1047. Hestia Submits the Roster / 1048. The War Game Begins

The gods at the assembly argued fiercely, questioning the point of sending one person to attack a city defended by hundreds.

Hermes raised his hand and interjected, "Excuse me, could you interrupt for a moment?"

"Apollo, this makes Hestia too pitiful... The balance of power between the two sides is too unbalanced. We have no interest in a war whose outcome is already predetermined."

"Hmm..." Apollo fell silent, clearly unwilling to give the enemy an advantage.

"To create suspense, why not introduce an external aid system?" Hermes suggested.

"We can bring in a limited number of reinforcements from other [families], "Apollo said, narrowing his eyes upon hearing Hermes's proposal.

"... Hermes, I know you well. Those nonchalant words you speak always manage to trip me up. Don't think I'll fall for your tricks again."

Apollo pointed out his ill-fated relationship with Hermes, which had continued from the heavens to the present day, and defended himself.

He knew that if he accepted Hermes's proposal, Hestia would then find a number of adventurers to join the competition, just as many as her own clan.

Having already secured victory, he couldn't possibly make such a foolish mistake; Bell-kun was determined to win!

Apollo gave a sarcastic smile and said:

"Only members of the 'Family' can participate in the Game War; that's absolute. The presence of children from other factions would bring shame upon the name of God's proxy war."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Furthermore, to put it extremely, if someone with abilities approaching those of a Level 1 adventurer were to join Hestia's side, wouldn't we be in danger? Hephaestus and Hestia seem to have a good relationship."

As Apollo replied to Hermes, he glanced around at the gods seated at the Round Table, finally fixing his gaze on Hephaestus, one of the wealthiest women in Orario.

As everyone knows, her Familia is not limited to just smelting abilities; even in terms of combat prowess alone, the Hephaestus Familia can be classified as a superior faction. If the high-ranking adventurers in the Hephaestus Familia were to help, those adventurers could even take on the entire Apollo Familia single-handedly.

The serious and impartial Hephaestus shrugged and said, "I will not protect Hestia."

"Who knows?" Apollo scoffed, just as a melodious female voice drifted from the seats.

"Oh dear, Apollo, are you afraid?"

"Freya..."

The silver-haired goddess, who had remained silent until just now, sat elegantly at one corner of the Round Table, revealing a captivating smile.

This is a beautiful goddess with silver hair and red eyes. Not only her appearance, but even her voice and every move define beauty. She is such a deity, the embodiment of beauty. No, or rather, the word "beauty" was born because of her.

Because the goddess looks exactly like Illya, only a few years older, and her figure is perfectly developed, bearing an 80% resemblance to a certain lady.

"You're not facing a single opponent, are you afraid to fight?" Freya asked with a smile.

"Hmm... don't underestimate me..." Apollo said in a deep voice. Apollo, who represented masculine beauty, had very complicated feelings towards Freya. He was envious and jealous, and above all, he was also afraid.

"Or is it that you don't trust your own children? Is that all the 'love' you have for them?" the goddess, now grown up and resembling Illya, said with a smile.

Whether it was Freya, the goddess of beauty whom the director loved, who provoked Apollo's (the god of passion) reserve, or not, his expression was as if he had bitten a bitter worm. At the same time, Freya's words also swayed some of the male gods to her side, and they began to affirm the foreign aid system. In the blink of an eye, the divine council was in an uproar.

Hestia didn't know why Freya spoke up for her, but she didn't interrupt. If the situation could turn in her favor, even if it was only slightly, Hestia would still welcome it.

Before long, Apollo, unable to withstand the pressure, had no choice but to accept part of Hermes' proposal under Freya's slight coercion.

"...Alright, but only one outside helper is allowed, and they cannot be a member of a clan from the city, how about that?" Apollo said, holding up one finger.

"How petty..." Hestia frowned upon hearing Apollo's additional condition.

Even disregarding the number of people, the condition "cannot be a [familia] within the city" means that you can only find adventurers outside of Orario.

However, the strength of the outside familias is significantly lower than that of the combat elites who specialize in dungeon exploration in the adventure city. To be precise, it should be said that the level of Orario's high-level adventurers is too high, creating a large gap between them and the rest of the world.

Level 6 adventurers are like mushroom bombs; they could establish a nation by force in the outside world, but in Orario, their numbers are in the double digits.

How many Familias with Lv.2 or higher members could there be near Orario? Even disregarding the number, just finding such a powerful faction and making contact with it before the Game War begins is an almost impossible task.

"Whoosh, whoosh!" The gods booed.

"Enough with the nagging! It's the fault of the weak clans."

Apollo stubbornly shouted, clenching his fist, refusing to budge an inch on his proposed conditions, while Freya remained silent.

Apollo nodded as if satisfied, but Hestia remained silent in his presence.

"Next, we need to prepare a suitable city, and also discuss the date for the Game War with the guild. If there are no objections, everyone can disperse."

The divine assembly was thus dissolved, and the gods began to emerge from the room one after another. As Apollo was leaving, he gave Hestia a cunning smile.

However, Hestia could do nothing but glare back. Once his figure disappeared, Hestia sighed. Besides her, only her allies, led by Miher and Take Mikazuchi, remained in this place.

"I'm sorry, Hestia, forcing you to accept such unfavorable conditions."

"It's alright, it's not your fault Hermes."

Hestia shook her head at Hermes, who came over to apologize to her. Although she was unwilling, as Apollo said, everything was the result of a fair draw, and she should be grateful that she was allowed to call for help.

Thanks to those gods who love to stir up trouble and Freya, I've received quite a bit of preferential treatment in terms of the negotiation results.

With the chessboard already set, Hestia told herself that only by using all her pieces to fight with all her might she have a chance of victory. "If there's no path to victory, I'll show you one!" she thought, her eyes blazing with determination.

"Moreover, Hestia, didn't you lose a little girl's supporter? What do you plan to do now?" Hermes asked.

"This problem has already been handed over to the most reliable person," Hestia said with a confident smile.

Chapter 1047 Hestia's Submission List

At this moment, Shirou, with Lili, left the Soma Familia's encampment. Soma, unusually, came out of his room and escorted the two to the gate.

Shirou and Lili's previous behavior had a great impact on him.

In the realm of the gods, Soma only wanted to love one person. He only wanted to marry that one person he loved, but the gods arbitrarily decided that he had to marry twenty-seven people and that he had to share his love for his beloved with twenty-six other people he didn't like.

Soma became increasingly withdrawn, eventually giving up on love altogether, and thus everything became equal. He became indifferent, ruthless, and no longer cared about anything.

"Thank you so much," Lili said, bowing to Somo.

"Hmm... Take care." Su Mo's voice was hoarse. He hadn't cared about a child for a long time, but the child's only wish was to leave him.

"Yes..." Tears welled up in Lili's eyes. Her God had finally looked at her with respect. She had proven that she was a person of value, not a burden.

Shirou gently patted the girl's head, then looked at Soma and said:

"Then we'll be leaving. Please help me with that thing later..."

"Yes, I will keep my promise," Soma replied.

"What are you planning to do next?" Shirou asked Soma, who seemed deeply moved. He wondered if today's events would prompt him to make some changes.

"Ah... well, after I deal with Sunnis's matter, I'll probably continue brewing, but I'll also try to spend some time with the children." Soma felt that perhaps he had indeed given up too soon.

"Yes, that's right, humans do grow." Shirou looked at Soma and said with a smile.

"Is that so? Can I still trust those children?" Soma asked Shirou.

"Don't just believe it, why don't you try to help them change?" Shirou suggested.

After saying this, Shirou left with Lili. Soma stood at the door, lost in thought for a long time, seemingly pondering something profound.

Several hours later!

In the small hut where Shirou had temporarily housed Hestia, the petite goddess was slumped over the table, pacing back and forth with a pained expression.

"What should I do? Even if my supporter joins my clan, there are only two of us now. I only have one spot for external support, and I don't know who to turn to. What should I do?"

"My Goddess, please cheer up! Lord Bell is training hard for your sake right now," Lili said, pulling the goddess to her feet.

At this point, the girl had officially formed a contract with Hestia, becoming the second member of the Hestia Familia. However, she was entirely after Bell, and had little respect for the goddess she had seen through.

"I know, I'll try to think of something more," Hestia said, rousing herself.

"Could it be a member of the Orario gods' kin?" Hestia sat cross-legged on the bed, arms crossed over her chest, squinting as she racked her brains, trying to recall which of the gods she knew were outside the Orario community.

The most powerful clans in Orario were Zeus and Hera, both chief gods of the Greek gods. They naturally got along well with the Greek gods who were familiar with them, so almost all of them chose to settle in Orario.

Hephaestus was one of them, and Hestia followed him to the human world. They lived a carefree life for quite some time until Hephaestus couldn't stand it anymore and kicked Hestia out.

Hestia thought of Ares, the war god, but he was a muscle-bound idiot, too stubborn, still thinking of attacking Orario with an army of low-level adventurers. Every time, he was driven back home by level six adventurers.

He's an enemy on our side, so there's no way to ask him for help.

"Don't give up! Hestia, you can do it! Think again! It can't be a member of the Orario gods' kin~? It can't be a kin?" Hestia squinted, shaking her head vigorously, making a mess of things.

"Ahhh! Goddess!" Lili suddenly shouted.

"What's wrong?" Hestia was startled and looked at her new kin with surprise.

"Goddess, repeat what you just said!" Lili said urgently.

"Don't give up, Hestia, you can do it!" Hestia tilted her head and asked.

"No, the last sentence! It can't be... what was it again?" Lili pounded her head with her little fist in frustration.

"It can't be a familiar of the Orario gods? It can't be... a familiar!!" Hestia's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "It can't be a familiar!! Supporter, we've found it!"

"Yes, my goddess! We've found it!"

Apollo's requirements are the Hestia Familia and an adventurer who has not made a contract with Orario deity. But thinking about it carefully, it's not necessary to make a contract with an external deity to meet this condition. In fact, Shirou could also qualify.

Meanwhile, outside, Shirou had already received a call from Wielf and the samurai girl from the Takemikazuchi Familia, and the three of them came into the hut together.

Wielf spoke first:

"Lady Hestia! I've already spoken to Lady Hephaestus about the situation. I will be transferring to the Hestia Familia as Bell's personal blacksmith!"

"Goddess! I've also come to join the team! Lord Bell has been kind to me, so please allow me to follow you for a while!" The Japanese-style samurai girl, Yamato, also ran out and said.

Hestia looked at Wielf, then at Yamato, then at Shirou, and together with Lili, they smiled with delight.

"Shirou-kun, I'd like you to serve as an external aid in this siege battle, is that alright?" Hestia asked.

"I have no objection." Shirou shrugged; he had intended to help from the beginning.

Hestia raised her hands and shouted excitedly:

"Fantastic! That means there are five of us now! That's a five-fold victory!"

"Great! Submit the entry list to the guild tomorrow!" Hestia said confidently.

"Huh? Aren't we going to try again?" Lili asked in surprise.

"I think this is the limit," Hestia said, turning her head away.

To be honest, the people who are willing to help now are all people Bell has built up himself, and it's the result of their good deeds. As a goddess, Hestia hasn't played any key role, so she actually knows that she doesn't have that much influence.

The next day, Hestia submitted the report on the participants to the guild with a smile.

"No! This is a battle between clans, how can we involve an ordinary person like Mr. Shirou?" Eina typed out the report and firmly refused.

"Hey! How could this happen?!"

Chapter 1048 The Game War Begins

Having been sent out of the guild, Hestia stormed back to her cabin.

"How about we make up a main god? Maybe we can find the name of a god who has already returned, and Shirou is a devoted lover who voluntarily remained faithful to this god and didn't join any other clans. What do you think?" Hestia said.

"No, if asked who it is, other gods can confirm with that god in the heavens. That doesn't make sense, and it would be very dangerous to do." Shirou waved his hand, rejecting the suggestion.

"Or perhaps Shirou-kun is a member of the kin of an unknown god. Even I don't know all the gods. Maybe there's a god like Soma, who lives a secluded life, in some corner of the world, and none of the gods in Orario know him," Hestia added.

"No, it doesn't need to be that complicated." Shirou said, raising his hand and emitting a white light, then a sword engraving appeared on his back.

"This... this is...? Shirou-kun? What's wrong with you?" Hestia was so shocked that her twin ponytails jumped up.

"Well, this is the power I've recently recovered, the result of my time in the labyrinth. But there was a bit of an accident. I drank some of the sake made from the Divine Wine of Soma, and that's why I can only use a portion of my power now," Shirou explained with a light laugh. He didn't hide anything from Hestia about the fire giant.

At that time, Soma handed Shirou the demonic wine that could corrupt even gods.

This wine is named after Mara, the demon king of hell, who often represents a tyrannical ruler who commits many evils on earth.

Even the purest and kindest pacifists will turn into tyrants who solve everything with violence after drinking this demonic wine.

Alcohol acts as a catalyst, transforming people's positive aspirations into negative ones, thus turning everything they do into despair.

As soon as Shirou took a sip of the sake, he immediately passed out.

He was surrounded by clouds and mist, everything around him was gray, and his whole body seemed to have lost its weight. He was lifted up by a gust of wind and floated in the air, unknowingly landing on an unknown island.

The land on the island was gray, and in front of him stretched a gray ocean. Looking up, he saw the unfathomable universe. Then he seemed to hear the sound of a heartbeat and breathing.

Suddenly the world turned upside down, Shirou found himself in the modern society where he was born.

He transformed into a black warrior with four horns, for he desired to be Hero of Justice, and this time he would become the embodiment of evil.

He wants to destroy the earth, to annihilate everything. But in this gray world, people live as usual, no different from those in the colorful world. The same noisy market, the same laughing and running children, the same chasing parents.