Had any other Familia declared it would handle what the Guild ignored and arrest those the Ganesha Familia feared to touch, it would have faced fierce criticism.
The Guild and Ganesha Familia might have even acted against it.
The Astraea Familia was different.
The moment Fujimaru Ritsuka publicly declared his membership and announced that he would uphold justice, he became nearly untouchable within Orario’s public arena.
He owed that advantage to the excellent reputation the original Astraea Familia had left behind.
From the moment it was founded, the Astraea Familia followed Astraea-sama’s principle of protecting the weak and defeating the wicked.
It was not officially commissioned by the Guild and lacked the Ganesha Familia’s formal authority as law enforcement.
Even so, its members voluntarily served as a civilian peacekeeping force.
They protected ordinary people, eradicated evil factions, and punished those who abused the weak.
This earned them immense respect among low-level adventurers and civilians.
Their reputation even surpassed that of the Ganesha Familia, Orario’s official law-enforcement force.
The Guild itself acknowledged them as a Familia of heroes.
Adventurers might be replaced by a new generation every few years, but ordinary citizens remained in the city far longer.
When the name of the Astraea Familia resounded through Orario again after several years, the citizens naturally sided with Ritsuka.
He had even openly vowed to fight evil and defend the weak.
To ordinary citizens, that made him a natural ally.
The reborn Astraea Familia might currently have only one rookie member, but Ritsuka could inherit the reputation left behind by his predecessors.
That was why he could make statements the Guild and Ganesha Familia considered outrageously disrespectful without either organization acting against him.
They could not merely leave him alone.
To some extent, they would even need to publicly support and protect him.
Ritsuka was a follower of justice, and the Goddess of Justice’s reputation was known throughout the city.
As the vanguard Astraea-sama had sent back to Orario, every action Ritsuka took would be seen as representing the goddess herself.
When Ritsuka declared something unjust, others would interpret it as the Goddess of Justice condemning it.
When he criticized a problem within Orario, the public would assume Astraea-sama shared that criticism.
Therefore, the Guild and Ganesha Familia had to act.
If they did nothing, their reputations would decline alongside public trust.
Ganesha, the elephant-headed patron god of the Ganesha Familia, would never allow such a thing to happen.
The Adventurers’ Guild had been established by Ouranos, but he had long since stopped involving himself in its daily operations.
In practice, the Guild was managed by its head, Royman, an extremely greedy elf.
If damage to the Guild’s reputation threatened his income, Royman would never tolerate it either.
That was why Ritsuka had spoken without fear.
After delivering his declaration of justice outside the Guild, he handed over the eight robbers whose severed thumbs left them unable to wield swords.
He then turned around and departed without hesitation.
That was the confidence granted to him by the Astraea Familia’s name!
His promise to make the Astraea Familia great again was not the only reason he had delivered that speech.
The other reason was that the real world of DanMachi was absolutely terrible.
While watching the anime, Ritsuka had seen handsome boys and beautiful girls fighting monsters, exploring the Dungeon, and forming deep bonds.
After actually transmigrating there, reality had given him a completely different impression.
It was awful.
The reborn Astraea Familia was based in Solingen, the City of Swords.
Its members continued the same work the original Familia had once performed in Orario—maintaining public order and protecting civilians.
Why did the Astraea Familia need to intervene?
Because Solingen also suffered from all kinds of horrific crimes.
During his basic training there, Ritsuka had not spent all his time exercising.
He often accompanied the other Familia members as they helped people throughout the city and had already witnessed plenty of darkness.
If Solingen was that bad, Orario was naturally even worse.
Ritsuka had only been in Orario for a single day, yet he had already encountered two separate robberies.
Why had they targeted him?
Because he was a newcomer.
That was all.
Few people dared rob high-level adventurers.
Anyone willing to attack them was usually affiliated with Evilus.
Instead, weak adventurers targeted ordinary civilians and newly arrived rookies.
They did more than rob them.
Some even abducted newcomers and sold them as slaves.
Yes, human trafficking and slavery existed in Orario!
Even Ryuu, Ritsuka’s own senior and an Elf, had been targeted by slavers when she first arrived in the city.
She had nearly been captured and sold into slavery.
Ritsuka had considered dismissing it all with the thought, ‘Why should I give a damn?’ However, he had once lived as an ordinary person on Earth, and he sincerely despised such behavior.
Had he never witnessed it personally, perhaps he could have ignored it.
Now he could see those crimes with his own eyes.
He could interfere, and more importantly, he possessed the strength to do so.
Naturally, he intended to get involved!
He would fulfill his promise to Astraea-sama while also satisfying a small desire within his own heart.
With the FGO system at his side, he would become an Ally of Justice in this world!
“What the hell are you doing?!” “Whoa!” The sudden shout beside him startled Ritsuka, who had been proudly enjoying the aftermath of his dramatic declaration.
He turned and found Ryuu standing beside the road in her waitress uniform, hands on her hips as she glared at him.
“You scared me, Noel-san.
It’s good to see you again.” After calming his racing heart, Ritsuka greeted her with a cheerful smile.
“Yes, we meet again…
Wait, that isn’t the point!
I asked what you were doing!” “What do you mean?” “I’m talking about what you just did outside the Guild!” Ryuu approached him aggressively.
She had already convinced the tavern’s other employees to help conceal her past and pretend that no Ryuu worked at the Hostess of Fertility.
However, after waiting for Ritsuka without seeing him, she instead heard some explosive news.
Someone was dragging eight adventurers down Northwestern Street toward the Guild.
Such incidents were normally treated as street fights and handed over to the military police.
They were fairly common in Orario.
Even so, Ryuu had sensed that this particular incident would not be so simple.
She went outside to investigate and was horrified to discover that her junior was the one dragging the eight men.
She then witnessed the entire spectacle of him grandstanding outside the Adventurers’ Guild.
Once Ritsuka left the Guild and headed toward West Main Street, Ryuu hurried after him to demand an explanation.
“What were you thinking?
How could you say something like that to the Guild?
Do you understand how much trouble those words could cause?” “Of course I do.” Ritsuka folded his arms.
“Then why did you still say them?” “Isn’t it obvious?” Ritsuka nodded firmly.
“Because I am a follower of justice!” …