Seeing the Soma, Astraea understood everything.
Astraea looked at her follower with a complex gaze. With a mortal body, he had successfully schemed against both the supreme Goddess of Beauty and the most cunning "Clown" Goddess. She was so shocked she couldn't find her voice for a long time.
It was madness! Every step had been like walking a tightrope over an abyss.
But Roy had succeeded. His greatest advantage was that he operated from the shadows, armed with vast knowledge of Orario's secrets, while Freya was completely unaware of his involvement. Freya's only chance to flip the board would have been to fully unleash her Charm and enslave the entire city.
Roy was certain she wouldn't do it. To destroy the whole game just because her disguise was exposed? Her pride wouldn't allow it. Freya, at this point in time—before she became obsessed with her fated "Odr"—would not lose her sanity so easily. There was a difference between a game of friendship and the madness of love.
In the quiet room, Roy and Astraea locked eyes.
Astraea didn't blame Roy. Freya had struck first, after all. After a moment, she reached out her small, jade-like hand. "Where is that orchid perfume you promised to give me?"
Roy blinked. "Wait, wasn't that just a lie to get Loki off my back? You actually want it?"
"Hmph!" Astraea huffed. She hadn't slept properly for two days because of his antics; she deserved some compensation.
Roy obediently handed over the Orchid Perfume, taking the opportunity to graze the Goddess's soft hand as he did. Having finished his scheme against Freya, the perfume was useless to him anyway; it only provided a temporary mental boost and couldn't distinguish between friend and foe.
Wait... didn't Loki mention several of Astraea's 'little secrets' to me? Roy's head was still foggy from the Soma, and he couldn't recall them. What a loss! His heart bled at the missed opportunity for blackmail material.
Sensing Roy's subtle "groping," Astraea shot him a glare, a faint blush creeping onto her face. She sighed. "Get some rest. I'll go make you some sober-up soup."
She left the room. Watching her elegant back, Roy smiled. You might make a small profit, My Lady, but I never lose.
Alone in the room, Roy's mind sharpened. His eyes shimmered with a cold, piercing light. It was time for his other "chess piece" to move.
At the Guild Headquarters, Eina Tulle finished her daily tasks and pulled out the expedition report submitted by the Astraea Familia. She needed to check it for anomalies before filing it. Eina went through it word by word.
As time passed, her brow furrowed. The report was... unique. From the moment Roy's team entered the Dungeon, every route, every monster encounter, and every piece of loot was recorded in excruciating detail. Because it was so dense and filled with text, most of her colleagues had simply skimmed it. After all, it was just a 24th-floor expedition—not even the Deep Floors.
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Danmachi : Starting with an Elf (342 Chapters – Ongoing)
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Most Familias submitted generic reports for the Middle Floors. Some lazy groups even just swapped names on other people's reports. No one was bored enough to police such things. Most clerks would just toss it into the warehouse where it would remain untouched for centuries.
But this report happened to land in the hands of a top graduate from the Education District—a meticulous, serious Half-Elf.
Walls intentionally destroyed. Suspected capture and breeding of Enhanced Sirens. False Floor Boss subjugation Intel...
These fragments were buried deep within massive blocks of text. Only Eina noticed them. Her heart hammered against her ribs. The danger Roy's team faced was far beyond a normal expedition. Dozens of high-level adventurers could have died—and it was potentially premeditated!
Eina spent the next few days investigating. She cross-referenced with the Ganesha Familia and others. There weren't many groups capable of breeding Enhanced monsters. Soon, she found witnesses who had seen Freya Familia executives in the "Water Capital." Even a monster prepared for Ganesha's festival had gone berserk, supposedly killed by surface adventurers, though no one saw it happen.
Eina reached a final conclusion: the anomalies in the Dungeon were directly linked to the Freya Familia. The danger the Astraea Familia faced had been tailor-made for them.
No wonder Roy-san hid this info in a wall of text, she thought. The Freya Familia is too powerful for them to fight. He must have realized the enemy was invincible and could only leave these clues behind. Eina touched the ink on the page, imagining Roy—the man who stood tall against the Rudra remnants—now forced to bow to the darkness of the Freya Familia. Every word felt like a cry of helplessness.
Eina's tears began to fall. "The Freya Familia... this is too much!"
Furious, she charged up to the second floor of the Guild Headquarters. The first-floor clerks watched in shock. The Guild was strictly hierarchical, and only high-ranking officials were allowed on the second floor. Ordinary staff had to file a request just to go up.
Eina burst into the office of Royman Marde, the Guild Head. She slammed the report onto his desk with a loud BANG, making the fat on Royman's body jiggle.
"Director! Please look at this report!" Eina suppressed her rage.
Royman was stunned. You're telling me what to do? Who's the Director here? But seeing Eina was a newcomer and clearly agitated, he held his tongue. "Eina, what happened?"
Eina laid out the anomalies and the truth she had uncovered with cold, logical precision. Royman's brow furrowed. He knew the Freya Familia played dirty, but this was a golden opportunity.
The Guild and the Freya Familia were in a tense partnership; the Guild rarely dared to force them into tasks. But with the evidence of destroyed walls, enhanced monsters, and the chaos on Daedalus Street... they had leverage. Royman's small eyes glinted with shrewdness. The exploration of the unknown floors had stalled since the fall of the Zeus and Hera Familias. It was time to restart it.
The punishment for the Freya Familia was issued quickly: for endangering adventurers and citizens, they were ordered to conduct an expedition into the "Unknown Territory" of the 60th Floor.