The best way to conceal oneself is to join a familia with almost no members.
If there's no one else inside the familia, then your information stays sealed. There's no risk of a fellow member leaking anything. It's the most effective form of concealment.
Which meant that Mystery child must belong to a nearly empty familia.
And when it came to familias in Orario that were effectively empty, the gods didn't even need to think hard.
Only two existed.
One was Artemis. Her familia had been wiped out, leaving her with no members at all.
The other was Hestia. Unlike the other gods, she had descended to the Genkai only two years ago. Though she'd since formed a familia, her only child was a Rune Craftsman.
A Rune Craftsman...
A collective mental short-circuit struck the assembly of gods.
Hestia had created a familia, yes—but all descriptions of the familia pointed to only one person. And it was officially classified as a "Production Household."
As Hestia's child, that rune-maker had never appeared before the gods—just like the Mystery child.
Putting these two sets of circumstances together wasn't just a match… it was practically confirmation that they were the same person.
"Hestia!!!"
Almost every god shot to their feet at the same time.
Hestia, suddenly under the spotlight, puffed her cheeks in irritation.
"Loki, you hinted way too hard."
"And weren't we supposed to only leak a little information this time? Why am I suddenly dragged into this?"
Loki rested her chin on her hand, completely unbothered, watching the jumping gods with amusement.
"It's not that my hint was too much. It's that these guys aren't total idiots."
"???"
The gods, who had been completely convinced moments ago, now hesitated.
Because the performance Loki and Hestia were putting on... felt a little too theatrical.
Even though Hestia's situation matched the Mystery child almost perfectly, was that really the truth?
It wasn't impossible that Loki and Hestia were teaming up to trick them.
Just as the gods thought they'd reached their answer, uncertainty crept back in. There was no way to be sure—not unless Hestia summoned her child right here.
But even then—was that Mystery child's face even his real face?
And since the gods had never seen Hestia's child to begin with, how could they confirm anything?
Looking at the situation as a whole, it was a complete mess.
Whether Loki and Hestia were lying or not, the gods had no way to determine the truth.
In fact, the more they thought about it, the more it felt like Loki and Hestia were deliberately running circles around them.
Hesitation spread through the divine crowd.
Of course, Hestia and Loki both saw their reactions. Was this intentional?
Naturally.
The gods wanted information on Bell? Then they would "graciously" give it.
They could even present his information outright… but would anyone dare to believe it?
For Loki and Hestia, the perfect outcome was simple: no one knew Bell's identity. No one had even seen his true face. So who could confirm that Hestia's Bell was the so-called "mysterious boy"?
No one.
Hestia felt very pleased with herself.
"BOOM!!!!"
Just as the Denatus fell into a tense silence, a thunderous impact echoed across the world.
Listening closely, it sounded almost like a great bell ringing.
Suddenly, a group of people materialized at the center of the Denatus.
"!?"
Zeus and Hera shot up from their seats simultaneously.
The figures who appeared were the former main forces of the Zeus and Hera familias—those who had been nearly annihilated against the Black Dragon. Among them were Alfia, the "Silence," who had once given Orario its last hope, and Zald, "Gluttony," who died alongside her seven years later.
These were people who should have been dead for years—yet they suddenly stood here, in the middle of the divine assembly.
"...."
Chaos engulfed the gods. But the resurrected individuals were equally confused.
The "Empress" pressed a hand to her head, her consciousness still swirling. One second, she remembered facing the Black Dragon's attack; the next, she was inexplicably transported here.
She recognized the place—the Tower of Babel. Among the gods, she immediately spotted her own Familia God, Hera.
But seeing Hera's shocked and bewildered expression, the Empress fought through her mental fog. Holding her throbbing head, she struggled to piece together what was happening.
"Hera, what era is this? How are we still alive?"
She couldn't understand how someone whose bones had long since turned to dust could be standing again. And as for the current era—she saw familiar gods, but gods were timeless. She couldn't judge the era by their faces.
"At least… seven years later."
Alfia answered her.
"Seven years later... That specific?"
The Empress hadn't expected such precision.
"Zald and I died exactly seven years after your deaths."
"...I see. So that's why. Alfia… is this your doing? Yours, Zald's, or Zeus's?"
Amidst her confusion, she still suspected the living ones of orchestrating something.
"Don't joke. What power do gods of the Genkai have to defy death? If that old man Zeus had such power, he wouldn't wait until now. Wouldn't it have been better to act right after you died?"
Listening to his old comrades, the Hero began to grasp the situation.
He didn't ask questions; steady as ever, he simply surveyed the scene. Everyone from the Zeus Familia who took part in the Black Dragon subjugation had been revived. Hera's side was similar—
But compared to Zeus's familia, wasn't Hera's missing someone?
"Silence… where is your sister?"
Alfia froze. Her gaze swept the room again, but Meteria was nowhere in sight.
A cold dread settled in her heart.
Everyone who faced the Black Dragon had been revived. Even she herself—hanging onto life by a thread—had been brought back.
So why wasn't Meteria here?
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