Chapter 234: Eina's Slip

When Bell suddenly said he wanted to look up information on Middle Floor monsters, Eina was nearly stunned speechless.

He hadn't even been an Adventurer for a full month and was already thinking about heading to the Middle Floors? That was way too soon.

Even though Eina tried her best not to interfere with an Adventurer's choices, she couldn't help but speak up. After all, venturing into the Middle Floors was no small matter.

"Miss Eina, I'm already close to reaching Level 3."

She had brought Bell into a private room, intending to give him a proper warning, only to hear him say something like that.

Eina nearly screamed right then and there.

A boy who had only been an Adventurer for less than a month was already approaching Level 3? Who would even believe that?

Unfortunately, as someone who knew Bell's secret, Eina had confirmed it several times and ultimately accepted it as truth.

If she hadn't believed what Bell said, there's no way she would've pulled up the data on monsters from the 13th to 18th floors—information that was never shown to Adventurers who hadn't yet stepped into the Middle Floors.

Now sitting across from Bell, Eina still felt like this was all surreal.

"Not even a month, and you're already close to Level 3... Your growth rate is honestly terrifying."

"I just got lucky. When I joined my Familia and met my Familia God, I awakened some decent skills and magic. If not for that, there's no way I could've grown this fast."

It sounded modest, but Eina wasn't naive.

"Awakened magic and skills are just support. If you didn't have the ability to grow on your own, there's no way you could've advanced this far in such a short time."

Maybe there were others out there who awakened even more extraordinary skills and magic, but without the aptitude, they still wouldn't be able to cross that threshold.

Eina was certain Bell had both the potential and the luck, which is why he'd grown so fast.

She soon turned serious.

"Bell-kun, did you know the Guild recently lost something?"

Bell's brows drew together slightly. As soon as she said it, he understood what she was getting at.

"Is it information related to me?"

Eina nodded with a resigned expression.

"Yes. It's some of the initial application paperwork I filled out. I didn't write down the seller's name, but I'm afraid whoever retrieved the documents from the Guild already knows."

It made sense. If someone hadn't been targeting him specifically, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to dig up that information.

Bell stayed calm and gave a possible explanation.

"Maybe it was Goddess Freya."

"Goddess Freya? Why would she do something like that?"

Eina looked at him in shock, clearly not understanding how this connected to Freya.

"During yesterday's Monsterphilia, Goddess-sama and I ran into those things on the street."

"You and Goddess Hestia ran into those things!?"

Eina's voice instantly shot up. She knew the Guild was already investigating the incident that took place in the residential area near Daedalus yesterday. Too many civilians had been killed, prompting a heavy joint investigation from both the Guild and the Ganesha Familia.

As a Guild employee, Eina had access to some of the internal findings as well.

"No, I didn't. I actually noticed those things early on, so I took Goddess-sama away before anything happened."

Bell gently reassured Miss Eina, then offered a calm explanation.

"We saw those giant flowers from the bell tower nearby and figured out why they were being sent into Orario's underground sewers."

"Evilus."

That word wasn't unfamiliar to Eina. In fact, it wasn't unfamiliar to any citizen of Orario.

Over a decade ago, Orario had faced the threat of Evilus—a time when the city had nearly been leveled. If not for the combined efforts of many Familia working together to overcome the crisis, the prosperity Orario enjoys today might never have come to be.

"So it's Evilus again..."

Even if she hadn't heard the term in years, Eina could never forget it.

The tragic massacre on the 27th floor of the Dungeon—that bloodbath had been caused by Evilus.

At the time, many of Orario's core forces were wiped out by monsters summoned under the guise of "monster reclamation." The direct result was the annihilation of the Astrea Familia. Even the powerful Astrea Familia was nearly destroyed, and the goddess Astrea herself had been forced to leave Orario.

It was the very definition of "tragic."

To this day, many who remember that incident still go pale at the mention of Evilus.

The name remains a lingering shadow in the hearts of countless people.

"They were already exposed once during the Ishtar incident, and now they've stirred up even bigger trouble."

Eina couldn't help thinking of her colleagues at the Guild. Lately, with Evilus-related incidents piling up, many of them had grown visibly distracted and uneasy in their work. Of course, she didn't blame anyone—it was the fear getting to them.

"If they were able to send monsters into Orario's underground, then that means their operation isn't over yet. And more importantly... we still don't know which gods are behind Evilus."

Bell continued without pause.

Eina didn't believe this was the end of Evilus' activity either. The fact that they had managed to go this far meant their objective had yet to be fulfilled.

But what truly shocked her was what Bell said next—"which gods are behind Evilus?" That implied there were gods among them cooperating with Evilus.

Her heartbeat quickened.

"Bell-kun... are you sure about this?"

"I don't need to be. What happened during Monsterphilia says it all. The Dungeon is managed by the Guild, yet someone managed to divert the Guild's attention and sneak monsters into Orario's underground. If multiple gods weren't covering for them, do you really think something like that would've been possible?"

Faced with Bell's question, Eina couldn't answer. But deep down, she understood—it had to be true. There were gods siding with Evilus. Without divine protection, such a covert operation simply couldn't have happened.

Still, Eina didn't have access to further intel. Those were things far beyond her reach.

"Bell-kun, be extra careful from now on. If Evilus has started moving again, you'll definitely be facing serious danger while exploring the Dungeon."

"I know. That's why I've always been cautious."

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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