"Huh?"
Alise snapped out of her daze and hurriedly cut off the goddess before she could finish.
"Wait, wait a second, let me get this straight!"
"A clone? Lady Astraea, you mean... that Leon who just came by to deliver the goods, that was only a clone?"
The goddess smiled faintly. Under the slightly twitching gazes of Ryuu and Kaguya, she calmly picked up one sugar cube after another and dropped them into her black tea, until the sweetness was practically enough to drown her taste buds, before she lifted her silver spoon with satisfaction and stirred slowly.
"I never said it was a clone," she said, her tone soft and a little sly. "I only said... that it wasn't Leon himself. Now don't go twisting my words..."
Everyone: "..."
Trying to cover it up like that, how is it any different from plugging your ears to steal a bell?
In the wordless silence, the girls all twitched at the corners of their mouths and looked away. Only Kaguya and Lyra, the two sharpest minds with the most meticulous thinking, reacted differently.
One of them fell into deep thought, while a trace of something cold passed through the other's eyes.
That bastard, sending something that wasn't even the real him to our familia. Is he looking down on us? Or could it be...
Recalling what that bastard had done to her at the Harvest Festival, Kaguya's hand drifted toward her waist on instinct. Luckily she wasn't carrying her sword here at the familia home, or she might really have given in to the urge to draw it.
Her fierce reaction drew repeated glances from the others, every one of them eyeing Kaguya with a thoroughly strange look.
"Ahem... all right, children. Rather than wasting your energy puzzling over that boy Leon, why not put it toward improving yourselves? What do you say?"
The goddess took a sip of the cloyingly sweet tea and proposed with a smile:
"How about this. Your patrol duties have been a lot lighter lately, so for all that free time you've got, I'll keep you company training your combat skills. Mm... let's start with Kaguya first. How does that sound?"
"Of course, it's only skills training, so whatever you do, don't use your Falna. Otherwise this frail little woman won't be able to hold up against you at all..."
Everyone: "..."
As if she hadn't noticed their reactions at all, Astraea carried her tea over to the floor-to-ceiling window, lifted her eyes to the fine snow drifting outside, her tone as gentle as ever:
"Mm... I'd imagine sparring and honing yourselves on a snowy day like this has a charm all its own."
"What do you think?"
Kaguya: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Lady Goddess, do you have any idea how cunning you look right now?
And besides, as one of the heavens' Big Three of the martial faction goddesses, how can you say something like that with such a straight face!?
...
Over on the Astraea Familia's side, the terrifying growth of Leon and his group, on top of the absurd combat strength they'd shown in the Amphisbaena subjugation battle, had finally made the girls feel a sense of urgency like never before.
And now, with the shameless martial-faction goddess Astraea personally stepping in to drill them, under that divine-realm tempering (read: beating), these justice-apostle girls were no doubt about to enter another stretch of rapid growth.
If Leon heard the news, he'd surely clap and say with a grin:
"Good. That's exactly how it should be."
"Even a cheat like me doesn't get the chance to lie back and coast, so what gives you the right to slack off!"
"Look at the Dungeon under your feet. Have you cleared the Amphisbaena on Floor 27? Have you beaten the challenge against Udaeus on Floor 37? Can you get past Zagnot without a scratch? And as for our buddy Balor on Floor 49, that goes without saying."
"Even leaving the Dungeon aside, up on the surface there's still the One-Eyed Black Dragon coiled in the Dragon's Valley, eyeing everything day and night."
"With things like that, how can anyone your age sleep at night?"
"Grind, grind like your life depends on it!"
"As long as the grind doesn't kill you, grind yourself to death!"
...
On a winter evening, dusk had stained the sky early.
By now the warm yellow magic-stone lamps were lighting up one by one along the window frames of every household and the lampposts in every street and alley, weaving a gentle, homey warmth into the snow-blown Orario.
Wrapped in his winter cloak, Leon crossed North Street and arrived at the Adventurers' Plaza beneath Babel.
Looking out, the Babel plaza at the city's center was the same as ever, sending off and welcoming back the adventurers coming and going from the Dungeon, rain or shine.
Among them, some carried bulging packs, faces bright with joy; others wore long faces, clouded with worry; a few came back empty-handed but in one piece, their expressions calm enough.
A thousand people, a thousand faces, their joys and sorrows all different, sketching out the flowing tapestry of life across the plaza.
In this moment the plaza was like a mirror reflecting the fate of adventurers. Opportunity and danger interwoven, hope and loss side by side, telling the honest truth of this profession's glory and cruelty.
"Got lucky today, ran into a Rare Species Blue Papilio and made a killing! Let's go, boys! Hostess of Fertility tonight, my treat, we're not stopping till we're hammered!"
"You serious!?"
"Quit yapping!"
"Then I won't hold back."
"Hold on, hey man, what's the fun in just the Hostess of Fertility? I heard the dancers over in the Pleasure Quarter run by the Ishtar Familia are amazing. Think you could show me the sights?"
"Holy hell, kids these days."
"Hm... you know what, you're not wrong, you're really not wrong..."
"Let's all go, all go!"
"Yeah, what's so great to drink at the Hostess of Fertility, the Pleasure Quarter's way better!"
"For god's sake..."
A few adventurers who knew each other walked past Leon arm in arm, laughing.
Their carefree laughter seemed to carry a kind of warmth, quietly melting the usual calm on Leon's face and bringing a faint smile to his lips on its own.
Reminds me of those wild, carefree days back when I was still Lv. 1.
He stood by the fountain in his usual spot, his gaze sweeping over the fellow adventurers shuttling past. The ones covered in blood, helped out by their companions, especially stirred up a complicated feeling in his chest.
Have I been a little too flashy lately? Like I've slowly lost sight of where I started.
Could it be the strength getting to me? They say that when you carry a sharp weapon, the urge to kill rises on its own. Maybe that's what it means.
Like how once you've made money, you can never quite resist the itch to spend it...
Whatever. I'll let it run its course. The me now is no longer that lone Lv. 1 from back then. I've got some real strength, and even more than that, I've got partners worth trusting at my side.
Just as his thoughts were drifting, a group of figures came strolling cheerfully out of Babel. It was Rose and her companions.
In a single glance they spotted that familiar figure beside the stone-carved fountain, the familia's usual gathering spot.
Rose's lips curved up as she led the group over with easy steps.
"Leon, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you came all this way just to pick us up?"
A hint of mischief crossed her eyes as she added with a soft laugh:
"If that's really your answer, we'd be very happy, you know."
Leon: "..."
Well, since you've already put it like that, what else am I supposed to do?