After thinking for a moment, Xien fired off three questions in a row.
"What is this thing? Why now? And why me?"
"The object itself is not something I can explain right now. If you go, you'll naturally find out. As for why now… that is because of you."
"Me?"
Xien was dumbfounded. Him again?
Was he really that special? Why did everything keep coming back to him?
"That's right. Most likely, only someone like you—someone close to the concept of a 'hero'—can lift that seal. It is precisely because of your appearance that we now believe that thing should emerge. The original choice was that little prum, but now, compared to him, we believe you are the more suitable candidate."
Xien immediately began piecing the clues together.
A prum? "Hero"?
Was that referring to Finn, the "Brave" of the Loki Familia?
At this point in time… a seal? An object? What exactly was it? He had no leads at all.
Forget it. No use overthinking it.
"So what you mean is, the Loki Familia will act as my 'bodyguards,' take me into the deep levels of the Dungeon, and have me awaken some sealed thing. Right?"
"You could put it that way."
"Then what floor are we talking about?"
"Around the fifty-fifth to sixtieth floors. The margin of error won't exceed three floors."
Hearing that number, Xien rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
At his current level, the only monsters that could still properly help him grow were those from that depth. The members of the Astraea Familia still weren't capable of reaching such deep floors. So even if he ignored the so-called sealed object, going along as a healer for a deep-level expedition was already an excellent opportunity. Wasn't he lacking in growth for his ability values right now?
After all, those were extremely deep floors. Going there alone might easily lead to something unpredictable. With a team, at least there would be support. He could treat this as a familiarization run—a preparation for the day he eventually went alone.
Honestly, it sounded like a pretty good deal.
And besides, nothing major was going on lately...
"That does sound interesting. Anything important enough to catch your attention, Great God, definitely won't be ordinary. Fine. I agree. But I'm not going to do any of the legwork. I'll only say yes when the Loki Familia's invitation is placed directly on my desk."
Xien made his stance clear. He wasn't the one pushing for this. There was no reason for him to go bustling around over it. It wasn't as if he needed to go dungeon diving with the Loki Familia.
"That's fine. We never intended to make you do anything. As long as you are willing to go, that is enough."
"All right then. Anything else, Great God?"
"No. Let Fels escort you out through the hidden passage. May our cooperation be fruitful."
"I'll gladly take that blessing."
By the time Xien came out of the Guild, it was already afternoon.
He glanced at the sun, now sinking lower in the sky, and knew his plan to head into the Dungeon was finished for the day.
Still, at least it hadn't been wasted time.
With that thought, he started walking back toward the Astraea Familia's home.
He pulled up the hood his clothing had shifted into at his command and decided to see whether it would help hide his identity.
Walking through the streets, the effect turned out to be pretty good. No one paid special attention to the face of a stranger brushing past them, especially with part of it obscured.
Just as Xien let out a quiet breath of relief, someone suddenly called out to him.
"Well now, little friend, we meet again. How have you been these past few days?"
Xien's expression stiffened for a moment. Turning around, he saw someone he'd met once before—or rather, a god.
Once he recognized the face, his expression eased, and he walked over.
"Lord Hermes. Long time no see. Thanks to your blessing, I've been doing quite well. Judging by the look of you, you seem to be doing pretty well yourself."
As he spoke, Xien glanced at the wine bottle in Hermes's hand. Based on the elaborate packaging alone, it probably wasn't cheap.
"Of course. Thanks to all your efforts, this city is finally able to keep its peace. Those of us living in it can relax a little too. That's all thanks to you lot."
Hermes's gaze landed on Xien's outfit, and a playful smile spread across his face.
"You're too generous. Astraea did her part, yes—but more importantly, everyone was willing to stand together with us. Otherwise, no matter how much heart we had, our mere dozen-odd members wouldn't have been able to turn the tide."
"Hahaha, still so modest, even as a hero? The reputation really is well-earned. So then, how about it? Come have a drink with me. This is a bottle I've been saving for a long time."
He lifted the wine bottle invitingly.
Xien paused, looked up at him, and saw no falsehood in his expression. Remembering their previous agreement, he smiled faintly.
"In that case, I'd be honored."
"Good. Let's go."
The two of them quickly disappeared from the public eye—though in truth, hardly anyone had been paying them any attention to begin with.
Hermes led him to a refined tavern room. Once the door opened, Xien saw that someone was already waiting inside.
There were two strikingly beautiful women.
One of them Xien recognized immediately—a blue-haired beauty with glasses. If he remembered right, her name was Asfi, and she was the vice-captain of the Hermes Familia.
As for the other one, he did not know her. She was a black-haired beauty, long and elegant...
But then—
"You took forever, Lord Hermes. Does fetching a bottle really take that long? Or were you slacking off somewhere again? Huh? There's someone with you? ...Wait, isn't that Xien, the 'Abundance Walker'? Big celebrity, huh? Nice one, Lord Hermes—bringing back a handsome guy of this level in no time flat. Hey, little brother, come over and hang out!"
...Right. There it was.
When she wasn't speaking, she was absolutely stunning.
The moment she opened her mouth, every bit of that charm evaporated.
She was on the same level as Captain Alise.
"Captain, please conduct yourself with a little dignity..."
Asfi's face had gone completely dark. She looked as though her familia's reputation had just been hurled out the window.
Xien blinked. He took another look at the delighted black-haired woman in front of him.
She was the captain?
That made sense, actually. There was still a long time before the main story began. He just hadn't realized the Hermes Familia had changed captains at some point. Or maybe this was the previous one.
Hermes, on the other hand, looked utterly unconcerned, grinning from ear to ear.
"That's right! Today, we have the honor of inviting our glorious 'Hero Candidate,' Xien, to join our little gathering. Everyone, give him a warm welcome!"
"Yaaay! Amazing!"
The two women applauded enthusiastically.
Then Hermes turned back toward Xien to introduce them properly.
"These are my children: the captain, Lydis, and the vice-captain, Asfi Al Andromeda."
"Hello, everyone. I'm Xien. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Once the introductions were finished, Xien was warmly invited to sit. He soon learned that the rest of the members hadn't arrived yet.
After waiting a while for everyone to gather, the party finally got underway.
Everyone drank and traded stories. Since Xien was still underage, though, he could only sit off to the side with the equally underage Asfi, both of them sipping fruit juice.
Watching the lively crowd nearby, Xien smiled faintly.
This was exactly the sort of thing he had hoped for.
Everyone laughing and living happily. Even if they still had work and worries, at least they weren't constantly facing life-or-death crises...
"Truly, I'm sorry. Our captain is... rather uncouth. But she doesn't mean any harm, so I hope you won't take offense."
Asfi's cheeks were slightly pink as she spoke.
Not because of any romantic embarrassment, but purely out of shame for her captain's utter lack of decorum.
Xien smiled slightly. The girl in front of him had not yet become the cool, capable figure he remembered. Right now, she felt more like a precocious child.
"How could I? I understand exactly how you feel. We have a captain with a very similar personality in my familia too. Really, you have my deepest sympathy. Being the assistant to a captain like that must be exhausting."
That hit Asfi right in the heart.
At once, she looked like she'd found a soulmate.
Sure enough—anyone who got along well with Ryuu couldn't be a bad person.
Before she knew it, she had started quietly venting to Xien.
"Exactly... Who knew someone could be just as willful as a god..."
"But captains like that do have their strengths too, don't they? Like bringing energy and positivity to the whole team..."
"That's true..."
"Oh? Looks like you're getting along pretty well with my vice-captain. What, have you taken a liking to my Asfi? No can do, Xien—Asfi's one of my precious girls. I can't just hand her over."
Before Xien could continue comforting the girl, a very familiar voice suddenly cut in.
Turning around, he saw Hermes standing there. Looking farther back, he noticed that all the other members—including the black-haired captain—had already collapsed onto the table, completely drunk.
Before Xien could say anything, however, Hermes had already stepped right on someone's landmine.
"Lord Hermes, what exactly are you saying...?!"
"Guh—!"
The flushed girl threw a lightning-fast straight punch directly into Hermes's stomach.
The mighty god folded up like a shrimp and dropped to the floor.
"You're awful. How can a god possibly be like this..."
After throwing Xien an embarrassed glance, Asfi bowed in apology and fled the room as though escaping disaster.
Leaving Xien sitting there, thoroughly bewildered.
"Ah... sorry about that. You had to witness something embarrassing."
Hermes struggled upright from the floor, his face twisted in pain. A full-powered punch from a Level 2—if his divine-sealed mortal body hadn't been built unusually sturdy, he probably would have been seriously injured.
Xien lifted his glass of fruit juice and took a sip.
"Much as I'd like to defend you, I can only say this: if you don't start watching the way you speak, this sort of physical suffering is only going to become more frequent in your future."
Xien wanted to laugh, but with Hermes right there in front of him, he restrained himself.
"That's fair. But it's become a habit by now. I'll try to be more careful."
"Then since you've cleared everyone else out and left just the two of us, I assume you have something you want to talk about, Lord Hermes?"
Xien's expression stayed casual as he gestured toward the seat opposite him.
"...So I couldn't fool you after all. You really are frighteningly observant."
"You flatter me. It's not as if you were trying all that hard to hide it. Thanks for the hospitality, though. So go on—whatever you want to say, I'm listening."
Xien waved a hand, signaling that there was no need for excessive formality between allies.
"Actually, it's nothing too dramatic. I just wanted to ask about the details of the last incident. Honestly, I never expected your capabilities to be quite that exceptional. You managed to get both the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia working together to resist the attack. That really surprised us. Thanks to your efforts, our own work afterward went very smoothly. And... since you were also the one who took the biggest risk, thank you."
However, Xien shook his head.
"That's not quite right. If we're talking about alliances, only the Loki Familia had anything directly to do with me. As for the Freya Familia... to be honest, I've had a bit of friction with them. In the strategy meeting before the incident, none of Freya Familia's executives came to participate. So I have no idea why they chose to act. My guess is that they simply did what their position required. Nothing more."
"Is that so? Huh. In that case, maybe that goddess really is more broad-minded than people give her credit for."
Hermes had first looked surprised, then thoughtful. If that was truly the case, then the goddess in question might not be impossible to approach after all.
"That's right. At the very least, in that matter, they fulfilled their duty. They deserve to be called one of Orario's new pillars."
Since Xien was being so cooperative, Hermes went on to the next matter he cared about most.
"Then what about that so-called aberration? As the one who defeated it, what do you think it was?"
Xien paused, as though weighing his words.
"In my view, it was the product of malicious design. And the source of that malice was almost certainly an Evil God. Ordinary people neither have the means nor the knowledge to produce something like that."
"So you mean it wasn't naturally formed?"
Hermes unconsciously leaned forward. It was a habit of his when he was deep in thought.
"That's right. It was created from the corpse of an ancient spirit that died inside the Dungeon, was reabsorbed by it, then corrupted and turned inside out. You can think of it as its very nature being reversed. It's a natural enemy to us."
Hermes drew in a sharp breath. He had never imagined the thing's origin was something like that.
"...May I ask how you came by such information?"
His gaze turned grave. As a god who dealt in intelligence, he had every reason to verify whether this information was reliable. At the same time, it was the exact point that puzzled him most. How had this boy learned something like that? Had Ouranos told him?
But Xien's answer left him visibly startled.
Pointing at his own eyes, Xien said:
"You can think of it as one of my special abilities. Something like 'future sight,' perhaps. When I look at something, I sometimes learn fragments of its information. As for how much, there's no way to predict it."
"..."
So that was it?
As unbelievable as it sounded, once he reframed everything through that lens... it actually explained a great deal.
....
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