Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"The Guild and the Ganesha Familia share the same view as I do."

"They also believe that monsters possessing rational thought comparable to ordinary humans should be considered part of the demi-human category. Otherwise, how else could the Ganesha Familia have known the Guild's secret so early on?"

Hermes and Loki both fell silent for a moment. Their eyes locked onto Bell, clearly waiting for an explanation.

It seemed neither of them had known.

That in itself was shocking.

"Hermes-sama, Loki-sama, try to imagine—who was assigned to retrieve that jewel?"

"The Ganesha Familia."

"Then it must have been hidden somewhere extremely secretive. Do you think they found it on their own?"

"Unlikely. More likely, they were led there by something within the Dungeon."

"Otherwise, the ones pursuing them would've intercepted the embryo long before they reached the surface."

Bell didn't embellish or speculate. Just by sharing what he knew, the story practically pieced itself together.

"That does make sense."

Asfi rested her chin on her hand and stared at the green jewel on the table. The lifeform inside it was clearly something vital to the third force in the Dungeon. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone so far as to send people to kill Hashana.

"If it was important enough to warrant killing someone, then it must've been hidden in a secure place. That means even retrieving it wouldn't have been easy."

"But Hashana managed to get it and even completed the handoff on the 18th floor before being killed by those who caught up."

"Considering the length and danger of that operation, there's no way he could've pulled it off alone without someone guiding him along the way."

When she finished, her gaze fell on Hermes.

It was as if her eyes were saying, 'Hermes-sama, the Guild and Ganesha Familia are definitely in this together.'

Hermes paused before muttering,

"That musclebound clown really had us dancing in circles for this long..."

Just like Asfi and Bell-kun said—if a Level 4 could be caught and killed that easily, but still manage to find the objective and retrieve it successfully, then it couldn't have been done alone.

Which meant that from the very beginning, Ouranos-sama and that ridiculous Ganesha had been collaborating.

For someone who prided himself on his cunning, realizing it only now felt like the cruelest irony.

Bell gave one more push.

"Loki-sama, do you remember who proposed the Monsterphilia?"

"The Guild."

"And who was in charge of organizing it?"

"...Ganesha!"

Loki's face twitched, and it finally hit her. "Monsterphilia"!?

"Damn it! So the Guild and Ganesha have been in cahoots all along?"

"The Monsterphilia was pushed by the Guild, and Ganesha gave it full backing. That means both sides already knew about the Guild's presence in the Dungeon that this kid just talked about!"

She covered her face.

She was genuinely speechless now.

Back when Dionysus hinted at it, she'd already started suspecting the Guild was behind everything—but to think the secret involved rational monsters living in the Dungeon...

So Ouranos-sama and Ganesha were working together all this time with the aim of classifying those ostracized monsters as demi-humans?

Loki let out a bitter smile. It made her feel sick.

Knowing something like this didn't mean good news. It was obviously one hell of a trap.

Children of Genkai had long been conditioned to see monsters as nothing but targets to slay. If they were suddenly told that some of them had developed reason and were now being reclassified as demi-humans...

...the entire Genkai might just explode.

"This kind of mess is definitely going to spiral out of control."

Hermes sighed in agreement.

"The kids of Genkai will probably treat these 'monsters' as rare prey and keep hunting them. No matter what, it'll eventually lead to a complete fallout between the two sides."

"But now that it's known the Guild and Ganesha are backing them, a lot of the surface Familias might be in for a rough time."

Loki could already picture the carnage even with her eyes closed.

Hestia, seated beside Hephaestus, asked cautiously,

"Isn't there any way to stop things from escalating into an all-out split?"

"Of course there is, Goddess-sama."

Hermes and Loki, who had both been about to say "no," paused in surprise to hear what Bell had to offer.

"Really?"

"It's true—though the method is a bit ruthless."

Bell wasn't bluffing. He genuinely knew of a solution. The only problem was... it was a classic trick—one used far too many times.

"Goddess-sama, humans only unite when faced with a common external enemy. It's only when they're pushed to the brink of survival that they'll be willing to accept 'monsters'—as long as those monsters can offer them a way to live."

"So, if someone were to pose as Evilus, destroy more than half of Orario, and wipe out half of its population, then every adventurer left in Orario would start thinking the same thing:

'Evilus is trying to destroy Orario.'"

"And once that belief spreads, if the 'monsters' show overwhelming strength, rational thought, and a willingness to cooperate, then the people of Orario will choose to accept them."

...What the hell!?

Hermes stared at Bell in horror after hearing the proposal.

'Bell-kun, you're even more brutal than your aunt!'

'Zeus, you old bastard—what did you teach this kid!?'

As crazy as it sounded, Hermes couldn't deny that Bell had a point.

If Orario were nearly destroyed, and the people truly pushed to desperation, then as long as the monsters could communicate, the survivors would absolutely accept them—just to stay alive.

But that was only if Orario was practically leveled.

Loki's face was twitching as she stared at Bell, who had calmly suggested destroying half of Orario.

"Hey—are you the evil god here, or am I?"

"Why does it feel like you're even more twisted than me?"

Bell accepted it with a smile.

"Thank you for the compliment, Loki-sama."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

It was all a bit surreal, but Loki still couldn't stop herself from asking the one thing on her mind.

"Kid, if Hestia asked you to destroy Orario... would you actually do it?"

Bell paused for a moment before giving a response that nearly made Hermes and Loki collapse on the spot.

"If it's just me, I can't take on the Black Dragon alone. So I'd advise Goddess-sama to delay the plan to destroy Orario."

So... you're not denying it!?

Hermes and Loki both turned to look at Hestia in unison.

Looks like from now on, they'd really need to keep a closer eye on this hidden little terrorist.