CHAPTER 1
THE OPENING OF HOSTILITIES
After I reject her, she looks down and then starts running, leaving me behind.
I almost chase after her, but in the end, I don’t budge from the spot.
Asking her to stop and wait after I just rejected her confession would be illogical, cruel, and contradictory. I can hear a voice in my head yelling that I have no right.
A rumble tears through the sky, as if the heavens are sobbing.
Rain begins to fall.
Even as the raindrops pelt me, I can’t bring myself to take a single step. Who knows how much time passes while I stand still.
“…Lyu…Aiz…I have to…”
With that delirious murmur, I finally leave behind that memory-strewn park.
My entire body is soaked, on the verge of just melting away in the rain as I struggle to drag myself forward.
I finally reach the place where I last saw my friends. They were holding off Freya Familia in the second district, meaning we were in the northeast quadrant of the city.
Asfi calls out and says, “Bell Cranell! Looks like you’re safe after all. I was concerned, since we couldn’t delay Vana Freya and the rest for very long…”
“Sorry…everyone was injured, so we couldn’t follow after you…” Aiz murmurs apologetically.
The two of them spot me from beneath the eaves of an abandoned building. It seems like Lyu and the others are currently being treated by Lady Hestia and Lord Hermes.
Runoa and Chloe are unconscious. Their waitress uniforms are marked by splotches of blood. Ahnya’s sitting on the ground hunched over, a shadow of her usual cheerful self. It’s almost like her soul’s been sucked out of her.
“Bell…What about Syr?!”
Even though she’s injured, Lyu is the only one who can still talk, and she presses me for an answer.
“…Syr is…She’s fine…The whole issue with Freya Familia should be resolved, too…”
That’s all I manage to say.
There isn’t really any other way to answer.
The truth is that Syr was a fake.
And I hurt the real one.
How could I even begin to explain what happened?
It’s impossible. I don’t even know where to begin.
“…Bell? What is it?”
Aiz gently holds out her hand to me as I stand still, unmoving.
When her fingers touch my cheek, which has grown cold under the constant rain, my body moves on its own.
I overreact on reflex, recoiling from her reach.
“Bell…?”
There shouldn’t be any reason for me to feel guilty, but for some reason, I can’t look her in the eye.
The truth is that I’m desperate. Looking at those golden eyes of hers is the last thing I want to do right now.
I don’t want to feel her touch. Not by the person I look up to.
Not after I so thoughtlessly hurt someone precious to me because all my attention is focused on another.
Aiz opens her eyes a little wider, clearly shocked by my reaction.
When I think about how none of this is her fault, I just want to curl up and die in a hole somewhere.
“Bell…”
Lady Hestia stares at me, but she doesn’t say anything else.
I guess as someone who possesses the foresight of a goddess, she can see right through me. I’m sure she already understands everything.
“…To some extent or another, everyone’s hurt. Let’s head inside before anyone gets sick from being out in this rain.”
Lord Hermes doesn’t broach the unspoken topic on everyone’s mind.
Following his proposal, we carry the injured inside, leaving the rainy streets behind.
—Those are my memories of yesterday.
“………”
The morning of the third day of the Goddess Festival has arrived.
Today, there’s no rain falling like tears, but dark gray clouds still fill the sky.
I stare out at the hanging wall of gray from a corridor of Hearthstone Manor without really looking at anything.
After we carried the injured to The Benevolent Mistress to let them recover, we went back to our home.
Welf and the others who had been covering for Miss Ahnya and them at the tavern came with us, too.
When the owner, Miss Mia, saw us carrying them, she got a scary look on her face. When Lord Hermes told her the story from start to finish—including Freya Familia’s attack—her expression twisted, and she looked like something particular had crossed her mind…
…It’s no use. I can’t focus on anything.
The corridor’s windows face the inner courtyard, and no matter how high I crane my neck, the sky above seems constricted and boxed in.
There are so many things that I need to think about, but my body and brain feel heavy as lead.
I don’t have any claim to feel hurt. Not after the choices I made. Not after I rejected her…after I hurt her.
But her face is still burned into my eyes—
“Bell.”
I turn around to see who’s calling me.
“…Lyu?” There she is, standing there in her uniform from the tavern. “…How are your injuries?”
Why are you here?
Why come see me now?
My mouth instinctively avoids giving voice to the questions I really want answered.
“Yes…Dáinsleif held back to avoid dealing a mortal blow. I suppose it’s an effect of his cursed weapon, but the cuts will take time to fully heal…”
Apparently, she faced off against Hegni, just like me.
Her brow is furrowed as she touches her chest, as if she is still enduring intense pain, possibly because the wounds haven’t fully closed yet.
But that lasts for only a moment. She looks up, piercing me with her gaze.
“What happened yesterday, Bell?”
“………”
“It’s not that I do not believe you. But how could you know that Syr is safe? And where did she go? And more importantly, why was Freya Familia after her in the first place?!”
She’s asking all the right questions.
I hardly explained anything that transpired after we’d split up. The events were too fresh, and I needed time to sort out my thoughts and feelings. Honestly, I still do.
But…I can’t just keep quiet about it anymore.
I slowly start to explain as I desperately try to figure out where to begin.
Freya Familia was not after Syr at all.
The person they spotted who looked exactly like Syr was actually someone else entirely.
“A fake Syr…?!”
Lyu interjects several times in shock, but she doesn’t stop me, listening all the way to the end.
And then I say it.
“Syr’s…confession…I turned her down…”
“Wh—”
Lyu freezes as if time stood still for the briefest of seconds.
Even her breathing stops. Without warning, she grabs me by the shoulders.
“Why?!”
My ears ring.
The emotion in her shout is raw. It feels like her voice might break even as it washes over me.
Her voice is louder and more intense than I’ve ever heard her.
I turn pale in surprise as she continues to press me for an answer.
“Why did you reject her?! What about her feelings?! Her resolve?!”
“Ghh…!”
“You—! You of all people! That shouldn’t…!”
“………”
“Then no one can…I can’t…”
Lyu gradually loses steam until finally her voice is so weak and fragile, it seems like it might just fade into silence.
The only thing filling her blue eyes is my reflection. It feels like a silent accusation, or maybe it’s a cry for help.
Our faces have come so close, our lips could touch if either of us had even the slightest inclination. To the random passerby, we probably look like lovers. Then again, there’s a good chance they’d conclude we’re a couple who are about to break up.
Her slender fingers are still digging into my shoulders. I grit my teeth, desperately fighting the urge to avert my eyes as I force myself to answer her.
“There’s someone I look up to…My eyes have always been on that person…”
“!”
“I want to catch up to her…and when I do, I want to tell her how I feel…That’s why…I couldn’t accept Syr’s feelings.”
Even though it’s miserably painful, I say what has to be said.
Lyu’s grip weakens, and her hands slip from my shoulders in disbelief.
A hollow silence fills the new space that’s opened between us.
She starts to say something several times. But every attempt ends with her sputtering as she looks down, the words buried without being spoken.
“…Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Just as Syr had feelings for you, it’s only natural that you might fall in love with someone else…That’s entirely reasonable, and yet I…”
The words that finally slip from her contain no blame or anger.
If anything, they express understanding and support, reassuring me that I didn’t do anything wrong.
Right now, that is the most unbearably painful thing she could’ve said.
“…My apologies, Bell. I lost control of myself. I did not consider your feelings…”
I can’t respond with anything other than silence.
Lyu closes her eyes, furrowing her brow in a pained expression and clenching both hands to her chest, as if trying to hold back a flood of emotions.
Both of us do nothing but stare at the ground. The corridor goes quiet as we stand there alone.
The hands on the clock move ever onward, leaving us behind.
In the end, it’s Lyu who breaks the long silence.
“Bell…I’m going to search for Syr.”
“Ghh…”
“She should already be at the tavern by now, but she hasn’t shown up. Something may have happened…That’s why I’m going to find her,” Lyu says. “I don’t where she lives, and I have no leads.”
But even so, her resolve does not waver. She turns just her head to the side, looking up at the sky shrouded in gray clouds, as if searching for the figure of someone precious to her. When Lyu turns back to me, she hesitates for a moment before hoarsely voicing her question.
“…What will you do?”
I know I should think long and hard about my answer.
My next move has to be extremely careful.
If it isn’t, I’ll just end up hurting her again.
Foolish or not, I scrunch up my face and answer immediately.
“I’ll…go, too.”
The streets were busy.
Dark clouds insisted on staying in place even after the rain broke, but that didn’t deter the bustling crowds determined to enjoy the last day of the festival. The colorful displays of wheat, vegetables, fruits, and everything else that made a harvest festival were still set out all along the main streets for the attendees to enjoy.
“It’s already the third day, but it looks like we can finally enjoy ourselves a little,” Lilly grumbled as she watched the other festivalgoers.
Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime couldn’t help their wry smiles when they considered the complaint.
Hestia Familia had been press-ganged into heavy labor at The Benevolent Mistress until last night. Syr had been off to begin with, so when Ahnya and the others all left, too, Hestia Familia had been forced to work two days in a row without rest in order to fill in. After they were finally freed from a job that was more intense than venturing into the Dungeon, their heavy sighs were completely understandable.
Of course, Mia was not a monster who would make them work even on the last day of the festival.
“Ms. Ahnya and the others returned, but…they were all hurt quite badly.”
“…Yes. Based on their condition, they probably won’t be able to work.”
Lilly furrowed her eyebrow at Haruhime’s comment.
The official reason they had been allowed to go free was because Ahnya and the others had returned, but the real reason was because Mia decided this was hardly the time to open for business like normal.
“Freya Familia were the ones who attacked them. And Mr. Bell was also involved…”
“It seems Lady Syr hasn’t returned to the tavern, either. After Lady Lyu visited, Sir Bell went to search for her, too, but…” Mikoto nodded pensively.
They had asked Hestia and Bell what happened yesterday, so they knew the rough outline of events, but neither of them had been especially forthcoming. Bell in particular visibly struggled when he tried to talk about it. It was obvious there was more to the story.
And when Lyu departed with Bell in tow, the familia had shared a troubled glance but said nothing.
“Hey, why don’t we look for her, too?”
Welf had been silent until he made this suggestion. All eyes turned to him.
“It’s not just Bell; we all owe them. Her and that bar…Besides, there’s something bothering me.”
Unlike the others, he had an idea why the boy who was like a little brother to him had clammed up. Welf had been the one who told Bell to be a man and make it clear where he stood. Just like Bell, he felt guilty about how things had turned out.
But even more than that, the fact that Freya Familia had gotten involved was a major point of concern.
He kept alternating between suspicion and anxiety about Syr’s true identity.
“…It’s not like we’d be able to simply enjoy the festival by ourselves anyway,” Lilly admitted.
“Yes, I agree. My apologies, Lady Haruhime. I know you have been looking forward to it, but…”
“No, this is fine, Lady Mikoto. I can always listen to the festival songs next year.”
Lilly and Mikoto nodded, and Haruhime, who had been locked away in the pleasure quarter in past years, smiled as well. They were all in agreement.
“Sorry, you guys…All right, I guess we’ll start by asking around a bit.”
They fanned out, asking if anyone had seen the girl with blue-gray hair.
“…I don’t like these clouds…”
Hestia was walking the streets of Orario alone.
Her followers were all out, so she had asked Takemikazuchi and his familia to house-sit for them. She had asked Miach and Hephaistos to watch things for the first two days, but she still felt bad asking so much after two days straight working at the tavern. Even if Takemikazuchi had been kind enough to laugh it off by saying, “We’re not exactly flush enough to go around and enjoy all the treats, so this is perfect for distancing ourselves from temptation.”
Hestia’s expression remained tense and uneasy, even as her mind meandered through more aimless thoughts.
What Hermes said yesterday…that Syr girl’s true identity…
She had pressed him when she first met the girl called Syr. She had asked her fellow Olympian exactly what was that thing that mimicked a goddess so closely.
His theory was that it was transformation magic—a secret, mystical art for the sake of becoming one specific goddess. A boundless, unprecedented craving that drove a person to claw their way to divinity without properly ascending.
Hestia still couldn’t believe it.
Even if it was theoretically possible within the bounds of magic, and even if the person in question couldn’t access arcanum, for any mortal to be able to transform into a deity for any period of time was…
It was something far removed from the rules and logic of the world, something so irregular that it made her shudder.
“Then again…that isn’t the real problem.”
Hestia was imagining something terrifying.
It would be better if the Syr that Bell had interacted with all this time had merely been a follower who could transform into a goddess.
But what if it had been the goddess herself who had been interacting with him all this time?
More importantly, what if she had been waiting for something to develop?
What if that goddess of beauty had always been watching Bell since the very beginning?
—“Watch out, dumbass. You know that woman covered for him, right?”
Loki had pulled her aside at Denatus.
She had warned her about Freya.
Hestia had been on her guard the whole time, and she had been even more concerned after the incident with Ishtar Familia. Still—
“Freya never made a move, so I thought it might just have been my imagination.”
The silverback during Monsterphilia. The minotaur that became the impetus for him ranking up. If her suspicion was correct, then a lot of things would make sense.
The goddess of beauty never let her prey escape. Stories of followers stolen away from their patron deities by her whispers of love were too many to count.
At the same time, Freya had been unbelievably passive despite the numerous stories that suggested she would be anything but. To the point that, in all this time, Hestia still wasn’t completely sure if she was after Bell or not.
“But if she had always been so close to Bell that she didn’t even have to take conspicuous action as a goddess…”
Hermes and the other gods couldn’t tell whether Syr was the goddess or a follower. He said that Loki, who had known her the longest, was probably the only one who would notice the subtle differences. For everyone else, there was no way to know the truth without undoing the magic and opening the lid to take a look at the cat inside the box.
Was the Syr there the goddess, or just a follower?
Hestia had taken to the streets in the hopes of answering that very question. She was planning to meet with Hermes to discuss the dilemma in more detail. She planned to talk to Demeter and the other deities who also had encounters with Syr. She would have to wait a day or two for Demeter to become available, given the Goddess Festival, but if worse came to worst, she was willing to owe Loki a favor to get a definitive answer.
“For now, I just have to meet Hermes—”
“Hestia.”
Her voice had come on the wind.
The beautiful goddess stood right in front of her, as if to bar the path.
“…………………”
Hestia came to a halt.
It was an unnatural action, stopping in her tracks as if her feet had been nailed to the cobblestones.
“…Freya.”
Just like during Monsterphilia, the goddess of beauty had thrown a navy-blue robe over her shoulders.
Her vibrant, fair complexion and her gorgeous silver hair were hidden beneath the robe’s hood, though Hestia could see a smile on her lips.
And as a fellow deity, her expression and silver eyes hid something Hestia could not discern at a glance. How? Why here of all places?
Was this timing a coincidence? Or—?
A million thoughts raced through Hestia’s mind like a firework exploding even as she stood perfectly still.
The droplet rolling down her cheek didn’t register. She hadn’t even realized she was sweating. Something else was occupying her attention.
Their surroundings were unnaturally quiet and empty.
Even as all parts of the city were bustling with festive excitement, they were completely alone, as if a barrier had been erected around them.
The eyes of the woman who could charm all creation flashed with the vestiges of an alluring silver gleam.
“…Do you have some business with me…?”
Hestia’s mouth ran dry even as she asked the question.
Freya responded simply.
“Your child, Bell—will you give him to me?”
“Wh—”
The shock lasted only a moment.
Lit by the dread that her worst fears had come true, Hestia’s emotions reignited in the blink of an eye.
“You must be joking! Of course not!”
It was fair to say that the blood had gone to her head. Hestia denied the simple and emotionless demand with a vehemence that bordered on outright denunciation.
Even so, Freya was unperturbed. Her smile never changed.
“You know, Hestia, I like you.”
“…?”
While Hestia was still reeling from the unexpected confession, Freya continued speaking candidly.
“I told you so at a Denatus long ago. You might find me difficult to deal with, but I respect you as a goddess. I mean every word. The eternal, sacred flame you preside over is more precious than any gold. You could even call it something I hold in awe…And that’s exactly why I would prefer this not get out of hand.”
She revealed her true nature.
“Ghhh—?!”
Freya was a union of two polar opposites.
This was the divinity of the goddess of love who was also more uninhibited and ruthless than anyone.
“I don’t want to become like Apollo.
“That dressed-up clown who tried to erase you from this mortal realm.
“I don’t want to become like Ishtar.
“That coarse brute lacking in all character, blindly true to her lust.
“But if you say this cannot be settled peaceably, I have no intention of holding back.
“Because I want that more than anything else.”
Her will flowed freely like quicksilver, almost as if she were reciting a poem. The sovereign’s eyebrows arched like a bow as she looked Hestia in the eyes, still smiling imperiously even as she threatened her with the point of an arrow that would brook no resistance.
Badump.
Hestia’s breast trembled, her heart raising a clamor she could not subdue.
A beautiful, yet ruthless smile.
This was her final warning.
A merciful concession that was also an unreasonable royal decree, handed down from on high by the goddess who was fairer and wealthier than anyone in the mortal realm, she who led the strongest familia.
Their deserted corner of the neighborhood was silent. They kept their distance as they stared at each other, the invisible force of Freya’s divine will silently encroaching on Hestia all the while.
“So Hestia, may I have Bell?”
Her final warning was delivered with a smile. As for Hestia’s answer…
“I refuse.”
…she had decided from the start.
“No matter what?”
“No matter what.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really!”
Hestia’s eyes flared as she struck Freya with the only answer possible.
“Bell is my follower! My precious child! I won’t give him to the likes of you or anyone else for that matter!”
Hestia’s regal wrath was the most intense emotion she bore. This was the strongest manifestation of her possessiveness, and her greatest show of affection.
The goddess of the sacred flame could say with confidence that the love she had for her boy was second to none. It could not be matched in the mortal realm, the heavens, or the Dungeon.
Hestia’s divine will rebuffed Freya’s.
“—I see. Then let come what may.”
All emotion left Freya’s expression.
She did not seem to be annoyed or concerned that they were so diametrically opposed. Raising a single hand, she simply exuded a general sense of regret that it had come to this—as if she had known this was how events would play out from the start.
She snapped her slender, unblemished fingers.
The sharp sound rang loudly in the empty street.
What it summoned was a thunderclap.
“?!”
There was a flash of lightning, not from overhead, but from the ground.
At the goddess’s signal, a flare streaked across the sky of Orario.
A certain white elf had just sent out a command to the strongest einherjar lurking all around the city.
As Hestia peered up at the sky, Freya’s compassion dissolved.
“Then I’ll take him by force.”
The assault was swift and merciless.
A single blow.
After leaping down from the roof, the attacker struck home with a war hammer before anyone could even detect the explosive attack.
“Gaaaaaah?!”
Unarmored and not knowing what had hit her, Mikoto felt her bones shatter. She coughed up blood as she was sent flying into the wall of a shop.
“….Huh?”
The attack had taken but an instant.
Lilly and Welf barely registered what had happened, and even Haruhime didn’t have time to react even though she had been standing directly beside Mikoto.
The throng of bystanders froze in place as the four assailants who had surrounded the members of Hestia Familia each let fly with their weapons.
A spear, a war hammer, a battle-ax, and a greatsword.
Wearing sand-colored helmets and armor, the four identical prum warriors delivered their callous pronouncement.
“The goddess has issued her order.”
“““Now die.”””
After the eldest Alfrik spoke, the three younger brothers meted out the sentence.
The crowd erupted in panic.
“—Mikoto?!”
Haruhime finally broke out of her stupor as high-pitched screams went up while everyone in the vicinity began to flee the scene. She tried to run over to her childhood friend, who had collapsed after crashing through a nearby wall, but she couldn’t reach her.
A mass of metal closed in on her.
The same hammer that had struck Mikoto was threatening to crush her.
“Not on my watch!”
“…! Aisha?!”
What stopped it at the last second was the blade of an Amazon.
Hitting the hammer from the side, Aisha had managed to save Haruhime, but she cursed upon the realization that the force of the parried blow had been enough to leave her hands numb.
“M-Ms. Aisha?! And Hermes Familia…?! What’s going on?!”
“That’s what we wanna know! Why is Freya Familia attacking you guys?!”
Lilly shouted, finally returning to her senses after being unable to move a single step while the surprise attack unfolded.
In addition to Aisha and the Gulliver brothers, a war tiger, elf, and chienthrope had also appeared from out of nowhere.
“I thought it was odd that he told us to keep an eye out, but…!”
Hermes Familia had been watching Hestia Familia. Or more precisely, they had been surveilling Freya Familia.
All of it had been on Hermes’s instructions.
After the attack on the second day of the festival and the incident that had transpired between Bell and Syr, he had sensed something disquieting, and ordered his familia to investigate Freya Familia’s movements.
This was the result of their careful surveillance.
“Hey, Aisha! Lord Hermes said not to get involved no matter what…!”
“I joined your familia to protect my little sister! I’ve been used in all sorts of ways until today, so now it’s time to pay up, Falgar!”
“…Damn it, fine!”
The war tiger tried to rein in Aisha, but when she pressed him on that point, he drew his sword and braced himself.
Or more accurately, he was in the process of drawing his sword.
Because at that precise moment, four pairs of prum eyes turned to Hermes Familia and concluded they were a hindrance.
““““Destroy them all.””””
In the blink of an eye, what unfolded was not so much a fight as it was a purge.
“Wh-?!”
“Ghhhh!”
“Ugh, aaaaaaaaagh?!”
The spear repelled every incoming attack as the ax mowed down the war tiger. The greatsword sliced into both the elf and the chienthrope while the hammer closed in on Aisha.
It was an intense exchange that did not allow the Level 2s of Hestia Familia any opening to respond.
They’re too fast. This shouldn’t be possible.
Welf and Haruhime didn’t even have a chance to react. Meanwhile, Lilly was consumed by a penetrating terror.
As the one who had chosen the role of commander, she was the only one present who understood how abnormal this scene really was.
The level of teamwork on display was extraordinary.
They didn’t speak or even look at each other, and yet there was somehow a mutual understanding driving their movements. It seemed impossible. To be able to move as one without any wasted time or actions, as if they were clones sharing the same brain.
As Lilly reeled from Bringar’s limitless coordination, Hermes Familia’s second-tier adventurers went down one after the other.
“Monsters!”
Aisha had narrowly avoided instantaneous defeat as she hurled the insult while standing protectively in front of Haruhime.
Counterattacking was out of the question. It was just a matter of time until they were all wiped out.
The fight had not even lasted a minute, but Aisha could already see how it would end.
I have to at least make sure Haruhime gets away!
Just as she was thinking that…
““Were you trying to protect this renart?””
The sound of something crumpling came from right behind her.
Aisha caught her breath as she spun around.
““Because you didn’t, idiot.””
Standing there were two prums, one wielding an ax and the other a greatsword.
And lying at their feet was the renart girl.
Her beautiful golden hair and back had been slashed. Blood was already pooling around her.
It had been just a split second.
The two of them had disappeared for just an instant. That was all.
The prum wielding a spear and the one with the hammer had misdirected her, drawing away her attention.
In that momentary opening, the other two had slipped past her and cut down the girl so precious to Aisha.
The Amazon froze as she noticed the sadistic sneers of the two prums.
Haruhime’s lips were stained with blood, and her eyes were unfocused as she reached toward the Amazon.
“Ai…sha…”
The next instant, there was a crumpling sound as a small foot landed on the back of her head.
Exchanging a cold kiss with the pavement, Haruhime stopped moving.
“ Arrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh!”
Aisha lost all self-control.
All she could see was red as her eyes flared in rage. An inhuman growl emitted from deep within her throat.
And then she and all her rage were summarily cut down.
“ ”
The greatsword parried the full swing of her blade right as the great ax instantly flashed.
Before she could say anything, Aisha was mercilessly put down just like the renart girl in a spray of blood.
“Ghhh…! Run, Li’l E!”
It was incomprehensible violence and mayhem.
Failing to fully understand what was going on, Welf burned with rage at the sight of his comrades being laid low. In order to give the prum girl a chance to escape, he chose a reckless path.
Drawing the sword from his back, he got ready to dash forward.
“—gh?”
The wind blew.
There was no other way to describe it.
A wind pressure born out of nothing brushed Welf’s cheek, guiding his gaze to the side.
“You…You were there that time with Ishtar Familia?!”
“………”
A cat person with a silver spear stood there silently.
The first-tier adventurer who had berated Welf while demonstrating an unmatchable strength during the conflict with Ishtar Familia. This was the blacksmith’s nemesis who had insulted him.
Allen Fromel—Vana Freya.
“What, you’re going to do me in yourself…?!”
Welf immediately readied his sword.
Allen only responded with a condescending glare.
“Fool. It’s already over.”
His voice betrayed his utter disdain, as if this exercise was just a waste of his time.
“ ”
Speechless, Welf suddenly realized something.
The sword that he was holding had already slipped from his hands. Then, as if his body suddenly started remembering what had happened, his side started to feel hot. Blood was pouring out of the gash left by a spearpoint.
All the strength drained from Welf’s limbs as he realized that the decisive blow had already landed.
“…You can’t be serious…”
He trembled, furious over his inability to do anything in the face of an overwhelming enemy. As those complicated feelings seeped into his voice, Welf collapsed in the puddle of blood pouring from the wound.
“Ms. Mikoto…Ms. Haruhime…Ms. Aisha…Mr. Welf…”
As the last one standing, Lilly shivered, pale as a ghost.
Their destruction had been instantaneous and incredibly thorough. A total massacre.
She hadn’t even been given a chance to support them. It had happened so fast, there wasn’t any time to give directions.
She was left isolated and alone in the blink of an eye as Hermes Familia were cleaned up before Welf and the others were also dispatched. The bystanders were more concerned with running as fast as their legs could carry them from the scene of a war between familias.
“You’re the last.”
“—?!”
Hearing the voice from right behind her, Lilly moved as if her body had been hurled away. She reached for the weapon at her waist, drawing the magic knife that Welf had made for her. She held it at the ready in a reverse grip, wielding it just like Bell.
It was without doubt the fastest she had ever moved in her fifteen years of life.
Having watched Bell fight for so long, from closer than anyone else, she had learned from his movements. Hers was a reflexive and desperate strike.
And that singular blow was easily—almost laughably—halted by the prum warrior, who raised just one hand.
“Good response. Good reflexes, too. I guess the report from the Guild about you reaching Level Two was true.”
Unlike his brutal and merciless younger brothers, Alfrik spoke calmly while holding her arm in place. No one would guess he had just been attacked.
He stopped it! Wait, I can still—!
It was a magic blade. The trump card for powerless people.
The range was point-blank. She would get caught up in it, too, if she fired, but who cared?
They would both get blown away, and she could use the aftermath to get away—
“I’m nothing like that awful Braver, but I’m glad to see fellow prums like you appear. Truly, I am.”
But it was impossible for Lilly.
Her hand and the blade of the knife were pointing limply in another direction entirely.
The slender arm that was being gripped suddenly creaked like a glacier on the verge of collapse, and then snap.
“Ughaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhh!”
Tears filled the prum girl’s bloodshot chestnut eyes as she let out a piercing shriek.
“You were just hopelessly unlucky.”
That was the last thing she heard.
After she slammed into the ground with incomprehensible force, her consciousness faded to black.
“Ngh!”
At that moment, Aiz was sprinting across the rooftops.
While Hestia Familia was being devastated by Freya Familia, she raced through the streets as if something was driving her ever forward.
“Wait up, Aiz!”
“Calm down!”
Tiona and Tione had been wandering around town with her until she suddenly took off. Now they were frantically chasing after their friend, helpless to stop her.
Having been caught up in the scuffle with Freya Familia yesterday, she had felt an unease that was similar to what Hermes experienced. It was a vague foreboding, and Aiz found it beyond difficult to put it into words when she struggled to express herself under regular circumstances.
But even if she could not explain in great detail, she was sure that she was worried about Bell, the rain-drenched boy who had rejected her hand last night. In that moment, she couldn’t help but think he looked like a poor, beleaguered rabbit. She couldn’t just leave him be after seeing him like that and had gone out the following morning to look for him.
That was when she heard the worst possible news. By the time she was rushing toward the source of the commotion, she no longer needed a reason to go.
“Halt.”
“?!”
However, her sprint was cut off by a single black blade.
“You’re…Dáinsleif?!”
“Perhaps our blades are fated to clash and let sparks fly. It has been but a single day since our last parting, O daughter of the sword.”
Their blades met with a shrill clamor.
Though she had managed to draw her sword instantly and parry the powerful attack that hurtled down at her from above, Aiz was dumbstruck.
The one who had leaped to the rooftop and was now barring her way was a dark elf—Hegni Ragnar.
By chance, this was the same opponent she had crossed blades with just a day earlier in order to protect Bell.
“Vexatious golden-eyed girl, begone and trouble us not.”
“Ghh…why are you attacking Bell and his friends?!”
“I bade you to not intercede on his behalf. Do not make me repeat myself. The fruit of foolish knowledge will bring naught but destruction.”
The dark elf was unmoved, even when the Sword Princess raised her voice.
Hegni’s stance left no openings, as if he had already activated his magic. It was painfully obvious that approaching him carelessly would result in being cut down.
“Freya Familia! So it’s true that Argonaut and his familia are being attacked?!” Tiona exclaimed. Her sister was just as taken aback.
“Whoa now, what’s going on here…!”
As Tiona and Tione caught up, Aiz prepared to force her way through with their help. Her eyebrows furrowed just as another voice called out.
“You should stop. I’m sure you don’t want to start a war between our familias.”
“…! Hildsleif!”
Three bolts of lightning slammed into the roof at their feet. Turning around, they found the white elf Hedin standing there.
Everyone present was a Level 6 first-tier adventurer. That meant it was three against two. But unlike Aiz, who had brought her sword to protect herself, Tiona and Tione didn’t have their weapons. To make matters worse, they were surrounded. It was fair to say that the numerical advantage had been nullified.
More importantly, Hedin was clearly implying that if they interfered, Freya Familia would not hesitate to declare all-out war on Loki Familia.
That was how determined they were to stop Aiz and the Amazon sisters.
The five of them stared at one another without letting their guards down, leaving them in a deadlock.
“…Forget a war or whatever else—how are you going to justify this? The Guild is going to give you more than a slap on the wrist for causing so much trouble during the Goddess Festival.”
Tione responded with a well-reasoned but provocative question.
Freya Familia was brazenly attacking another familia in broad daylight during the Goddess Festival that directly followed the Elegia holiday. They would no doubt earn the disapproval of not only the city’s residents but also every other faction and familia in Orario.
“It matters not.”
“Wha…”
Hegni seemed completely unfazed by this line of questioning.
His gaze was sharp as he glared at the shocked members of Loki Familia.
“We will accept whatever judgment and punishment that might be meted out. Similarly, we will abide whatever vilification and slander that will come our way. The one to whom we have sworn ourselves wishes for this to happen. We are but servants for realizing her divine will.”
For Hegni, all this was just another exercise in absolute loyalty to his deity.
Hedin said nothing and simply closed his eyes, erasing all traces of emotion from his expression.
The dark elf swordsman had one last thing to say.
“If the goddess so desires it, then even meaning itself shall be erased.”
Ultimately, the merciless and instantaneous assault was unstoppable.
No matter how much Lilly and the others resisted, no matter how much support Aiz and the Amazons offered—it would’ve all been meaningless.
Everything had already been decided the moment he appeared.
“Eh?”
He was a boulder.
An enormous, immovable warrior stood before Bell.
The man was so tall that one could not help but look up to him. So large that he might be mistaken for a monster.
The limbs that extended from his massive body were pure muscle—larger, harder, and stronger than any other. His very presence was fearsome, implacable, and intense without compare.
That mass of terrifying strength was the manifestation of the ultimate warrior. It was proof that he was still striving for ever greater heights with a tireless will.
The rabbit trembled.
Even without words, he already understood that the beast before him was a champion who had even slain a dragon.
The one who stood at the peak of strength quietly looked at Bell and Bell alone with his rust-colored eyes that matched his hair.
“Warlord…?”
Bell had forgotten to breathe after a single look. Lyu couldn’t hide her own panic, but she at least managed to speak the boaz’s title.
Out of the innumerable streets in the city, in the middle of a crowd that was unaware of the disturbance brewing, Ottar had known exactly where to find them.
“Surrender.”
He had only one demand.
“By my goddess’s divine will, you will be hers. Your fate has already been decided.” His tone brooked no objections, but this was the one and only mercy that he granted. His disturbingly quiet explanation and the unspoken warning removed all room to argue.
He was an inescapable force.
“If you do not obey, I will crush you.”
There was a sudden tingle. Bell and Lyu both got goose bumps as the city’s strongest adventurer stepped forward.
“—Run, Bell!!!”
It was a command that almost came out as a scream.
Bell felt his shoulder being pushed away.
She drew her dual blades.
The elf had lost all trace of calm as she immediately prepared to fight. It had been an instantaneous reaction.
But it was still not fast enough.
Acknowledging that negotiations had broken down, Ottar moved.
“ ”
Time froze for the elf.
She lost track of Ottar.
He had disappeared.
No, that wasn’t the reason why.
Lyu had been blown away.
It had been just a single step.
But he had moved farther and faster than anyone else could have. All he did was step forward. That was all it took to erase the distance between them and completely elude Lyu’s senses. Then Ottar had swung his right arm.
He had brushed her aside.
Nothing more.
The moment she failed to avoid his massive limb that seemed more tree trunk than arm, Lyu lost the right to remain in the fight.
“—Guhah?!”
After realizing what had happened as her life flashed before her eyes, she shouted and coughed up blood at the shock of the blow that was only now beginning to register. She could confidently say it was without doubt the strongest attack she had ever experienced.
The blow sent her flying into a building, shattering the stone wall.
“Lyu?!”
A thunderous boom rang out. The very ground trembled as a cloud of dust went up.
Bell’s shout joined the alarmed screams of the nearby pedestrians.
People turned pale and scattered in all directions as Bell attempted to go to Lyu. He tried to race over to the elf, who lay far too still in the cloud of debris.
However, he didn’t get a chance to move.
“ ”
A sudden chill shot through him as his instincts cried out in warning.
It had been only an instant. Pulling his attention away from Lyu, Bell heeded the voice in the back of his mind and turned back.
A fist filled his field of view.
He could see the creases between the fingers. Beyond that, the cool eyes of the boaz.
The price for looking away from the most dangerous being alive was death.
“—Ghhhhhh?!”
His face slammed into the ground with tremendous force. The stone pavement shattered as cracks shot through the ground, sending fragments flying.
The devastating impact tore Bell’s consciousness away from him, leaving his body on the ground.
“…?!”
Asfi was speechless.
She had been keeping an eye on Freya Familia on Hermes’s orders, just like Aisha and the rest of their familia, but she didn’t have enough time to intervene even if she wanted to.
It was an attack that was over just that quickly.
“Leon…Bell Cranell…”
Lyu had been taken out in an instant, and Bell had been defeated in a single strike, too.
Two Level 4 adventurers had been downed in the blink of an eye.
She should have already known what it meant to stand before the strongest warrior, but seeing that wild power in the flesh, Asfi could do nothing other than stand by and watch.
“………”
Ottar silently threw the unconscious Bell over his right shoulder. Lyu was naturally in no position to object. Ignoring Asfi standing in the middle of the street like a statue, he calmly walked past. Her face deathly pale, Asfi could neither stand in his way nor say anything to halt him.
“Wh-what?!”
There were two of them.
Hestia experienced whiplash as she suddenly looked up. Two thunderous noises could be heard across the entire city, clearly not a part of the regular festivities. One came from the south and the other from the southwest.
The growing commotion was filled with unease and terror.
“My children attacked yours.”
“Wh…?!”
Don’t screw with me!
What do you mean?!
But the furious questions Hestia was about to ask were stopped by Freya’s next words.
“And it’s already over.”
As soon as she delivered that pronouncement in a cool and composed tone, the two uproars suddenly fell silent like a quietly receding wave. As if announcing the end of hostilities.
Hestia froze.
More than anything, she wanted to deny those words.
“Y-you’re lying…That can’t be…!”
“It’s true. Look, here they come.”
Freya would not allow her to avert her eyes from the reality of the situation.
Four shadows raced toward Hestia at high speed.
“ ?!”
They landed directly next to her with a tremendous crash, forcing Hestia to cover her face with her arms. After the spray of shattered rock and dust subsided, she slowly opened her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat.
A greatsword.
A katana.
A magic knife.
A fan.
They were without a doubt the weapons of her followers, now returned to their mortified patron goddess.
“Those are…Welf’s…?!”
Welf’s sword, Mikoto’s katana, Lilly’s magic knife, and Haruhime’s fan.
They were sticking out of the ground, like headstones marking graves.
The broken weapons were more than enough to imply their owners’ fates, and Hestia was speechless as she looked up. Far in the distance, she could just barely see four identical prums standing on a rooftop alongside a cat person who hefted a silver spear—the attackers who must have been the ones who threw the weapons down.
She could not see Welf or Mikoto or Lilly or Haruhime.
“…Th…This isn’t…”
No matter how she might try to deny it, the cold, hard truth was unavoidable.
It was a far cry from the war with Apollo Familia. This was complete and utter domination.
An insurmountable difference in strength separated their factions.
The weak had no way to refute this absurd level of strength that went beyond all reason.
Hestia could do nothing but stand helpless in the face of it.
And then she saw him.
“—Bell?!”
The final blow.
An enormous boaz appeared from out of nowhere and dropped the white-haired boy in the middle of the weapons sticking out of the ground. He was unconscious and didn’t so much as twitch. His clothes had been torn, and all that covered his upper body was what little remained of his sleeves. His eyes were hidden by his hair, and a dark silence clung to him.
Hestia started to run forward.
But just as she drew close to him, the boaz blocked her with his sword.
“Ghh…?!”
“No, no, Hestia. You can’t just touch him as you please anymore.”
The brusque warrior held his massive sword in one hand, drawing a boundary Hestia couldn’t cross. She immediately came to a halt as the mass of metal physically separated her and Bell. Meanwhile Freya calmly walked over to the boy.
She stood where Hestia should’ve been.
“Freyaaaaa!!!”
“I didn’t know you could make a face like that. But I told you I’d be taking him by force, didn’t I?”
Hestia’s blue eyes contained a blazing inferno, revealing the full extent of her rage.
Freya remained expressionless, unconcerned.
“Playtime is over. Syr’s time is done.”
“…Then the girl at the tavern really was you! Hah! What a joke! Bell rejected you so now you’re just doing this in an act of desperation! Some goddess of love you are!”
Judging from how Bell had been acting the night before, Hestia could guess what had transpired while he was with Syr.
Everything she said was an attempt to provoke Freya.
Of course, that was largely the only thing she could do.
It was an expression of absolute disdain that was both a venting of emotion that had no other outlet and the bitter pill of a defeat that she could not bear to swallow. That demonstrated how decisively the struggle had already been settled.
But Freya remained expressionless through it all.
“That’s right. I couldn’t get what I want as Syr. That’s why I decided I don’t care what methods I have to use anymore.”
Her peerlessly beautiful face did not waver in the slightest as she spoke with utter calm. She reached out with one hand and grabbed Hestia by the hair.
“Ugh—?!”
“I will make Bell mine. No matter what it takes.”
Ottar stepped back, withdrawing his sword as Freya violently dragged Hestia toward her.
It was an act of tyranny.
In terms of physical size, this was like a grown woman seizing hold of a child. Hestia could not resist her. She could almost feel the icy emotion seeping out of the fingers gripping her hair as she winced in pain. And then Freya peered into her eyes from so close that they could feel each other’s breath.
“Break your bond with Bell, Hestia.”
“…?”
“I’m telling you to complete the preparations for his conversion.”
For a brief moment, Hestia couldn’t understand what Freya was saying, but realization dawned on her. Bell’s status was manifesting on his back as he lay in a heap on the ground next to Freya. They must have used a Status Thief or something of the like. The lock that Hestia had placed on it was gone.
“I will add Bell to my familia.”
Hestia glared back at the silver eyes staring her down.
“Do you really think I would do that?!”
“Fine, then I’ll kill your children.”
A deathly chill coursed through Hestia’s body at that casual pronouncement.
“I will send them to the heavens one by one every time you reject my request.”
“No…!”
“You should be able to tell when the number of blessings decreases, right?”
Freya’s expression remained unchanged as Hestia’s eyes widened.
It was quite clear that she was fully prepared to make good on her ironclad word. This was her unshakable divine will.
“If you insist on refusing even then…if you tediously prattle on about waiting for their souls to be reborn…then while I would prefer not to, I will send you back as well. No matter how much you fume or struggle, in the end, Bell will still become mine.” With the expression of a deity who had discarded all traces of humanity, Freya simply stated, “This is my final offer. One last show of kindness and compromise.”
She asserted it with a voice as cold as the freezing wind on a dark winter’s day.
“……?!”
She was serious.
Dead serious.
There was no room to doubt the goddess’s resolve. If she resisted, Freya would immediately give the order to slay the members of Hestia’s familia. She had said that she wouldn’t hesitate to use whatever means necessary and she meant every word.
“All paths lead to the same result. So make the smart choice, Hestia.”
Snap.
A crack ran down the sword sticking out of the grave of weapons.
Hestia began to hyperventilate.
Her breathing came in gasps as the weight of the choice bore down upon her, and an unconcealable sheen of sweat had appeared.
How can I choose?
I don’t want to make that choice.
How can I weigh my children in the balance?!
I don’t want to give my Bell to anyone!
But, but, but, but if I don’t, the entire familia will—
Her throat ran dry and she could feel herself on the verge of slumping over.
But Freya would not allow even that. She pulled Hestia’s hair, forcing their eyes to lock.
“Now, make your choice. Bell? Or your familia?”
The empress had made her pronouncement: an either-or choice that could not be put off any further.
Hestia’s eyes wavered with humiliation, rage, fear, and sadness.
Either judging the silence as rebellion or else to make an example, Freya’s gaze went cool as she prepared to give the order.
“—Every time I see something like this, I’m reminded yet again of just how terrifying a struggle between goddesses can truly be.”
Suddenly, the voice of a frivolous man called out in an aloof, easygoing tone. Of course, even he couldn’t hide the tension permeating everything and everyone.
“…H-Hermes…?”
“Hey, Hestia. Sorry for being late to our meeting.”
Hermes smiled like always at Hestia’s dumbfounded response.
Though he called it being late, he no doubt had his hands full. After realizing Hestia had not shown up at the appointed place and examining what little information he had, Hermes found their current location by analyzing the screams and thunderous crashes echoing throughout the city.
“I’m sure the circumstances must be quite extraordinary, but could you perhaps let her go for now, Freya? Such violence could become a stain on your character, and I would be sad to see it come to that.”
“………”
After a quick glance around, Hermes immediately turned his attention to Freya.
He scrutinized the weapons sticking out of the ground like gravestones, Bell collapsed on the ground, the boaz calmly standing by, and then Freya and Hestia themselves. Grasping the situation, he instantly discerned who currently held the reins, and he maneuvered to take the role of mediator.
“Hermes. If you get in my way, I will crush you, too.”
But Freya would not allow it.
While she did as he’d asked and let go of Hestia’s hair, the intensity of her divine will did not abate. The empress was not about to take no for an answer.
Beneath the hood cloaking her beautiful face, her silver eyes flashed with a penetratingly cold light that the other gods had never seen before.
Hermes maintained his easy smile, but sweat already coated the back of his neck.
As Hestia stumbled back slightly, he stood between the two goddesses, forming a triangle of deities as Ottar watched on in silence.
“I have no need for intervention or mediation. If you try to muddy things or stir up trouble, then I’ll send you back to the heavens first.”
“…Judging from the look of things, it appears that you have finally decided to take in Bell. Would you say that’s a fair assessment?”
“Yes. You should be able to understand that there is no more stopping me now.”
She would not allow the matter to be put off and decided later at a Denatus, nor would she allow Bell or Hestia Familia to escape to the Guild.
It was clear from the look in Freya’s eyes that those options were not on the table. This was an outrageous overstepping of bounds that would normally provoke a reaction from various authorities, but because the perpetrator was Freya, it would be overlooked. And that was because she controlled Freya Familia.
At the very least, there was no one present who had the ability to stop her.
Understanding the reality of the situation, Hermes shrugged.
“I know that I can’t stop you. Take Bell if you want.”
“Ghh…! Hermes!”
Naturally, Hestia raised her voice at his apparent surrender, but he was not done speaking yet.
“However, could you not wait just a little longer to add Bell to your familia…to perform the conversion?”
“What?”
“Whoa, no need for the scary look, Freya. I heard your warning before. I’m not trying to pull anything.” Hermes raised his hands in jest and broke into a smile. One that didn’t reach his orange eyes. “It’s just that, it has only been half a year since Bell joined Hestia’s familia.”
“!”
“At least one year’s membership is required before a child can convert to another familia. Isn’t that one of the rules all of us set for playing in the mortal realm?”
“………”
“It’s different if their previous familia has been dissolved, but you didn’t want to kill Hestia if possible, right? Settling things peaceably is ideal.”
For the first time, Freya fell silent.
Hermes was eloquently laying out a concise and careful logical argument even as he made an emotional appeal. As a mediator, he was merely explaining the most efficient and reasonable course of action that should be taken when considering the regulations and unwritten rules that had been established long ago.
He was in control now.
Using his silver tongue, he twisted reality and truth to negotiate an extension without telling a single lie.
“You can take Bell with you. It could even be treated as some sort of trial membership. The arrangement would be exceptional, but I can convince the Guild.”
“Wh…?! Wait a second, Hermes! That’s—gh!”
“Come now, Hestia. Just accept that you lost already. You’re an old friend, so I’m trying to get you a little point of compromise, for old times’ sake.”
Hermes held a finger out as she started trying to argue with him. As his finger pressed against the tip of her nose, she realized what he was doing. He had an insincere smile on his lips, but his eyes were earnest and serious. He really was trying to help her.
Hermes, the god of schemes, was not someone who could be trusted without reserve.
But in that moment, there was nothing that she could do with her own power, so she had no choice but to put her faith in him.
“Grr…!”
Of course, rational thought and emotion often pull in two different directions. However, for the sake of the rest of the familia, Hestia looked down, gritted her teeth, and balled her trembling hands into fists.
Her silence was tacit acceptance of the bridge that Hermes was offering.
“…Very well. It’s true that I do not wish for any unnecessary casualties. I’ll go along with your little scheme, Hermes.”
“Ahhh, you have my thanks, Freya. Truly you are a merciful goddess of love.”
After a brief moment of deliberation, Freya made her decision without batting an eyelash.
Ignoring Hermes’s ingratiating flattery, she called, “Ottar,” and had the boaz retainer, who had been watching in silence, gather up Bell as she turned her back on Hestia and Hermes.
“Bell…!”
“Just bear it for now, Hestia.”
Hestia edged forward as she watched Freya and Ottar whisk the boy away, but Hermes grabbed her shoulder.
“If you go against Freya here, nothing but death awaits you. But with half a year’s time, you’ll have a chance to prepare a plan.”
“A plan…?”
“Yes. The Guild, other familias, the entire world—use anything and everything. Gather all the allies you can and steal Bell away from Freya. She is the unrivaled queen, but all the more reason to try. She has more than a few enemies.”
There was no cause that would justify the tyrannical attack that Freya had perpetrated.
She had stolen Bell away by force without any concern whatsoever for the disapproval or consequences it might invite. If nothing else, most people would almost certainly sympathize with Hestia. If the victim had been a group like the Evils, then it would have been considered just barely acceptable—and in fact, there was precedent for Freya crushing an unsavory organization solely for the sake of stealing away a child she had taken an interest in—but Hestia Familia’s cause was undoubtedly just.
And more than anything else, the impetus was Bell Cranell, the super rookie who endlessly excited Orario.
It was not just the people of the city; other adventurers and deities would surely protest him being forced to undergo a conversion against his will.
What would happen if Hermes lit a spark near that highly flammable mixture? Considering the recent dissolution of Ishtar Familia, if Freya were allowed to rampage even further without restraint, it would become impossible to stop her—and if the Guild could be convinced of that, even they would be forced to take action.
“And you have far, far more allies than you realize. If this goes unpunished, then at the very least, Hephaistos and those close to you will be outraged and oppose Freya.”
Hephaistos would rouse her familia and confront Freya Familia. It was easy enough to imagine her old friend who so despised treachery making a stand.
And weak or not, both Takemikazuchi and Miach would answer the call.
“And once they join the fray, that will set everything in motion.”
Taken to the extreme, if they could get the support of Loki Familia, then in the worst case, it would even be possible to fight a war on relatively even terms. At the very least, with time, it would be possible to come up with some sort of strategy to take back Bell.
That was what Hermes so desperately wanted Hestia to see.
“…Why, Hermes? Why would you go so far as to make an enemy of Freya for our sake…?”
“I don’t suppose you would accept ‘in order to repay you for all the trouble I caused during the Xenos incident and elsewhere’ as an answer?”
Hestia couldn’t help but feel incredulous upon hearing that explanation. She didn’t believe for an instant that Hermes, the epitome of neutrality, would choose to risk Freya’s displeasure merely for the sake of an old friend.
“There’s no way you’re that nice a guy,” Hestia responded.
Hermes played with his winged cap for a few moments before breaking into a wry smile.
“Somewhere along the way, I…started to think that it would be best for Bell to stay with you. For his sake as well.” When he saw Hestia’s eyes growing wide, Hermes quickly added, “Really, though, I can’t explain it,” which made Hestia settle back into a grimace.
He pulled the brim of his hat down, covering his eyes, and when he looked up again, his expression was completely serious.
“That’s why, this time, I’m taking your side. Even if it means making an enemy of Freya, I—”
Right as the self-proclaimed patron god of merchants was about to swear a contract, Freya stopped in the distance.
“I forgot to mention one thing.”
Hestia and Hermes suddenly turned her way as tension filled the air.
They had kept their voices down. She shouldn’t have been able to hear them. But the beautiful goddess stood there at her leisure, as if she saw through everything.
“I shall insist on some sort of collateral to guarantee the conversion will be carried out in half a year’s time.”
“C-collateral…?”
“Yes. In order to make Bell mine—I will twist everything else first.”
Those words.
Hermes froze, too, as Hestia grew flustered.
“Be sure to keep your promise, Hestia.”
It was as if there were no one else in her eyes besides Hestia.
Turning just her head, she speared the goddess of the hearth with her gaze before disappearing from view together with Ottar and Bell.
“Is she—”
The mediator gazed in shock and shuddered.
In that moment, Freya had exceeded what even Hermes had foreseen.
The ashen sky groaned as if it moved with great effort.
A bell tolled, signaling the tremendous change that was sweeping the city.
The situation was shifting at a dizzying rate.
“Goddess Freya! What was that uproar earlier about?!” the Guild head, Royman Mardeel, demanded.
Despite being an elf, his girth was so prominent that it earned him the moniker the Guild’s Pig, and his rotund belly jiggled as he ran over to the goddess he had just spotted.
“Reports of your followers rampaging in combat gear have already been confirmed! To provoke something like a conflict between familias during the Goddess Festival! Even for someone such as you who has contributed so much to the development of Orario, we cannot just—!”
City’s greatest familia or not, the Guild had little choice but to impose a penalty for such brazen offenses.
Royman exercised every fiber of his being when managing Orario, and he was already intimating a punishment of some sorts when—
“Be quiet, Royman.”
“Huh?”
—Freya brushed him off.
Royman and the other employees of the Guild were stunned as the goddess, who had been headed toward the center of the city, suddenly stopped.
“More importantly, gather everyone at Central Park for me.”
For a split second, her silver eyes gleamed bewitchingly.
It was already too late by the time Royman realized she was charming them.
The people around him trembled unnaturally, slipping into a trancelike ecstasy as if their souls had slipped their mortal coils.
“Children, deities, whoever. Bring as many people as possible. Also, arrange it so that my voice can reach every corner of the city.”
“““Yes, Milady…”””
Male and female alike, they scattered to fulfill the wish of the goddess of beauty.
The only ones remaining were Freya and Royman, who had fallen to his knees on the ground before her.
“Ghhhh…?!”
“Distracting yourself from the compulsion with pain…Despite your unsightly appearance, you really are quite remarkable, Royman.”
It had been a split-second decision.
Royman had clenched his stomach tightly, pulling fierce enough to tear away the flab from his body. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, but he had managed to resist Freya’s beauty.
At the same time, that was all he had accomplished.
Roymnan was alone, groaning like a stuck beast as the cloaked goddess peered down at him.
“God…dess Freya…! Why…are you…?!”
The alluring silver gleam that neither reason nor instinct could resist was gradually consuming him.
What little consciousness he retained was slowly falling away, as the goddess answered his question with callous eyes.
“Same reason as always. Just another goddess’s whim. However…” Her full lips quivered. “…This is the one thing I want most; the one thing I have been restraining myself with all this time. I simply decided to stop holding back any longer. That’s all.”
Yes.
Freya had always been restraining herself.
From the moment she had met Bell—Monsterphilia, the grimoire, the duel with the minotaur, his resolution in the face of death in the middle levels, the war game—she had borne witness to his growth but never intervened. Even during the conflict with Ishtar Familia and the Xenos incident, she had not made direct contact with him.
Throughout it all, she had always resisted and endured, refraining from stealing him away.
But now there was no need to deny herself.
She would make him hers by whatever means necessary now that Syr, the chain that had held Freya back, no longer existed.
“Ghh…?!”
When he looked up at the eyes of the goddess peering down on him, Royman finally understood.
Her invasion had already begun.
What remained of his consciousness had managed to grasp the truth. As someone who correctly understood what it meant for Freya to take direct action, Royman groaned, dizzy and afraid.
“I won’t hold back anymore.”
“Hestia, let out every last drop of divinity you can muster!”
A rending shout rang out.
The one who had cast aside all composure was not some resident of the city or random adventurer—it was Hermes.
“Everything you’ve got, all the way to the limit! If you don’t, she’ll even break through your domain!”
“Wh-what are you saying, Hermes…? Weren’t you saying we have to make a plan…?!”
Hestia was utterly confused by Hermes’s ominous expression. She had never seen such unease etched on his face as he shook his head and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“We’re way past that now! It’s meaningless!”
“Gh?!”
“I misjudged her! What an error, too! Her tenacity, her obsession with Bell! I’ve misjudged it ever since the time with Ishtar!”
It was quickly becoming apparent that the emotion swirling deep in Freya’s heart was not jealousy or anger.
“For the sake of her one and only Odr, she’ll discard her pride, public opinion, even the rules that she set for herself. Freya is ready to commit a transgression against the entire mortal realm!”
Driven by her mad wish, she would calmly and callously break everything.
“Freya is serious! There’s nothing stopping her now! No one can hold her back!” he shouted. “Forget half a year. All we’ll get is a few minutes.”
Hestia recoiled as Hermes appealed to her.
“Lord Hermes!”
Overhead, Asfi was rapidly descending toward them.
“Freya Familia has attacked Hestia Familia…! Aisha and Falgar and the others have already been beaten! Even Leon…! What is going on?!”
Flying in midair with her talaria, Asfi cradled an unconscious Lyu in her arms.
She was panicked, too. The fact that she had forgotten to go invisible and was flying through the sky where anyone could see her was proof of how badly shaken she was.
Hermes’s first response was not an explanation, but an order.
“Run, Asfi!”
“Eh…?!”
“You can fly! You’re the only one who can escape! Take as many as you ca—no, you won’t make it! Take Lyu and get away from Orario!”
“Wh-what are you saying, Lord Hermes?!”
Asfi started to argue as she took in the frenzied face of her patron god, but—
“Do as I say!”
“!”
“Don’t think! Just go! There’s no time! Get as far away from Orario as you can! Run, Asfi! Please!”
“….Yes…sir…”
She could do nothing but accede to Hermes’s divine will. To comply with his desperate plea.
Trusting in her patron god, she took to the skies and sped away, quickly taking her beyond the city walls.
Watching this all unfold in mute shock, Hestia looked back to see Hermes hastily scrawling something on a piece of parchment he had torn from a scroll.
“When the time comes, give this to me!”
“A-a memo…? What do you mean give it to you…?!”
“You can’t give it to me immediately! If you mess up the timing, I will become your enemy!”
Tossing aside the crimson quill pen, he stuffed the scrap of paper into her hands.
Sweat ran down his cheek.
Urgency filled his voice.
Endless unease pervaded his gaze.
Skipping right over any kind of explanation, he roared, leaving her with only the barest of information.
“Right now, the only person in Orario who can resist this is you, Hestia, the vestal goddess!”
It was a god’s shout.
Hestia’s eyes opened wide.
She suddenly had a terrible idea what was about to happen.
“Hermes…is…She can’t possibly—?!”
Her voice had begun trembling, but she never got to finish her question.
She could hear the steady sound of ticking.
The long and short hands of the clock aligned, pointing up to the sky.
And the curtain raised on the assault.
“This will be a bit of a boring story.”
Hestia shuddered.
Hermes gasped.
The two of them reflexively turned toward the entrancing voice. It was echoing from the center of the city.
“Traditionally, there should be one more goddess of the harvest here.”
Freya was standing on one of the four towers of bounty at the center of Central Park.
“Lady Freya…?”
“Isn’t the closing ceremony supposed to happen at sunset?”
“Did something happen?”
Guided by the manipulated Royman and the other Guild employees, more and more people were gathering in the park.
Freya was alone at the northern tower, without retainers or guards.
The goddess was clad in a hooded robe as she stood at the open-air altar, looking out at something other than the growing crowd beneath her.
“Ishtar, a goddess of beauty like myself…I returned her to the heavens.”
Freya was quiet. Her voice was composed, almost sacred in its dignity.
Everyone was entranced by her tranquil aura, unable to make a sound or look away.
“Consumed by meaningless wroth, she lowered herself to the level of a beast, abandoning all sense of character. Her unsightliness was unbearable. That’s why I erased her—to get her out of sight.”
Though impossible to see from the vantage of the crowd below, a magic-stone amplifier was set at her feet, delivering her voice to every corner of the city.
Without exception. Everyone in the city heard her voice in their ears.
All sound disappeared from the city save the voice of the goddess. The crowd that filled up the entire park were hanging on her every word, staring up like petitioners awaiting a divine oracle.
“And now I’m going to become the same sort of hideous being.”
A sneer.
A voice overflowing with self-deprecation. The goddess of beauty derided herself, causing shock to ripple out among the listening mortals. Even the deities throughout the city could not believe their ears.
“I accept any scorn or denunciation that may come my way. But I will not apologize. I have made my choice.”
The goddess peered up at Babel.
She spoke clearly and without hesitation, as if making a confession to the heavens far, far above.
“Because I know what I want.
“Because I found something that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
“Because I’m content to have that and nothing more.”
They were like the words of a trembling, joyous, mournful song. Mortals and deities alike were left speechless, finally realizing the bizarreness of the mood.
However, it was too late.
The goddess raised her hand, pulling back the hood that shrouded her face in shadow.
“I may finally be able to know something other than love.”
What appeared was the face of a girl.
Blue-gray hair and matching irises.
Dropping the voice of a goddess, she simply spoke as a young maiden.
A single droplet fell, tracing a path across her cheeks even as a beautiful smile remained on her lips.
It was what remained of the girl that the goddess should have buried, revealing what lay deep within her heart.
Time froze for the city.
Everyone was at a loss for words.
Then sky split asunder.
A crack opened in the clouds, and light poured down around her. Perhaps a blessing, and perhaps a curse.
“There’s something I want to find out.”
In the south of the city, the goddess’s followers were kneeling, as if swearing their allegiance.
“I won’t give up, and I won’t let go.”
In the west of the city, Hestia Familia remained facedown on the ground while the first-tier adventurers still standing focused on the tower in the distance.
“And so I will violate you all.”
The dark elf’s eyes narrowed.
The four identical prums stood silent.
The cat person watched carefully, smothering any trace of emotion.
The boaz closed his eyes.
The white elf simply looked on.
They all accepted the decision their mistress had made.
“That damned fool, is she…?!”
Loki’s eyes flashed as a terrible premonition came over her.
“Aiz!”
“…?!”
Aiz and the others who had been chasing after Bell sensed the sudden change and froze.
“Hestiaaaa!”
“Ghhhhh?!”
At the same moment Hermes screamed, Hestia did as he asked and unleashed her divine power.
Common people.
Adventurers.
Deities.
All were helpless.
The final moment came without warning.
“Prostrate thyself.”
Every living being’s heart skipped a beat and trembled.
Her blue-gray eyes were filled with a silver gleam, and the girl’s voice became a silver chain binding all to her will.
“Wh—?!”
In the skies far removed from Orario and still clinging on to Lyu, Asfi bore witness to the moment the argentine will of a goddess that no mortal should have been able to see transformed coalesced into an enormous glimmering dome that covered the whole of Orario.
She was the only one who could see the moment such a terrible charm consumed the city. The souls of the conscious and the unconscious were overwhelmed, subdued, twisted, and then finally united as one.
“Do as I say.”
Was she a girl or a goddess?
No one could tell anymore as the tranquil voice rang in their ears.
That day, Orario was transformed.
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