Ryota had no idea what complicated, helpless feelings Misha might have been sighing over behind his back.
His entire focus was already on the Denatus taking place just beyond that door.
Before long, he passed through the inner corridor of the Guild and arrived at a heavy door carved with intricate patterns. He reached out and pushed.
— Click.
The door slowly opened, revealing a spacious meeting chamber shaped like a semicircular theater.
At its center stood a long stone table.
On either side of that table sat the stars of this War Game — Loki and Freya.
Standing beside Loki was the heroic Finn.
And at Freya's side, as always, was her strongest — Ottar.
Ryota stepped into the chamber, letting his eyes sweep up to the gallery above.
He instantly spotted familiar faces — Hephaestus and Hestia, sitting shoulder to shoulder and murmuring about something.
Further along were gods he hadn't met in person but recognized at a glance from his past life's memories:
Apollo with his red hair and red eyes; Soma with his outlandish style; and even Ishtar, the goddess who ruled over Orario's largest pleasure district.
Other gods Ryota didn't recognize also filled the seats.
It was obvious this "war" had already become more than just a contest between Familia — it was a grand festival for all the gods of Orario.
A bit below the stands, Ais, Lefiya, Riveria, and several other key members of the Loki Familia sat quietly in their places.
The moment Ryota stepped in, the hushed conversations in the chamber abruptly fell silent, as if someone had hit pause.
Every single gaze turned to him at once.
Everyone was desperate to see just what kind of person could make Freya risk starting an entire War Game just to claim this black-haired boy.
Ryota ignored those stares, giving a small nod toward the petite goddess Hestia and the red-haired Hephaestus in the gallery, then glanced at Ais below before finally making his way over to Loki.
That simple motion was immediately picked up by Hestia, who looked as though she'd been shot through with a lightning bolt of excitement:
"Did you see?! Did you see?! Ryota nodded at me!!"
She shook Hephaestus's arm with so much force she nearly toppled over, her small face bright with excitement and hopeless infatuation.
Hephaestus sighed with a thoroughly exasperated look, catching the smaller goddess with one hand to stop her from falling, scolding her with a hint of annoyance:
"Okay, okay, it was just a nod — he's not confessing his love to you, so sit still."
But Hestia didn't listen at all. She was completely immersed in the joy of "he noticed me!"
That was, until her eyes drifted down to where Freya sat.
A second later, her face puffed up like an angry hamster, round and steaming:
"That vixen Freya! Trying to steal him with a War Game? How shameless can you get?!"
She clenched her tiny fist and shook it down at Freya furiously,
"How dare you use that kind of underhanded trick to take my Ryota away!"
"It should be — pro-per — up-right — courtship!"
"…That's still pretty shameless, you know."
Hephaestus sweat-dropped so hard she nearly facepalmed, inching her seat a little further away from this love-crazed little goddess.
Hestia ignored her completely, muttering under her breath:
"In any case, Ryota, I'm on your side!"
Though that last line was so small, only Hephaestus could actually hear it.
While the little goddess was causing her cheerful but faintly hostile stir, Ryota had already moved over to where Loki and Finn were standing, quietly waiting for the meeting to begin.
Not long after, a rotund figure came waddling forward from behind.
Royman Mardeel.
The true power holder of the Guild — nicknamed the Guild's Pig.
That "Pig" had less to do with his shape and more with the nature of his character.
Since Ouranos had been spending all his years meditating and praying under the Guild's underground altar to keep the Dungeon in check, all daily administration, judgments, and resource allocation had fallen to Royman.
His reputation — even among the gods — was dreadful.
Lavish lifestyle, wasting mountains of gold, bribing his way to power, and showing absolute indifference to others' lives.
That was pretty much the universal opinion of Orario's Adventurers about him.
Even the usually kind and mild-mannered Riveria had once publicly called him a disgrace to the entire elven race.
But no matter what you thought of his personal morality, his power was real.
Whether the council's votes passed, whether the War Game was approved, whether Guild funds got moved — all of it was in his hands.
"Hehehe, most honored gods, sorry to keep you waiting."
He gave a clumsy little bow and stepped to the center of the table, smiling and scanning both sides with narrowed eyes.
"Today is a grand day for Orario, don't you think?"
"Lady Loki, Lady Freya, your War Game application was formally approved last night."
"Now, all that remains is to settle on the format and the conditions for victory."
With that, he plopped his pudgy hand down on the table.
"Please present your proposals."
Freya leaned forward slightly, her gray eyes swirling, finally locking onto Ryota as she spoke first.
"My goal—"
"The Guild, or rather... all of Orario, probably already knows."
She lifted her slim hand, and with no hint of concealment, pointed directly at Ryota beside Loki.
"I only want him."
"As for the rest…"
She tilted her head a fraction, glancing at Loki's squinty-eyed grin.
"The rules, the format — you decide. I have no preference."
It sounded supremely condescending, but it was also completely honest.
Freya truly didn't care.
As the goddess of the Freya Familia, she had never once concerned herself with the "process."
She only ever named her "desire."
How it was to be done, who carried it out, what it would cost — she neither asked nor cared to know.
All she ever wanted was the result.
Loki clicked her tongue, like she'd expected Freya to pull exactly this stunt:
"This woman, as usual... plays by no rules at all."
She turned to Finn.
Finn nodded, pulling a neatly folded sheet of parchment from his belt pouch.
It was covered in line after line of cramped writing.
The plan they'd drawn up last night on the second floor — a joint draft from the Big Three of the Loki Familia, with Loki herself included.
No one had dared to dream they could actually win at first, but Ryota's one casual remark — "what if we did win?" — had forced them to consider it seriously.
If they really pulled it off, what would they demand from Freya?
How much in resources, how many people transferred, even whether they'd get the right to handle Ottar — everything was written out on that plan.
After all, in a War Game, the losing side had to accept any conditions set by the winner.
Finn was about to step forward and present that proposal to Royman.
But at that moment—
A familiar, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in Ryota's mind:
[Ding— Main Branch Quest triggered!]
[Defeat Ottar (0/1), incomplete, reward unknown]
[Ding— Main Branch Quest triggered!]
[Participate in a siege battle and lead your side to victory (0/1), incomplete, reward unknown]
Ryota froze for a second, frowning slightly.
"Two main branch quests…"
"But two completely different War Game formats?"
The first quest, "Defeat Ottar," was clearly about a one-on-one duel.
That was the classic, most straightforward style of War Game, decided by personal strength.
But the second one was "siege battle" — which demanded not only power, but soldiers, tactics, strategy, and coordination.
It was the most complicated, most all-around test of a Familia's capability.
"But the War Game rules have always been that there's only one format."
"One match, one set of rules."
Ryota's eyes shifted toward the parchment Finn was holding.
He'd glanced over it earlier by chance, and the top line was crystal clear:
[War Format: Single Combat]
[Proposed Fighter: Riveria Ljos Alf]
It was logical, after all — Riveria, the Mama, was recognized as the strongest in the entire Loki Familia.
"But if it really is a Single Combat, then I can't finish either of these quests, can I?!"
No way!
Absolutely not!
I have to stop Finn!
After half a year in the Trial Space, Ryota understood the system's quirks inside out.
He knew — if a quest was blocked, the system would never move on to the next stage.
Even if it had started giving him multiple quests at once, its underlying logic hadn't changed.
If he missed this, his growth would be stuck forever!
Meaning even with Sage Jutsu Chakra and Hashirama Cells, he'd be frozen at ten percent progress!
Not to mention Reanimation, the Six Paths of Pain, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, or maybe even the Rinnegan someday — everything would be off the table!
No way could he allow that!
Steeling himself, Ryota called out:
"Captain Finn, please hold on!"
Finn, who had just stepped forward, stopped, still holding the folded draft.
He turned to Ryota, confused:
"What is it, Ryota?"
Ryota didn't answer him, but instead leaned closer to Loki and spoke in a low voice:
"Lady Loki, may I say something?"
Loki raised an eyebrow, studying him for a moment before finally nodding.
"Go ahead."
Ryota stepped forward, under the entire room's gaze, and faced Freya.
"I'd like this War Game... to be decided in two rounds," he said clearly.
"First round, a siege battle!"
"Second round, a one-on-one duel!"
"What?!"
Loki's face changed dramatically, and she shot up from her seat, about to protest — but Freya beat her to it, chuckling.
"Two rounds?"
A playful sparkle flickered through her gray eyes.
"Ryota, that sounds a little tricky to settle. What if each side wins one round — how would you decide who truly wins?"
She tilted her head, as if humoring a stubborn child.
"You're not asking for a draw, are you?"
"Simple."
Ryota grinned.
"If each side wins one round — then we of the Loki Familia will count it as a loss!"
The moment those words dropped, it was like the entire chamber froze solid.
Everyone's brains short-circuited in unison.
Even Finn, always so calm, went pale in shock.
Up in the gallery, Ais and the others jumped to their feet, staring wide-eyed at Ryota below.
Even Ottar, usually stone-faced, couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly.
Freya blinked, then smiled even more brightly.
Loki felt something in her heart break with a sharp crack, as if something important had just shattered.
She nearly had to bite her tongue, twitching as she looked at Ryota:
"You… what the hell…"
Ryota ignored Loki completely, staring straight at Freya with burning determination:
"Lady Freya, what do you think?"