Hyacinthus was deeply jealous of Eiji the Aurora.
Because Lord Apollo constantly whispered that name in his ear—describing his appearance, recounting his achievements, displaying an extraordinary fervor—only to end each conversation with a lovesick sigh.
This stoked the flames of envy within him relentlessly.
As early as three months ago, Lord Apollo had already sought to recruit that boy.
While Eiji was still competing in the arena, Apollo had extended an olive branch to him. However, Eiji, who was holding out for an invitation from the strongest Familia, had refused.
Just as Apollo was about to resort to underhanded methods, news arrived that Eiji had joined Loki Familia.
Though reluctant, for the sake of safety, he had no choice but to abandon the idea.
Provoking Loki Familia was no laughing matter—one misstep could erase their entire Familia from history, sending even himself back to the heavens.
But as Eiji's fame grew, reaching Apollo's ears more frequently, his sighs became more numerous.
Recently, with Aurora's prestige reaching its peak, Apollo's eyes held only that man. He lamented daily why his Familia wasn't strong enough to attract him, his heart aching with regret.
Hyakinthos witnessed all these changes. As someone who idolized Lord Apollo, his jealousy toward the unseen Aurora burned fiercer than ever, tormenting him endlessly.
This time, Lord Apollo had set his sights on Bell Cranel.
Perhaps to shift his mood or attention—after all, Bell was just an unremarkable rookie.
Hyakinthos had gone to great lengths to make an appearance, only to be obstructed by that Aurora.
Of all people, why did it have to be Aurora?
Anyone else would have been fine—but it had to be him!
This fanned the flames of his envy into an uncontrollable inferno.
Yet, despite his jealousy, the gap in levels remained an insurmountable chasm.
Hyakinthos knew better than to endanger Lord Apollo's Familia, so he buried his envy deep and kept his head down.
Provoking Aurora was out of the question.
But that rabbit, however...
A cold glint flashed in Hyakinthos's eyes.
As long as Lord Apollo got what he wanted, losing an arm or leg wouldn't be such a big deal.
...
The Crozzo clan was a renowned family of magic sword forgers. Legend had it that their blades possessed power enough to boil seas and scorch mountains, incomparable to ordinary magic swords.
Under Ares's leadership, the Kingdom of Rakia, armed with the Crozzo's magic swords, had once crushed numerous great nations, reducing countless forests and mountains to ashes.
But for some reason, the Crozzo clan lost the ability to forge magic swords, and their lineage fell into decline.
Before the expedition, while searching Orario for ways to replicate magic swords, Eiji heard this rumor from a weapons shop owner and kept it in mind.
And Welf Crozzo was a descendant of that very clan.
"I'm sorry, but I no longer forge magic swords."
Faced with Eiji's question about whether he could craft them, Welf hesitated but ultimately spoke those words firmly.
Not incapable, but unwilling.
He was capable of forging magic swords, and the power of the swords he crafted would not be inferior to those of his ancestors.
But he disliked weapons that would shatter, unwilling to forge blades that would abandon their wielders. Thus, he had never forged another magic sword, dedicating himself instead to creating powerful, ordinary weapons.
"I won't comment on your aspirations, but your thinking is too narrow-minded."
Eiji shook his head. "A blacksmith's love for their weapons is natural, but don't equate weapons with people. By the time you lose something and regret it, it'll already be too late."
Welf remained silent.
Though it was a shame not to witness a Crozzo's magic sword, since the blacksmith had no intention of forging one, Eiji couldn't force the matter.
"Um, is that Amazon lady from the other day okay?"
"You mean Tione? She's perfectly fine."
Answering Lily's question, Eiji waved at the three of them before turning to leave.
"Mr. Eiji is such a good person..."
Bell watched the retreating figure of the boy and couldn't help but voice his admiration.
Even though they seemed around the same age, and Eiji had only arrived in Orario a month before him—how was he so mature and radiant, while Bell still felt so inexperienced?
"Lord Bell, you're not getting swayed, are you?!"
"Of course not!"
"Don't equate weapons with people, huh..."
Welf fell into deep thought.
Lady Hephaestus had said something similar before.
Could his own way of thinking really be wrong?
...
Morning.
Boom!
A faint explosion echoed in the distance.
Eiji leaped to the top of a spire, scanning Orario with his keen eyesight before spotting rising plumes of smoke in the northwestern district, just a street away.
"Already so lively this early in the morning—this is why I love Orario!"
After praising the scene, he returned to the courtyard to continue his sword practice.
The Loki Familia wasn't Orario's police force—they didn't have to intervene in every little incident.
"Seems like the Apollo Familia launched an attack on the Hestia Familia?"
"Apollo again? Doesn't that god ever learn self-restraint?"
"What a troublesome time."
In the morning mess hall, someone had already returned with the latest news.
"Captain, what should we do?"
Someone turned to the Pallum leader.
The mess hall was unusually empty today, with only about twenty male members present—not a single "scenic view" in sight.
"We don't have a reason to get involved."
Finn shook his head. "Besides, we're not that idle. There are other matters we need to attend to."
Other matters.
From his tone, there was only one thing it could be.
"The post-expedition cleanup is done. Next, we'll conduct a thorough sweep for remnants of the Evilus faction!"
Finn's expression turned serious. "Even though Loki and the others are investigating outside the city, we can't neglect the interior. Starting today, all members and officers will form search parties to track down any remaining Evilus operatives!"
"Eiji, that includes you. Try to avoid the Dungeon for the next few days."
"Understood."
Eiji nodded in acknowledgment.
"But even so, Orario is huge. We can't just wander around aimlessly, can we?"
Gareth stroked his long beard as he voiced his doubts.
"I've already considered that."
Hearing this, Finn smiled.
"The remnants of the Evilus faction have been hiding in Orario for years without being exposed, which means they must be in a place rarely visited by people, or somewhere extremely concealed and hard to find. There's only one location in Orario that fits this description."
As soon as this was mentioned, Gareth, Bete, and Raul Nord all had a sudden realization.
"What? Where is it?"
Eiji was shocked—why was he the only one who didn't know again.
"Daedalus Street!"
Finn didn't keep them in suspense and revealed the location with a smile.