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

At this moment, Orario was anything but calm—unlike the Dungeon below.

The roar unique to the Black Dragon had flattened every Adventurer and Guild member in Orario. None of them could even get up for half an hour.

Even the gods were thrown into a state of high alert by the roar.

"Damn it, how did the Black Dragon wake up?!"

"Are you stupid? Do you think we can control whether it wakes up or not?!"

"That's not what I meant! Didn't Ouranos say the Black Dragon was already under control?! Why is it still freely spreading its pressure over all of Orario?!"

The gods broke into chaotic discussions, yet no one could offer a clear answer.

This was an emergency assembly. Every god was required to attend.

And truthfully, the crisis was severe enough—perhaps the greatest threat Orario had faced in recent years.

Seated at the back, Loki rested her chin in her hands, clearly uninterested in joining the discussion.

In fact, she already knew everything. Through Bell's projection, she had seen the living, breathing Black Dragon. She also knew about its connection to the gods.

If she were to reveal what she knew, it would be like dropping a bomb on all of Orario.

The intel she held was simply too explosive. It could not only shake the foundation of Orario's stability but also shatter the gods' current sense of ease.

Loki's gaze swept over the room, faintly critical. Maybe the Black Dragon's influence had grown too great—enough that even the hidden Evilus factions wouldn't be able to stay hidden.

Now, all the gods were in the same situation.

Anxious.

'These fools can only grasp things at such a shallow level.'

Loki sneered inwardly. The Black Dragon's presence was a serious threat, but the real danger lay in what lurked behind it.

'That kid was called "arch-enemy" by the Black Dragon... Looks like Zeus and Hera really had a good eye. Even from outside Orario, they knew that kid was the key to the future.'

Even if she didn't want to admit it, Loki had to acknowledge that Zeus and Hera—who had long been expelled from Orario—had seen further than anyone else.

At the same time, she couldn't help but feel bitter at their luck.

How was it that the ones destined to guide the fate of the world and the gods were born into their Familias? And somehow, it was split perfectly—one each. Almost as if it were fate.

'If we can't overcome the Black Dragon, the world will be reshaped... and no living being will escape that upheaval.'

'How ironic.'

With a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle in her heart, Loki cursed under her breath again.

The gods saw themselves as noble, yet they failed to realize that Genkai was actually the ultimate trial bestowed upon them by the world itself.

Whether they would endure or perish—this trial would decide that.

But right now, none of that mattered.

The reshuffling of the world was a crisis that had to be avoided at all costs. And the only ones who truly understood the stakes... were likely Ouranos and the other ancient gods of his era.

However, Loki also noticed something odd—none of the ancient gods were present at this Denatus.

'Wait! Aren't Zeus and Hera ancient gods too?'

Suddenly, it clicked.

If Zeus and Hera qualified as ancient gods, then didn't that mean they might also know the truth?

This realization made Loki's expression twist slightly.

'...Shit! That old geezer Ouranos probably knew all along, didn't he? So when Freya and I pushed for their exile, he just went along with it and kicked them out of Orario?'

'In other words, Ouranos believed it'd be better to have Zeus and Hera far away from everyone's eyes?'

'So Freya and I were just the fall guys?'

That conclusion nearly made Loki jump up in fury.

She had once thought that Zeus and Hera's downfall was her opportunity to rise. But in the end, those two had simply placed all their hopes in the future after their Familias were destroyed.

And she and Freya were nothing more than the ones paving the road forward.

If she thought about it from a results-driven perspective... that's exactly what it was.

Zeus and Hera's retreat wasn't cowardice—it was intentional. They had shifted their focus to the next generation, to the "heroes" born from their era.

And after more than ten years, they'd raised a monster like Bell Cranel.

Cautious to a fault, and yet strangely powerful.

Just the fact that the kid escaped from the Black Dragon's jaws and was even momentarily spared by it—that alone was worth bragging about for years.

Put any other Adventurer in that situation, and they'd have been scared to death on the spot.

Yes, scared to death—not even given the chance to be torched by the dragon's breath.

With that realization, Loki glanced at the shorty sitting in front with Hephaestus and felt a rising sense of unease.

'So this shorty really stumbled onto something huge.'

Loki couldn't help but admire Zeus and Hera's foresight—and at the same time, she found Hestia's luck downright baffling.

A parasite of a goddess, still freeloading her way through life, just walks out one day and stumbles upon such a miracle. Talk about insane luck.

And the craziest part? That kid actually fell for the shorty. And the shorty was seriously into him too.

With odds that low, and everything somehow lining up, Loki figured saying 'it was fate's choice' wasn't even far-fetched.

...

"Loki, why have you been in such a sour mood since earlier?"

Pulled from her storm of thoughts, Loki turned with exasperation to the woman beside her.

'This woman definitely knows something.'

Loki could practically see her intentions—trying to tease out intel from her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been glued to her side this whole time.

And the woman sitting next to her wasn't just anyone—it was Freya, her equal at the top of Orario's divine hierarchy.

"Do you really think I should be in a good mood?"

"All my children are out on an expedition, and now the Black Dragon's stirring up chaos. Do I look like I should be celebrating?"

Her tone was unmistakably sharp—clearly aimed at Freya.

Freya didn't doubt that for a second. But the more Loki acted like that, the harder it was for her to suppress the smile creeping across her face.

"Loki, did you know you have a bad habit?"

"?"

With a serene smile and a soft voice, Freya leaned in and said,

"The more you try to hide something... the more reactive you get."

"If you were genuinely upset about the Black Dragon, your reaction would've been way more explosive than this."

"Besides, did you even call your kids back?"

"With all the noise the Black Dragon's making—and knowing how much you dote on your children—there's no way you'd just sit still like this, right?"

Loki's face twitched.

Damn... this woman was seriously dangerous!