"Then, I'll leave Lili and the others to you."

At the courtyard gate, Orsted waved and smiled at the three Loki Familia members, who looked like they were questioning their existence.

"Oh, leave it to us," Tiona replied with a dazed wave.

Beside her, Tione and Bete didn't wave, their expressions equally stunned.

Ais appeared calm, but her occasional glances at her companions betrayed a hidden smile.

She found their shell-shocked reactions amusing.

Having sparred with Orsted often, Ais had witnessed his growing combat power firsthand, so she knew his strength was real, not exaggerated by adventurers.

Tione and the others, however, only heard Ais praise Orsted as a High Class adventurer without seeing it themselves, leaving them skeptical.

Today, they saw—and were hit hard, physically and mentally.

Orsted had thrashed them in combat and shattered their doubts with his overwhelming power.

"Lord Orsted, we'll work hard!" Lili said, tiptoeing and waving with a radiant smile, unfazed unlike Tiona's group.

Orsted nodded, turned, and left.

That morning, a Hermes Familia member had relayed that Hermes would meet him at the Hostess of Fertility in the afternoon.

Orsted was heading there now.

His earlier demand for Hermes to find him didn't matter; he'd go anywhere.

After Orsted left, Tiona and the others snapped out of their daze.

Tiona clenched her fists, eyes blazing.

"I'm training harder today to rank up and beat Orsted!"

She dropped her, "Dear," calling him by name in her frustration.

"I'll crush him too," Tione echoed, her sister's fire matching hers.

Both turned their defeat into determination, setting lofty goals.

"So the captain wasn't lying. Orsted's that strong," Bete said, a defiant grin returning.

"He might even give Finn a run for his money. Interesting—I've been outdone. But I'll catch up and pay back that kick!" He winced, touching a facial wound.

"Go for it," Ais encouraged.

"Let's do this, Ais. You've been singing his praises," Tiona teased.

Ais: …

If you can't talk, don't, Tiona.

"Sword Princess, when do we start?" Lili asked. "We're ready, but we won't go easy. Quit if you can't handle it."

"Don't worry, we won't quit or let Orsted down!" Tiona shot back.

"We'll see," Bete smirked.

"I'll be watching," Lili retorted.

Bete: …

The training ground at Hearth Manor echoed with combat sounds again.

Only servants roamed the manor, as Hestia had left early for the Denatus, rallying allies to secure alias for Orsted and the others.

Orsted hurried to the Hostess of Fertility.

Spotting Hermes in a corner, he approached.

"Ah, Orsted, I'm honored you came to me," Hermes said, smiling.

Orsted: …

A god honored to see an adventurer?

"Cut the nonsense. What do you know about me?" Orsted demanded.

Hermes, unfazed by the bluntness, knew Orsted disliked him from their first meeting.

He activated a strange item, silencing the surrounding chatter. Orsted couldn't hear others, and they likely couldn't hear him.

A sound-dampening item, ensuring privacy.

Hermes didn't want their conversation overheard.

Why not meet at the Hermes Familia's base or Hearth Manor? Orsted dismissed the thought—it wasn't worth probing.

"You've figured something out. You inherited your parent's sharpness," Hermes said slowly.

"Parents?" Orsted frowned.

His parents were a vague memory, existing only before he was one, raised by elves thereafter.

Hermes's mention suggested his situation tied to his long-gone parents.

As expected, Hermes dropped a bombshell.

"Your parents were High Class adventurers in the Zeus and Hera Familias."

Half an hour later, Hermes paused, sipping wine.

Orsted understood his origins.

His mother, Elysia, and father, Kevin, were from the Zeus and Hera Familias.

Officially Level 3, they were secretly Level 7.

The Familias' frequent joint ventures fostered their close bond, adventuring together.

Their combined skill, activated at Level 7, was nearly useless alone.

After the Black Dragon battle decimated both Familias, they survived but lost their drive, their foundations damaged.

They left, settling in an elven village.

A year before the Familias' expulsion from Orario, Zeus met them secretly. Orsted was born the next year.

A year later, his parents died from failing health.

"You're this much talented because your parents laid that foundation," Hermes said earnestly.

"Their skill turned their strength into a legacy for you, at the cost of their lives. They entrusted their future to you."

---

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