The members of Freya Familia all looked extremely displeased, but Ryoji's expression was completely relaxed.
"Oh, what a coincidence! You're here to train too?" Ryoji looked entirely sincere. "To be honest, I'm here to train as well. You know, there might be a war soon."
That was the truth.
Ais believed him. The state of his battered clothes was proof enough.
Recently, many members of Loki Familia had been completely immersed in leveling, and that intense atmosphere could be felt everywhere.
Ais hadn't expected Ryoji to have the same idea as her. Rather than bother the Executives, who were already incredibly busy, he had apparently set his sights on Freya Familia, the other strongest Familia in the city, and come here to ask them for special training.
For a moment, she was even secretly delighted that she and Ryoji had thought of the same thing.
Meanwhile, Ryoji's brain was working at full speed.
'No matter what, I can't let Ais stay!'
If she discovered that there was something going on between him and Freya, he was completely screwed!
"Ais, did you ask Finn and the others before coming here?" Ryoji suddenly thought of something and asked her seriously.
"…"
Ais immediately looked away guiltily.
'Just as I thought!'
Ryoji himself hadn't dared tell anyone that he was coming here alone. Asking another Familia to train you was a serious matter, especially when the two Familias involved were among the strongest in the city.
One wrong move could easily lead to a conflict. There was no way Finn and the others would have agreed.
Putting himself in her shoes, Ryoji figured Ais must have come here on her own as well.
"That won't do. This is a serious matter, you need to discuss it with Finn and the others beforehand!" Ryoji immediately gained the upper hand in the conversation.
"What about you?" Ais looked at him, trying to push back.
"I have Loki's permission!" Ryoji answered with absolute confidence.
Ais immediately had nothing to say.
"You should hurry back. Otherwise, Finn and the others will start worrying about you!" Ryoji put on an expression that clearly said he was only looking out for her.
Ais silently puffed out her cheeks. She was very unhappy, but he had a point.
She had acted impulsively and rushed here without thinking things through. If Riveria found out afterward, she would definitely lecture her for quite some time.
The only problem was that if Ottar couldn't help her with special training, she wouldn't be able to improve much before the assault began.
"What happened?" A lazy, seductive voice suddenly came from the direction of the distant palace.
Ryoji's expression instantly froze, and alarm bells started ringing wildly in his head.
The silver-haired goddess approached at a leisurely pace. Her alluring figure was wrapped in a black dress trimmed with gold, while a female servant lifted the hem of her long skirt behind her. Every step she took was graceful and elegant.
"Freya-sama," the leading Elf youth respectfully bowed to her. "The Sword Princess suddenly arrived and stated that, just like Aurora Polaris, she wants us and Captain to help train her."
"So that's how it is." Freya looked enlightened.
She still had a heavy, sleepy look about her. Every movement was languid, and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow, making even Ais somewhat reluctant to look directly at her.
That little pervert's stamina had been getting stronger and stronger. They had spent most of the previous night singing together before Freya finally went to sleep, and she hadn't gotten up until well into the morning.
"Since you're here for his sake, I'll make an exception and let you stay." Freya's gaze moved back and forth between Ryoji and Ais several times, gradually becoming more amused.
'For his sake?'
Ais had a huge question mark practically floating above her head.
When had Ryoji's influence become so great? Even Goddess Freya was willing to give him special treatment?
"I'm attending a banquet this afternoon, so you can do whatever you like." Accompanied by a young woman, Freya climbed into her carriage.
'Thank goodness! Freya hadn't said anything else!' Ryoji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, right…"
But just as Freya was about to close the carriage curtains, she suddenly paused. She turned around and looked directly at Ryoji.
"I'll be back late tonight, so don't wait up for me, okay? Mwah~"
She blew him a kiss, smiled sweetly, and stepped into the carriage.
The carriage slowly left the Familia headquarters.
Ottar, the Catman, the Elves, the Pallums…
Every single member of Freya Familia turned their murderous gazes toward Ryoji at the exact same time.
Freya-sama had always treated them well, but she had never revealed such a delicate, affectionate side of herself before!
'Damn it! They were so jealous!'
He had actually received Freya-sama's first flying kiss!
This man really was their greatest enemy, the common enemy of the entire Freya Familia!
"I'm screwed…" Ryoji stood there completely petrified.
He was screwed. Completely screwed.
With just those few words and that one little gesture, Freya had managed to turn even the most innocent situation into something entirely scandalous!
He quietly glanced at Ais.
Ais had completely frozen. Her mind simply couldn't process what she had just witnessed.
She only knew that she felt incredibly uncomfortable. Even when monsters had injured her and she had been pushed to the brink of death, she had never experienced anything like this.
It was completely different from every emotion she had ever known. She couldn't understand it, nor was there any way to make sense of it.
Her heart felt strangely empty.
'I wish I hadn't come.'
That was all she could think. If she hadn't come, she wouldn't have had to experience something this awful.
"…I'm sorry. We can talk about the training another time," Ais murmured, trying to suppress the turmoil surging inside her. "I think… I came at the wrong time."
With that, she turned around.
'Ariel' activated, and she instantly vanished into the wind.
The members of Freya Familia looked at one another in stunned silence for a moment before they all began sneering.
'Freya, you're insane!' Ryoji cursed Freya furiously in his head.
"Um, I have something urgent to take care of. I'm heading back first!" Under Ottar's terrifying, murderous stare, Ryoji immediately took off.
He shot out of the Familia headquarters like lightning, frantically chasing after Ais.
"He can't even remain completely loyal to Freya-sama. I really don't understand what she sees in him!" someone shouted angrily.
"That's right!"
"Garbage!"
"Scumbag!"
"Bastard!"
The curses immediately came pouring out in unison.
"But Freya-sama likes him." Catman Allen spoke coldly, his eyes filled with suppressed rage.
Everyone fell silent.
They were all utterly unwilling to accept it, but they couldn't argue with that reality.
A fatal blow.
If Ryoji had still been weak, plenty of them would have been willing to risk Freya's anger to find a way to kill him. Unfortunately, he had become far too strong.
He was now strong enough to fight the strongest warrior in the city, Ottar, to a total standstill!
Ottar naturally had other trump cards, but Ryoji hadn't even used his Magic either.
If the two of them really fought seriously, even in the eyes of Freya Familia, the outcome would be impossible to predict.
Faced with an opponent like Ryoji, they simply had no way to punish him.
All they could do was watch, red-eyed with jealousy, as he received Freya-sama's endless affection and favoritism, completely untouchable because he knew she would protect him.
(End of Chapter)
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