Chapter 11: I Won't Keep You Long!
Orario, Sixth District Trading Area.
Merchants seek profit, regardless of day or night...
As long as there's money to be made, no matter the hour, the trading area remains this bustling!
Within the massive trading area lay Orario's largest free market—slave traders, contraband dealers, everything could be found here!
The ironic part was that this free market stood right beside the Ganesha Familia headquarters, "I Am Ganesha."
For the former Ryuu, without Alise or Kaguya restraining her, she would have turned this place upside down upon seeing such scenes.
Even though Orario had banned slave trading, there were always those testing their luck in an endless stream...
But for the current justice-roaming elf, this was essentially an all-you-can-eat buffet!
Before a stall styled after Telskyura, countless strange bottles and jars were arranged on a wool carpet painted with colorful pigments.
Located at the easternmost part of the entire free market, this conspicuous stall stood at the entrance, yet cunning merchants seeking middleman profits would consistently overlook it.
Entering through the eastern gate of the free market, Loki spotted the anomaly almost instantly. The crimson-haired deity narrowed her eyes and quickly pulled Ryuu and Keyaru over.
Two Amazonian girls who seemed new to Orario boldly addressed the approaching Loki:
"Divine one, and you two gentlemen, anything you need? We can offer a discount!"
"These jars contain spices produced in our nation. They're quite excellent for meat preparation~"
"Care to take a sniff, Divine One?"
Loki showed no intention of refusing the Amazons' enthusiasm. Lowering her head, she took two light sniffs, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly snapped her eyes open and looked up to demand:
"Using cheap poisonous plants to make expensive spices and trying to deceive this goddess? You've got quite the nerve!"
Loki's imperious demeanor immediately stunned the two Amazons.
Deities shouldn't be able to detect such subtle differences through scent alone, and technically they hadn't lied—these were indeed spices from their country. They had mastered linguistic trickery, and their scheme would have been flawless if they'd just avoided high-ranking adventurers!
Watching the naive pair, Keyaru could only sigh and explain from the side:
"Loki actually didn't figure it out..."
"She just thought you were acting suspicious and decided to bluff..."
Hearing this, the crimson-haired goddess curled her lips in a smug smirk.
"Little Keyaru, how could you think of your Patron God like that? Am I really that bad?"
While the two were bantering, Ryuu—who had somehow acquired a long sword from somewhere—was already pointing her blade at the two Amazons' necks.
The killing intent from Orario's top wanted criminal, Gale, instantly paralyzed the two Amazons with fear.
"We... we..."
"Money!"
"Right away, Elf-sama!"
Instantly recognizing the vast power gap between themselves and Ryuu, the two respectfully coughed up all the ill-gotten gains they'd made from scamming ignorant deities that day.
After a moment's internal struggle visible in her eyes, Ryuu sheathed her sword and coolly addressed Loki and Keyaru:
"We have enough for tonight's lodging now!"
"But God Loki, are you planning to stay overnight too?"
"And why haven't you taken Mr. Keyaru back to your Familia yet?"
Loki couldn't meet Ryuu's icy gaze, her tone becoming evasive.
"I just wanted to slack off... I mean... I just wanted to take an occasional outing!"
"An outing on Orario's most chaotic night? Brave Finn and Lady Riveria must be having quite the time. God Loki, this isn't appropriate..."
Seeing her true intentions exposed, Loki dropped all pretense and began throwing a tantrum.
"What's the big deal! I already know everything that's happening tonight anyway. Finn and the others won't be in danger. I just wanted to relax for once after so long~"
A standoff ensued...
"Sigh..."
"Everyone's so willful these days!"
Ryuu left Loki and Keyaru behind, storming off alone toward a nearby inn...
"You want Ryuu's body?" x2
Loki and Keyaru spoke almost simultaneously while watching Ryuu's retreating back.
After a moment of silence...
"Do you mean literally wanting her body, or wanting her to join your Familia?" x2
"Both!" x2
Loki fell silent. Keyaru fell silent... How should they even discuss this?
Could it be that Loki also has talent for being a hentai protagonist?
"Loki, may I impolitely ask if your divine authority isn't actually lust? Or perhaps it only activates around beautiful women?"
Loki swore this was absolutely the most unjust accusation she had ever faced!
Yet she couldn't deny that as a talent connoisseur, Loki had already recognized this elf's identity! This renowned Gale truly made her feel regretful—after all, she had been evenly matched with her dear Ais-chan before...
...
While Loki was leisurely strolling about, the goddess Freya, moving as unhurriedly as if taking a walk in her own backyard, finally encountered Finn.
Two groups stood in a tense standoff, the silence stretching endlessly!
In this wordless scene, the werewolf Bete, who believed their side held the advantage, was the first to lose patience and step forward.
"Leader... that old elf woman..."
Facing only Ottar on the other side, Bete confidently pointed at him.
"Don't worry, I won't take much of your time!"
"This old man is about to... urk—"
Mid-boast, Ottar swung his greatsword and sent Bete flying. The werewolf's body tumbled through the air like a ragged sack...
A great battle was about to erupt...
...
Achoo!
"Feels like someone's cursing me!"
In a budget-friendly guesthouse, brilliant magic stone lamps cast dazzling light as Loki sneezed heavily under their glow.
She'd already guessed her Familia would likely clash with Freya's bunch, but Loki had been considering the idea herself anyway.
After the Great War, she felt Orario had been too peaceful for too long. Her Familia members had grown somewhat arrogant, especially that Bete fellow!
This was a perfect opportunity to temper their spirits!
Well... Loki admitted this was just an excuse to laze around for a day!
But enough about that—exciting things were coming!
Seeing the mischievous look in Loki's eyes, Keyaru could guess exactly what she was thinking!
Undoubtedly, since there were only two rooms left in this guesthouse, naturally Loki and Ryuu would share one room as the females, while Keyaru would have his own room.
But would things really go as she wished?
On the third floor of the guesthouse, miserable wails drew frequent sideways glances from passersby.
"Why!?"
"Isn't Ryuu-san an elf?"
"Even if it means sharing a room with the opposite gender, you'd rather not stay with me? I swear I won't get handsy after you fall asleep!"
Ryuu cast a disgusted look at the perverted goddess clinging to her calf and wailing.
The mere fact she'd mention getting handsy while sleeping already felt dangerously suspicious!
This gave off strong repeat offender vibes...
Was this worthless creature really a deity?
Comparing Loki's image with Astrea's, Ryuu felt even more disgusted...