"Oh dear~ Does Rod think I'll steal the spotlight from your beloved Goddess Hestia?"
Faced with Demeter's intentionally feigned childish aggrieved look, the contrast made it difficult for Rod to look away.
Damn, when I go back tonight, I'll have to pick some unlucky soul and fiercely challenge the Great Demon Lord.
"If the Goddess insists on doing so, then feel free..."
Demeter chuckled softly, then her expression became a little somber.
"We are not a combat-type Familia; we cannot fight head-on with those Dark Faction like you. The only things we can do are these..."
The Goddess of Fertility is also one of the Gods who love children the most.
Rod didn't know how to comfort her, so he simply changed the subject.
"By the way, I have one more thing to ask of the Goddess. But this matter is a bit sensitive and complicated, and I can understand if the Goddess refuses."
"What is it?"
Across the table, Goddess Demeter had her hands clasped over her impressive chest, a curious expression on her face.
Rod put down his teacup, his expression becoming serious.
"Have you heard of Xenos?"
The Xenos still need to stay in the Dungeon for a long time, diligently "working" for him.
However, Rod actually doesn't intend to ruthlessly exploit them.
After all, the scale of time no longer holds much meaning for him.
Rod only suddenly thought of it when he saw Demeter: unlike regular Familias, Demeter possesses large tracts of private land outside of Orario!
If possible, the Xenos could periodically come out for a short breath of fresh air there.
As for the exchange, he would have them do some farming along the way.
This way, as long as Demeter Familia could accept a certain amount of risk, they would essentially be getting free labor.
The Xenos could also enjoy the feeling of the blue sky and be even more grateful to Rod for making it all happen.
And Rod, from beginning to end, merely acted as a go-between, speaking a few words without much effort.
This was a win-win-win situation!
Just as Rod was telling the astonished and excited Goddesses about the Xenos.
Aisha, with three Amazon girls, had already escorted over forty dejected adventurers, in a grand procession, to the heroine's God-brothel temple.
Along the way, this spectacle indeed attracted many eyes, but when they saw the expressionless Shimomura Izumi accompanying them, they immediately flinched, quickly averted their gaze, and stopped meddling.
Aside from the killing weapon the girl wielded, the man behind her possessed an uncanny strength that was impossible to fathom.
Ishtar Familia.
Even in the Labyrinth City, they could be considered a large faction with exceptional combat power.
These people occupied the pleasure district in the southeast of the city as their territory; the entire third district of this entertainment street was under Ishtar's rule.
And the prostitutes living here, including non-combat members, were all members of Ishtar Familia.
Its excessively vast sphere of influence could be said to be the largest in Orario.
The Amazonians, serving as combat personnel, were known as Battle Prostitutes, and their strength was deeply feared even by high-level adventurers.
The main Goddess of the faction, the Goddess of Beauty—Ishtar.
She is the embodiment of enchanting beauty, a demonic Goddess who captures the hearts of thousands.
At this moment, she was puffing on a pipe, her amethyst-like eyes revealing an expression of unknown meaning.
"Oh... he said he wants to sell these children to me?"
"Is he treating my Familia as a garbage dump?"
Facing the invisible divine power emanating from the Goddess, which made one's heart tremble, Aisha respectfully bowed her head, her expression unchanged.
"No, Goddess. Actually, even though these guys were badly beaten by us, they were carefully selected by Apollo."
"Those chosen by the Sun God are not inherently lacking in aptitude."
"But for various reasons, their abilities have not been fully developed."
"And Lord Rod believes that Goddess Ishtar, you are one of the few in the Labyrinth City who can lead these guys back from their misguided path and onto the road of adventurers again."
Ishtar crossed her slender, brown legs and blew out a seductive smoke ring.
"Oh? Then why didn't he send these people to Freya Familia?"
"If it's a Goddess of Beauty, her reputation in the city is far more renowned than mine."
Facing the Goddess's probing question that seemed to see through hearts, Aisha's heart tightened, but her expression remained calm and composed.
"Lord Rod has a closer relationship with Loki Familia, and naturally doesn't want Freya Familia to become stronger and disrupt the existing balance of the city."
After she finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the spacious hall.
"—Cackle cackle cackle! This guy is lying! Let me torture her properly, Goddess Ishtar~"
A hoarse, frog-like voice suddenly came from the small, giant-like monster next to Goddess Ishtar.
This person had short limbs, but a terrifyingly thick torso, and stood over two meters tall.
She had a messy head of short black hair, which accentuated her toad-like face and a pair of yellow, toad-like eyes.
When she spoke, not only did Aisha's sisters behind her show angry expressions, but even other Battle Prostitutes of the same Familia showed clear disgust.
If Aisha hadn't held Ilta down tightly, she probably would have rushed up to punch that ugly face.
Man Slayer, Phryne, an existence of Level 4, and the leader of Ishtar Familia.
She glared at Aisha with twisted and malicious eyes, taking heavy steps as if to strike.
"Stop, Phryne, she's not lying."
"But Goddess Ishtar! They are too arrogant..."
Phryne showed almost no respect for her own Goddess, still wanting to continue her attack.
"I told you to stop, did you hear me?"
A cold voice with absolute authority echoed through the hall.
Phryne's expression stiffened, she scoffed "Tch," stopped her movements, and reluctantly turned to leave the hall directly.
As she passed Aisha, her constantly twitching yellow eyeballs seemed to be brewing some malicious scheme.
Shaking her dark, purple-hued black hair, Ishtar exhaled smoke from the pipe she held in her mouth, seemingly unconcerned by Phryne's defiance.
"That child... I agree to Rod's request. What do you want?"
Aisha secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Rare materials, dropped items, anything is fine."
She paused, then added,
"If Goddess Ishtar finds it troublesome, Lord Rod also said he could give them to you for free."
Ishtar's eyes lit up, and she sat up straight, a smile involuntarily gracing her lips.
"Oh?"
But Aisha, immediately realizing the Goddess of Beauty had misunderstood something, quickly added,
"The condition is that you, Goddess, must have those proud Battle Prostitutes under your command participate in the fight against the Dark Faction."
Ishtar hesitated, wanting to speak but deciding against saying what she originally intended.
She instantly became disheartened, waving her hand dismissively, and picked up her pipe again.
"....Forget it, I don't want to do something so troublesome. Let's just exchange for dropped items."
Ishtar was not fundamentally different from Apollo; she would also seize others' possessions if the price was truly worth it.
But....
Even she held a certain respect for Goddess Astrea.
Moreover, while Hestia seemed easy to bully, she always gave Ishtar an ominous feeling.
And although Rod possessed an anomaly that piqued the curiosity of all Gods, there was a reason why no God had acted against him so far.
All the Gods had clearly judged Rod's character through his actions.
If they acted rashly, their Familia might be mercilessly crushed.
The incident with the Apollo Familia undoubtedly proved this point.
However, not being able to obtain Rod still put Ishtar in a very bad mood.
Thinking of this, Ishtar turned her gaze to Aisha and the others, who held their ground in this confrontation, and a seductive smile reappeared on her face.
"I say, you all... haven't officially formed a contract with Hestia yet, have you?"
"...That is correct, we have only just passed the initiation trial."
"Then how about joining our Familia? If Rod needs a large number of rare items and materials, I can also let him name his price~"
Since she couldn't have Rod himself, these few promising young women in front of her also greatly tempted her!
Just seeing their performance earlier, she knew they would definitely become excellent adventurers in the future!
Ishtar extended a sincere invitation.
"And you are also Amazonians, right? I have your lovely kin here, and you'll get along very well!"
Upon hearing this, the four Amazonians frowned simultaneously.
Ultimately, Aisha spoke.
"Apologies, Goddess, we have already decided to join the Hestia Familia."
Ishtar wasn't angry, just a little perplexed.
"Why... would you join that virgin Goddess's Familia?"
"Isn't the Amazonian temperament a better fit for my Familia?"
"Frankly pursuing love, Amazonians will only receive the greatest recognition and support here with me. In my brothel, you will also enjoy the most sacred pleasure with men of different races."
As a Goddess, Ishtar's values were clearly vastly different from those of mortals.
Aisha was silent for a moment, then finally spoke with a smile.
"Although we haven't experienced what you describe, we have had similar feelings and strongly reject such a life."
"Oh?"
"On my way to Orario, to earn travel expenses, I once worked for a merchant guild for a period. The men in the guild, whenever they stopped in a city, would visit the local brothels, and afterward, they would loudly laugh and joke about it as entertainment."
Aisha spoke of her past with a faint smile.
"Later, I gained an insight from their conversations. The work of prostitutes is actually no different in essence from our hard labor in the merchant guild."
"Both involve using one's body to earn money and enjoy fleeting pleasure."
"But the most important thing to do isn't to strive to be the top courtesan, but to redeem oneself as quickly as possible and then leave."
"However, in reality, many fail to redeem themselves, don't become top courtesans, contract illnesses, and are still beaten and scolded by the madam."
"A few years later, they might even be disliked by the madam for being too old and directly kicked out."
"As a result, they haven't accumulated much money over the years, haven't found love, and ultimately die alone in old age."
The Amazonian girls who heard these words were momentarily dazed, their values seemingly impacted.
Even the high and mighty Goddess Ishtar slightly widened her eyes, seemingly completely surprised by Aisha's remarks.
Aisha smiled and bowed to the Goddess.
"Therefore, thank you for your generosity, Goddess. My companions and I have found our lifelong destination from the very beginning, and we are diligently pursuing that one true love, unwavering in our commitment."
Ilta's heart fluttered for a moment.
Wait, don't include me!
I don't feel that way about that guy... Anyway! I joined the Hestia Familia to help the weak!
And you two, you think so too, right?
She turned to look at the two Amazonian girls beside her, and instantly froze.
Lina and Samira's eyes were practically overflowing with steadfast and sincere love for a certain person!
"....."
Ilta was momentarily bewildered, and she subconsciously clutched her chest.
Could it be... that I'm the one with the problem?
Or, do I actually like that guy, but I just... haven't realized it?
For a moment, Ilta's mind was a jumbled mess, and she herself couldn't figure out her true feelings.
Goddess Ishtar leaned back on her ornate chair, once again holding her pipe, and waved her hand in displeasure.
..... 0 0
"Alright, you all hurry up and get your things from the warehouse, then leave immediately."
"I kindly invited you, but you turned around and tried to sway the hearts of my Familia members."
Aisha led the three, smiling as they bowed and took their leave.
Just as they were about to step out the door, Aisha suddenly stopped and said calmly,
"I will not hide anything from our Captain. Therefore, I will relay all the conversations that happened here today to him, word for word."
Ishtar was directly amused to anger.
"What? Will he really attack me just because of this small invitation I extended to you?"
Aisha said indifferently,
"I will not answer for him, but I believe Goddess Ishtar's invitation of this degree will not bother him, given his magnanimity."
"But... your Captain's malice towards us is completely undisguised, although I don't know where we offended her."
"As far as I know, our Captain's habit is to nip all potential crises in the bud, and as long as a conflict occurs, he will definitely — eradicate the roots."
"This is my response and reminder to your kindness, Goddess. My final words have been said, so I shall take my leave."
In the main hall, Ishtar's Familia members exchanged glances, in complete silence.
Although Rod's debut was short, his achievements were remarkable, annihilating two Familias in a row.
While the Soma Familia and the Apollo Familia were not on the same level of combat power as theirs, Rod's strength should absolutely not be underestimated!
"....Goddess?"
Ishtar's expression was gloomy.
"Even for someone I once wanted to obtain, I will not allow him to threaten me, but...."
Ishtar looked towards Babel with a twisted expression.
"....The only person I want to kill most right now is her!"
She withdrew her gaze, then unexpectedly laughed, licking the corner of her mouth.
"Hmph, his offense against me, I'll settle it all when my plan succeeds."
"And by the way, I will thoroughly savor all the secrets on his body until nothing is left~"
"For now... I'll add two more shares to the original price and temporarily ground Phryne."
On the other side, the Apollo Familia's stronghold was quickly inventoried by Rose from the Guild.
Suzuki Jun, according to Rod's wishes, paid all the necessary fees to the Guild on the spot.
"Thank you for your help, Miss Rose. Please also inform others when you return that this will now be one of our Hestia Familia's strongholds."
"As for the Valis used to purchase this building, it will all be used later to buy food from the Demeter Familia, to be distributed freely to the public."
Rose showed a wry smile.
"Since you've said so, I imagine it will be difficult for others to object."
The Hestia Familia's smooth operation, combining with the Ishtar Familia and instantly winning over the hearts of Orario's ordinary residents.
In addition, the victim, Apollo, for some reason, had not appeared yet, which meant that even if someone wanted to cause trouble in the future, they would have to think carefully.
Moreover, there were over sixty adventurers present who had been forced to join the Apollo Familia.
They were living witnesses who could prove Apollo's illegal actions!
If these individuals, who had previously complained to the Guild without receiving a response, learned that the Guild intended to punish the Hestia Familia who rescued them, it might incite a riot! Small.