Chapter 61
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The Guild rarely panicked.
Concern? Yes. Urgency? Often.
But panic meant something had gone deeply wrong in the Dungeon.
The report on the table suggested exactly that.
The elf clerk adjusted her glasses as several pages of field notes were spread across the long conference table.
"Multiple adventurer parties have reported irregular monster behavior between Floors Seven and Twelve," she said carefully.
Across from her, a senior Guild investigator frowned.
"Irregular how?"
The elf flipped to the next page.
"Ants."
Silence filled the room.
"…Ants," the investigator repeated flatly.
"Yes."
She tapped the report.
"Large colonies of predatory ants appearing on floors where they are not normally present."
Another page slid across the table.
"Numbers are also… unusual."
"How unusual?"
The elf hesitated.
"…Thousands."
The room went very still.
One of the analysts leaned forward.
"That's impossible. Dungeon spawn rates for that species are limited."
"That's what we believed," she replied.
Another report slid into view.
"And yet they are appearing on higher floors in organized swarms."
"Organized?"
"Yes."
She tapped a line in the report.
"Adventurers claim the ants retreat strategically and prioritize monsters carrying larger magic stones."
The investigator slowly leaned back.
"…They're hunting."
"Correct."
"And collecting stones?"
"Yes."
A quiet voice spoke from the end of the table.
"That is not natural."
Everyone turned.
A representative from Freya Familia stood there, marine blue eyes sharp.
"We would like access to these reports."
========
High above Orario, within the towering manor of Freya Familia, the goddess herself lounged lazily across a velvet seat.
Silver hair spilled over the armrest like moonlight.
Freya listened as the report finished.
"Irregular ant colonies appearing across multiple Dungeon floors," the adventurer said.
Van, the half-Pallum, stood calmly at the base of the steps, arms folded behind his back.
Freya hummed softly.
"Ants…"
Her beautiful eyes glowed faintly.
The world shifted for her.
Where others saw people, Freya saw souls.
Light.
Color.
Potential.
Although all of that had briefly been overshadowed the moment she spotted a very familiar soul again.
Odin.
Freya's lips curled faintly.
That lovable man was already flirting with Hestia.
It was just like him.
Some things never changed.
Freya shook her head lightly, amusement fading as she returned to the present.
Right.
Ants.
She had already noticed something strange in the city recently involving its bugs… and the trail kept circling back to that girl.
Taylor.
A full minute passed as she considered the situation.
Ants gathering magic stones.
Freya smiled faintly.
"I believe," she said slowly, "that I should speak with my granddaughter."
Van blinked.
That… was not the answer he had expected.
"Your granddaughter?" he repeated carefully.
Freya rose gracefully from her seat, silver hair cascading down her back.
"Yes."
Her eyes gleamed with quiet amusement.
"It has been some time since we last spoke."
Van lowered his head slightly, though confusion still lingered.
"Shall I prepare an escort?"
Freya chuckled softly.
"No."
Her smile widened just a little.
"I think I shall visit Hel personally."
===
Across the city, inside Hel Familia's shop…
Hel was sitting at her desk.
Crying.
Not dramatic sobbing. Not the tears of heartbreak or tragedy.
Just the quiet, exhausted tears of someone buried under a mountain of paperwork.
Forms.
Invoices.
Guild reports.
Inventory manifests.
Tax documents.
Requests for equipment permits.
Dungeon activity notices.
And—somehow—three different warnings from the guild regarding irregular ant activity, oh dear lord if they ever figured out that was Taylor, she does not want to know the amount of paperwork that would create for her.
Hel slowly lifted another sheet of parchment.
Her eye twitched.
"How," she whispered to herself, voice thin with disbelief, "did my familia generate this much paperwork in three days?"
Another page slid off the pile and fluttered to the floor.
Hel stared at it.
Then at the rest of the stack.
Then back at the fallen page.
"…I was a goddess of death," she muttered faintly.
Just outside the room Ereshkigal glanced over from behind the counter.
"You still are."
"Yes," Hel said weakly. "But managing the dead was somehow less administratively demanding than this."
Lisa sat nearby, calmly reviewing another ledger, her tail swaying lazily.
"That would be because the dead rarely file complaints."
Hel buried her face in her hands.
"Taylor has produced twelve separate Guild inquiries."
Lisa nodded.
"Yes."
"Yang broke two practice weapons."
"Yes."
"Ruby submitted a Dungeon incident report that was forty percent sound effects."
"…Yes."
Hel slowly lowered her hands, staring into the middle distance.
"Lisa, do you want to be captain instead of Ruby?" Hel asked, gesturing weakly to the stack of forms the Guild had demanded corrections on.
Lisa didn't even look up.
"Nope!" she said cheerfully, sliding another page into a neatly organized pile.
Hel blinked.
Lisa continued sorting the documents with alarming efficiency.
"I enjoy being alive," she added brightly. "Removing Ruby from captaincy would require explaining that decision to Ruby."
Hel slowly nodded.
"…Fair. Wait Ruby wouldnt hurt anyone?"
Lisa held up Ruby's Dungeon report.
Across the page were enthusiastic notes like:
"AND THEN YANG PUNCHED A KOBOLD THROUGH A WALL!!!"
Followed by:
"ANTS EVERYWHERE!!! (probably Taylor)"
And:
"CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH (monster noises)"
Lisa tapped the page.
"The Guild is requesting clarification on this section."
Hel rubbed her temples.
"…Which section?"
Lisa pointed.
Hel read the line.
"AND THEN TAYLOR DID THE BUG THING AGAIN."
Lisa's ears flicked, tail swaying lazily.
"Ya know… the Guild is probably going to figure out that the ants are Taylor."
"FUUUCCCKKK!" Hel whined, burying her face in her hands again.
"Yep," Lisa said cheerily, sliding another sheet into the needs correction pile. "Better start bracing yourself."
Hel groaned so loudly it echoed off the walls.
"…I did not sign up for this level of paperwork chaos," she muttered.
Lisa tilted her head, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Technically, you did when you adopted us."
Hel whines.
Paperwork is how we survive gods.
Ereshkigal's eyes flicked to the counter, a faint memory surfacing.
"Oh, Hel… some people who looked like they were from my sister's familia came by earlier," Ereshkigal said slowly, recalling the incident. "Only she would induct those… floozies. They left when they saw me, but it looked like they wanted to cause trouble."
Hel's head thudded lightly against the desk.
"…Of course they did…" she muttered, voice muffled against her hands.
She lifted her gaze and spoke more firmly. "Lisa, close the door to the office."
Lisa nodded, tail flicking lazily, and moved to obey.
Hel took a deep breath and looked up toward the ceiling. Then she addressed the air as if speaking to a very naughty child.
"Taylor… if you are paying attention, can you please come to my office?"
Concern? Yes. Urgency? Often.
But panic meant something had gone deeply wrong in the Dungeon.
The report on the table suggested exactly that.
The elf clerk adjusted her glasses as several pages of field notes were spread across the long conference table.
"Multiple adventurer parties have reported irregular monster behavior between Floors Seven and Twelve," she said carefully.
Across from her, a senior Guild investigator frowned.
"Irregular how?"
The elf flipped to the next page.
"Ants."
Silence filled the room.
"…Ants," the investigator repeated flatly.
"Yes."
She tapped the report.
"Large colonies of predatory ants appearing on floors where they are not normally present."
Another page slid across the table.
"Numbers are also… unusual."
"How unusual?"
The elf hesitated.
"…Thousands."
The room went very still.
One of the analysts leaned forward.
"That's impossible. Dungeon spawn rates for that species are limited."
"That's what we believed," she replied.
Another report slid into view.
"And yet they are appearing on higher floors in organized swarms."
"Organized?"
"Yes."
She tapped a line in the report.
"Adventurers claim the ants retreat strategically and prioritize monsters carrying larger magic stones."
The investigator slowly leaned back.
"…They're hunting."
"Correct."
"And collecting stones?"
"Yes."
A quiet voice spoke from the end of the table.
"That is not natural."
Everyone turned.
A representative from Freya Familia stood there, marine blue eyes sharp.
"We would like access to these reports."
========
High above Orario, within the towering manor of Freya Familia, the goddess herself lounged lazily across a velvet seat.
Silver hair spilled over the armrest like moonlight.
Freya listened as the report finished.
"Irregular ant colonies appearing across multiple Dungeon floors," the adventurer said.
Van, the half-Pallum, stood calmly at the base of the steps, arms folded behind his back.
Freya hummed softly.
"Ants…"
Her beautiful eyes glowed faintly.
The world shifted for her.
Where others saw people, Freya saw souls.
Light.
Color.
Potential.
Although all of that had briefly been overshadowed the moment she spotted a very familiar soul again.
Odin.
Freya's lips curled faintly.
That lovable man was already flirting with Hestia.
It was just like him.
Some things never changed.
Freya shook her head lightly, amusement fading as she returned to the present.
Right.
Ants.
She had already noticed something strange in the city recently involving its bugs… and the trail kept circling back to that girl.
Taylor.
A full minute passed as she considered the situation.
Ants gathering magic stones.
Freya smiled faintly.
"I believe," she said slowly, "that I should speak with my granddaughter."
Van blinked.
That… was not the answer he had expected.
"Your granddaughter?" he repeated carefully.
Freya rose gracefully from her seat, silver hair cascading down her back.
"Yes."
Her eyes gleamed with quiet amusement.
"It has been some time since we last spoke."
Van lowered his head slightly, though confusion still lingered.
"Shall I prepare an escort?"
Freya chuckled softly.
"No."
Her smile widened just a little.
"I think I shall visit Hel personally."
===
Across the city, inside Hel Familia's shop…
Hel was sitting at her desk.
Crying.
Not dramatic sobbing. Not the tears of heartbreak or tragedy.
Just the quiet, exhausted tears of someone buried under a mountain of paperwork.
Forms.
Invoices.
Guild reports.
Inventory manifests.
Tax documents.
Requests for equipment permits.
Dungeon activity notices.
And—somehow—three different warnings from the guild regarding irregular ant activity, oh dear lord if they ever figured out that was Taylor, she does not want to know the amount of paperwork that would create for her.
Hel slowly lifted another sheet of parchment.
Her eye twitched.
"How," she whispered to herself, voice thin with disbelief, "did my familia generate this much paperwork in three days?"
Another page slid off the pile and fluttered to the floor.
Hel stared at it.
Then at the rest of the stack.
Then back at the fallen page.
"…I was a goddess of death," she muttered faintly.
Just outside the room Ereshkigal glanced over from behind the counter.
"You still are."
"Yes," Hel said weakly. "But managing the dead was somehow less administratively demanding than this."
Lisa sat nearby, calmly reviewing another ledger, her tail swaying lazily.
"That would be because the dead rarely file complaints."
Hel buried her face in her hands.
"Taylor has produced twelve separate Guild inquiries."
Lisa nodded.
"Yes."
"Yang broke two practice weapons."
"Yes."
"Ruby submitted a Dungeon incident report that was forty percent sound effects."
"…Yes."
Hel slowly lowered her hands, staring into the middle distance.
"Lisa, do you want to be captain instead of Ruby?" Hel asked, gesturing weakly to the stack of forms the Guild had demanded corrections on.
Lisa didn't even look up.
"Nope!" she said cheerfully, sliding another page into a neatly organized pile.
Hel blinked.
Lisa continued sorting the documents with alarming efficiency.
"I enjoy being alive," she added brightly. "Removing Ruby from captaincy would require explaining that decision to Ruby."
Hel slowly nodded.
"…Fair. Wait Ruby wouldnt hurt anyone?"
Lisa held up Ruby's Dungeon report.
Across the page were enthusiastic notes like:
"AND THEN YANG PUNCHED A KOBOLD THROUGH A WALL!!!"
Followed by:
"ANTS EVERYWHERE!!! (probably Taylor)"
And:
"CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH (monster noises)"
Lisa tapped the page.
"The Guild is requesting clarification on this section."
Hel rubbed her temples.
"…Which section?"
Lisa pointed.
Hel read the line.
"AND THEN TAYLOR DID THE BUG THING AGAIN."
Lisa's ears flicked, tail swaying lazily.
"Ya know… the Guild is probably going to figure out that the ants are Taylor."
"FUUUCCCKKK!" Hel whined, burying her face in her hands again.
"Yep," Lisa said cheerily, sliding another sheet into the needs correction pile. "Better start bracing yourself."
Hel groaned so loudly it echoed off the walls.
"…I did not sign up for this level of paperwork chaos," she muttered.
Lisa tilted her head, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Technically, you did when you adopted us."
Hel whines.
Paperwork is how we survive gods.
Ereshkigal's eyes flicked to the counter, a faint memory surfacing.
"Oh, Hel… some people who looked like they were from my sister's familia came by earlier," Ereshkigal said slowly, recalling the incident. "Only she would induct those… floozies. They left when they saw me, but it looked like they wanted to cause trouble."
Hel's head thudded lightly against the desk.
"…Of course they did…" she muttered, voice muffled against her hands.
She lifted her gaze and spoke more firmly. "Lisa, close the door to the office."
Lisa nodded, tail flicking lazily, and moved to obey.
Hel took a deep breath and looked up toward the ceiling. Then she addressed the air as if speaking to a very naughty child.
"Taylor… if you are paying attention, can you please come to my office?"