Chapter 10: Orario's Wild King Loki!
Pushing open the door of the abandoned underground warehouse and walking up a staircase covered in spiderwebs, the human and elf finally emerged from underground to the surface!
Orario's Sixth District—the Trading District!
Also the location of the famous Hero's Bridge!
The exit of the secret passage Freya told Ryuu and Keyaru about wasn't in the Sixth District's bustling commercial streets, but in an abandoned wooden house not far from Hero's Bridge.
Emerging from the wooden house, Keyaru coughed heavily several times.
While Level 4 Ryuu could ignore the dust or hold her breath, Keyaru clearly couldn't manage that yet...
The bright moonlight cast silver sorrow over the already desolate street.
But neither Ryuu nor Keyaru were the type to be moved by scenery, especially the eager Miss Ryuu.
As if seeing through the elf's thoughts, Keyaru couldn't help but tease:
"Miss Ryuu doesn't look like she's carrying any valis now..."
"Coincidentally, this is Orario's Sixth District, the Trading District!"
"All sorts of shady slave traders, all kinds of people selling prohibited items—in Miss Ryuu's eyes right now, they probably look like sweet treats!"
Because of Keyaru's words, Ryuu couldn't help but blush.
These things were better left unspoken!
And she was only planning to manage for one night anyway. Tomorrow she would... leave this lustful god's follower to his own devices!
Ignoring Keyaru, the slightly annoyed Miss Ryuu headed straight for Hero's Bridge, her target... the free market of the exchange across Hero's Bridge!
Keyaru looked at the tsundere elf and shook his head, then followed closely behind Ryuu like a little tail...
...
The cold night breeze... stirred a slight chill.
Under the desolate and bleak nightscape, the Hero's Bridge was shrouded in a solemn and murderous atmosphere beneath countless dignified stone statues of heroes.
The tide beneath the bridge seemed unusually active tonight, as if celebrating something!
The two current focal points of Orario were crossing the bridge one after the other.
However...
From behind a stone statue of a hero pointing his sword toward the sky, an artificially theatrical female voice suddenly emerged.
"Do you two know who this statue represents?"
"Who's there?!"
Ryuu, in her heightened state of alertness, immediately attacked toward the source of the voice. The other party seemed unprepared for Ryuu's decisiveness. Just as she was about to say something, the green-haired elf's fair, clenched fist—large as a sandbag—swung toward her.
"Ah!!"
"Little elf, I was wrong!"
"I won't put on airs anymore!"
"Ah!!!!"
"Madam, come control your kin, anyone, save me!"
A series of hysterical screams sent shivers down Keyaru's spine. Finally, under the cover of night, both Keyaru and Ryuu got a clear look at the poor soul who had been thoroughly thrashed.
The crimson-haired goddess was now in a state—not only was her hair red, but her eyes were swollen and red too.
All the pretentious mystique she had hidden in the shadows was gone. The red-haired goddess squinted, though a trace of pitifulness was faintly visible.
"You're too ruthless, Miss Elf!"
"You almost beat me to death..."
"But one thing deserves mention—those fair, delicate hands are really something～"
"Hehehe!"
Pain and pleasure simultaneously appeared on the red-haired goddess's face, leaving Ryuu and Keyaru with only one feeling—utter confusion!
"Goddess Loki!?" X2
"Hmph, you've got some knowledge. That's right, it's me, Loki!"
Having read DanMachi, Keyaru knew that Loki had incredible luck and intuition that was absurdly accurate. But to have ambushed him and Ryuu in advance at the Hero's Bridge—no matter how you looked at it, this was just too unbelievable...
Noticing Keyaru's confusion, Loki dropped her playful demeanor. Her perpetually squinted eyes opened, and supreme Divine Authority swirled within them...
"Little Keyaru, let me explain it to you!"
"This time, just like that perverted goddess, I was completely played by your former deity..."
"Who would have thought that the infamous Evil God of Heaven, along with that goddess Freya, could be manipulated so easily by an unknown minor deity?"
"As the God of Mischief, I have to admit—both Freya and I have utterly lost!"
"That guy staked everything he had in the lower world, all to write the opening script for you, little Keyaru... As for the rest of the story, in his words, it's up to you to decide!"
"He told me about his grand gamble, so why I'm here now—I believe you already understand, don't you, little Keyaru?"
"Though it's regrettable, I must say this: facing a deranged, perverted goddess, only my Familia can stop her!"
"Little Keyaru, I believe you wouldn't want..."
Just as Loki was about to complete that classic threat, Keyaru raised his hands in surrender. There was no other choice—Loki truly was the best option right now...
Today, Freya had indeed conceded defeat to the god Asmodeus and released him honorably after losing the bet. But what about tomorrow? The day after?
Keyaru had no desire to return to that pitch-black basement...
He needed to secure a powerful ally. Though the great gods Ouranos, Hephaestus, and the Ganesha Familia possessed the strength to resist the Freya Familia, these three Familia might not necessarily accept him...
After all, these three gods knew nothing of Asmodeus' grand gamble!
Unable to gauge Keyaru's potential, they would never risk offending Freya by taking him in—not even Ganesha, the "God of the Masses."
The other party would prioritize maintaining the city's stability above all else...
Looking at it this way, although Asmodeus had said he could freely choose any Familia, in the end, Loki remained the only viable option...
One could only say...
It was all Syr's fault!
"Then I'll be in your care from now on, Goddess Loki!"
"However, there's one thing I need to make clear upfront!"
Having recruited another member with potentially sky-breaking potential, a pleased Loki waved her hand grandly.
"Tell me everything!"
"Even if you want a day trip to the Pleasure Quarter, I can afford it!"
Glancing at the composed Loki, Keyaru pointed at the empty stone platform opposite the great hero Albert, puzzling her.
"Little Keyaru, do you want to become the Final Hero? Not bad, I approve!"
Seeing that Loki had misunderstood his meaning, Keyaru thought of his silent promise with Asmodeus and shook his head.
"I'm not interested in being the Final Hero..."
"But if I were on that stone platform, some things would be different. Think about who surrounds the hero, Loki!"
Her mind racing, just as Ryuu remained confused, Loki suddenly realized something. Remembering Asmodeus' divine authority, her heart pounded heavily twice.
"My Ais-chan, my Mama-san, my Lefiya... Damn it! You naturally wicked little pervert under Asmodeus, I'll personally...!"