The Maze City, Orario.
The circular city, proud of its vast area, was surrounded by sturdy city walls.
Inside the city walls, isolated from the outside world, various large and small buildings stood side by side, and in the center of the city, a colossal chalk-white tower reached to the sky.
This was Babel, a skyscraper facility built as a cover to block the entrance to the great underground hole—the Dungeon.
With this chalk-white giant tower as its center, Orario continues to flourish to this day.
Twilight was approaching, and the streets were packed with Adventurers returning from the labyrinth, with the boisterous sounds of hotels celebrating their safe return filling the air.
Many humans and demi-humans drank together, and some overzealous Gods, beer mugs in hand, barged into their midst.
The laughter echoing among them, casting aside racial barriers and respect, was a microcosm of this city—this world.
Streetlights began to be lit early, one by one, and the glow of magic stone lamps gradually adorned this incessantly noisy city.
To make it back in time for the Familia’s dinner, Asta and Raul made a swift return, not lingering on the streets at all.
However, to preempt their protesting stomachs, they each bought a cheap yet delicious serving of fried potato balls from a roadside stall to temporarily sate their hunger.
So, fried potato balls are truly fragrant~
When they returned to Twilight Manor, there was still some time before dinner began.
The Familia members were still freely moving around nearby, waiting for dinner to start.
When they saw Asta and Raul return, they all smiled, like an old uncle from the neighborhood seeing a young man who had gone out to work for many years finally willing to come back to the village to chat.
For Adventurers, teasing familiar companions in their leisure time was one of the rare ways to relax.
In reality, everyone’s teasing target was mainly Raul, as they were all very familiar with each other, and familiar people were easier to pick on.
Asta merely suffered an unprovoked misfortune~
Politely bidding farewell to the group of enthusiastic old uncles, Asta returned to his room, holding his share of farli and all the dropped items.
Then, he grabbed a change of clothes and went with Raul to the Familia’s large bathhouse for a quick shower.
Because they had been fighting in the Dungeon all day, both of them were more or less not clean.
Of course, the Familia’s large bathhouse was divided into male and female sections, and both the men’s and women’s bathhouses had separate shower stalls, so there would be no direct exposure.
At most, they would chat across the shower stalls and discuss the day’s gains.
Asta was confident that his sexual orientation was absolutely normal; whether it was Goddesses, Elves, or cute Beast-girl maidens, they all appealed to him; he was definitely not interested in men.
…
The large dining hall on the second floor of Twilight Manor.
After almost all members had gathered there, Loki once again stood in a prominent position, holding a large wooden cup in her hand, though this time it contained not alcohol, but some kind of fruit juice.
“Well, those of you who are about to embark on an expedition, I’m sure you already know what I’m going to say, so I won’t waste any more words.
In short, no matter what happens, you must come back alive!”
“Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!!”
At the end of her speech, as the Goddess raised her cup, the members below responded with a roar, raising their own cups to toast.
Not many were drinking alcohol, as the timing was inappropriate.
To put it metaphorically, it was like going to war tomorrow, and drinking tonight was clearly not suitable.
Some secretly indulged in a single cup, but their friends nearby were keeping an eye on each other, ensuring no one drank too much.
The rectangular dining tables in the large dining hall were huge; one table could easily accommodate over a dozen people, and twenty was not an issue if they squeezed.
Asta and Raul sat at one table, next to Raul’s teammates from the Loki Familia’s second tier.
The Cat-person girl Anakitty, the Elf big sister Alicia, the human girl Linne, Aelfie…
Wait, why are they all girls???
Sitting near the center of the dining table, Asta sharply noticed something was amiss.
Uh no, it seemed like there was nothing amiss.
It wasn’t surprising that there were more girls in God Loki’s Familia.
It was unexpected, yet within expectations~
After all, the one who caused this phenomenon was a certain God with unclear intentions~ (whispering)
The Loki Familia, which had grown to its current size through the Gods’ persuasion (recruitment), truly boasted a multitude of beauties among its female members, clearly reflecting her interests, regardless of the male members.
“Achoo!”
Loki, who was being supervised by her Familia’s Elf Royal Mama-san to drink fruit juice, suddenly sneezed.
“Who?
Who’s thinking of me!?”
“Who would think of you~”
Facing Loki’s self-questioning, Riveria, who was nearby, retorted without hesitation.
“Wuwuwu, Mama-san is so heartless, I want to drink alcohol~”
“If you dare to call me that again, do you believe my staff will land on your head!?”
“Wununu…”
Upon hearing this, Loki immediately shrank her head like a little chick.
A God who could be threatened by her own Familia was probably the only one of her kind in all of Orario, with no other branch.
Soon, those who had finished eating began to clear their dishes and left the grand dining hall one by one.
At this moment, Loki, who could finally enjoy a drink, suddenly remembered something, stood up, and her eyes scanned the surroundings, finally stopping in a certain direction.
A smile instantly appeared on her face, and Loki picked up her wine glass and walked towards that direction.
Taking advantage of the dinner time to establish a friendly relationship with a few girls, Asta, who was chatting idly with them, suddenly felt his head sink.
“Who is it!?
Who dares to ambush me???”
Haven’t you heard that you can’t touch a tiger’s head?
Moreover, with Asta’s punch now, a mere tiger was nothing.
Immediately, everyone at the table, including Raul who was quietly eating, looked at Asta, their eyes filled with schadenfreude.
And when Asta turned his head, he couldn’t help but fall silent, as if he had swallowed a fly.
Close at hand was a familiar smiling face with two dimples, and the vermilion hair almost blinded Asta’s eyes.
As a God, Loki, without any pretense, quietly snuck up behind Asta and rested her bent elbow on top of Asta’s head.
However, before she could even state her intentions, Asta’s words made her pause.
After realizing what he said, the God let out a meaningful sound.
“Oh-ho?
‘I’ (I)?
If I remember correctly, this is a self-appellation commonly used by some important figures in the Far East, isn’t it?
Little Asta is quite knowledgeable, huh?
He even knows a bit about Far East knowledge~”
“Cough…
cough cough cough…
God Loki, why did you come over to my side?”
For a moment, as if having an asthma attack, Asta tried to change the subject.
He suddenly missed the old mobile network and social media.
At this moment, Asta really wanted to post on his social media and ask his friends: What do you do when you show off to your own God?
Waiting online, it’s urgent~
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”