Chapter 0168: So We Were the Culprits All Along?
"Speaking of which—" Hayashi, sitting cross-legged in the basket, suddenly voiced his curiosity, "Why did the goddess decide to come to Orario with us? Normally, to protect these little ones' safety, the four of us should go while you stay hidden with them, right?"
Indeed! Astraea's decision to bring these children back to Orario was akin to throwing twenty-four little radishes—whose highest level was only Lv.2 and who couldn't update their status after their main deity was sent back—straight into a boiling pot of oil.
"Because it's no longer safe outside." Before Astraea could answer, Lili hurriedly explained, as if afraid Hayashi and the others would misunderstand Astraea. "Brother Hayashi! You might not know this, but the Evilus squads maintain regular contact with each other!"
"Hmm?" Hayashi and Hisako exchanged glances and pressed further, "Elaborate—"
"The Evilus faction knows I escaped with these children but not where we're hiding, so they've resorted to the most foolish method: a carpet search to track us down," Astraea explained. "They've dispatched numerous six-to-eight-person squads to spread out and search beyond Orario, using carrier pigeons to relay messages regularly. If a squad fails to report in, they focus their search on that area."
"..."
Upon hearing Astraea's words, Erina and Yunyun guiltily glanced at each other, then turned pleading eyes toward Hayashi and Hisako.
"..."
Hayashi and Hisako also realized something. They looked at each other and tugged at the corners of their mouths.
'I think I understand now why Astraea, who wasn't harmed in the original storyline, was discovered, poisoned, and left hanging by a thread in this world.'
'So, we were the culprits all along!?'
If Hayashi and the others hadn't come to this world, Erina and Yunyun wouldn't have recklessly gone hunting, thereby revealing their traces to the Evilus faction and leading to the counterattacks.
If not for Erina and Yunyun's counterattack, the members of Evilus wouldn't have intensified their search efforts when communicating with each other due to discovering a missing squad;
If Evilus hadn't suddenly increased their search intensity, Astraea and her group—who had been conducting counter-surveillance all along—wouldn't have been discovered and pursued.
Case solved!
So I'm the one to blame!?
Erina let out a bitter laugh, then bowed her head toward Astraea under the goddess's puzzled gaze, saying, "Goddess, I'm sorry."
"Why apologize suddenly?"
Seeing Erina's apology, Hayashi understood her meaning and explained proactively, "If we're not mistaken, your encounter with the ambush... was probably because of us."
Erina nodded, her face full of guilt, and said, "Actually, before you were attacked, Yunyun and I went to that forest to hunt prey. We were discovered by Evilus members and they ambushed us."
Hayashi scratched his cheek somewhat awkwardly and said, "So, most likely, it was because Erina eliminated those rats, which led to their discovery of missing members during routine communication. That caused them to intensify their search, ultimately exposing your whereabouts..."
In unison, they said: "So, we're very sorry!"
Astraea looked at the two bowing before her with astonishment. After remaining silent for a few seconds, she couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha, your reaction is so honest! Most people in this situation would choose to keep it hidden, wouldn't they?"
Erina scratched her cheek, then said seriously, "If I chose to hide it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
She was Erina Nakiri, the proud heroine known for her God's Tongue! Without her tsundere tendencies, asking her to deliberately conceal her mistakes was something her self-respect would never allow.
Looking at Erina's earnest expression, Astraea couldn't help but show a gentle smile, saying, "What a wonderful answer! I've fallen for you—"
"Eh eh eh!—"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, with Hayashi nervously hugging Erina while glaring at Astraea with defensive eyes.
"Hahaha, don't misunderstand—it's not that kind of liking—" Astraea laughed heartily, her face adorned with a gentle smile as she said, "The liking I mean refers to your character."
"Whew—"
Everyone couldn't help but sigh in relief, with Hayashi patting his chest and saying, "Whoa, I almost died!"
He thought he was about to gain a goddess as a love rival.
...
...
Half a day later, outskirts of Orario.
"!!"
When the guards saw Astraea appearing at Orario's city gate, several adventurers rushed over in surprise.
"Goddess Astraea!"
"Why have you returned?"
"Has something happened?"
The news of Goddess Astraea returning to Orario with adventurers from her destroyed Familia had spread among the various factions. Seeing her back now naturally caused quite a stir.
Of course, there were also those lurking in the shadows—vermin who watched with cold eyes as Astraea spoke with the guards at the city gates before exchanging glances and slipping away.
They had to report this news back to their masters.
After finishing her conversation with the guards, Astraea led Lili, Hayashi, and the others toward her Familia's base. As they walked, she explained, "Though Evilus initially caused the return of over twenty gods, that was only possible because everyone had let their guard down."
Thanks to the efforts of the Astrea Familia, Evilus had once been forced into hiding within Orario's shadows. No one expected them to suddenly strike again nearly two years later, ambushing twenty Familias (albeit small ones with fewer than ten members each) and forcing many gods to return to heaven.
After such a horrific incident, the Familias of Orario were thrown into chaos. Many gods who were close to one another spontaneously banded together, relocating their bases to shared locations out of fear of being targeted again.
"Alright, we're here!"
Following Astraea's lead, Hayashi, the others, and the little ones arrived at a camp surrounded by wooden fences. As she opened the gate, a girl with a bright red ponytail came running out.
"Lady Goddess, welcome back!"
She looked at Astraea standing at the entrance and flashed a spirited smile.
"Yes, I'm back, Alise."
Astraea smiled softly in return.
One by one, more girls rushed out, gathering around Astraea and expressing their longing and joy at her return.
Soon, Alise, as the Familia's captain, noticed Hayashi and the others standing with the little ones. She asked curiously, "Lady Goddess, who are these…?"
"Ah, I almost forgot to introduce them—how rude of me." Astraea snapped out of her daze and walked over to Hayashi's group with a hint of guilt. "My apologies. Reuniting with the children was so emotional that I accidentally overlooked you all…"
"No worries, no worries!" Hayashi waved his hand casually and grinned. "I get it! I mean, I'm always slipping into 'couple mode' with Erina too, so I totally understand!"
"Wha—who's in 'couple mode' with you?!"
"Huh? Who else but you?"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-huh!"
"Grr!"
Erina huffed and pressed her forehead against Hayashi's chest, then poked his abs angrily—unfortunately, his abs were too well-defended, and her attacks did no damage.
"Ooooh…"
The girls of the Astrea Familia blushed and covered their mouths with their hands, their eyes sparkling as they watched Hayashi and Erina.
A couple! And such a lovey-dovey one at that! Wow!
"!"
At that moment, Hisako's "recruitment radar" suddenly activated. She turned to the girls of the Astrea Familia, her eyes gleaming with stars.
These kids… maybe they could be persuaded to join the EMT Cult!
While Hisako was brainstorming, Astraea smiled and said, "Alise, these are my saviors. I was poisoned by Evilus in the forest, and if they hadn't helped me, I would have returned to heaven."
Astraea didn't mention that the reason she had been discovered was because Erina had wiped out a squad of Evilus members—in her eyes, there was no way to blame Erina for that!
It wasn't like she could say, "Couldn't you have just let Evilus kill me? Then my location wouldn't have been exposed!" Only a complete idiot would say something like that.
Hearing Astraea's words, Alise immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Thank you all so much for your help!"
"No need, no need—"
Hayashi and Erina hurriedly helped her up, feeling a bit awkward—they knew that if they hadn't chosen this exact moment to intervene, Astraea would have escaped safely on her own.
Seemingly sensing their discomfort, Astraea walked over with a smile. "Let me introduce everyone properly—"
"This is Alise Lovell, our Familia's captain."
A spirited girl with a long red ponytail, dressed in combat attire.
"This is Gojouno Kaguya, our vice-captain."
A delicate-looking girl with long, straight black hair, wearing a red kimono.
"This is Lyra, one of our founding members."
A lively and playful prum girl with short pink hair.
"This is Ryuu Lion, our Familia's rising star."
A slender, beautiful elf with golden hair, wearing a green cloak.
Next, Hayashi and the others met Neze, a beastkin girl; Asta, a dwarven girl; the spellcasters Layana and Selene; and the remaining members—Noin, Iska, and Maryu.
These eleven girls made up the Astrea Familia—the same ones who would later fall victim to the "Dungeon Calamity."