The carriage continued toward the Hephaestus Familia branch shop.
The two women beside the boy pressed soft warmth against him.
"Astraea, do you know anything about the Black Goliath?"
Bell broke the awkward silence and asked.
The Black Goliath from the Dungeon had been weighing on his mind for a long time, but he had never found a suitable God to ask about it.
Hestia had only recently descended to the Lower World and was not even fully familiar with things like ability locks, while Artemis wandered all over the world and had not settled in the Labyrinth City.
Only Astraea was both trustworthy and knowledgeable about the Dungeon. Asking her would not make her worry too much.
"Black Monsters are the Dungeon's assassins. They are immune to Divine Power, and they usually appear when a God loses control."
Astraea began to explain.
"Loses control?"
Bell furrowed his brow and repeated the part that bothered him.
"Yes. To give a simple example, if a God enters the Dungeon and releases their divine aura, the Dungeon will sense it and create a Black Monster that ignores the rules."
Astraea patiently explained the reason behind it.
After thinking for a moment, she added, "That said, the Dungeon is full of the [Unknown]. It would not be strange if Black Monsters could be born in other ways too."
Astraea did not speak in absolutes. For a clever boy like him, her answer was only meant to broaden his thinking.
"I understand."
Bell nodded.
If the Black Goliath had been born because of a divine aura, then the previous points of doubt could be connected.
The Evilus he had encountered on the 24th Floor were most likely Familia members of that God. The evil God and the forces of the Creatures had colluded, leading to the battles in the Pantry and on the 18th Floor.
If that was the case, where had that God released their divine aura, and how had they escaped unharmed?
Looking at it from that angle, the Dungeon did not merely have unknown passages and entrances. The enemy could also close those passages at will to avoid the Dungeon's monsters.
As Bell organized his thoughts, he became more and more convinced that Loki Familia's expedition this time might end badly.
He did not let his worry show on his face. He only made a silent decision that he had to speak with Finn and Riveria about this before Loki Familia set out.
"Bell, you really have run into trouble, haven't you?"
Concern flickered in Astraea's eyes.
Since the incident with the Moon Goddess, she had already sensed a few signs. What surrounded Bell Cranel was likely a massive event capable of changing the fate of the entire world.
For such a heavy burden to fall on the boy's shoulders was far too cruel.
"Mm. Are you worried about me, Astraea?"
Bell did not brush it off with a lie.
"Of course I am. We are lovers, after all... If something happened to you, I would lose my appetite and be unable to sleep."
Astraea answered honestly.
Even if their relationship had not made any real progress, being separated was still painful for the Goddess.
Whenever news of the boy reached her ears, she always felt both excited and delighted.
Before she realized it, Astraea had begun looking forward to their letters every day.
"..."
Cecil had not expected the Goddess to be so honest.
Even in front of her, Astraea openly expressed her concern and worry for the boy. This was clearly the [Unknown] emotion Astraea had been pursuing.
Cecil stayed by the Goddess's side every day, so she knew very well that ever since Bell had visited the mansion, Astraea had been gradually changing.
"Astraea, I'll treasure your concern and take good care of myself."
Bell turned sideways, looked into the Goddess's sky-blue eyes, and drew closer.
Under Astraea's slightly bashful gaze, the boy brought his lips to the Goddess's ear and whispered,
"I encountered a Creature in the Dungeon that seemed to have been revived."
"?!"
Astraea's eyes widened, but she quickly suppressed her surprise.
The boy was not asking for anything. He was simply sharing the information he had obtained with the Goddess.
Only the two of them, bound by that promise, understood what those words truly meant.
Astraea nodded lightly and did not pursue the topic further.
"Bell Cranel, what are you suddenly doing? If you're feeding Astraea-sama strange ideas, I won't forgive you!"
Seeing the two of them interact like that, Cecil suddenly felt a strange sourness well up inside her.
"Cecil, we were talking about that kind of promise. What will you do? Will you sacrifice yourself for me and take care of Bell's desires in that area?"
Astraea brushed over the intimacy from a moment ago with a teasing remark.
"T-that is absolutely out of the question?!"
Cecil immediately lost all momentum.
"..."
Bell did not say anything to tease her.
His lover was clearly a gentle, kind, beautiful Goddess, so why did he keep feeling that she had a mischievous side?
Looking at the blue-haired girl's flushed face, Bell changed the subject. "Astraea, do you know much about Freya Familia?"
"Hmm... I do not know about the past few years, but I do know about what came before."
Astraea blinked, then added, "Freya always saves those poor children. Because of that, some people in her Familia are rather extreme. To put it simply, they are hard to get along with."
"I see..."
Bell had very little contact with Freya Familia.
Although Heith was there, and he had once visited that luxurious courtyard, Bell had kept his distance because of the incident caused by Vana Freya.
The fact that Allen had been punished by the Goddess did not mean everything from the past had been wiped clean.
"Bell, do you have feelings for Freya too?"
Astraea deliberately emphasized "too," as if there was a trace of jealousy in her voice.
"The Goddess of Beauty does sound very alluring, but I only asked about Freya Familia for another reason."
Bell answered honestly.
During the incident earlier, Bell had caught a glimpse of the catperson flying over the high wall, which was why he had asked in passing.
Bell did not pity Allen's situation. He was only considering whether Allen might bring trouble.
"That is good. Although Freya is the Goddess of Beauty, she is unexpectedly pure in both body and heart. If you try to sweet-talk her, she will definitely put you in your place."
Astraea reminded him with a smile.
"Mm. I'll remember that."
With the boy's promise, the group arrived at their destination.
Hephaestus arranged a forge and a place to rest for Cecil, and another member of Astraea Familia stayed with her as well.
Because of the tea party, the two Goddesses only exchanged a hurried greeting after meeting up and did not leisurely catch up.
Under Bell's escort, they headed to the tea party venue, then said goodbye to the boy.
"You are not letting Bell Cranel stay?"
Hephaestus asked softly.
"Do not make this difficult for me. It is only supposed to be a small tea party. If Bell came along, the whole thing would definitely turn chaotic."
Astraea answered with a smile.
What they did not know was that on the second floor where they had agreed to meet, a silver-haired Goddess was staring blankly down below, her silver eyes following the boy's movements.
At the end of the Goddess's gaze, Bell finally disappeared around a corner of the street.