Wings Flutter, Waves Rise Again

"How about 15,000 Valis?"

A young girl with soft, silver-white hair spoke calmly.

She wore the white-based uniform of her Familia, her light purple eyes and dreamlike long eyelashes giving her the appearance of an exquisite doll.

Liber and Lefiya exchanged glances, hesitating for a moment, unsure if they should agree.

"This is already a rather high price. If you are not satisfied, please try another shop," Amid said coldly from behind the counter to the man and woman before her.

"No need, we'll go with the price you suggested."

In the end, it was Liber who agreed to the price.

"I will go to the back to retrieve the money. Please wait a moment."

She turned and headed into the interior.

Looking at Amid, who was dressed in blue and white attire that resembled a nurse's uniform.

As a Level 2 adventurer, she held the alias—Saint of the Battlefield.

Although she was not the strongest adventurer in her Familia, she had become the face of the organization due to her unique magic.

The magic she possessed had exceptionally strong support capabilities.

This magic simultaneously featured the properties of healing wounds, restoring stamina, dispelling toxins, and breaking curses. It could also apply "healing," "detoxification," and "curse-breaking" effects separately, work on multiple people, and provide continuous effects; it was a highly versatile, high-ranking healing magic.

She was a healer capable of sustaining an entire frontline on her own.

As a combat-oriented Loki Familia, Finn and Loki had publicly invited her to join their expeditions many times, only to be politely declined by her.

Even though the Loki Familia did not lack healers—and Riveria, the strongest mage in Orario, also possessed healing magic—in terms of pure healing ability, everyone acknowledged that Amid's unique magic, Dia Frater, was the strongest.

"Here, I've placed it here. Please count it."

Amid placed the money pouch on the counter and pushed it toward Liber.

After Liber and Lefiya finished counting the amount, she wrapped up the materials that had been resting on a silk cloth on the counter and put them away.

"Sigh."

Looking at the two in front of her, Amid sighed and said, "Earlier, a shop assistant told me that the Thousand Elf was looking for me, so I thought the Loki Familia had something to discuss."

"It turns out it was just to sell Blue Magic Butterfly materials. You could have just told a regular shop assistant about something like this."

Hearing this, Lefiya scratched her cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Well, it was just to say hello. If we have any rare drops in the future, we'll come to your shop again."

Liber smiled, trying to smooth things over.

"I don't know how many times I've heard that. We'll talk about the future when it comes."

Amid responded coldly.

"Do you two have anything else to sell, or would you like to look at potions or other items?"

"No, that's all. See you next time."

Seeing her cold expression and feeling Lefiya beside him start to tense up, Liber greeted Amid and pulled Lefiya away.

Amid watched their retreating backs, rubbed the space between her brows, and muttered, "Honestly, for a Level 3 adventurer, he has no confidence at all. It's truly worrying."

Amid had someone else from the Familia take over her shift before turning and leaving from behind the counter.

After leaving the shop, the two looked at each other and smiled.

"Alright, let's part ways here for today."

Liber said to Lefiya, "I still need to go purchase some supplies, so I'll be heading off."

"Understood. I'll head back to the Familia then."

Hearing that Liber still had things to do, Lefiya bid him farewell and walked toward the headquarters of the Loki Familia.

Liber watched Lefiya's retreating figure.

Standing in place, he took a flyer out of his inventory.

"Now then, where was that shop located again?"

He checked the address on the flyer, left the area in front of the door, and began to follow the directions.

Orario, Babel.

This massive chalk-white tower stood like a seal over the entrance to the Dungeon, its structure thick at the base and tapering as it stretched upward into the unseen heights.

The interior of the tower actually contained a vast amount of space, and many merchants had set up shop inside. For instance, the Hephaestus Familia, famous for their craftsmanship, sold their works there.

The gods of the lower world also purchased or leased space in the upper reaches of Babel to display their status.

At the very top of Babel, a massive silhouette stood before a luxuriously decorated door.

It was a brawny beastman with short, brownish-red hair, standing over two meters tall with a pair of boar ears atop his head.

He knocked on the door.

"Lady Freya." He called out into the room, but after waiting for a long time, there was no response.

He knocked again, yet still, no one answered.

Hesitating for a moment, he pushed the door open to reveal a magnificent room featuring a wide, expansive bed.

Directly facing the bed was a giant, seamless glass window that offered a panoramic view of the entirety of Orario.

The floor was covered in a plush, velvet carpet that sank under one's weight, and the walls were adorned with paintings of the sun and moon.

When the brawny man entered, the room was completely empty. He scanned the area, failed to find the figure he was looking for, and called out once more.

"Lady Freya?"

His voice echoed softly throughout the spacious room.

The brawny man's keen senses failed to detect any other presence within the room.

His troubled face furrowed into a frown, and he turned to stride quickly toward the door.

He pushed open the doors to the surrounding maid quarters, looked at the unconscious maids inside, and with a stern expression, ignored the women on the floor and turned to leave at an accelerated pace.

Night fell.

The labyrinth city transformed into a city that never slept, brightly lit and bustling with activity.

At the Freya Familia headquarters located in the city's Fifth District, the Battlefield Plains.

This was a room accessible only to the executives of the Freya Familia, containing a large round table with matching chairs.

"Ottar, why have you called us here?"

A cat-person youth with short black hair and azure eyes asked the brawny man sitting at the head of the table.

"I haven't heard of an emergency summons in a long time."

"It must have been at least four years."

"What else could it be besides battle?"

"It seems there is a major war coming."

Four voices, eerily similar, spoke one after another.

Looking toward the source, they came from the four identical Prum brothers sitting beside the cat-person youth.

"The horn of war has already sounded... hehe..."

A dark-skinned, silver-haired elf curled his lips into a stiff smile.

"What he means is, who are we going to war with?"

Standing beside him, a fair-skinned, golden-haired elf explained the former's words.

"Quiet!"

The brawny Ottar scanned everyone present with a grave expression and spoke slowly.

"There is only one reason I have summoned you all... Lady Freya is currently missing."

""What?!""

The others were shocked, leaping from their seats to stare fixedly at Ottar, their fierce gazes piercing him like needle points.

"From this moment on, everyone is to enter a state of combat readiness and begin a city-wide search."

Ottar stood up slowly, meeting their gazes as he spoke each word clearly.

As soon as he finished, the figures around him scattered from their seats and sprinted toward the exit.

Ottar walked toward the door, his silhouette growing more imposing with every step, the muscles on his exposed arms rippling.

His cold face turned somewhat ferocious, and gradually, the shadows outside swallowed his body completely.

A short while later.

"Captain, Vice-Captain!"

Ottar and the others who had been at the meeting stood fully armed on the silent street, turning to look at the subordinate who had called out to them.

The man ran over, looking anxious, as everyone present stared at him in unison.

The man stammered, "We have sent people to search every location, but we still haven't found any sign of the Goddess."

Ottar frowned and stared at him. "Every location?"

The man hesitated before saying, "We couldn't check the headquarters and shops of other Familias, but we have searched everywhere else."

"Then go search them!" Ottar said sternly. "Do not worry about the interference of other Familias; the safety of the Goddess is the absolute priority!"

"Understood!" The man replied nervously. "Um... should we search the Loki Familia headquarters as well?"

Ottar's eyes narrowed, then snapped open. "Search! You all go search the other Familias; you don't need to worry about the Loki Familia. I will go there myself."

"Understood!" Following that, the man led the members as they scattered in all directions.

Ottar watched the members depart, slowly scanning the executives around him.

"Allen, come with me to the Loki Familia. The other executives are to support the members in the search. Do not go all out until the Goddess's safety is confirmed."

"What a hassle." Four similar voices spoke in unison.

Ottar swept his gaze over them, and the four immediately fell silent as if struck by a chill.

"Let's go."

After dropping those words, their figures were swallowed by the night.

Stepping out of the weapon shop, he arrived at the shopping street.

Liber looked back at the shop behind him.

"They claimed there were discounts, but it wasn't actually much cheaper."

He curled his lip; the prices on the flyer were completely different from the actual prices in the shop.

Liber looked at the newly risen moon and felt it was still early.

"I'll go check other places. I need to stock up on a few more weapons before the ones from Goibniu are forged."

Just as he thought this and prepared to step forward, he suddenly felt a body collide with him. His frame swayed but his feet remained planted, while the other figure tumbled to the side.

"Ah."

A sweet, delicate cry of pain rang out.

Before Liber could even turn around, he froze at the sound.

Only then did he look at the figure he had knocked down.

The person was wearing a loose, oversized robe that covered their entire body, with a hood pulled over their head that obscured their face.

Based on the long strands of hair that had slipped down as the person lowered their head and the soft voice from a moment ago, Liber tentatively identified the person as female.

Seeing her sitting on the ground clutching her backside after the fall, he reached out a hand toward her.

"Are you alright?"