She was about to join a powerful Familia!
Just thinking about it made her a little excited.
That was just the kind of person Alise was. The moment she heard that there were other members in the Familia, she became positively thrilled.
Would it be a mature and steady, handsome captain? Or a beautiful and gentle older sister?
Younger siblings would be fine too!
As a beautiful girl of the new era, Alise was quite looking forward to meeting her fellow Familia members. When the time came, she would definitely present her most generous and charming side so that everyone would like and acknowledge her.
"About how many people are there, Lady Astraea?"
In order to leave a good impression on her future companions, Alise decided to gather some information in advance.
"In terms of people, there's only one."
At present, within the Astraea Familia, aside from the chief goddess herself, only Elise and Est remained.
One human, and one sword spirit.
Moreover, Est usually appeared in the form of a sword and had little sense of presence.
In a certain sense, there really was only one "person."
One...
Huh?
That couldn't be right, could it?
The decorations here didn't look like those of a Familia with only one member.
But since it was spoken by this goddess, it shouldn't be false.
What kind of person could she be?
Alise was extremely curious. Someone capable of supporting such a Familia alone had to be a very powerful adventurer.
When the time came, she would definitely ask this senior for plenty of guidance!
After all, people like Alise didn't come to Orario for nothing. Most of them shared the same goal.
To forge their own story. Their own legend.
Was it finally about to begin?
My heroic saga!
The red-haired girl couldn't help thinking so. As for what had happened in the Pleasure Quarter earlier...
Doesn't count, doesn't count!
If that got written into her legend—some red-haired girl tricked into the Pleasure Quarter and almost...
Wouldn't she die of social embarrassment on the spot?
If future generations mentioned the name Alise and the first thing they thought of was the Pleasure Quarter, she'd be finished!
Jingle—
"See? Isn't she back already?"
The goddess pointed behind Alise, a faint mysterious smile on her face, as though she were anticipating Alise's reaction upon seeing the person behind her.
"Ohhh! A mysterious and powerful Familia—who exactly is its member?"
Filled with anticipation, Alise turned around. What entered her sight was a golden figure.
So beautiful!
That was Alise's first reaction.
Is she really human?
That was her second reaction.
And finally...
Damn it!
Doesn't this mean I'm no longer the number one beauty of the Familia?
"Ahhh—!"
Alise let out a wail filled with grief and indignation, causing both the one person and one goddess present to simultaneously sprout question marks over their heads.
"Um... do you have some kind of issue with me?"
It was Elise's first time seeing a living Alise, and she had been a little excited. But that excitement was immediately shattered by the scream.
Hearing Elise speak, Alise quickly shook her head, trying to fling away her negative emotions.
"No, no! With such a beautiful senior in the Familia, how could I possibly have any complaints?"
"It's just that my fantasy ended before it even began..."
The number one beauty of the Familia...
"Is that so...?"
Talking to someone like this seemed like it would be very interesting.
"But it doesn't matter!"
Alise pulled herself together, her eyes shining as she looked at Elise.
"With someone as pretty as you teaching me hand in hand about everything related to being an adventurer, I'm truly too lucky!"
"And over time, as our feelings gradually warm up—from strangers to friends, from friends to lovers, and finally walking together into the hall of marriage..."
"That's enough from you!"
Although this newcomer had a rather... unique personality, with the dual approval of Astraea and Elise, she successfully joined this little family.
With Elise's ability to judge good and evil and Astraea's power to see through the soul, ordinary villains simply could not escape their scrutiny.
Astraea had even promised Elise that if any newcomer wished to join the Familia, they had to gain approval from both of them. It truly elevated Elise's authority to an unimaginable degree.
Though the Familia was small, anyone who passed their judgment would certainly not be ordinary.
At the very least, they would possess the potential to reach Level 5.
Thus, Elise also proposed the future development direction of the Familia to Astraea.
The Astraea Familia would not follow the conventional path of a typical Familia. Instead, they would pursue an elite route.
In the original story, the Astraea Familia had followed this same approach. Unless they encountered monsters far beyond their level, ordinary adventurers simply could not match them.
And now, the Astraea Familia had once again chosen this path. It seemed that the world line did have a tendency to converge.
Thus, under Elise's witness, Astraea engraved the divine blessing upon Alise's back. In that moment, she officially became an adventurer.
"That's great! In that case, I'm the second member of the Familia!" The red-haired girl laughed with her hands on her hips, even flashing a peace sign for good measure.
Astraea and Elise looked at each other and almost simultaneously burst into laughter.
"No, you're the third."
A soft, childish voice echoed through the room, instantly drawing Alise's attention.
A girl with long white hair... or perhaps it would be more accurate to call her a little child?
In short, a small loli stepped out from a glow of white light, staring unhappily at Alise.
"Even if Est rarely comes out, she is still a member of this Familia. She is Sister's little sister. And you..."
"You tried to steal Est's position!"
"Bad person!"
It had to be said that with that soft childish voice and that expression, Est saying "bad person" was devastatingly effective.
Facing Est's childlike form, Alise seemed to want to offer some explanation.
"Bad person!"
Another direct hit. The battleship Alise was completely sunk.
...
Pleasure Quarter, Ishtar Familia residence.
"Where did our people go? Why hasn't a single one of them come back?"
Ishtar spoke with a hint of interrogation in her tone as she looked at the Amazons below.
If looks could kill, the Amazons felt as though they would already have been devoured alive by Ishtar.
"It is said they discovered a new target and brought people to capture her. Perhaps they encountered some difficulty during the attempt..."
One Amazon replied in a trembling voice.
"Of course I know that!"
"But how could so many people disappear at the same time?"
"It's not as if they ran into a top-tier faction. Even if they couldn't win, at least one or two should have escaped. How is it that not a single one has returned?"
Ishtar slammed her fist onto the table in fury. There had been dozens sent out for this operation, including quite a few Level 2 adventurers. If they were truly gone, it would be a tremendous blow to the Familia.
"Don't let me find out who did this!"
"Otherwise, I'll make sure you know no peace!"
In places others did not know about, Elise had truly done quite a few things.