"Lord Eltharion?"
Another familiar female voice reached Raven's ears.
Frozen in place, Raven turned his head toward the crowd.
This time, it was...
—Mikoto, from the Takemikazuchi Familia!
"…Why am I suddenly the center of attention?"
Raven sighed internally, feeling slightly exasperated.
At that moment, among the watching crowd—specifically within the Apollon Familia—
Cassandra stared wide-eyed at him. Her expression suddenly twisted into fear and disbelief.
"It's him!"
"That beautiful boy I saw in my dream last night—there's no mistake!"
"Daphne~~ we have to leave, now! We must not get involved with him!"
"If we do, disaster will follow!"
Next to her, Daphne looked skeptical. "What are you talking about?"
"We don't even know the guy."
"Are your doomsday visions flaring up again?"
"I swear I'm not hallucinating!" Cassandra's eyes darted anxiously. "I saw him destroy our entire Familia with his own hands!"
She clutched Daphne's arm, pleading. "Please, believe me!"
"Ugh…"
Daphne raised a hand to her forehead and sighed, clearly used to handling Cassandra's dramatics.
"Alright, fine. Let's go."
Their captain, Hyakinthos, glanced over but didn't think much of it. He simply motioned for the Apollon Familia to withdraw.
Cassandra let out a quiet sigh of relief, still shaken as they left the plaza.
…
Now that both the Loki Familia and Shakti were present—
Phryne, seeing the growing crowd, decided not to cause a scene.
"We're leaving."
She withdrew her perverted gaze from Raven and led the members of the Ishtar Familia away.
Worth noting—
Because Haruhime was tightly cloaked, neither Mikoto nor Chigusa recognized her.
Likewise, Haruhime didn't spot her old comrades hidden among the crowd either.
With the Ishtar group gone, Shakti stepped forward to restore order.
"Disperse, everyone. There's nothing to see here."
The crowd grumbled but slowly began to break apart.
"Are you going into the Dungeon?"
Aiz tilted her head, her golden eyes watching Raven curiously, noting his lack of armor.
"That's right," Raven nodded.
"Yoho~"
Tiona grinned. "Trying to copy us Amazons, huh? Charging in without armor?"
Raven was momentarily speechless.
He eventually explained, "I'm a mage."
As a magic-user, he had no need for heavy equipment.
"Then… where's your staff, Mr. Raven?"
Lefiya asked curiously, clutching her own staff.
Arshe chimed in as well, "You're going solo? No party?"
Raven could tell they were genuinely concerned—he didn't mind.
Just as he was about to answer—
"Hey, hey."
Finn appeared, leading the rest of the expedition. "Time to move. What's everyone crowding around here for?"
Raven gave Finn a thankful nod. "Best of luck on your expedition."
Riveria gave him a long, meaningful glance, her tone almost motherly: "Wait for me to return."
"—I will."
As the group began to depart…
Mikoto leaned in with curiosity. "Lord Eltharion, are you acquainted with the Loki Familia?"
Raven paused to think.
Well… somewhat.
He was at least familiar with Riveria, Lefiya, and Aiz.
"…You could say that."
"I see…"
Mikoto nodded thoughtfully.
After a short silence, she extended an invitation:
"Lord Eltharion, would you like to join our party?"
"We're heading to the 10th floor today."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa."
Their captain, Sakura, immediately objected. "Mikoto, are you serious?"
Sure, strength in numbers—but this guy wasn't even geared.
To Sakura, bringing him along would only slow them down.
Of course, Raven picked up on her meaning easily.
"No need. Our goals differ. I'm heading down to the lower floors today."
"But I wish you all a safe journey."
With that, he politely declined and made his way toward the Dungeon entrance.
"He's… going to the lower floors?"
Chigusa murmured, watching him leave.
"Don't judge by appearances. Lord Eltharion is quite strong," Mikoto added with a wry smile.
"He even defeated the Siren—"
Sakura shook her head. "Forget it. Let's go."
As captain, she had no time to worry about other Familias.
…
After passing through the spiral staircase, Raven officially stepped onto Dungeon Floor 1.
Beside him, Alfia spoke coldly:
"That disgusting prostitute had her eyes on you."
"Want me to remove her?"
"No need."
Raven shook his head.
"She's just a toad. You don't need to waste your time."
He preferred to stay under the radar.
Once he seized Apollon's estate, there would be plenty of time to deal with that frog.
"For now, let's head to Floor 7 and finish the commission."
---
Chapter 120+ available on patreon.com/dzeref887
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