"Is there a way to catch Dionysus?"
Now that I knew who the enemy was, I had to deal with him before anything happened.
I didn't want any innocent casualties.
"Not yet. But now we need to find conclusive evidence."
"Got it."
For now, I had to go on the expedition.
It was a pain, but it was a promise, so I had to keep it.
"Come to think of it, I'd forgotten to mention that the surface is currently in a chaotic state."
"...What?"
The sky I saw again after so long was truly clear and beautiful.
But unlike that sky, Orario was chaotic, just as Fels had said.
"A monster that can speak human language..."
"What are the adventurers even doing—"
[...It's only about the Xenos?]
What happened while I was underground for just a little while?
"Let's go to the Guild first."
[Not Loki Familia?]
They'd be busy preparing for the expedition, so I'd stop by the Guild first and go there afterward.
[That works too.]
The Guild wasn't that far away, so I ran as fast as I could.
"A new type of monster—"
"Oh my, isn't that dangerous?"
"What is Astraea doing, not taking care of monsters?"
Even on the way to the Guild, I kept hearing people talk about the Xenos.
Listening to the conversations, I arrived in front of the Guild, and—
"Explain yourselves!"
"Hand over the monsters!"
"Monsters can't live alongside us!"
I found adventurers protesting in front of the Guild.
"Fels should have explained it in more detail."
There had never been a time when adventurers openly opposed the Guild like this.
The Guild was practically the government of Orario, but in practice, Orario was a city of adventurers.
"Did someone leak information about Bine?"
[Doesn't that make the most sense?]
That was true, but who leaked it?
And for what purpose?
"..."
[Figure that out later. Are you going to help the Xenos?]
"If they want me to."
For now,
"Let's go home first."
I need to sort out my thoughts while doing some work at the forge after such a long time.
[...Looks like you'll have to put off hammering iron for later.]
Why?
[There.]
Where Urus pointed, a black-haired elf was approaching me.
"...Isn't that elf from Dionysus Familia?"
[Probably.]
Her nickname was... [Maenad], was it?
Why was that elf coming toward me?