"A first-tier adventurer?"
Alise swallowed hard as she stared at the armored giant striding toward them through the firelight.
That single attack had been so overwhelming that no one had fully recovered from the shock. Only Alise and Ryuu, who stood at the front guarding the group, remained taut with caution.
Judging from appearances, the giant had just saved them. But out in this wilderness, ambushes and post-battle slaughter were common enough in the Dungeon. Until they knew whether he was friend or foe, Alise dared not relax for even an instant. The gap in level was too great—one mistake could mean death.
"Enemy? Or reinforcement?"
Ryuu asked quietly. Magic was already gathering around her.
"Sorry," Duncan said, stepping to the front of the group. "He's family."
"What?!"
Both girls froze.
They already knew Duncan wasn't a member of the Artemis Familia, but they had never learned which Familia he belonged to. There were countless gods and Familia in the Lower World—but those with first-tier adventurers could be counted on two hands at most, and nearly all of them were in Orario.
Why would such a monster appear in a place like this?
"Chardo, did you come to pick us up?"
Ignoring their stunned expressions, Duncan limped up to the giant and spoke.
"Honestly. We'd just gotten back, and then Alfia kicked me right back out to support you. None of you ever gives anyone any peace."
Chardo rested the greatsword aside, then reached out and rubbed Duncan's head. No one quite remembered who had started that gesture, but by now it had become standard within the household.
"Judging by the state of you, you found yourself another fine mess. How bad are the injuries? Did you win, or did you lose?"
Rather than offering comfort the moment he saw Duncan's torn clothing and battered gear, Chardo asked about the outcome first.
"We won in the end, thanks to everyone's help. It's nothing fatal. A few bones were set wrong during treatment, so they'll need fixing later. But the purpose of this trip was achieved."
Duncan answered honestly, then his eyes brightened.
"Are you sure?"
Chardo smiled, clearly pleased, and pulled a bottle of Panacea from his bag before handing it over.
These were the same precious medicines used to delay his and Alfia's illnesses. Though ruinously expensive, Hermes regularly sent them over. Chardo himself always claimed he didn't need his share and let Alfia take it instead, but this time he had brought two bottles with him in case of emergency.
"I don't know," Duncan admitted. "But either way, we have to try."
"Gluttony."
At that moment, Artemis stepped forward from the center of the group.
Though it had been less than a decade since Zeus and Hera had vanished from the Orario stage, that span had been enough for a new generation of adventurers to rise. The Artemis Familia, Alise, and Ryuu all belonged to that generation. Some of them may have heard the title Gluttony, but none had ever seen the man himself.
As one of the only two people present who actually recognized Chardo, Artemis went up to greet him.
"Lady Artemis. It's been a long time. Our brat has caused you trouble."
Chardo bent at the waist in greeting.
"No. Duncan is a good child. Without him, this expedition would have ended very badly."
Artemis smiled warmly.
"He's still just a brat. He's got a bit of strength and that makes him too willing to take risks. I've had to clean up after this kind of thing several times already. There's also a niece back home who orders everyone around. Not one of them knows how to spare people trouble."
Chardo laughed helplessly.
"The Gluttony of old… how did he become…"
Artemis stared at him in astonishment. The man before her was nothing like the one she remembered.
"Just call me Chardo. Titles and glory were things I threw away after the Black Dragon. These days I'm just a man clinging to life, helping the old man raise the next generation."
He spoke with complete calm. The greatest adventurer of a bygone era now sounded like nothing more than a retired old veteran. If not for his title—and the utterly unreasonable blast he had unleashed moments ago—no one would have believed that the mild, level-voiced giant before them was the same man who had once annihilated Behemoth in a single strike.
"Incredible! Mister, you're a first-tier adventurer, right? No—even Finn's fights don't have that kind of power."
Since both Artemis and Chardo had stepped forward to talk, Alise hurried over with irrepressible excitement.
Apparently, she had still been too stunned to properly process their earlier exchange. Otherwise, calling Gluttony "Mister" was… well, still exactly the kind of thing Alise would do.
"Alise! This is Gluttony of the Zeus Familia. Level Seven!"
Ryuu quickly dragged her back, whispering urgently. She had heard every word Chardo and Artemis had exchanged just now.
By the time she had become an adventurer, Chardo and the others had already vanished from public sight, but anyone who knew anything at all about Zeus and Hera's Familia knew their names.
"And they are?"
Chardo glanced at the two girls with mild curiosity, then looked to Duncan and Artemis.
"They're children of Astraea," Artemis answered. "The new generation that rose after you left."
"Astraea. The Goddess of Justice?"
"Even among the new generation, they're already both Level Four. In Orario, they're considered rising stars."
"Orario has never lacked for rising adventurers," Chardo said flatly. "Whether they can bear the weight of this era is another matter. Those who haven't endured true tempering are just novices with a bit of strength. One defeat is enough to wipe out that little brilliance. Like that boar brat and Loki Familia's supporter—apparently they're the face of Orario now. But at least they experienced our tempering. They won't wither the moment the wind blows the way these wild roadside flowers will."
"You seem rather resistant to the new era."
Artemis raised a brow. Strictly speaking, her own Familia belonged to that new generation too. And hearing them dismissed so bluntly made her, as their goddess, want to demand justice on their behalf.
"I'm not looking down on your Familia, Lady Artemis. I'm simply stating a fact. If they couldn't survive the tempering of our Familia and Hera's, then these so-called new-generation adventurers—could they last even half a moment beneath the Black Dragon's wings?"
Chardo's tone remained calm, but his gaze was unyielding.
"This world needs heroes. Orario today is too soft. We could not accomplish what needed to be done, and I do not believe that the people there now can accomplish it either."
"So that's why you and Zeus have hidden yourselves away here, quietly raising Duncan? You intend for him to become the final hero of the Zeus Familia?"
Artemis's gaze drifted to Duncan.
"He's still far from that."
Chardo's answer came without hesitation.
....
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