Hephaestus nodded knowingly, a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
"So that kid passed the trial and became a Lv. 2 High-Class Adventurer. Looks like Orario isn't as bad off as I thought. At the very least, talented newcomers like Leon are still coming up through the ranks."
Lv. 2?
Astraea blinked, confusion plain on her face. Her gaze went distant for a moment before she furrowed her brow, her tone uncertain.
"Hephaestus, are you sure... Leon Hart was Lv. 1 at the time?"
"Huh? Of course. I spoke with him face to face for quite a while. There's no way I misread him."
"That's strange, then..."
Astraea thought for a moment, looking pensive.
"He visited my headquarters a while back too. It was... something to do with a joint operation with Alise and the others."
"But when I met with him, I clearly remember... his aura was already Lv. 2. And I could tell from the way he moved that he wasn't freshly leveled, either."
"What?"
Hephaestus's expression went blank. A second later, it clicked. She and Astraea narrowed their eyes in unison, their gazes boring into their dear friend Demeter, who was still wearing that impeccable professional smile.
"Alright... Demeter, given the relationship between us, do we really need to play these games?"
Faced with her friends' pointed looks, the goddess remained perfectly composed.
"Heh..."
Just as Astraea and Hephaestus were about to press further, a wave of commotion swept through the council hall, punctuated by a few attention-seekers letting out wolf whistles.
"Woooow, it's Freya!"
"She's gorgeous!"
"Lady Freya, please let me grovel at your feet and lick your divine toes!"
"I'm begging you, Lady Freya, let me be your dog!"
"The goddess of beauty lives up to her name. Just looking at her and I'm already head over heels."
The moment Freya made her entrance, every male god in the room went absolutely feral.
The spectacle drew identical looks of exasperation from Demeter and the other two goddesses.
"These hopeless losers..."
Loki temporarily released the poor bastard she'd been manhandling and called out to Freya with a sly grin.
"Freya, what's your angle here? You actually... showed up to a Denatus."
The goddess of beauty, wearing an outrageously revealing gown and a pair of simple black heels, strode into the hall with her full presence on display. She settled gracefully into a seat beside Demeter, Astraea, and Hephaestus, and only then bothered to respond to Loki in a languid drawl.
"Let's just call it... a whim?"
"You know how it is. Sitting alone at the top of my tower day after day, I was going stir-crazy. Then I remembered the Denatus was today, so I figured I'd come down, mingle a bit, and... watch the show."
Watch the show?
Loki went still.
The three goddesses traded a slow look.
The male gods went very quiet.
After a beat of silence, a collective sense of unease crept through the room, especially among those gods whose children had leveled up and needed aliases secured at this very Denatus.
Freya, however, paid their reactions no mind whatsoever. She turned her head, flashing a smile that could move even a fellow deity, and spoke softly.
"Demeter, Astraea, Hephaestus. It's been too long."
Hephaestus smiled and nodded.
"It really has. But you haven't changed a bit."
"And compared to us, you're the one Evilus has a target painted on. You're the pillar holding Orario together. Staying out of sight and being careful is only smart."
"After all... who knows if there's a double agent sitting among us right now, feeding intel to the other side? If your movements got leaked, that'd be a real problem."
As she spoke, she swept the room with a cold gaze. Every god who met her eyes flinched and looked away.
"Hmph. Spineless, the lot of them."
"Anyway, enough about those bores. Let's talk about something interesting."
Freya shifted gears, her eyes gliding across the group before settling on Demeter.
"Demeter... I heard your Familia developed something new recently? A special dish called... Monster Hunter Special, was it?"
Monster Hunter Special?
A flash of surprise crossed Demeter's eyes. She glanced at Loki, who was pretending not to eavesdrop nearby, and understood immediately.
Of course. No matter how tight the secrecy, once the Monster Hunter Special was put to use, word was bound to get out eventually. Especially to Freya.
Given Loki's relationship with Freya, the fact that Freya was a full month behind on this intel was actually what surprised Demeter.
But then again...
Loki's children had already launched their massive Expedition. If her all-or-nothing strategy paid off...
There might soon be earth-shattering news of three Lv. 6 Adventurers emerging from Loki Familia all at once.
Was this a deliberate time delay against Freya?
Loki must be quite confident in her children.
...
A flurry of thoughts ran through Demeter's mind. Then she smiled faintly.
"The Monster Hunter Special is indeed our creation. Why... Freya, are your children interested too?"
Freya gazed at her with a loaded smile, amusement dancing behind her eyes.
"It's a product that boosts all Basic Abilities with no side effects. Of course our children would be interested."
She paused briefly, then continued.
"I never would've guessed. I thought you were still the shut-in who spent all day in her orchards without a care in the world... I didn't realize you were hiding this much up your sleeve, Demeter."
Demeter didn't take the bait. She simply returned a serene smile.
"I! AM! GA! NE! SHA!"
"I! AM! GA! NE! SHA!"
Every god in the room went silent.
"The loudest MC in the world just arrived. Guess this conversation's over."
Demeter smiled and turned to the three goddesses with a suggestion.
"How about... we find somewhere else to chat after the Denatus wraps up? What do you think, Astraea, Hephaestus, Freya?"
"With Ganesha here, there's no way we're having a real conversation anyway."
"A tea party? I'm in."
...
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