"I already told you, didn't I?"
"Who'd believe that?"
Eiji rolled his eyes.
Did she really think this was a pleasant surprise?
All I saw was a fright!
"Tch, your attitude really pisses me off!"
Freya visibly showed her displeasure as she raised the key in her hand.
"I was planning to give this to you as a surprise, but if you don't want it, I'll just destroy it!"
She made a show of preparing to smash the key.
"Wait!"
Eiji's eyes suddenly sharpened as he reached out and grabbed her slender wrist.
"What did you say? You were going to give this to me as a surprise?"
"What else?"
Freya scowled, clearly angry.
"Uh, I thought the 'surprise' you mentioned was about confessing to Loki! You scared me half to death!"
Eiji patted his chest, visibly relieved.
"Seriously, was all this trouble necessary? If you'd just left it with Ishtar's Familia, I could've gotten it by now."
"Oh, so it's my fault now?"
Freya crossed her arms and let out a cold laugh.
"Do you think I have future sight? That I could predict you'd go to Ishtar's Familia three days later?"
Well.
She had a point.
Freya had had Tammuz steal the key and leave three days before Eiji went to Ishtar's Familia.
But before she could tell Eiji about it, he'd already gone to Ishtar, only to find it missing.
"So you planned to steal the key for me from the start?"
"What else? Haven't you been training like crazy these past few days?"
It must be to take revenge on the Evilus.
That's what Freya had thought.
If that was the case, then she could lend a hand too. So she specifically had Tammuz, one of her top spies, steal the key—only for Eiji to go to Ishtar's Familia three days later and kill Ishtar.
She then had no choice but to bring Tammuz to the Divine Assembly to clear his name.
After that, Loki invited her out—no prizes for guessing it was about the key in her possession.
And then he had the nerve to say her surprise was a fright!
Infuriating!
"My bad!"
Eiji glanced at the wooden door to confirm no one outside could see in, then wrapped his arms around Freya's waist and pulled her into an embrace.
"Alright, it's all my fault. I misunderstood, I was being stupid. You're magnanimous, don't hold it against me. Don't be mad, don't be mad..."
Honestly, he didn't have much experience comforting girls before, but somehow it came naturally to him.
"Remember, you owe me another favor!"
Freya didn't say much else, just tilted her head and left a lipstick mark on his collarbone.
Then she lifted her chin proudly, stuffed the key into his arms, and turned to leave the tearoom.
"Let's go, Ottar."
"Yes."
Soon after, she was seen leaving the teahouse with Ottar in tow.
"Wow, you actually got it?"
Loki sneaked in with a mischievous grin, marveling at the key in his arms.
Then her gaze landed on Eiji's neck, and her expression gradually turned suggestive.
"Heh, how does Freya taste?"
She wore a look that said she'd seen right through everything.
"Sigh, all this suffering for the sake of the Familia..."
Eiji wiped the lipstick mark off his collarbone without changing his expression, then put on a pained look.
"Cut the act! You're immune to charm anyway. Freya's just giving you free favors—stop pretending to suffer while enjoying the benefits!"
Loki rolled her eyes furiously.
Freya had wielded charm for so long that she'd developed a natural resistance to it.
But this resistance was far from an impenetrable shield. Over time, the constant exposure to charm would erode her defenses, until she finally succumbed to him.
Freya probably understood this too, yet she didn't resist. Instead, she embraced it willingly, as if savoring the most exquisite poison—one that would inevitably become an addiction.
In this regard, Loki was even worse off than her.
At least Freya had fallen gradually after being charmed by Eiji multiple times. But Loki's resolve had wavered after just a few accidental brushes with his charm.
"Let's go home, let's go home!"
Loki snatched the key excitedly, cheering uncontrollably.
"With this key, we can finally take revenge on Evilus! Everyone will be thrilled!"
The two set off on their return journey.
"Oh, and when we get back, don't you dare tell Finn and the others about this. Otherwise, we'll be beaten to death by the girls in our Familia!"
The thought of the girls going berserk made Loki shudder involuntarily.
"I know."
Eiji nodded half-heartedly. "By the way, Freya also made a request—she wants me to visit her Familia more often from now on."
"Seriously?"
Loki froze. "That woman has really fallen?"
"Absolutely!"
Eiji nodded solemnly.
"Tch, you hit the jackpot!"
Loki's face twisted with envy.
Who was she jealous of?
Maybe she envied Eiji for winning Freya's favor—after all, deep down, Loki was a pervy goddess who surely lusted after Freya's body.
Or perhaps she envied Freya for getting intimate with Eiji, since she'd always regretted being rejected by him.
Which one it was remained a mystery.
"But the debts are piling up..."
Eiji looked up at the top floor of the Tower of Babel, his heart growing heavy.
"Favors are the hardest to repay. How am I supposed to settle all these debts in the future?"
...
The key was eventually handed over to Finn.
With this key in their possession, Finn and the others underwent a complete transformation.
If they had been lurking jackals before, now they were wolves baring their fangs!
Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the day they could finally unleash their fury.
Meanwhile, Eiji remained immersed in leveling up.
Freya Familia's stronghold—the Battle Wasteland.
Boom!
The strongest of the boar-men swung a greatsword nearly as tall as a person, bringing it down on Eiji with terrifying force!
The strike was both fierce and agile, combining power and speed with almost no openings. The sheer force of the swing created a powerful sonic boom, its attack strength enough to cleave through ultra-hard metal walls!
Thud!
Eiji crossed his blade in front of him, instantly mobilizing every muscle in his body to become as soft and yielding as flowing water. Using a technique akin to Tai Chi, he deflected the strike.
The ground beneath him cracked into a spiderweb pattern, sinking over a foot deep as his legs were driven into the soil.
Yet his stance remained unbroken.
"Incredible!"
"Is that guy really just Level 5?"
"He didn't even take a single step back against Ottar's full-power strike!?"
Exclamations of astonishment came from the surrounding dark and light elves and four dwarves.
Utterly unbelievable!
Ottar was currently one of only two remaining Level 7 adventurers in this world!
The power gap between Level 7 and Level 5 was enormous—almost several times the difference—yet he couldn't easily defeat a mere Level 5?
This even made them start questioning whether all their years spent as Level 5 and Level 6 had been wasted!