Goddesses at Odds

Assembly of Gods.

This was a meeting held only once every three months in Labyrinth City Orario.

Since only gods could participate, mortals reverently called it the Assembly of Gods. In reality, however, it was merely a gathering for the gods to relieve their boredom and seek entertainment.

At first, it had simply been a gathering where a group of idle gods came together to chat about trivial matters and pass the time. Later, more and more gods began to attend, and the gathering grew in scale. As time passed, its nature somehow changed, becoming an event where the gods shared the latest information from the Lower World, exchanged opinions on managing their Familias, and even worked with the Guild to make decisions capable of affecting all of Orario.

As a result, for better or worse, any matter discussed and decided at the Assembly of Gods carried influence that could extend across the entire adventurer community and the whole of Labyrinth City.

That was why Loki was in such a bad mood.

After all, no one knew better than Loki what sort of topics gods—more capricious than anyone else and more eager than anyone else for entertainment and excitement—would raise in an occasion where they could openly wield their rhetoric.

Just like right now.

"Don't be so fierce, Loki dear."

"We just want to know about that newcomer in your Familia."

"Haven't the children all been talking about it lately?"

"Did that one of yours really rise from Lv.1 to Lv.4 in just over a month?"

"What method did he use?"

"Tell us."

"That's right, that's right."

As though they had been waiting for this moment for a long time, the gods remained seated in their respective places, yet their gazes all gathered on Loki. Their faces were filled with intense excitement as they surrounded her from all sides on a spiritual level.

Seeing these god-trash all reveal ugly expressions as though they had found some new amusement, Loki made no attempt to hide her foul mood.

Naturally, she was both proud and delighted that her child was so outstanding.

In another setting, she definitely would not have minded downing a few drinks before launching into an extravagant boast, praising Riezel as the darling of the world and a hero of destiny, making everyone else properly jealous and envious.

But if she did that here, it would only backfire.

These so-called gods, who craved the unknown and craved entertainment, would certainly not mind doing something she most did not want to see when Loki was at her proudest.

Gods were that sort of creature. Even a passing whim could be put into action, no matter if it meant turning all of Orario upside down.

Thus, Loki was not merely in a bad mood—her expression was downright ugly.

"What? Isn't it perfectly normal for my child to be so promising?" Loki swept her gaze around with a fierce glint in her eyes and said darkly, "Are you planning to pull something behind my back? Fine! Anyone who wants to die, come right ahead!"

The violent side of the Evil God renowned in Heaven made quite a few gods, whose excitement had gone to their heads, shudder and quickly avert their eyes.

This was Loki, after all—the patron goddess of one of Orario's strongest Familias.

If they truly provoked her, then once the Loki Familia started making trouble, even some large Familias would inevitably suffer severe losses, perhaps even be driven out of Orario.

Gods could not use their divine power in the Lower World, but the stronger a Familia was, the more powerful members it possessed, and the greater its influence, the more power it held among mortals. If things truly escalated into a conflict—or even a war—between Familias, few Familias in Orario could stand against the Loki Familia.

Therefore, the gods were still somewhat intimidated by Loki.

Quite a few of them began staring at their noses and contemplating their hearts, no longer pressing the matter.

Of course, there were also gods who did not fear Loki at all.

"Don't be so angry, Loki. This is a rare gathering, you know?"

A voice like silver bells and celestial music suddenly rang out, echoing through the temple and causing the gods to reveal intoxicated expressions.

The male gods especially—every single one of them wore a dazed, infatuated look.

Loki's heart sank. She knew the most troublesome person had appeared.

It was the goddess of beauty seated opposite Loki, as though the two were facing off from afar. Her status was clearly extraordinary.

"Freya?" Loki said with open displeasure. "What's a lovesick fool like you doing here?"

At those words, the goddess who governed beauty smiled radiantly, and the air throughout the grand hall seemed to turn sweet.

"It's been so long since I last came. On a whim, I decided to take a look around." Freya smiled at Loki. "Of course, I'm also a little interested in that newcomer of yours everyone has been talking about."

"I'm afraid I must decline." Loki replied without the slightest politeness. "Aren't those Male Companions you keep in the Battle Wilderness enough to satisfy you?"

Even when Loki mocked and outright insulted her, Freya did not take offense.

"It seems you're quite nervous about that child." Freya said with a smile as lovely as a flower. "Why not introduce him to me?"

"Tch." Loki finally clicked her tongue openly.

She and Freya could be considered old acquaintances.

Long before the gods descended to the Lower World, when they were still in Heaven, the two had often associated with each other.

However, it would be difficult to say that they had a particularly good relationship.

They had once cooperated, acting intimate and inseparable before outsiders.

They had also once been enemies, even engaging in a deadly battle with complete seriousness.

Now, the Familias under their command were both among the strongest in Orario. Recognized as Orario's twin kings, they were rivals as well as enemies.

Under such circumstances, Loki knew full well what the goddess named Freya was thinking right now.

There was no doubt about it—she had set her sights on Riezel.

It might not have been that serious yet, but once that lovestruck goddess saw Riezel, things could very well spiral completely out of control.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

For once, Loki revealed her true nature as an Evil God, her face turning vicious.

"—"

At once, the atmosphere in the entire temple seemed to freeze, becoming incomparably oppressive.

The gods all shut their mouths and lowered their heads, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

Especially when they saw the smile on Freya's face growing ever more radiant, their hearts began to pound.

This was a true clash between gods.

The thrilling situation made the gods cry out inwardly.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

This was truly a case of people watching the fun and hoping for more chaos.

However, while some gods feared the world was not chaotic enough, others were tired of such disputes.

"Enough, Loki, Freya. This isn't the place for you two to argue. Settle down."

The one who said this in a listless voice was a goddess seated not far from Loki, with flaming red hair and a scarlet formal gown.

The red-haired goddess was no less beautiful than Loki and barely inferior even to Freya, the Goddess of Beauty. However, the eyepatch over her right eye somewhat marred her appearance.

The one-eyed, red-haired goddess's sudden intervention did indeed ease the tension between Loki and Freya somewhat.

As for why—

"Since Hephaestus has said so, I suppose I have no choice but to comply." Freya shrugged her lovely shoulders. "I don't want my children to be unable to buy the finest equipment in the future."

The red-haired goddess was none other than Hephaestus.

The chief deity of Orario's strongest smithing Familia, standing at its very peak—the forging god of mythology—was here as well.

"Oh? So you were here, Hephie." Loki grinned at Hephaestus. "I heard you were taking care of that freeloading poor-goddess dwarf, so I thought you wouldn't come."

"Don't remind me." Hephaestus sighed. "I'm starting to wonder whether I should have supported her in the first place."

"It's not too late to do that now, Hephie." Loki snickered mischievously. "Why not just kick that poor-goddess dwarf out and let her fend for herself?"

And honestly, Hephaestus was a little tempted.

It was not that she was heartless. It was simply that her divine friend's lifestyle had become so degenerate that she could no longer bear to watch it. Otherwise, the God of Iron, with her steadfast personality and appreciation for hard work, would not have been troubled to this extent.

Should I really just throw her out?

Hephaestus began considering it seriously.

Seeing this, Loki's eyes darted around, as though she were plotting how to kick someone while they were down.

Unfortunately, there was something more important to do now.

It was precisely for this reason that Loki had come here despite knowing she would be besieged, swallowing her displeasure and enduring it.

"Looks like you lot don't have any other crap to deal with." Loki slapped the table. "In that case, let's get started and award titles to the children who have Level Up."

Yes, awarding titles.

This was one of the proceedings of the Assembly of Gods, held once every three months, and also a major event in the Lower World.

Any adventurer who had Level Up and become an Upper Class Adventurer—whether they were merely Lv. 2 or as high as Lv. 7—would have their name brought up here and be bestowed a unique title by the gods.

For example, Ais's title was the Sword Princess.

For example, Lefiya's title was the Fairy of a Thousand.

Ordinarily, Riezel should have received a title when he rose to Lv. 2. However, the Assembly of Gods was held only once every three months, and when Riezel reached Lv. 2, it had not yet been time for the assembly to convene, so the matter had been temporarily put aside.

By the time the Assembly of Gods officially convened more than a month later, Riezel was already Lv. 4. It had to be said that this was the first time such a thing had ever happened.

Thinking of this, the gods could not help but sigh in amazement.

Back then, when the Sword Princess of the Loki Familia had risen to Lv. 2 at the age of eight after only one year, every god had found it unbelievable.

That rate of growth had already been highly abnormal. Not only Orario, but the entire world had been shaken by it.

And now, someone even more outrageous had appeared.

If that person had not belonged to the Loki Familia, the gods would likely have rushed to that child's side without a second thought.

Now, that person's guardian—his chief deity—was baring her teeth at everyone like a little dog.

"Let me make this clear first: if anyone dares come up with some weird-ass title, don't blame me for turning hostile."

The Evil God issued her threat, making all the gods quickly straighten their faces and begin thinking seriously.

Only Freya watched the ferocious-looking Loki, the corners of her lips slowly curling upward.

She looked beautiful—and terrifying.

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