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While August enjoyed the comforts of his own world, night quietly settled over the Dungeon city of Orario.
Inside the Artemis Familia compound, the mood was tense. Rethusa, the Familia Captain, slid a thick report across the wooden table.
Sitting across from her was a skeletal figure in black robes—Fels.
"So you are officially rejecting the quest??" Fels asked, his hollow voice echoing softly.
"Fels, this isn't my call to make," Rethusa sighed, rubbing her temples. "If Lady Artemis gave the order, I would march straight to hell for her. But she locked herself in her room. This mission is a death trap."
Rethusa looked exhausted. They weren't holding back out of fear. The reason was August.
August had strongly criticized Artemis for even thinking about the mission. He said sending her children into obvious danger was arrogant and that she had no right to risk their lives.
After August confronted her, Hestia, Miach, and Hephaestus also gave her a lecture. Now, the Goddess was officially grounded.
"August's combat analysis says we'd need several [Level 5] vanguards and a team of dozens of elites to take down that monster," Rethusa explained. "That's a full-scale deploynt for an A-Rank Familia. We just don't have that kind of strength. Going back would be suicide."
The title 'Divine Assassin' wasn't given lightly. A monster that could destroy the land and hunt Gods would be at least [Level 5] in strength. Sending a weaker Familia against it was almost a joke.
"I see. Multiple [Level 5]?" Fels muttered. "That complicates things."
Divine Assassins were like Floor Bosses that appeared on the surface. They were much stronger than Adventurers of the sa level. Without a strong finishing move, these monsters could take out weaker fighters almost right away.
Fels sat in silence, calculating their options.
The Guild needed soone to look into and deal with this threat. But sending a top-level team was very expensive. It wasn't easy to ask the best Adventurers to risk their lives without pay.
"Understood."
Once he made up his mind, Fels stood up and quietly left the compound, disappearing into the shadows before anyone noticed.
Rethusa paused at the empty doorway and let out a heavy sigh. She walked slowly down the hall and stopped outside Artemis's bedroom.
"Lady Artemis. I officially rejected the quest." Rethusa called out through the heavy wood.
"Mgh..." A muffled, pathetic grunt ca from inside.
Artemis was tangled in her bedsheets, clutching a pillow tightly. She looked both angry and dejected.
When she heard the pouty reply, Rethusa just shook her head.
"Is she still mad?" Lante, a half-elf mber of the Familia, peeked around the corner. She looked at the closed door with concern.
"She's not mad," Rethusa replied, leaning against the wall. "She just got lectured by Lady Hestia, Lady Hephaestus, and Lord Miach for hours. Also, the Elsos Ruins were once a sacred place. The Great Spirits and ancient Heroes fought there. I understand why she's upset about leaving it behind."
Losing a sacred site stung. Getting lectured by your divine best friends stung worse.
"Ah, yeah... that makes sense," Lante said, scratching her cheek awkwardly. She hadn't expected their Patron Goddess to get scolded so much. "But we can't just leave the Elsos Ruins like that, can we?"
"That is the Guild's problem now," Rethusa stated firmly.
Whatever monster was hiding in those woods was far too strong for them. Rethusa refused to let her Familia be destroyed just out of duty.
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anwhile, far below the surface.
Fels made his way through the hidden, winding tunnels beneath Babel and stepped onto the grand altar.
"Fels." Ouranos opened his ancient eyes, his divine aura pulsing faintly through the dark chamber. "The situation?"
"The quest was rejected," Fels said as he stepped up to the dais. "Rethusa's report says the problem in the Elsos Ruins is a sealed Divine Assassin. Based on the combat estimates, we'd need an A-Rank Familia or at least five [Level 5] vanguards to defeat it."
Fels handed over the official report. It included August's harsh tactical analysis and Rethusa's estimates of possible casualties.
Ouranos scanned the parchnt.
"Neither Freya nor Loki will send that kind of force for a problem on the surface," Ouranos said. "And since the target is a Divine Assassin, sending Loki could cause a whole new disaster."
Fels nodded. Taking down a disaster-level monster wasn't a normal job. If they shared this with the major Familias, it would just start a bidding war. No one wanted to risk their best [Level 5] fighters on such a dangerous mission.
Ouranos set the parchnt down.
"What if we hand the subjugation over to the boy from the other world?" Ouranos suggested out of nowhere.
The silence in the altar broke, like soone had dropped a large stone into calm water.
"You want August to handle it? By bringing in his world's military?" Fels stared at the ancient God in disbelief. "Ouranos, do you have any idea what happens if you open that door?"
"With that kind of modern firepower, even Ottar would be blown to pieces before he could swing his sword. It would be impossible to control."
Fels thought Ouranos had lost his mind.
August ca from a modern superpower. Their weapons could easily beat Orario's strongest champions. Fels wasn't underestimating Earth's civilization—he was afraid of it. If they got a foothold, they could take over the whole Labyrinth city very quickly.
"No. You're looking at this the wrong way," Ouranos replied calmly. "The boy has a good heart."
"He has no ambition to conquer this world. He sees himself as just a traveler passing through." Ouranos pulled a new dossier from his robes. "If my information is right, Hestia has already brought in two new recruits from the multiverse."
This file ca directly from Royman Mardeel, the Guild Head.
Ouranos didn't doubt August's abilities at all. The boy wasn't just traveling between two worlds—he could reach many more. But what mattered most were the choices he made.
August didn't side with Loki. He didn't bow to Freya. He ignored the warlike Gods completely. He chose Hestia, the virgin Goddess of the Hearth.
That one choice showed the boy wanted a ho, not an empire.
Fels took the new dossier and skimd through it. It was a detailed psychological profile written by Royman.
"Hoh. He actually ran a full assessnt." Fels was surprised.
Royman was a greedy, corrupt pig of an elf, but his administrative instincts were good.
According to the profile, August projected an aura of normalcy, but his manners and vocabulary were strikingly polished. He was undeniably educated—yet possessed the grit to ruthlessly insult anyone who crossed him.
Aggressive Intent: Moderate.
Intellectual Capacity: High.
Moral Alignnt: Lawful Good.
The report was very positive. Fels hadn't expected the Guild Head to rate an outsider so highly.
"Hephaestus says the boy plans to use his new healing magic to help amputees in his own world, free of charge," Ouranos added. That alone earned him a lot of goodwill among the Gods of Justice.
"But the boy already warned Artemis about the danger," Fels pointed out. "Why would he volunteer for a suicide mission?"
"Give him ti to prepare. Tell him he's allowed to bring his world's military across the border for the strike," Ouranos ordered. "But the strike force can only stay for two days."
"Two days?" Fels blinked. "That's a really tight window."
"It has to be," Ouranos said with a dry chuckle. "If we give them any longer, the Gods on the surface will figure out what's happening. They'll start trying to kidnap his soldiers to strengthen their own Familias."
He wasn't joking. The Gods of Orario were real naces. If they saw well-trained soldiers with modern weapons, human trafficking would comnce imdiately.
"Understood. I'll make the arrangents tomorrow." Fels accepted the reasoning. Now that the plan was set, he just had to carry it out.
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Back on Earth.
August had no idea that the secret rulers of Orario were planning to throw a boss raid his way. He was too caught up in the bright lights and excitent of the city at night.
"Wooooooooo!"
A group of bumper cars crashed into each other all over the arena, sparks flying.
Hestia, Liliruca Arde, Yui Hirasawa, and Ui Hirasawa shouted with excitent, pressing their pedals hard and chasing each other around.
CRASH!
"TAKE THAT!" Hestia cheered, spinning her steering wheel wildly.
The girls were having the ti of their lives. After hitting the the park rides and the water park, their adrenaline was maxed out.
For Lili, all of this was amazing. Seeing modern entertainnt and everyday comforts for the first ti changed how she saw everything. She realized how lucky people in August's world were—they could enjoy life instead of struggling to survive every day.
Naturally, the group attracted a lot of attention.
Hestia was stunning, with a beauty that stood out. Lili, Yui, and Ui all had bright chestnut hair that made them easy to spot. Together, they looked like pop idols.
The local guys hanging out by the bumper cars shot August dirty looks.
What the hell did this guy do in his past life to score a harem like this?
When Yui and Ui started shouting in Japanese, people realized they were beautiful tourists from another country. Lili looked like a cute middle-schooler, even though she was actually fifteen.
August was surrounded by girls who looked like celebrities. If glares could kill, he'd be in real danger.
But August didn't care.
He paid no attention to the angry stares. He didn't bring his friends to show off. He just wanted to enjoy the bumper cars and relax, and he wasn't going to let strangers ruin his night.
For the first ti in a while, August gave a real, easy smile.
When the girls saw August let go of his usual serious Adventurer attitude, they relaxed too.
"Mr. August is so handso when he smiles," Yui blurted out, her total lack of a verbal filter acting up again. "If it were , I'd definitely marry him."
"NO WAY!"
Hestia, Lili, and Ui all scread in unison, aggressively shutting her down.
"Yui! You are way too young to be talking about marriage!" Ui scolded her older sister.
"But wait..." Yui tilted her head, her eyes unfocused as she tried to figure it out. "If we match up with Mr. August's tiline... I'm actually thirty-three years old."
"I'm an old woman."
CRACK.
It sounded like three separate souls shattering simultaneously.
"O-Old... woman..."
Ui and Lili froze. Yui's comnt completely crushed their self-esteem.
Because of the differences in tilines, everyone except the immortal Goddess was actually older than August. Even Lili, who looked like a kid, was in the sa age group.
If they didn't win him over soon, they might miss their chance. Finding a good, dependable guy like August would be almost impossible.
"Not happening! August is MINE!" Hestia screeched, her hair standing on end. Her anti-NTR radar was screaming at maximum volu. Her own subordinates were openly plotting a mutiny.
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