Ottar's arrival finally stopped the furious Allen, bringing the fight to an end. Under Allen's burning glare, Ryoji followed Ottar into the luxurious mansion and met with Freya.
"I didn't expect you to come looking for me here." Freya lounged on a sofa draped with animal pelts, watching him with an amused smile. "To keep your Familia from finding out, haven't you always come to see me at the Tower of Babel instead?"
She was right; Ryoji had never visited the mansion known as 'Folkvangr' before. After all, it was the headquarters of the Freya Familia.
As a member of the Loki Familia, coming here openly would only invite rumors that he had betrayed his own Familia. So whenever he couldn't resist seeing her, he always met Freya at the Tower of Babel instead, where they could "discuss the art of singing."
This was his first visit to Folkvangr.
"This time, I need your Familia's help."
"Oh?"
"I want to level up as quickly as possible, so I'd like your Familia to train me."
"Did you ask Loki first?" Freya arched an elegant eyebrow, a captivating smile spreading across her face.
"No." Ryoji awkwardly looked away.
"Hehe... Now I really want to see Loki's face when she finds out about the relationship between us." Freya's smile became positively mischievous. "Very well. I'll have Ottar and the others train you. As for the payment... you'll pay with yourself."
She leaned forward, her generous cleavage on full display, her alluring gaze teasing at Ryoji's resolve. "You're not going back tonight."
"There's a deal this good?" Ryoji immediately straightened up with mock seriousness.
The shameless pair reached an agreement almost instantly. Under the murderous stares of everyone around them, Freya led Ryoji into her private room. Before long, passionate singing could be heard from inside.
---
From the next day onward, Ryoji practically took up permanent residence in the Freya Familia.
Fortunately, everyone in the Loki Familia already knew he was obsessed with leveling up. Now that he was an executive, disappearing for several days at a time wasn't unusual, so no one questioned his absence or grew suspicious.
---
Meanwhile, the War Game between the Apollo Familia and the Hestia Familia proceeded as scheduled. Ryoji never appeared publicly, instead quietly giving Bell a little help behind the scenes.
After a whirlwind of excitement swept through Orario, the War Game ended with the Hestia Familia emerging victorious.
"That was disappointing. Apollo Familia's captain and all their first-class adventurers just happened to miss the battle because of an emergency? That's way too convenient."
"This has to be the most boring War Game ever."
Even the gods were left disappointed. Not a single one of Apollo Familia's high-class adventurers, including their Level 3 captain, Hyakinthos, appeared on the battlefield. Despite the siege format of the War Game, they were easily defeated by the much larger Hestia Familia.
Many suspected Hestia Familia had resorted to underhanded tactics. Unfortunately for them, War Games never prohibited legal tricks outside direct combat.
As long as the rules weren't broken, there was nothing the gods could complain about. More than that, they desperately wanted to know 'how' Hestia Familia had pulled it off. But no matter who asked, Bell kept his mouth shut. He refused to explain anything, he wouldn't even tell his own goddess.
---
"Ryoji-san, thank you so much!" Once again, they met at the Flame Bee Pavilion, where Bell bowed sincerely in gratitude.
"It was nothing," Ryoji replied, wrapped in a cloak as he gave him a meaningful look. "As long as you haven't forgotten the condition we agreed on."
'How about giving me your goddess?' Ryoji really wanted to say it. After thinking it over, though, he reluctantly gave up. He considered himself a devoted believer in true love; stealing someone else's girl wasn't his style.
...What? Are you asking about that time with Artoria? Sorry. Who are you talking about? Do I know her?
"So... you really only want to take a look?" Standing beside Bell, the red-haired Welf looked thoroughly confused as he pulled out a magic sword.
It was the magic sword Welf had forged specifically for this War Game. Because of everything that had happened, he had finally abandoned the stubborn ideals he'd clung to for so long and was now willing to forge magic swords for the sake of his comrades.
Even so, he couldn't understand Ryoji's request. After receiving such a huge favor, it wouldn't have been unreasonable for Ryoji to ask him to forge several magic swords. But he only wanted to look at one? What kind of request was that?
"Relax. This is all I wanted. I don't need you to make any magic swords for me." Ryoji ran a hand lightly over the blade, carefully sensing something within it before casually returning it to Welf. "If you ever forge an even better magic sword in the future, just let me have another look. You can think of me as a magic sword enthusiast."
'What a strange guy...' Welf couldn't make sense of him, but he still readily agreed. It was an incredibly easy favor. Building a friendship with one of Orario's first-class adventurers was nothing but a benefit, especially when that adventurer had already helped them so much.
After saying goodbye to Bell and Welf, Ryoji left the Flame Bee Pavilion.
'Hm?' As he walked back toward the Freya Familia's headquarters, he suddenly frowned. 'Someone's following me?'
His instincts told him that whoever it was possessed considerable strength, and they had tailed him ever since he left the Flame Bee Pavilion.
'Because I looked at the magic sword? That doesn't make sense.' He hadn't taken the sword with him. If someone wanted the magic sword, Bell and Welf should have been the targets instead.
After thinking it over, Ryoji abruptly changed direction and headed toward the Tower of Babel. The person trailing him immediately followed.
Before long, they entered the Dungeon. Rather than stopping on the upper floors, Ryoji made his way directly to the twelfth floor, as though he had walked the route countless times before. Standing in the mist-covered grasslands, he finally stopped.
"You can come out now." He turned around, his gaze calm and indifferent.
"Hmph. So you noticed us after all."
A tall, beautiful woman emerged from the mist. Red hair, dark skin, and a voluptuous figure, an Amazon.
"Argana of the Kali Familia." Ryoji immediately recognized her. "You said 'us.' So you didn't come alone?"
"Me too."
Another beauty stepped out beside her, red hair, dark skin, and an even more voluptuous figure. Another Amazon. The two sisters stared at him with burning eyes, as though they wanted to devour him whole.
'Looks like another group drawn in by my irresistible charm.'
"Bache... so it really is you two," Ryoji said, shaking his head. "No... I doubt it's just the two of you."
No sooner had he finished speaking than more figures emerged from the surrounding mist, one after another, until more than a dozen stood revealed. Each Amazon wore revealing battle attire and carried a weapon in her dark-skinned hands, every single one staring at him with a mixture of tension and hungry anticipation.
"I know you." Ryoji's gaze settled on one of them, a black-haired Amazon. "Aisha Belka. Level 3. Your alias is 'Beautiful Blade'. You were among the people who tried to surround me last time. But... aren't you a member of the Ishtar Familia?"
(End of Chapter)
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