"Speaking of which, have you thought of a title for Isagi yet?"
"Not yet."
"Let's put our heads together and come up with a nice-sounding one when the time comes!"
Loki's initiative to be attentive made Demeter even more suspicious! This guy. Usually at the Denatus, she showed no mercy, always bullying other Familias and giving their children all sorts of embarrassing and strange titles!!
Seeming to notice Demeter's 'suspicious' gaze, Loki merely looked away with a guilty conscience, then quickly changed the subject.
"Dionysus! The wine recently has been quite good!! How about sending me a few kegs~"
With Loki's clamor, the beautiful matron goddess finally noticed the God of Wine standing not far away, talking and laughing with several other gods.
He had dazzling golden hair, looking like a deity walking out of a painting—tall, handsome, and courteous.
"That won't do," Dionysus said with a smile.
"I'm afraid after you get drunk, you'll roll around on the ground, and there will be no way to clean up the mess then."
"How can you say that~"
"Besides, the recent wine is good thanks to the grapes grown by Demeter."
"Thank you for the compliment."
The goddess smiled slightly, but her eyes lowered, as if she were thinking about something. Recently, she discovered that the production and supply of grapes in her Familia were a bit off.
Those were grapes specially cultivated to supply the Wine Gods for brewing Divine Wine used at the banquet of the gods; the yield was scarce and precious.
Of course, the Divine Wine used at the banquet would not carry the 'side effects' caused by the Wine Gods' divine power.
Although it wasn't pure enough because of this, the gods also knew the 'danger' within.
So.
If the accounts for the grapes didn't match, it meant they might have been taken to brew more Divine Wine, or smuggled out of the city.
This was a common occurrence.
Smuggling in Orario was rampant because, as the center of the world, merchant caravans from various countries on the continent came and went from Orario endlessly every day. The guards of the Ganesha Familia simply couldn't check everything in minute detail.
What's more.
Quite a few of the city's Familias were also involved in this. The Guild didn't have the energy to manage this matter either, so they could only turn a blind eye; as long as no major problems arose, they would leave it alone for the time being.
Demeter didn't have any concrete evidence right now, so she was struggling with whether to start an investigation...
While thinking about this matter, looking at the boy talking and laughing with two young girls in the distance, Demeter thought about it very seriously and actually felt the current situation was more 'urgent'!
So the beautiful matron goddess called Isagi back from afar.
Continuing under the offensive of two beautiful girls, if the boy was really poached away, what would she do... No, how would she face Astrea!
And as Isagi returned to the goddesses' side.
Suddenly.
Loki spoke directly in front of Dionysus, as if she were drunk.
"Little Isagi must be careful too. You can't just put things given by gods you don't know directly into your mouth, be it wine or food... In the city, there are still bad-hearted fellows."
"Hahahahahaha... But you don't need to worry too much, because the Goddess will also protect you. Gods and children have a relationship of mutual assistance."
Loki wasn't talking about Demeter, but Astrea.
The Goddess who presides over harvest and motherly love is indeed respected by people and gods, but her personality is very soft. She cannot accept children dying accidentally in the Dungeon no matter what—this is the most direct reason why the Demeter Familia has no adventurers.
Therefore, the Goddess's benevolence is also her weakness; if she meets bad guys, she is easily used and threatened.
But Goddess Astrea is different.
The Goddess of the Stars who presides over justice and fairness often takes on the duty of [Judgment] in the Divine Realm. That serious and severe appearance wielding the sword of sanction is an existence that gives many gods headaches or even makes them afraid.
There were even rumors at one point that beneath Astrea's gentle exterior, there actually hid the 'inner nature of a militant goddess' like Athena or Artemis. If there was a disagreement, she was a fellow who would really fight to the death with other gods.
"Are you talking about me?"
Dionysus smiled quietly.
"Not at all. It's that guy Soma who has been making a bit of a fuss lately. The children all know they absolutely cannot drink the wine he brews, although I still quite want to drink it."
"But now the outside is full of fake wine under his name. 'Brewed by Soma himself,' but it turns out to have no taste of Divine Wine at all! Damn it!! I finally convinced Riveria to buy me a jar last time!!"
The side effects of Divine Wine are limited for gods. As long as it isn't consumed continuously, it's roughly equivalent to getting very drunk.
For a guy like Loki who loves wine as much as life, she would rather pay a certain price to enjoy the taste of Divine Wine.
The sudden topic ended there.
"Besides, I'm not worried about a handsome lad like Isagi being eyed by strange guys!"
"Fortunately, that fellow doesn't seem to have come?!"
Loki looked all around, giving the impression of a thief crying 'stop thief,' seemingly searching for the figure of a certain god.
"Ah, found her! Little Isagi must pay attention, absolutely stay away from the Goddess of Beauty oh!!"
Following Loki's gaze.
Far away, one could see the beautiful goddess by the railing on one side of the banquet hall's second floor. She had waist-length ash-gray hair and wore a gorgeous long dress that looked like a sea of flowers and brilliant stars, though any clothing and jewelry paled in comparison to her countenance.
Goddess Freya.
Her beauty was an existence sufficient to make all the gods fall for her.
However, what Isagi noticed was the unusually tall adventurer beside her.
[So strong].
Just looking from afar, he could feel the incredibly strong power hidden beneath that body as sturdy as a small mountain.
"Ottar is still there too. I have to tell Riveria and the others quickly when I get back to launch the expedition as soon as possible. We can't let Freya and her lot beat us to it..."
"Aren't you guys participating in Monsterphilia, Loki?"
"No, there's no need for that."
As the urban legends say, the target of the Loki Familia's expedition this time is the [Monster Rex · Udaeus] on the 37th Floor which is about to respawn, and the [Rebel King of the Labyrinth · Balor] on the 49th Floor. These are Floor Bosses that only appear every three months and nine months respectively after being subjugated.
Conquering them grants [Excelia].
Especially, the [Excelia] sufficient to let the [Sword Princess] Ais Wallenstein level up to Lv. 5 is the Loki Familia's most important goal right now.
Naturally, for the Freya Familia, it was impossible to watch the Loki Familia go subjugate the Monster Rex while they waited for the next respawn cycle; the Goddess of Beauty wasn't such a reasonable fellow.
So right now, both sides were actually racing against time.
For First-Class Adventurers of Lv. 5 and above, gaining [Excelia] was too difficult. It was either a death match with an adventurer stronger than oneself, or waiting for a Floor Boss to respawn; apart from that, there were almost no good methods.
This window of vacancy, on the contrary, made the (Dark Familias) feel there was an opportunity to exploit.
"But if something really happens then, and you aren't there immediately, will the city... That child... is still so hard-hearted."
"Demeter, you can't have it both ways in everything. Besides, aren't Ganesha and the others there? No problem."
"Only with rivals does one become stronger."
"But..."
Demeter was a bit worried. If the First-Class Adventurers of the Loki and Freya Familias both went on expeditions deep into the Dungeon during Monsterphilia, would...
Regarding this.
Loki just remained silent.
And the God Dionysus, who had originally leaned over, seemed to quickly understand something. Using "Our small Familia won't join in this excitement" as an excuse, he walked far away at once.
It was only at this moment that Loki whispered.
"Finn said, it is to deliberately reveal a flaw. Otherwise, those rats still hiding (Dark Familias) wouldn't feel there's an opportunity to exploit."
The conversation between the gods ended there.
The banquet concluded.
Isagi, as always, boarded the carriage with Goddess Demeter, preparing to go home.
Meanwhile, still high up on the second floor of the banquet hall, the Goddess of Beauty, watching this scene from afar by the window, spoke to the city's strongest standing beside her.
"What do you think of that child, Ottar."
Freya was referring to Isagi.
"Good eyes. Like a [Beast], and also an excellent martial artist."
"Indeed. That child's soul is very sharp, like a sword... The blade of justice?"
The Goddess of Beauty possessed the ability to see through to the essence of the other party's soul.
"Very interesting."
"Very special."
Recalling the shape of Isagi's soul, it was a style Freya had never seen before.
Sharp, tenacious, as if no matter what difficulties and dangers, the boy could not be made to give up. What kind of suffering had he experienced to still be indomitable, a soul walking with head held high until now?
"Astrea always finds all sorts of interesting children. It makes me a bit envious."
"If you need..."
"No. If that child can grow up, it will be a good thing for you all, Ottar."
She looked somewhat dotingly at the Boaz youth beside her whom she had raised single-handedly—Ottar.
Ottar was somewhat puzzled by the Goddess's words, because the other party was merely a Level 2 adventurer. Even a genius like Ais of the Loki Familia could hardly be called "his opponent," right?
The guys he wanted to surpass had already died long ago, so all he needed to do was step over their corpses.
An adventurer as an opponent?
Aside from that bastard in the [School District], such a guy no longer existed in the world.
It wasn't that Ottar was arrogant.
He knew his own weakness well, and thus understood exactly what kind of strength the other adventurers in the city currently possessed.
At this moment, what surfaced in the mind of the city's strongest [Warlord] were the figures of the men who split mountains with a punch and severed cities with a sword, as well as the vague silhouette of the Empress who was always high above and almost unreachable.
The sharp words of that person mocking him as a fledgling brat still rang in his ears.
So, how could a boy be discussed as an opponent?
But the Goddess could not be wrong. Thus, Ottar looked into the distance again, trying to find the figure of the carriage in the bustling long street, and firmly committed his appearance to memory."
___
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