"I'm so jealous of Astraea!"
Demeter shook her head helplessly and lifted the basket in her hands.
"These are vegetables I specially prepared for you. They were all picked fresh this morning, so take them and enjoy them without worry!"
As the basket was handed to Elise, its contents were revealed under the sunlight.
Tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage... although the basket was not large, the variety was impressive. As expected of a goddess from an agricultural Familia.
"Thank you very much, Lady Demeter!"
This was not the first time Demeter had given Elise food, so Elise accepted it naturally.
In return, Elise would visit Demeter's Familia every so often and prepare a lavish meal for them. Because of this, she had maintained fairly close ties with Demeter's Familia.
"It's nothing. You deserve it," Demeter said with a smile. "To be able to use human hands to create cuisine that rivals divine craftsmanship... among all the children in the lower world, perhaps only you can achieve that."
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Demeter appreciated Elise so much, even personally visiting Astraea.
When the two goddesses held their private conversation, Elise did not listen in. She had no idea what they discussed. She only knew that in the end, Demeter left with a regretful expression.
Even when she later asked Astraea about it, she did not receive any clear answer.
It was probably about transferring Familias again, wasn't it?
But even after such an unpleasant matter, Demeter continued treating Elise and Astraea just as warmly as before.
From this alone, it was clear how broad-minded this goddess truly was. Not only outwardly broad, but inwardly as well.
After parting with Demeter, Elise quickly finished buying the rest of her ingredients and headed back toward her Familia.
However...
It seems like there are two little tails following me.
With Elise's outstanding perception, no attempt at tracking could escape her notice. The two individuals tailing her were quickly discovered.
Who is it this time? And what are they planning to do to me?
Elise had been in Orario for quite some time. Although there were people who sought trouble with her, they were few. After all, her public persona was that of a saintess—well-liked and admired.
Those who would deliberately target her either held deep grudges or belonged to Evilus. The possibility of anything else was extremely low.
Judging from their clothing, Elise strongly suspected they were from Evilus again. After being attacked so many times, she had likely long become a thorn in their side—someone they wanted removed as soon as possible to eliminate future trouble.
"But what a pity."
Elise had not yet fully stepped onto the grand stage of the world. Though the rumors surrounding her were astonishing, they were few in number, making it easy for others to doubt their authenticity.
Take, for example, the incident of her single-handedly defeating the Floor Boss Goliath. Although many claimed to have witnessed it, far more people had never seen Elise inside the Dungeon.
After her initial appearance, she had always entered the Dungeon while invisible. Even when exchanging magic stones at the Guild, she did so only occasionally.
The place where outsiders saw Elise most often was when she was shopping for groceries—cheerfully greeting shopkeepers all across Orario.
This naturally created an information gap. Between the Elise described in rumors and the Elise seen in reality, which would people choose to believe?
Evilus likely thought the same way. The tales about Elise were exaggerated to the extreme, giving off the impression of deliberate overstatement.
The more you exaggerate, the less I'm going to believe you're truly as powerful as the rumors claim.
Every time Elise passed a location, the two figures adjusted their movements to follow her trajectory. Their intentions were already obvious.
Just as Elise was preparing to act, an unexpected development occurred. The two people following her suddenly walked straight toward her.
If this was meant to be an attack, wasn't it far too brazen?
Do they really think I wouldn't notice?
"Excuse me, are you Elise Holiness?"
"I am. And who might you be? What is this regarding?"
Once the two approached, Elise dismissed her earlier suspicion. The finer details of their attire did not resemble Evilus members. Instead, they looked more like members of a major Familia.
The two exchanged glances before explaining, "We are members of Loki Familia. We have come to speak with you regarding an important matter. Would you have time to visit our Familia?"
Loki Familia?
Hearing an unexpected name, Elise frowned slightly. She didn't believe she had much interaction with Loki Familia.
At most, they had only met briefly at yesterday's banquet... so what could Loki Familia possibly want with her?
Seeing the hesitation on Elise's face, the two did not attempt to force the issue.
"If it is inconvenient, that is fine. We will send our captain's letter to your Familia at a later time."
A letter? What kind of matter requires a letter?
Questions filled Elise's mind. Had something major happened within Loki Familia?
"It's no problem. I've had quite a bit of free time recently. Visiting Loki Familia wouldn't be inconvenient."
There were currently three people in her Familia lying on the ground, unable to move. How could she possibly find time to explore the Dungeon?
If she left Astraea alone to take care of Alise and the others...
No, Elise couldn't bear the thought. After all, she was the one who had beaten them into that state. If she went off to the Dungeon now, her conscience would never allow it.
"Then we will await your visit."
The two members of Loki Familia bowed slightly before departing. Their manner of conduct was remarkably formal.
"I wonder what Loki is planning..." Elise shook her head. "No, more likely it's what Finn is planning."
After all, Loki Familia operated differently from other Familias. They truly resembled a large family rather than a group directly controlled by their chief god.
"We're not that different... right?"
Astraea was a gentle and kind goddess. Though she could be sharp at times, overall she was more like a mother. She had even once let Elise taste food from Heaven.
Elise herself was a good captain, pouring her heart and soul into strengthening her members. Compared to the original Astraea Familia, their overall strength had increased significantly.
Although Est rarely involved herself in internal Familia affairs, whenever a crisis arose, she would step in to resolve it—usually by overwhelming force.
And as for Alise, Kaguya, and Lyra, did that even need to be said?
Though they had struggled at first to adapt to Elise's special training, they ultimately persevered. At critical moments, they obeyed their captain's commands. In their spare time, they remained motivated and trained diligently.
One day, they would surely surpass Loki and Freya.