Several types of monsters had been captured in the Dungeon and taken to the Coliseum in the days leading up to the festival.
Ganesha’s followers were the only ones who could do so without appearing suspicious or being investigated by the Guild.
“But we’re talkin’ ’bout Ganesha here. He loves kids. Him, doin’ somethin’ he knew would put ’em in danger? Wouldn’t happen.”
She could see the dark-skinned deity in the back of her mind, wearing his usual elephant mask and making his usual strange declarations.
Ganesha’s love for the children of Gekai bordered on blind stupidity. Of all the deities living in the city, he was by far the least likely suspect. Loki took it a step further and said that investigating him at all would be a waste of time.
“It’s more likely that someone like a certain airheaded vixen swiped the monsters from the shadows, or one of Ganesha’s kids is pullin’ the strings…”
Dionysus cut her off, shaking his head.
“That’s not it, Loki. You’re starting from false premises.”
The deity leaned in even closer, their faces aligned and gazes locked.
“Who was it that ordered Ganesha Familia to retrieve monsters from the Dungeon? Going back even further, who was it that came up with the Monsterphilia in the first place?”
Loki’s eyes shot open.
“Ya sayin’ the Guild’s behind everything?”
Dionysus’s silence was his confirmation.
“That’s crazy…” Loki mumbled, gazing at the deity’s face and shaking her head.
“They’ve protected Orario’s peace, the Guild. Yer pointin’ yer finger at Ouranos? You’d be threatenin’ the whole city.”
“Even so, they are at the top of my list. At the very least, I have a good reason to suspect the Guild.”
It was true that the Monsterphilia had been first proposed by the Guild. It hadn’t been born from the gods’ eccentric impulses.
The festival itself was still rather new and had only been organized relatively recently. When it was first brought to Denatus—the meeting of gods and goddesses—the Guild didn’t explain much about it, only that it would be “interesting.” But that was enough to get their plan approved.
Only now did Loki understand why Dionysus put himself in so much danger to retrieve the magic stone before the Guild could. He had already suspected them and needed to make the first move.
Loki sat quietly in her chair.
Keeping her mouth closed, she only eyed the deity with caution. It was Dionysus who finally broke the silence.
“I have a suggestion.”
“…?”
“Would you be willing to investigate the Guild for me?”
His words hit her like a stone wall. It took almost a full minute for her to respond.
“Wanna run that by me again?”
“Should the Guild have someone at or above Level Three at their disposal…If Ouranos has warriors under his command, it’s too dangerous for my own familia to get too close. On the other hand, as the leader of one of the strongest familias in Orario, you don’t have that problem, Loki.”
“Oi, quit horsin’ around! Who would actually do somethin’ that idiotic?!”
Dionysus was unaffected by Loki’s angry outburst, letting her words brush past him like the afternoon breeze.
His eyes narrowed again, a faint look of sadness on his face.
“You can’t pretend that none of this ever happened, either—can you, Loki?”
—This bastard.
Loki grabbed hold of the deity’s collar, raising her right hand high, filled with the urge to drive her palm into Dionysus’s perfectly shaped cheek.
He was right. Now that Aiz and her other beautiful children were involved, she couldn’t just sit silently on the sidelines. And now that she had a solid lead, she couldn’t just let it drop.
But above all, she hated the satisfied smile on Dionysus’s face. His grin widened, white teeth glistening.
“…Ya planned on draggin’ me into this from the very start, didn’t ya?”
“Of course not. This is complete coincidence, I assure you.”
Loki clicked her tongue. She couldn’t help but feel like she had walked right into a trap, and now the weight of her role was clamped tightly to her shoulders.
While Dionysus denied Loki’s accusation, he did admit to one thing.
“But yes, I was looking for some assistance.”
Loki no longer tried to hide her contempt for the brazen god.
One look at her eyes and Dionysus flashed another grin. As Loki’s grip on his collar loosened, the god slowly rose to his feet.
“Of course, I will be continuing my own investigation. But please, give it some thought. You’ll be the first to know if I find anything else.” With that, Dionysus left the lounge.
Loki watched him with a glare intense enough to burn a hole in his back. “Dammit…” she mumbled to herself through gritted teeth as she sat up in the chair. Putting both hands behind her head, she looked up at the ceiling and gathered her thoughts.
Completely forgetting the time, she didn’t even notice when Filvis disappeared from the window.
She didn’t snap out of the trance until Bete came to the lounge to check on her.
“Oi, finished yet?”
Loki didn’t move, or even look at him. A heavy moment passed before she brought her hands back down to her sides and, full of resolve, jumped to her feet.
“Sorry ’bout this, Bete, but could ya stick with me a little longer?”
The werewolf was caught off guard by his goddess’s serious manner. Sighing to himself, he obeyed without argument. The two left the hotel and turned onto East Main Street. Arriving in Central Park, they set their sights to the Northwest.
As soon as they arrived on Northwest Main Street, affectionately known as Adventurers Way, the solemn Pantheon—the white marble building that served as Guild headquarters—came into view.
“Bete, wait for me here.”
“Again…?”
“If I ain’t back in an hour, somethin’ probably happened to me and ya can charge in all ya want. Countin’ on ya.”
Giving Bete orders to stay put once again, Loki walked halfway across the Guild headquarters’ grounds and came to a stop.
Now it was important not to draw unwanted attention. Going in alone was best. After all, she didn’t want to get kicked out before they heard what she had to say.
She needed to get to the Guild’s very core, to a certain god who sat in the inner circle.
“Well, then, wonder what I’m gonna find…”
After a moment to admire the superb architecture and craftsmanship of the building, Loki started walking once again.
An open blue sky high above her head, she brushed shoulders of adventurers as they walked by and passed through the front doors of the Pantheon.
The town of Rivira was humming with unrest after Bors gave the order to seal the exits.
Many people watched as groups of powerful dwarves pushed boulders into the north and south gates.
The town of pristine white and blue crystals had been transformed into a prison.
“That didn’t take long.”
“Because I threatened anyone who didn’t show up with being put on our blacklist and gettin’ thrown out of all our shops. Anyone afraid of losing the privilege of using our facilities will follow orders, even if they don’t like it.”
“That, and they’re afraid to be alone, I bet.”
“Yeah,” said Bors, nodding at Finn’s assessment. The two of them looked over the crowd. Each face showed different levels of unease and fear as the mass of people shifted nervously from side to side.
They knew what was going on. Bors had already informed them of Hashana’s murder. It was an understandable reaction to finding out that a powerful adventurer with no qualms about taking a life could be hiding among them.
Everyone had gathered in Crystal Square. Not only w
as it the center of town, but the wide clearing also had an amazing view of the surrounding area. Two gigantic crystals, one white and one blue, stood like twins in the middle of the clearing. Hashana’s blood-splattered full-plated armor and a few of his other belongings had been placed at the foot of the crystals.
Hundreds of adventurers stood in front of the many tents and makeshift shops that surrounded the square.
“This’d be real easy if we found a top-class adventurer other than you guys mixed in with the rest…”
“She probably wanted a scene from the get-go. Either she’s in disguise or has an unreported Level…I’m certain she’s taken steps to avoid sticking out.”
“So we’re not dealin’ with an idiot.”
Finn and Bors stood at their perch under the shadow of the twin crystals and continued looking through the crowd.
Rough estimates of the number of adventurers and shop owners in Crystal Square were around five hundred. Considering that many adventurers used Rivira as a base for their own Dungeon prowling, it wasn’t a particularly low number, but not all that high, either.
“It’s going to take forever to check everyone…”
“True, but…we can narrow it down quite a bit.”
Tiona was overwhelmed by the sheer number of adventurers they would have to question, but her eyes went wide with Aiz’s response. “What do you mean?”
“It was a woman who killed Hashana…”
“Oh, I see! We only have to talk to the female adventurers!”
“You should’ve been able to figure that out by yourself…” Tione was dumbfounded by her sister’s reaction to what she considered to be obvious.
“To refine our investigation further still, said woman needs to have a body that men desire,” Riveria added.
“This’ll be a piece of cake!” said Tiona with her fist in the air. Lefiya looked on, not noticing the strained smile forming on her face.
“This would go a whole lot faster if we could see their Status or at least their Levels. But that would violate the rules in place to protect our privacy.”
“Not to mention that we would draw the resentment of every familia in Orario.”
Lefiya added to Riveria’s comment.
They watched from their perch atop a low boulder as men and women were divided into two groups. About two hundred of the adventurers in the square were female, most of whom were Amazons. It almost looked like a witch hunt from the Ancient Times, with all the men surrounding the female suspects.
One of the Amazons puffed out her chest and declared she was guilty of nothing. A young cat person crossed her arms to express her anger and frustration, tail swishing back and forth.
It was the “afternoon” on the eighteenth floor of the Dungeon.
A large hourglass had been placed at the front of the square—it didn’t tell time so much as show when the next “night” would fall. There wasn’t much sand left in the top as the group made their preparations.
The “sky” shone bright blue overhead as they started to focus on finding someone with the criminal’s body type.
“I believe it would be easiest to start the investigation by physically examining the suspects and their baggage.”
“Hee-hee-hee, well, if you insist…”
Bors laughed like a dirty old man at Finn’s suggestion and turned to face the crowd of women.
“You heard him, ladies? We need to check every inch of your bodies—so off with the clothes!!”
“HELL YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
Bors’s demand sent all the men into a frenzy.
“As if!” “Burn in hell!” The women wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Glaring at the men waving their hands in the air and overflowing with enthusiasm, all the female adventurers voiced their refusal in no uncertain terms.
“Enough with the foolish assumptions. We will conduct the investigation, not them.”
“Okay, then.” “All right.” “Where’s his masculine solidarity?” “U-understood.”
Ignoring the moans of disappointment coming from the male adventurers, Riveria stepped forward to begin the process. She called out to Aiz and the others to follow her into position.
Complaints from the men filled Crystal Square as the members of Aiz’s battle party lined up shoulder to shoulder and waited for the female adventurers to come to them.
“Now then, please line up, here…”
Lefiya paused in her instructions.
Looking around, she noticed that none of the female adventurers were coming to her, or any of the other girls for that matter. Instead, there was a mad rush to line up in front of Finn. The queue was already snaking its way around the square.
“Finn, hurry up and inspect me!” “Please!” “Every inch of me!!”
“………”
Finn didn’t know how to react as an avalanche of women threatened to overrun his position.
“Braver” Finn Deimne.
As a top-class adventurer, he also held the title of being the first or second most popular man among the ladies in Orario.
“Damn those sluts…!!”
“Wait, Tione!”
“Let go of me! Can’t you see how those perverts have their eyes set on the general?!”
The sight of a small army of women overwhelming Finn infuriated Tione.
Tiona jumped in at the last moment, holding her older sister back in a desperate attempt to stop her. “Look in the mirror, would you?!” she retorted.
“Finn’s getting pushed down!”
“Oh no, they’re trying to take him home!”
“—URGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!”
The prum was in danger of being carried away by the mob, and the jealous roars of the male adventurers echoed through the air.
Tione was ready to snap. Breaking free of her sister’s hold, she charged headlong into the chaos that had descended on Crystal Square.
“Um, ehh…”
“Ahh, I don’t even know what’s happening anymore…”
It would be impossible to find the killer in this mess. Aiz and Lefiya watched quietly, both feeling a headache coming on.
Riveria and Tiona did their best to intervene but were unable to get the pandemonium under control.
“…?”
Aiz couldn’t bear to watch anymore and looked away from Finn. At that moment, she happened to catch a glimpse of someone toward the back of the mob.
A chienthrope girl with a midsized bag slung over her shoulder.
Most of her skin was the color of wheat, the one exception being her face. It was pale green, as though she might be sick at any moment.
“Miss Aiz?”
Lefiya noticed the blond girl had spotted something. The elf followed her line of sight and found the suspicious dog person.
She stood out like a sore thumb among the frenzied women, her eyes darting between the twin crystals in sheer terror.
She took a step back, then another. The mob engulfed her for a moment before she used the commotion as cover to make her escape.
“—Let’s go.”
“Y-yes!”
They could hardly afford to ignore her at this point.
Aiz and Lefiya exchanged a quick nod before taking off in hot pursuit.
“Such a pain…”
She sighed and muttered to herself, disappointed in this turn of events as she watched the women fight over a prum.
Killing him might’ve been rash…but he saw too much, and he had to be silenced after. Enyo’s gonna be pissed.
She could still feel Hashana’s last breath and his neck snapping under her fingers.
She cracked the knuckles in her right hand while feeling more and more trapped, with
nowhere to go.
“Now then, what to do…Freedom of movement is a thing of the past…And it might not be in this town anymore…Although my gut tells me otherwise…”
More talking under her breath.
Watching the events taking place in the square like a hawk, she hid among the crowd and started to plan her next move.
And I’ve got to worry about “Aria” on top of all this…Such a pain…
Growing more irritated by the moment, she briefly considered killing everyone in the square. The moment that that thought crossed her mind—her eyes caught quick flashes of movement.
An animal person breaking away from the mob, with a blond-haired knight and the elf magic user on her tail.
Sensing an aura of desperation from all the girls, both chasers and pursued, she watched the three of them disappear from the square.
“…”
Ker-thump. She dug her heel into the ground and changed direction.
Making her way through the mob as quickly and quietly as she could while ignoring the suspicious glances coming from all directions, she took off after the girls.
Far above, the water-blue crystals on the ceiling sparkled like the sky.
Slowly but surely, that sparkle dimmed as “night” fell over the town.
CHAPTER 4
ORB
Loki stepped through the front door of the Guild headquarters and into the main lobby.
It was late afternoon, before the sun had started to set in earnest. There weren’t many adventurers in the Guild at the moment, especially when compared to peak hours. Several of the beautiful receptionists stood behind the counter, every one of them enthusiastically imparting advice. “Oh, aww…” Loki said to herself, moved by the scene before continuing to glance around the lobby.
She was quick to spot even more adventurers standing in front of the quest bulletin board and a few more waiting their turn in the consultation box. However, the Guild employees standing at attention at various points around the lobby were far more prominent. All of them were dressed in black suits, and one of them had taken notice of Loki’s presence. So the goddess made the first move, smiling and waving. The tension instantly dropped from the woman in uniform as she smiled and gave a picture-perfect bow in return.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 2 Page 9