"Haimer-sama must be joking."
"Although you indeed may not have the intention to blow up the Babel Tower right now."
"However—"
"Ganesha-sama has specifically instructed me."
"Your descent exceeded the expectations of all Gods."
"You are a God who will bring tremendous changes to the structure of the Lower World."
"Coupled with the particular nature of your Divinity."
"For someone possessing such traits as yourself, out of safety considerations, we attach high importance to this; investing in security is necessary."
After saying this, Shakti even performed a standard bow.
Her attitude was respectful, her tone sincere; one could not pick out the slightest fault.
It was simply textbook-level official diplomatic language.
Using the most polite attitude to say the toughest words.
In those blue eyes, a near-stubborn persistence was clearly written—knowing it might be wrong, but doing it anyway because it is the mission.
This kind of person is the most difficult to deal with.
Facing this posture of hoisting the banner of "for your own good" and "safety first"...
If one were to get angry, it would instead make one appear unreasonable.
But Haimer was long tired of hearing this bureaucratic jargon.
Safety considerations?
Attach high importance?
Anyone can say pretty words.
Thinking of this, Haimer flipped his wrist.
The long spear in his hand dropped vertically.
Thud—!
A dull, loud sound.
The tail of the spear instantly sank into the hard stone pavement, penetrating three inches deep!
Centered on the spear's tail, a circle of fine, dense spiderweb cracks blossomed on the ground.
"!"
Once this move was made, Shakti's voice came to an abrupt halt.
Her body, which had been maintaining a standard standing posture, also showed obvious tension.
This commotion also startled the adventurers who had originally been pricking up their ears to eavesdrop nearby.
...
As a God, Haimer naturally did not want to be slapped with various labels when he had only crossed over less than two months ago and hadn't done anything yet.
Especially this feeling of being treated as a potential criminal; it was truly unpleasant.
If one were to talk about misdeeds...
Loki had even instigated the Gods to kill each other in the Heavens.
Moreover, this wasn't the Heavens.
It was the Lower World.
If he had actually done something bad in the Lower World and gotten caught, then he would naturally have nothing to say.
But the problem now was!
He hadn't been caught.
So why was he being labeled?
This was a major problem!
Haimer would not accept all of this just because the banner of "for your own good" and "safety first" was raised.
Therefore, Haimer forcibly interrupted Shakti, giving her no chance to continue speaking.
Then he tilted his head, signaling Shakti to look around.
Here.
——This was Orario's North Main Street.
It could be said to be one of the few most prosperous districts in the entire Orario.
Now, the originally bustling crowd had already left a vacuum circle ten meters in diameter because of the two of them.
No one dared to approach.
But countless pairs of eyes were still standing outside this vacuum circle, paying attention to everything happening here.
...
"Look at the eyes of these people, Captain Shakti."
"What do you think they are thinking?"
"'Look, a God is being stared at by the Captain of the Military Police; he must have committed a crime.'"
"'Even the Captain of the Ganesha Familia has been mobilized; this God is definitely a dangerous element.'"
"'Maybe he's an Evil God preparing to blood-sacrifice Orario some day.'"
With every sentence Haimer spoke, a few people in the crowd shrank their necks as if their tails had been stepped on.
Obviously, this was not unfounded.
Due to special reasons, Evil Gods had always been a taboo in Orario.
Shakti Varma, as the "Labyrinth City Military Police" —— the Captain of the [Ganesha Familia].
Every time she appeared fully armed, in the eyes of these citizens and adventurers living in the Labyrinth City, it meant —— official intervention.
—— Violent suppression.
—— A red line that absolutely must not be touched.
It meant that riots, brawls, or vicious incidents requiring violent suppression had occurred.
Over time, the appearance of Shakti + Fully Armed formed an extremely deep stereotype in the hearts of these citizens and adventurers living in the Labyrinth City.
To adapt to the complex and ever-changing environment, the human brain protects itself by evolving an efficient mechanism.
—— Namely, labeling thinking.
Simplifying information through stereotypes, quickly categorizing complex individuals into fixed categories to reduce brain load and improve judgment and decision-making speed.
From this, a complete formula can be derived.
Shakti + Fully Armed = Danger nearby.
However.
Shakti + Fully Armed ≠ She is the danger.
Then who is the danger?
Naturally, it is her target.
Thus, the answer is obvious.
Myself = Shakti + Fully Armed's target = Danger.
A wolf wearing a sheepskin is still a wolf.
"..."
Facing Haimer's accusation just now, Shakti also fell into silence.
Her heroic and striking eyebrows furrowed slightly, squeezing out a shallow furrow between them.
On that face known for being upright and rigorous, obvious conflict appeared.
After all, thinking about it this way...
She was fully armed, wearing a set of standard armor representing public authority, wearing specially made metal gauntlets, and following five steps behind a God from another Familia who was holding a long spear.
This kind of behavior was indeed labeling Haimer as extremely dangerous in a roundabout way.
If things went wrong, it would really cause a serious impact on this God's reputation in the Lower World, just as he said.
However, even if Shakti acknowledged this logic in her heart, it did not mean her original stance would change because of it.
After all, as the Captain of the "Labyrinth City Military Police" —— the [Ganesha Familia], entrusted by the Guild to maintain order in Orario.
Shakti had seen too many incidents causing massive casualties because Gods satisfied their own selfish desires!
—— The Great Feud period.
Within just one day, several Gods were forcibly sent back to the Heavens!
Ultimately causing over thirty thousand casualties among adventurers and civilians!
It shocked the entire Orario.
Those bloody casualty numbers sealed in the Orario Guild archives constantly reminded her.
Of these Gods in the Lower World, count them one by one.
Even if they look harmless to humans and animals usually, the willfulness unique to Gods still flows in their bones.
Therefore, the one standing in front of her now.
—— The Scourge of War.
Even her own main God, Ganesha-sama, had a tone more solemn than ever before when instructing her on matters regarding this God.
Facing such a God, Shakti had to remain vigilant.
Moreover, her original plan was actually to observe in secret from the start.
Just like monitoring a suspicious target.
But after Ganesha-sama found out, he specifically emphasized:
"It is not difficult for keen Gods to discover others tracking them. Furthermore, peeping on Gods of other Familias without permission is a great taboo; once exposed, it will inevitably cause even greater disputes."
The rules between Gods are very subtle.
Only a God can deal with a God.
And precisely because of this, to avoid causing unnecessary disputes and bringing trouble to the Ganesha Familia, Shakti chose the safest method Ganesha urged.
—— Active close protection.
As long as she was there, if this God wanted to pull any little tricks, he would have some scruples more or less.
It's just that looking at it now...
The side effects of this approach seemed even greater than anticipated.
Shakti shifted her line of sight slightly.
Her gaze swept over those passersby who were pointing at this side.
Those voices that were originally whispering unscrupulously... upon noticing Shakti's sharp gaze sweeping over, it was like ducks having their necks throttled by an invisible hand.
With a quack, they stopped abruptly.
A few timid ones were even scared into retreating several steps, almost stepping on the feet of the people behind them.
...
This reaction further confirmed Haimer's words just now.
Thus, after re-weighing things in her heart, Shakti turned those blue eyes back to Haimer.
"I am very sorry, Haimer-sama. As you said, this stalemate indeed causes a great impact on your reputation."
"I understand your distress."
"Causing an impact on you is indeed the result of my lack of consideration."
"Regarding this point, I cannot refute it."
Speaking to this point, Shakti bowed slightly, frankly admitting her mistake.
"However."
"Regarding this point, I really cannot compromise; it is still a matter of necessity."
"No matter how you protest, I must ensure your whereabouts are within a controllable range."
"But..."
"To make up for my negligence, and also to make corresponding compensation to you..."
Shakti paused, then changed the subject.
"I am willing to swear to you in the name of the Captain of the [Ganesha Familia] that all your expenses in Orario today will be fully borne by us, the [Ganesha Familia]."
"At the same time, tomorrow, I will discuss a better compensation method with Ganesha-sama."
"But please allow me to set aside my identity as a Military Police officer for today."
"I will accompany you side-by-side merely with the identity of an ordinary adventurer, a guide."
"In this way, it will also be convenient for me to pay for all your expenses this time."
"What do you think of this?"
"All expenses paid by your Familia?"
"Yes."
"..."
Haimer raised an eyebrow, thinking of that dilapidated two-story building.
____
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