"Capricious and petty… aren't you describing yourself, Freya?"
Just as Hermes was wondering how to steer the topic away, a slightly affected voice cut in.
No one was unfamiliar with that voice—another goddess of beauty—but her standing among the gods had long been lower than the previous one.
The goddess who ruled the Pleasure Quarter: Ishtar.
Bronze skin and a revealing outfit traced curves even hotter than Freya's; but compared to Freya's quiet allure, Ishtar's display felt a touch too overt.
Because of that, her appearance drew many furtive, hungry glances.
Eyes drifted everywhere.
"Ishtar, your look today is a little… wanton."
With one line, Freya punctured the viewing-party mood, especially for Ishtar—who'd been basking in those stares.
"That line suits you better!"
"And your talent for stirring trouble is impressive—pushing this onto Loki? What, did you fall out with her lately?"
Ishtar was no fool. From Freya's "reminder," she immediately grasped who Freya was implying.
So she leapt out to make noise—she lived to give Freya a bad day.
If this tipped Loki and Freya into a complete break, all the better.
"Heh~"
Freya only laughed softly.
"Ishtar, you aren't cut out for sowing discord."
"I merely offered Hermes an approach. In fact, what I described fits us gods perfectly, doesn't it?"
Capricious, petty, acting without purpose purely for amusement…
Hermes's mouth twitched. That really did fit the divine temperament.
And yet he was certain Freya's "standard" meant Loki.
Especially given his recent intel—only Loki had the ability to pull off something like this.
Only bored, capricious, petty Loki matched those conditions.
Yes, tools could do similar things, but the users lacked motive. Eliminating them left the same answer: Loki.
Of course, Hermes would never say that aloud—unless he wanted to sink forever in this mire.
"You… you…"
Ishtar's face flushed. She pointed at Freya with a trembling finger, nauseated by the shamelessness.
Freya, amused, admired Ishtar's fury like a painting.
"But you, Ishtar—why shift the topic onto Loki?"
"Oh, right—you don't get along with her, do you? I hear you recently sent your children to seduce one of Loki's. Pick up anything interesting?"
For real?
Was the melon really this big?
Eyes pivoted to Ishtar, whose face was now crimson.
Everyone remembered: at the last divine assembly, Ishtar had mocked Loki, supposedly using tidbits pried from Loki's new child. Ishtar had milked that jab for a long while.
But in her current state, she clearly wouldn't volunteer anything. So the gods turned to Hermes.
"Out with it—information broker, you must know."
Hermes glanced toward Freya—only to meet a meaningful smile. He gave a sheepish grin.
"It's true."
"It isn't exactly a secret. After the 'expedition,' Loki's 'extraordinary one' went to the Pleasure Quarter and stayed the night. Next day he even stormed Ishtar's place, saying he wanted to buy a courtesan's freedom."
…Spicy.
Eyes went wide all around; their gossiping hearts took flight.
Loki's child being tempted by a courtesan and tricked into spilling intel had already kept many gods laughing for days—the "extraordinary one" a walking punchline.
Moments that dented Loki's face were rare.
They figured that kind of fun would be one-and-done; who expected a sequel—worse than the first? Making a scene at Ishtar's for a ransom?
So why hadn't Ishtar blasted it out herself?
If this were old times, she'd have trumpeted it from the rooftops.
But today, instead of mentioning the ruckus in the Quarter, she tried to deflect Freya's nudge toward Loki—strange.
Unless there was an even bigger melon behind it.
Excitement trembled in their faces—they wanted to cradle the melon and munch while listening, or it'd be a terrible waste.
"Ishtar, that's no fun. Sitting on such juicy news and saying nothing?"
"No wonder you tried to splash water on Freya."
"Exactly."
The gods egged her on, hoping for a bigger, juicier topic.
"You lot…"
Ishtar wasn't stupid; she heard their aim. But she was angry.
Freya had turned the spotlight; and these ingrates ignored that, choosing to paint Ishtar as the one sowing discord.
So be it. She wasn't short on Loki-family stories.
"Hmph. Fine—I'll tell you."
"The 'extraordinary one' did spend a night in the Pleasure Quarter after the expedition. Afterward he came to me, asking to buy one of my children's freedom."
"I didn't make it hard. I named a price and agreed to the plan."
"He didn't have the money, so he bought her a property on the Boulevard next door and let her live there until he could pay the full amount."
A decent melon—but the gods still waited for something bigger.
"I also happened to hear a little about Loki's new recruit—not from eavesdropping; my children told me."
"Supposedly, Loki's newcomer can summon a puppet—and that puppet has something like a space ability."
(End of Chapter)
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