After announcing the War Game, a strange flush appeared on Apollo's face as he murmured, "If I win, then your child, Bell Cranel, will belong to me!"
With the dagger finally drawn, Apollo revealed his true intentions. But many present had already guessed it—after all, after tens of thousands of years together, plenty of gods were familiar with Apollo's nature.
To get his hands on Bell, he was willing to trigger a War Game.
A War Game was a grand "game" sanctioned by the Guild, in which Familias settled disputes by mutual rules, under the witness of the gods themselves.
Everyone knew that even in the Lower World, gods still looked down on all from above. With their endless lifespans, eternal youth, and immortality, gods were unchanging beings who hated nothing more than boredom. Practically all their actions were driven by the pursuit of entertainment.
Even "war" was no exception. Even though the loser would lose everything, to the gods, it was all just a game.
While the Guild officially endorsed War Games to mediate conflicts between Familias, for the gods, they were grand spectacles—stages where adventurers could display their full strength and wit in pursuit of victory. The gods delighted in watching them push beyond their limits.
But for Hestia, who had been forced into this situation, there was nothing exciting about it.
Her Familia only had Bell—a single Level 2 member. There was no way he could win against Apollo Familia, which boasted over a hundred members, a Level 3 captain, and over a dozen upper-class adventurers.
Naturally, Hestia refused. Without both parties' agreement, a War Game could not proceed.
Yet neither Apollo nor the other gods, who were itching for a show, looked disappointed.
Hephaestus also shook her head. Hestia's refusal wasn't going to end things.
Apollo had already resorted to underhanded tricks like self-injury. Did anyone really expect him to stop now?
Hephaestus whispered, "That bastard Apollo… I just hope he doesn't go too far."
Charles remained noncommittal. Hephaestus was simply worried about her friend.
In the original timeline, Apollo Familia had directly attacked Hestia and Bell. If not for the intervention of Miach and Takemikazuchi's Familias, they wouldn't have escaped.
But now that Apollo had reframed this as a conflict between two Familias, Hephaestus no longer had a valid reason to intervene.
She was that kind of goddess—she wouldn't involve her own children in trouble, even for the sake of a close friend.
Charles said, "You could say Bell is my student. And Welf's in his party. Don't worry—if Apollo Familia crosses the line, I'll take care of it."
Hephaestus smiled. "Honestly, I've burdened you too much already."
Charles replied, "Not at all. This is my choice."
Only then did Hephaestus visibly relax. As she followed the fuming Hestia out of the hall, she muttered, "Now that you've said that, I don't have anything to worry about. Let's go home. If I look at Apollo's face any longer, I might throw my wine at it."
Charles chuckled and followed her, pulling Stella along.
With Hestia's departure, the banquet ended in haste. But what everyone really anticipated was what would come next.
And sure enough, Orario was buzzing from early morning the next day.
According to Guild regulations, no Familia was allowed to use violence within the city, especially not against another Familia.
But today, Apollo Familia blatantly attacked the abandoned church—Hestia Familia's home—even using magic swords.
Bell carried Hestia out from the collapsing building, only to find Apollo Familia's members already waiting across the rooftops.
At a signal from the leader, two adventurers activated their magic swords.
Fireballs and lightning shot forth, aiming directly at the fleeing pair. Bell was about to dodge—but suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him.
Charles slashed the air casually, his palm shattering both attacks.
On a nearby rooftop, Naaza of the Miach Familia lowered her shortbow. With that man on the scene, her help wasn't needed anymore.
The mood among Apollo Familia's adventurers took a sharp dive.
They'd heard rumors of Charles's strength—but now they'd seen it. With just a single gesture, he'd deflected two magic sword attacks. This wasn't someone they could take on.
Charles glanced at them without emotion but didn't make a move.
The beastman leading them remained on guard—but then a shadow loomed overhead.
He turned—and saw a red-haired girl wreathed in flames descending upon them.
"Sorry about this. If you want to blame someone, take it up with your disgusting god!"
With that, Stella smashed the leader straight into the building below with one punch.
"Stella, try not to break too much of the city, okay?" Charles said casually, no longer interested in watching her stomp the rest.
He turned and helped up the dirt-covered Hestia and Bell.
Hestia said gratefully, "Thank you, child of Hephaestus."
Charles replied, "It was nothing. But what do you plan to do now? Seems like Apollo Familia isn't finished."
Hestia fell silent. She had naively hoped Apollo would abide by Orario's rules—but today's ambush had killed that illusion.
This time, they had only escaped thanks to Charles. She couldn't rely on him forever—this was their problem to solve.
With a firm expression, Hestia looked at Bell. "Bell-kun, you've seen the situation for yourself. If you want, we can leave Orario together."
Bell went quiet. He understood—Hestia was only offering this to keep him from getting hurt.
But he couldn't accept it.
"Lady Hestia, I don't want to give up!" That was his answer.
Charles wasn't surprised. Bell's dreams, bonds, and aspirations were all in Orario. There was no way he'd abandon them.
Hestia seemed to have expected this too. She sighed and said, "Of course… then it can't be helped."
She turned to Charles. "Child of Hephaestus, please help us once more—take us to Apollo. If he wants to play this game, then I'll play it to the end. I'll make that bastard regret it!"
Charles glanced at Stella, who was just finishing up the clean-up, and nodded. "No problem. I guarantee—no one will stand in your way."
And so, ten minutes later, Hestia flung a white glove into Apollo's face.
The War Game was officially underway.
Charles looked around at the countless gods popping out of Apollo Familia's compound, cheering and laughing—and couldn't help but feel speechless.
These gods really loved drama to this extent? Even Stella looked overwhelmed by the sheer number of divine rubberneckers popping out of nowhere.
(End of Chapter)
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