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Chapter 62: Sharing (Communis)
Having finished his conversation with Ouranos, Tsuna returned to the church.
"I'm home!!"
"Welcome home… W-What happened?"
Tsuna was watching the church. Then, Hestia and Bell returned from the Banquet of the Gods. However, the moment Hestia walked through the door, she looked visibly enraged. Tsuna hesitantly asked what had happened.
"You were right, Tsunayoshi. The brawl at the pub yesterday wasn't an accident. It was a trap set up by Apollo. It was all a scheme to get his hands on Bell."
"W-What do you mean!?"
"They falsely claimed that their Familia members had been critically injured, and demanded Bell as compensation for the damages. Naturally, I refused, but that bastard Apollo immediately challenged us to a War Game."
"A War Game… That's a duel between Familias where you bet a reward, right?"
"Exactly. I refused that offer too, obviously. But Apollo won't give up this easily. I know him from our days in Heaven, and he's incredibly persistent. I'm certain he'll try something else to get his hands on Bell."
"Why is he going that far for Bell…?"
"It's likely because Bell achieved the Great Feat of reaching Level 2 in just a single month."
That's right…
Tsuna remembered what Finn had told him—that there were Familias out there who would use any means necessary to acquire exceptionally talented adventurers.
"That said, I doubt he'll make a move immediately. But we can't just sit around and do nothing. I know it's asking a lot, Tsunayoshi, but could you stick close to Bell from now on?"
"Got it. Leave it to me."
"I'm sorry, Tsuna…"
Tsuna readily agreed to Hestia's request. Feeling terrible that Tsuna's freedom was being restricted because of him, Bell was overwhelmed with guilt.
"Ah. But tomorrow…"
"That's right. You were called over by [Braver], weren't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
Because of the brawl the previous day, Bell was the only one entirely out of the loop regarding Tsuna and Hestia's conversation.
"Finn invited me over. He wants to give me the reward from the expedition and talk about something important."
"Oh, I see…"
"In that case, I'll stay with Bell tomorrow while you're gone, Tsunayoshi. Just meet up with us as soon as your business is finished."
"Understood."
.....
The next morning.
"Ah. We've been waiting for you."
Tsuna arrived at the Loki Familia's home base to receive his expedition reward and discuss the masked figure. He was currently seated in the captain's office. Sitting across from him was Finn, with Gareth and Riveria flanking him on either side.
"Sorry for the delayed invitation. We had a lot going on after the expedition ended. Handing over the reward would have been quick, but we couldn't find the time to sit down and talk properly until now."
Finn explained the circumstances behind the week-long delay and offered his apologies.
"Moving on to the main topic regarding the masked figure… That masked figure is a member of the Evils."
"I thought so…"
"Did you already know?"
"No… But Finn had told me about the Evils before, so I thought it might be a possibility…"
If he admitted that he had heard the name from Ryuu, it would expose her involvement, so Tsuna smoothly lied, claiming he had deduced it himself.
"We examined the cloak and mask you provided, but they were not manufactured anywhere in Orario. They were likely custom-made by the Evils themselves. As a result, we couldn't find any clues leading to their identity."
"We looked into the knives as well, but they were just standard, commercially available weapons. Honestly, anyone could get their hands on them. They might have even stolen them. As expected, pinpointing their identity from the gear alone is difficult."
On the day he fought the masked figure, Tsuna had handed over the discarded mask, cloak, and knives to the Loki Familia so they could investigate. However, as Riveria and Gareth explained, the items yielded no actionable intelligence.
"But are you sure it's really the Evils? I thought they were completely wiped out by an adventurer named [Gale]?"
To further cement the illusion that he knew nothing about Ryuu, Tsuna added another layer of insurance to his act.
"There were remnants. And it is highly likely they are plotting to turn Orario into a living hellscape once more."
"We are hunting them down to stop their plans. But right now, we have almost zero information on them. That is why we want any information you might have gathered while fighting them."
"I don't mind sharing, but… I don't really know much myself…"
"Even the smallest detail helps. Just tell us honestly what you felt when you fought them."
"Hmm… Well, they had a Magic Sword that shot fire, and they were wearing metal gauntlets. I broke one of the gauntlets, and I remember seeing pale white skin underneath…"
"A Magic Sword and white skin…"
Magic Swords were expensive, but anyone with enough money could buy one, or simply steal one. And 'white skin' applied to countless races. Those details alone weren't enough to narrow down the suspect pool.
"Other than that… I felt nothing but an eerie creepiness, and this overwhelming sadness, hatred, and despair from them…"
"From the masked figure?"
"Yeah. It was like every negative emotion imaginable had been condensed into one person…"
As he spoke, the image of the Vindice flashed through Tsuna's mind. Just standing near the Vindice induced a creepy, spine-chilling sensation, and when fighting them, he had felt their intense, burning hatred. While it wasn't exactly the same, Tsuna had sensed a very similar dark aura from the masked figure.
"I didn't sense anything other than a general creepiness…"
"He excels at seeing into people's hearts. It wouldn't be strange for him to feel something we couldn't. Hatred, however… That emotion could be a crucial clue in uncovering their identity."
Having fought Tsuna directly, Finn knew firsthand that Tsuna wasn't lying or exaggerating his intuition.
"The only other thing I can think of is that they vanished without a trace."
"You mentioned that before. But why do you think they 'vanished' instead of 'escaped'?"
"I kicked them into the air and fired my flames at them. When the smoke cleared, only their mask and cloak were left. If they had a way to move mid-air, I thought they would have used it from the start to dodge."
"In that case, perhaps it wasn't an escape back then either."
"It's possible."
"Eh? What are you talking about?"
Unable to follow Riveria and Finn's sudden shift in conversation, Tsuna tilted his head in confusion.
"Truth be told, that figure appeared while we were on our way down to the 59th floor."
"Eh? When?"
Learning from Gareth that the masked figure had been present during the expedition, Tsuna was completely bewildered, having no memory of seeing them.
"It's no surprise you didn't see them. They appeared when we were on the 58th floor. Right when we got separated from Finn's group."
"Back then…"
"They appeared before us, but the moment Riveria fired her magic, they vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving only their mask and cloak behind."
"Then that means…"
Hearing the circumstances of their encounter, Tsuna realized it mirrored his own fight exactly.
"I wonder if they have some kind of spatial teleportation ability?"
"Spatial teleportation?"
"Yeah. Like, right after the attack hit and they were covered in smoke, they instantly teleported their physical body to a different location… Or maybe they can create illusions with actual physical mass."
"That would certainly explain the inconsistencies, but…"
"How do you even come up with ideas like that…?"
"Yeah… You truly never fail to exceed our expectations…"
"A-Ahaha, you think so…?"
The theories were so wildly outside the realm of common sense that Riveria, Gareth, and Finn were slightly taken aback. Unable to admit he actually knew people capable of spatial teleportation and real illusions, Tsuna just laughed nervously to brush it off.
"This was very helpful. We will continue our investigation based on your testimony."
"Is there anything else I can do to help?"
"Honestly, having your cooperation would be incredibly reassuring. But we can't just rely on you. Furthermore, no matter how strong you are, it wouldn't be right to drag someone who hates fighting into this conflict repeatedly. Rather than worrying about us, you should worry about yourself and those close to you."
"Eh?"
"You fought a member of the Evils and repelled them. They already have their eyes on you. It wouldn't be strange if they targeted you at any time, anywhere. And if they do, Goddess Hestia and Bell Cranel could easily get caught in the crossfire. So, please protect them."
"Understood."
"I'm truly sorry. By inviting you on that expedition, I've dragged both you and your loved ones into a dangerous conspiracy."
"No. I decided to go on the expedition myself. It's not your fault, Finn."
Despite being the catalyst that dragged Tsuna and his friends into a deadly conspiracy, Tsuna didn't blame him in the slightest. Finn felt a profound sense of gratitude.
Then, it happened.
"It's noisy out there."
"What's the commotion?"
A loud explosion echoed from outside. Curious, Gareth and Riveria walked over to the window to investigate.
"Looks like a turf war between some Familias."
"A turf war!? In the middle of the city!?"
"It's not uncommon in Orario. We've clashed with the Freya Familia many times ourselves."
"Y-You're kidding…"
Tsuna was utterly shocked that a violent gang war was breaking out in a city filled with civilians—and even more shocked that Gareth and Riveria were completely unfazed by it.
"Captain!!"
"Finn!! It's terrible!!"
"Keep your voices down, Tione, Tiona."
The office door was violently thrown open as a panicked Tione and Tiona burst into the room. Riveria immediately scolded them for shouting.
"Argonaut is being attacked by the Apollo Familia!!"
"What!?"
"Tsuna!? What are you doing here!?"
"Is that true!?"
"It's true!! We have to hurry, it's bad!! The Apollo Familia has a history of accepting the Guild's penalties just to forcefully steal members from other Familias!!"
"Got it!! Sorry, Finn!! I'll come back for the reward later!!"
Hearing Tione's warning, Tsuna bolted out of the room and sprinted out to save Bell.
.....
Meanwhile, at Ouranos's altar.
"Impossible…!?"
"What is wrong, Ouranos?"
Ouranos, who was seated on his altar as usual, suddenly widened his eyes in sheer shock. Because the God rarely showed any emotion whatsoever, Fels instantly realized something catastrophic had happened.
"An intruder."
"An intruder!? In this underground altar!?"
"Yes. Without a doubt…"
In the thousands of years since Orario's founding, while they had received visitors in the underground altar, not once had anyone ever infiltrated it. Both Ouranos and Fels were struck with disbelief.
Footsteps began echoing through the cavern, growing steadily closer. Moving to protect Ouranos, Fels stepped forward, dropping into a combat stance.
Finally, the intruder stepped out of the shadows.
"Yo. Are you Ouranos?"
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Author's Notes:
I apologize for including elements that might confuse readers who haven't read the original works.
If you want to know more, please read the original novels or watch the Goddess of Fertility arc that is getting an anime adaptation this year (2024).
Also regarding Tsuna can't level up. It wouldn't be very interesting if I let Tsuna Rank Up, so I'm not going to. I'm sorry to those who were looking forward to it.
Personally, I really want to include Alfia. Also, I'd love to try writing a story where she falls in love with Giotto.
I kind of want to write a Tsuna vs. Alfia fight, too.
I also plan to have some Reborn characters make an appearance in Danmachi.
Anyway, I wonder which is worse. Syr's cooking or Bianchi's Poison Cooking?
In my opinion, Syr's cooking is awful too, but still better than Bianchi's poisonous food.
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