The Cloud-Raised Brave Man's Travels

Aegina felt this way, accompanied by an ominous inner turmoil.

This was a mandatory and top-level secret mission, one that not even the Guild Master had the authority to view. The Families that accepted this mission were usually the top Families in Orario, such as the Hera and Zeus Families back then, and the Freya and Loki Families now. Of course, this mandatory mission also had another purpose, which was for the Guild to punish the disobedient Families.

Aegina didn't know what kind of mission this time... No, actually she had some guesses. After all, although the Hestia family was indeed growing rapidly, it was still far behind the Loki and Freya families.

The next day, Koya received a summons from the guild alone. When he arrived at the guild, he was immediately invited to a private interview room by the staff. Aegina was already sitting there waiting, and on the table in front of her was a white envelope.

"I'm sorry, Koya, for asking you to come here so suddenly."

"No, nothing, so is there something wrong?"

There was a hint of doubt on Koya's face. This morning, Atalanta had just taken the sisters of her family to adventure in the dungeon when the guild's messenger came to the Hestia Familia. He conveyed the guild's instructions in a somewhat anxious tone. When Koya saw Aegina in the interview room, he was still wondering if Aegina had summoned him in her personal capacity. But when he sat opposite Aegina, he understood that Aegina was just a tool who was excluded. If she had something to ask him, she should go directly to the Hestia Familia instead of sitting in the interview room waiting for his arrival.

"……this."

"Ah."

Aina pushed the envelope in front of Koya. The envelope had the guild's seal on it, and it was a very formal letter.

"Aegina, what is this? Can I open it?"

Facing Koya's doubts, Aina hesitated for a moment and then explained:

"This is a top-secret mandatory mission issued by the guild. The higher-ups asked me to pass it on to you."

Aegina's words made Koya frown, he was already wondering if he had done something wrong.

A mandatory mission from the guild, and it’s top secret?

Although the [Hestia Familia] is now somewhat famous, it is generally only a core faction; when encountering abnormal situations that need to be handled in the dungeon, defeating powerful monsters, and then when there are emergencies outside the city, the management agency issues instructions to solve the problem. Atalanta and the others completed this order once or twice in the ten days that Koya was away, but it is a top secret level?

It's not that Koya looks down on them, but their Hestia clan really doesn't have the strength to undertake the highest level missions, because missions of this level usually appear in deep dungeons or when Lv. 5 monsters appear in the outside world.

“Can I open it here?”

"Yes, but don't show it to me. ...I'm not qualified to know the contents."

Upon receiving his answer, Koya didn't hesitate. He peeled the wax from the envelope and pulled out the instructions. At this point, the question wasn't why he'd received this mission, but how to complete it. Perhaps the source of the Hestia Familia's highest-level mission lay within this instruction.

All members of Hestia's family and the dragon girl headed to the 20th floor of the dungeon.

"..."

Very good, the order did state the reason. So it's because of Albion... But Koya's face flickered with a strange expression. He wasn't quite sure what the guild was doing towards Albion. Judging from the contents of the order, it sounded like they were planning to send the Hestia Familia to the twentieth floor of the dungeon and wipe them out. But the guild had absolutely no reason to do that. If they truly wanted to exterminate the Hestia Familia, they could simply spread the news of the Dragon Lady through the guild. Then, the Hestia Familia wouldn't be able to stay in Orario.

"Wait... they know Albion turned human."

Yes, since the guild's god knew that he had brought Albion back, he was likely monitoring the Hestia family. Then Albion's changes were naturally public information. If Albion still looked like a monster, the Hestia family would naturally have no ability to refute the guild's announcement, but Albion is now a human!

"So, you really want to catch us all in one fell swoop, right?"

"Koya?"

"Hmm? Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about something. I received the mission and I will leave tomorrow. Then, Aegina, I will leave first."

"Okay, by the way. Remember to give the letter to Goddess Hestia. This is the guild's special instruction."

"I understand."

·Dividing line·

"Well, as expected, we've been discovered. Although you disguised Albion, that disguise is the same as nothing to us gods."

Hestia sat on the sofa in the study, looking at the letter in her hand with no expression of surprise on her face.

"Hestia, what do you think the guild members are planning to do?"

"Koya, you don't have to worry too much."

Artemis spoke first to comfort everyone, then she pointed to the contents of the letter and began to explain the confusion to Koya and the others.

In addition to the instruction book bordered with vine patterns, there was also a note sheet with detailed information.

On the floor map, written in red, an area deep within the 20th floor was marked as the destination. A time was also specified. There was no set departure time, but the mission's designated location must be reached by nightfall.

"The guild has no intention of hunting us down. If they wanted to capture us all, they wouldn't have done it so obviously. My guess is... the guild probably wants you to know something, something the guild can't handle publicly and needs your help. And this matter is most likely related to a sentient monster."

"Why are you taking Albion with you?"

"I don't know."

The mandatory quest was irresistible. While the 4th floor presented no danger to the Hestia Familia, with the blessing of Haruhime's Treasure Hammer, Koya, a Level 5 player, could reach Level 6 and unleash the power of Level 20, placing him firmly in the top tier of the Orario power rankings. A mid-level th floor was no problem for him. Koya's only concern now was the guild's attitude and the nature of this map marker.

"I'm sorry, Hatsune, Haruhime, for getting you into this mess."

"No need to apologize, Koya. After all, when I saw Al, I treated her without saying a word. If you must say it, I dragged you into this."

"My dear husband, please don't apologize to us for saving someone. I was also saved by you, so I understand what you mean to us."

The designated targets of this mission are the Hestia Familia, and there is no mention of the Hestia Alliance, so the four people who will carry out the mission this time are Koya, Hatsune, Haruhime, and Albion.

"Well, my two wives are very understanding and came to let me hug them."

"Hate it! What obscene things are you saying at this time?"

"U-Husband, it's not good to do this during the day."

Seeing the three people fighting, Aphrodite couldn't wait to join in, hugging Koya and touching her like a nympho, while Artemis grabbed Aphrodite's collar and tried to pull the nympho away. When Aphrodite and Artemis were struggling, Ishtar took advantage of the situation and squeezed Aphrodite out and she became the one in Koya's arms. Elle looked at the fighting people with envy, wanting to join in but not daring to act.

Tiamat was currently playing with Albion in the courtyard and had not joined the fight. Otherwise, she would have 'accidentally' activated her power of reproduction, and this originally serious discussion would have become more serious.

Hestia, who used to be the first one to run over and get close to Koya, was now sitting on the sofa, looking at the mission instructions carefully.

There was a message saying "Go to the 20th floor" and vine-like patterns on the four sides of the paper.

At first glance, it looks like just ordinary patterns, but this is no ordinary decoration.

Cleverly hidden away were the entire lines of text the gods were accustomed to seeing—the [Sacred Text].

[After your family members depart, please proceed to Street 4, District 7. We have no intention of harming you.]

The text used by the gods contained such content. It was a very crude encryption method, but it was very useful because it could be understood by specific gods.

One of the other party's goals is to send his family away and contact the main god.

Hestia's eyes narrowed. As a goddess who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, she had seen countless schemes and intrigues, yet she couldn't guess what the guild was up to. This wasn't due to a lack of wisdom, but rather insufficient intelligence and her own obvious disadvantages...

(Could it be that the person behind this is...?)

The secret code sent to her made Hestia's expression tense, but she didn't have any good solution. She could only take one step at a time. However, it was foolish to pin her hopes on others. And it happened that Hestia really had a trump card in her hand that could overturn the table. Although Tiamat and the others were "very weak", in Orario where the powers of all the gods were sealed, their existence was the trump card!

At night, Hatsune and Haruhime usually tell stories to Albion to put her to sleep, but today this task is in charge of Koya, because it is a mandatory task that requires Albion to go along, but this mandatory task has not been explained to her yet.

Albion was lying on the bed, looking at Koya with her big round eyes. Her eyes were full of surprise. It was obvious that Koya's arrival made her very happy. Koya sat beside her and rubbed her little head.

After Albion was transformed by Tiamat, her hair, which was originally a mixture of blue and silver, had turned into pure silver. Under the light of the magic stone lamp, her silver hair was particularly dazzling, as if moonlight was draped over her body; when Koya's hand touched her hair, he felt like he was touching a piece of fine silk.

"Koya~~~~~"

Albion made a gurgling sound in her throat like a little animal, and she narrowed her eyes in enjoyment.

"Al, I have something to tell you. Can you listen to me?"

"Ah."

"The guild has issued a mandatory mission..."

Koya omits a lot of unnecessary description and only explains what to do and why to do it.

"That's it, Al will you come with us?"

"..."

Albion was silent, perhaps thinking or perhaps she simply didn't understand what Koya said. She lay on the bed with her eyes closed, as if she was asleep. Koya didn't say anything else, but just gently stroked her head, as if trying to coax Albion to fall asleep quickly.

"It's okay if you don't want to go, I will help you solve everything."

"No, I want to go."

Koya's voice was very soft, as if he was whispering. Perhaps he hoped that Albion had fallen asleep. As for taking her to the dungeon, he could just let Tiamat make a puppet. At most, he would have to accept a fine from the guild. After all, too much debt is better than nothing. But when Koya finished speaking, Albion opened her eyes and sat up. Her eyes met Koya's, and her eyes were very firm.

"Koya accepted this mission because of me, right?"

"I believe Koya. Koya won't hurt me."

"And now I'm very strong! The power my mother gave me is very powerful. I can protect Koya! Whoosh~ Whoosh~~"

The girl, as pure as a blank sheet of paper, made the decision based solely on trust. She returned to the place where she was "born," the place where she was endlessly hunted. Of course, she was afraid. But she believed that Koya, who had brought her out of that place, would definitely bring her back here.

"I will protect Al, too."

Chapter 199: Heresy Exists

The next day, Koya and his companions were fully prepared. The magic potions they bought from the Mih family filled up a corner of Koya's personal storage. They set out at six in the morning. After all, it was quite rushed to reach the 20th floor in the early morning. It was easy to get to the 18th floor, but it would definitely take some time to get to the 19th and 20th floors, which the Hestia family had never set foot on.

Along the way, Koya gave all the fighting opportunities to Albion, and she did not disappoint Koya. Albion perfectly displayed her monstrous fighting instincts in the face of monsters. Every time she fired a gun, she could accurately pierce the flaws. So far, the monsters from the first to the seventeenth floor were no match for Albion.

By the way, although Koya had Albion swing a door-like giant sword during her training to build strength, her most proficient weapon was the spear, which she wielded in each hand. Her fighting style was much like a beast's desperate struggle, with the spear being her claws, but unlike a beast, she wielded it with a graceful dance-like grace.

"Koya Koya~ I'm awesome, right?"

Watching the monsters that once chased her turn to ash in her hands, Albion was delighted. This was the power to protect herself, Koya, and her family! But she still needed to become even stronger!

In this way, the group of four was moving towards the middle level at the fastest speed. When the bright moon hung high in the sky, they finally arrived at the 20th floor. The environment of the tree maze was too complicated. Even with the guidance of the map, Koya and his friends had gotten lost several times. However, with the luck of Koya and Albion, they still had plenty of time to reach their destination.

And above the ground—

The moon hanging high in the night sky is about to be covered by clouds.

Hestia walked down the street, gazing up at the gray clouds. Taking advantage of the moonlight, she left the Hestia Familia and headed for the location on the instructions.

Even after midnight, a hint of bustling activity could still be heard from bustling areas like Northwest Avenue [Adventurer Street]. Hestia listened to the sounds of the street as she walked beneath the flickering, nearly extinguished magic stone streetlights.

Written on the mandatory mission order! Designate [Street 4, District 7] as the meeting point.

That location was actually quite close to Hestia's old base, the hidden room in the church, and just a few streets away from her new base, the Hearth House. In other words, it was a deserted place, perfect for committing evil deeds. Sector 4, the heart of this ruined area, was a desolate and desolate place, a place no one would normally visit.

Arriving at the designated location, Hestia looked around.

There were no magic stone lamps here, and even the moonlight was dimmed by clouds, making the surrounding area quite dark. The houses lining the road seemed deserted, with no sign of human presence. Quietly standing in the corner of the road, a wooden stick stood, affixed to it was a sign in the Common language that read "Street No. 4."

The streets, shrouded in the darkness of night, could only be described as chilly and windy, Hestia thought.

——In fact, this is true.

"... Perhaps it's a bit tactless to ask you where you came from?"

In a corner of the pitch-black street, a being shrugged off the darkness and appeared silently.

This is a mysterious figure who looks like a shadow, wrapped tightly in black clothes.

A chirping sound came from the pitch-black gloves on his hands, and he stood facing Hestia at a distance of about five or six meters.

Seeing this sudden, eerie figure, Hestia's forced smile twitched. This image... was truly unflattering. Eleven out of ten people would think there was something wrong with this person. Simply put... he looked like a villain.

"Nice to meet you, Goddess Hestia. I'm deeply apprehensive to trouble you."

"Well, hello, nice to meet you. So, who are you?"

The man in black spoke in a distorted voice that was hard to tell whether it was male or female. If Hestia were to describe it... the voice made by the man in black did not sound like a human voice.

Is the pitch-black robe that covers and conceals its entire body a weapon for dealing with gods who can see through the lies of the inhabitants of the underworld?

As her appearance suggested, this opponent, whose appearance and affiliation were completely unknown, drew a look of surprise from Hestia, who chose her words with caution.

"You don't look like a guild member. Why did you call me to a place like this—"

Hestia raised the instruction book in one hand and shook it, then suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence.

She stopped in a daze.

A pair of divine eyes stared into the depths of the other person's hooded coat that was blocked by darkness.

"Are you really our child... a human? This feeling..."

"...It's such a headache. It really is useless to disguise myself before God."

In response to Hestia's surprise, she gave a wry smile that seemed to come from the heart, and shook her robe.

Faced with the goddess who was clearly shaken, the man in black remained calm.

"You, who are you..."