Denatus, it was a meeting held by the gods in Orario every three months.
The only deities allowed to attend the meeting were those who had proven that they could thrive even under the limitations of the lower world.
Then, which quality would be used to measure the worthiness of entering Denatus?
The answer was simple.
It was the strength of their followers.
Only those who managed to guide and raise their followers to the next level would be considered worthy.
The deities who sat in this exalted meeting of the gods commanded the loyalty of exceptional warriors from the lower world.
And in this very Denatus, the gods were in a great tumult as they continued to witness the heartless action of a single goddess.
Her words were a cruel punishment inflicted on the minds of weaker lesser deities.
"Please, Hel-sama! I beg you! Give the other gods a chance to name my child!" A single god cried out as he groveled before the goddess of death.
"My Laura is only fourteen! She acts tough, but she is just a delicate girl inside! Please spare her at least!"
"Umu, I see the affection you hold for your children is true. She must be truly precious to you."
The god's visage turned bright for a second, expecting mercy from the goddess in front of him. "R-right! That's why-"
"Rest assured that I shall give it my all for her second name." The goddess of death spoke solemnly to the prostrating god, crushing his hope in an instant.
"Hear my words, I am the dead, the dark, the silence. I am Hel."
"Ya-yamero…" The god wailed in despair.
"Yameroooooooooo!"
"Thus I bestow upon your child this designation: Nightmare Clarent [Thundering Cruel Lightning of Distant Paradise]. I pray that your child will continue to shine as she lives up to her new name."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! LAURAAA!!!!!!!"
Ignoring the crying god, Hermes, the host of the current Denatus, spoke up from his podium.
"Okay, then the adventurer Laura Isbel will be dubbed Nightmare Clarent henceforth. Any objection?"
""None thus."" The deities echoed as one, hammering the final nail to the coffin containing Laura Isbel's human dignity.
"CURSE YOU ALL TO HELL!"
As soon as the cursing god was dragged back to his seat, the meeting moved on.
That was right.
The Denatus Naming Ceremony was a lawless and cruel space made to entertain the deities who had accumulated their stress at the expense of newbie gods and adventurers' dignity.
The alias given to the adventurers from small familias would always be a disappointing name with a hidden insulting meaning or purposely verbose to the point of being cringe-worthy.
The irony of it was the fact that the mortals viewed these names as something grand while their deities could only stay silent as they received emotional damage from hearing the names.
Perhaps the only exception was the goddess of death and her champion, who had mastered the language of gods.
The one who would receive the damage in that particular case would be the champion alone. Unaware of that fact, the goddess of death waited impatiently for her champion's name to be brought to the table.
"My, my, you are in quite a spirited mood today, Miss Hel." Demeter, the goddess of harvest, giggled as Hel made a satisfied nod beside her.
"How many names has it been now?"
"Twelve, I think." Astraea, the goddess of justice, answered from Hel's other side. "See, there are twelve crying gods and goddesses now."
"Ah, it is quite easy to tell from that." Demeter mused. "I feel quite bad for them."
"Fufu, but as far as it goes, this is just harmless fun." Astraea said, smiling softly. "If they truly make a name that tramples upon our children's honor, then I promise that I will step in without fail."
Hel ignored the conversation going on above her head and simply stared motionlessly at Hermes, silently edging the host of Denatus to continue the meeting.
Noticing the silent pressure on his person, Hermes quickly finished up the renaming of Ishtar familia captain and moved on to the last item on the list.
"Okay everyone, it's time for the last on our list!" Hermes shouted over the bored and tired looks of the deities.
"Keep it up, people. We can wrap this up in just a bit."
"Oh, Miss Hel. It seems that the next one will be Mister Glutton's turn." Demeter said as she turned the file in her hands.
Just like she said, Gin's portrait, along with the bio compiled by the guild personnel, was on the next page.
"The last one is Gin Hvergel! This boy is from Hel's familia and... Hmm? Oya oya?" Hermes reread the file in his hand for a while before laughing out loud.
"He leveled up in eight and a half months? Seriously!? Hahaha! A new [Record Holder] this soon?"
It only took the mention of a new [Record Holder] to send the meeting into a frenzy. All the deities quickly turned from bored to intrigued in an instant.
They rapidly went through the file and opened the section describing the Hel Familia captain.
"Wait, for real!?"
"It's true! Oi, it's written here that the dude's an archer!" Another god pointed out the fact to the one next to him, prompting the few uninterested deities to join in the fray.
"His grand feat is-"
"Soloing an Infant Dragon!? As level 1 and an archer on top of that! Wait, what the fuck is this kid!?"
"It ain't something so impossible. Calm down you people." Loki waved her hand nonchalantly.
The other deities turned toward her in an instant.
Being the goddess of the strongest familia in Orario had its perks. "After all, that Gin is personally taught by my Riveria."
"He's [Nine Hell] student? That's quite a prestigious upbringing."
"She is the strongest mage around. So the kid just got lucky by landing a nice teacher?"
"Ah, a private session with a beautiful older high-elf. That kid's living the dream, huh?"
That information brought out another wave of arguments among the gods.
Some quickly accepted Gin's unusual performance and credited it to Nine Hell's skilled mentoring, while others who could read between the lines took notice of Loki's real purpose.
Gin Hvergel was under the protection of Loki familia. Anyone who tried to poach him would be an idiot who bit more than they could chew.
One of them was direct enough to voice her thoughts on the matter.
"Hmm? That didn't make sense, Loki. Why would Nine Hell, no, why would you take in a member of a different familia?" Ishtar, the reigning queen of the entertainment district, sent a coy, almost insulting look to the goddess of mischief.
"Is your familia opening a school for adventurers? Or perhaps it's just the taste of that high-elf?"
Loki's eyes narrowed at the obvious insult in her words. "Hee… you've got some guts implying shits about my familia, eh? Whore?"
Even the spats between the two powerful goddesses didn't abate the flame of curiosity from the other gods.
They read his file closely, trying to find more information on the new [Record Holder].
"Oh, I've seen him before. Isn't he the one that goes around hopping from restaurant to restaurant every night?" One goddess said to the one beside her. "He is quite well known in the 8th district."
"Ah, the rumored [Binge Eater]? I heard that any restaurant that can't keep up with his demand is shunned in the cooking world."
"Restaurant? Big Eater? Hey, isn't this the bastard that flirted around with that elf before!? Oi you lot, it's the one from the Hostess of Fertility!"
A god rallied his mates, spreading the flame of hatred and jealously directed at the mortal for the sin of probably getting some.
"That shitty riajuu!? Curse him! On top of landing a hot elf babe and a high-elf mentor, he is also a [Record Holder]! Damn him, damn him to hell!"
"Hel presence here is his fault then? Haha… Exodius, [Ultimate Forbidden Lord] won't happen if he didn't level up…" One of the previously crying goddesses whispered listlessly, but her words echoed among those with the same fate as her.
"No, I don't want this. My cutie isn't the Dark Doom Striker [Triumphant Chaos Bearer]. Oooh, Katie..."
"Laura… Haha… This bastard is the reason your name has become so twisted...Hehe...Hehehehe...Kill...Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, KILLL!!!"
The meeting turned even more chaotic as the discussion turned into a full-blown gossip about the latest [Record Holder], Gin Hvergel.
"Alright, order! Order in the court!" Hermes hit the podium repeatedly with his feather cap, trying to get the meeting under control once more.
"I feel your enthusiasm, people, but let's get back on track. So what alias should we give to Gin Hvergel-kun?"
The first one to speak up was, as expected, the goddess of death herself.
Without anyone noticing, she had climbed the short partition in front of her seat and struck a pose.
"Hear my words, I am the dead, the dark, the silence. I am Hel." Hel said, changing her pose before continuing on.
"This is the name I have prepared for my champion. It is the [Eternal-"
"Ah, sorry Hel-san. The acting goddess isn't allowed to make a suggestion. It's the rule." Hermes interrupted her at the last moment.
The death goddess only stared at him with a deadpan expression before slowly nodding sadly and getting down from the desk back to her seat.
"Ah, it's okay, Miss Hel. I promise I will give Gin a good alias in your place." Astraea said as she rubbed the small goddess's back. "Hermes, I have a suggestion for his name."
"Oh? Lady Astraea. This is rare. So what do you have for us?"
"Yes, it is nothing but a simple name. I propose that Gin Hvergel be named Boreas Light [Strong Wind Chosen One]." She smiled proudly as she delivered the alias.
The other gods and goddesses let out a 'whoa' of appreciation.
It was a cringe-worthy enough name considering it was coming from someone like the kindhearted Astraea.
There was only one goddess that saw through the alias.
Loki's sharp-wit quickly connected the dots and found the meaning behind the name.
"Hmm? Wait [Strong Wind]...You mean [Gale]? Ain't that your gal's nickname, Astraea-chan?"
That was correct.
Gale [Strong Wind] was the Alias of Ryuu Lion, an elf girl from Astraea familia.
From that information alone, Boreas Light, the alias suggested by Astraea, the goddess of justice, had an easy meaning to deduce.
The hidden meaning was Ryuu Lion's Husbando!
"Yes! Ryuu has been getting more girly ever since she met Gin. Fufu, I even saw her absentmindedly combing her hair every now and then." Astraea replied unashamedly. "I think their aliases would work well together, no?"
She's totally shipping the two!
That was the only thought that every deity had.
We ain't letting the riajuu get a matching alias to some hot elf!
That was the determination burning in most of the male gods present.
"No good! That nickname ain't good enough!" Loki yelled out and puffed her nonexistent chest.
"People, open your ears, this is the name I've been working on for months! His alias will be Mefistofele [Hegemon of Wicked Mystics]!"
As someone who had a good picture of Gin's value, it was the cruelest name that she could give to him.
It solidified the guy's image as a skilled magic user while completely disregarding his status as an archer.
Not only that, the alias also had the hidden meaning of him being a supreme nuisance.
"Ohh! That's good!"
"Yabe, cringe desu ne!"
"Hmm? But Mister Glutton is an archer, right? It would be out of place to call him a master of dark arts all of a sudden." Demeter pointed out, pursing her lips in thought.
""Oh!"" The other deities came to the same conclusion.
Giving out aliases required careful planning on the divine side.
The more ridiculous the name, the more welcome they were, but even then, the alias needed to reflect well on the person involved.
Giving someone who acted passionately an alias of [Burning Fighting Fighter] would be okay, but giving the same name to a mage with an ice spell would be too suspicious.
Calling someone who fought with a bow a master of magic was going too far.
"No, no, you don't get it, Deme-chan. That Gin is a monster at magic, you know? He will definitely understand the name." Loki said to the surrounding deities, trying to salvage her case.
"That didn't make sense at all. His file says that he's an archer, right?" Demeter replied.
Loki gritted her teeth. "No, he's very good at magic! That guy even mastered concurrent chanting in two months!"
In response to her words, the collective deities only looked at Loki as if she had lost her mind.
"No, that's a bit too much, isn't it."
"There's no way an archer could be that good at magic."
"Two months for concurrent chanting? If monsters like that existed, even [Silence] would look like a normal person in comparison."
"Geh-!"
It was a blind spot in her careful planning.
No sane person would think an archer so talented at magic would exist. She looked at the softly smiling Bountiful Goddess.
That woman definitely knew her plot and actively sabotaged her!
Onore Demeter!
....
"Shadow Realm [Garden of Lost Soul]!"
"A-chan! [Cutie Archer]"
"Antediluvian [Eternal Drought]"
"Exodius [Ultimate Forbidden Lord]"
"That's your kid's name, don't just give it to others, girl."
"Piss off!!!"
The naming ceremony for Gin Hvergel had been going on for more than half an hour.
Countless names that would shrivel the soul of the person in question had been thrown back and forth, but none had stuck and satisfied all the present deities.
"This is never ending. Anything is fine, so can't we just give him some random name and leave it at that?" Ishtar mewled wearily.
Wasting so much time on a random adventurer was ridiculous.
Some of the other goddesses on the aisle agreed with her.
"Ah, then may I make a suggestion?" After clapping her hands to get their attention, Demeter voiced her idea with a smile.
"How about Garmr [Death Goddess Bloodhound]? Truthfully, I have met him before, and he reminded me of a puppy. The way his face lit up when Hel appeared was quite adorable."
"Garmr? It's kinda sufficient, but kinda lacking too…"
"Yeah, I get what you mean. It lacked this certain oomph to it."
The other deities received her suggestion halfheartedly.
Seemingly disappointed with that, she lowered her head dejectedly.
"Ara, is that so? Even though I have tried my best." She heaved a deep sigh.
As she did so, two things happened.
The first, they jiggled.
The second, they could be seen easily.
What were they? You knew it, so stop pretending you didn't.
"Oho…" The male gods could not fight the force of the globes.
All the gods joined their lines of sight after losing their sight due to gravity.
"It's, it's a good name, right?" One god stuttered. Unblinking.
"Yep, I am on team Garmr too." Another nodded. Unblinking.
"…" One raised a bag of valis. Unblinking.
"Oi, stop it, moron! Keep it cool so she won't notice!" Another god beside him quickly salvaged the situation and caught the arm before they could be noticed.
"Oh! I see that everyone likes it."
Looking at their reaction, the goddess of bountiful harvest clapped her hands excitedly, shaking the gods' world again.
""We do."" The gods and Loki's soul were now one.
"I am glad I brought it forward." She smiled and hugged her body in relief.
Bring it forward she did.
Two of them, in fact.
"Then, does this mean Mister Glutton's alias will be Garmr? Any objection?"
""None thus!"" All gods shouted at once, completely forgetting that the goddess had no authority to lead the meeting.
"Hehe, is the name sufficient enough, Miss Hel?" Demeter winked at the silent goddess beside her.
"Umu, my champion, my loyal hound," Hel nodded in response. "Garmr, truly a name that encapsulated his loyalty perfectly. You have my thanks, goddess of harvest."
"I am glad you like it! I hope Mister Glutton will find it well too."
Thus, the naming ceremony was finally over.
After half an hour of discussion and a couple shakes of epic proportions, Gin Hvergel was finally awarded his first alias.
Garmr, The Death Goddess Bloodhound.
Of course, as with all aliases, even this one had a hidden meaning to it.
Every time this name was invoked, all deities would think the same.
'Ah, this guy is Hel's little bitch.'