The Astraea Familia base, the Stardust Garden.
In the bright reception hall, the pale-faced girls, their wounds still healing, each enjoyed the warm, quiet routine of the day.
Some sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows, quietly admiring the snow drifting outside; some sprawled cross-legged on the soft carpet, soaking in the warmth of the hearth as they played a casual game of cards with their companions. And there were Kaguya and Aira, wiping down their beloved blades and maintaining their gear.
But aside from these lightly wounded members, who'd returned to the surface with nothing worse than some lingering weakness, the most "pitiful" of the lot was the companion with her arm and chest wrapped in bandages, being patiently fed medicine one spoonful at a time by an older sister of the familia, her whole face scrunched up at the bitterness.
"Ugh... so bitter!"
"It can't be helped, Celty. Unless you want to spend a week hospitalized over at Airmid's, then if you're treating yourself here at the base, you'd best be a good girl and listen to your healer."
"Aah, you're nagging. I know, I know, I'll drink it, all right..."
Celty scrunched up her little face as she downed the thick, black, foul-tasting mystery brew, grumbling all the while.
"Ugh, what rotten luck. I'm a rearguard mage, you know. I made a point of staying as far back as I could during the fight, and somehow I still ended up hurt worse than the vanguard... There's nothing mage-like about this at all!"
Neze, the werewolf seated on the carpet, laughed and tossed down a bad hand of cards, beaming as she joined in.
"Can't be helped. Whose fault is it that you mages spend all day training your magic and never your bodies? If your reflexes had been just a touch quicker, you wouldn't have caught Amphisbaena's tail."
"How many times has everyone told you lot to work on your bodies in your spare time? But no, you wouldn't listen. See how useful it is now!"
"..."
Speaking of mages, the image of that figure weaving like a dragon through the Monster Rex battle flashed through Neze's mind, and she clicked her tongue.
"Compared to most of Orario's frail little mages, that guy from the Demeter Familia is a total freak. He's got that absurd, off-the-charts burst firepower, and yet when he's going toe-to-toe with a Monster Rex, he's tougher than me, a vanguard... God only knows how high his Endurance stat actually is."
Recalling how Leon had tanked Amphisbaena's dragon charge with his staff, Neze shivered.
"Ridiculous..."
The moment that "freak" Leon came up, he drew the attention of nearly everyone present, and they all launched into chattering discussion.
"Right, right, right, that guy's supposed to be a mage, but his physical stats completely blow our vanguard out of the water. If I didn't know better, I'd have taken him for a dwarf great warrior!"
"He doesn't even look like he's got much muscle on him. No idea where that terrifying physique comes from."
"Never mind him. Besides him, isn't everyone else in the Demeter Familia just as ridiculous? That Miss Jeanne and Miss Rose... they could take a twin-headed dragon's attack head-on too, and their levels are supposedly about the same as ours..." While they discussed it eagerly, Alise hadn't joined in.
Right now she was leisurely reading the latest issue of the Orario Daily, the one that came out after the Denatus.
The goddess Astraea sat elegantly on the sofa, and noticing that Alise hadn't joined the conversation, she rose with mild curiosity, walked up behind her, and leaned in slightly.
"Alise? What are you reading?"
The red-haired girl didn't answer the goddess's question. Instead, as if she'd seen something unbelievable, her eyes widened a touch, and she read out the contents of the paper word by word.
"The latest Denatus has concluded, and the Guild has registered the freshly minted List of High-Class Adventurers..."
"Shadow of Sorcery, Leon Hart, Level: Lv. 2, Affiliation: Demeter Familia..."
"Sha-dow of Sor-cery?"
"Le-vel 2?"
"Pfft...!!!"
Hearing the words coming out of her own mouth, Alise, who'd been drinking water, lost it, and the whole mouthful sprayed all over Ryuu in front of her, turning the little elf bright red on the spot.
"A-li-se!!!!!!!!!"
"Sorry, sorry, I did it on purpose by accident, I just couldn't hold it together! Because it's just too funny... Hahahaha!"
"I'm, I'm dying of laughter... Leon Hart, Level... Lv. 2... Hahahahaha!"
"Pffthahaha!"
"Kaguya! Lyra! Come look, quick! This is just too funny!"
"The Guild actually reported that Leon is Lv. 2? Th-this... it's the joke of the year in Orario! Look at this picture, Royman reading it out all dead serious, I can't take it, it's too hilarious."
The goddess Astraea's gentle smile froze, and a tic surfaced on her forehead.
Kaguya, Lyra, and Ryuu, who still had bits of tea leaves on her face, exchanged glances among the three of them.
The others who'd been discussing the Demeter squad fell silent too, watching Alise clutch her stomach in fits of laughter, opening their mouths... looking like they wanted to say something but held back, feeling that this report was a little... well, hard to put into words.
Alise's infectious laughter quickly spread through the reception hall, and the other companions couldn't help laughing along.
But as they laughed, the expressions on their faces gradually froze.
Neze smacked her lips, her fluffy tail thrashing wildly behind her. She tilted her head, eyes wide and innocent.
"Um... going by the strength they showed, everyone's kind of just been assuming they aren't Lv. 2..."
"Then let me ask you, let me ask you!"
"What level are they?" The cheerful mood in the reception hall came to a dead stop with her question, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and even the goddess Astraea sank into thought.
Something's off...
Could it be that Demeter's bunch... is pulling the same trick Hermes does, hoodwinking everyone from the top down?
Ryuu leaned blankly against the wall, head bowed, murmuring softly to herself as if trying to recall something.
"I remember... when everyone first met them, didn't we take them for Lv. 2? (When in fact they were still Lv. 1 during the Goliath battle.)" With a click, Kaguya sheathed her freshly maintained blade, rose to her feet, and stretched.
She narrowed her eyes, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, and chuckled.
"Now that I really think about it, that crowd from the Demeter Familia... they're quite the anomaly, aren't they?"
"Heh heh... this business is a good reminder, actually. The waters of Orario run a fair bit deeper than they look."
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