Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Face Like a Deflated Cat’s Bottom

Layer upon layer, infinitely expanding, the labyrinth is a crucible of ferocious monsters.

It’s a place only those adventurers willing to wager their lives with unwavering resolve dare to venture.

Surrounded by promises of wealth and fame, it draws various races into its bustling embrace—a playground for the deities!

—Labyrinth City Orario!

“We’re almost there. Just ahead lies Orario.”

Traversing an ivory path that nearly bisects the verdant wilderness, a goddess with waist-length aquamarine hair dressed in adventurer’s light armor gently twirled a strand of hair behind her ear as she gazed toward the distant flourishing city.

In sight stood the—majestic chalky giant tower.

The tower, its peak piercing through the clouds, stood at the end of the green expanse and the center of the bustling city, offering an unprecedented visual impact.

“That’s… Orario…”

Following behind the goddess, Izay, carrying a backpack nearly half his size, looked up, his expression akin to a young person seeing a metropolis for the first time.

Though he had seen steel cities far more grandiose,

the sheer enormity of this walled city, which couldn’t be fully viewed from afar, delivered an indescribable mental shock.

Just observing from a distance, Izay was already brimming with excitement to step inside.

“Hmm… ah~ Finally, we’re almost there. I’m so tired after all this walking…”

Swinging her slender legs beside them, Lanti couldn’t help but stretch her back dramatically, showcasing her budding youth while emitting sounds easily misunderstood.

“Don’t fake complain like that. You never complained during hunts!”

At some point, Letsha, appearing beside the half-elf girl, lightly tapped her head, her tone filled with affectionate exasperation.

She had heard Lanti’s complaints countless times on this journey; enough to make her ears callous.

“Ouch! Leader, how could you be so cruel?”

“I wasn’t! I barely used any strength!”

“But it hurt me!”

“…”

Is your head made of glass? So fragile?

Letsha immediately adopted a deflated cat bottom face, slightly turning her head to indicate she didn’t want to argue further with this girl.

Up ahead, trailing just half a step behind Goddess Artemis, Izay noticed the quarrel between the two and couldn’t help but turn around to interject fairly.

“Don’t sulk, Letsha. After all, Lanti is still young… She has that competitive childish nature, and we as adults need to understand her better~”

“…Yeah, that makes sense.”

Upon hearing this, Letsha paused briefly before nodding in agreement.

However, she wasn’t sulking earlier; she was just feeling vexed.

Like a mama-san whose heart is worn out worrying about her children, vexed because they’ve grown disobedient.

Different from being angry.

“Ahhh! Izay!!! You’re badmouthing me again! Do you want trouble???”

Unlike Letsha, Lanti, upon hearing Izay’s slander, immediately jumped in anger.

As everyone knows, usually kids don’t like being called “kids.”

Why? …Who knows…

But they just don’t.

Lanti shared this trait, and these past few days, whenever Izay teased her about her age, she chased him around trying to hit him countless times.

“Eh-heh, I don’t believe you~ Come hit me if you can~”

Slightly moving closer to the goddess, feeling safe within range, Izay flashed Lanti a radiant smile.

Speaking of which, it’s somewhat sad.

Whether one possesses Divine Favor or not makes a decisive difference in this world.

Ordinary people absolutely cannot compete against adventurers with Divine Favor, an unbreakable rule.

If Izay were to fight Lanti now, he would surely get annihilated.

He was well aware of this fact, so when teasing Lanti, he would never do so unless Artemis or Letsha was present.

Because only these two could somewhat restrain Lanti within the Familial Group.

“You!!”

True enough, Lanti, who initially wanted to pounce and beat Izay up, caught sight of Artemis standing nearby.

Her raised arm froze mid-air, her tiny fists trembling in frustration.

From anger…

“Don’t bully Lanti too much, Izay. You talk about understanding, but in reality, you’ve been the least understanding toward her these days.”

At this moment, the goddess suddenly pushed Izay away from her side, her emerald-like eyes twinkling with amusement.

“…”

Blinking, Izay, having been pushed aside, looked at the smiling goddess with a face full of innocence.

What kind of talk is this… He didn’t!

But under the gaze of the goddess’s penetrating eyes, his innocent expression gradually turned guilty.

Alright… Maybe there was a bit…

Next time, he’ll definitely change!

It had been over half a month since Izay met Artemis’ Familial Group.

After more than half a month, Izay was finally about to reach Orario.

Now, the team had reduced from twenty-two people to eighteen. (Artemis’ Familial Group originally consisted of exactly twenty members, plus Artemis herself and Izay, making twenty-two.)

Before heading to Orario, Artemis first led the group back to her Familial Group’s base, then set off for Orario from there.

When returning to the base, most members stayed behind, with only Letsha, the leader, and Lanti, who insisted on coming no matter what, accompanying them.

Unlike most deity Familial Groups, Artemis’ Familial Group’s base was located outside Orario, in a town not too far from Orario.

However, the Familial Group’s base was rarely inhabited.

Since Artemis mostly traveled with her group hunting monsters that escaped from the Underground Maze and rampaged on the surface.

Their operational area was vast, often traveling long distances after accepting commissions to reach destinations.

……

The South Gate of Orario.

The gate embedded in the magnificent stone wall was enormous. The thick rock walls on both sides silently emphasized its robust defensive power. Even opening a small gap was enough for carriages to pass through.

As the world center depicted in adventure chronicles, countless people desire to enter and exit the Labyrinth City daily. At this moment, a queue formed by various pedestrians stretched long as they waited for inspection at the city gate.

Standing at the city gate, the guards responsible for checking incoming individuals meticulously examined each person.

They held a strange device, an instrument for detecting traces of Divine Favor.

An adventurer’s Divine Favor is bestowed by a deity.

And this device reacts to Divine Favor, ensuring that anyone who has received it cannot evade detection.

Not every deity resides permanently in Orario; other countries also have adventurers.

To maintain order and safety within the city and prevent malicious adventurers from entering, such inspections are necessary.