__Knossos__
"Dix, I'm telling you. They're definitely hiding that vouivre. Tione Hiryute was really protective of their other member. And I got a glimpse of her leg, it was blue." Gran told Dix about their encounter.
"Hoh? Someone hiding a rare merchandise huh?" Dix smirked as he twirled his spear.
"They're suspicious as heck, they might even be the group that took out one of our hunting parties." Gran theorized.
"Yeah, boss. They were extremely hostile." A mook affirmed.
"Then, how about it Ikelos-sama?" Dix called out to him with a sarcastic tone.
"Yare yare, children ordering their god around. This is abuse you know?" A man that seems to be wearing a track suit stood up lazily.
"But it will be interesting, isn't it?" Dix grinned at him.
"Hmmm, it might be. I wonder what will happen if a report gets submitted to the guild?" Ikelos smirked.
"This will be quite a fiesta then." Ikelos started walking and he was escorted by Gran and a couple of goons.
"Heh, an S rank familia. Harboring monsters, I can't wait." Dix chuckled as he thought about what would happen.
__Ruins__
Lars was visiting Hestia's familia home and he looked at the dilapidated church with a deadpan expression.
"Damn, she's basically a hobo." Lars shook his head at the sight of the goddess of the home's dwelling.
"Lars, you are here." Alfia noticed him arriving and she greeted him in the front door.
"Hi, babe. Why are you guys staying here? It's much better to go in an inn for now or an apartment." Lars was confused.
"Hestia wants her own home. Something that she owns. Well, as you can see. It's not that amazing. Especially because her job is just selling jagamarkuns." Alfia shrugged.
"Hey! I do good work! My stall is the highest paying one!" Hestia heard them and she huffed at him.
"Well, do you get enough money to establish a familia home though?" Lars countered and she winced.
"I-it will take some time... But we'll get there." Hestia frowned.
"I guess it would probably take a few decades? Damn, you're broke as all hell." Lars shook his head at her.
"W-well, not everybody is a rich bastard like you! You should spoil us from time to time." Hestia pointed at Artemis who came to see who was the visitor.
"Hi, Artemis. You doing fine?" Lars smiled softly at her and she nodded.
"I am, Orion. Thank you for asking." She beamed at him and Hestia bit her lip at their interaction.
'Why can't he be as nice to me?' She got a bit depressed.
"How's Bell by the way? He got into a pretty intense accident in the 5th floor earlier." Lars clicked his tongue at Finn's easygoing plan to take care of the minotaurs.
The pallum's a great commander. But he just likes to downplay some things when it isn't a threat in his eyes.
And that will bite him in the ass one day if he keeps on doing it.
"Right... That." Alfia squinted her eyes and she was holding back her desire to have a little talk with the Loki familia.
"Bell's fine... Though I wish he got some rest before going inside the dunheon again." Hestia was quite worried about her reckless child.
After all, majority of people would get traumatized upon seeing a level 2 monster at the upper floors.
Yet he fought it and almost won. "Bell needs adventures to grow. This is a dog eat dog world, he will never be a hero if he just keeps on playing it safe."
Lars patted Hestia's head and she nodded. She understood what he was saying, but she couldn't quite accept it.
"Orion is right, Hestia. Trust in Bell, he has them on his side." Artemis assured her and Hestia got more confident.
"Umu, do not worry. I will turn Bell into a hero." Alfia was sure of it.
"Okay, how about we celebrate you having your first familia member? It's my treat, come on." Lars smiled at Hestia and she got excited.
"O-ohh! Sure! Bell-kun will be back in a few hours!" Hestia bounced around and Lars got distracted.
'Those things must have their own gravity or something. I can't keep my eyes off of them, just like Demeter's.' Lars shook his head to sober up.
"Sure thing, I'll even invite my friends. They can tell Bell a lot of things about the dungeon." Lars smiled and he waved goodbye after giving Alfia a kiss.
"W-wha?" Hestia was shocked and Artemis stared at her.
"What? If you want his attention, then seize it with your own hands. He is too busy to try and chase women." Alfia huffed at them.
__Orario__
"Hmm, I got a kiss from Lars. But it's not nearly enough." Tione was going shopping with Tiona.
"Lucky... I didn't even receive one." Tiona pouted at her.
"Hmph, that means he is more attracted to me." Tione puffed her chest in pride and Tiona grabbed them hard.
"Shut up! Those things are cheating I say! We're supposed to be twins!" Tiona gritted her teeth at the unfairness of the world.
While they were having some sibling banter, they heard a chuckle.
"Ohh, don't mind me. I thought you guys were quite close is all." They saw a god with a gangster's face.
"Huh? Okay?" Tione was confused. "So close in fact, that you'd probably protect each other really well." Ikelos nodded and the twins noticed something was off.
"Such kindhearted individuals, so kind that you'll protect even... I don't know, a monster?" Ikelos grinned as the two flinched.
They weren't exactly the best at poker faces and political dealings.
"What do you mean? Monsters are the enemies of mankind." Tiona furrowed her brows.
"Ah, ah, ahh~ don't lie in front of a god, that's bad you know? Anyways, it's quite admirable. Do go on, don't let me stop you." Ikelos walked away and the twins started sweating.
"This is bad, I need to call Lars immediately." Tione took out their comms and she informed Lars about a weird god talking to them.
__Guild__
Lars didn't even say anything back to Tione, he immediately went to the guild in order to talk to Fels or Ouranos.
"Fels, we have a problem. I suspect that Ikelos got some info on Tiona and Tione, using their lie-detection to confirm that the xenos are related to us." Lars frowned as he called Fels.
"What? Go to the underground passage immediately, lord Ouranos would want to hear this." Fels started giving directives to the guild to let him pass immediately.
Lars didn't even wait and he just ran towards the guild's basement where Ouranos was preventing the dungeon from going berserk, offering prayers to it.
"Ouranos, you look like how I expected you to look." Lars saw an old man on a stone throne.
"Lars Johansson, the anomaly. I should thank you for giving the xenos a place to call home." Ouranos nodded at him.
"Bah, stop the pleasantries. We have a problem in our hands." Lars squinted his eyes and Fels was being twitchy as well.
"Yes... Ikelos. He is an unsavory individual, dealing with nightmares. And he thrives in paranoia." Ouranos frowned heavily.
"Tch, Fels. Can you issue a gag order for the guild?" Lars wanted countermeasures immediately.
"I'm already on it." Fels was controlling familiars to send messages to the guild's higher-ups.
"What will you do? Will you retreat to Monstro? The Demeter familia will get affected by this. But ultimately, Orario can't do anything to them." Ouranos thought about the situation.
If the gods try to exile Demeter, then they'll get fucked over. After all, Demeter supplies most of the food in Orario.
But her children will receive the brunt of the outrage that the populace will feel.
And who's to say that they wouldn't just usurp the farm lands of Demeter?
"I don't know, this is too fast. We were planning on slowly transporting the xenos to our mountain fortress." Lars rubbed his temples.
He was stressing about the whole ordeal. "That seems to be a good move to keep them safe. But now, we're encountering a big problem." Ouranos sighed.
"We can't do anything for now. The guild will do everything to try and stop information from spreading. This might cause a civil war." Fels shook their head wistfully.
'Fuck, I'll definitely kill that bastard later.' Lars squinted his eyes.
"Tell me if something happens." Lars said his goodbyes and they nodded.
"This might tear Orario at the seams, Fels. Prepare yourself." Ouranos scrunched up his face at the thought of it.
It would be a losing, uphill battle for everyone involved.
"Lars' group can bring down Telskyura. Orario can turn into a battlefield. And many adventurers will get slaughtered." Fels shuddered.
MON: Monster Ops Neutralization is composed of dozens upon dozens of 1st class to 2nd class monsters.
Monstro is basically an army that can destroy entire countries if they wish. And the xenos all inherently know how to fight.
Due to being reincarnated monsters with intelligence, they have tons more experience in fighting people.
Orario might turn into a slaughterhouse if the adventurers push the Demeter familia into a corner.
"Lars is a fierce warrior that took down Antares. And their group consists of 1st class adventurers. This will be much worse than the dark times where Evilus lurks. They're all fierce combatants that are not afraid to fight head on." Ouranos clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Everything was going smoothly. And the Ikelos familia just had to make problems out of nowhere.
"That they are... Lars fought the biggest monster parade in history for human lives. When he was a child. I can't imagine how ferocious he would be if his comrades and loved ones are in danger." Fels prayed for Orario's safety.
"We can only wait for now." Ouranos couldn't help but get anxious.
__After a few days__
The tension in Orario is rising. There has been rumors that the Demeter familia is colluding with monsters to take over Orario.
And it wasn't too farfetched as well. With their massive export of dungeon crops, it shouldn't be possible.
But they were dominating the market with it and people can't help but believe the rumors.
"Hmmm, this seems to be interesting." Freya at the top of Babel couldn't help but smirk at the turn of events.
"Ottar, have you heard of the phrase. Heroes are made, not born?" Freya asked her captain.
"I have, my lady. And it seems to be true." Ottar is well read and smart, unlike his appearance.
"Well, this seems to be a great chance to develop a hero. Come with me and the executives, we will go to the wheat manor." Freya grinned.
__Twilight manor__
"I can't believe it, the Demeter familia colluding with monsters? What is this horseshite?" Loki looked at the newspaper incredulously.
"Demeter's smart enough to scheme like those evilus types, but she definitely won't get herself in trouble like this." Loki rubbed her chin in thought.
Ais who was on the side as she is a part of the executives flinched and Loki noticed it. She isn't the trickster goddess for nothing.
The goddess is extremely sensitive to body language.
"Aisu? You know anything about this?" Loki asked her and Ais started sweating.
"Uhh, no?" She answered, unsure about it. And Loki immediately opened her eyes as she stared at her.
"Ais, is Lars and his group related to monsters?" Loki asked once again and the others were shocked.
"This is ridiculous, Loki. Ais won't know anything about it. Besides, they're one of the strongest groups in Orario." Riveria didn't want to believe the rumors.
Ais was just quiet though and Loki looked at Finn. "Ais... Answer the question." Finn squinted his eyes.
"T-they are." Ais couldn't stand the pressure and she answered.
The others gasped and they couldn't quite believe it. "No way, is the lad a part of evilus?" Gareth can't help but think about that.
"No! He's kind and he's a good person! He won't ally himself with evilus!" Ais screamed at them and Riveria hugged her softly.
"Calm down, Ais. It's just a theory..." Riveria can't help but agree with her. If he was a part of evilus, then he would've already massacred them all in the dungeon.
Not to mention that Astraea's group was close with them.
And he also saved them from certain annihilation back then.
"We need answers from them. Come, we will be going to Demeter's familia home." Loki squinted her eyes.
__
Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.