Ah... so this is Loki?
Even though she had already seen the appearance of this Deity in the anime, along with her occasional buffoonery, meeting her in person was a different matter entirely.
Although Barbara was still clutching her head and hadn't opened her eyes, through their visual link, she saw this red-haired Deity from Hyacine's perspective.
How should one put it?
A drunkard, unreliable, 'ehe'... in a sense, this person was quite similar to Barbatos? They were both Deities who were usually unreliable but became exceptionally serious at critical moments.
Joining the Loki Familia seemed like a good idea.
After all, they were one of the strongest Familias in Orario. They could certainly protect them and even provide enough free time for Hyacine and Barbara to go out and heal the wounded and rescue the dying.
It was just that Loki's personal interests were a bit troublesome...
Why did Hyacine show such a look of disgust?
Because although Loki was smiling on the surface, Hyacine sensed a hint of danger in the surrounding air.
It wasn't a threat to her life, but a threat felt specifically as a woman—as a beautiful girl!
'I remember now, Loki is a god who likes girls!'
Sensing something was wrong, Hyacine immediately pulled her other half up from the ground and retreated rapidly.
"And who might this be? Oh, it's our dear 'Messiah' Lady... eh?"
Seeing Orario's current big celebrities, Loki originally wanted to give a proper greeting, but the two opposite her acted as if they had seen a ghost, retreating several steps all at once.
"Loki, it seems your notorious reputation has preceded you..." Ais looked at Loki with that familiar, speechless gaze, which quickly made the red-haired goddess anxious.
"How is that possible! I am a famous Great Benevolent God in Orario, how could I possibly do evil things outside? Which guy is ruining my reputation? Do you believe I'll hang them up and beat them?"
Seemingly because her public reputation was affected, Loki immediately became flustered and exasperated.
However, such words became hollow amidst the silence of the other three, eventually turning into an apology.
"Sorry... it was my own fault..."
—
Despite this less-than-perfect first meeting, Hyacine and Barbara eventually suppressed their internal worries and decided to have a proper talk with Loki.
"Oh! So, you're saying you want to join my Familia?"
Looking at the two hesitant girls before her, Loki immediately perked up, and even the smell of alcohol on her dissipated quite a bit.
While drinking was indeed fun, these two girls known as the Messiah were clearly more interesting!
Don't be fooled by how Loki often acted like a clown; didn't that perfectly fit her essence? Even the Familia emblem was a clown, which was enough to show that Loki was a total seeker of fun!
And now, with the fun delivered right to her doorstep, how could she not be happy?
"Indeed, we once had such a thought."
"But now, a bit of hesitation has appeared in our hearts."
"Don't do that!"
Seeing the girls' somewhat resistant attitude, Loki immediately became excited. Although she hadn't been in contact with these two for long, she had likewise seen through their essence.
They practically had the word 'Salvation' written directly on their faces!
Truly worthy of being the Messiah chosen by Ouranos!
Therefore, for the Loki Familia, Hyacine and Barbara would bring both trouble and disaster, as well as fun and benefits.
But overall, the fun and benefits definitely outweighed the trouble and disaster; their joining was certainly a beneficial event.
Hyacine and Barbara possessed the potential of great emperors; as long as they didn't fall today, they would surely become top-tier Adventurers in the future!
"From the first moment I saw you, I knew you weren't ordinary people. I didn't expect Ouranos to straight up turn you into the Messiah... Honestly, didn't that old man consider things for you at all?"
To other Familias, Loki wasn't considered a good Deity; after all, at the Denatus, she was the one who had the most fun giving out ridiculous names. But toward children with the potential to join her own home, Loki could also appear very kind.
"But I'm different. I truly pity you! To think you've encountered such a mess? Don't you know Ouranos's intentions?"
The Messiah... Ha!
That word was truly laughable. Just hearing those three words made Loki unable to stop her laughter, even needing to use alcohol to make herself appear somewhat normal.
Because this was simply one giant joke!
'Children of God.' To think a god actually created such things? And two of them at once!
If the Children of God were allowed to live like ordinary people, they would probably remain ordinary for the rest of their lives, without any outstanding qualities.
But if nurtured carefully, they would absolutely become the strongest in the world, even surpassing the entire world to reach the domain of gods.
Although she didn't know which old friend had created these Children of God, they definitely didn't have good intentions—not even the great god Ouranos!
Why did Ouranos give out the title of 'Messiah' without hesitation? Why was he able to grant these two girls preferential treatment within this City?
Even the former Zeus and Hera couldn't do that!
Because the Children of God would definitely be able to save the world, Ouranos had to tie them to the great ship that was Orario. Without a suitable reason, he likely wouldn't let Hyacine and Barbara leave the City easily.
At the same time, Ouranos also saw the will of 'Salvation' within Hyacine and Barbara, which was why he poured everything into making these two girls the Messiah!
Even Loki had to admit that Ouranos was a good god; compared to those Deities who danced like demons and had special fetishes, Ouranos appeared perfectly normal.
But a good god is still a god, and the object of that goodness isn't necessarily humans... If salvation must come at a price, if it must involve sacrifice, Ouranos wouldn't hesitate.
Any slightly intelligent god could see Ouranos's plan, yet not a single one of them had come to find Hyacine and Barbara. Why was that?
Because they were all waiting for someone to take the deal!
Do you think those Deities came to the Lower World to save its inhabitants?
Of course they did, but that was only incidental.
The primary reason the Deities came to the Lower World was that they felt bored in Heaven and couldn't find any fun!
Compared to finding fun, 'saving the world' was just a joke. Otherwise, why wouldn't any Deity choose to release their Strength?
Even if they would be ejected from the Lower World, they could still rewrite it and thus save this world...
Of course, Loki was the same.
'I've already come to the Lower World to play, why would I go back?'
However, facing this bloody reality, Loki didn't see any expression of being deceived on the two girls' faces, only a hint of sadness...
"We are aware of Lord Ouranos's intentions."
"But even so, we have reasons why we must do this!"
"We hope you can help us, Lady Loki!"
A determined light flickered in the girls' eyes; they seemed completely unshaken by the Deity's deception. This point truly made Loki see them in a new light.
However, what was the actual situation? Only the two girls themselves knew...
'The number ten million is right here. If we don't save the world once, it will be impossible to complete the mission. So what if we're being used? As long as we can save others and complete the mission, that's enough!'
So why were they the chosen top-tier workers?
Besides the mission and things related to it, there was basically nothing else in their heads...
"How noble. You probably even possess the status of 'Saints,' which makes me a bit hesitant... but who told me I'm a god of trouble?"
"My Familia is actually quite large. If you want to come, you're welcome anytime!"