438 - Gathering of the Strong #7

Beolkeok-.

The door to the conference room, which had been closed for a while, opened with quite a bit of force.

What appeared then was a single raccoon.

To be precise, it was a girl wearing a raccoon skin over her head.

Black hair and supple limbs.

A youthful face like a fresh high school girl.

However, the golden necklace hanging around her neck allowed one to guess her identity.

"Ha, Hassan, she's here again-!"

As soon as Luna saw Gloria, her body began to tremble.

It was the same for Hippolyte; it seemed they hadn't even imagined Gloria would show up in this place.

"I did send her a letter just in case, but I didn't think she'd actually come."

"...."

Gloria scanned the surroundings with a sreu-reuk- and sat down in a random chair.

She looked quite composed.

But compared to her, everyone else around her widened their eyes and blinked as if they were seeing something unbelievable.

Syleia was the first to speak.

"To think that even that Steel Warrior would come here. It is really you, right?"

Syleia was doubting Gloria's very existence. It meant she hadn't expected her to be the kind of person to show up here.

Atalante also added a word.

"After you left the Argo like that, I thought I'd never see your face again, Gloria. Good to see you, hey."

"...."

Of course, Gloria did not respond.

"Hmph, ignoring me, are you? Such an unfriendly brat-."

Atalante merely snorted as if she hadn't expected anything else. Just then, Gloria's black eyes met mine.

Heumchit-.

I reflexively flinched and trembled.

"...!"

The surprising thing was that Gloria also flinched-heumchit-and pulled the raccoon skin she was wearing over her head down to cover her face.

That behavior, so unlike Gloria, actually made me feel flustered.

Why is she acting like that?

Did she eat something wrong?

Anyway, Gloria's appearance had its own effect in settling the atmosphere.

Because a sense of interest began to circulate on the faces of the people who, until just a moment ago, had been as noisy as elementary schoolers during recess.

They were probably thinking that if Gloria herself came all this way, maybe they could look forward to what was about to come out of my mouth.

"Ehem-."

So, after clearing my throat a few times, I let out the words I had been preparing for several days.

"Now, everyone listen well. What I'm about to say is a story you won't have heard anywhere else."

Sreuk-.

After that, I checked the reactions of the people around me.

Except for Gloria, who had the raccoon skin pulled deep over her face, I could see everyone's attention focused on me.

It felt like the time I had to give a presentation for a group project.

My heart was fluttering and blood rushed to my face, which was a bit troublesome.

If Paranoy had been here, he would have introduced me well. He said he was busy establishing some kind of knight order for the Black Brotherhood.

Huu-.

Fortunately, the experience of acting as a god in Sodomora and speaking in front of people helped me manage the trembling somehow.

"I am Hassan of Sodomora."

I am Hassan-! Would it have been better to state it that boldly? Since there's an old man who looks at least seventy years old present, I can't bring myself to use informal speech.

So, since it turned out like this, I decided to just keep talking like myself.

"The reason I gathered you heroes here, even sending out cheap, provocative letters, is because as you've already gathered, I have something important to say. I-."

I took a beat.

A brief silence.

In that moment when everyone's focus peaked, I added the words like landing a finishing blow.

"I intend to form an expedition."

At that, a snort-heng-was heard. It was the Pheasant-man, Zethus, who had a pair of large wings.

"I knew it. If you gather people of this caliber in one place, what else could it be but war or an expedition?"

Syleia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Wing-man, he's not finished yet. Be quiet."

"Is there more to hear? Where and who we're fighting, and what we stand to gain. If you just say that, it's over. Anyway, we all came here to hear that."

Zethus's point was valid.

These were busy people.

If so, there was no need to beat around the bush with formalities; I could just get to the main point.

"Then I'll just speak the main point. I am heading to Hell. Beyond the five rivers of the underworld like Acheron and Styx, past the abyss of Erebus and the plains of Elysium, I will conquer the deep pit of Tartarus."

That was the end of my story.

Everyone listened without even blinking. Even though I had finished speaking, they just stared at me without any reaction.

But that was only for a moment.

"Puhahahat-!"

Pheasant-man Zethus burst into loud laughter.

"An expedition to the underworld? My, I've never heard anything so hilarious! This is crazy talk!"

The reaction isn't good.

"I've never heard anything so crazy! So let's do it right now!"

Ah, the reaction was good.

The wing-man named Zethus was quite bellicose.

Wasn't he the first person to show such a positive attitude toward the idea of an expedition to the underworld?

I was the one who suggested it, but I wondered if he was a madman.

"An expedition to the underworld! No one would have thought of that! Indeed, a story this crazy is exactly the reason to summon heroes!"

Anyway, his favorable reaction was a good thing for me.

The five Gold-tier adventurers who came here, no, six including Gloria. Persuading them would be quite a difficult task for me.

However, not everyone showed a positive reaction like Zethus.

Tok, tok-.

Syleia seemed lost in thought, tapping the table with her gauntleted hand.

She opened her lips, which had been tightly closed for a while.

"It's a reckless move. Is there any chance of coming back alive?"

Syleia's question was sharp.

A suicide squad that might or might not return alive. I had to give them a reason to volunteer for such a thing.

"I don't know. But, if we just come back alive, we could have everything. The many treasures in the underworld. Honor and glory. The secret of Nectar-."

"Heung-."

As expected, Syleia's reaction was lukewarm.

Just then, Idas, the man who had been sitting with his arms crossed and his square jaw tightly shut, asked.

"Is the membership just us?"

Hippolyte answered in my stead.

"The party will be two parties at base. We're envisioning three to four parties at most. If we increase the numbers beyond that, Pluto's Labyrinth and the Abyss will only increase their response."

"I see. So, who are the confirmed members so far?"

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"For now, Hassan and I. One sorcerer of the Ideope sitting here. Two Elves who aren't in this room. One Nymph. And one Paladin lent by the goddess Venus. These seven are confirmed."

"Seven, huh-. It's not a large number. Even including Zethus, that's eight. Then we could split into two groups of four."

This man named Idas seemed to enjoy calculating and considering various things carefully. He asked again.

"I, Idas, know Zethus's strength well. I know my own strength too. Hippolyte, I've heard of your martial prowess as well. But the rest have many variables."

At that, Hippolyte crossed her arms with a sreuk-.

"Variables?"

"I know nothing of the skills of Hassan, the two Elves, the Nymph, and that pink-haired young lady. If I'm to trust them with my back, I should at least know their level of skill."

"Skill, huh-."

Hippolyte trailed off vaguely and glanced at me.

The eyes of Idas, the man who said he had faced the Sun God, were constantly watching me. He seemed to be itching to fight me.

Wanting to know my skill was probably just an excuse.

"Hassan, they say you're called a god in this Sodomora. I'd like to test you once. I've fought many demigods and even the God of Light, but I've never seen a bizarre karma like yours."

Despite his cool, soldier-like appearance, he seemed quite bellicose.

Then again, if he weren't bellicose, he wouldn't do something as crazy as competing with the God of Light.

But this duel did not happen, because Nestor, the old man who had been dozing with his chin on the table, slowly opened his eyes and spoke a word.

"Stop it, youngster. It's best to avoid fights with gods. Even if you win or survive the fight, the chances are high that the end won't be good."

"...."

At that, Idas said nothing and closed his eyes tightly.

He was probably trying to cool his battle fervor. He's more composed than I thought. He'll surely be a good asset.

Dalkak-.

Hwareureuk-.

Watching this, Nestor took a pipe from his pocket and lit it. Before long, he exhaled the smoke with a huu- and spoke.

"So, did you say Hassan? Son of Pluto."

"Yes, that's right."

"When I first heard it, I thought it was a lie. To think there's a youngster claiming to be the Son of Pluto. I came just to see what kind of fellow you were."

Sss-.

The deep ash-colored eyes of the veteran Nestor scanned me. I could instinctively tell he was scanning my presence from top to bottom.

"...I, this old man, have never told anyone, but I actually encountered Pluto in my youth. He is the cold underworld itself. The underworld belongs to the dead. Nothing can be born from the underworld."

Hueuu-.

The elderly Nestor continued to smoke.

"What was I talking about just now?"

At that, Atalante let out a small sigh-huu-.

"You said you saw Pluto in your youth, old man-."

"Ah, right. I've seen Pluto. He was the underworld itself. Therefore, he cannot give birth to living things. He probably doesn't know things like love. Thus, being the Son of Pluto cannot be possible-."

"Then, are you saying I am not the Son of Pluto?"

"-is what I thought. But, seeing you, I can tell. You resemble him. Your face has a somewhat simple side, and your build is a bit small... Young man-."

"It's Hassan."

"Young man Hassan. I don't know why you, the Son of Pluto, would want to go on an expedition to your father's land, the underworld. Surely, there must be circumstances that are difficult to speak of."

It seemed his white hair, the symbol of aging, wasn't just for show. Contrary to the first impression that he might have dementia, he possessed a wise insight in his own way.

It must be the discernment of one who has aged.

"I see why Moros, the God of Doom, kept deferring this Nestor's death. This old man was alive to witness this expedition. I, Nestor, will participate."

At that, Zethus laughed-hehe-.

"Great, I knew the old man would say that! Indeed, like a man who has never missed a single battlefield-! Now, you girls-. What do you think?"

At Zethus's question, the ball was now in the court of the women like Syleia, Atalante, and Gloria. Syleia hummed in thought.

"Give me a little time to think. Ten minutes is enough."

At that, Hippolyte said, as if wrapping things up.

"Then let's take a short break."

* * *

"Whew, those people are so powerful-! I got the feeling that they're all strong people! If I ask for an autograph, will they give me one?"

Break time.

Sitting on a bench in the Mars Guild's park, Luna wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

Just as Luna said, the spirit they all emitted was extraordinary, so it was clear that an ordinary person wouldn't have been able to stay sane.

If it were the Luna from the time she was cleaning the temple, she would have surely fainted.

But seeing that Luna endured this situation well, I could clearly feel that she was also moving beyond the stage of an ordinary person.

In fact, the one who could be called the biggest joker card among those gathered there was Luna Noxdoti.

Since Luna's lineage was incredible, she would surely become more magnificent than anyone once she evolved into her ultimate form.

Though she doesn't seem to know that right now.

Luna said.

"Should I ask the pheasant human for just one feather? I wonder if he'll give it to me. I don't know!"

"Is that what you were worrying about? No wonder you were so quiet the whole time."

"It looked like a mysterious feather, and I think I could make a really amazing fan out of it! I was making a fan to give to Paranoy as a gift-!"

"I see."

Anyway, it was a relief to have time to get some fresh air like this. Right now, inside that conference room, they're probably racking their brains with intense deliberation on what to do.

I hope Hippolyte persuades them well.

Then Luna said.

"But I didn't expect Gloria to come too. I know she's really strong, but... will she listen to us? I don't think we can control her...."

Luna's opinion was very correct.

Gloria is like an uncontrollable wild beast.

However, it was certain that she would be a more powerful asset than anyone else. It was also strange that she had even shown up here in the first place.

The way she reacted by pulling down her skin when our eyes met earlier also bothered me.

Just then, Luna trembled-hik-!

When I looked to see what was wrong, there was a marble pillar of the Mars Guild where Luna's gaze was directed.

To be more precise, Gloria was hidden behind that pillar, peeking over at us.

That girl.

"Ex, excuse me-."

She slowly, slowly approached us.