So easy!
Lefiya couldn't help freezing for a moment, thinking, Is this really all it takes?
Maybe their familia was simply small—maybe even one of those "newbie" gods who had only just arrived in Orario?
But that was fine.
Sure, Lefiya had originally wanted to join the Loki Familia, but that had only been out of admiration and longing for the "strongest in the city."
Right now, though, Evan had something about him that she couldn't put into words—something she herself didn't have.
Compared to vague tales and distant legends, the boy she'd seen with her own eyes in the Dungeon today—so real, so concrete—left a mark in her heart that felt unforgettable.
She wanted to become someone like him.
That conviction, in this moment, was absolute.
And on top of that—when she learned that the familia Evan and Cecil belonged to was the goddess of justice and the stars—
"Astre—mmph! Mmmph!!"
Lefiya nearly shouted the name out loud, only for Evan and Cecil to clamp a hand over her mouth at the same time.
"Shh!"
The boy and girl mirrored each other perfectly, both making a hush gesture, telling her to quiet down.
Only then did they whisper the truth to her: the Astrea Familia had returned to Orario in secret, and she absolutely must not spread the word.
Lefiya's face turned bright red.
For an elf born in the forests of Wishe, she didn't share the same taboo some elven kin did—she wasn't the type to despise being touched by others.
But having a strange boy suddenly cover her mouth still made her flustered, okay?!
"Low profile. Stay low profile."
"O-Okay…"
Lefiya could understand. After all, that tragedy had happened before… and then there was the matter of the Gale.
Her guess was spot-on—no surprise for a top student from the School District.
Keeping a low profile and hiding their identity in Orario was necessary. Evan and Cecil both understood that clearly.
First—
Ryuu was still carrying out her revenge, hunting down and assassinating those connected to the evil familia. Naturally, that meant there were plenty of enemies out there. They couldn't do much to the goddess herself, but they could very well come after low-level adventurers like Evan and Cecil—members of the same familia.
During the incident known as the Nightmare on the 27th Floor, Finn Deimne—the Loki Familia's captain, the man called the Braver—had sharply perceived the evil familia's flaw. Instead of rushing into the Dungeon to "rescue" people and falling into the trap they'd prepared, getting led around by the nose—
He took the opposite approach and launched a direct raid on the evil familia's headquarters, sending many of their gods back to the heavens.
And once a god leaves the Lower World, the blessings they've bestowed on mortals vanish. Adventurers instantly lose their superhuman power and become ordinary people again. That made the enemy's follow-up plans in the Dungeon collapse outright, failing at the last step.
From there, the evil familia's strength was drastically reduced, and they disappeared into hiding.
Even so… the forces they had left still ended up causing the Astrea Familia's destruction…
…
In short, the evil familia might not be able to stir up some huge disturbance in the city anymore, but finding someone to deal with low-level adventurers like Evan and Cecil? That would still be easy. For safety's sake, staying hidden and keeping their heads down was essential.
Second—
There was the goddess herself.
This was only Evan's speculation, but Astrea had never been good at hiding her feelings, and she wasn't skilled at acting like nothing was wrong.
So both Evan and Cecil could feel her sadness. Even after returning to Orario, the goddess still wasn't ready to start rebuilding her familia again.
Just like Ryuu, Astrea still hadn't walked out of that soul-black night.
It was a prison they had drawn around themselves.
Evan only explained the first set of reasons to Lefiya. As for the second—she could sense it on her own, so he left it at that.
And Lefiya didn't doubt his words for even a second. That Astrea had left the city a year ago and now returned—there was no reason for him to lie about something like that.
More importantly, it would be meaningless. Because of the internship matter, she needed to report back to Lord Baldr anyway. When the time came, the god himself would speak with Astrea in person.
Which only made Lefiya's heart beat faster.
This was the Astrea Familia!
Back in the era of the Great Feud three years ago, they had been the brightest, most brilliant stars fighting against Evilus!
If that incident had never happened, then the Astrea Familia should have become one of Orario's strongest familias—on the same level as Loki, Freya, or Ganesha.
And more than that—
The justice and order Astrea represented, and the hope symbolized by the stars, struck something deep inside Lefiya's kind heart.
A familia was a group of "children" gathered around a god.
Because every god had their own strange personality, a familia would naturally take on certain shared traits.
Maybe everyone had different temperaments, opposite goals, different views of the world, even conflicts with each other—but the foundation would always closely match the god at their center.
Just like how the Freya Familia revered their goddess with absolute devotion, everything revolving around her will;
How the Ganesha Familia protected people's smiles, happiness, and families, always serving as the city's guards and keepers of order;
How the Loki Familia pursued the unknown and change—and the mission born from that pursuit: the World's Long-Desired Hope;
Completing the three great quests, continuously conquering the Dungeon all the way down to that distant "deepest point," and uncovering every mystery the Dungeon held.
In Orario—
Most people became adventurers for brutally simple reasons.
Fame. Wealth. Power…
And among all those reasons, the Astrea Familia's pursuit of justice pierced straight through Lefiya's heart.
She was even thinking that once she got back, she needed to seriously reflect on the profound question:
What is justice?
Her instinct wasn't wrong.
Back when the Astrea Familia still existed, they used to discuss "justice" all the time.
But that was then. This was now.
The current Astrea Familia—whether it was Captain Cecil or Vice-Captain Evan—understood absolutely nothing about the question, What is justice?
Cecil's reason for joining was simply to prove to her family that she could become the greatest smith, too!
A girl born into a massive forging clan in the Swordsmith City—Blacklisa—had motivations that were that straightforward. Joining the Astrea Familia was an accident in the first place. She'd originally wanted to join the famous and largest forging familia in Orario: Hephaistos.
But it seemed her family stopped her, and it never happened. In the end, she stormed out of the house in anger. By sheer coincidence, Goddess Astrea came to Solingen, calmed the conflict between the spirits and the city, and became a deity everyone admired.
So Cecil ran up to her crying and begged to be accepted.
Not for justice. Not out of devotion.
Just because she wanted to become an adventurer, reach Lv.2, and obtain the Smithing Development Ability.
Then she'd forge absurdly powerful weapons and gear, return home, and "slap" her father and brothers in the face like some overpowered dragon king—Evan's words, not hers.
That was all.
So.
If you asked Cecil what "justice" was?
She'd probably scratch her head, stammer for ages, flap her lips for a while—then produce absolutely nothing.
And if even the current captain of the Astrea Familia was like that, then Vice-Captain Evan was even worse. He'd joined simply because he'd been isekai'd with nowhere to go, and because he thought being an adventurer sounded fun.
So what was "justice"?
He didn't know.
That was Evan's answer back then.
He'd never even thought about the question.
And as for why he became an adventurer, why he liked going to the Dungeon…
"Sometimes I just feel bored."
So—
"I just like fighting, that's all."
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (190 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (78 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (130 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (80 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (140 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (60 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (80 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (35 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (50 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it