Hephaestus, sitting opposite them, certainly noticed.
However, she merely cast a meaningful glance at the two women.
"..." x2
"When I pulled Alise and Gojouno down from the reincarnation system of Tenkai, well, there's a high probability that Goddess Freya detected it using some sort of magic item."
If possible, Levi would rather not bring up topics related to the Goddess of Beauty.
However, even if he stayed silent, the affection level of the Goddess of Beauty in his protection magic would be exposed when Hestia updated his Falna later. It was better to give a preemptive vaccination right here.
Yet, somewhat contrary to Levi's expectations, upon hearing his words, Hestia suddenly bit her thumb in resentment.
She kept muttering, "No wonder... that woman would..."
"???"
Seeing the bewildered expression on the pale-blonde boy sitting opposite her, Hephaestus couldn't help but curl her lips.
Laughing, she explained, "On the third day after you went down into the Dungeon, Hestia and I attended a banquet hosted by the Apollo Familia. During the banquet, Apollo slandered you, claiming you beat up his children. Hestia couldn't swallow her anger, so she decided to wage a War Game against him."
Levi nodded upon hearing this, not angry at Hestia for acting on her own initiative.
Instead, he patted his goddess on the head. "You did well. It's a pity I wasn't there; otherwise, those three guys who slandered me definitely wouldn't have walked out of that banquet hall."
He worked hard to improve his strength, pouring tens or hundreds of millions of Valis into the gacha pool—in the end, wasn't it all just so others would calmly sit down and listen to reason?
Hestia knew her lover's true nature. Even so, hearing his sincere praise without a hint of falsehood, she couldn't help but giggle, "Hehehe."
At the same time, she cast a triumphant glance at her divine friend: "I told you so. Levi would definitely stand by my side."
"Yes, yes, yes. You, Hestia, are the luckiest goddess in the world, finding the world's most handsome lover with the best personality." Hephaestus shrugged, then changed the subject. "And then, your Levi caught someone's eye."
Levi gave a dry cough. "So, is there a connection between Goddess Freya and the upcoming War Game?"
Hephaestus continued her explanation: "Through drawing lots, the theme for the upcoming game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia has been set as 'Siege'—specifically, a Flag War."
"Simply put, while protecting your own Familia's flag, you must do whatever it takes to destroy the opposing Familia's flag."
"Although the Hestia Familia currently only has you, and you most likely won't send the two behind you onto the field, based on the intelligence Hestia revealed to me earlier, securing a victory against the Apollo Familia wouldn't be a very difficult task for you on your own."
Seeing the boy sitting opposite nod, a hint of mockery suddenly flashed across Hephaestus's face—though, of course, she wasn't mocking Levi.
"But Hermes, that god who lives for amusement, perhaps wanting to probe your depths, actually proposed that each Familia could recruit five outsiders. Furthermore, the Falna level of these outsiders must not exceed the highest level held by a member within the Familia."
"That stupid [BEEP—] neutral god!"
Levi wasn't an idiot; hearing this, how could he not react?
Hermes's proposal must have already passed.
Moreover, the outsiders recruited by the Apollo Familia would most likely be from the Freya Familia.
Or rather, Freya had forcibly stuffed her members into the Apollo Familia's combat roster!
"Tell me about it." The twin-tailed goddess sitting in the boy's lap nodded along. "Although I haven't thought you'd lose ever since you got that 'Trump Card', just thinking about that nympho Freya fantasizing about you makes me want to send her back to Tenkai!"
Because Hestia couldn't handle him alone, she actually didn't mind sharing Levi with other goddesses or even mortal girls.
However, this absolutely did not include Freya, nor that group of beauty goddesses.
Their cheating behavior of activating 'Charm' at the drop of a hat—no deity with a lawful or good personality could possibly like it.
"What about the specific time for the War Game?" Levi asked.
"In one week," Hestia replied.
"I originally planned to use the condition of paying 1 billion Valis and the patron deity returning to Tenkai if we lost to delay the game's start, and incidentally help you earn some funds for future strengthening—after all, if you don't take a fool's money, it's a waste. But the night after we settled the specific game details, that guy Apollo handed the money over to the Guild."
"It must have been Freya providing the funds," Hephaestus added from across the table. "Although the Apollo Familia has many members, their levels aren't high. Even after operating for decades, the Valis in their account couldn't possibly exceed five hundred million."
"That Goddess of Beauty really thinks highly of me." Hearing this, Levi sighed.
He didn't ask what the consequences would be if his side lost, because there was no need.
Unless Freya truly had no martial ethics and transferred Ottar, or several Lv.6s under her command, into the Apollo Familia, then with the Orion Class Card in his possession, he stood in an invincible position from the very start.
That being said...
Levi looked at the red-haired goddess sitting opposite him. "Lady Hephaestus, I might have some materials that need to be disposed of through your connections."
Hephaestus raised an eyebrow. "You certainly don't hold back."
The boy with short pale-blonde hair smiled. "You are Hestia's best friend; I assume you wouldn't want to watch her be sad."
As he spoke, he gently brushed the waist of the girl in his arms. Understanding the hint, she joined in the plea: "Hephaestus, just help me and help Levi~ Please, please! This is my once-in-a-lifetime request!"
"Then your divine life sure has a lot of 'once-in-a-lifetimes'." Hephaestus couldn't help but retort, though she didn't choose to refuse.
"You just returned to your base today, and it's getting late, so let's leave it for now. Remember to come to my place tomorrow afternoon. I'll find a tight-lipped merchant guild representative to handle it. Of course, the price will be slightly lower than the market rate."
Levi nodded. "I understand. After all, it's not a formal channel."
"Alright, that's settled then." Hephaestus stood up, then seemed to think of something. "By the way, that 'Trump Card' Hestia mentioned..."
Levi was very perceptive; he took the Orion Class Card from his inventory, placed it on the table, and flicked it with his index finger to the front of the red-haired goddess.
"Heh heh~ I do like your sharpness." Hephaestus picked up the card for a look, walked over to Levi's side, and like a 'bad auntie', smoothly stroked the boy's cheek.
Then, amidst Hestia's complaints of "Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you being too bold? I'm still right here!", she waved her hand with her back to the group.
____
🔥 The latest chapters are being posted! 🔥
New Story: COTE: Natsuki Subaru Returns to School, but as the Purge King
✅ Read up to 40 chapters in advance (all stories)!
✅ Access exclusive posts and updates first!
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters on ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan