Several days had passed since the Guild meeting, and the Astraea Familia continued to develop in an orderly fashion.
However, this so-called development was completely different from before.
More people wanted to join the Astraea Familia, and more merchants wanted to do business with them.
All of this was because of what Elise had done at that meeting—something beyond anyone's imagination.
With the strength of a Level 4, she had effortlessly defeated a Level 6. Previously, the Astraea Familia had been vaguely suppressed by the Ganesha Familia, but now, in the eyes of outsiders, they were no weaker than the Loki Familia—perhaps even capable of standing alongside the Freya Familia.
If Elise could so easily deal with a single Level 6, then handling three probably wouldn't be a problem either, right?
As for the Freya Familia, although Allen had been defeated, Ottar had not. No one had truly witnessed the full strength of a Level 7 adventurer, but judging from Ottar's attitude that day, there was reasonable cause to believe that Elise was already capable of fighting him!
Because of this, the situation in Orario had been constantly shifting over the past few days. Even the current "two great pillars" of Orario had turned into a three-way balance.
However, despite the large number of people wanting to join the Astraea Familia, not a single one had actually been accepted.
That couldn't be helped.
First, the Astraea Familia followed an elite route. Every member possessed some kind of special talent, even if they themselves hadn't realized it.
Second, the goddess Astraea was a goddess of purity—this was part of her very divine authority. Only pure women could join her Familia. Men need not even think about it. If any member intended to marry, she would have to leave the Familia.
Finally, there was the dual approval of both the goddess and the captain—this was the most difficult requirement of the three.
Because of these three conditions, the threshold for joining the Astraea Familia was extraordinarily high. Many people gave up after trying several times, though some still refused to quit.
After all, this was Orario's newly risen strongest Familia! Even if it hadn't fully matured yet, it was already comparable to the Freya Familia. Its future achievements would undoubtedly surpass all others!
Moreover, their Familia was dealing in Stigmata, completely monopolizing that industry. Their wealth was even more outrageous than those forging-type Familias!
Being surrounded by people all day wasn't a solution, so after discussing with Astraea, Elise released an announcement: the Astraea Familia would not be recruiting new members for the time being.
Only then did the outside commotion settle down.
"Sigh..."
Elise let out a soft sigh. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted to step onto the world stage so quickly.
There were simply too many troubles!
But now that she had already stepped onto that stage, regret was no longer an option. What needed to be done still had to be done.
Like now—holding a letter sent by someone, Elise was heading toward a certain special establishment.
...
The Hostess of Fertility.
This was a large tavern built along the street, its overall decoration looking clean and fresh, as if it had only recently been completed.
Although a "Closed" sign hung at the entrance, the sounds coming from inside indicated that people were present. Perhaps the staff were preparing for the opening?
"This is the location mentioned in the letter... Seeing it now is quite surprising. Has this place been established this much earlier than in the original story?"
Elise was well aware that the world she now inhabited had already diverged greatly from the original.
Because of her existence—the butterfly effect—Ottar had leveled up years earlier than in the original, and the same was true for the Loki Familia.
These were changes Elise could not have predicted, which made her much more cautious in how she acted. After all, "unexpected events" could bring endless trouble.
While knowledge from the original could allow her to predict certain things, once an anomaly occurred, that entire chain of information would collapse.
So Elise only treated the original story as a reference—she would no longer trust it completely.
"Let me see what exactly you want with me..."
Elise gently knocked on the tavern's wooden door.
Bang!
A loud noise suddenly came from inside the tavern, as if something had fallen to the ground.
With her keen perception, Elise could tell it was a girl rushing toward the door at high speed. However, as she passed by a table, she seemed to hit its corner—and then tripped and fell.
"Why does this person feel so... familiar?"
For some reason, Elise had a strange sense of familiarity.
"Coming, coming!"
After patting the arm she had bumped, the girl hurriedly opened the door.
"It really is you! Please, come in!"
Upon seeing who stood outside, the girl revealed a delighted expression and opened the door wide, stepping aside to let Elise enter.
As Elise followed her inside, she also observed the girl's appearance...
The girl had gray, shoulder-length hair and wore a green waitress uniform with a white apron over it.
In Orario, this was an extremely ordinary outfit—almost all tavern staff dressed similarly.
But Elise knew very well that even if the clothes were ordinary, the person wearing them was anything but!
"Hehe! Can you guess who I am? If you guess right, I'll give you a reward!"
The girl made no effort to hide her thoughts, allowing Elise's perception to sweep over her again and again.
Although the feeling of being observed wasn't very obvious, a mysterious blush still spread across the girl's face.
"Do you really have to go this far, Lady Freya..."
Elise let out a sigh. The identity of the person before her was far too obvious—there was no need to guess.
"Eh! You're amazing!"
The girl covered her mouth halfway, as if trying to appear surprised, but the smile in her eyes completely betrayed her.
Elise could tell that Freya was genuinely very happy right now.
"Then as your reward, I'll give you a lifelong sentence—with me as your wife!"
In her girl's guise, Freya pointed at Elise, her eyes gleaming.
"Lady Freya, we're both women... A 'wife' should refer to a relationship between a man and a woman, shouldn't it?"
Elise rubbed her forehead helplessly. She had long known Freya harbored improper intentions, but this was going a bit too far.
In the original story, Freya did have some interest in women, but compared to men, it was nothing in comparison.
"Eh? What did you just say?"
"That a married couple is between a man and a woman. If both are women, then they can't become a married couple."
"Not that line—the one before that!" Freya revealed a mysterious smile. "What did you say we both are?"
"We are both... women?"
"That's the one!"
At that moment, the atmosphere in the tavern changed. Elise also realized that things had taken a turn for the worse.