Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"You chose this moment to stir up trouble, huh."

Loki's eyes gleamed with a cold light as she stood on the second floor of the teahouse, watching the three giant flowers that had emerged out of nowhere in the distance. As a god, her sharp vision easily discerned what was happening over there.

"You lustful woman, this wasn't your doing, was it?"

"I don't like involving ordinary children."

"Hmph, thought so."

Freya denied it casually, and Loki believed her without hesitation.

Freya had never been the type to pull something like this. At most, she'd assign little tasks to children she was interested in and watch them from the sidelines like a lovesick fool. But dragging regular kids from Genkai into something like this? That wasn't her style. So who else would crash the annual "Monsterphilia" like this? Loki already had a good idea.

"Those rats actually dared to show themselves after the Ishtar incident? Do they really think Ouranos at the Guild is just some soft-hearted pushover?"

Loki sneered inwardly. The god seated deep within the Guild wasn't one to be trifled with. The Guild clearly had powers unknown to most—how else would they have uncovered intel and clues from the Dungeon in the first place?

The relationship between the Guild and the Dungeon always felt a little... ambiguous.

"Ouranos-sama probably wouldn't act just because of this. He's been sitting in the Guild for ages. If he were the type to move easily, the Dungeon might have collapsed long ago. I think the main reason those rats dared to come out is that our deterrence just doesn't measure up to what Zeus and Hera had."

That might be one reason. No, maybe that was the biggest reason.

Back when the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia were still around, those sewer-dwelling rats never even thought about surfacing. But ever since Zeus and Hera's Familias were nearly wiped out trying to defeat the Black Dragon and then driven out of Orario, those rats had started crawling out.

The message was clear.

Didn't that just prove how far today's twin rulers of Orario fell short of Zeus and Hera's former intimidation?

Loki couldn't deny it. After all, the Zeus and Hera Familias were absurdly strong back then. Level 6 adventurers were everywhere, Level 7s were the norm, and even Level 8 and Level 9 adventurers were pillars of their Familia. With that kind of power, any sane organization would've stayed hidden.

But after Zeus and Hera were ousted from Orario, everything changed. The Evilus, those rats lurking in the sewers, began to stir.

That was the truth, and Loki wasn't about to deny it.

She could defer to other gods if needed, but she'd never deny reality. Even as an "evil" goddess, she hadn't sunk low enough to lie to herself.

Freya's gaze stayed locked on the giant flowers. Before long, three figures appeared—children. A closer look made Freya raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Loki, looks like your kids went over there."

"What!?"

Loki immediately looked toward the flowers. Sure enough, she spotted three familiar figures. They were still some distance away, but divine insight didn't vanish just because their powers were sealed.

"Weren't Ais and the others supposed to be attending 'Monsterphilia' with Lefiya today? What are they doing there?"

"Probably Ganesha calling for help. You know how he is."

"Ah…"

Loki groaned and covered her face. Freya had a point. This kind of thing wouldn't happen with most gods, but with Ganesha—the one so fixated on maintaining Orario's order—it was absolutely something he'd do.

"That idiot would totally do something like that."

She let out a helpless sigh but didn't feel the urge to rush over. With Ais and the Amazon twins Tiona and Tione there, they could definitely handle a few monsters. The three of them together wouldn't lose to something like this.

Leaning on the railing, Loki glanced down at the street below. The road that had just been packed with people was now eerily empty. Clearly, the rumbling had drawn everyone's attention.

They were just too close, and the flowers were too tall—anyone hearing that sound would naturally look in that direction.

Freya had no intention of stepping in either. She didn't care about the Evilus. But if they dared get in her way, she'd wipe them out without hesitation.

Freya watched the commotion caused by the giant flowers, bored out of her mind.

"Hestia should be attending 'Monsterphilia' today too, right?"

"…Well, knowing that little glutton, she probably couldn't resist. But with how cautious that kid is, even if she's out and about, she's definitely keeping her location hidden."

Loki almost said, "Just give it up already."

But Freya clearly wasn't concerned about that.

"If Hestia is outside, don't you think that child would've noticed the situation in Orario by now?"

'No way he wouldn't.' Loki subconsciously added the thought.

Even though she'd only met that kid a few times, she'd taken several losses in those brief encounters. That was enough for Loki to be absolutely sure—there's no way he missed the monster incident.

Freya scanned the area with interest, then fixed her gaze on one particular spot.

"There's only one place around here with a clear view of everything."

"Ottar, send over a bottle of wine and invite Hestia for a chat."

"Yes."

Ottar gave a slight bow and headed down the stairs.

Loki stared at Freya, speechless.

"How can you be so sure the shorty's over there? And you're sending Ottar to invite her? You really think that kid won't leave before he even gets there?"

Given how the shorty had been avoiding Freya lately, Loki couldn't imagine her sticking around long enough to come face-to-face with her.

Freya only smiled in response.

By then, Ottar had already come back upstairs with the wine. Loki noticed a slip of paper attached to the bottle. It read, "A sincere invitation for Hestia-sama to come for a chat."

"Freya-sama, it's ready."

"Good, send it over."

"Yes."

Ottar stepped up to the edge of the railing, raised the bottle high above his head, tensed his muscles, and with perfect form, hurled it toward the designated spot.