"You're Adi Varma?"
The moment the girl introduced herself, Elise immediately paid attention.
She had originally thought this was just an ordinary little girl. She hadn't expected her to actually be Adi.
Elise carefully observed her. Since the girl currently wore her hair long while the future Adi had short hair, Elise hadn't connected the two before.
But now that she looked closely, it really was her.
Unexpectedly encountering another character who was still alive put Elise in a rather good mood.
A future ally of the Astraea Familia, Adi belonged to the same generation as Alise and Ryuu. She was a bright and cheerful girl who, unfortunately, would later die in a suicide explosion caused by members of Evilus.
Since they had met in advance, getting acquainted seemed nice.
"Oh?"
Hearing Elise say her name, Adi looked pleasantly surprised.
"I never thought the Saintess of Scales would actually know my name! What an honor!" Adi proudly puffed out her chest.
"So why did you secretly sneak into the banquet this time?"
"Obviously because I wanted to meet the gods of Orario!" Adi explained. "Besides Lord Ganesha, I've never met any other gods before. This is the perfect chance to let all the gods know that the Ganesha Familia has an unbelievably cute girl in it!"
"Uh..."
This girl's level of narcissism seemed somewhat beyond Elise's expectations. According to the original setting, her self-obsession was supposedly on the same level as Alise's.
Then why wasn't Alise from her Familia this bad?
Could it be... because I've beaten her too many times?
"Ah-choo!"
For some unknown reason, Alise, who was currently resting back at the Familia home, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
"You... weren't just thinking about something terrible, were you?"
Children could be surprisingly sensitive to atmosphere. Adi clearly noticed the shift around Elise.
Dangerous.
"How could that be? I was simply thinking about your future growth. You truly are a super beautiful girl, Adi!"
"Hmph hmph! Of course I am!"
Little Adi proudly raised her head again.
"However, this super beautiful girl is about to get her butt spanked..."
"Eh?"
Adi looked utterly confused by Elise's words, but very quickly she noticed the area around her darkening slightly, as though someone had appeared behind her.
"Don't tell me..."
Cold sweat rolled down Adi's face as she stiffly turned around.
Standing behind her was another blue-haired woman, staring at her with a stern expression.
"I believe I told you not to sneak out, Adi?"
"Hahaha... so it's just my sister..."
The moment she saw who it was, Adi panicked. Her little brain immediately began spinning at full speed.
Because the newcomer was none other than her older sister, Shakti—the captain of the Ganesha Familia.
Normally, spoiling Adi a little was fine, but during such an important banquet, she absolutely could not allow her to cause trouble.
"I-I didn't sneak out! It was... it was this Saintess of Scales who invited me here..."
The nervous Adi desperately signaled Elise with her eyes, but the moment she saw Elise's covered eye, she became even more panicked.
It's over!
What if she can't see my signals!?
Only then did Shakti notice Elise standing nearby and quietly watching the show.
"So it's Miss Holiness. My younger sister has been rude. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf."
Naturally, Shakti did not believe Adi's nonsense at all. However, since her sister had dragged someone else into it, she had no choice but to apologize.
"It's fine. Your sister truly gave me quite a surprise. In the future, she'll surely become an outstanding adventurer, won't she?"
Elise lightly covered her mouth with one hand before continuing.
"As long as she trains properly..." she whispered softly.
Although her voice was quiet, Shakti's hearing was sharp enough to catch every word clearly.
"I understand. After we return home, I will ensure my younger sister trains properly so she may one day truly become what you described."
After giving Elise a slight bow, Shakti directly dragged her younger sister away.
Judging from the resentful expression in Adi's eyes, however, her coming days would definitely not be pleasant.
"Finally, things are quiet aga—another problem has arrived."
"Sigh..."
This trouble might even be worse than Adi.
"Well now, isn't this quite incredible? Aren't you the famous Saintess of Scales from the Astraea Familia?"
"To think I'd encounter you here on this secluded balcony away from the banquet. What luck!"
A carefree voice drifted over from nearby. Judging from the tone alone, it sounded like an extremely unreliable male god.
"You are... Lord Hermes?"
"Oh? So you already know my name? Has my reputation truly spread that far?"
Elise nodded.
"You are indeed very famous. Mostly in the Pleasure Quarter."
"Is that so? Hahaha!"
Hermes paid no mind whatsoever to Elise's clearly resistant expression. Though he was slightly curious how she knew about the Pleasure Quarter, now was obviously not the time to ask.
"Would you honor me with a dance at the banquet, beautiful lady?"
"Please forgive me, Lord Hermes, but I must decline."
Elise smiled as she rejected him.
However, the male god before her clearly possessed extraordinarily thick skin. No wonder Asfi could beat him so many times in the future while he still managed to survive perfectly fine.
"Rejected, huh? No matter. Then after the banquet, would you be willing to spend the night with me?"
Hermes extended his hand toward Elise once more and quietly added:
"After all, someone asked me to investigate you. I can't exactly leave so easily."
Hermes' words genuinely surprised Elise.
"You're just openly telling me that? Isn't that a problem?"
"Why would it be? They never said I wasn't allowed to reveal it."
"You really are a willful god."
Elise sighed before speaking seriously.
"It was Lord Ishtar, wasn't it?"
"The only goddess I can think of would be her."
Hearing Elise's response, Hermes merely smiled without answering.
But in Elise's eyes, that was practically an admission.
"Then what's your answer? Would you be willing to chat with me through the night? I believe we'd have many topics to discuss."
As though she had noticed someone approaching, a flower-like smile bloomed across Elise's face. Combined with the elegant dress that emphasized her womanly beauty, the expression carried an almost fatal charm.
"Of course, Lord Hermes! I don't mind doing anything tonight at all!"
"Ohoho!"
Elise's answer immediately excited Hermes.
He had initially assumed she would reject him, yet she had actually agreed?
"Then shall we—"
"However!"
Just as he was about to continue, Elise interrupted him.
"You'll need to ask my goddess first..."
Though she wore a beautiful smile, terrifying black aura radiated from behind her.
At some point, Astraea had appeared directly behind Hermes.
"Hermes... what exactly are you doing to my child?"