette was trying to escape the battlefield, she happened to catch sight of two people returning from the streets of Orario.
"Huh? Ais-san, you're back."
That single casual remark extinguished the flames of war almost instantly.
Tiona, whose grudges rarely lasted longer than a day anyway, immediately abandoned the irritated werewolf and rushed toward Ais.
"Aiiiiis!"
Along with the cry came a small impact.
Ais's vision suddenly went dark as something wrapped tightly around her neck.
"Too tight."
Trapped in Tiona's enthusiastic embrace, Ais spoke in a muffled voice.
"Listen, Tione and the others were so mean today! It was bad enough that they wouldn't let me go out with you, but then they left me alone in the Dungeon! I couldn't even find someone to compete with over who could kill more monsters. I was bored to death!"
Ais opened her mouth to respond, but Tiona did not give her the chance.
The arms wrapped around Ais's neck shifted to her shoulders, and in the next moment, Ais was shaken back and forth like a wobbling toy.
"So many... stars."
"Hm?"
Tiona abruptly stopped.
Her nose twitched.
"Why do you and Shiro both smell like Jagamarukun?"
She sniffed again.
"Cream and red bean flavor too! You really did go out together!"
Tiona looked devastated.
"Damn it! If I'd known, I would've pretended to be sick today!"
"Do you have a dog's nose or something?!"
Shiro could not help blurting out.
Ais was practically inside Tiona's arms, so smelling it on her was understandable.
But how was Tiona detecting the scent on him from this distance?
Could it be that Tiona was not actually a pure Amazon, but secretly had some werewolf blood somewhere in her ancestry?
"I don't share any blood with that stupid wolf... Ah!"
Halfway through denying it, Tiona suddenly seemed to remember something.
Her hands stopped completely, finally freeing Ais from her suffering.
Shiro initially assumed Tiona had remembered some hidden werewolf ancestor.
Instead, she turned toward him with sudden realization.
"Shiro, someone from the Guild came looking for you today."
"For me?"
"Mm."
Tiona placed one finger against her lips as she thought.
"Let's see... He covered his face, so I couldn't really see what he looked like. But judging by his voice, he should be an old man."
"He showed up just after we returned to the Familia with an official Guild request in his hand and specifically asked for you by name."
"Tch. So he finally came knocking."
Shiro muttered under his breath.
The Guild.
An old man.
Someone specifically asking for him.
There was only one person in Shiro's memory who fit all three conditions.
It did not take a genius to figure out who it was.
The only strange part was why the man had waited until now.
Logically speaking, that person should notice anything abnormal involving the Dungeon almost immediately.
If he had only come today, then perhaps something else had happened in the meantime that Shiro did not know about.
"What are you muttering to yourself over there?"
"Nothing."
Shiro pushed Tiona away by the face when she leaned far too close to him.
"Where's the Guild representative? Did he already leave?"
"Hmm... I think Loki told him to wait in the reception room."
Tiona scratched her cheek.
"But it's been quite a while, so I don't know whether the old man is still there."
"Thanks."
With that, Shiro decisively abandoned the hyperactive Amazon and disappeared into Twilight Manor.
...
He entered the northernmost tower of Twilight Manor and crossed an elevated stone corridor.
At the other end was a spacious room decorated primarily in warm orange tones, with a calm and dignified atmosphere.
This was Loki Familia's reception room.
Several expensive-looking sofas occupied the room, while armchairs and round tables were scattered throughout the wide space.
Because the reception room was unnecessarily large, Familia members often used it as a casual conversation room as well.
As a result, one of the round tables covered with a white cloth had accumulated a pile of old music boxes and miscellaneous objects brought in by various members.
At this moment, a man sat alone on one of the sofas.
His back was perfectly straight.
His knees were together, while both arms were naturally bent with his hands resting upon his thighs.
Whether one called it dignified or excessively serious, the man maintained an almost textbook-perfect sitting posture despite there being no one else around.
"Ouranos."
Shiro called out to the solemn figure.
He rummaged through the pile on the round table until he found a teacup and teapot, poured the man a cup of tea, then sat down on the sofa opposite him.
"Leaving the Prayer Room just to drink Loki's tea?"
Shiro leaned back.
"If you're hoping this stuff will calm the Dungeon's anger, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It can't even put out Riveria's temper."
Ouranos did not respond to the joke.
Instead, he asked a question of his own.
"How much were you involved in the recent incidents?"
At the same time, Ouranos slowly raised his head.
From beneath the hood, his eyes shone with an intimidating light, as though he intended to see completely through the person sitting before him.
Shiro raised an eyebrow.
Seeing his reaction, Ouranos's expression grew even more serious.
Under that heavy gaze, Shiro slowly opened his mouth.
"Which incident... are you talking about?"
"..."
For some reason, Shiro noticed the hand holding Ouranos's teacup pause.
It was hardly Shiro's fault.
He had been involved in far too many things recently.
The Divinity beneath the Dungeon.
Alfia's resurrection.
Intelligent monsters.
Evilus.
All of that had happened within little more than a week.
Any one of those incidents could probably shake Orario to its foundations.
If Ouranos suddenly asked how much Shiro had been involved without specifying which matter he meant, how was Shiro supposed to know how much the old god had already discovered?
After a long silence, Ouranos gently placed the teacup back onto the table and released a heavy breath.
"As expected."
"It wasn't only the Dungeon itself."
Ouranos looked directly at him.
"You were also responsible for having that Xenos taken away."
"Xenos?"
Shiro tilted his head.
"You mean Wiene?"
The Dungeon had existed for far too long for Wiene to possibly be the first intelligent monster ever born.
Yet creatures like her had remained hidden from the public until now.
That meant some force had almost certainly been concealing their existence.
And judging from the name Ouranos used for Wiene, the identity of the person behind that protection was now rather obvious.
"The existence of the Xenos is far too unusual."
Ouranos's voice became solemn.
"They cannot yet be exposed to the children of the Lower World."
"You should not have taken her out of the Dungeon."
"...So now that you know all this..."
Shiro's gaze sharpened.
"Are you planning to stop me?"
…