"Welcome, everyone, to the celebration banquet for my children 's promotion."
"Today's banquet isn't for anything else—it's purely to show off how amazing my children are!"
The Adventurers present all exchanged awkward looks, speechless.
They'd been to plenty of boastful banquets before, but someone being this blunt about flaunting? That was rare.
"And now, I have something to say to that flirt Freya—I'm back on my feet!"
Loki wore a wide, unrestrained grin, practically radiating smugness. It made it easy to believe she was absolutely full of herself.
And honestly, she was.
She even cast a provocative smirk in Freya's direction, openly challenging her—but all she got in return was a subtle shake of the head.
"Finn, I'll leave the rest to you."
With that, Loki handed the mic to Finn and darted off toward Freya's side.
Left to clean up the chaos, Finn, Gareth, and Riveria all let out helpless sighs. In the end, it was Finn who picked up the mic and continued.
"Thank you all for coming to our promotion celebration."
"This expedition was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us. There's so much I'd like to say, and so many people I'd like to thank."
"But for tonight—let's just drink."
He didn't say much, but every word came from the heart.
There were things he wanted to express, people he wanted to acknowledge—but that person preferred to remain behind the scenes, making it hard for him to say what he truly felt.
Still, none of that dampened the mood of the banquet.
But before Finn could step down, someone snatched the mic right out of his hands.
It was Tione.
Finn looked surprised, but the mysterious smile on her face gave him a good idea of what was coming.
"I also have an important announcement to make."
"The captain has officially proposed to me. From today on, we're officially engaged."
"So to all the women who've been eyeing him—back off."
Proposed!?
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, immediately turning to stare at Finn.
But when they saw him covering his face in silence, they knew.
It was true.
Absolutely true.
Everyone was stunned.
They all knew Tione had been pursuing Finn—after all, that was no secret. But Finn proposing to the very woman who'd been chasing after him? No one saw that coming.
From her seat, Loki watched Tione's bold declaration with great interest.
"She's really been itching to embarrass Finn, hasn't she?"
Still, Loki was more than happy to watch the show.
"Well, maybe if your child actually stepped forward once in a while?"
"Are you seriously saying that? You're the one always drooling over boys."
Freya's comment earned an eye roll from Loki.
"Didn't you go way overboard and cause this mess in the first place?"
"Exactly! Bell is my child. The real problem is you constantly eyeing other people's kids, Freya."
"Oh my~ does Hestia really need to be so hostile toward me?"
"Hmph—what, did you expect me to welcome you with open arms while you try to steal my child?"
That accusation hit hard.
But Freya just gave a polite smile, clearly unfazed.
"My Authority doesn't work on that child. Even if I could enchant the entire world, he likely wouldn't care. That child has always kept his distance from others—probably to guard against exactly this."
The way she spoke made it sound like she'd actually planned to use those methods, which sent a chill down the spines of the surrounding gods.
Hestia's eyes went wide. She pointed at Freya, voice sharp with disbelief.
"Wait—are you out of your mind!? You were seriously going to try something like that!?"
Talking to her was exhausting. Freya sighed inwardly.
Still, she carried on.
"Any plan you say out loud will never come true."
"That child never cared what others thought. Even if I changed how Orario's Adventurers viewed him, it wouldn't affect him at all..."
"And he barely interacts with anyone. If he did, I could've used them to pressure him. But no... sigh..."
Freya let out another quiet sigh.
Being direct and cautious—that was just his nature.
Even the few clues she had managed to dig up were from months ago, more than enough to show her that none of her usual tricks would work.
'I really don't know if he saw this coming or if he's just that careful.'
Freya found herself wondering about it.
Meanwhile, the other gods didn't look too pleased hearing her "plan."
"Freya-sama, if you hadn't noticed Bell-kun's personality or the fact that he's immune to Authority, then you..."
"I would've gone through with it, Hermes."
Freya answered with a serene smile, making Hermes break out in cold sweat.
"If it's to make that child mine, then I don't care if the world burns. Honestly, the price feels far too cheap."
What the hell!?
Hermes froze, drenched in cold sweat. But deep down, he understood—Freya was willing to risk everything for what she wanted. Even if that meant dragging the whole world down with her.
"Freya, that's... way too extreme."
Ganesha was starting to feel dizzy. For the first time, he realized just how unhinged the usually-smiling Freya really was.
He used to think the gods from Evilus were the most insane.
But now, comparing them to Freya, they just looked like a bunch of childish brats.
Nobody truly understood what went on in her mind—but that didn't disappoint Freya. She had already accepted that long ago.
"Ganesha, Hermes—this is just how I do things."
Yet for all her confidence, a trace of helplessness flickered across her face.
"But that child... he's the only one I can't influence."
Freya felt her greatest encounter in Genkai was that child.
But he was also her greatest obstacle.