Just like Ryuu, Astrea also felt this was all entirely too much of a coincidence.
Both were captains of Familias presiding over Justice, both possessed powerful fire-attribute enchantment magic, both wielded longswords as weapons, and both shone brilliantly in combat, defeating opponents who were theoretically far stronger than themselves.
The moment she saw Aiden, she couldn't help but think of her child who was as dazzling as the sun—Alise.
Although their personalities were completely different, and even their genders were not the same, anyone who knew the deeds of both would subconsciously overlay their silhouettes.
"Astrea, your return to Orario this time couldn't possibly be just to catch up with me, right?"
Suddenly, the liveliness and goofiness on Furina's face quietly faded away, replaced by a sense of elegance and composure.
Her posture became dignified, her eyes profound. Gently picking up her teacup, she took an elegant sip.
Her entire aura underwent an earth-shattering transformation, as if she had instantly switched accounts.
This scene left Cecil and the others, who didn't understand the situation, completely dumbfounded.
They found it hard to imagine how a person could completely turn into someone else in the blink of an eye.
"Focalors, it's been a while."
Astrea, however, wasn't surprised at all by this, merely smiling faintly. "Why couldn't it be a special trip just to see you?"
"I know you, Astrea."
Focalors set down her teacup, her voice steady and calm. "Since you chose to leave for the sake of that child, you would absolutely never return lightly until her mental knot was untied. After all, if she knew you came back, it would trouble her greatly, wouldn't it?"
"Sigh... I really can't hide anything from you."
Astrea let out a helpless sigh, abandoning any pretense. "I do have a reason why I must return. I have to come back and investigate a few things. During this time, I hope you can help me. Of course, if it's inconvenient, then forget it."
"What's there to be inconvenient about?"
Focalors chuckled lightly. "The Palais Mermonia is very large, and our Familia doesn't have many people right now. There's more than enough room for you to stay. However, whether we can help you or not depends on my Captain."
Saying this, she turned her gaze toward Aiden.
Astrea also revealed a look of surprise and looked toward him as well.
She never expected that the decision-maker of the Focalors Familia wasn't Focalors herself.
If it were Furina's lively and unreliable personality, she wouldn't have been surprised. But it seemed that even the calm and rational Focalors listened to Aiden's opinions.
This made her even more curious about the white-haired boy before her.
"Of course, no problem."
Aiden smiled, agreeing without hesitation. "There are plenty of rooms. Lady Astrea and your Familia can stay as long as you like."
Are you kidding? Astrea was Furina's good friend. Of course, he wouldn't turn her away.
Furthermore, this Goddess of Justice had a terrifyingly vast network of connections in Orario. Building a good relationship with her only had benefits and no drawbacks.
And the Palais Mermonia was indeed huge.
When building it, Aiden had thrown in all the money from liquidating the Apollo Familia's entire estate, precisely so it wouldn't feel crowded when the Familia expanded in the future.
Now, adding Goddess Astrea and her four Familia members was only five extra people. It was a piece of cake.
"Thank you, I'm really causing you so much trouble."
Receiving a positive answer, Astrea pressed a hand to her chest and thanked him sincerely.
At this moment, the blue-haired girl, Cecil, who had been listening quietly, stood up. Giving Aiden a slight bow, she introduced herself earnestly: "Hello, I am Cecil, the current Captain of the Astrea Familia. I am a blacksmith. We will be imposing on you for a while. Also, if you don't mind, I can forge weapons for you."
Having a strong sense of pride, Cecil didn't want to just eat and live for free at the Focalors Familia, so it was only natural for her to want to do whatever was in her power to earn her keep.
"That would be absolutely wonderful."
Aiden's eyes lit up. This was exactly what they needed right now.
Their Familia's weapons and armor were basically all standard products bought from the Hephaestus Familia's shops. They didn't have an exclusive blacksmith at all.
Those pieces of equipment couldn't be tailor-made for them, which limited the full display of their strength to a certain extent.
Now that they had a blacksmith—and the Captain of the Astrea Familia, no less—she would be entirely capable of forging exclusive armaments tailor-made for their differing circumstances.
"Perfect timing. When we built the headquarters, we specifically constructed a forging room just in case, but it's been empty and unused this whole time."
Robin stood up at the right moment, smiling at Cecil and the others. "Miss Cecil came at the perfect time. How about I take you to see it?"
Being highly intelligent, she naturally saw that the upcoming conversation might involve hidden secrets not suitable for Cecil and the others to hear, so she took the opportunity to lead them away.
"Iselina, you all go along as well."
Astrea understood immediately and looked at her other members, telling them to follow along.
The moment Cecil heard there was a ready-made forging room, her eyes began to sparkle; she had been itching to see it.
The other members were also full of curiosity about this magnificent palace.
Having received permission from their patron deity, it was exactly what they wanted. They immediately followed Robin out of the living room with excitement.
Instantly, the living room became much quieter. Only Astrea, Focalors, and Aiden remained. A serious and delicate atmosphere permeated the air.
"You might not believe this if I say it, Focalors..."
Astrea took a deep breath, as if making a tremendous resolution, and revealed a secret that could shock all of Orario. "A child of mine who returned to Heaven long ago... her Falna has reappeared in the lower world. Right inside the Dungeon."
She anticipated that Focalors and Aiden would be shocked, that they would question it, or even think she was joking.
But to her surprise, their reactions were unbelievably calm.
Focalors merely raised an eyebrow slightly, and Aiden calmly picked up his teacup, as if listening to an ordinary, trivial matter.
This left Astrea completely dumbfounded. She blinked her beautiful blue eyes, the word bewildered written all over her face.
"You... aren't you surprised? Why don't you have any reaction at all?" Astrea couldn't help but ask.
"I'll explain."
Aiden set down his teacup, looking at Astrea's somewhat adorably dumbfounded expression, and said calmly, "Lady Astrea, the person you are referring to should be your former Familia Captain, the 'Crimson Flower of Justice', Alise Lovell, correct?"
"You... how could you possibly know?!"
Astrea's eyes widened completely, nearly losing her divine elegance.
"Truth be told," Aiden's tone remained calm, but he dropped an even heavier bombshell. "I have already met her. Furthermore, I personally witnessed her 'resurrection'. In fact... I even fought her."
Saying this, Aiden subconsciously touched his chest.
Back then, he had been solidly stabbed by Alise in that exact spot. The icy touch of the blade was still fresh in his memory.
"What exactly is going on? Please tell me everything in detail."
Astrea instantly packed away all her surprise, her expression becoming more serious than ever before.
"It happened like this..."
Next, Aiden gave Astrea a full, detailed account of how they encountered the red-haired girl suspected to be Alise in the deep floors of the Dungeon not too long ago, as well as that brief but intense battle.
As Aiden explained, Astrea's expression constantly shifted between solemnity, sorrow, and a barely detectable glimmer of hope.
"If that's the case, then that body is indeed Alise's body, restored by the Dungeon in some way."
Astrea muttered softly, her voice trembling. "A Falna cannot be faked. My divine blood flows within that body."
She picked up her black tea and took a large gulp, as if trying to suppress the tempest raging in her heart, before continuing: "As for the more specific details, I need to see her in person to finally confirm it. Flamescion... I have a request. I wonder if you would be willing to accept it?"
Astrea looked up, her burning gaze locking onto Aiden. Her eyes were serious to the absolute extreme.
"Oh? A request?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Please speak, Lady Astrea."
"I want to ask your Focalors Familia to escort me into the Dungeon to find Alise."
Astrea placed a hand on her chest, her tone solemn and earnest. "I want to confirm her condition with my own eyes."
----
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations