Ryota had no idea that up at the top of Babel Tower, the Seductress Goddess was currently interpreting every single one of his actions with a logic so twisted it bordered on riddles.
If he'd known that trying to secure a spot in the War Game had been read as "offering himself up through defeat"... the veins on his forehead might have stretched all the way down to his chin.
Coming down from the second floor, Ryota greeted a few Familia members who were eating breakfast, then hurried out of Twilight Manor.
"Today… I'd better drop by Hephaestus' place."
He muttered under his breath, as his mind brushed across Karasu floating deep in his consciousness.
While he walked, Ryota lowered his head in thought.
"Karasu… definitely needs a proper upgrade."
As a combat puppet, Karasu did have decent attack and support functions, but with time, its "basic model" had clearly fallen behind.
Granted, in the upcoming 1v1, the puppet probably wouldn't see much use, but in the second round's Siege Battle, its value could skyrocket.
They still hadn't decided which Familia would attack and which would defend, but in either role, the Karasu could be a crucial asset.
"And with my current Mystery ability," he mused, "I might even be able to do something really wild with it…"
Ryota had a gut feeling that if he managed to beat Ottar in the duel, Freya would immediately push for the second match, giving the Loki Familia zero time to catch their breath.
So in these next five days, he had to get everything ready.
He soon arrived at the headquarters of the Hephaestus Familia.
Compared to the noisy streets outside, the forge was steeped in its usual rhythm of hammering and fire.
At the entrance, a guard stiffened to attention the instant he saw Ryota.
After all, just a while ago, this was the only outsider who would crawl into the forge before sunrise, working harder than the Hephaestus smiths themselves.
Of course, it wasn't just his streak of "working from dawn" that earned their respect—his name had already spread through all of Orario.
"Morning, Mister Ryota."
The guard gave him a respectful bow, voice tinged with deference.
"Morning."
Ryota nodded back with a smile, then headed straight to the forge room that had been set aside for him.
He pushed open the heavy door, wasting no time as he raised a hand to summon Karasu.
Spreading his fingers, Chakra threads lashed forward like guided cables, threading right into the puppet's body.
As soon as his Chakra began to flow, synchronizing with the principles of Puppet Master Jutsu burned into his mind, Karasu's structure started rattling apart on its own, piece by piece.
Every single joint, every energy-conduction line, every carved channel laid out before Ryota like an intricate blueprint, familiar to the point of muscle memory.
"It's time to give you some new parts."
He opened his backpack and pulled out a big pile of metal scraps borrowed from the Loki Familia.
Though cheap, for Ryota they were perfect to experiment with his Mystery growth skill.
The hammering, the hiss of the forge, soon rang out through the heated workshop.
Not long after, the door suddenly swung open from outside, stirring the warm, smoky air.
Ryota's hands paused, and he instinctively turned his head.
Standing there were three figures.
Leading the group was a man with short blonde hair, equally striking orange eyes, and a feathered hat perched at an angle.
To his left stood a blue-haired girl wearing a white cloak and gold-rimmed glasses.
And on the right—
"Lady Hephaestus?"
Ryota raised an eyebrow as the red-haired goddess stepped in, casually closing the door behind her.
Leaning against the frame, Hephaestus spoke up,
"Someone's looking for Orario's new hotshot. They went to Twilight Manor and couldn't find you, and Loki just offhandedly said you were probably hiding out here tinkering… and, well, they guessed right."
Ryota followed her gaze to the orange-haired man, sized him up, then chuckled.
"Lord Hermes, what can I do for you?"
"Oh my, you recognized me right away," Hermes laughed, tipping his hat.
"To be spotted so quickly by you, it's this god's honor, truly."
Ryota waved him off humbly, then shifted his attention to the blue-haired girl beside him.
"Lady Asfi."
"'Lady' sounds so stiff. Just call me Asfi."
She pushed up her glasses, but her eyes went straight past Ryota to Karasu laid out on the workbench.
She stepped forward, leaning in to examine it, and after only a few seconds couldn't hold back her praise.
"You made this? It's… it's incredibly precise!"
Then she nodded thoughtfully, almost as if she'd expected it, before turning to Ryota.
"Your development ability is Mystery, right? But somehow… it feels even more interesting than mine."
Ryota froze for half a second, sneaking a glance at Hephaestus, silently cursing—Loki, do you have to run your mouth about everything?
Still, he shrugged it off.
Honestly, it wasn't surprising the Hermes Familia had caught on.
This Familia looked normal enough on the surface, but that was all an act.
He'd have his own Familia members downplay their real skills, even lie about which floors they'd explored in the Dungeon, all to avoid Guild taxes and keep a low profile.
They were, without a doubt, the Familia that best understood how to hide their claws.
So Ryota wasn't surprised Asfi already knew about his development ability.
"Thanks, Asfi. So—"
He turned back to Hermes.
"What brings you here? Surely you didn't come just to watch me work?"
Hearing that, Hermes stepped forward a bit, his tone growing more serious.
"This time, I'm here to mediate between your Loki Familia and the Freya Familia over the War Game."
Ryota paused.
"Freya has always been, well… let's say, willful, but a War Game involves way too many parties."
"The rivalries between gods, the interests of the Familia, even Orario's future power balance—if it gets out of control, things could turn ugly."
"If you'd be willing to back down, I could try to persuade Freya to withdraw her challenge."
Ryota narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hermes and Asfi.
"If that's the case… then, Lord Hermes, why didn't you come try to mediate sooner?"
The moment he asked, Hermes's smile stiffened, a faint, embarrassed blush creeping onto his face.
"Ahem, well, actually, I—"
"It's all because of Lord Hermes himself!"
Asfi cut him off with a deadpan look and a bit of clenched-teeth frustration, as if she wanted to take a bite out of him.
Though she didn't explain, Ryota could easily guess why.
Considering Hermes' reputation in the original—how his favorite activity was peeping on divine and mortal women bathing, and constantly getting caught red-handed—
Ryota lowered his head, picked up his hammer again, and lightly tapped on the puppet's parts, answering without hesitation,
"Sorry, I refuse."
"…?"
The workshop's air froze instantly.
Hermes' smile froze.
Asfi was stunned.
Even Hephaestus raised an eyebrow, unable to hide her surprise.
Hermes was the first to recover, his voice filled with confusion.
"This is no trivial matter, Ryota!"
"If the mediation goes through, you wouldn't have to join the Freya Familia, and you could save the Loki Familia from the costs of a War Game—wouldn't that be better?"
Ryota didn't answer right away, continuing to focus on the puppet core's components. After a few more seconds, he looked up, eyes bright and burning.
"Lord Hermes… do you really think the Loki Familia will lose?"
"That's not…"
Hermes opened his mouth, then swallowed the rest of his words.
He sighed, a rare look of sincerity crossing his face.
"I just feel that… if you represent the Loki Familia, you have absolutely—no chance of winning."
"Your opponent is Ottar."
At those words, even Hephaestus straightened from where she'd been leaning, her eyes going wide.
"Wait, you mean… Ryota's the one fighting?"
"You've already decided the lineup?"
Of course she hadn't heard—the War Game rosters usually weren't officially announced by the Guild until midday, and it was still early morning.
The red-haired goddess looked genuinely worried, striding over to Ryota with a deep frown.
"Ryota, are you serious? Even if you've grown this fast, you're only Level 2… Level 2 against Level 7, that's just—"
"I know."
Ryota shrugged,
"But hey, doesn't the idea of challenging a Level 7 get your blood pumping?"
As soon as he said that, the entire workshop fell silent.
Hephaestus opened her mouth, but in the end, just sighed and leaned back against the doorframe again.
"…You really are just like Loki's crew."
Hermes shook his head.
He hadn't expected his mediation attempt to end so quickly—
or rather, to end in total failure.
"I guess I'd better go talk to Freya then."
He adjusted the tilt of his hat slightly, but his tone still held a trace of caution.
"Still, Ryota… even if you won't accept mediation, I hope you'll withdraw from the 1v1."
"As long as the War Game hasn't officially started, the participants can still be changed."
He looked straight at Ryota, genuine concern shining through.
"The Guild does everything it can to keep injuries low during these Familia clashes, but a War Game is still a War Game."
"Ottar… won't hold back."
Hearing that, Ryota paused in his work, then cracked a big grin.
"Funny—
I was hoping he wouldn't."
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