NOVEL NEXT Chapter 172: Exiting!
Chapter 172: Exiting!
Astraea is a gentle and beautiful goddess.
Not only that, but you could even find all the positive qualities of a woman in her.
Beautiful, gentle, decisive, kind, strong, caring, and so on.
As the goddess of justice and order, safeguarding peace, Astraea could be said to be the most iconic benevolent goddess in Orario.
With her walnut-colored long hair tied elegantly behind her head, Astraea was now sitting face to face with Luke at this moment.
"..."
The brown-haired goddess didn't say a word while Luke was recounting the rescue operation.
She just listened quietly with a touch of sadness.
It wasn't until Luke had finished telling her everything that Astraea sighed and said, "An unknown monster... How could such a thing happen?"
The goddess's vast, deep blue eyes, like a starry sky, were somewhat dimmed at this moment.
Luke didn't add any unnecessary embellishments to his description.
He just told Astraea the details of the incident objectively.
He didn't intend to glorify what the girls had done, nor did he intend to exaggerate the monster's strength.
Doing such a thing would not only be meaningless but would also affect the goddess's subsequent judgment.
"Luke, thank you for everything you've done for them... I won't say any more useless polite words."
"Because what you've done cannot be offset by a mere thank you from me, and obviously that's not what you're after."
"You saved Alise and the others and gave them a new chance at life. I really don't know how to repay you."
"I know you came to me with a request. Please tell me what it is."
"I swear by my name, Astraea, as long as it's something I can do, I'll promise to do anything you request."
Looking at the goddess of justice, who stood up and bowed deeply to him, Luke scratched his head a little embarrassedly.
"Actually, you don't have to do this. I only went into the dungeon to rescue Alise and the others because they're my friends."
"I didn't intend to..."
Luke suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence.
He thought for a moment, then changed his words somewhat helplessly.
"...Sorry, I have to admit that, for now, 'taking advantage of a favor' can actually make things go a lot smoother."
"Astraea-sama, since you've said so, then I'll accept your offer."
"I hope... you can consider leaving Orario with Alise and the others."
…
While Luke and Astraea were meeting.
On the other side.
Several high-ranking members of Loki Familia also received the news of Luke's return to the surface.
"Really, I thought he was quite reliable, but..."
"Alright, Riveria, don't be angry."
Finn looked at the information in his hand and chuckled, interrupting the elf princess's complaint.
Finn knew that Riveria wasn't really angry with Luke.
She was just worried about their safety.
You know, Luke and Ais had disappeared without saying a word for several days, almost driving the green-haired elf crazy.
"By the way, Luke and Ais are fine, aren't they?"
"According to the information I received, given the injuries sustained by the captain and others of Astraea Familia that Luke and Ais brought out, it must have been an emergency, which is why they didn't inform us."
"Given Luke's current strength, we really don't need to worry too much about him. If it was an emergency, I don't think his choice was wrong."
First, he defended Luke by saying a few words to resolve Riveria's resentment, then the captain of Loki Familia changed the subject.
"However, they still need to be given necessary lectures."
Whatever the reason, Luke's actions this time were too dangerous.
He disappeared without saying a word, without even bringing equipment or supplies.
If goddess Astraea, who had been helping the Guild deal with the inside 'traitor', hadn't been worried about the boy and decided to visit Loki Familia, Finn and Riveria would still be sending people everywhere to look for them.
At that time, after concluding that the duo had most likely entered the dungeon directly to save people without making any preparation, Riveria almost cried in worry.
This kind of behavior, in common sense, was clearly seeking death.
"Speaking of which, didn't we send out more than one team of adventurers to pick them up?"
"Why did they come back first?"
Gareth stroked his beard and asked Finn, who was holding the information.
"That's not surprising. If it were me, I'm afraid I would have made the same choice as Luke."
Finn pointed to the sentence on the information paper that said 'Astraea Familia suffered heavy losses'.
"With seriously injured people in the team, avoiding other adventurers is the safest approach."
"The people we sent out probably did encounter Luke. At least with Bete's speed, the possibility of encountering them is very high."
"But I guess Luke deliberately avoided them."
Putting the information in his hand on the table, Finn, who had confirmed that Luke and Ais were safe and sound, actually breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
"Anyway, we'll know what happened when they come back."
"At that time, Riveria, you have to give them both a good scolding."
"Hmph, I was going to do that even without you saying it!"
…
"...I see."
"You're afraid Alise will do something rather stupid, right?"
After hearing Luke's explanation, the brown-haired goddess also nodded in understanding.
What he said made sense.
Astraea, who knew Alise very well, naturally knew what choice the girl would make after returning to Orario.
"I'm not asking you to leave this city forever, but to temporarily exit this stage."
Luke looked at the goddess in front of him seriously and explained his thoughts to her.
"Although the Guild has a rule that Familia who leave Orario cannot step foot in this city again, there are many ways to bypass this rule."
"And Astraea Familia didn't need to be expelled from Orario, you can just apply for an outing and formally leave the city."
"With your previous reputation in the city and the current dire situation of Astraea Familia, as long as someone guarantees you, the Guild will not make things difficult for you."
"As for the guarantor, I believe that neither our Loki Familia nor Ganesha Familia, which is allied with Astraea Familia, will refuse."
Luke's tone was not very enthusiastic.
He knew that goddess Astraea must have had a clear understanding of their dire situation after hearing his recollection.
He didn't intend to force her to leave Orario.
If the goddess before him had other solutions, then staying in the city might not be a bad idea.
However, the goddess's answer was ultimately as Luke expected.
"I promise you, I will take Alise and the others to leave Orario temporarily."
---
Read more than 30 chapters in advance, with pictures, to enhance your reading immersion:
patréon.com/tom22
Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.
---
For Audiobook:
youtube.com/@animefic22
---
(Please vote for more chapters! If this fanfic gets more than 700 powerstones, then I will upload bonus chapters! Also, don't forget to leave a review and comment below.)