Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
The deafening peal of alarm bells rang across Orario.
Beneath the setting sun, residents curiously turned toward the source of the sound.
But the moment they realized where the bells were coming from, their expressions changed.
"Bells? Wait, don't tell me that's..."
"That direction is the Guild, right? Is there another event going on, or did some god start causing trouble again?"
"What event, you idiot?! That's the alarm bell from the Guild Headquarters! If you don't want to die, start running!"
Such shouts rose from the enormous crowd, only to be swallowed moments later by the surrounding chaos.
Anyone who had lived in Orario for a while knew what it meant when the Guild sounded that bell.
Long ago, when a Familia led by a God of War attempted to attack Orario, the Guild had sounded the same alarm.
And the period when the bell rang most frequently had been during the height of Evilus.
Whenever it sounded, it meant only one thing.
Something serious enough to affect all of Orario was happening.
Fear spread through the residents as people rushed toward the Guild Headquarters, terrified that moving too slowly might leave them caught in whatever disaster was unfolding.
"Emergency announcement! Emergency announcement! All Familias affiliated with Orario, please follow the Guild's instructions! The Guild is issuing a [Mandatory Mission]!"
Once the piercing alarm bells stopped, a young woman's voice echoed from the enormous Magic Stone loudspeakers mounted around the Guild Headquarters.
Shiro had met her not long ago, and the voice sounded rather familiar.
"Explosions have occurred throughout Orario! We have confirmed that adventurers deliberately planted and detonated Fire Stones across multiple streets! All Familias are ordered to immediately dispatch adventurers to locate the remaining explosive sources!"
At that moment, sharp-eyed adventurers noticed thick black smoke rising from North Main Street.
And they were far from the only ones who saw it.
East Main Street leading toward the arena, the normally crowded South Main Street, and West Main Street connecting the Guild Headquarters to the Dungeon had all suffered similar explosions.
Had someone stood atop the Tower of Babel and looked down, they would have seen fires burning throughout Orario.
Illuminated by the flames, the city was gradually beginning to resemble hell.
Buildings lining the exotic streets had been damaged or blown apart, while magical items produced from materials found in the Dungeon had carved scar after scar into the city.
"During this emergency, civilians are forbidden from wandering the streets. I repeat—"
"Hm? This is much earlier than expected."
Shiro frowned when he heard the Guild's announcement.
He had just finished reassuring Ais that she did not need to worry about the Guild fine and had come to the Hostess of Fertility to spend some time with Wiene.
"Was Ouranos's information wrong?"
He immediately rejected the idea.
"No."
Ishtar had deliberately chosen sparsely populated areas for the explosions so the Guild would not come after her too aggressively afterward.
She had even informed Ouranos beforehand so he could prepare personnel in advance and prevent unnecessary civilian casualties.
There was no reason for her to lie about a difference of only a few hours.
Which meant...
"Ishtar did this intentionally."
The Fire Stones had been planted to draw the attention of Orario's adventurers away from her siege of Freya Familia.
Informing Ouranos beforehand allowed the Guild to prepare emergency forces and minimize collateral casualties, reducing the chances that Ishtar would face severe consequences afterward.
'Then why deliberately give Ouranos the wrong attack time?'
For an instant, Freya's mesmerizing face flashed through Shiro's mind.
"Wait."
His eyes narrowed.
"Don't tell me she told every informed party that the attack would happen at night because she was worried about a mole."
Even back in Heaven, Freya had become infamous for charming the virgin goddess assigned to watch over her.
The situation had eventually forced Odin himself to keep Freya comfortably supplied with whatever she wanted, terrified that if she became angry, she might charm the surrounding gods into becoming her slaves.
Given how closely Ishtar watched Freya, there was no reason she would not know that story.
"So Ishtar suspected Freya might have planted spies among the gods and gave everyone the same false attack time?"
It was still only a guess, but the more Shiro thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.
Freya Familia's internal hostility was common knowledge throughout Orario.
At sunset, their daily fighting would normally be coming to an end.
Ishtar had deliberately chosen that exact moment, when Freya Familia's members were exhausted from battling one another, to launch her surprise attack.
"So she never completely believed the information I gave her either."
Who said Ishtar had thrown away her brain just because she wanted revenge on Freya?
She had concealed her true strength, notified the Guild in advance so they could contain the aftermath, allied herself with Evilus and Kali outside the city, and even accounted for the possibility of spies by spreading a false attack time.
Against a different Familia, her preparations might genuinely have succeeded.
Unfortunately, once the difference in strength became large enough, even the cleverest schemes eventually became nothing more than a sigh after defeat.
And more importantly...
Ishtar had an unexpectedly large number of "spies" around her.
Now that Ishtar had begun moving, Shiro naturally could not continue sitting here doing nothing.
He turned toward the green-haired elf dressed in casual clothes.
"Ryuu, could you come somewhere with me?"
"A date?"
Ryuu raised her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly.
"...How did your mind get there?"
"We won't be bringing Wiene. It'll only be the two of us going out."
Ryuu lowered her gaze thoughtfully.
"Though it may be somewhat dangerous outside right now. We could help the Guild first, then after this incident ends, find another time to—"
"If you want to go on a date, we can do that whenever you want later."
Shiro interrupted her before the misunderstanding could grow any further.
"What I need to do now is related to that matter I promised you before."
"!"
Ryuu's expression instantly turned serious.
She raised a hand as though preparing to go change into clothes better suited for battle, only for Shiro, who had already anticipated the reaction, to stop her.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing in particular."
Shiro shook his head.
"You only need to stay beside me."
"And when other people are around, don't say anything."
Ryuu stared at him.
"...A date?"
"..."
Shiro fell silent.
Faced with the elf's baffling train of thought, he eventually decided it was better not to argue about this any further.
He took two black cloaks from his Gift Card and draped one over himself and the other over Ryuu.
Then he turned toward Syr, who was clearing tables inside the tavern.
"Syr, I'll leave Wiene with you. Something came up, so I need to head out for a while."
Without waiting for a reply, Shiro and Ryuu left the tavern together.
Behind them, a soul glowing with gray light remained where it was.
It silently stared at Syr.
Syr stared back.
"..."
…