It turned out that Njord himself, not the Njord Familia, was involved in the appearance of the Violas.
Judas, who had just walked down the stairs, overheard the conversation between Loki and Njord.
'Njord? Isn't that Chloe's patron deity?'
Judas thought. Although the Njord Familia did not possess a single first-class adventurer, they were the leading force here in Melen.
But after being investigated by Loki, it turned out that Njord was not affiliated with Evilus and had only made deals with them.
Which was why Loki had decided to let Njord off the hook.
Not because she felt any special sympathy for him, but because he was actually one of the few decent gods out there.
"This right here is a magical powder that is said to keep monsters away."
Loki said as she dropped a small bag onto the table.
"That's right... I have been in Melen for many years, and the number of times I've seen one of my fishermen die to monsters at sea is more than I can count."
Njord said with a despondent expression.
Although Melen's situation seemed fine on the surface, in reality, it was barely holding on by a thread.
The waters around Melen had become overrun with aquatic monsters.
Fish stocks were rapidly disappearing.
The fishermen of the Njord Familia were dying while trying to fish.
The local economy was collapsing.
Even if they requested help from adventurers in Orario by issuing quests... it only solved the problem in the short term.
Plus, it was not cost-effective to hire adventurers for protection every time they went out to fish.
However, the situation changed when Njord met a mysterious man a few years ago.
"He had sickly pale skin, messy hair that covered his eyes, and his whole demeanor... it felt like he was a man obsessed with something..."
Njord described as Loki continued listening to his story.
It was discovered that the plant monsters called Violas preyed on those aquatic monsters because they consumed magic stones.
The mysterious man then proposed a deal.
"We'll provide you with Violas and this powder to keep the aquatic monsters under control. In return, let us smuggle goods through Melen."
Njord wanted to save his fishermen and prevent Melen from suffering any further. To him, it was a deal he had no choice but to accept.
From his perspective, he believed he was making a practical compromise to save Melen.
After hearing everything, Loki nodded her head and could already piece together the situation in her mind.
"But believe me when I say that I am the only one who knows about the deal. The rest of my familia are innocent in all of this."
"If someone has to be punished... then it has to be me."
Njord declared as he met Loki's gaze.
Loki could see the sincerity in his eyes.
The tiny traces of doubt she had about him disappeared entirely.
Her instincts as the trickster goddess who caused chaos back in heaven told her that Njord was being genuine.
In the end, Loki only gave him a slap on the wrist and called him an idiot for getting himself involved in things he shouldn't have.
Even if they punished Njord and sent him back to heaven, with his absence and the disbandment of the Njord Familia, Melen would either collapse or become even more unstable than it already was.
Plus, through him, Loki had already gained some valuable information.
'So it was Ishtar and her lot who were transporting the Violas.'
Loki tapped her chin. They also happened to be involved in this incident as well.
'There is no doubt that slutty bitch number two is suspicious.'
'Ais and Bete did say that their captain had this mysterious light around her that made it feel like they were fighting a Level 6.'
'The Guild already stated that Phryne Jamil is still a Level 5...'
'Too bad that crazy lusty goddess and her familia escaped before we could take control of the situation.'
'I can already picture the whole thing in my head, but it seems we need to do a little more digging.'
She thought before shifting her gaze to Kali, who was visibly sulking.
"Hey, runt! I hope you learned your lesson, ya understand?"
Loki said as she aggressively poked Kali in the face.
"And don't even think about asking around about Tione and Tiona, got it? Especially that crazy battle junkie Argana."
Loki kept poking until Kali had enough and slapped her hand away.
"Argana? She is useless to me now... and so is Bache. Those two, especially Argana, have turned into completely different people."
Kali said with an annoyed expression.
"Huh?"
Question marks practically floated over Loki's and Njord's heads when a sudden commotion grabbed their attention.
"Judas Spade!"
Bache suddenly sprinted forward at the speed of sound and tackled him to the ground.
Judas, who had just sat down to eat breakfast, was caught completely off guard and suddenly found himself in a rather 'compromising' position.
"Umm... Bache, will you get off me?"
Judas said with a sigh as Bache straddled him completely, or as cultured men would refer to it, the 'cowboy position', while pinning him down with a slightly flushed expression.
"Judas... when we get married, should I change my name to Bache Spade? Or should you change your name to Judas Kalif... ah, both sound good... I hope that when I have your children in the future, they will grow up to be as strong and as cool as you... ahhh~... I can already imagine it... our future family together as we..."
Bache started a long speech that didn't seem like it would ever end as she subtly squirmed her butt against him.
Realizing this, Judas let out a troubled expression just as Tiona suddenly barged through the door, sending it flying off its hinges.
"Bache! No fair! Getting a head start is cheating!"
Tiona launched herself like a cannonball, diving straight toward them.
"Haap!"
Ahe exclaimed in a cute voice.
When Judas lifted his head, all he saw was Tiona's smooth stomach hurtling straight toward him before she body-slammed him into the ground, the impact denting the floor beneath them.
"Argh!"
A grunt of pain escaped his lips. Tiona had just performed what could only be described as a WWE finishing move on him.
'I... can't... breathe...'
"Tiona... can you let go? You're kinda... choking me a little."
Judas said in a strained voice, looking up at her with an equally strained expression.
"Nooope!"
Tiona rejected him immediately, the final syllable popping playfully from her lips as she hugged him even tighter.
"This is your punishment for running away last time. Accept your fate, Judas."
Judas felt one of his eyes twitch before letting out a defeated sigh.
...
A few hours after the war with the Kali Familia had concluded...
While everyone was either helping with damage control or resting, Judas was taking a break and drinking a potion.
Meanwhile, Bache, who had just recovered, hid behind a tree and narrowed her eyes.
'So that is the man who captured Tiona's heart.'
She was curious... curious about the man whom Tiona spoke so highly of and wanted to see him for herself.
'They say despite being only Level 3... he is strong.'
Bache thought as she rubbed her chin.
In the end, Bache decided to fight him.
"Judas Spade, I challenge you to a fair duel... I want to see for myself the man Tiona has chosen."
She declared loudly as she pointed a finger at him.
However, a minute later, Bache suddenly found herself trapped inside a block of ice floating in the ocean.
'Ah... my poison... it didn't affect him at all...'
'I was completely overwhelmed by his magic and utterly outmatched...'
Bache thought as her heart suddenly pounded erratically. Despite being encased in ice, she couldn't help but blush.
However, she shook her head as she thought about Tiona.
'What am I doing? He is the one Tiona has chosen. I shouldn't be having such thoughts.'
Just as she reprimanded herself, a second later, she began floating upward as Judas used his telekinesis magic to carry her back to shore before breaking her free.
"You alright? I kinda went a bit too far. Sorry about that."
Judas said as his purple eyes stared directly at her.
The overwhelming strength he had displayed earlier, which had stirred her instincts as an Amazon, combined with the gentleness he showed now, along with a demeanor that perfectly matched Bache's type... it was as if Cupid's arrow had pierced straight through her heart.
'He is perfect... I want him...'
That was the story of how Bache Kalif fell in love for the first time in her life.
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