Freya Familia, as Orario's strongest force, cannot act lightly. They must serve as the final safeguard against Evilus.
As for Hephaestus Familia, being a production-based familia, they have only a single Captain with real combat capability. So they, too, are unsuitable for the final operation. However, Hephaestus's Captain can still participate as part of the final safety net against Evilus.
Having a Lv.7 and a Lv.6 as Orario's insurance was not extravagant at all. In fact, the gods present largely agreed with the arrangement Ganesha and the others had reached.
Freya Familia's members were all extremely powerful, but their internal competition was absurdly intense. Every one of them had issues with the others trying to monopolize Freya's attention, making coordinated action unusually difficult.
Evilus was already preparing within the Dungeon; defeating them was not something that could be handled by a lone adventurer. Involving Freya Familia would indeed be unsuitable.
Hephaestus Familia even more so. They were not an exploration familia but a production one. Sending a production familia to the front lines simply didn't make sense.
So naturally, Loki Familia would be the one to lead the charge.
This result wasn't surprising.
All the gods present had already expected the final operation to fall to either Loki or Freya. Only those two had the power to take on Evilus.
"So it's Loki after all."
"Well, obviously. In all of Orario, only Loki has that kind of strength. Anyone could have guessed it."
The gods' gazes fell toward Loki, seated beside Freya.
At that moment, Loki's nose was practically pointed at the sky.
It couldn't be helped—only she and Freya were capable of resolving the crisis looming over Orario.
Only Hestia, who never got along with her, muttered quietly from the back row.
"Tch. What's so impressive about that?
If not for my Bell, let's see if your kids could even make it in."
Of course, the second half stayed in Hestia's heart. She would never drag Bell down when he needed to stay hidden.
It didn't matter whether the other gods knew. As long as she did, that was enough.
"Alright, Hestia. Let Loki enjoy herself for once. Let her have it."
Hephaestus looked at Loki—still wearing an utterly smug expression—with a trace of sympathy.
Ever since Hestia descended, Loki's chances to feel proud had become extremely rare. Especially after Hestia began making deals with her, any trace of smugness on her face had nearly disappeared.
In the past, it was the trades where Loki got ruthlessly gouged. Now, even at home, watching Hestia and Bell interact made her sour–no wonder Hephaestus felt bad for her.
To Hephaestus, Loki was simply unlucky; whenever Loki touched anything related to Hestia, something inevitably went wrong.
Back then, Loki had been nothing more than a harmless troublemaker.
But ever since she'd fallen for Bell, her transformation was so drastic that even Hephaestus sometimes wondered if Loki had lost her mind.
But precisely because she liked Bell, Loki was destined to be suppressed by Hestia for the rest of her life.
Thinking of Loki's near-flat figure, Hephaestus couldn't help but laugh.
'No wonder she can only ever be the smaller one.'
Hestia's mood gradually settled. Her earlier irritation came solely from not wanting to see Loki act smug.
Hephaestus then turned to the god seated on her other side.
"Artemis, are you sure everything is fine on that end?"
The one sitting beside her was Artemis, who had recently taken up long-term residence within Hestia Familia.
The fact that Artemis was living with Hestia Familia was a secret known only within Orario. To outsiders, she appeared to be temporarily staying with Hephaestus Familia.
All of them understood what this Denatus was really about. Artemis actually didn't need to show up—but she chose to come anyway.
"Mhm. There's no need to worry."
Artemis naturally understood that Hephaestus was referring to the other version of herself—an embarrassing thing to talk about openly.
"That child spoke with her already. She won't suddenly jump out today."
"I see."
So that was why Artemis dared to attend the Denatus—someone had given advance notice over there.
"Still, even so, you didn't actually need to come out."
From Hephaestus's perspective, Artemis could have stayed home. There was no need to appear at this particular Denatus.
"No. My presence is still necessary."
Artemis shook her head slightly. She knew perfectly well she could have stayed inside, but there were things she needed to prepare for.
She was the child's final safeguard.
Only if she appeared before the gods herself would they not mistake the other her—the one who would intervene in a crisis—for Artemis.
While Artemis felt that child would never act in a way that required such measures, she still believed some insurance was necessary.
After all, one could never speak with absolute certainty about some matters.
But Artemis stopped speaking there.
She knew she was in public—she couldn't speak freely like she did at home, blurting out anything she wanted.
Hephaestus noticed Artemis go quiet and understood why. She didn't press further and instead shifted her attention back to Ganesha on the podium.
...
At that moment, the Loki Familia strike team was already assembled at the dungeon entrance.
"Hermes."
Ganesha called him directly; the next part was his responsibility.
"Understood."
Hermes stood, then called out toward the sky.
"Ouranos, begin the full public broadcast for all of Orario. I'll need divine power."
Immediately, an ancient voice echoed from above.
"Permission."
The seals binding Hermes loosened, allowing him to wield large-scale divine power.
Across Orario's taverns, Daedalus Street, and even the sky, massive projection screens materialized. They displayed the entrance to the dungeon.
At the same time, Hermes's voice filled every screen.
"We will now begin the public broadcast of the campaign to eliminate the Evilus hiding in the depths of the dungeon!"