As soon as the young man revealed his face, an overwhelming divine charm swept through the tavern. It seemed to rob everyone of the ability to think, and the lively room fell completely silent in an instant.
"That person... could he be...?"
The Pallum girl named Lily froze for only a moment before snapping back to her senses. Her eyes widened in shock. There was no mistake. Ever since his portraits had spread throughout Orario, almost everyone could recognize him at a glance. Not to mention, she'd met him herself just a few days ago, when one of his companions had saved her.
"It can't be wrong! That person is definitely...!"
"Aurora Polaris!"
"He was sitting right here listening the whole time?!"
The adventurers gasped under their breath. Some looked at him with admiration, some with burning excitement, while others stared in outright fascination, as if the young man sitting there was no different from a god.
'This' was the real star of tonight. Compared to him, Bell Cranel and Hyakinthos were all nobodies.
"A-A-Aurora...?!" The Pallum man was so startled he nearly bit his tongue. Why would someone that important show up in a place like this, and just happen to run into them?
"Go on," Ryoji said leisurely from his chair, looking at the Pallum. "What happened to your Familia? The Apollo Familia, right? Are they really that strong?"
"Eek!" The Pallum instantly fell silent. Even though Ryoji hadn't made a move, he was so frightened that he immediately hid behind Hyakinthos, not daring to utter another word.
"Aurora, what are you doing here?" Hyakinthos asked with a troubled look.
"Do I need to report my whereabouts to you?" Ryoji replied with an unconcerned smile.
"Tch. You're really going to stick your nose into this?" Hyakinthos clicked his tongue again. "You think the likes of you can muddy these waters?"
Ryoji looked at the four members of the Apollo Familia with open disdain. "It's not that I'm looking down on you, but even if ten more Apollo Familias showed up, I still wouldn't take them seriously. Believe it or not."
Hyakinthos's face darkened. He believed him. Of course he did.
The gap between a Level 5 and a Level 3 was enormous. Even with every Magic spell and Skill they had, victory was impossible. Not everyone could fight above their level. With Ryoji's strength, he wouldn't even need tricks or schemes. He could crush the Apollo Familia head-on ten times over.
"Now get lost. Having you people around is ruining my appetite." Ryoji waved his hand dismissively, as though he were shooing away flies.
"...We're leaving." Hyakinthos's face twisted with anger. But he hadn't lost his reason. He knew the Apollo Familia had no chance against the Loki Familia, so he simply let out a low growl and led his companions toward the door.
"Hold on." Ryoji suddenly remembered something and flashed the Pallum man a bright smile. "That Pallum leaves sideways."
"Huh?" The Pallum froze.
'Bang!'
Hyakinthos kicked him without hesitation. The Pallum let out a yelp, hit the floor, and rolled straight out of the tavern.
'That was decisive.'
"Boss, another fork, please." Ryoji raised a hand toward the bartender.
"...Right away." The owner paused for a moment before calmly handing him a new fork.
After that little scene, the once-boisterous tavern became much quieter. The adventurers all seemed a little too intimidated to relax. Ryoji simply shrugged and continued eating his dinner as if nothing had happened.
"Um... thank you for what you did just now." A somewhat timid voice came from beside him. The white-haired, red-eyed rabbit boy walked over to Ryoji's table and gave him a nervous bow.
"It was nothing." Ryoji speared another piece of steak and popped it into his mouth before speaking. "But you'd better be careful from here on out. Apollo isn't exactly a forgiving god."
"It was just a normal scuffle. Surely it won't reach a god's ears, right?" The red-haired man, Welf, scratched the back of his head. Talking to the famous Aurora made him feel more than a little awkward.
"I wouldn't call it a normal scuffle." Ryoji idly twirled his fork. "That Pallum's acting was terrible, but Hyakinthos attacked you the instant he got the chance. No matter how you look at it, this was something they'd been planning for a while."
The Pallum's excuse hadn't held up at all. The tavern was packed with adventurers. Using such a flimsy excuse to have a Level 3 attack a Level 1 would only invite ridicule. For the sake of the Apollo Familia's reputation, Hyakinthos should have hesitated. Instead, he acted immediately, as if he'd been waiting for the opportunity all along.
"P-Planning this for a while?" Bell簡shuddered. "But... what could the Apollo Familia possibly want with us?"
'This kid really is humble.'
"You seriously don't know?" Ryoji gave him a strange look. "Apollo swings both ways."
Bell's expression froze. His backside instinctively clenched. "Haha... that's not a very funny joke..."
"Who said I was joking?"
"..."
Even Welf had no idea how to respond. Anyone who asked around a little knew Apollo had quite the notorious reputation.
Most of the members of his Familia had joined only after he pursued them relentlessly. If they refused, he'd resort to all kinds of underhanded methods until they became his. Dirty tricks were nothing new to him.
"I've heard those rumors too," Lily, the chestnut-haired Pallum girl, said with a tense expression, finally realizing how serious this was. "And supposedly... most of the people Lord Apollo recruits into his Familia are men!"
Bell turned to stone.
Objectively speaking, the rabbit boy's looks were fairly ordinary, but his white hair made him stand out, and his timid, rabbit-like demeanor made him seem especially easy to tease. It was a little hard to imagine Apollo taking a liking to someone like Bell... Then again, it wasn't impossible.
"Putting that aside... you're Welf Crozzo, right?" Ryoji shifted his gaze to the red-haired young man with obvious interest. "The Crozzo family, the famous line of magic swordsmiths?"
Welf's expression immediately darkened, and he looked away in obvious discomfort. "...That's right."
---
Meanwhile...
"So that's it? We're just letting this go?" The Pallum man rubbed his bruised backside as he hurried after Hyakinthos.
"You want to fight Aurora?" Hyakinthos shot him a cold glance. "If I remember correctly, you were the one laughing at him when he first walked into the tavern, weren't you?"
The reason Ryoji had specifically ordered that 'he' leave by rolling out the door was obviously because of that.
"N-No way! How could I possibly fight a Level 5?!" Just imagining it sent chills down the Pallum's spine. He shook his head so hard it looked like it might fly off. "But what about Bell Cranel?"
His expression quickly turned worried again. "Lord Apollo ordered us to humiliate them in public and provoke the Hestia Familia into a War Game. We completely failed!"
"...We'll wait for another opportunity." Hyakinthos sounded thoroughly unwilling.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept his plan being ruined. What truly frustrated him was that the one who had stopped him just happened to be Aurora.
'(End of Chapter)'
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