A day had passed since Alfia's rampage on the Apollo Familia.
The whole city was buzzing with activity.
Yesterday, not only had Orario been hit by an earthquake, but the mansion of the Apollo Familia had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Not to mention, it was the same day that the Hestia Familia had been chased around by the very same familia whose home was destroyed.
But just as things had calmed down a little, Apollo had made a declaration the very next day that he and his familia were going to leave Orario, never to return again, causing another stir to ripple through the city.
All in all, yesterday had been pretty chaotic, with all sorts of things happening one after another.
Naturally, this abnormal series of events would get people talking.
Many people discussed among themselves what had happened, causing all sorts of rumors to spread.
But those speculations remained nothing more than rumors.
As countless assumptions about what had happened spread throughout the city, that was when the Guild made an official statement regarding the series of incidents.
"The Apollo Familia was housing an unstable, experimental magic item of extreme volatile potential. A catastrophic mishap during research led to a detonation that wiped out the estate."
"Furthermore, due to the severe collateral damage and illegal aggression directed at the Hestia Familia, the Apollo Familia has been officially exiled from Orario."
This explanation had plenty of holes in it if one chose to investigate further, but many of the citizens, especially ordinary people, chose to believe it.
After all, a blast of that magnitude was something only a top-tier First-Class Adventurer could achieve.
And surely, the Apollo Familia wasn't stupid enough to provoke a First-Class Adventurer... right?
In truth, this statement had been put forward by Royman, who wanted to keep Alfia's existence hidden from the public.
All he needed was Apollo's compliance to corroborate the story... a condition the utterly broken Sun God could only nod along to.
…
"Gahah! That fat pig Royman and that perverted Apollo really went out of their way to sweep the truth under the rug, huh?"
Loki sprawled across a leather couch in Twilight Manor, a sharp, amused grin stretching across her face.
Of course, those who knew Alfia had returned had seen right through the Guild's pathetic cover story.
Meanwhile, deep within Folkvangr, the atmosphere was far more solemn.
The elite executives of the Freya Familia stood lined up in rigid formation, standing in the presence of their beloved Goddess as she graced them with her attention.
"To cause the entire city to tremble with a single spell… Silence is as terrifying as ever."
Ottar rumbled in his deep, resonant voice.
"I see."
Freya, who sat upon her throne, replied with an amused expression.
Alfia's signature magic, [Genos Angelus], was legendary among those who had lived through the era of the Zeus and Hera,
Even without investigating, he could clearly identify the culprit just from the familiar magic spell alone.
"Just from the magical power I felt from a distance, her spell possesses far greater raw destructive power than anything I am capable of casting."
Hedin added, pushing up the bridge of his glasses with a dark frown.
"The Silence of the Hera Familia… what a truly monstrous existence."
"Ottar…"
Freya called out softly once Hedin finished his assessment.
"Yes, Lady Freya?"
Ottar replied, turning his head toward her with a respectful bow.
"If you were to fight Silence right now… do you think you could win?"
Hearing her words, everyone fell silent.
Slowly, their gazes locked onto their captain, studying his expression.
Ever since they heard that Alfia had returned to the city, this was a question that had been on their minds.
As one of the city's strongest current Familias, they wanted to know how they compared to one of the strongest members of the previous generation.
Ottar closed his eyes, contemplating the question in deep silence.
When he finally opened them, his gaze was firm.
"I don't know… only when we cross paths on the battlefield will we truly know who is stronger."
Freya, despite hearing her captain's uncertain answer, caught the hidden meaning behind his words.
"Oh?"
A graceful, knowing smile bloomed across her lips.
"Are you actually planning to fight her?"
"Our clash is inevitable, Lady Freya. However… the timing is not yet right."
Ottar replied, his face an unreadable mask.
"Hmm… Very well."
Freya neither encouraged nor discouraged him.
She knew very well just how much Ottar looked up to the Zeus and Hera Familias.
Other than herself, they were practically his idols and the people he admired most.
Whenever a conversation about them was brought up in front of him, he would always speak of them in high regard, even going so far as to praise them.
Hearing him declare his intention to battle Alfia was entirely expected.
To truly surpass the golden generation... the titans who had cast a massive shadow over his entire career... he had to face them.
It was his chance to break free from that shadow and prove to himself, and to his Goddess, that he had surpassed them.
…
With the Apollo Familia becoming the laughing stock of the entire city, they were seen leaving Orario in shame, their heads down and their eyes fixed on the ground.
Some gods even went out of their way to 'greet' their dear friend Apollo by waiting at the city gates, even hiring artists to paint his sour face so they could hang the portraits on their walls.
"Damn it! These guys… just a few days ago, they were the ones buttering up to me with their sleazy little faces."
Apollo said as he clenched his fist, turning his head to look behind him at the walls of Orario one last time.
He turned his gaze toward the small crowd following behind him.
Out of his original hundred-plus children, fewer than a dozen remained.
They were the only ones who were truly loyal to him.
Because most of the children he had were ones he had forced to join his Familia, it was only reasonable that they would take the opportunity to leave when they could.
"By the way, where is Hyakinthos? Don't tell me he left me as well?"
Apollo asked as he turned toward Luan.
Seeing that his captain was missing, Apollo actually looked hurt.
Out of all his children, Hyakinthos was his favorite.
"Ah… the captain said he left something important and told us to continue ahead, saying he would catch up."
Hearing that, the heavy knot in Apollo's chest loosened slightly.
As long as his beloved Captain was by his side, they could start over from scratch elsewhere.
Yet, an eerie, uncomfortable chill settled deep in his gut.
Apollo frowned, shaking his head to brush the feeling aside.
'It's probably nothing.'
He reassured himself, before continuing to walk along the dirt road.
But later, he would come to regret ignoring his intuition.
Back inside Orario, deep within a dimly lit, abandoned hideout, a figure stood in the shadows.
Hyakinthos wore a dark, heavy hood, a freshly sharpened dagger clutched in his trembling hand.
However, the right side of his face was covered by bandages.
If one looked closer, they could see that the lower part of his face had been bent toward the left, his jaw misaligned and giving him a slightly grotesque appearance.
The damage was completely permanent, something that not even Airmid could fix.
He looked at the blade he had sharpened with a cruel smile before putting on a mask to cover his face.
'After facing such humiliation, not just to me but to my beloved god, do you think I was going to let you off?'
Hyakinthos shouted in his mind with bloodshot eyes.
He unsheathed his longsword and slashed wildly at a drawn portrait of Belle Cranel, tearing the paper to shreds.
"Gehehehe… Hahahaha!"
He laughed maniacally, looking like a complete madman.
If Apollo were here, he could only imagine that the slap he received from Alfia must have made him lose his mind.
---
+15 chapters at patreon.com/drdedot