""Captured?""

Upon hearing that Bell had been captured, both Ais and Lefiya showed expressions of surprise.

Only Riezel narrowed his eyes slightly and even smiled.

’Hm, so it turned out like this?’

Riezel was not surprised by this outcome at all, but Ais and the others, being clueless, frowned and began discussing it.

"It’s perfectly normal that the Hestia Familia can’t defeat the Ishtar Familia."

"But the problem is, knowing they can’t win, why would the Hestia Familia still insist on hiding a member of the Ishtar Familia?"

"..."

Raul, Lefiya, and Ais voiced their confusion one after another, unable to understand the Hestia Familia’s actions.

"Could it be... that boy has taken a liking to a prostitute?"

Lefiya offered her guess, her tone somewhat disdainful.

"Don’t talk nonsense," Riezel said helplessly, tapping Lefiya lightly on the forehead. "He’s not as bad as you think."

Hearing this, the usually quiet Ais seemed to notice something.

"...Do you know something?"

Ais looked at Riezel and asked curiously.

Lefiya and Raul were both slightly startled and turned to look at Riezel as well.

"Well, you could say that."

Riezel did not deny it because he naturally knew the reason behind all this.

And the reason lay with Haruhime.

Sanjouno Haruhime, this female renard, like her race, was a naturally gifted sorcerer from the Far East and also of noble status.

As for why she had fallen into becoming a prostitute of the Ishtar Familia, it was because she had been framed as a child, accused of violating her clan’s rules, and cast out of her home by her father.

After being driven out, Haruhime was first abducted by a pallum who desired her and had set her up, then fell into the hands of bandits, and was eventually sold to Orario’s Entertainment District, where she became a prostitute.

It could be said that this renard’s life was a tragedy, filled with misfortune.

However, her true suffering only began after she became a prostitute and joined the Ishtar Familia. After joining the familia and receiving Ishtar’s blessing carved onto her back, Haruhime’s greatest talent was discovered.

Just like that, the emergence of the strongest magic in history delighted Ishtar and gave rise to a dark scheme.

In order to defeat Freya and crush the Freya Familia, Ishtar devised a vicious plan, and Haruhime was to become the sacrifice of that plan. It was precisely because of this that Riezel had caused chaos in Yuukaku the previous day, to free Haruhime from her cage.

However, he merely teleported Haruhime away rather than directly rescuing her.

Why?

First, Haruhime was still a member of the Ishtar Familia, bearing Ishtar’s Falna. If Riezel had brought her back directly, without proper justification, the Loki Familia would have had difficulty protecting her.

Second, Riezel knew clearly that only by going to the Hestia Familia could Haruhime find meaning in her life.

She longed for a hero to save her.

She saw herself as a witch who brought disaster.

Within the Hestia Familia, there was a female member from the Far East who had known Haruhime since childhood, someone capable of accepting her self-denying nature. Bell also had the qualifications to become Haruhime’s hero. Even if he had to face one of Orario’s great familias, the Ishtar Familia, he would undoubtedly step forward to protect her.

In the original story, because of that female member from the Far East, Bell entered the Entertainment District shortly after reaching Level 3 and met Haruhime.

And that was also why Riezel had stirred up trouble in Yuukaku—both to take revenge on the Ishtar Familia and to send Haruhime away. Even though he had teleported Haruhime at random, he believed that under those circumstances, Bell would find her before the members of the Ishtar Familia did.

Why was he so certain?

Simple.

When Bell reached Level 2, he had acquired a development ability—Luck.

As the name implied, it was a development ability that attracted good fortune, similar to divine protection. With such an ability, the probability of Bell overcoming danger and achieving his wishes was far higher than that of ordinary people.

With the aid of Luck, as long as Bell was determined to help his companion find her childhood friend, he would, through a series of coincidences, find Haruhime before anyone else.

And once he found her and learned of her circumstances, he would certainly choose to protect her—especially since her childhood friend was in the Hestia Familia.

Of course, this was not a good thing.

After all, Haruhime was still a member of the Ishtar Familia, bearing Ishtar’s Falna.

With Ishtar’s blood as a guide, it was only a matter of time before the Ishtar Familia located Haruhime and came knocking on the Hestia Familia’s door. At that point, one side would want to protect Haruhime at all costs, while the other would want to reclaim her.

Conflict between the two familias, even outright war, was inevitable.

Riezel had foreseen all of this and had also foreseen that, against the Ishtar Familia, the Hestia Familia would undoubtedly lose.

As the captain of the Hestia Familia, even though Bell was the protagonist of the original story, he was currently only a Level 3 Second-Class Adventurer.

As for the rest of the Hestia Familia, they were either Level 2 or even Level 1.

How could they possibly be a match for the Ishtar Familia?

Against such a weak familia, the Ishtar Familia would not even need to deploy Phryne. As long as Aisha and the berberas acted, taking down the Hestia Familia would be effortless. Even if Haruhime used Uchide no Kozuchi on Bell, granting him the power of Level 4, he still would not be a match for the Level 5 Phryne.

Hence, the Hestia Familia’s defeat was inevitable, without doubt.

However, the defeat of the Hestia Familia would cause the Ishtar Familia to truly fall into the abyss.

Riezel had already confirmed this the moment he learned that Bell had been captured by the Ishtar Familia.

At the same time, this was exactly what Riezel had been waiting for.

In fact, his deliberate disturbance in Yuukaku had not merely been to grant Haruhime a few days of freedom. What he truly wanted was for Ishtar to receive the retribution she deserved.

Although he could accomplish this himself, doing so would implicate the Loki Familia. In that case, why not simply take advantage of the situation—repay the grudge while letting someone else take the blame?

And it just so happened that the one to take the blame would be the Loki Familia’s rival, which made it all the more fitting.

Of course, Riezel would not say any of this because it would be difficult to explain, so he only told Ais and the others one thing.

"The one the Hestia Familia’s hiding is that renard girl I was looking for earlier in the Entertainment District."

Riezel’s words left Ais and the others stunned.

"Wait, you mean... the one with the level-boosting magic?"

Raul’s eyes widened.

"Her?"

Ais also recalled the renard who had been locked in a cage and remembered that her magic had even caused her a bit of trouble against Phryne.

"S-So that means the Hestia Familia is hiding a member of the Ishtar Familia because of that level-boosting magic, and is refusing to hand her over?"

Lefiya felt as though she had uncovered the truth.

"Look at you, jumping to messed-up conclusions again," Riezel said helplessly as he lightly knocked Lefiya on the head again, ignoring her quiet yelp of pain. "There’s gotta be another reason for this, so quit making wild guesses."

As he spoke, Riezel thought for a moment, then turned to Raul.

"When did the Ishtar Familia capture Little Rookie?"

Riezel suddenly asked this question.

"Yesterday..." Raul was slightly taken aback, but he still answered. "I heard Goddess Hestia already went to the Guild to protest, but there hasn’t been any result so far."

"Good..." Riezel smiled, finished the milk in front of him, then got up and turned to Ais. "Sorry, Ais. I gotta go handle something real quick. Take Lefiya and the others to the 18th Floor first."

Hearing this, Ais seemed to guess what Riezel intended to do.

Not only Ais—even Lefiya figured it out.

"Y-You’re going to the Entertainment District again, Mr. Riezel?"

Lefiya felt conflicted.

Just the thought of Riezel going to such a shameless place made her uneasy. Even though she knew he was not going there for pleasure, she still felt a tightness in her chest.

Wouldn’t he be tainted by going to a place like that?

Lefiya was lost in such complicated thoughts.

Unaware of this, Riezel simply spoke calmly.

"Since I set things in motion, I gotta deal with the aftermath."

As someone who held grudges, the downfall of the Ishtar Familia was something Riezel intended to witness personally.

Only then would it count as true vengeance.

Moreover, he had indeed pushed certain events forward.

Even if he had done nothing, these events would have unfolded as they had in the original story, but since he had intervened, he had to go and ensure that nothing unexpected occurred.

If the Ishtar Familia had not provoked him or interfered with the Loki Familia, he would have simply watched everything unfold, but that narrow-minded goddess Ishtar had ultimately done something foolish.

In that case, he did not mind giving her a final push.

"Are you sure you should go?" Raul said with some concern. "Like, in theory, direct fights between familias are banned in the city. If Captain and the others find out, they probably won’t let you get involved."

Otherwise, Finn would not have lectured Riezel last time.

Even if it was just for appearances, they had to maintain some restraint, or it would be difficult to explain things externally.

Even though the Guild did not concern itself with whether there was personal enmity between familias, they understood that once conflict broke out between familias, those superhuman adventurers blessed with Falna would turn the city into chaos—especially conflicts between First-Class Adventurers, which could cause immense destruction.

As the manager of Orario, they would never stand by and allow such things to happen.

Moreover, the citizens of the city did not want to be caught in the crossfire of battles between adventurers.

As one of Orario’s most representative exploration-type familias—and a highly upright one at that—the Loki Familia, as a symbol of the city, had to take many considerations into account. Under such circumstances, Finn would indeed stop Riezel from interfering with the Ishtar Familia again.

In response, Riezel simply smiled.

"No worries. I’m not the protagonist this time."

With that, Riezel turned and left.

"Be careful."

Ais did not say much, only offering a brief reminder.

"I know."

Riezel waved his hand without turning back and walked out of the dining hall.

===

Orario, Folkvangr.

Folkvangr was the home of one of the city’s strongest familias—Freya Familia.

It was located near the Southern Main Street, extremely close to the bustling district, practically within the city center itself, demonstrating its special status. Even in the midst of that lively district, it occupied vast land, surrounded by high walls on all sides like a grand estate.

Its exterior resembled a solemn temple, and whether by coincidence or design, this estate stood in distant opposition to Twilight Manor, the home of the Loki Familia in the northern part of the city, as though the two faced each other across Orario.

Anyone familiar with the Freya Familia knew that within those high walls, in a land that resembled a wilderness, countless adventurers fought every single day. In order to earn the goddess’s favor and become stronger and more brilliant, they engaged in what was called training but was, in reality, life-and-death combat, day after day.

In fact, this was the trial every member of the Freya Familia had to undergo.

It was the path that all who wished for the Goddess of Beauty, Freya, to cast even a glance at them must walk.

Yet today, Folkvangr was unusually silent, devoid of any sounds of fighting, and only an aura of killing intent had quietly spread throughout the area.

Within Folkvangr stood a structure resembling the bright moon in the sky, known as Sessrúmnir.

Deep within Sessrúmnir, at the center of a grand hall, sat a Goddess of Beauty who seemed capable of stealing all the light in the world, resting gracefully upon an elegant chair. Before her stood a round table laden with the finest wine and exquisite dishes.

*Glug-Glug—*

Picking up a bottle of wine, Freya poured it into a transparent glass, then raised the glass without drinking, instead gently swirling it as her lips parted.

"Ishtar has made a move on that child..."

It was merely a calm murmur to herself, yet this single murmur caused the already tense atmosphere in the hall to grow even heavier.

A closer look revealed that before Freya, eight figures knelt on one knee as if paying homage to a queen.

Among them were four pallums of identical appearance and height, two elves with sharply contrasting black and white features, a sharp-eyed cat person, and a boaz warrior with a powerful physique, exuding immense pressure and presence.

"Hedin..." Freya continued to swirl her wine, speaking with casual elegance. "What do you think I should do?"

Below her, the white elf who knelt on one knee raised his head.

"To be captured by mere prostitutes—that foolish rabbit has no right to call himself my disciple, much less receive your favor," Hedin said coldly, yet with a hint of resignation. "However, you will not simply ignore this, will you?"

Freya let out a soft laugh.

"Well, that’s a child I have taken a liking to..." Freya said, still as if speaking to herself. "Ishtar... has crossed the line..."

Hedin and the others immediately lowered their heads in unison, for they had already understood the will of their goddess.

"It’s about time the world is reminded of who you are."

Freya then addressed two individuals below.

"Ottar, Allen—what do you say?"

At Freya’s words, the boaz warrior and the cat person youth responded without hesitation.

""Everything will be as you wish!""

===

[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]

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