The next day, the Loki Familia made a very high-profile announcement: their 'Sword Princess,' Ais Wallenstein, had successfully ascended to Level 8.
The entire city of Orario was stunned by this news.
It wasn't that the gods were weak-hearted, but rather that the news came as such a complete shock.
In their understanding, the 'Sword Princess' should still be at Level 6. How could she have disappeared for half a year and then reappeared with an upgrade to Level 8? That was just too outrageous!
"The Sword Princess has indeed ascended to Level 8."
This time, the news didn't just leak from within the Loki Familia. It was officially confirmed by the Guild and disseminated through a formal proclamation.
Well, this news has completely blown Orario's mind.
Yeah, for the second time.
The first explosion was the initial hearing of the news; the second was the confirmation of the news.
This immediately shifted the gods' attention from that mysterious child who had been absent for half a year to the much-discussed "Sword Princess."
Now, the "Sword Princess" was the hottest topic in all of Orario.
After all, Level 8 had truly been unheard of since the era of Hera's and Zeus's Familia. This time, it was genuinely rare. Even rarer than that mysterious child.
However, just as the gods were about to investigate, Loki Familia simultaneously released their upcoming expedition plans.
"An expedition starting in half a month? Just promoted and already heading to the dungeon?"
Clearly, this news was also very abrupt. Just as the gods were preparing to investigate, the subject herself was about to depart with Loki Familia for the dungeon.
This caused the few gods who had just started to take interest to frown.
"That's deliberately targeting us."
Some gods, familiar with Loki's nature, immediately realized what was happening.
"Loki absolutely did this on purpose—teasing our interest while keeping everything tightly under wraps. That girl is getting back at us. Getting back at us for messing with her."
Once certain things were laid bare, more gods naturally understood the underlying reason.
Most of the gods couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Although they knew Loki was retaliating against them, ultimately, it was because of their own earlier meddling with Loki.
"Sigh... If I'd known Loki's child was preparing for advancement, I should've held back back then."
"Who can say what's right in such matters?"
Indeed, who could say what was right in such matters?
"How many years has it been since a Lv.8 appeared? Even the strongest 'King' before was only Lv.7—he had the qualifications to ascend to Lv.8. But who would've thought the first to ascend wouldn't be him, but Loki's child?"
Truthfully, the gods weren't particularly surprised by Ottar suddenly ascending to Lv.8. After all, he'd been at the pinnacle of Orario for many years. Everyone had long ceased to be astonished by Ottar's strength.
But Loki's child?
Half a year ago, the 'Sword Princess' was just an adventurer who had ascended to Level 6. Who would have thought that in just half a year, the 'Sword Princess' would leap over Level 7 and head straight for Level 8?
"Speaking of the 'King,' it seems like Freya hasn't appeared in a long time, right?"
"Indeed. But if it's Freya, she's probably out searching for a new child. After all, she's the type who can't sit still."
The moment the two gods finished their conversation, another god suddenly interjected from the side.
"By the way, could Freya-sama be on the path to finding that Mystery child?"
"!"
"It's possible."
That mysterious child might, in terms of talent, be even more extraordinary than the 'Sword Princess.'
Facing a Level 7 'Spirit Guardian,' it could kill with a single strike. That level of power likely surpasses even the 'Sword Princess' in strength. Any god would take interest in such a child. Freya, who adores children with brilliant souls, is probably drawn to it too.
"If Freya-sama is also searching for that mysterious child, perhaps we should wait. Zeus and Hera, who that child belongs to, surely know, but they definitely won't tell us."
"I can't shake the feeling that Hermes-sama, that guy who's always running errands for Zeus, knows too."
"Mm-hmm, I get that feeling too."
It wasn't just one god who felt this way—many gods shared this intuition.
Don't be fooled by Hermes's usual cheerful demeanor—this fellow's mind is truly unfathomably deep. Coupled with his status, he's spent far more time in Zeus's and Hera's presence than any other god.
Plus, Hermes possesses the privilege of freely entering and exiting Orario... To say Hermes hadn't been in contact with Zeus while away? They didn't believe it for a second.
In fact, they suspected that intelligence from all of Orario had already been delivered to Zeus and Hera long ago.
Otherwise, Zeus and Hera wouldn't have chosen such a perfect moment to return to Orario.
Hermes's tip-offs were undoubtedly behind it.
The god who spoke first couldn't help but ask.
"Should we prioritize gathering intel on the 'Sword Princess' or keep monitoring that mysterious child?"
This question was truly difficult to answer.
"Normally, we should keep our focus on that mysterious child. The secrets surrounding that child far outweigh the 'Sword Princess's' advancement."
"However…"
Whenever a "but" enters the picture, things tend to take a turn for the worse.
Yet this god still felt compelled to say "but."
"We've practically turned Orario upside down and still haven't found any trace of that child. At best, we've only uncovered a few suspicious children. But that 'suspiciousness' was quickly dismissed."
These words alone were disheartening enough, and the god speaking them felt even more despondent.
After all, they'd been searching for so long. Half a year of investigation, yet not even a trace or hint of that child could be found. Even a god with infinite time would feel somewhat disappointed.
So the god speaking them ventured a rather bold conjecture.
"What if that Mystery child has already appeared before us? Or perhaps the god of the familia they belong to is one we frequently interact with. Yet we remain utterly clueless."
Truthfully, other gods had entertained similar suspicions.
After all, Orario wasn't that big. If they were truly trying to find someone, it shouldn't take such immense effort, and yet after six months of searching, they had found nothing.
These are the gods of Orario, not cabbages.
Their search orders covered the entire city—the scale was immense.
That they found nothing in six months clearly points to a major problem.
"Who do you think is playing hide-and-seek with us?"