While asking Kali to stay back as per the instructions from the Guild (Ouranos).
-----------------------------
Looking at the goddess Kali, sitting on the chair with an unhappy face, Fron's expression was a bit strange.
As far as she knew, Amazoness had a fatal problem, especially in that closed-off country of warriors, where most of the population were women.
Amazoness women, once defeated by a man stronger than themselves, would… instantly fall in love with that man.
Thinking about it that way… Didn't the male reinforcements that arrived later fight against members of the [Kali Familia]?
Even more terrifying… Finn was the one he personally sent onto the warship.
Thinking of this, Fron's gaze began to drift away.
He definitely didn't want to take the blame for this.
Sure enough, Kali was muttering under her breath.
"It's over, all over. My Familia is finished. Argana has become a cripple, and those girls too…"
As if she had seen something unbelievable, her words came out muffled.
"Is that what a girl in love looks like? Or are Amazoness women simply not normal creatures at all? Even Argana is now obsessed with men, and since her sister doesn't want to fight, Bache has lost her fighting spirit too."
"..."
"..."
"..."
After finally making out what the other side was mumbling about, everyone exchanged awkward glances.
Especially Ais, she tilted her cute little head and stared at Fron, as if asking,
What does she mean? Why can't I understand any of this?
Fron sighed inwardly. He felt that explaining this to Ais would probably be harder than fighting ten opponents at once.
"All right, enough nonsense. Tell me why you came to Melen. Were you invited by that woman Ishtar? How did she contact you? And what do you know about the Violas incident?"
"Hey, you're asking too many questions at once, that's making things difficult for me."
"Just talk. Don't forget where you are now!"
"Tch."
Kali pouted unhappily, but she had no choice. As a person staying here without her Familia, she could only submit.
"The reason I came to Melen is naturally my own. Forming an alliance with that idiot Ishtar was just a side thing."
Loki folded her arms, looking full of suspicion.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Heh…"
"What's with that face? You don't believe me?"
"Do you think I should?"
"..." Seeing she couldn't get anything more out of her, Loki decided to stop pressing the issue and instead moved on to another question.
"The Violas, I don't know anything about that."
"Is that so." Recalling Finn's speculation, Loki basically had an idea in her heart.
"As expected, that means the Ishtar Familia really has ties to the [Evilus]."
What had been a guess was now confirmed, putting Loki in a bad mood.
After all, the Ishtar Familia had significant influence in all of Orario. A major faction like that siding with the Evilus wasn't good news, for either the other familias or the Guild.
"Though I think that woman is involved with them, it's only at the level of business, covering for them. From what I know, Ishtar acted as a middleman, arranging smuggling operations through that sea cave."
Loki narrowed her eyes. She caught something unusual in Kali's words.
"Smuggling? Goods?"
At this moment, Njord spoke up.
"Well, I know about that. I met the mysterious people in the underground waterways, they handed me those magic stone powders. They were transporting the Violas and smuggled goods through there. That's how all this began."
The conversation among the three gods was fully heard by Fron.
By now, he had mostly pieced together the whole story.
"So, Lord Njord, Goddess Ishtar was the ring leader right, huh?"
"..."
"You brat, you sure have a sharp tongue!" Fron shrugged indifferently.
"But that's the truth. Now that the smuggling operation's been exposed, the enemy will definitely take countermeasures. It's just hard to say what they'll be."
Loki had thought of that too, so she decided to keep it in mind.
"What exactly were they smuggling?"
"I didn't open the crates, but judging from the sound and weight, I could guess a bit. From what I know, there was gold, liquor, oh, right… some of the boxes would shake on their own, like something alive was inside."
"Judging from that, the other side is desperate for money. They must need funds badly."
"Money?" Tiona and Ais, who didn't really understand the concept of money, looked confused.
Only Fron understood.
If they needed money, then among the Evilus, there was only one thing that required massive funding, the Artificial Dungeon, Knossos!
That meant the true identity of the mysterious person who handed the magic stone powder to Njord in the sewers was clear, Barca Perdix, a direct descendant of Daedalus!
Fron's expression hardened. He thought he understood things clearly, but he hadn't expected… that the enemy's secret web was this vast and deeply hidden.
[T/N: Bro you know the plot, what more needs to be understood?]
As for those moving crates, he already knew what they were, but that wasn't the main issue for now.
The priority now was to follow the clues and uncover the enemy's tail.
...
"This trip turned out to be pretty fruitful. I didn't expect to gain this much, I wasn't even that hopeful to begin with."
The four had already returned to Orario, walking down South Main Street toward their home base.
The bustling streets and lively crowds formed a vivid scene, and walking among them helped Fron regain a sense of everyday ease.
"So, what now, Loki? We've cut off their smuggling routes, they'll definitely come after us, right? I can't believe those people can run their plans without money."
From what was said, the enemy had been smuggling for a long time just to raise funds. No matter if it was Enyo or the remnants of the Evilus, they all needed money to move their plans forward.
"Well, when the cart reaches the mountain, there'll be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it'll naturally straighten. The world always finds a way, doesn't it?"
"..."
"Eh? Isn't that something Fron always says? Loki, you've started quoting him too?"
Tiona looked at her unreliable goddess as if she'd discovered a new continent.
"Well, even if the phrase sounds a bit weird, it's actually quite wise, so I borrowed it."
As they chatted, they passed by a row of shop windows along the street.
"Fron, what do you think of this?"
Inside a clothing shop, Ais was wearing a pleated skirt and a small blazer, like a school uniform, with white stockings and white shoes.
The outfit made Fron's eyes light up, and he nodded enthusiastically.
"Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! It suits you perfectly!"