by Fujino Omori
A heated argument drifted into their ears.
Turning their heads, the group saw a line of people on the opposite side of the gate waiting to go inside. At the front of the long, snaking line were two tall men wearing hooded robes. Their faces were well hidden. Looking like travelers, they blended in very well with the many people who wore the same style robe behind them in line. For some reason, both voices were crackling with nervous energy.
Merchants in line behind the two men gave one another confused looks as they listened to the conversation. “I suppose those types of people are everywhere in the world…” remarked the animal woman next to Hestia. The goddess, however, couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious.
Then, when Hestia’s group was about to walk past the hooded travelers…
““Huh?””
Her eyes met those of one of the men in the middle of the argument.
Strands of golden hair like a lion’s mane were sticking out of his hood, and she knew she’d seen red eyes like that somewhere before.
The power in his gaze made her come to a halt. He, too, fell silent with his mouth half open.
Three seconds passed.
“—Ares?!”
“—Hestia?!”
The god and the goddess pointed at each other, yelling at the same time.
Hestia was stunned that she was face-to-face with the god who was trying his damnedest to invade the Labyrinth City, and Ares couldn’t believe his luck that the target of his last-ditch plan had literally come to him.
Ares’s red eyes flashed during Hestia’s bout with disbelief.
He kicked off the ground, charging forward.
“Gotcha!”
“GuWAHHH!”
Ares lunged and tackled Hestia.
Eyes going wide, she was knocked out of the line of her coworkers by the god’s perfectly timed strike.
The two tumbled across the grass until Ares regained his footing and lifted Hestia over his shoulder.
“BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Did you see that, Marius? Objective complete!”
“N-no way…!”
Ares removed his hood as he called out to the human, Marius.
“Uwhhh…” The young goddess was barely conscious, her eyes spinning as she lay bent over his shoulder. He roughly adjusted her position and looked back at his followers.
“All forces, full retreat!”
With that, the “travelers” in the snaking line pushed their way out and took off at full speed.
It was pandemonium. Of course, the guards came rushing to the scene right away, but Marius led a counterstrike against them with sword in hand. The guards were vastly outnumbered.
Screams erupted from the crowd.
“Mission complete! Fall back, fall back!”
Ares took one look at the battle before running away with Hestia firmly in his grasp.
His allies—the soldiers of Rakia—broke off their attack and followed their god.
“Oh, no! Hestia!”
Her coworkers screamed at the top of their lungs as they saw Ares mount a horse like a valiant knight and race off into the distance.
“Where have you been, Lord Hermes?”
A woman with short aqua-blue hair roars at Lord Hermes. He’s walking right next to me, so seeing her storm up to us makes me jump back in surprise.
After talking for a little while, I thought it might be a good idea to keep looking for the goddess. Lord Miach and Lord Hermes kindly offered their assistance. I feel kind of guilty for dragging them into this, but there was no reason to refuse their offer. So we’d been walking together for a little while when Asfi, a member of Hermes Familia, shows up out of breath and angry as hell.
Lord Hermes looks very uncomfortable as Asfi holds her glasses on her face with one hand to keep them from falling off while she unleashes her tirade.
“You said to follow you, but then disappeared to who knows where…!”
“Well, um, you see, I heard something interesting and just…”
“Just what?”
“Ah, never mind. Sorry!”
Overwhelmed by his follower’s fury, Hermes offers a flat apology, his face glistening with sweat.
Only after gaining a moral victory over her god does Asfi notice we are here, too. “My apologies for that unsightly display…” She bows to us as Lord Miach and I smile weakly.
Straightening up, she adjusts her glasses over her blue eyes.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what were you doing with this more-trouble-than-he’s-worth deity of mine?”
“Ehh, um…Well…”
An excessive amount of sweat rolls down my back as I start to explain the situation, when suddenly…
The echoes of many hurried footsteps reach my ears.
“—What’s that?”
What I see when I turn leaves me speechless.
There’s a group of demi-humans in full armor and weapons, metallic clanks echoing with every move.
What’s more, there’s a blond-haired, golden-eyed female knight among them.
“M-Miss Aiz?!”
“It’s you…”
Aiz, saber in hand, responds to my startled cry.
She stops for a moment, and I get a clear view of her silver breastplate and gauntlets. She’s even equipped with shoulder armor. There’s no doubt she’s dressed for battle. So are the other members of Loki Familia running with her.
I’ve never seen a group of battle-ready adventurers running through the city streets in formation. The same must be true for Lord Miach, Lord Hermes, and Asfi, because the tension in the air strikes all of us dumb.
Aiz looks directly at me, and I see her lips move.
“All of you, come with us.”
“Itty-Bitty’s been snatched!”
Orario, north gate.
Loki’s voice echoed through the staging area in front of the gate on the north edge of the city wall.
She was not alone. The general of her familia, the prum Finn, along with several more of her followers and even a few gods, had gathered.
“That’s right! Some strange god carried Hestia away…!”
“A group of Rakia’s soldiers was mixed in with the travelers! They all scattered as soon as Hestia was taken!”
The pudgy animal person and a Guild employee were on the verge of panic as they explained the situation.
Everything had happened about ten minutes ago. Guild employees had been dispatched to deliver the news all over Orario right away. It went without saying Guild Headquarters was informed, but the messengers also visited the homes of powerful familias. From there, word spread to the gods and down the ranks to lower-class adventurers. However, due to the fact that not much time had passed, only Loki and Finn’s small group had arrived on the scene.
Merchants and travelers trying to exit or enter the city excitedly talked among themselves when Loki arrived. “Dahh…” The goddess pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave off a headache as she looked up at the sky.
“Finn.”
“Sorry. I can’t predict what gods will do…”
Loki glanced at Finn, clearly wanting to say something. The prum man wiped the side of his face with his hand.
The actions of Hestia and Ares were impossible for mere mortals to comprehend. Being forced to come along for the ride had taken its toll on “Braver,” his face showing signs of stress.
“So tell me…What genius let Itty-Bitty through the gate in the first place? Oh, was it you, Ganesha?”
“…I-I am Ganesha?”
“Hey, where’s yer usual spunk?”
Loki’s bad mood was apparent in her glare. Ganesha shrank back, striking a meek pose.
The usually energetically loud deity was barely audible as he explained the sequence of events that led up to Hestia’s capture.
“So then, you bein’ an idiot, you let her through the gate?”
“Uh, yes.”
“That mask stranglin’ yer brain? It looks stupid eno
ugh, ya don’t hafta go actin’ the part, ya mondo moron!”
“…Because I…I am Ganesha!”
“I wasn’t askin’!”
“Guild, y’all take ’im away!” Loki yelled at the uniformed gate guards.
“Noooo!” wailed Ganesha, his head in his hands. Meanwhile, his bodyguards and members of his familia working with the Guild glared at him with “We told you so” written all over their faces.
“Jyaga Boobies, why you gotta go an’ make things harder than they gotta be…?”
After taking a look around at the injured gate guards lying on the ground, Loki looked up into the sky and spat her own dissatisfaction into the air.
“Rakia kidnapped Itty-Bitty…meanin’ they’re after the Crozzo Magic Swords again?”
“Looks like it. Most likely, they’ll demand magic swords or Welf Crozzo himself in exchange for her release…No matter what we do, a rift will divide Orario.”
The City of Orario wasn’t a united fortress. Even if the Guild were to use all the resources at its disposal to drive Rakia away, the deities closest to Hestia—especially the powerful and influential Hephaistos Familia—would object to how the situation was handled, and the city would be split into two different camps. If worse came to worst, these divisions would expose them to threats from other countries and cities.
“Losing our advantage in such a stupid manner could really hurt our reputation…” mumbled Finn under his breath.
“We must retrieve Goddess Hestia before the enemy forces reach their own territory. Failure to do so could be catastrophic.”
“Dahh, damn! Why do I gotta be the one to clean up Itty-Bitty’s mess?”
Finn frowned as he started to explain what could happen while Loki tugged at her hair next to him.
More adventurers and gods were arriving at the scene, their reactions to the grave situation ranging from concern to the interested glee of the deities. A strategic meeting got under way immediately.
“Loki, Finn.”
“Hey, Aiz, you’re here. What about Riveria and the twins?”
“I’m the only one. And…”
Loki Familia’s other top-class adventurers hadn’t been at home when the messenger explained the news, meaning that Aiz was the first one to arrive. She had brought a group of her lower-ranking allies with her, along with Hermes, Asfi, Miach, and lastly, Bell.
As if pulled forward by Aiz’s sweeping gaze, Bell rushed up to Loki and Finn with fire in his veins.
“Is…is it true? Lady Hestia’s been kidnapped…?”
“…I’ll give you the short version. Bell Cranell, listen up.”
Aiz had partially brought the boy up to speed but had been missing several details. Finn concisely filled in the blanks. Bell was white as a sheet by the time Finn’s explanation was complete.
“Where is she now?”
“We don’t know. To make matters worse, Rakia’s forces dispersed into three groups going north, west, and east respectively. No one has been dispatched to hunt them down as of yet.”
Bell leaned forward, his eyes begging for more information. Finn’s calm demeanor didn’t falter as he answered.
“There’s one other obstacle that I hate to admit,” said Finn as he led into the next piece of information.
Since Orario’s familias were largely forbidden to exit the city wall, Rakia’s forces in the middle of executing their sixth invasion were much more familiar with the geography surrounding the city.
“They might know the best roads, passages through the mountains, and secret shortcuts that will allow them to reenter their territory as quickly as possible. Catching up with their main army will be extremely difficult,” he continued.
Color drained from Bell’s face with each passing word. Hermes was listening, too, and nudged Miach with his shoulder.
“It might be a good idea to tell Lilly and the other kiddos,” he quietly whispered into the other deity’s ear. Miach gave a quick nod and turned in the direction of Hearthstone Manor.
“—Loki, Finn. I’ll go.”
Aiz could see the beginnings of panic appearing on Bell’s face, and she stepped in front of him.
The Sword Princess was known for her aloof nature. Stepping forward like this not only caught her god and allies by surprise, but even the surrounding adventurers donned shocked expressions.
“Hold up, Aizuu. Ya don’t need to go outta yer way to bail out Itty-Bitty. The search is gonna be one hell of a pain in the ass, combing the forest and whatnot as it is…”
“But someone must go.”
“Ughh…”
“And the fastest one here is me.”
Loki flinched with every point Aiz made. The blond girl’s eyes were serious and focused as she made an unrefutable argument.
Even if pitted head to head against her general, Finn, Aiz would win in a foot race. No one was able to object to this suggestion from one of Orario’s best top-class adventurers.
As for Bell…
Despite not having much involvement with Hestia, the resoluteness in Aiz’s expression stirred something within him. Even his heart was trembling.
Setting all his fears and reservations aside, Bell stepped forward, even with Aiz’s shoulder.
“I-I’ll go, too! I will…I will bring my goddess back!”
Bell took another step forward, closer to Loki than Aiz.
The goddess hadn’t said anything to Bell, quietly observing the boy since his arrival. Now she turned to address him directly.
“Weren’t ya listenin’, boy? Aiz already said she’d go. Ya fixin’ to hold her back?”
“…!”
“Think! What’s yer Level? Ya know how far ya are behind. Hold yer tongue.”
One at Level 3, the other at Level 6.
There was quite a gap between Bell and Aiz, with the latter being many times stronger. It was as simple as that.
It was the truth, but Loki’s cool tone hit Bell like a smack in the face. Sensing that the up-and-coming “Rookie” had a connection with one of her own, she opened her vermilion eyes slightly more than usual as she watched the gears turning in the boy’s head.
Her words sent Bell reeling, unable to respond—but his hands clenched into fists.
Bracing his shoulders, he roared with a might that even a goddess had to acknowledge.
“I’m going! The goddess—Lady Hestia is part of my family!”
Bell’s ruby-red eyes flashed, burning with sheer willpower. All he saw was the task at hand; nothing else mattered. He channeled that determination into his voice.
“I won’t hold her back! I swear I will keep up with her every step! So please…LET ME DO THIS!”
His voice went hoarse with desperation. The many other conversations occurring at the staging area were overpowered by his plea as it hung in the air.
The few deities present, as well as the other adventurers, all craned their necks to see what was going on. Despite Bell’s display of willpower and conviction, Loki didn’t grant her permission.
Nor did she refuse.
“Do whatever ya want. You’ll only just hold her back anyway. Aiz, feel free to ditch ’im anytime.”
“…Understood.”
A few heartbeats passed before Aiz responded to her goddess. Bell, who couldn’t believe that the goddess had allowed him to accompany Aiz in the pursuit of Hestia, threw his body into a deep bow and yelled, “Thank you so much!”
Standing up again, the boy made eye contact with Aiz. Both shared a nod and exchanged mutual gazes of encouragement. With that settled, the strategy meeting picked up speed.
The other adventurers went to the Guild employees to ask them to look the other way just this once and allow large groups through the gate without passes. There was no time to wait for Guild Headquarters to fill out the necessary paperwork, and the Guild employees present understood that—or rather, they were forced to understand and nodded.
“I am Ganesha!” The god’s loud voice led the confused mer
chants and citizens away from the staging area as the adventurers quickly gathered information about the possible routes Rakia’s army might be using to retreat.
“There aren’t enough people here to send out other search parties after Aiz and Bell. Unfortunately, there’s no time to wait for Bete or the twins. We’ll lose sight of the target.”
“Trackin’ down all the factions is gonna make everyone dead on their feet. Like I said before, we’re gonna hafta comb the forest…”
One god overheard Finn and Loki’s conversation as they tried to come up with the most efficient way to track down Hestia. He stepped forward.
“Could you leave that detail to me?”
Lifting his feathered hat off his orange hair and tipping it in her direction, Hermes flashed his charming smile.
“God Hermes…”
“Asfi here can find Hestia’s location without much trouble.”
“What?!”
Keeping his gaze on Finn, Hermes reached around and grabbed Asfi by the shoulder, dragging her forward with a grin on his lips. His follower had no idea what was going on, but Hermes said it with the utmost confidence.
“That right? So, Dandy Man, what gives ya that idea…?”
“Come now, Loki. Asfi is Perseus—the Perseus. She has a few tricks up her sleeve that can find our wayward goddess. All you have to do is ask.”
Loki cocked an eyebrow in suspicion as Hermes put extra emphasis on Asfi’s title.
The head of Hermes Familia and possessor of the Advanced Ability “Enigma” looked at Finn and the group gathered around them, sighing as if the deepest part of her soul had grown tired of this.
Then Asfi straightened her spine, making her short blue hair and white scarf flutter as she adjusted her glasses.
“…If I have thirty minutes, I most likely can.”
Finn looked at her with a scrutinizing eye and licked the base of his right thumb. “All right.” He decided to put his faith in her. Loki intertwined her fingers behind her head, smiling as if interested in seeing what Asfi could do.
Spare armor and equipment were being brought into the staging area left and right. Bell hastily armed himself while listening to their conversation. Hermes noticed the surprise on the boy’s face and went to his side.
