Chapter 128

Near Orario.

A couple days later, our Familia got out for a vacation, or rather, out of town in a small clearing to relax, get away from the hustle and bustle and mostly fulfill the promise to Ray that I had made to her. We were now settled on a plaid with a weighty and large basket of food and enjoying the nice weather while the siren circled the sky and soaked up the surface air with every feather.

In that short time, what had happened in the pub had spread throughout Orario, causing talk of the existence of the Xenos to erupt like wildfire. There were debates about their humanity, their ability to leave the Dungeon, and their danger to humans.

The information I fed to Loki also resonated, and quite loudly. Not only the gods, but also the humans began to ask Ouranos questions. His answer contained the same things he had told us, and the city split about evenly into two sides, where one wanted to let the xenos live among the humans and the other wanted to leave things as they were.

But it didn't stop there. Questions came up about not only the xenos, but also humanity's need for gods. They are the most important and influential figures in Orario, and, of course, their voices will be heard, no matter how insignificant this or that god is, unlike ordinary people. The latter had no choice but to submit to the decision of the former.

The issue here was not the danger from the monsters due to the presumed absence of the gods, and thus their Falna, but the freedom and right of choice of mankind. The thinking of god and man is different, after all. And to make a long story short, by my actions I have sown the fruits of the coming of a new Age of Man of this world. So far, everything has been limited to mere talk, but what will come out of it? Who knows, who knows...

Ouranos himself has not yet taken any action, at least not visible. And from this we can conclude that either he has not yet thought of how to act, or this was the situation he was aiming for. Either way, whatever he decides to do, I doubt we can't handle it. Noble Phantasm to the rescue, as they say. Although...

- "I understand Lady Hestia's and Bell's presence here, but not yours, Lord Hermes, and not your captain's," I said, looking away, "Would you care to share why you are here?"

Besides our Familia, Hestia, who had taken the day off from work and was now listening to Morgan's dubious advice on how to get Bell's attention, and himself, who was listening to the Xenos life from Lethe, the god Hermes and his captain were here.

Asfi Al Andromeda, a man with turquoise hair and blue hair that she wore a long white cloak and rectangular glasses. She gave the impression of a serious business woman, that she was good at the task she was given. And overall she could be described as pleasant, but not her god.

Hermes, a young looking man with blond hair, orange eyes, and a hat that looked like a cowboy hat, was... Hmmm... I'd call him the second Diadora from DxD, at least at first glance, and that's far from a compliment. Also, from what I heard, Hermes was the most knowledgeable individual in all of Orario.

- "It's only been a little while since we've settled in here, and you already want to chase us away, Romani? And isn't it bad to make new acquaintances?" Hermes smiled slyly.

- "You are too harsh, Lord Hermes," Asfi said, "We practically forced ourselves into their company, and if that's the case, we should observe the rules of decorum and polite tone."

- "What a noisy god indeed," Morgan commented, "Our invitation was only to the goddess of hearth and the rabbit, not to random passersby."

- "You could have just turned us down, couldn't you?" Hermes asked.

- "We couldn't, because…" Asfi began, and then fell silent, furrowing her brow and giving her god a judgmental look, but it was clear to both Morgan and me why we 'couldn't' refuse them. In their eyes, of course. After-all, Ouranos' rules only apply to offense.

I agreed only because his extremely 'random' meeting with us in the middle of the street and his desire to 'befriend' us looked suspicious, since few people wanted to cross paths with us lately. Especially not in this way. Tia, who was now lying on my lap, didn't really care about any of this and was just enjoying the weather and our company.

- "Back on topic, do you really want to 'just' make new acquaintances?" I asked.

- "Absolutely!"

- "And this has nothing to do with Lord Ouranos in the slightest, I suppose?" I grinned, and he was silent for a moment.

- "Hey! Why so serious and interrogative?! We're here to rest, aren't we?" Hestia intervened.

- "That was the original purpose, goddess of the hearth," Morgan said and looked at Hermes, "And I didn't like the way you looked at my body, god. Maybe you'd like to be the second goddess of beauty?"

- "Sorry about that, however I just couldn't…" Hermes began, as the blade of Morgan's axe staff appeared at his neck.

I rolled my eyes at that, Hestia got worried, Bell and Let stopped talking and stared wide-eyed at the Fairy Queen, Asfi didn't even have time to react to Morgan's actions and tensed her body in preparation for battle, and Hermes himself raised his hands in a gesture of submission.

- "Put the weapon away, Morgan. As if you didn't realize that he was probing the ground," I said, and Hermes smiled guiltily, and Morgan grinned.

- "It doesn't really matter. Besides, I'm familiar with the likes of him," she said, but she still listened to me, causing the others around her to sigh in relief. I raised an eyebrow at her words and gestured for her to continue, "More specifically, he's a lot like me in the way he chooses his methods and accomplishes his goals."

- "What are you talking about, Morgan?" Hestia asked.

Most, and not just her, didn't understand her, judging by their looks, but not Hermes. The smile slowly slipped from his face, and his eyes became cold and serious. I grinned, for Morgan's words certainly matched my judgment of the god.

- "That's how it is," I grinned and looked at Hermes, "In that case, what is your purpose, Lord Hermes? You may be cooperating with Lord Ouranos, but your loyalty belongs only to you and your beliefs. What is it about our humble Familia that interests you?"

- "Watch your language, Mr. Archaman. I will not tolerate the insult of Lord Her…"

- "It's all right, Asfi," Hermes said calmly, and his tone definitely surprised her, judging by the wide eyes, "If I tell you this, will you honor my request?"

- "It depends on what it is, and what we get in return," I answered and stroked a sniffling Tia.

- "You've probably heard of me around town. In fact, my Familia specializes not in exploring the Dungeon and fulfilling various orders, including those from the Guild, but in gathering all sorts of information both in Orario and beyond. The city has many secrets, and I can confidently say that most of them have been revealed to me."

- "Suppose so."

- "And that's exactly what I'm offering your Familia. Information. Anything you ask of me will be given to you in the best form and with all available details," Hermes said, causing Hestia's anxiety, obviously related to Bell, Asfi's caution and tension, Bell's innocent interest, and Let's apprehension.

- "Now we talk like well-mannered business partners," Morgan nodded.

- "And what's the request?" Processing his words, I asked.

- "A one-eyed black dragon. This world needs a victory over it, and if we take into account the information we have received about you, you can do it." Hermes stated.

- "One of the Three Great Quests?" I raised an eyebrow, "If it's so important, why not use the Arcanum? I doubt a few gods can't defeat it."

- "We can't," Hestia answered for Hermes, "The rules were made up by the gods for a reason. It wouldn't be any different than it was before…"

- "Hestia. That information is not important now," Hermes interrupted her and looked at me, "We would do more harm than good by using Arcanum, and therefore victory must be achieved by the forces of mortals. So, do we have a deal?"

I grinned at his attempt to hide the piquant facts and a hint of the familiar Age of the Gods from the Nasuverse, when there was basically nothing restricting them when it came to humanity. However...

I looked at Tia and wondered.

The target was a dragon, and so Tia's authority over any creature with even a hint of dragon essence could do everything for us, possibly even without a battle.

He's also black, which indicated not only color, but an enhanced version of himself. When a god enters the Dungeon and releases his divinity for whatever reason, it gives birth to just such a monster with the purpose of killing not adventurers but gods in the first place.

Essentially, the Dungeon acted like the same Gaia of the Nasuverse that cared solely about the planet, but not the sentient beings harming it. Though none of that applied to Tia, as it turned out. In any case, I doubt he'd cause any inconvenience and so...

- "Deal."

-0-

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