News of the War Game between the Astraea Familia and the Rudra Familia spread like wildfire throughout Orario, leaving people open-mouthed in shock.
Most people had dismissed Ryuu's earlier declaration, but now they were being told it was actually happening?
When they learned the rules of the War Game the two Familia would undertake, even the most blood-thirsty adventurers couldn't help but exclaim: How ruthless, how absolutely ruthless!
Entering the Dungeon to engage in mutual slaughter!
It was arguably the most dangerous War Game in history!
The Astraea Familia and the Rudra Familia—it was decreed that only one could emerge from the Dungeon!
Adventurers, realizing the gravity of the situation belatedly, flooded into bars, restaurants, and other venues like charging cavalry.
And sure enough, the betting was already open!
The Valis placed on the Rudra Familia was piled up mountain high. Although people didn't approve of the Dark Faction, they wouldn't miss out on easy money. In fact, many of them had business dealings with the Dark Faction.
The money bags placed on the Astraea Familia side were pitifully few.
This was reality.
If this were the former Astraea Familia, people would have no doubt they would crush the Rudra Familia—that was a powerful Familia with twelve high-level adventurers!
But the news that Alise Lovell and the others had met an accident in the Dungeon and were wiped out had spread throughout Orario. Ryuu, all alone, even with LV.4 strength, could not possibly stand against an entire Familia!
Anyone who bet on the Astraea Familia would simply be giving the bookies free money; no one wanted to be the great fool.
Roy was feeling better. He came out with the cloaked Ryuu to buy ingredients, and he happened to see the odds for the Astraea Familia sitting at eight-to-one.
"What a shame, I don't have any money on me," Roy mumbled quietly. The 30,000 Valis he gave the vagrant for delivering the message was his entire fortune.
The 80 million Valis belonging to the Astraea Familia was tied up with the Guild and could not be retrieved yet.
"Twenty thousand Valis on the Astraea Familia? Little girl, are you serious?"
Just as Roy was about to try a petty trick to earn some seed money, a loud voice from a nearby bar caught both his and Ryuu's attention.
Ryuu, who had been feeling disheartened by the overwhelming piles of Valis placed on the Rudra Familia—a testament to the public's distrust—couldn't help but look up when she heard the voice.
Inside the bar was a gray-haired girl with refined features and a tall figure, wearing a green server uniform. She wore a lovely, playful smile that was pleasing to the eye.
Twenty thousand Valis placed on the Astraea Familia. Combined, the bets from everyone else might not even total that much.
Facing the disbelieving stares, the gray-haired girl said calmly, "The Astraea Familia also fought to protect this city. If they are forgotten, then this city, which chooses to forget its own heroes, is truly pathetic..."
The people in the bar who still possessed a conscience fell silent.
Entertained to death, they felt a pang of shame for forgetting the heroes who had protected them for the sake of money.
But this shame quickly turned into indignation.
She makes it sound like we are utterly worthless, and she is so noble? People would rather belittle others than admit their own moral failings.
Just as the crowd was about to explode in anger, the gray-haired girl smiled playfully. "Well? That speech was quite beautiful, wasn't it? Of course, I'm not completely against making money. The odds are just too high."
"Hahahaha!"
Joyful laughter erupted inside and outside the bar. People seemed to find a common ground in the gray-haired girl—Orario couldn't tolerate anyone so high-minded!
This entire scene was witnessed by Ryuu.
Regardless of the gray-haired girl's true intentions, the fact that she had bet 200,000 Valis on them was undeniable. Ryuu stared blankly at the figure.
"Let's go back, Miss Ryuu!" Roy whispered, his thoughts of making money completely banished.
"Okay."
Focused on the gray-haired girl, Ryuu didn't even notice the change in Roy's tone.
Seeing Miss Ryuu's delicate lips curve up slightly, Roy inwardly cried out that something was wrong. The cow is here! (A reference to the DanMachi villainess, Freya/Syr).
Syr Flova!
Roy certainly recognized the gray-haired girl. And precisely because of that, he sensed danger—there must be high-level adventurers from the Freya Familia nearby!
To be honest, he had gone to great lengths to avoid Freya's sphere of influence, not daring to go near the battlefield or the tavern for almost a month since arriving in Orario.
The Goddess of Beauty's Charm was too terrifying.
Yet, Freya had sought them out personally.
Roy would never believe it was a chance encounter. The only possibility was that they had been targeted!
But it couldn't be him.
Freya chose people based on the color of their soul. As a financial worker who had seen the ugliness of the world, Roy knew how turbid his soul was.
To put it more bluntly, Freya wouldn't even look at him if there was a male dog nearby!
Combining this with Freya's words in the bar, the target could only be Ryuu beside him.
It wasn't until they turned several corners that Ryuu recovered, noticing Roy's distressed face. She looked surprised.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing, just mentally exhausted."
Roy replied. He vaguely recalled a piece of information: in the original timeline, Freya's favorite male and female targets were the red-eyed rabbit (Bell) and Ryuu Lion.
She wasn't going to let Ryuu go!
An LV.4 mercenary, this really puts me in a difficult position!
If he ran away now, Ryuu and Goddess Astraea would have to face the Rudra Familia alone.
If he didn't run, who knew what that madwoman, Freya, would do? The person she targeted certainly wouldn't die, but the people around them were not guaranteed to survive.
A wild smile crept onto Roy's lips.
His rational mind found being targeted by Orario's strongest Familia extremely troublesome, but the inner part of him that sought thrills was exceptionally excited.
He was a highly contradictory being.
The gray-haired girl also stared intently at Roy's retreating figure, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
...
Roy and Ryuu returned to the Starry Sky Garden.
Before preparing dinner, there was one thing left to do: formally join the Astraea Familia.
To participate in the War Game, he had to be a member of the Astraea Familia. They had finally reached this point.
Ryuu, standing beside him, looked conflicted. Once he officially joined the Familia, they would truly be bound together in life and death.
"Hurry up, we still need to prepare dinner," Roy said, taking off his shirt to reveal his lean, muscular physique.
Goddess Astraea pricked her finger with a silver needle, and her divine blood dripped onto Roy's back.
Name: Roy
Level: 1
Strength (STR): $636 \to 655$ (C)
Endurance (END): $698 \to 795$ (B)
Agility (AGL): 1095 (SS)
Dexterity (DEX): 1290 (SSS)
Magic (MAG): 0 (I)
Skills:
My Lord is Present:The divine resides within. I am the divine. Can autonomously update status scores and select level-ups/development abilities according to one's own will.
Blood for Blood: Accumulates damage sustained by the user and repays it to the enemy instantly, with a variable damage multiplier based on emotional fluctuation.
Magic: None
...