Loki had no interest in playing detective. On a crisp morning like this, sipping fine wine while watching her girls work up a sweat—that was what she should have been doing.
Yet now, Loki walked down a secluded path, hood pulled low as she avoided the morning crowds. Monsters spilling out of the underground waterways threatened not just her, but the entire Loki Familia.
"What do you think, Ais?"
As if trying to break the heavy mood, Loki looked to the girl beside her.
"I should go. Defeat the monsters."
The Sword Princess, wearing a similar hood, answered softly. Her response had nothing to do with the actual situation. Knowing her all too well, Loki understood immediately—Ais was protesting.
For a task like this, Ais was far more suited to diving into the sewers and wiping out the monsters than acting as a guard.
"But your weapon is nearly at its limit, right? If you don't get it repaired soon, it'll cost a fortune again."
Loki stated the harsh truth without hesitation.
"Mm…"
It was as if Ais had taken a direct hit. Her whole spirit deflated at once.
Without a proper weapon, she couldn't kill monsters. Without Drop Items and Magic Stones, she had no money. Without money, she couldn't repair the weapon. She had a temporary replacement, but facing unknown monsters with it was far too risky.
Her current rapier no longer had the [Indestructible] property. If she broke it, the debt that followed would be even worse.
So the Sword Princess, on escort duty of all things, walked beside Loki with her head drooping, completely drained.
Loki glanced at her pale expression and let out a small laugh. A golden-haired beauty, yet the moment she wasn't fighting monsters, she always looked so helplessly natural.
"Let Finn and the others handle the underground waterway problem. We really did draw the worst possible job."
Their destination was the Freya Familia, the faction directly opposed to their own. The incident had happened too suddenly for them to rely on the Guild to relay messages. Worse, the Guild—who oversaw the Dungeon's entry—was the prime suspect behind the whole thing.
So Loki decided to speak with Freya's faction personally. To avoid unnecessary conflict, she hid her identity and brought the Sword Princess with her.
Gentle morning light reflected off the luxurious gate. Even among Orario's busiest, most extravagant streets, the Freya familia stood out as unmatched.
Behind those grand doors, an eerie calm lingered, like the stillness before a storm.
Ais paid the atmosphere no mind at all. She stepped forward and knocked.
"...Grant me an audience."
A heavy, deliberate knock sounded.
"Wait—what are you doing?!" Loki broke into a rare cold sweat.
Ais tilted her head, blinking. "Challenge the dojo? Isn't that what you said we should do?"
"....That was just something I said while drinking!"
Loki was utterly speechless at the airhead in front of her. How could Ais remember something from so long ago with that level of clarity?
With a heavy clang, the gates swung open.
Before Loki could correct the airhead's misunderstanding, they were instantly surrounded. Adventurers raised their weapons, murderous intent seeping from every angle.
"What business does a hostile faction have here?"
The one speaking was a short Cat Person man holding a silver spear. His tone was razor-edged, dripping with chilling malice.
"Are you declaring war, Doll Girl?" Allen glared coldly.
For the Freya Familia, having a hostile faction show up at dawn to "challenge the dojo" naturally warranted such a reaction.
Loki quickly threw back her hood. If she let the eternally clueless Ais keep talking, there was no telling how bad things would get.
"Alright, alright, it's me, Vana Freya."
The line sounded like a con artist's catchphrase, yet Allen instantly lowered his silver spear.
The other adventurers followed suit, weapons withdrawn, killing intent gone.
"Please forgive our rudeness, Goddess."
Even Allen, famous for his sharp tongue, bowed his head respectfully.
Gods were the treasures of Orario. Whether poor or disgraced, those from the lower world owed them proper respect.
Drawing weapons on Loki wasn't just an offense—it risked tarnishing the refined reputation of Goddess Freya.
"If only you treated my Familia that politely," Loki remarked with a sneer, clearly still annoyed by how Ais had been handled.
Granted, if the Freya Familia barged into the Twilight Manor, Finn would treat them the same way.
But gods were, by nature, biased.
"..."
Allen signaled the surrounding adventurers, and they all withdrew.
"By the way, are you really okay like that?" Loki asked with a light laugh.
Allen's current appearance was miserable. His body was mottled with bruises and swelling—stray alley cats looked healthier than he did.
"Aftereffects," Allen replied coldly.
Because of what he had done to the boy, Freya had ordered Ottar to punish him.
Since Allen had held back and shown no intent to kill, the goddess's command was simply that he suffer more than ten times the pain the boy had endured.
And once it was over, he was forbidden to receive healing.
"Oh—your life is rough, huh?" Loki's smile widened.
Allen lowered his head in frustration and switched topics. "So, what brings the Loki Familia here?"
"About this morning's incident. I need to speak with Freya about something," Loki said, getting straight to the point.
Allen frowned. "Freya-sama is currently occupied with urgent matters. She may not be available to receive guests."
"Hmm—something felt off since earlier. Why haven't I seen the King around?"
Loki narrowed her eyes. A hostile faction had shown up inside their base, yet the Freya Familia's strongest force hadn't reacted at all.
"The Captain has far more important duties." Facing a god, Allen couldn't lie and could only give a vague response.
"More important than dealing with intruders? Either protecting the goddess… or attending to someone of equal standing to her."
Loki probed carefully.
She fixed her gaze on Vana Freya, as if trying to read the divine will of Freya herself from him.
"..."
Amid the tense silence, a voice as clear and beautiful as a harp suddenly resonated.
"Loki, do not tease my Familia."
The voice belonged to the Goddess of Beauty herself, whose presence swept away all discord.
"Go now." Freya spoke softly to Allen.
"But without guards, the hostile factions…" Allen knelt with deep respect, and the silence told him clearly that the goddess was displeased. "As you command."
He departed at once.
The doors closed slowly behind him. Freya led Loki and Ais down the hall and into an opulent reception room.
After they sat, Loki smiled. "So, what's this urgent business that Cat kid mentioned? With our relationship, you can tell me, right?"
Freya glanced at the Sword Princess beside her but gave no reply.
Ais had heard the rumors, yet even so, she found herself captivated by the goddess's flawless beauty. Even those of the same gender couldn't resist. Such was the bewitching charm of the Goddess of Beauty.
The Sword Princess bowed her head respectfully, intending to leave so the two gods could speak in private.
But Loki laughed and wrapped an arm around her. "I promise you, Ais, it's fine if you stay."
Ais nimbly slipped out of the Familia God's grasp, then caught her sleeve just as Loki stumbled, preventing her from falling forward. The smooth, almost natural exchange between god and mortal drew a delighted laugh from Freya.
"I think I understand why you've taken a liking to this child."
"Right? Ais is adorable, but she's always thinking about monsters. She just got back from an expedition—if I don't keep an eye on her, she'll run straight back into the Dungeon." Loki sighed.
"..."
Ais had no response.
Even now, she wanted nothing more than to head for the Dungeon. Their last expedition had been cut short by the appearance of a new type of monster, and surely everyone in the Loki Familia felt as frustrated as she did.
Yet she alone had been assigned as a guard, stuck idling here. It felt painfully unfair.
Loki seemed to see right through her thoughts. "If we don't make Ais slow down once in a while, she'll never learn to rest. No parent wants to see their child work themselves into the ground."
"..."
Facing her Familia God's concern, Ais could only lower her head, quietly accepting the kindness.
The atmosphere gradually eased as the two gods laughed together.
"But honestly, Ais looks adorable in light, breezy casual clothes."
After praising the Sword Princess's beauty, Loki suddenly shifted topics.
"Freya, you too—since when did you start wearing outfits like that?"
Loki's image of Freya had always been that of a goddess in stately banquet dresses. Yet today, the Goddess of Beauty wore a soft, pale-white dress that was undeniably cute, overturning her usual refined style.
Freya only smiled. She lifted the hem slightly and gave a gentle spin.
"Well? Doesn't it suit me?"
...
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