In DanMachi, I Was Targeted by Freya from the Start! Chapter 45

"Goddess Freya!"

Upon seeing Freya, a pink-haired Guild employee hurriedly greeted her.

The other party belonged to one of Orario's two strongest Familias. As a mere Guild worker, she naturally had to receive them properly. If she displeased them, she would be finished.

"Where is Royman Mardil?"

The moment she opened her mouth, Freya directly named the Guildmaster.

"Huh? You're looking for the Guildmaster?"

"What, is he not here?"

Freya looked at Misha, and an immense pressure suddenly descended upon her, leaving her unable to even breathe.

"He... he isn't here..."

"Not here?"

Freya frowned slightly, but she did not make things difficult for Misha.

"When will he return?"

"Soon. I'll have someone urge the Guildmaster to return immediately."

"Fine. Then I'll wait for him here."

With that, Freya led Ottar inside. Her meaning was clear: she intended to wait for him to return.

Misha immediately realized that something serious must have happened. Otherwise, Freya would not have taken such an attitude.

The Enraged Ishtar!

"Lady Ishtar, this is this month's revenue~"

"Mm~, not bad~"

Looking at that string of zeros, Ishtar's expression became extremely pleased.

In Orario, the Pleasure Quarter was undoubtedly a money pit. Every day, countless men came here to "spend."

Moreover, every woman in the Ishtar Familia was a combat courtesan.

During the day, they went into the Dungeon to fight monsters. At night, they fought men. Under such circumstances, the Ishtar Familia's monthly profits were astronomical.

As the Familia's deity, Ishtar received a portion of every member's income. Even that portion alone added up to a considerable fortune.

Furthermore, each month, the Pleasure Quarter also paid a portion of its Valis to the Guild.

Behind the scenes, Ishtar also had ties with the Dark Faction and had provided them with considerable funding.

It could be said that Ishtar had spread her connections through both the "dark" and the "light," all for the sake of dragging that goddess she envied down from her pedestal.

But ironically, before absolute power, all of it was so fragile.

Tap tap tap—

Hurried footsteps rang out, causing Ishtar's previously pleasant expression to darken slightly.

"Lady Ishtar, something has happened~"

An Amazon woman ran in and spoke to Ishtar in utter panic.

"What are you panicking for? What could possibly happen?"

"It's true, something really happened!"

"Be quiet."

Following Ishtar's furious shout, the Amazon immediately shut her mouth.

The entire hall fell silent in an instant. Seeing this, Ishtar nodded in satisfaction. She was not dead yet—what could possibly happen?

"Go on, what happened?"

Only then did Ishtar look at her, her tone casual.

"Lady Ishtar, the Freya Familia has declared war on us and has already initiated a War Game!"

After saying that, she immediately fell silent and took a step back.

Sure enough, her words startled Ishtar.

Although she envied Freya and dreamed day and night of dragging her down from her pedestal and trampling her into the mud, she also knew full well that Freya and the Freya Familia were not opponents she could defeat with mere rage.

That was why she had established the Ishtar Familia and gathered most of Orario's Amazons under her banner.

"What exactly is going on? Why would that bitch Freya suddenly declare war on us?"

Ishtar could no longer remain seated. If a War Game truly began, the Ishtar Familia would definitely be no match for the Freya Familia.

She had finally obtained such a trump card, yet before she had time to put her plan into action, it was already going to be over?

The Ishtar who had been so composed moments ago suddenly lost her wits. Freya had quite a few Level 6 adventurers under her command, while Ishtar had only one Level 5—and that one often disobeyed her orders.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

At that moment, Ishtar was like a vicious venomous snake, her gaze falling directly upon the unlucky messenger.

"Last night, Afuya and three others were chased by a swarm of killer ants in the Dungeon. In the end, they used Monster Offering to set up someone from the Freya Familia."

"Monster Offering? Someone from the Freya Familia?"

"That's right. Cao Ye, the one who caused such a huge uproar some time ago. It's said that he's the pretty boy Goddess Freya keeps, and because of him, Goddess Freya became enraged. Early this morning, she went to the Guild and submitted an application for a War Game."

"The pretty boy that bitch Freya keeps?"

This made Ishtar's teeth ache. You really dared to do it. I don't even dare tug on Freya's whiskers lightly—I can only quietly build up my strength. Yet you went and caused such a huge mess for me.

"Where is Afuya?"

"She was captured alive and is currently being held by the Freya Familia."

Well, there was no way to silence her now. The Freya Familia was not a place ordinary people could enter.

Now Ishtar had no idea what to do. When bad luck struck, even drinking cold water made her choke.

"Contact the Guild immediately. Tell them there's something suspicious about this matter—it is absolutely that bitch Freya's scheme."

"Lady Ishtar, the Guild has already met with Afuya and the others, and they have all confessed."

Pfft—

Ishtar nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. You had no backbone at all. Before I even showed up, you confessed everything.

Although she sent the Guild quite a lot of money every year, if something this serious happened, the Guild would not offend Freya for her sake.

"N-no~, however~, Goddess Freya said that if we can offer compensation, she can refrain from holding a War Game with us."

"Hm? Compensation? How much does she want?"

Ishtar asked with some pain in her heart. She did not even need to think about it—the other side would definitely demand an exorbitant price.

"Two billion Valis, plus Tsubaki~"

"What did you say? Plus what?"

"Tsu-Tsubaki~"

Tsubaki was not a secret within the Ishtar Familia. Most people knew what fate awaited that pitiful little fox, and it made them sigh.

Thus, they often took good care of Tsubaki, offering the little fox a bit of kindness.

"Freya wants Tsubaki? Damn it, how did she find out about Tsubaki?"

"Th-this..."

No one could answer that question, nor did anyone dare to.

There were no walls in this world that did not leak. Especially since Tsubaki's presence in the Ishtar Familia had never been much of a secret.

No one could be sure whether someone had let slip Tsubaki's situation, since there was simply no way to investigate it.

"Maybe it was Afuya. After all, Freya captured her alive. To save her own life, she may have revealed Tsubaki."

At Ishtar's side, a man spoke up. He was Ishtar's man—more precisely, her male concubine.

After all, from top to bottom, the Ishtar Familia consisted entirely of women and courtesans. Men had no status at all.

"Hm? That makes sense. It must have been that woman Afuya."

At that moment, Afuya, locked in the Freya Familia's dungeon, was extremely unlucky to have such blame pinned on her.

But she was currently in the Freya Familia and knew nothing of this. Even if she did know, she could do nothing about it. The deed was already done.

Ishtar's mind was in turmoil. Two billion Valis was nothing; if she gritted her teeth, she could still pay it.

But Tsubaki was different. She was the trump card she would use to destroy Freya. If she handed her over, would not all her plans of so long be ruined?

Tsubaki in Hand, Cao Ye Stunned!

At this moment, no one in the entire hall dared make a sound.

Goddess Ishtar paced back and forth with a conflicted expression. She truly could not bear to give up Tsubaki, whom she had obtained with such difficulty.

"Lady Ishtar, we can actually agree to these terms."

Aru, Ishtar's male concubine, spoke up. The reason he had climbed to his current position was his intelligence. He handled many of Ishtar's unsavory affairs on her behalf.

He was somewhat like a "virtuous wife," except the roles of men and women were reversed here.

"What do you mean~"

Ishtar looked at Aru. If she had not known he was a captive of her charm, that single remark would have nearly made her want to kill him.

"To complete the ritual, we need a Killing Stone and the night of a full moon. This year's full moon has already passed, and we still have no leads on the Killing Stone, so it does not matter where Tsubaki is right now."

"Go on~"

"When the next full moon arrives and we obtain the Killing Stone, we can simply send someone to abduct Tsubaki again. It will not delay the ritual."

"Hmph, that's the Freya Familia. Do you think it's your home? You think you can abduct someone whenever you want?"

"Lady Ishtar, no matter how great Tsubaki's potential may be, she is ultimately only Level 1. No matter how much Freya values her, she cannot possibly keep her by her side every day. And that will be our opportunity."

"You do make some sense~"

Ishtar nodded. She agreed with Aru's words.

Tsubaki was merely a sacrifice for the ritual. Whether she belonged to the Ishtar Familia or the Freya Familia made no difference at all.

As for whether this would further worsen their relationship with the Freya Familia, once the ritual was held, they would be fighting the Freya Familia to the death anyway. At that point, it would not matter whether they offended them or not.

More importantly, as Aru had said, this year's full moon had already passed. Next year's was still far away.

And they had not even obtained the Killing Stone yet. All she currently had was Tsubaki; she had nothing else. This so-called "plan" was merely empty talk.

Most importantly, if she did not agree, the Ishtar Familia might not have a future at all. In the end, Tsubaki would still fall into Freya's hands.

Though she was unwilling to admit it, having strength truly meant one could act as one pleased.

Just like now: the Freya Familia's overall strength far surpassed the Ishtar Familia's. No matter how furious Ishtar was with Freya, she could only swallow it.

After much consideration, Ishtar ultimately decided to compromise and hand over Tsubaki.

Just as Aru had said, nothing was ready yet. Once everything was prepared, they could simply abduct Tsubaki again.

By then, every member of her Familia could rise a level. Combined with the cannon fodder she had gathered and the Dark Faction, who feared chaos would not be great enough, all of that together would surely drag Freya down from her pedestal.

"Freya, cherish the time you have now. Once the time is right, you will have nothing."

As she said this, a crazed look appeared on Ishtar's face.

"Greetings, my lord. I am Sanjouno Haruhime. Please take care of me from now on!"

"Uh—"

Looking at the golden-haired fox girl before him, Cao Ye was completely confused.

Then Cao Ye looked at Freya beside him. What was this supposed to mean? She had only gone to settle matters this morning, and by evening they had sent her over? Your efficiency was far too high.

At the same time, Cao Ye was utterly speechless about Ishtar. They had already stepped on your head, and you just endured it like this?