By the time Ishtar's reluctant command had been passed down, night had already fallen across Orario.
On Aether's side, his original plan of heading into the Dungeon himself to "deal with a threat" had been set aside, thanks to Paimon's excellent work.
Well… if he was being honest, the existence of that certain Man-Slayer was more than enough to make him reconsider.
No way am I getting close to someone that vile, ugly in body and soul, with zero redeeming qualities, yet somehow full of herself.
More importantly, he couldn't beat a Level 5 right now.
Walking up to her would be nothing but self-inflicted misery.
So, after finishing the assembly work with Welf, he tossed those worries aside for the night and focused on the real task at hand.
The prototype Universal Shovel was now safely stored in Welf's personal forge.
Tomorrow, he'd meet Welf here, and together they'd head into the Dungeon for the next stage of his plan.
As for tonight…
Not avoiding it, after pulling off a "borrowed authority" trick earlier, he had to report to Freya.
Because if she discovered hints of Ishtar's plotting through her vast intelligence network… he knew full well his beautiful goddess-sister might, on a whim, flatten the entire Pleasure Quarter.
And, as it turned out…
"Wait, don't be rash! Impulse is the devil!!!"
Late at night, atop Babel Tower, Aether had only just finished explaining the Ishtar Familia situation when Freya, who had been lounging lazily, smiling faintly as if listening to a bedtime tale, suddenly rose in silence, ready to leave.
Thankfully, he grabbed her before she could even finish the "O" in "Ottar."
Oh no you don't!
"Calm down, calm down, easy there. Deep breaths, come on, sit back down."
Drawing on old experience from coaxing his mom after a bad test grade, Aether pressed her gently back into her throne and began massaging her shoulders.
Even Freya, who had lived for billions of years, blinked in mild shock at the gesture.
After a long pause,
"You want to handle this yourself?"
Freya tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at him. "Or… do you have ulterior motives? Not wanting me to interfere?"
Aether's smile froze.
He laughed awkwardly, trying to play it off. "I just thought, "
"You're interested in the kind of things that happen in the Pleasure Quarter?"
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
Her casual jab nearly made him choke to death.
His overreaction only made Freya's expression grow stranger.
Truth be told, she wasn't one of the "Three Virgin Goddesses," so she had no inherent aversion to such things.
Yet, seeing him squirm like a flustered child gave her a peculiar sense of my little darling is starting to learn bad habits, and I don't like it.
With a sigh,
"All right, Sis, let me be honest with you. In return, you tell me something too."
"Oh?"
Freya raised a brow. "And what would that be?"
"Well… considering my true self is the captain of the Frigg Familia…"
He got straight to the point.
"What if, and I mean what if, I managed to bring in some promising talents for the Familia? How would the gentle, kind, and beautiful Lady Freya handle it?"
He even made a little "drop of divine blood" gesture.
A true flatterer through and through.
"Hm."
Freya smiled mysteriously.
"Well… once you, oh no, once that person establishes a proper base, you'll naturally find out."
Riddles again! Always riddles!
Aether resisted the urge to groan.
"So… the thing you wanted to confess to me was just this?"
Unmoved, Freya pressed further. "Do you have your eye on some 'promising talent' inside Ishtar's Familia right now?"
Since she asked directly…
"Yes."
He didn't bother hiding it, though he kept his explanation half-true, half-false.
"After my last Status update, I used the Paimon Time skill to probe Orario's adventurers."
Hardly an ethical move, but the excuse would do.
And Freya wasn't the type to nitpick about such things anyway.
"Today, when the Ishtar Familia came causing trouble, I happened to discover a rather… interesting target."
"She has a skill, well, a kind of sorcery. Let me ask first, Sis, you're not going to suddenly snatch her away, are you?"
"Heh~"
Freya shifted her posture with deliberate grace, smiling faintly.
"Considering how well my little brother served me tonight, " (her eyes flicked toward his hands still on her shoulders) ", if he truly likes her… oh, wait, if he's asking on behalf of that person, then perhaps I could simply sit back and enjoy the show."
Tch. The Goddess of Amusement strikes again.
But twisted as her answer was, it was still a promise.
"In short, she's a fox-girl from the Far East. Her sorcery… or perhaps you'd call it 'yōjutsu'… allows the target to temporarily gain the power of a higher Level while retaining their current Status values."
"Put simply: a rare magic that grants a temporary Level Up."
At this, Freya's brows knit together.
She seemed to mull it over, until at last,
"Oh~ so that's it."
Her lips curved into a dangerous smile.
"No wonder Ishtar always dances so brazenly in front of me. She had such a trump card hidden away."
"A few years back, multiple Familias accused her of falsifying her children's Levels to the Guild… So this was why."
Glancing back at Aether, she added:
"This one truly is an intriguing 'target.' Almost comparable to Dian Cecht Familia's Dea Saintess."
"Well then. Since I've already given my word…"
Her smile softened, though her eyes gleamed with warning.
"I'll give you one year. If you haven't dealt with the Ishtar Familia by then, I'll step in myself. A year… is that enough?"
"No problem at all."
Aether grinned confidently.
"Honestly, half a, ahem, never mind. One year's perfect."
He barely caught himself.
Because if Freya caught that slip, she might well have smirked and said, 'Half a year it is, then.'
And judging by her playful look, she was already hoping for him to trip up.
Of course…
"This is a privilege I extend only to you. If any other god dares cross the line…"
Normally, Freya kept herself in check, venturing out only in disguise or under a cloaked mantle.
If she ever stopped being discreet, if she ever unleashed her Charm without restraint…
The entire Lower World would plunge into chaos.
Because even most gods could not withstand her power.
And then…
"Ishtar. You're lucky tonight."
In truth, Freya cared less about that Level-Up sorcery and far more about her little brother.
She had already made a decision she would not change:
"You should have been erased tonight. But since he wants to handle it himself…"
"I'll allow you to 'live', one year more."
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