"Are you ready, Elise?"
A gentle voice sounded from behind her. Like a wife seeing her husband off, Astraea personally adjusted Elise's clothes.
"Mm. This time I should be heading to even lower floors. If nothing unexpected happens, I probably won't be back for quite a while."
"I see. Then make sure you bring everything you need, Elise—especially remember to rest on time!"
"Even if you no longer need to eat, you absolutely must not neglect rest! And you must ensure your own safety!"
Astraea raised a finger, her expression extremely serious. Even though she knew Elise possessed tremendous power and was practically incapable of dying in the Dungeon, she still said it anyway.
"I understand, Lady Astraea."
How could Elise not understand Astraea's feelings?
Recognition of her Familia member and concern for her were not contradictory things.
Still, Elise really had been busy lately.
During her first solo expedition, less than a day had passed before she ran into Ottar in the Dungeon and fought him fiercely. Afterward, she immediately returned to the Familia to discuss cooperation with the Freya Familia.
Not long after, Elise set out on her second expedition. But before much time had passed, she sensed that the Barrier of the Stars on her main god and Grandma Moen had been triggered. So she instantly killed Amphisbaena, returned to the surface, and dealt with the pursuers from the Ishtar Familia.
It was also at that time that a newcomer joined the Familia—Alise, the former captain of the Astraea Familia.
To prevent the tragedy of the future from happening again, Elise decided to spend time properly helping Alise raise her ability values.
Just like that, nearly three months passed. Elise had hardly gone into the Dungeon at all. Most of her time was spent sparring with Ottar and Alise.
Calling it sparring was generous. In reality, she was just beating them up.
However, now that Alise's Endurance had risen to 999, Elise could finally ease up a little. Alise needed time to temper herself. This time, she would truly stop hitting her and give her a break.
Elise really did need to return to the Dungeon for monster-slaying special training. If she went too long without fighting monsters, she might grow rusty.
"Then I'm heading out!"
"And Alise, you'll stay in the Familia and rest during this period. Lady Astraea's safety is in your hands."
"Yes! Mission guaranteed!"
Hearing Elise's instructions, Alise immediately tensed up and straightened her posture.
What a joke!
Over this period of time, the red-haired beauty had completely witnessed the golden demon's strength.
How could she possibly harbor thoughts of resistance now?
After being beaten by Elise for so long, Alise understood very clearly just how terrifying her captain truly was.
Even if ten of her attacked together, they would probably still be taken down with ease.
She had to admit it.
Still, a faint fantasy arose in Alise's heart. Would she one day possess such overwhelming power as well?
If the opportunity ever came, she might just repay her captain properly for this "training"...
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Elise suddenly turned her head for some reason and glanced in her direction, startling Alise into breaking out in a cold sweat.
Damn, did she notice?
I don't want any more special training!
Fortunately, what she received was not further discipline, but the task of protecting their goddess.
Wonderful!
She could finally escape the fate of being beaten!
What Alise did not know was that Elise had deliberately let her off.
Alise's ability values were already extremely high. Her Endurance had reached its maximum, and her other stats were infinitely close to 999. The rest would depend on her own accumulation.
You have to do something yourself, right? Otherwise why would I bother giving you special training?
After completing the handover of internal Familia matters, Elise set off. Her destination: the Dungeon.
This time, the place she intended to reach was the thirty-seventh floor—the domain of the Floor Boss, Udaeus.
She had missed it previously because of Alise's situation. This time, she absolutely would not let it slip away.
To prevent her expedition from being interrupted again like before, Elise specially reinforced both Astraea and Alise with an even stronger Barrier of the Stars.
This time, nothing should go wrong, right?
In any case, Elise left with lingering unease.
As for whether problems would arise this time...
Only heaven knew.
...
So this is Orario...
Looking at the towering spire that pierced straight into the sky, even Kaguya—who had long lived among the nobility—could not help but feel shaken.
"No wonder this place is called the center of the world..."
But none of this concerns me. I didn't come here to sightsee...
That was right. Kaguya had not come here for adventure.
She had to take revenge.
Revenge against that so-called justice.
With such thoughts in her heart, the kimono-clad girl stepped through the gates of Orario.
However...
This time, events seemed to be unfolding just like before.
Whenever a beautiful woman arrived in Orario from outside, she would inevitably be targeted by certain groups.
It had been that way for Elise. It had been that way for Alise as well.
Within Kaguya's clan, in order to preserve the purity of their bloodline, marriages were almost always kept within the clan itself. As a result, nearly everyone in her family bore the same face—a face modeled after the clan's goddess.
Taking the goddess' beauty as the standard, all members of the clan imitated it.
Thus, Kaguya was very beautiful. Even within the future Astraea Familia, she would rank among the top.
Though imitation could not quite match the true goddess, among humans, she was unquestionably in the highest tier.
So naturally, our old friends set their sights on her once again.
That's right.
We're talking about you.
The Ishtar Familia.
To consecutively target people who all happened to belong to the same Familia—what kind of luck was that?
But it also proved one thing: the Astraea Familia really did have many beauties. Otherwise, they would not repeatedly attract Ishtar's attention.
"Hey, hey! Look over there!"
"Another incredible beauty!"
"This time we definitely have to bring her into our Familia!"
Several Amazons from the Ishtar Familia had not paid much attention at first. But once Kaguya passed by them, they immediately reacted.
"She looks like she's from the Far East, right?"
"She's really beautiful!"
"Mm, mm! She's like a gentle beauty! If only I could lie on her lap and take a nap—how wonderful would that be!"
A few of the Amazons stared at Kaguya, one of them even drooling.
"I'm not going to comment on your preferences."
"But let me say this first—this time we absolutely cannot fail!"
"The seniors in the Familia always say that every time we encounter a beautiful woman, the mission mysteriously fails. Last time it was a redhead, right?"
"So this time, we must learn from our mistakes."
The Amazons all nodded.
"Long live the Ishtar Familia!"