Even happy times come to an end someday. The heat of the Harvest Festival was mercilessly swept away by the chilly autumn wind, and as the trees began to let go of their leaves one by one, an old god said:
"This winter, we'll take down Leviathan."
The second of the Three Great Quests, the sea's tyrant, Leviathan.
The time had come to draw the second trajectory of a great feat.
"Though this time, it looks like Hera Familia will have to take the lead."
Unlike Zeus Familia, which was mostly made up of front-liners, Hera Familia was largely a rear-line Familia—more specifically, one composed of mages.
No matter how exceptional they were, taking on Leviathan in the sea would be suicide. So this time, it seemed likely to become Hera Familia's stage alone.
"Of course, we'll cooperate as well. But the main role will still be Hera's."
"Hmm. It can't be helped. But why winter? Spring or autumn would make more sense seasonally, wouldn't they?"
The cold of winter was nothing to dismiss lightly.
The biting chill, the blade-like wind that sliced at the flesh, and the drop in concentration caused by worn-down mental stamina and lowered body temperature were harsh even for first-rate adventurers.
This wasn't some ordinary quest. At the scale of a Three Great Quest, a long battle was unavoidable. In that case, choosing winter felt rather unreasonable.
And hadn't they already gone on an expedition this spring? For something like a Three Great Quest, it would have been better to leave more time...
"Well, if they finish it in winter, then they can see the summer swimsuit bodies of those busty ladies... Hrk, Hera?! Wai-"
"[@#$#%$#&!!!]"
Crash!Clang!
"Kyaaa?!"
Remembering the usual conversation where Zeus almost got sent home, Ouranos let out a low groan as he looked at the man before him.
"You want to participate in the subjugation?"
"Yes. If there's no problem, I'd like you to permit it."
Red eyes met his own. Those eyes, which had already held a certain hardness when they first met, now carried something that had never been there before.
No—perhaps it would be more accurate to say he had cast off the shackles that had bound him. Thinking that, Ouranos still looked troubled.
"If you take part, I'm sure it will be of help."
"Then..."
"But even if you don't, the outcome won't change."
"..."
"Is there a reason you insist on participating?"
"A reason..."
He thought about it carefully, but nothing came to mind.
No reason to participate, and no reason not to.
"It's simply a matter of my heart."
"Hmm..."
At that, the old god let out another low hum. The man before him carried the resolute air of someone who had already finished making some important decision.
That in itself was admirable, but... the problem was that the ends of such people were usually tragic. That was what bothered him.
He didn't want to lose a hard-won possibility like this. But it was also true that he had no real reason to stop him.
Judging from Fels's report, his assistance would be helpful, not obstructive. Evilus had already been wiped out, and there would be no problem from his absence.
"...Very well. I'll permit it."
"Thank you!"
"However, do not do anything too dangerous."
Those were words filled with concern. Ouranos did not miss the way the man's body trembled for a moment at them.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Mm. Discuss the rest with Fels."
"Do not do anything too dangerous."
"I know you're strong, but please be careful."
"I haven't heard that in a while."
Back when everyone was still alive, it had been something he heard all the time. Now it was a phrase he could hardly hear anymore.
He now understood a little why Ais had reacted the way she did when he had said something similar to her before.
Back then, he had thought she might have found it ridiculous or something like that, but the feeling he had now was...
"Embarrassing."
Feeling awkward, he quickened his pace. Since that day, the nightmare that had taken root inside him seemed to be slowly losing its weight.
He was calmly recalling memories that had once hurt just to think about.
"Oh? So you've decided to join the subjugation."
"Yes. Are you taking part too, Fels?"
"Halfway. I won't be fighting, but I'm making the equipment and tools needed for battle."
"That's important work."
"Indeed. Though it seems some arrogant fools don't understand that."
The sage shook his head as if fed up with it. Had he been looked down on in the past?
Come to think of it, even in our era there were always people who looked down on craftsmen. Something like Be... whatever, or A... whatever.
"But if those fellows saw this latest work, they'd never say something like that."
As he said that, Fels gave me a sidelong glance.
Huh? What was that about?
"Never, I mean."
"Uh... I see."
"Never, I say!"
Apparently dissatisfied with my answer, he put force into his voice with obvious irritation.
What's with him? Did I say something wrong?
"Yes, keep up the good work."
"Grrr... Just you wait. I'll make sure to surprise you!"
With a loud bang, Fels shut the door and went back into the laboratory, leaving me standing there blankly.
What was his problem, seriously? Suppressing my bewilderment, I turned around and headed back outside.
In the corner of the room, the Neo Bow covered with cloth gave off a lonely glimmer.
Time passed quickly.
The red autumn, as if shedding its clothes, fell away leaf by leaf, and soon the white season would arrive.
Time flows equally for everyone. For me, for gods, and for monsters.
If I stayed still, the world would not wait for me. To catch up to it, I had to keep moving forward without stopping.
And naturally, I wasn't the only one moving forward.
"Artemis Familia has..."
[Yes. From what I hear, they've become quite famous.]
Unlike ordinary adventurers, Artemis Familia focused on rescuing monsters "on the surface."
I'd heard that even in the countryside there were occasional rumors that Lady Artemis would come when people were in danger, but it was rare for her fame to reach Orario itself.
Going around saving ordinary people was certainly admirable, but from an adventurer's point of view, those who specialized in dealing with surface monsters—relatively weak compared to the Dungeon—were probably seen as nothing more than so-called cowards.
It was ridiculous to be criticized even after doing good deeds, but setting that aside, why had they suddenly become so famous?
[From what I've heard, their range of activity has expanded even further than before. They were already operating over a fairly wide area, but now they seem to be roaming the whole world. Apparently, their captain even Ranked Up and is now Level 4.]
"Level 4..."
That was a level that would not be looked down on anywhere in Orario. If someone like that belonged to a free Familia rather than one affiliated with Orario, it was certainly enough to make them famous.
[A sudden but welcome change. There should be more goddesses like her.]
"...Yes, I suppose so."
It was definitely good news, but I still wondered why she was acting so aggressively all of a sudden.
Could she be taking it out on others because of what happened with me...? No, was that too self-centered?
Change did not come only from outside. Time flowed equally through Orario as well.
If there was one major change, it was that the heat of the festival had cooled, and everyone had begun preparing to face new hardships. It felt like only yesterday they had brought down the King of the Earth, and now they were preparing to slay the King of the Sea.
Leviathan, the sea's tyrant. The largest living creature in the world.
There were many enormous sea creatures. And Leviathan was a monster that stood out even among them for its sheer size.
I'd heard that the Wings of the Scholarly were Leviathan's drop item. Considering that a drop item was only a fraction of the original's size, I couldn't even imagine how enormous the original wings must have been.
Honestly, it might really be mountain-sized...
Given the opponent, the atmosphere this time was even more tense than during the Behemoth subjugation.
Behemoth's greatest threat was its uncounterable poison, but that also meant that if you avoided that one thing, it could be conquered.
Leviathan, on the other hand, relied on its absurdly massive body as its strength. Simple, but precisely because of that, it was a difficult opponent to bring down.
Setting Behemoth aside, I had never even seen Leviathan's sub-species. Because of that, it was hard to predict how the battle would unfold.
Of course, in the future it would be safely defeated, so it would probably end well...
'I don't know how many people were sacrificed on the original timeline.'
I wanted to subjugate it without any casualties if possible. That was why I had volunteered to participate.
'...But do I really have a role to play?'
I didn't think I was weak, but I couldn't picture what I could do against a creature that huge. More than that, I couldn't think of any proper way to land a meaningful hit on Leviathan while it was in the water.
The only things I could think of were charging up [Firebolt] or [Astrafe] and firing them off... but even if those worked, my opponent was the largest living being in the world. Considering a body that matched that name, my attacks probably wouldn't amount to much.
In the end, this battle would be the mages' stage. The best I could do was probably provide cover so they could attack more easily, or defend against enemy strikes.
[What about the Neo Bow...]
"Ah, no. I'm not using it."
[Hiiing...]
Anyway, I had to prepare as thoroughly as possible. Especially since I couldn't draw out my full strength in my current state. It was important to know exactly how far I could go.
The best place to test oneself was the Dungeon. I went straight into the Dungeon, checked my limits and condition, and was able to confirm my own state in more concrete terms.
'I've gotten weaker...'
The result was that I was even weaker than before. Right after the weakening, I had still been among the stronger Level 7 adventurers, but now I was closer to the weaker end of Level 7.
I'd thought the pain that crept up on me a little each day was just that... but if that pain was the result of my existence being worn away, then my condition might be worse than it looked.
And the rate at which I was weakening was much faster than I'd expected.
'How much longer can I hold out?'
What if I became as weak as Level 1? No, that probably wasn't it.
I didn't know exactly how much time I had left. But from here on, maybe once, if I was lucky twice—at most that many times I might be able to bring about a dramatic change like I had when fighting Evilus.
'I need to be careful.'
From now on, I had to choose my movements carefully.
If I half-heartedly got involved and then ran out of strength at the crucial moment, there would be no joke worse than that.
Well, unless Orario suddenly faced destruction or something, that possibility was practically nonexistent.
At that same time, Hera Familia.
"Uuup!"
Meteria suddenly started gagging while eating.
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