Two days had passed since the incident involving the Freya Familia.
Yet even after the dust had long settled, the city of Orario still buzzed with nervous whispers.
The image of that colossal magic circle... looming ominously above Freya's manor like a celestial brand... had burned itself into the minds of countless adventurers and townsfolk alike.
Speculations spread like wildfire.
For many civilians, the panic wasn't entirely unreasonable.
The idea of first-class adventurers casually unleashing such dangerous magic was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
After all... when elites fought, it was the ordinary people who suffered the collateral damage.
But the chaos was short-lived.
All it took was a single statement from the Guild to restore order.
"The Loki and Freya Familias were merely engaging in a friendly spar. There is no need for concern."
Those words instantly calmed the majority of the masses.
A spar? Between two top familias?
If the Guild said so, then surely nothing catastrophic had happened.
Of course, not everyone bought it.
A few remained skeptical... very skeptical.
And some refused to let the matter go.
For example: the Ishtar Familia, who had been meticulously plotting Freya's downfall for years.
"Friendly sparring? Hah! What a joke."
Ishtar spat, reclining on her throne as she read the latest surveillance report.
"To think anyone would believe such nonsense... Those who truly know how arrogant Freya's loyal dogs are would understand... the word friendly simply does not exist in their vocabulary."
She exhaled a long plume of incense-laced smoke, her amethyst-colored eyes narrowing in distaste.
Elsewhere...
The ever-nosy Hermes was also poking around.
"You're telling me you couldn't get any information about what happened at Freya's base two days ago?"
Hermes raised a brow, clasping his hands over his head atop his cluttered desk.
Asfi, the captain of his familia, shook her head with a defeated sigh.
"Everyone involved is refusing to speak. Our members couldn't extract a single fragment of intel. And since only the Loki and Freya Familias were involved, we can't exactly pressure them."
Hermes hummed thoughtfully.
Asfi expected him to insist on digging deeper... but instead...
"Well, if that's the case, I suppose there's nothing we can do. Let's stop the investigation here."
"Huh...?"
Asfi blinked in surprise.
Hermes casually plucked his feathered hat off the table and placed it atop his head, his lips curling into a knowing smirk... one that Asfi wanted to slap clean off.
"But I do have a feeling, that Judas Spade is at the very center of whatever happened."
Hermes added lightly.
Asfi twitched.
She hated when he spoke like that. It always meant trouble.
"And speaking of other matters, how is that situation going?"
Hermes continued.
At those words, Asfi visibly flinched.
A drop of sweat formed at her temple.
"Impossible. That silver-haired woman is too terrifying," she murmured, shaking her head.
"Even with my invisibility helmet, she can still see me."
Just remembering those cold heterochromatic eyes... eyes that seemed to pierce through her skull, sent a shiver crawling down her spine.
"I can't get within ten meters of her without feeling like she'll take my head off."
She trembled slightly.
Seeing Asfi's reaction, Hermes let out a wry smile... half amused, half guilty... and quietly apologized to her in his mind.
'Zeus... you really dumped all the trouble onto me, didn't you?'
He exhaled lightly and shifted his gaze toward the scattered documents on his desk.
Reports, notes, sketches... and atop them all, a dossier that had been opened and closed more times than he cared to admit.
A certain white–haired rabbit.
Hermes picked up the parchment, his thumb absentmindedly tracing the edges as thoughts surfaced unbidden.
Hermes tapped the parchment with a finger, remembering an old conversation.
'I remember you said she didn't have what it takes to be a hero.'
A soft chuckle escaped him... not mocking, but heavy with irony.
'And yet... from everything I've seen, she's walking the path of one.'
Not just walking it... running.
'Even receiving the personal guidance of Silence herself...'
'To think it was Hestia of all people who managed to pick up the last remnants of the golden era...'
The thought lingered in Hermes' mind, heavy with irony.
Silence... Hera Familia's greatest prodigy, the one hailed as the Incarnation of Talent.
A woman whose mere presence set the standards for what it meant to be gifted, whose brilliance once stood at the pinnacle of Orario.
And then there was Belle Cranel.
A child born from the line of Hera and Zeus... directly descended from the two legendary familias.
A girl who should have been raised under banners of glory and guidance... yet instead grew up in obscurity, her heritage erased by history and tragedy.
The last surviving embers of that forgotten golden age, now living in a dilapidated church.
Hermes could almost laugh.
Of all the gods who could have found her... Freya, Loki, even himself... it ended up being Hestia, a goddess known for being lazy and a complete shut-in.
A goddess with no influence. No prestige. No power.
And yet... she had taken in the final legacy of Hera and Zeus without even realizing it.
The heavens truly had a strange sense of humor.
Then there was Judas Spade... the unpredictable outlier, the anomaly that even Hermes struggled to read.
Two rising stars walking paths that should never have intersected, yet inevitably did.
'Judas Spade... Belle Cranel... I wonder what kind of future awaits the two of you.'
Hermes could already see it... faint outlines, possibilities branching like threads of fate.
The thought made something warm stir in his chest.
'If it's within my reach... I'll pull a few strings behind the scenes. Just enough to push them forward when they need it.'
He wasn't a perfect god, not even close.
But if he could nudge the world toward brighter days, even in small ways...
The world needed a hero.
And Hermes... messenger, schemer, wanderer... was one of the few gods who genuinely wished to witness the rise of one.
...
On top of the city walls, the routine for Judas Spade remained the same as ever.
The only real difference now was the sheer number of lunatics volunteering to get beaten up.
"Urgh!"
A fist slammed directly into Tione's midsection, folding her in half and sending her skidding across the stone tiles.
She groaned, clutching her stomach as she rolled to a stop.
Judas collapsed backward with a ragged exhale, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his jaw.
Beside him, Ais lay flat on her back, equally battered... her golden eyes half-lidded as she stared at the sky like she was contemplating life choices.
A new rule had been established for their training sessions.
Because of the not-so subtle request from Tione, Tiona, and Bete the other day.
Judas asked Alfia what to do about the growing number of people wanting to join.
"Too many people means too much noise," Alfia had said, expression flat.
"I will only accommodate three at most. Deal with it."
And so, a rotation system was born.
Judas and Ais would be constants, while one additional victim... Tione, Tiona, or Bete... would cycle in each day.
Yesterday had been Tiona.
Today was Tione.
Tomorrow would be Bete's turn to suffer.
After dropping Tione with a single blow, Alfia surveyed the battlefield while her eyes remained closed.
No one else was left standing... just bodies sprawled everywhere like discarded training dummies.
"Training is over."
Her calm declaration brought an immediate wave of relieved groans from all present.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone could sit up and walk again, courtesy of Judas' healing magic.
"Ugh... seriously, I swear I wasn't beaten this badly back in Telskruya. Tiona wasn't lying when she said this training was brutal."
Tione muttered, rolling her shoulders.
Then she turned toward Belle, giving her a look of genuine respect.
"To be able to survive this kind of beating almost every day... you have my respect."
"Ahaha... thanks."
Belle replied awkwardly, scratching her cheek with a shy smile.
"Oh, right!"
Tione perked up suddenly.
"Do you guys have plans for tomorrow?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Judas asked, eyebrow raised.
"Eh? Don't you know?"
Tione blinked.
"The Monster Feria festival is coming up."
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