Freya was a goddess who governed many domains, including beauty, love, war, and victory.
Ishtar, meanwhile, was the goddess of nature and the harvest, while also holding authority over love, fertility, and war.
Their divine portfolios overlapped heavily, and they had never gotten along in Heaven. Or more accurately, it was Ishtar who had always held a grudge against Freya.
As fellow Goddesses of Beauty, Freya always outshined her. The number of male gods she attracted was always greater than Ishtar's. In the eyes of the gods, Freya was far more worthy of the title Goddess of Beauty, and that left Ishtar deeply dissatisfied.
After descending to the Lower World, the Freya Familia became the strongest Familia in the city, living at the very top of Babel Tower.
Meanwhile, the Ishtar Familia could only rank among the city's top five, stuck in a corner of Orario. That only made Ishtar more unwilling to accept defeat, and she constantly looked for ways to clash with Freya.
The reason the Ishtar Familia's base, Belit Babili, had been built so tall was to rival Freya, who lived on the fiftieth floor of Babel. But Babel had been constructed with the help of the gods. Without divine power, Belit Babili could never surpass its height. Once again, she came up short.
On the other hand, Freya never paid Ishtar any attention at all. Whenever Ishtar provoked her, Freya would simply brush it off with a gentle smile. To Ishtar, that looked exactly like the composure of a victor, which only made her angrier.
Every time they met, they traded barbs. Whether she could actually win was another matter entirely, but she absolutely couldn't lose face!
And besides…
"To be honest, I won't lose anyway."
Ishtar was extremely confident. Even if the other side had Level 6s and Level 7s, she believed that if a fight broke out, she would definitely come out on top because she possessed a very powerful trump card.
The only reason she hadn't acted yet was because that trump card wasn't fully prepared. In other words, the moment it was ready, she would declare war on Freya.
"Evilus, huh?" Freya thought lazily to herself.
She had already seen through Ishtar's shallow little schemes. The Ishtar Familia's only Level 5 had died at that little pervert's hands, yet Ishtar still hadn't given up picking fights with her.
The only possible explanation was that the trump card she trusted wasn't part of her own Familia. Combined with the intelligence Freya had gathered recently, there was no doubt that Ishtar had gotten involved with Evilus.
As for what exactly her, or rather, Evilus's, the trump card was, she could just ask the little pervert once the Loki Familia returned from their expedition.
What a boring woman. Freya didn't even consider this goddess worthy of being her enemy.
"Hey! Are any of you even paying attention to me?!"
The gods had been completely focused on the confrontation between the two Goddesses of Beauty, all wearing the delighted smiles of people enjoying a good show. But the sudden lion's roar made everyone jump. A pitch-black aura, as overbearing and wild as that of an Evil God, swept out from the head of the table.
The gods immediately straightened up. Even Freya and Ishtar chose to give her some respect and sat down at opposite ends of the round table.
The person seated at the head wasn't anyone else. It was Loki.
"Why is Loki hosting this session of the Divine Council?"
"I heard all the kids in her Familia went on an expedition. She was bored out of her mind, so she volunteered."
The chief god with crimson hair shot a glare at the two gods whispering below. Seeing that the Divine Council had finally quieted down, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright then! I hereby declare the Nth Divine Council officially in session!"
"Ooooh!"
The gods enthusiastically cheered and waved their arms in support.
Only around thirty gods were seated around the round table. That was because only the chief gods of Familias with High-Class Adventurers were permitted to attend. In other words, the gods present here represented Orario's core factions; every chief god in attendance had at least one Level 2 adventurer under their banner.
"First up, news from the kingdom. That God of War just refuses to give up!"
"Ares again? How many times has he already lost? He's still attacking Orario?"
"The gap in strength is so huge. How does he never get tired of it?"
The gods immediately launched into a lively discussion. That was the whole purpose of the Divine Council. The bored gods gathered here to exchange interesting information and maximize everyone's entertainment. All kinds of stories and rumors circulated around the divine table, frequently triggering bursts of laughter. The entire meeting was incredibly casual.
"Alright! And now we've finally reached the moment everyone's been waiting for!"
"The Naming Ceremony! I've been waiting forever for this!"
"Hahaha! This time I'm definitely coming up with something good!"
The gods all wore openly mischievous grins. Any adventurer who had leveled up within the last three months could have their alias decided by the Divine Council.
These aliases were essentially nicknames, but they were far more famous than the adventurers' real names. Even bards preferred singing about an adventurer's title rather than their actual name. A name bestowed personally by the gods was a symbol of fame and honor.
"Alright! Adventurer Erica Rozalia's alias shall be... Beautiful Tail Rotten Hand!"
"NOOOOOOO…!!!"
A chief god let out a pig-slaughtering scream and collapsed to the floor in agony.
People in the Lower World could never understand the gods' tastes. While some aliases might sound sacred or impressive to ordinary people, from the gods' perspective, they were often painfully embarrassing names created purely for amusement.
"Next is Take-Mikazuchi's child. Yamato Mikoto, right?"
"Cute girl. Black hair, too. Totally my type!"
"But Take-Mikazuchi is unforgivable. That lolicon!"
"Far East Divine Wind!"
"Saint Ninja!"
"Absolute Shadow!"
In the end, Yamato Mikoto's alias was decided to be Absolute Shadow. As a result, there was now one more god lying on the floor crying.
"And finally, this one!" Loki broke into a bright grin and passed the last portrait around the table.
The moment the gods saw the portrait and the achievements recorded beneath it, the smiles vanished from their faces. The room fell silent. Even Freya and Ishtar were visibly astonished.
Loki Familia: Ryoji
Reached Level 2 and Level 3 during his first month after joining the Familia.
Reached Level 4 in the second month.
And in less than three months, he had already become a Level 5.
Unprecedented. Not even the heroes of ancient times could match such a terrifying leveling speed.
Most people would have gone through several aliases before reaching Level 5. But Ryoji had leveled so quickly that even the Divine Council couldn't keep up. Despite already being a famous First-Class Adventurer throughout Orario, he still hadn't received a single alias.
He was a living legend whose growth left every adventurer in Orario crying out that it was impossible, completely beyond reach. Like a child of the gods themselves. Never before seen, and perhaps never to be seen again.
"Isn't this leveling speed a little too abnormal, Loki?"
Across the round table, Ishtar raised her head, her sharp gaze fixed directly on Loki at the head of the table.
"Ordinary people can't even gain one level in three months, yet he shot all the way up to Level 5. There's no way his body doesn't have something unusual going on..." She narrowed her eyes. "You didn't secretly use divine power to modify him, did you?"
(End of Chapter)
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