Only a few dozen minutes ago.
Back when the scene from the Denatus was still replaying over and over in Apollo's mind, torturing his nerves.
All of this, in his view, had still been within a controllable range.
He had even, with utter decisiveness, already made up his mind.
To hell with the anti-Haimer alliance.
To hell with the turf grab.
Those idiots who didn't even grasp the gravity of the situation, madwomen like Ishtar—let her just go and die on her own.
He, Apollo, would absolutely, absolutely, absolutely never provoke that evil god again, not even a fraction. What's more—
In just those few dozen minutes, he had already drafted the whole thing in his head, composing a personal letter with beautiful phrasing brimming with feeling, deliberating whether to imitate Demeter and send over some generous gifts to curry favor with Haimer, all in order to save his own skin.
The result.
Half an hour ago.
One of his Familia members. A "Pessimist," Cassandra Ilion.
Came scrambling all the way into the study at a trot, reporting to him what had happened at the East Gate that very morning.
Cassandra was so frightened her shoulders trembled uncontrollably, her voice thick with sobs as she spoke.
"Lord Apollo, this is bad! Captain Hyacinthus…"
"Captain Hyacinthus led people to block off the East Gate! And he even directed his men to deliberately overturn the supply cart that was about to enter the Demeter Familia's base!"
In that instant.
Apollo felt as if all the blood in his body had been drained dry in one go.
The color drained clean from his face in a single swipe.
And then, just like now, he collapsed into a heap of mush, sprawled flat across the desk.
"Hyacinthus, you fool…"
Apollo dug all ten fingers deep into his golden hair.
In the quiet study, his shattered muttering echoed.
He tugged hard at his scalp, his fingernails nearly clawing bloody marks into it, as if only this clear, sharp pain could tell him that he was still alive.
After all, even though he was a god, if he were truly killed in the Lower World, the worst that would happen was that his Divine Power would preserve his soul, forcibly dispel his mortal disguise, trigger the rules, and return him to the Heavens. But the problem was.
Haimer could go back too.
Not to mention, the Heavens were that lunatic's turf.
He had gone through so much to come down to the Lower World, and had won himself years of peace here.
Honestly, if he dared to roll back up there now.
The moment Haimer was in a bad mood, he'd casually slaughter some god in Orario and have him carry a message back to the Heavens.
Those fellows up in the Heavens who had long since been wagging their tails at Haimer like dogs would absolutely strip him naked on the spot, string him up by the ankles, and toss him into the churning rapids of the Divine River.
Letting those bone-chilling waters scour him mercilessly for ten thousand years!
"Hyacinthus…" "What on earth were you thinking…"
"Are you trying to get me killed?"
At that thought, Apollo squeezed his eyes shut tight, as if once more seeing that ghastly scene of himself being scoured by the Divine River in the Heavens.
As for the other side. The perspective shifts back to the upscale residential district.
Haimer carried in his hand a long, narrow object bound up tight and sealed in thick waterproof tarpaulin.
He reached out and pushed open the mansion's front door.
In the hall.
Narukami Koharu sat cross-legged on the carpet, a piece of felt cloth in her hand, carefully wiping down the old blade she had brought over from her original world.
Inaba Tsukuyo sat on the single-seat sofa beside her, a cup of black tea in her hand, taking small sips, thin wisps of white steam rising above the teacup.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the two of them lifted their heads at the same time.
Haimer walked over and set the heavy bundle in his hand directly onto the low table in front of Narukami Koharu.
The tarpaulin fell open, revealing the pure black scabbard inside, and the dark red silk cord wound around it.
"From now on, use this weapon."
Hearing this. The hand with which Narukami Koharu gripped the felt cloth stopped at the blade's edge.
In that instant—
Within those signature slit eyes of hers, an eerie, sharp light abruptly blazed to life.
Almost instinctively. She tossed the old blade that had accompanied her for years carelessly aside.
Her gaze, as if it had taken root, fixed itself dead-still onto that murderous object still lying within its scabbard.
She was like a savage beast trapped in a cage, starved for a full three days, suddenly catching the scent of fresh, scalding blood.
Narukami Koharu didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Her arm shot out fiercely, precisely grasping the hilt. "Chang." A very faint clang of metal singing against metal rippled through the hall.
Narukami Koharu's thumb pressed expertly against the guard and shoved hard.
The keen blade instantly slid more than half an inch out of the scabbard's mouth.
As the deep-black blade met the air, a gloomy, cold gleam that thrust straight at one's throat flowed along the edge.
"What gorgeous lines."
Narukami Koharu stared at that sliver of frigid light and praised it from the bottom of her heart. Then. The muscles of her right arm suddenly went taut, and she yanked it out hard.
The pure black murder-blade named 『Bloodcry』 left the scabbard entirely. The full form of the long, slender, elegantly upright blade was revealed without reservation.
It pressed a genuine, solid weight into Narukami Koharu's palm, yet as she adjusted her breathing, she couldn't detect the faintest hint of cumbersomeness.
Narukami Koharu twisted her wrist.
She spun off two light, deft blade-flourishes in a row, testing the center of gravity.
That grip fit her palm so perfectly it was like an extension of her own arm.
It instantly made Narukami Koharu arch her eyebrows in delight. And so. She held the long blade reversed in a single hand.
Barefoot, she strode out of the hall in a few steps, walking straight into the courtyard at the center of the mansion. The next second. Narukami Koharu stamped her right foot fiercely against the ground, driving power from her waist. "Swish—"
"Swish—" The blade tore through the air, letting out a sharp shriek.
After a few consecutive twists of the wrist and swings. Narukami Koharu halted her movements, looked at the blade in her hand, licked her lips in satisfaction, and the corners of her mouth split open, revealing that signature shark-toothed grin.
"This blade is better than every blade I've ever used before. It's practically forged specifically for killing people." Hearing these words of Narukami Koharu's.
Haimer looked at her figure standing in the central courtyard, lost in thought.
If Tsubaki heard that appraisal, she'd probably feel she was being casually framed, and get quite a fright. But then. Come to think of it, killing monsters didn't seem all that different from killing people.
Both were cutting open flesh and blood, snapping bones.
The meaning of a tool depends, always and only, on where the one wielding it takes aim.
As for now, Inaba Tsukuyo had already come to stand quietly at Haimer's side, holding her half-finished black tea.
Though both her eyes were shut tight, the unrestrained edge of killing intent in the courtyard still left her helplessly heaving a sigh.
"Elder Sister, just testing the balance is enough."
"Don't get so excited you chop the laurel tree in the courtyard down by the roots."
Inaba Tsukuyo cautioned in a low voice.
"No need for you to fret over that. You think I'm some brainless idiot with a broken head?"
Narukami Koharu shrugged, not particularly grateful for her younger sister's admonition. Then. She flicked her wrist lightly inward. With a crisp "kah," the blade guard bit precisely and flawlessly against the edge of the scabbard.
At the same time. Right at this critical juncture. Outside the mansion's tightly shut front door. "Knock, knock." From outside the mansion's front door came the sound of knocking.
"It's Captain Shakti."
Inaba Tsukuyo set the porcelain cup in her hand onto the shelf beside the corridor.
She turned her head slightly, facing the direction where Haimer was, and reported.
Relying on the perception of her [Mind's Eye], she needed only to listen to the subtle gravity of footsteps landing and the distinctive texture of armor rubbing together, and she could distinguish the visitor's identity.
"Open the door." "Yes, Kami-sama."
Having received permission, Inaba Tsukuyo walked to the front door, hooked both hands into the bronze rings, and pulled it inward.
Bright light poured into the hall along the crack of the door.
Standing outside the threshold was precisely the captain of the [Ganesha Familia] who had come to discuss matters a few hours earlier, Shakti Varma.
Only, unlike in the morning.
This time, behind Shakti followed six fully armed elite Constables of the [Ganesha Familia].
Uniformly clad in light armor, wielding halberds.
This formation was clearly not here for tea and idle chatter.
Seeing Inaba Tsukuyo, who had pulled the door open.
Shakti gave a simple nod of her chin, counting it as a greeting. However. Just as Inaba Tsukuyo stepped back half a pace to leave a path for her to enter the hall.
Yet after Shakti walked into the hall, when her gaze fell upon Narukami Koharu, who was still carrying a blade in hand, her steps noticeably faltered. After all.
As a Lv.5 first-class adventurer, captain of the [Ganesha Familia], the "Chief Constable of the Labyrinth City," and someone who had weathered the baptism of countless major incidents in Orario.
Shakti's intuition could be called quite keen. Therefore.
When she saw this unfamiliar face with slit eyes and the remnants of a shark-toothed grin still at the corners of its mouth.
Shakti could feel that the aura radiating from Narukami Koharu clearly made her extremely uncomfortable.
She felt as though she were sharing a room with a venomous snake lying in wait.
Where had Haimer dug up yet another monster this time?
This doubt rose in Shakti's heart.
After all, as the "Chief Constable of the Labyrinth City," Shakti had, regarding the personnel of the [Haimer Familia].
Previously pulled and reviewed their household registrations.
But the past life trajectories of this band of girls simply could not be verified.
There were no entry certificates whatsoever, nor any ticket records of past stays anywhere.
It was all as if they had sprung up out of thin air.
But even so.
Shakti quickly cut off her own line of extended thought.
Prying into the secrets of the gods was unwise at any time.
What's more, the one standing before her was an evil god.
"Let's go, Miss Shakti. We'll head to Apollo's place."
Haimer said, looking at Shakti.
"Yes." Since she had already made one trip that morning, Shakti had long since been mentally prepared—otherwise she wouldn't have brought these six elites along. She nodded, not saying a single word of nonsense. She turned and walked toward the doorway, making a hand signal to the six Constables outside.
The squad swiftly fell into orderly formation.
At this, Inaba Tsukuyo too silently stepped forward, taking the initiative to stand half a pace behind Haimer.
Her hand rested naturally on the hilt of her blade, entering a combat-ready state.
"Let's go too, Elder Sister."
Inaba Tsukuyo urged aloud.
"I heard you, no need to be yelling and hollering over there."
At these words, Narukami Koharu, unimpressed, propped the long blade across her shoulder and followed along. Elder Sister?
So. This unfamiliar face with shark teeth and monstrous slit eyes was actually Inaba Tsukuyo's blood relative?
Hearing this exchange between the two, Shakti and the six elite Constables on the periphery all cast an obscure, complicated glance their way. After all.
The [Haimer Familia], whose newcomers, mere days after completing the baptism of God's Grace.
Had broken straight through to Lv.2—their reputation had long since spread through the taverns of Orario.
As one of the members of the [Haimer Familia], second only to Amou Kirukiru who could go toe-to-toe in a melee with monsters.
Inaba Tsukuyo's fame could hardly be called low.
Such a powerful blind swordswoman—her elder sister… just what kind of terrifying strength must she possess?
Her thoughts reaching this point, Shakti withdrew her gaze with a complicated feeling and continued to lead the way.
At this. The group walked out of the mansion and set foot on the main road leading to the southwest street.
The moment this procession appeared on the street.
The surrounding atmosphere instantly changed.
Haimer walked at the very front. That black long-form formal coat on him swayed lightly in the breeze.
To his left was Narukami Koharu, carrying the pure black murder-blade, a shark-toothed grin hanging at the corner of her mouth.
To his right was Inaba Tsukuyo, cold in temperament, her hand pressed to the hilt of her blade.
Behind them were the fully armed, solemn-faced Shakti, along with the six elite Constables of the Ganesha Familia.
This lineup was truly far too eye-catching.
The originally bustling crowd, packed with peddlers and adventurers.
The moment they saw Haimer's face, and the Constable squad following behind him, immediately became like a startled flock of sheep.
They swiftly retreated to either side, forcibly opening up on the crowded street a passage wide enough for a carriage to gallop through. After all, when it came down to it.
For the marginalized folk.
The rigid ladder of ranks pressed down on everyone's heart.
In a place of such absolute survival-of-the-fittest, staying far away from calamity was by far the wiser move compared to trying to resist.
"Is that… Lord Haimer?"
"And Lady Shakti of the Ganesha Familia?" Hushed whispers began to emerge from the crowd.
Very soon, someone noticed Narukami Koharu walking on the left.
"Come to think of it, who's that short girl standing next to the 'Pale Cherry Demon'? I've never seen her before."
Squeezed into the crowd beneath the eaves, the slightly bolder ones had already begun to murmur in low voices.
A young half-elf with a wooden bow slung at his waist pointed at the short-haired girl carrying the black blade, walking beside Haimer.
"He's done for."
Suddenly, a burly adventurer beside him with a greatsword on his back muttered under his breath.
The person next to him glanced at him, face full of confusion: "What's done for? Don't go playing the riddle-man over there."
"The Apollo Familia is done for this time."
Word always spreads fast within adventurer circles.
The matter of the Apollo Familia provoking the Constable squad at the East Gate this morning had long since spread across half of Orario.
Now, seeing this newly appointed Special-License Constable bringing the Constable captain of the [Ganesha Familia] out onto the street together, bristling with killing intent.
Someone immediately connected these two matters together.
That greatsword-bearing adventurer swallowed a mouthful of saliva and pointed at the back of Haimer, walking at the very front.
"The matter this morning where the Apollo Familia's captain deliberately went and flipped over Lady Demeter's transport cart at the East Gate—haven't you all heard about it?"
"The Denatus just barely ended, and he goes and stirs up this kind of disaster on purpose."
"Now look at this display." "The Constable and the Chief Constable appearing at the same time." "This is clearly the posture of someone heading off to hold the Apollo Familia accountable."
The moment these words were out. The air all around abruptly froze.
After all, at this moment the passersby all around had genuinely sensed it too.
This display was clearly not one of going to reason things out.
____
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