Ryuu followed Aki to the Hestia Familia's temporary base.
This time, Ryuu even used the "dogeza" posture she hadn't used last time—helping Cid "re-experience" a bit of hometown etiquette.
"I'm truly, deeply sorry!"
"Why are you apologizing? What did you do, Ryuu?" 1pgg1
Cid and Hestia were both completely confused, so Aki explained from the side.
"Cid—Ryuu really did something awful this time, so you have to punish her. Here's what happened…"
After Aki's explanation, Cid finally understood.
Ryuu had sold his information for the sake of civilian safety. In exchange, the evil god and the Overlord had—according to the deal—stopped further destruction in Orario. 1pgg1
To Cid himself, it wasn't a big deal.
If they were willing to come to him, it actually saved him the trouble of tracking them down.
But for "background-character Cid"… being targeted by an evil god and Overlords was, objectively, a dangerous situation.
"No problem. I'll hide. People that powerful won't have much time to chase me around." 1pgg1
Cid said it with a smile—completely unbothered.
That only made Aki admire him more, and made Ryuu feel even guiltier.
Honestly, for Cid this might even be a good thing:
If he had to "avoid the Overlords," then he no longer needed to keep moving in public as "Cid." He could just operate as Shadow.
"Hey, useless elf—how could you do something that stupid?!" 1pgg1
Cid was easygoing.
Hestia was not.
Bluntly speaking, Ryuu had just sold out a teammate.
Hestia understood Ryuu had thought it through.
With war imminent, everyone knew time was limited on both sides.
This wasn't some gentleman's agreement—neither Orario nor the dark faction could afford a prolonged conflict.
For Orario, the two Overlords were a sword hanging overhead. If they didn't resolve them quickly, there could be no peace.
Given how strong and mobile those two were, if they ran decapitation strikes and retreated before being surrounded, they could—without undue risk—wipe out Orario's first-class adventurers in at most half a month.
Once that happened, Orario would be leaderless, and collapse would be inevitable.
Meanwhile the dark faction's lifeline was also exposed: the entrance to Knossos (the artificial labyrinth).
Orario hadn't found how to open the door yet. "万能者" and "贤者" didn't have the time or bandwidth to study curses. 1pgg1
Rumor said Asfi was already complaining she hadn't slept for seventy hours straight.
No one could pile more onto her.
Even so, with current conditions they could still locate where the door was.
And once they did, the estimate was grim: Knossos had enormous internal space, high risk of getting lost, and it was enemy territory—so they couldn't just storm it.
Finn's order was therefore: interfere with enemy logistics and continuously compress their living space.
With supplies already scarce, being disrupted like that meant the dark faction's situation was predictably miserable.
Orario's supply pressure was already severe; even basic rations for anyone below first-class adventurer couldn't be guaranteed.
If Orario was suffering like this, the dark faction would be worse—basically starving. 1pgg1
Ryuu knew all of that. She likely believed that under these constraints, the "Greatest Evil" had no time to seriously pursue Cid.
And after the war:
If Orario won, problem solved.
If the dark faction won, Cid would be crushed along with everyone else.
Besides, Ryuu had only given Cid's name, nothing more.
So yes, it was selling out a teammate—but it probably wouldn't cause catastrophic consequences.
Still—
Hestia's point wasn't about tactical calculus.
"But if you 'act cute' like this, maybe it's fine today—but if Cid gets hurt later, won't you fall apart? Companions are supposed to support each other!" 1pgg1
Hestia's face went dark and she gave Ryuu a sharp flick to the head.
Had Astraea protected her Familia too much?
How could a Level 3 adventurer still be this dependent?
"…It's my fault, Lady Hestia." 1pgg1
Ryuu didn't argue, but her mind flashed to Cid's injuries.
In front of a Level 7 Overlord, Cid had lived—"only" with severe wounds.
Did she really need to worry about him dying later?
And why did even Lady Hestia know the nickname "useless elf"?
Cid never used it.
Who told her?
Ryuu's mind immediately produced Arishe's face. 1pgg1
"Were you thinking 'Cid won't get hurt anyway'?" 1pgg1
Hestia caught that look.
Ryuu's mouth was apologizing, her heart was guilty—but that gaze didn't look like repentance at all.
Under Hestia's stare, Ryuu guiltily looked away.
"Cid, punish her properly. This useless elf needs a real lesson!" 1pgg1
"Punishment later. Did those two just leave like that?" Cid asked, calculating timing.
Given the current pace, Alfia shouldn't be fully adjusted yet.
And it didn't sound like she was hunting him specifically.
"Yes. They seemed to head to Loki Familia's territory. We sent someone to pass on the news, but they probably won't make it in time." 1pgg1
"Loki Familia… one question: was that woman's eyes open?" 1pgg1
"Yes. Why?" 1pgg1
That was a big problem.
It meant her condition had improved a lot—at minimum, she had the spare capacity to keep her eyes open.
Loki Familia was in trouble.
Or more specifically—
the Braver was in trouble.
Of Loki Familia's "three greats," he was the only one not already injured.
And if Finn was badly wounded, could he still command the war?
Command isn't just brainwork—it drains you in every way.
Cid's first thought was Raul.
His good friend was one of Loki Familia's key trainees.
Then Cid suddenly remembered what Riveria had told him before. 1pgg1
"…No—this is bad!" 1pgg1
Finn, the commander, was battered from head to toe, coughing intermittently.
"Captain, here—medicine." 1pgg1
Raul, frantic, had searched for ages to find just two bottles of healing potion.
"Cough cough! Use it sparingly. One drop is enough." 1pgg1
"One… drop?" Raul's brain short-circuited.
What could a single drop even do—placebo?
But orders were orders.
After Raul dripped a single drop, Finn stopped coughing and his complexion visibly improved.
That was Loki Familia's captain: absurd vitality. 1pgg1
Raul admired him even more.
Still, even the Braver had been forced back by an Overlord.
"Strange… Alfia's condition seems much better. And since when did she become so gentle?" Finn frowned. 1pgg1
With her current state, she still hadn't beaten him into total immobility.
It didn't make sense.
But there was no time to solve that now.
"Raul. Go bring Cid. I need his help." 1pgg1
"C-Cid?" 1pgg1
"Yes. My head's a mess. Get him here and let him help me think." 1pgg1
"Yes, Captain!" 1pgg1
Raul accepted the order with burning envy for his buddy.
His best friend was about to become—
Orario's deputy commander.
....
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