Chapter 861 Orario, the Former Top Powerhouse
The meeting was adjourned and everyone gave Line and Tenestra a look of curiosity as they left.
"Follow me to the Loki Familia tent. We still have a few beddings available." Riveria proposed.
Line grabbed Tenestra's hand and followed Riveria. She could see the closeness between the two and guessed that the two of them were studying closely together, "Looks like they can use Teleportation Magic easier than they let on.", commented Riveria.
Line smiled wryly and replied, "You also understand their reasons, Riveria-sama. However, after establishing their name, they couldn't care less about hiding it anymore. I heard that he also made a mess the last time he came to Orario, so I doubt anyone would still bother him or the others."
Riveria recalled the day when they all forgot about the Hestia and Artemis Familias and shuddered. That day, it made her and her comrades realize how terrifying Gods are and how simple it was for them to manipulate any mortal despite their abilities being sealed. It was also the day they realized just how abnormal Kisuke and his group really were.
But perhaps the most surprising that day was Loki and Freya ensuring that Kisuke was no God and that his strength came entirely from his mortal self and both of them implicitly implying that it was also possible for them to reach such a level, albeit with the probability of one being struck by lightning in a clear sky a hundred times in a row.
Of course, none of them knew how tiny this chance was, but the fact they confirmed that there's a chance at all made everyone from the Loki and Freya Familias dream. That's why among those who joined the expedition, only these two Familias took Yoruichi's offer with glee.
While Riveria and Line looked at each other in understanding, Tenestra could only tilt her head in puzzlement, "So you're not aware of it, huh...", the latter commented.
"Aware of what?"Tenestra asked , but they had already reached their lodging and entered it.
But before they could perceive if anyone was inside, someone dashed forward and wrapped her arms around Line excitedly, "Line~! It's been a while! How have you been? I trust that you're as nonsensical as that group now?"
The familiar scent that flooded her nose made Line immediately recognize her assailant and chuckled, "What do you mean, as nonsensical as them? It's extremely hard to even follow what they're even doing."
The one who hugged her, Tiona, and those within the room who were familiar with her were instantly dumbfounded, since in the past, Line would devolve into a panicking mess as she tried to think of a way to respond to her skinship, "You've changed..."
Line looked up to her and thought about it, 'I've changed?' With a quick retrospection, she noticed that she would've reacted differently if it was the past her. However, the change she was afraid of in the past doesn't feel unpleasant now. Instead, it felt like she was released from invisible shackles, "Is that bad?" Line asked while wearing a gentle smile.
Tiona returned a smile and said, "Of course not~! I'm just glad that you achieved one of your goals of being reliable from when you'd just entered the Familia~!" With that said, Tiona would miss her immature self, mainly because she wasn't able to witness her transformation herself.
"Tiona, don't keep her all to yourself." The impatient Tione tore the two apart before swooping Line up. Starting from her, all the girls of the Loki Familia came and welcomed her back.
The Hestia and Artemis Familias took great care of her and there was no doubt that Line considered them as her precious comrades. Their treatment of her was even arguably the best she could've ask for, but for someone like her that was orphaned at a very young age, she considers the Loki Familia as her first family and seeing them gladly welcome her back, she couldn't help but tear up a little, 'Since we were in a hurry, I wasn't able to greet Loki-sama...' she thought regretfully.
Tiona and Tione's interest then instantly transferred to their fellow Amazoness. In a normal situation, they would have already introduced themselves to the newcomer, but they instead hesitated after seeing her 'strange' attire that didn't seem to be out of place because of the way she carried herself, "Er... Nice to meet you, I'm Tiona Hiryute."
"And I'm Tione Hiryute."
The others, meanwhile, were full of interest, especially the Elves.
Tenestra, of course, already knew what they were thinking since this was not the first time she received such gazes. Since Amazoness' are very rare in the Dizara Region from the start due to how far Telskyura was, the Amazoness sisters would always garner attention, mostly unwanted. Fenia's disgust of men also came from the 'common Amazoness trait' of seducing men who were stronger than them.
"I understand what you're thinking. But from my perspective, it's extremely strange to see someone who dresses in underwear only."
Tione instantly understood what she meant and asked, "You haven't seen other Amazoness' before?"
"I have, but only twice and both were fleeting glances."
"Just two!?" Tiona exclaimed, "But there are a lot around here, though?"
Riveria cleared her throat to get their attention and said, "She came from Dizara Region where almost no Amazoness' can reach due to the sheer distance from Telskyura."
Right away, Tenestra introduced herself, "I'm Tenestra of Astarte Familia of Dizara Region. I'll be joining you for the rest of the expedition. Nice to meet you all and please take care of me."
"Dizara Region... Was that where the other entrance to the Dungeon exists?" asked Lefiya.
"Yes," Riveria nodded, "It's the entrance located on the other side of the world."
"What? The other side of the world? Wouldn't it take a few months to travel there?" Elfy, Lefiya's roommate, asked in confusion as the timeline didn't add up.
While Riveria was making clear how Kisuke's group was able to travel long distances through Teleportation Magic, Tenestra was secretly sizing up the members of the Loki Familia behind a cheerful face, 'I heard that the subjugation of the Black Dragon 15 years ago failed miserably and it dragged Orario's power down massively, but I didn't think it would be this bad. In terms of Levels, only the Freya Familia could match up to us, but even then, we have 3 times as much manpower and we're considered as the weakest faction among the four.'
'15 years is a long time, but it isn't enough to push Orario back to the top.'
Nevertheless, she recalled those who are fighting monsters outside and saw that they were utilizing Ki far better than those in her Familia so, if it's fighting power, chances are, they were going to lose. Though from what she'd heard, they are only ahead by a bit and it shouldn't take long before their masteries catch up, 'If not for their existence... There's no use thinking about this when there's no real rivalry between the two places.'
What concerns Tenestra more, however, is the fact that Zeus is currently in the Dizara Region, 'Is he planning to establish a new faction there? Although he and Hera-sama suffered disastrous losses, it didn't mean that they'd lost everything. But why now? What are they planning?'
Tossing those thoughts to the back of her head, Tenestra concluded, 'After all of this, it seems that Astarte-sama is correct to think that the Hestia and Artemis Familias are planning something on a global scale.'
She didn't just join Line to go with her back to Orario to further her studies, but she also wanted to act as a spy for her Familia. If it was just Magic Research, she could do it within the Tower of Greed and she'd be too worried to leave her sister and comrades alone because of that misogynistic Familia that was preparing for war. However, it's also true that they remained in the dark and that taking another perspective might shed some light to the real situation.'
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