It had been quite some time since the awakening of the 'Goddesses' Loving Protection' magic. Leaving Levi aside, even Hestia had gradually come to understand the meaning represented by the five favorability levels.
Level I went without saying; the vast majority of goddesses registered in the directory were at this stage. They merely held curiosity or perhaps a sense of appreciation toward Levi, who displayed powerful combat capabilities and unknown possibilities.
The situation with Level II was relatively more complicated. Due to the differing personalities of the goddesses, some had already shown obvious affection. Others were still hovering at a level just short of romance.
But when it came to Level III, without exception, all had crossed that boundary line. This was true for Hestia in the past, true for Freya who later caught up, true for Hephaestus who was currently at Level III, and even Artemis, who claimed she would absolutely never like Levi, naturally could not be an exception.
"That guy, turns out she's actually a tsundere~"
Hestia lay prone on her lover's chest, muttering with some surprise.
Levi did not respond to her words; he simply occupied himself by playing with the blue-ribboned goddess's loose hair. One moment he arranged it into buns, the next he braided it into pigtails. He was having a grand old time playing with it.
Then, his cheek was lightly poked. "Why aren't you talking?"
"What is there to say?" Levi glanced at his lover. "Whether Artemis likes me or not is her business. It has nothing to do with me; I don't like her, anyway."
Hestia revealed an expression of astonishment. "That was actually your honest truth?!"
Immediately after, the girl's buttocks received a heavy slap.
Levi said grumpily, "When have I ever lied to you?"
Hestia hissed in pain. "That's true, I guess."
"However, for you to actually dislike Artemis? That surprises me a little. Based on my understanding of you, don't you like maiden goddesses the best?"
"Previously, when listening to me mention that Hephaestus and Aphrodite were only pretending to be a married couple in Tenkai and that nothing had actually happened between them, even your eyes changed."
Having his 'dark history' brought up, Levi's gaze involuntarily flickered twice. Yet, he did not deny it. "I'm a man; if I said I didn't mind that layer of purity, there would be something wrong with me."
"If possible, I naturally wish to possess the entirety of the one I love."
"Besides, didn't you permit me to build a harem? Or were you actually joking?"
Thinking back to those days of 'fighting' alone, Hestia couldn't help but reveal a terrified expression.
"No, I was serious! There wasn't a shred of falsehood!"
"But even adding Hephaestus, it feels like it might not be quite enough."
She knew her lover's physical stamina; in a certain aspect, he was even more surprising than the 'Unknown' status he possessed.
"So, you want to drag Artemis down into the water too?" Levi asked in return.
The Blue Ribbon tapped her head with her right hand and giggled. "Who asked her to have such a good relationship with me? Plus, you can indeed use 'Artemis's Arrow,' so you are one hundred percent her Orion without a doubt."
"I just didn't expect that you would actually dislike Artemis."
Hearing this, Levi fell silent for a short while. "If we are discussing appearance alone, I actually do like her quite a bit."
Hestia and Levi knew each other inside out, so she immediately picked up on the subtext of the person beneath her. "Only like the appearance... In other words, you hate Artemis's personality? Because she's too serious?"
Levi shook his head. "I don't dislike serious people."
Seeing the twin-tailed goddess open her mouth, clearly wanting to ask more, Levi decided to reveal a bit of his inner thoughts.
"What do you think would have happened in the Great Tree Sea next if we hadn't received the mandatory quest from The Guild?"
Hestia was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then logically deduced the sequence of events. "Isn't there still Artemis? She and her children would probably clear out the monsters in the Great Tree Sea once, and then... and then..."
As fellow maiden goddesses in Tenkai, Hestia's relationship with Artemis was naturally quite good. Precisely because of this, she almost immediately determined what decision her friend would make after completing the cleanup of the monsters in the Great Tree Sea.
——Inspect the seal of 'Scorpio Antares'!
Moreover, there was a high probability she would personally enter the Elsoth Ruins!
But if she really did that...
The light symbolizing divine majesty flickered in Hestia's eyes; she had unconsciously begun to use a goddess's wisdom. Then, a conclusion was quickly reached.
Artemis would be sent back to Tenkai, and none of her children would be able to escape.
At this moment, Levi's voice rang in her ears. "'Scorpio Antares' is a God Slayer. It is an Anti-God Armament birthed by the Dungeon from the distant past, or perhaps even from the Great Hole."
"In a battle against it, if Artemis merely suffered an unfortunate defeat, that would actually be considered the best outcome."
"But if she let the death of her Familia members get to her head and released her Divine Power, only to encounter a situation where she was swallowed by the Scorpion..."
Levi did not continue with the rest of his sentence.
Because the sound of Hestia sucking in a cold breath already indicated she had deduced the result.
"The Lower World would be destroyed by Antares after obtaining Artemis's Divine Power."
Levi rubbed the head of the person in his arms. "Now, do you know why I don't like her?"
Hestia fell silent. If she still couldn't react by now, she wouldn't be worthy of being a god.
It was just...
"So you hate it that much, huh? The arrogance of gods."
Levi spread his hands. "Shouldn't I? Treating the Lower World as a playground, releasing their desires to their heart's content, completely indifferent to the miserable state the Lower World falls into because of it."
"Those Evil Gods are like this. Those Entertainment Gods are like this. Even some gods who bear good intentions are unintentionally doing the same thing."
He had watched the DanMachi movie in his previous life, so he knew that the main plot of the movie was actually a story about the protagonist, Bell, saving the Lower World with Artemis's help, and incidentally having a romance that spanned ten thousand years.
But if one scrutinized it carefully, it was easy to conclude——this crisis of world annihilation was brought about precisely by Artemis!
As the Goddess of the Hunt, this goddess placed excessive trust in her own martial arts, believing that nothing outside of Orario could threaten her. Therefore, every time a battle occurred, she charged forward faster than her subordinate adventurers, positioning herself even further ahead.
And then, she was 'schooled' by Scorpio Antares.
Her Familia members died out completely. It might sound a bit cold-blooded to say, but after all, they were Artemis's dependents who chose her as their primary deity; even if they didn't say it, they should have long anticipated the arrival of this day in their hearts.
But what about the other people living in the Lower World?
In the movie, there was a protagonist who could turn the tide, but what if he wasn't there?
So basically, just because of Artemis's arrogance, everyone else has to be buried with her, is that it?
___
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