After seeing Bell and the others off, Charles returned to the Hephaestus Familia headquarters.
As soon as he entered, he saw Haruhime dressed in a maid outfit.
Following the Hephaestus Familia's defeat of the Ishtar Familia, its members had scattered.
Some had joined other Familias to continue as adventurers—for example, Aisha had chosen to join the Hermes Familia.
Some had grown tired of their former life and left Orario altogether, while others chose to stay behind in the Pleasure District and continue as prostitutes.
As for Haruhime, Hephaestus had decided to take her in.
Charles genuinely couldn't understand Hephaestus' decision. Haruhime's magic, while incredibly powerful, wasn't suited to the Hephaestus Familia at all.
Besides, Haruhime herself had neither the interest nor the aptitude to become a blacksmith. Having her in Hephaestus Familia felt like a waste of her cheat-like magic.
When Charles brought this up with Hephaestus, she gave him a look that said, "This kid is beyond saving," leaving Charles completely confused.
As soon as Haruhime saw Charles, she ran over with a broom in hand and said, "Lord Charles, you're back!"
Charles replied, "Didn't I tell you already? We're Familia companions now—you don't need to be so formal."
Haruhime blushed deeply. There was no way she could tell Charles the real reason she kept using honorifics.
Charles asked, "By the way, is Lady Hephaestus in?"
Haruhime nodded. "She is. The goddess is in her study right now!"
"Alright, I'll go see her."
Saying that, Charles headed straight to Hephaestus' study, knocked on the door, and stepped inside.
Hephaestus glanced up at Charles before returning her gaze to the book in her hands. "It's you again. What is it this time? Don't tell me you've stirred up more trouble?"
Charles walked over and replied, "I'm not the kind of guy who goes looking for trouble, am I?"
Hephaestus gave him a side-eye that basically said, "Are you seriously that unaware?"
With a sigh, she said, "Alright, if it's not trouble, what did you come here for?"
Charles said, "Tsubaki and Loki Familia's expedition team should be returning soon, right?"
Hephaestus narrowed her eyes warily. "Why are you asking?"
Charles' expression turned serious. "Have you forgotten? The matter with the Ishtar Familia isn't over yet."
Hephaestus fell silent, her own expression turning grave.
The Ishtar Familia had indeed been defeated, and even its goddess had been sent back to the heavens, but the repercussions were far from resolved.
The Guild had gone easy on the Hephaestus Familia for launching a direct attack only because Ishtar's collusion with the Evilus had been exposed.
Reportedly, Loki had personally interrogated Ishtar and extracted a great deal of intel about Evilus. Most importantly, they had identified the location and entrance of the Evilus stronghold.
If Charles was right, once the Loki Familia's expedition team returned, a large-scale campaign against Evilus would begin.
And because of the presence of corrupted spirit elves and the mysterious evil god Enyo, this campaign would likely be the largest since the great faction wars.
It wouldn't just involve the Loki Familia—Familias like Freya's and Ganesha's would likely join as well.
Even though the Hephaestus Familia wasn't a combat-oriented group, the Guild had already informed them to prepare for war.
With such a huge operation brewing, Enyo—who was actually Dionysus—would surely know what was coming.
As the mastermind behind the plot to collapse Orario, Dionysus wouldn't just sit and wait. No one knew what move he would make next.
He might fake his death and operate from the shadows, just like in the original story. Or he might use the man-made labyrinth Kronos as a trap to bury all the elite adventurers who entered.
After all, Dionysus understood that the real way to destroy Orario wasn't by blowing up a city, but by eliminating all adventurers with the potential to become heroes.
Since the Guild intended to raid the Evilus base in the artificial labyrinth, and Dionysus had already gotten wind of this, he had the perfect opportunity to execute his plan.
Except… Charles had already discovered his true identity.
Whatever Dionysus was planning, it would only happen after the Loki Familia's elites returned.
After all, without an audience, who would he perform for?
And Charles intended to strike first—before Dionysus could make his move.
Hephaestus didn't know what Charles had in mind, but she could tell from his demeanor that he already had a plan.
She slapped her forehead and said, "You still say you're not a troublemaker? Fine, tell me—what massive scheme are you plotting this time?"
Charles began, "Just to be clear, I didn't start this. I just never told you before, but I was being tailed by two separate groups for quite a while. One of them was from the Ishtar Familia.
We now know what their goal was. But the other group… turned out to be from the Perneia Familia."
"Perneia?" Hephaestus said in surprise. "I've never heard that goddess even having a Familia."
Charles nodded. "I used an identification potion. Their Falna is definitely from Perneia.
But after investigating further, I discovered that the person actually belonged to the Dionysus Familia. Even if Dionysus isn't a major Familia, there's no logical reason someone would transfer from his group to Perneia's."
Hephaestus nodded. Whether Perneia even had a functioning Familia was questionable, and no sane adventurer would want to switch to a poor goddess's banner.
Charles continued, "Then I discovered something else. The captain of the Dionysus Familia—'White Witch' Filvis—is actually a monster, transformed by corrupted spirit energy."
Hephaestus stood up. "Are you certain?"
Charles nodded. "Confirmed. She's no longer human.
And it all makes sense now. Enyo's entire scheme is based on cooperating with corrupted spirit elves.
Gods can't descend into the Dungeon past a certain point without being noticed by Uranus, who oversees Babel. Even entering through the artificial labyrinth would get them caught.
So how did Enyo make contact with the corrupted spirits? It could only be through an adventurer.
The white-haired monster was created during the Nightmare of Floor 27 incident, and Filvis was the only known survivor.
But what if she didn't survive? What if she was turned into a monster?
Then it's obvious—Enyo's true identity is Dionysus."
Hephaestus began pacing, frowning deeply, lost in thought.
She wasn't doubting him—gods could discern lies. While she could sense Charles was holding something back, she had no reason to doubt the truth of what he did say.
Combined with Hestia's low opinion of Dionysus, Hephaestus could now confidently say he was the one behind it all.
She looked at Charles and asked, "So what are you planning to do?"
Charles met her gaze. "Simple. We strike before Dionysus and Evilus make their move.
I plan to head into the Dungeon, meet up with the Loki Familia's expedition team on Floor 18, and then launch a surprise attack on the Dionysus Familia."
Hephaestus looked at Charles for a moment before replying, "Alright. Do what you need to. I'll talk to Loki and coordinate things on my end."
Charles looked at her gratefully. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
This time, the situation was incredibly complex. The enemies included not just Dionysus but also corrupted spirits, Evilus, and the descendants of Daedalus—all intertwined.
Even with all his strength, Charles couldn't handle everything alone. For example, Filvis—Dionysus' protector—was immensely powerful after turning into a monster, likely around upper-tier Level 7.
In the original story, she had to be talked down by the golden-haired elf and was only defeated because she already longed for death.
If Charles attacked Dionysus head-on, Filvis wouldn't hold back. He couldn't guarantee he'd be able to defeat her and take down the mastermind himself.
Which was why he needed allies. And the Loki Familia was a dependable choice.
With their support, Charles was confident he could eliminate those who might bring harm to his friends—then finally set off with peace of mind.
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