"Apollo's side will only send me and five outsiders." Hyakinthos walked into the hall, resolving his god's predicament with a single sentence.
Levi raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.
He didn't mind killing, nor did he mind slaughtering over a hundred people in front of all of Orario's adventurers, but it would ultimately be too bloody and cruel, and would be detrimental to doing business with other Familias later on.
Hyakinthos detested Levi.
First, the other boy was indeed handsome. Knowing his own god, even if this fellow had no potential as an adventurer, once Apollo noticed him, the latter would surely try every means to snatch him.
Second was the jealousy adventurers feel towards those with outstanding potential.
Other adventurers might not know, but he, who had been getting beaten by members of the Freya Familia all this time, heard intel about Levi almost every day.
Things like daring to enter the Dungeon to fight monsters without a Falna, and successfully soloing the Floor Boss Goliath just over a month after becoming an adventurer.
Any one of these things, taken alone, could be written about at length in the taverns of Orario.
But the pale-golden-haired boy seemed to not care about such empty fame at all. If not for the pressure from his own god and Freya, he might have chosen to continue hiding.
To such a guy, Hyakinthos, whose talent could only be considered mid-to-high tier, undoubtedly felt dislike, even hatred.
Adding to that the fact that the other boy had now captured his god's heart…
It was old and new grudges piled together, making him wish he could devour his flesh and drink his blood.
Standing on the other side, Levi, of course, saw the hostile gaze from the Apollo Familia captain.
But he paid it no mind at all.
He simply smiled calmly and said, "In that case, my side won't be looking for any helpers either. It'll be one against six. I hope that tomorrow, your esteemed Familia and the Freya Familia's reinforcements can make me feel a little pressure."
After speaking, he placed one hand on his chest and gave a departing bow to the gods present.
Then, he walked before his lover.
"Hestia, let's go."
"Okay!"
…
"Ah, I'm so mad!"
In the evening, Loki sat at the dinner table, eating with a depressed look on her face.
She had bought some divine wine from the Soma Familia through some channels yesterday and drank herself into a stupor, only waking up an hour ago.
The moment she came downstairs, she heard members of her Familia discussing Hestia's little boyfriend.
Upon asking for details, she was shocked to find that he was already a Lv.4 adventurer.
Not only that, but he had also awakened the 'Mystery' and 'Mixing' Development Abilities.
He had even concocted a sparkling wine that could help adventurers rapidly increase their ability scores, and a Regeneration Wine that could restore the limbs of the disabled.
"If I had known that kid Levi Bright was this amazing, I should have listened to Finn and said a few nice words to Hestia."
"Or, after the War Game was decided, I should have sent Lefiya, Raul, and the others as reinforcements."
Compared to Apollo, who fell for someone new at first sight and even caused quite a bit of trouble, Loki, who had done many bad things in Tenkai, was actually the god who loved her children more.
Her previous choice not to improve her relationship with Hestia was, in the end, simply because Levi's chantless shield magic wasn't important enough for her to cast aside her pride.
—After all, Riveria's 'Dimension Blockade', in terms of damage resistance, was already sufficient for conquering the lower world.
—And there was also Lefiya, who had awakened the 'Elf Ring' magic and could theoretically use the magic of all her elven compatriots, perfectly capable of serving as a secondary support when Riveria was unavailable.
But now, the situation was different.
The Loki Familia was an exploration-type Familia, and besides the Zeus and Hera Familias, they were the ones who most frequently and deeply delved into the Dungeon.
The last two years had actually been fine. Although each expedition caused a large part of the Familia's assets to evaporate, they had ultimately avoided any casualties.
But during the period when the dark factions were rampant, even the Loki Familia had core members die in the Dungeon.
If she had managed to build a good relationship with Hestia beforehand, the Loki Familia could have purchased a large amount of Regeneration Wine at an internal price through their divine friendship. Instead of now, where whether they could even buy it depended on whether Levi was willing to sell.
Thinking of this, Loki felt a bitter wine go down her throat and pain in her heart, and she downed a few more mouthfuls of the wine sold by the Demeter Familia.
Compared to the red-haired, squinty-eyed goddess who was crying and wailing, looking pitiful, the Loki Familia's three leaders—Finn, Riveria, and Gareth, who had also heard about Levi's actions during the day—had faces filled with the joy of winning the lottery.
"Finn, you've really done it this time." Gareth was the first to lose his composure, laughing heartily as he clapped Finn's shoulder.
Riveria also had a smile on her lips: "You really handled this beautifully."
Loki was the god of trickery. Seeing the three leaders looking so overjoyed, how could she not realize? "Wait! Don't tell me you contacted Hestia behind my back?"
Answering her was Finn's faint, silent smile.
As early as the third day after the War Game was confirmed, which was the day after the Apollo Familia, backed by the Freya Familia, paid the 1 billion Valis.
Finn had used his connections with the Hephaestus Familia to personally visit Hestia, stating that the Loki Familia was willing to provide five reinforcements.
He remembered the scene very clearly.
Although it might sound like boasting, the Loki Familia was the strongest Familia in Orario besides the Freya Familia. To be associated with them, the god or captain of an ordinary Familia would probably be jumping for joy.
But Hestia, after hearing him, smiled and declined.
"The mere Apollo Familia, even with reinforcements from the Freya Familia, my Levi doesn't even see them as a threat."
As the captain of the Loki Familia and known as the 'Braver', Finn was certainly no fool.
After returning from Hestia's home, he had actually guessed that Levi's true Falna level was Lv.4 or higher, and he had informed Riveria and Gareth of this discovery. Now, hearing the discussions from the members below, although still surprised, he was more excited about his bet paying off.
From the results, the Loki Familia hadn't actually provided the Hestia Familia with a single shred of help. But Finn's act of "offering a helping hand in their time of need" alone was enough to make many subsequent things fall into place smoothly.
After hearing his recollection of the conversation with Hestia, never mind the other members of the Familia, Loki couldn't help but frown.
"You guys don't think Hestia's little boyfriend isn't actually Lv.4, do you?"
She wasn't referring to Levi falsely reporting a higher level, of course. But the situation where he slightly understated his true Falna level.
As soon as these words were spoken, the once somewhat noisy hall of the Loki Familia's home base fell into silence.
____
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