Among the gods Noah knew, most were the type who acted recklessly and pursued entertainment above all else.
Yet he also knew there were benevolent gods who grieved over human suffering, who actively bestowed miracles to save suffering people—like the Familia led by the goddess of justice, Astrea.
Where there was a side of justice, there naturally existed its opposite.
People willingly called those gods who took pleasure in evil deeds—evil gods.
The main god of the evilus might not necessarily be an evil god, but to the victims, the truth made no difference.
This was the fundamental gap in thinking between gods and the other races of the lower world.
In modern times, there was a difficult question to answer:
If a person has absolutely no intention of committing evil, can it still be considered a crime?
This question fit the gods perfectly.
Gods came to the lower world to dispel their inner boredom; everything they did was to pass the tedious time, for the monotony of eternity and unchanging existence was enough to drive even gods mad.
Thus, to relieve their boredom, whether it was wielding a blade to slaughter or spreading plague, it was all considered the gods' "mercy."
Some neutral gods would beautify such harm as trials—if you didn't endure, it was your lack of perseverance, and certainly not the god's fault.
In an era without laws, the actions of gods were unconstrained; everything a god did was "right."
However, in Orario, there were rules that applied to gods and their Familias.
Violating these rules would label one as part of the dark factions like evilus, making them targets for pursuit and joint subjugation by the Guild and other Familias.
The Astrea Familia was a central force in the fight against the evilus in this era.
In the future, evilus would be suppressed to near extinction, forced to hide in dark sewers and carry out their activities covertly—a result greatly owed to the contributions of the Astrea Familia.
For such an entity acting like the "disciplinary committee" of a class, to offend others through their daily actions and face retaliation was hardly difficult to understand.
Given the Astrea Familia's strength and potential, if they had not been destroyed, they would surely have become a powerful Familia on par with the Freya Familia and Loki Familia in the future.
"Then, please take me to meet that 'Gale.' I'll leave the transaction process to you, Miss Misha."
He didn't know the exact time when the Astrea Familia would be destroyed—maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, next month, or even next year.
Or perhaps, at this very moment, the Astrea Familia was facing imminent destruction.
Tch.
Overthinking it was pointless anyway.
The possibility of being attacked by the evilus didn't need him to point it out; the members of the Astrea Familia weren't fools.
They were well aware of the consequences of their actions and had long been prepared.
A mere Level 2, even if he wanted to change something, first had to recognize his own capabilities.
Misha, "Alright, hehe. Speaking of which, it was just last year—around the same time I started my internship at the Guild—that you, Noah, joined the Hephaestus Familia. That boy from back then has now become the fastest adventurer in Orario to reach Level 2. Even now, I find it unbelievable."
Breaking the record set by that Ais Wallenstein to become Level 2 meant that, for a while, many eyes in the city would be on him.
'This feeling...'
"It just feels so uncomfortable all over," Noah muttered with a soft sigh.
Under Misha's guidance, Noah was led to a room with good confidentiality.
After telling him to wait alone for a moment, the advisor temporarily left.
When she returned, she was accompanied by a blonde-haired elf.
She wore simple, practical clothing suitable for movement, draped with a green cloak, and the weapon at her waist was unusual—a wooden sword.
[Wooden Sword・Elven Glimmer]
Owner: Ryu Lion
Branch of the Sacred Tree from the Forest of Ryumiria
Elven Sacred Relic
[Ryu Lion]
Elf
Adventurer
Member of the Astrea Familia
Level: ?
...
Was that all the information he got from a glance?
Ah, no.
He hadn't intended to scrutinize Ryu herself so intently.
"This is the client, Noah, a blacksmith from the Hephaestus Familia."
"And this is the famous adventurer from the Astrea Familia, Miss Ryu, known by the title 'Gale.'"
Misha briefly introduced both parties.
Noah was about to speak first, but the elf across from him beat him to it, her tone not exactly friendly.
"If I'm mistaken, I'll apologize, but... are you using some strange skill on me? Or is it magic?"
The elf girl's expression was resolute, her blue eyes fixed unwaveringly on Noah.
"Wha..." Noah showed a stunned expression.
Ryu had noticed the effect of the Truth Seeker skill? No, it couldn't be said she noticed it—that was hardly possible.
'Was it intuition, then?'
In any case, neither the Level 5 Tsubaki nor his own goddess, Hephaestus, had ever noticed this.
Ryu was the first person he knew of who could detect his skill!
"I had a very unpleasant feeling, almost as if..."
Ryu didn't know how to describe the strange sensation.
It wasn't like being peeped on while bathing, but something deeper.... it made her reluctant to speak.
After a brief moment of shock, Noah promptly apologized.
"I'm sorry. I just leveled up, and one of my skills seems harder to control than before. My apologies."
'He wasn't lying.' Ryu judged this in her heart.
"It seems that really is the case. Then, Mr. Noah, please raise your head. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, we are simply client and adventurer."
The elf girl finally took a seat.
She didn't press further about the skill or dig deeper into the matter.
She didn't offer a handshake or anything similar, which Noah found unsurprising—elves had a custom of not allowing their skin to be touched by others.
Of course, except for those they acknowledged.
This also reaffirmed for Noah, He really wasn't anyone special.
But even so, no one said an ordinary person couldn't make themselves special from the start.
"Then, please confirm—this is the drop item from the floor boss, the Dragon Liver of Amphisbaena."