And if with that second chance he could clean up some of the scum and villainy of this world perhaps the age of heroes that faded with the fall of the Zeus and Hera Familias would find itself coming back once again.
At least that was the thought crossing my mind right up until—
"Oi."
The single word carried enough hostility behind it to make nearby adventurers instinctively move away.
I stopped walking.
Not because I cared.
Mostly because getting screamed at in the middle of the dungeon after successfully cleaning up someone else's mess would probably become annoying if ignored.
Turning slightly, I found exactly who I expected.
Bete Loga.
Tall.
Lean.
Silver-haired.
And looking one mild inconvenience away from murdering someone.
Which, to be fair, was probably his default expression.
In the anime and novel he was depicted as a harsh loudmouthed Wolfman, but secretly was actually a Tsundere character who simply disliked the weak because they died to easily and he was tired of watching promising newbies falling before his eyes.
The werewolf's sharp eyes narrowed immediately upon meeting mine.
"You the bastard that killed the Minotaur?"
Straight to the point.
How very Bete.
"I killed several actually," I answered casually. "If you're the cause, don't worry i did your job for you."
The surrounding atmosphere stiffened instantly.
Several lower-class adventurers nearby sucked in sharp breaths.
Even some members of Loki Familia shifted awkwardly at the blatant jab.
Bete's lip peeled back slightly.
"Hah?"
"The monster parade," I continued while adjusting the bags of breakfast under my arm. "Thought Loki Familia was supposed to be the best in the city. But can't even deal with a handful of Minotaurs from the upper floors?"
A dangerous silence followed.
Tiona immediately barked out a laugh.
"OOOOOH he said it!"
"Tiona," Tione muttered.
"No seriously did you hear him?!" the amazon grinned openly. "He basically called us sloppy!"
"Because they were," These words were not spoken but looking at her party members it was clear they were all thinking this.
That only made Tiona laugh harder.
Bete however looked about two seconds away from throwing hands in the middle of the dungeon to erase the punk who impuned his honor.
"You got a real big mouth for a rookie," he growled.
"And you've got a real small sense of responsibility for someone whose familia almost got begineers killed thanks to their ignorance."
The air changed instantly.
Not dramatically.
Subtly.
Like pressure building before a storm.
The nearby adventurers began backing away entirely now.
Because regardless of who was right—
Nobody wanted to stand between an angry first-tier adventurer and whatever idiot decided to provoke them.
Bell himself stood frozen off to the side still trying to process everything happening around him.
Poor kid looked like he wanted to disappear into the Dungeon wall.
Finn finally stepped forward before Bete escalated things further.
The pallum captain's expression remained calm, though his sharp blue eyes studied me carefully.
Not casually either.
He was evaluating me.
Measuring.
The little monster was probably already trying to figure out where I fit into the city politically.
"Your name?" Finn asked.
"Why."
"To know who to thank,"
"Neme"
"No familia name?"
"No reason to give one."
Bete clicked his tongue aggressively.
"Tch. Acting important already?"
"No," I answered flatly. "Acting busy."
And honestly I was.
I still had breakfast getting cold in my hands.
Lily was probably waiting.
And standing around entertaining the bruised pride of Orario's strongest idiots wasn't exactly high on my list of priorities.
So I turned.
And started walking.
That seemed to finally snap something in Bete's head.
"The hell are you turning your back for?"
His killing intent flared.
Not enough to truly matter.
But enough to send a ripple through the watching crowd.
"Bete," Riveria spoke calmly.
One word.
That was all it took.
The werewolf stopped immediately, though the irritation on his face only deepened.
Riveria stepped forward with all the composed elegance of an immortal queen looking mildly disappointed in a noisy child.
Her emerald eyes settled on me.
Unlike Finn's analytical stare or Bete's aggression, Riveria's gaze carried something else.
Recognition.
Not of me specifically.
But of circumstance.
"He assisted in suppressing the escaped monsters." she stated.
A few Loki members winced.
Tiona snorted loudly into her hand trying not to laugh again.
Riveria, however, simply nodded once, seeing even after acknowledging his participation this youth didnt even bother stopping and kept on walking.
No anger.
No wounded pride.
Surprisingly rational.
"Ten Loki Familia owes you thanks," she said calmly her voice raised ever so slightly to ensure even at his increasing distance Neme would still be able to hear her words.
Bete immediately frowned.
"Riveria—"
"She's right though," Tiona interrupted cheerfully while hooking both hands behind her head. "If he hadn't moved around killing the runners, some lower adventurers probably would've died."
"Or beginners," Finn added quietly.
That shut Bete up for roughly half a second.
"Tch. Still doesn't explain how some nobody rookie was fast enough to intercept a Minotaur before anyone else."
Ah.
There it was.
The real issue.
Not pride.
Suspicion.
Because from their perspective a complete unknown had just outperformed most second-tier adventurers during an emergency.
Naturally that would attract attention.
Left alone the Loki Familia members simply waited for the rest of the dungeon party to catch up to them.
Off to the side Finn was speaking with Riveria.
"He seemed uninterested in politics. Almost outright avoiding contact with Loki Familia itself."
"I know what you're thinking Finn, but his eyes were clear, no sign of any dark inflence or corruption, he is not of Evilus. His spirit even feels closer to that of an elf."
Finn smiled.
Not warmly.
Curiously.
Like he'd just discovered something entertaining.
"I see," the pallum captain murmured.
~
Unfortunately for him I had no interest in becoming part of his collection of useful people.
I already knew how this city worked.
Strong people got dragged into obligations.
Into factions.
Into schemes.
And unlike Bell, I had absolutely no intention of becoming everyone's convenient hero.
Heroes died for people.
Nemesis killed them.
I continued to walk on down the dungeon cooridor waiting for the first turn to disappear from eyesight and unleash my agility to rush to the surface in a flash.
Though I could still feel their eyes on my back.
Bete's irritation.
Finn's curiosity.
Riveria's contemplation.
And Ais Wallenstein's silent attention lingering longer than all the others.
Troublesome.
Very troublesome.
Especially because—
"Um…"
I stopped.
Bell Cranel stood directly in my path.
The boy looked nervous enough to pass out.
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then awkwardly bowed his head.
"T-Thank you for saving everyone earlier!"
…
Ah.
Right.
The protagonist.
For a second I considered simply walking around him.
Probably the smarter decision honestly.
But Bell looked up at me with such painfully genuine sincerity that even I found it difficult to immediately dismiss him.
No obsession.
No blazing ambition.
No destiny awakening behind those eyes.
Just admiration.
Simple and clean.
A farm boy thanking another adventurer for saving his life.
Strange.
Seeing Bell Cranel without the weight of fate attached to him almost made him look normal, well as normabl as an albino rabbit can be.
Which somehow felt far more dangerous than canon Bell ever did.
I stared at him for a moment.
Then sighed quietly.
"Try not to die in the Dungeon, Bell Cranel."
His eyes widened immediately.
"H-Huh? You know my name?"
"Everybody knows the rookie sponsored by Hestia."
Which admittedly wasn't entirely true yet.
But his tiny familia was memorable enough regardless.
Bell scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I-I'm still really weak though…"
"Yes," I replied bluntly. "You are."
The poor kid visibly deflated.
Bell looked like he'd just been stabbed emotionally.
Good.
Better honest disappointment now than a heroic delusion later.
With him winding up standing in my way of cleansing Orario and this world of its scummy divine beings.
Without waiting for another conversation to start, I resumed walking.
This time nobody stopped me.
And as soon as i turned the corner and was out of eyesight
Fwip
I vanished, only for a second later a Blonde haired swordswoman came around the corner, only to become puzzled.