Passing so suddenly caught both of them off guard. Ever since joining the Familia, "ending training" had only ever meant two outcomes: either they survived until time ran out, or they got carried home while unconscious. Hearing the word "pass" from Chardo's mouth for the first time naturally left them stunned.
"What's wrong?" Chardo asked, baffled by the way the two of them just stared at each other.
"This is… our first time passing," Duncan admitted. "Is there more training after this?"
He was so used to the pressure that an abrupt pause felt almost wrong.
"No," Chardo said, waving a hand. "Tomorrow is Bell's first adventure, so I didn't do live-combat training today. If you've got nothing else to do, then go maintain your weapons, have the old man update your status, and prepare supplies for tomorrow. Duncan—you've already survived in the Great Tree Sea. You know what needs to be packed."
With that, he headed back to the cabin without looking back.
Once Chardo was gone, Bell immediately shoved decision-making onto Duncan like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"What do we do, Duncan?"
"Start prepping," Duncan replied as he walked toward the cabin. "Food, water, weapons, spare medicine. Then a tent, fire-starting tools, and the rest of the survival gear."
To support training and fieldwork, the cabin held a solid stockpile of adventuring necessities. As the last seedlings of the Zeus Familia, Duncan and Bell were supplied lavishly—Zeus's philosophy was basically take as much as you can. A millennium of accumulation meant wealth had long since become "just a number," especially now that there was no Familia overhead or taxes. With no large expenses anymore, most of what had once belonged to two great Familias was concentrated in the hands of these three survivors.
And the nearby village simply didn't offer many things you could even spend big money on. Common potions, weapons, and supplies cost almost nothing—Chardo's greatsword alone likely cost more than the two boys would spend in years.
Adventuring was profitable—otherwise people wouldn't flood to Orario chasing the dream. The higher your level, the more obscene the profits became: the magic stones and materials from deep-floor monsters could earn a first-class adventurer in ten days what a low-tier adventurer might never make in a lifetime. Of course, their expenses were just as obscene.
Inside the cabin, Chardo returned in silence. Zeus watched him for a moment, then spoke quietly.
"Your old wound flared up again?"
"A little," Chardo said, face darkening. "It's fine… Where's Alfia?"
Before Zeus could answer, a faint coughing fit sounded from deeper inside the cabin. The sound was restrained—low—but Chardo was a first-class adventurer. He heard it clearly. And the pain hidden in that cough made his brow tighten.
"I've already asked Hermes and his people to source medicine," Zeus said, his expression sinking. "But it only mitigates symptoms. We still can't find a way to cure either of you."
As top-tier combat power from the Zeus and Hera Familias, Chardo and Alfia had long been plagued by incurable injuries. Even Orario—the city that bragged it could do anything—had failed to heal them. If they hadn't been carrying those wounds, perhaps the Black Dragon campaign wouldn't have ended in such catastrophic defeat.
"The state of our bodies is something we understand better than anyone," Alfia said as the coughing subsided.
She stepped out of the room.
Her complexion was paper-white, almost bloodless. A smear of red still clung to her lips, and the handkerchief in her hand was stained through with fresh crimson.
"Alfia—why are you out here?" Chardo and Zeus both asked at once, concern obvious.
"It's fine. I've endured it," she said, dismissing them with a small wave. "It won't flare again for a while. More importantly—why did you stop training so early today?"
"I got careless," Chardo admitted. "The kids actually landed a hit. Duncan used his Skill with real proficiency. As an instructor, I can't go back on my word."
He gave them a rough account of the ambush and the "invisible wall" trick.
"That Skill really is interesting," Zeus said, surprised. "And the boy's sharp—using a foothold like that. If he can already deploy it freely, there's a lot more it can be developed into."
"And he picked up spearwork without a teacher," Chardo added. "Plus, he claims all those magic stones and materials were 'used up.' I'm starting to suspect the other god inside him left a backup plan."
"No need to 'suspect'—that's exactly what it is," Zeus cut in. "He hasn't fully trusted us yet. Everyone has secrets. That's not strange. The key question is, Chardo—do you treat him as family?"
"Of course," Chardo answered instantly. "Without question."
"Then that's enough," Zeus said. "Trust isn't born out of thin air. It's built over time. Gods in the Lower World can't use divine power; gods in the Upper World can't easily interfere with the Lower World either—that's the rule. If he truly has the means to make Duncan stronger, then good. The Lower World needs a new hero—someone who can lead everyone to defeat the Black Dragon and challenge the Dungeon."
He gave a self-mocking smile.
"It's embarrassing, but I can't do anything now. Aside from giving those two children a bit of trivial support… all I can do is watch and wait for them to grow."
After a short silence, Alfia asked flatly, "Do you want me to call Hera here?"
"Absolutely not!" Zeus snapped as if he'd seen a ghost. "Do you think that's why I'm hiding out in this backwater?"
Then he glared.
"And why are we even saying that madwoman's name right now?"
"Hera still has resources—" Alfia began.
"No," Zeus interrupted, firm. "I don't even want to imagine how Hera would react if she saw Bell. He's Meteria's child. With that sickly-obsessive woman's personality, there's no telling what she'd do."
Alfia opened her mouth to argue—then closed it. Zeus knew Hera too well, and even Alfia—who'd lived under Hera—couldn't deny it.
"Our resources are enough to raise those two," Zeus said. "Right now, the only real expenses in this 'Familia' are us. Anything beyond that is surplus… we'll leave it for later."
Then his tone turned heavier.
"I never planned to keep Duncan and Bell at my side forever. In fact, before I met you two, I'd planned to let Bell grow a little, then have Hermes take him to Orario so he could join another god's Familia. Orario is where adventurers belong. If you want to become a hero who can stand on his own, you must go to Orario."
"You're just going to abandon Bell?" Alfia's voice went cold, and the air itself seemed to drop a few degrees.
"It's necessary," Zeus said, irritably—as if he didn't notice the pressure rolling off her.
"We're destined to exit the stage. The ship of the new era doesn't have seats for us. If it's truly a new age, then the old gods should step aside."
"But what you're doing now doesn't match that at all," Chardo said with a rare grin—gently teasing. If Zeus had once been resigned, then watching Duncan and Bell grow had clearly rekindled something in him. Chardo, who'd grown up in the Zeus Familia, felt that shift more than anyone.
"Because a turning point has appeared…" Zeus murmured.
He turned to the window, eyes burning like a lit blade, staring out into the distance.
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