When the training ended, Ryuu thoughtfully cast Noah Heal on Roy, treating his bitten tongue.
The nerves of the tongue seemed to be connected to the tear glands. The moment he bit down, the intense pain made Roy's tears spill out uncontrollably.
"Pfft!" Ryuu's shoulders twitched.
Roy stared at her. "You just laughed, didn't you?"
Ryuu's small face returned to calm as she replied flatly, "No. I just thought of something happy."
Roy's face darkened. You're really pushing it…
The two of them returned to the manor for dinner.
With Daphne and Cassandra joining them, the once-quiet Stardust Garden became much livelier. More importantly, it finally shed the suffocating despair that had lingered after the Familia's near-annihilation. That was the benefit of fresh blood.
Even Ryuu, who was usually taciturn, would occasionally join the conversation.
Though the Astraea Familia's strength had greatly diminished, there was a palpable sense of hope—of rising again.
During the meal, Roy concealed the parts about the mysterious cavern and Elf King's Authority, sharing instead the other events he had experienced outside Orario.
Daphne and Cassandra were completely engrossed in Roy's thrilling adventures, their eyes sparkling.
Ryuu ate quietly. Only when Roy mentioned moments where he had been in grave danger did her brows knit slightly.
Goddess Astraea watched them with a gentle smile, like a kind and loving mother gazing upon a happy family.
As he spoke, Roy also observed Goddess Astraea's expression closely.
Sure enough, when he mentioned the "silver-haired, crimson-eyed goddess," a flicker of something unusual passed through her eyes—something Roy keenly caught.
"Lady Goddess," Daphne asked while looking at Astraea, voicing Roy's question for him, "who is that silver-haired, crimson-eyed goddess?"
Ryuu and Cassandra also looked over with curiosity.
A trace of reminiscence surfaced in Goddess Astraea's beautiful eyes as she looked at Roy. "From your description, that goddess should be Hera."
As expected, Roy thought to himself.
Facing everyone's curiosity, Goddess Astraea could only give a brief account of the past.
Ryuu looked surprised. She had come to Orario only five years ago and had never seen Goddess Hera.
Ten years ago, the Hera Familia and the Zeus Familia failed in their attempt to slay the Black Dragon. Their main forces were nearly wiped out.
The weak remnants were eventually driven out of Orario by the combined forces of the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia.
It was, without a doubt, a deeply tragic story.
No wonder she wanted Roy to wipe out the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia. She really dared to ask.
There was no denying that Roy had the potential to grow into "the strongest," but right now he was still a newcomer.
An Lv.2 Roy provoking those two great Familias would probably get him cut down in seconds.
And yet, it wasn't surprising that Hera would do something like that.
After all, Loki's evaluation of her was: "The strongest, most vicious, utterly cruel goddess of destruction."
The next day.
Roy left Stardust Garden and headed for the Guild Headquarters to discuss the expedition with Royman.
As he walked through the streets, the number of eyes on him was even greater than he had expected. As a super rookie who had single-handedly annihilated the remaining members of the Rudra Familia, this level of attention was only natural.
Overnight, the news had spread throughout Orario. Along the way, adventurers and civilians alike looked at Roy with respect.
Thanks to the Ganesha Familia's suggestive publicity, the public had filled in the gaps of the story with their own imagination.
In their version, Roy had infiltrated the Dark Faction remnants alone, enduring countless hardships to rescue trapped civilians before completing his mission. In reality, it was just an excuse to cover for Roy's disappearance from Orario for over half a month—but that didn't stop people from imagining hundreds of episodes' worth of dramatic twists.
Word spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, until countless versions emerged. Some even claimed that Roy had casually wiped out tens of thousands of Dark Faction members with a smile.
Roy almost laughed when he heard it. If he really had that kind of power, he would've already punched the Black Dragon and kicked the two great Familias.
Roy arrived at the Guild Headquarters.
He saw Eina and Misha undergoing newcomer training, supervised by none other than Remmel.
That poor Guild sap—after a series of incidents, the higher-ups had deemed his stress tolerance acceptable and promoted him to "team leader."
"Mr. Roy!"
Eina and Misha noticed him first, delight flashing across their pretty faces.
Roy smiled and greeted them. The two were wearing the Guild's trainee uniforms now, looking quite the part. More importantly, the outfits were well-fitted—sleek and accentuating their figures.
Noticing Roy's gaze, a blush surfaced on Eina's cheeks.
"R-Roy—"
In stark contrast to the girls' reaction, Remmel—who had just taken office and was still trying to project authority in front of the rookies—nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Roy. His glasses even slid crookedly, making him look ridiculous.
Roy smiled. "Long time no see."
"Roy, what are you planning to do this time?" Remmel's voice trembled slightly.
Eina and Misha exchanged curious looks. Team Leader Remmel seemed very afraid of Mr. Roy. That word "again" carried a lot of meaning.
"I'm not here for you today. I'm here for your Guild Master," Roy said with a smile, gesturing toward the second floor.
Remmel didn't dare refuse. He hurried upstairs to call the Guild Master. Every time this walking calamity showed up, people ended up dead sooner or later. Better to pass this hot potato to the Guild Master—his skin was thicker.
Royman didn't seem particularly surprised by Roy's visit. The two entered a meeting room.
Roy placed the Guild document on the table and got straight to the point. "Guild Master Royman, the Astraea Familia has just suffered a major incident and lost many members. Isn't it inappropriate to send us on an expedition now?"
"Hmph!"
Royman snorted. "An exploration-type Familia exists to enter the Dungeon. Everyone does it. What makes you think you're an exception?"
The Guild only assigned expeditions to Familias whose strength it acknowledged. Small Familias couldn't get one even if they wanted to.
"And this assignment was made based on your Familia's strength," Royman added. The implication was clear—he wasn't sending them to the Deep Floors. With the Astraea Familia's current capabilities, reaching the twenty-fourth floor wasn't particularly dangerous.
"That's not how you calculate risk. We have two Lv.1 newcomers. Their mortality risk is extremely high," Roy shook his head. A barrel's capacity was determined by its shortest plank, not the longest.
"We need a postponement—"
"Impossible!"
Royman cut him off decisively.
The meeting room fell into dead silence. After more than ten seconds, Roy smiled—though to Royman, that smile looked unsettling.
Roy stepped forward, draped an arm over Royman's broad shoulders, and lowered his voice.
"Guild Master, the Rudra Familia has already been completely wiped out. The only ones who know about the Juggernaut are us. Are you trying to have us die in the Dungeon, so there's no one left to expose information about the Juggernaut—?"
____________________
If you think this story is fun and interesting and you want to read the next chapter earlier than the daily release, you can visit: patreon.com/dzeref887