"Oh...."
"Shesta?"
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a monster."
The concerned voices of her companions reached her ears.
But Shesta did not respond, since right now, she was panicking!
At the same time, her heart was screaming.
'Why is that person together with everyone from my Familia?!'
Seen a monster?
Of course she had!
And not just any monster. A monster among monsters!
"H-he...?"
Shesta stared at Rayleigh, stammering as she tried to ask what was going on.
"Hm?"
The girls followed her gaze and looked toward Rayleigh.
Then they suddenly understood.
"Haha, honestly, Shesta. You just got back, and your attention is already completely on a man."
"Shesta is a carnivorous girl, huh?"
"He's a big deal, you know. Rayleigh from Hephaestus Familia. Haven't you heard of him? He's that Yōtōsai!"
"..."
Yes.
She knew far too well!
A few days ago, she had come to this village with her Familia. After discovering that it had been abandoned, they temporarily settled here.
Because it was a frontier village and close to the forest, they hunted in the woods for food.
Then someone discovered them and reported their presence to Ares Familia of Rakia Kingdom.
After that, Ares Familia sent people over and directly declared that they would absorb Artemis Familia and make Artemis a subordinate goddess.
Naturally, those people were beaten badly by them.
Afterward, the ones who fled back called over a Level 3 from Ares Familia to reclaim their pride, only for Letsa to challenge that person one-on-one and defeat them.
Quite a few people had watched that spectacle, then spread the story around.
It became one of Artemis Familia's feats, earning them more attention and respect.
However, the scale of Ares Familia was terrifying.
Out of caution, Shesta, who possessed a disguise skill, infiltrated Rakia to gather information.
In the end, she discovered that Rakia Kingdom did not seem to be showing any signs of moving against them.
Just as she was preparing to leave, Rakia Kingdom was suddenly struck by a blizzard.
The entire royal capital became a world of ice and snow.
Then she saw Ares Familia's elites sprinting through the streets, seemingly chasing after thieves who had abducted a goddess.
Kidnapping a goddess?
To dare do something like that was far too bold!
But after following several knights for a while, she heard the truth of the matter.
The young heir of the Crozzo family, the noble family of smiths, a boy with the talent to forge Crozzo Magic Swords, had been taken away together with his patron goddess.
Because there were too many people, she did not dare get too close.
Even so, she witnessed the figure who had single-handedly blocked Ares Familia, as well as the ice dragon circling above the royal capital.
She saw all of it clearly.
Because of that incident, she temporarily remained inside the city.
Not long after, she witnessed Ares Familia's army mobilize.
She was stunned since it was too unbelievable.
They were only pursuing a few people, yet Ares Familia had actually mobilized an army.
A full twenty thousand soldiers, including no shortage of Level 2 and even Level 3 warriors!
Wasn't that going too far?
But the truly terrifying part came afterward.
Even after deploying such overwhelming military force, Ares Familia's subjugation had failed!
And Ares himself had admitted that the enemy was only one person, and that he was extremely powerful.
He had fought one against twenty thousand and forced them to return empty-handed.
Shesta's first reaction upon hearing that news was, 'Impossible!'
That was twenty thousand people!
And all of them had Falna!
There were even Level 3s among them, just like Letsa.
Against only one person... They lost?
She seriously doubted the truth of the information and even went to the city gate specifically to "welcome" the defeated army back.
Then she believed it.
Because she saw the soldiers' crushed morale, and the fear on their faces that could not be washed away.
When she saw their eyes, a chill ran up Shesta's spine and shot straight to the top of her head.
What kind of terrifying enemy could turn them into that?
She could not even imagine it.
Soon, from the rumors spreading throughout the city, she obtained the answer she wanted.
Rayleigh.
That was the name of the person who had thrown Rakia Kingdom into chaos.
He came from Hephaestus Familia.
An adventurer from Orario!
Shesta had never faced him directly, but from the appearance of those Rakian soldiers alone, she already felt deep fear toward him.
Add in the brutal cold she had personally experienced, which had been created by his own hand, and although she had not met him yet, she had already labeled him as "terrifying," "merciless," and "absolutely not to be provoked."
What she never expected was that while she was away, her own Familia had successfully "invited the wolf into the house"!
She had faith in her companions and understood their strength.
But precisely because of that, she knew these twenty members of her Familia could not possibly be stronger than Rakia Kingdom's army of twenty thousand.
A man who had just killed hundreds, perhaps even thousands, was sitting right there, surrounded by her companions, her family...
At this moment, Shesta was so tense that she nearly suffocated.
"Shesta, what exactly is wrong?" Letsa could tell that this younger sister of her Familia was acting strangely.
It seemed she cared far too much about Rayleigh's presence.
Shesta looked at Letsa and suddenly wanted to cry, but she did not dare.
If she cried here and alerted that terrifying man...
Would he get angry and kill everyone?
The moment she thought of that, Shesta could only swallow all those complicated emotions back down and force out a smile.
"It's nothing. I'm just tired."
"Is that so?"
Letsa placed one hand on the girl's shoulder.
Then her gaze darkened.
She was trembling...
Feeling the girl's fear toward Rayleigh, Letsa's expression shifted slightly.
Then she exchanged glances with several others around her.
In the next second, the members of Artemis Familia moved instantly.
Rayleigh, who had been bringing an apple to his mouth, froze.
Then he asked, "May I ask what this situation is?"
He held the apple in his hand.
Eating it felt wrong and putting it down felt wrong too!
Because at that moment, eleven vital points, including the top of his head, his throat, the back of his neck, and his chest, were all being aimed at by various weapons.
Beautiful women of different styles surrounded him so tightly that not even water could pass through.
A troubled expression appeared on his face.
Letsa narrowed her eyes slightly and said coldly, "Don't play dumb."
She signaled for Rayleigh to look at Shesta with her eyes, then said, "That girl has been trembling from the moment she saw you. Talk. What did you do to her?"
As she spoke, Letsa's expression also turned fierce.
She pressed the dagger in her hand against Rayleigh's throat and questioned him sharply.
Rayleigh tried hard to recall.
Then he answered, "Mm... I don't remember ever meeting her. You over there, have we had any dealings before?"
When Shesta was suddenly addressed by Rayleigh, she was so frightened that she let out a small scream and took two steps back.
That reaction left Rayleigh speechless.
Ever since awakening [Gif Blessings: Minor], he had been quite confident in his memory.
From Letsa's perspective, however, this was Rayleigh intimidating the girl.
So anger rose inside her.
She raised the dagger and stabbed toward Rayleigh's shoulder, intending to give him a little pain.
"Don't!" Shesta screamed as her voice was full of terror.
Letsa stopped.
But she did not stop by herself.
A single finger had pressed against the sharp tip of the dagger, holding it perfectly still.
At the fingertip, faint blue lines appeared.
"Mm... In any case, how about we all calm down first?"
After blocking the dagger with only one finger, Rayleigh spoke slowly in a calm tone.