Demeter's appearance did not affect Levi's date with Hestia and Hephaestus.
For the next two hours or so, the three of them stopped and started as they walked. At one moment they would order a portion of yakisoba, at another they would buy a few fried potato balls, or perhaps taking advantage of the festive atmosphere, they would play a couple of rounds of ring toss and goldfish scooping.
As for the VIP box tickets for the Colosseum sent by the Ganesha Familia inside the invitation letter, Levi had no intention of using them from the very beginning.
He himself was Orario's top-tier adventurer; what interest could there be in watching others fight against Lv.1 and Lv.2 monsters?
Neither Hestia nor Hephaestus were deities who enjoyed bloody scenes. It was better to properly enjoy the festive atmosphere, eat some delicious food, and play some games.
However, while Levi's side was painting a picture of lovey-dovey, blissful happiness, a certain gray-haired Goddess living in Babel became increasingly envious and jealous as she watched.
Ever since she heard that her Odr had returned a week ago, Freya had been itching to run over and meet him immediately.
However, aside from spending some time at the Guild on the first day the Hestia Familia returned, Levi had not even stepped out of the Familia stronghold's main gate for the remaining days.
As the Goddess of Beauty, Freya was used to being free and willful; she actually didn't mind doing things like peeping in the slightest.
But she couldn't overcome the fact that the Divine Mirror she possessed had underlying code set at its creation that prevented it from prying into the internal situations of other deities' strongholds.
No matter how unwilling Freya was in her heart, she could only honestly wait for Levi to walk out of the stronghold himself.
And this wait lasted for ten days.
When she finally managed to catch sight of Odr's figure, she discovered that not only was Hestia following by his side, but even Hephaestus had unknowingly become much more intimate with him.
That was fundamentally the mode of interaction between lovers that she looked forward to the most.
Yet the female lead was that ugly freak, Hephaestus.
"Aaaahhhh!!!!"
"Odr, my Odr~"
"I like you so much, so why are you unwilling to look at me even once?"
Freya lamented and sighed to herself. Until now, this Goddess had still not realized what the biggest chasm lying between her and the person she liked actually was.
Another few minutes passed.
"Ottar."
The gray-haired Goddess calmed down once again.
"I am here."
The Fierce stepped out from the shadows, just as he had in the past.
Freya took a deep breath: "Tell Ishtar that I agree to that plan of hers."
If possible, she naturally hoped to enjoy her Odr all to herself. But since there was no way to obtain him through reasonable means, Freya felt that perhaps she should use some less-than-standard methods.
...
Levi naturally could not know that, in order to become his lover, Freya was even willing to ally with her old rival, Ishtar.
Seeing that the time had reached noon, he gave a light cough: "I booked a restaurant box seat over at Babel. If we go now, we should arrive just in time."
Hestia and Hephaestus exchanged a smile upon hearing this: "Then let's go."
Both Goddesses had somewhat homebody personalities, and Levi himself had a pile of things to be busy with. Originally, the plan was to return to the stronghold to rest after eating lunch. After all, they had played enough during the morning.
However, on the way to the restaurant, whether due to the correction force of destiny or some other reason, the three of them unexpectedly encountered a monster escape incident.
"Gyaaaahhh!!!!"
A Silverback roared as it rushed out from a neighboring alley, leaping into the crowd not far ahead.
Raising its right hand, intending to sweep across, it looked like it was about to cause massive casualties.
In the next instant, however, a white-haired young boy closely followed the Silverback, blocking the path between it and the crowd. Holding a dagger and a short blade, he blocked the opponent's attack.
—Clang!
This white-haired boy should only be Lv.1, and his various Ability Stats couldn't be considered high. Precisely because of this, although he prevented mass casualties among the crowd, he himself was sent flying by the impact.
However, just as he was about to hit the wall, a layer of Ice Element Shield suddenly appeared over his body.
—Bang!
"Bell!"
Shakti ran out from the alley. Seeing her squad member nearly get injured, she shouted subconsciously.
"Captain, I'm fine."
The white-haired boy, or rather Bell, fell from the wall which had cracked upon impact. While responding like this, he continued to charge toward the Silverback.
The latter was also clearly having its entire attention drawn by the little pipsqueak before it.
"Gyaaaahhh!!!!" Howling, it disregarded everything else and continued to launch attacks.
Whatever Orario's adventurers might be like in the dark, when exposed on the surface, they would still honestly abide by the numerous principles established by the Guild. Among them included the point that one must not casually fight over another's prey.
After Bell became the first to initiate combat with the Silverback, the other adventurers present at the scene—including Levi—stepped back a few paces one after another, clearing the field.
Levi, however, added an extra operation of casting shields on the onlookers at the scene.
This way, even if Bell failed to challenge the Silverback, with his shields blocking, no casualties would occur in the aftermath.
However, should it be said that he was worthy of being the protagonist from the anime of the previous life?
Even though he had been intercepted by Levi and hadn't met Hestia, the white-haired boy who had joined who-knows-which Familia nowadays still displayed impressive combat power.
No, strictly discussing combat techniques, he might be even stronger than himself during the same period in the anime.
Within merely three exchanges, Bell evolved from being easily knocked away by the Silverback to slowly being able to use skillful force to block the latter's attacks, and even manage to counterattack himself.
And by the fourth time.
With only the sound of a "Squelch," a short blade was thrust straight into the position of the Silverback's chest where the Magic Stone was hidden.
In the next instant, its entire body turned into black ash and mist, dissipating on the spot.
Seeing the battle end, the onlookers offered their applause one after another.
"Well done, kid!"
"Beautifully fought!"
"Very handsome~"
Bell, surrounded in the center by the crowd, scratched the back of his head, a green and inexperienced smile appearing on his face.
"Thank you." "It's what I should do." "Sorry, it was originally a mistake by our Ganesha Familia while transporting the monsters that led to this thrilling scene."
Unlike the white-haired boy who was accepting everyone's praise, on the other side, Shakti found Levi.
"Lord Levi, good afternoon." The blue-haired woman placed one hand over her chest. "Additionally, thank you for the support you just provided to my bratty kid."
"You are too polite, Captain Shakti." Levi's tone was gentle. As he spoke, he glanced at the original anime protagonist in the distance. "That child of your family named 'Bell' looks like he has pretty good aptitude."
"Him? He's still far from it," Shakti retorted like this, but as she spoke, she carried a trace of a smile on her face.
Clearly, knowing more about the intelligence regarding Bell Cranel's Falna, she agreed with Levi's statement from the bottom of her heart.
_____
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