Much like Hestia had said, Liliruca's loyalty wasn't really a major issue for Levi, who had Runes as a failsafe. He just hated wasting effort. He didn't want to invest hundreds of thousands in materials only to end up nurturing a backstabber. But on the other hand, Liliruca had at least appeared in the anime, so her personality was predictable. Had it been anyone else from the Soma Familia, Levi felt he might have faced even more trouble.
"Whatever, Liliruca it is. In any case, she's just meant to be a human billboard and a foot in the door."
Seeing Levi still being dishonest with himself, Hestia couldn't help but cover her mouth and stifle a giggle.
...Ten minutes later.
The two arrived at Babel in Central Park. The place was currently bustling with people, as the live broadcast of the War Game was about to begin.
Hestia was also feeling playful.
She suddenly put on a serious expression, extended her right hand, and said, "Now then, my knight, go forth and claim victory for me."
Levi couldn't possibly spoil his lover's fun, so he knelt on one knee and performed a knight's hand-kissing salute. "My lady, your command will be done."
Seeing the two act this way, the surrounding citizens couldn't help but cheer and jeer playfully.
The gods couldn't resist shouting, "Kiss her! Kiss her!"
Although Hestia was technically a married woman, she wasn't that thick-skinned yet.
Levi, on the other hand, didn't mind declaring his sovereignty in front of all the people of Orario.
But since his goddess was shy, he chose not to force it.
He simply kissed the back of her hand again. "Well then, I'll be back soon."
"Mm-hmm~"
The beautiful, youthful-looking goddess and the handsome, armored youth formed a picturesque scene in Central Park. The young maidens in the crowd watched with fluttering hearts, wishing they could take Hestia's place.
But it also made a certain gray-haired goddess, peeking from high up in Babel, grind her silver teeth to the point of breaking.
"Hestia, you've got some nerve!"
When the twin-tailed goddess bidding farewell to the one she loved suddenly looked up with a supremely mocking smile on her face, how could Freya not realize that the entire scene had been put on specifically for her to see?
But immediately after, the gray-haired goddess regained her composure, and even the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
"But you can only be happy for now. After today, 'Odr' will belong to me and me alone~"
Too 'excited', Freya didn't even notice her skirt getting wet, simply humming happily on her private balcony.
Meanwhile, after bidding farewell to Hestia, Levi directly boarded a carriage provided by The Guild. A little over two hours later, he arrived at a vast plain east of Orario.
A member of the Ganesha Familia, serving as both referee and partial healer, stepped forward and handed Levi a flag emblazoned with a sacred flame, symbolizing the Hestia Familia.
"According to the rules, you can choose to carry this flag with you, or you can hide it in any corner of the designated War Game area. If the flag is found and destroyed, the Hestia Familia loses."
"If you are defeated before then, and we judge you to be incapable of resisting, we will also declare the defeat of the Hestia Familia."
"Likewise, you can achieve victory in this War Game by destroying the Apollo Familia's flag, or by defeating all members of the Apollo Familia and their reinforcements."
"Do you understand?"
Levi nodded, calmly accepted the flag, and, in front of the already active divine mirror's lens, stuffed it into his inventory.
"Now, the only path left for them is to defeat me."
...
"What an unexpected development!"
A member of the Ganesha Familia, Ibri Achaa, a dedicated War Game commentator, shouted into an amplifying microphone.
"The captain and sole participant of the Hestia Familia has used the legendary spatial storage magic to hide the flag! It seems he doesn't care at all about his side's numerical disadvantage and is instead very eager to fight the people from the Apollo Familia and the Freya Familia!"
Hestia had already arrived at the Denatus hall. After greeting her friend Hephaestus, she sat down.
The other gods had not all arrived yet, as the War Game had not officially begun.
"This might be a bit redundant, but Levi... he won't screw this up, will he?"
The red-haired, one-eyed goddess offered a kind reminder. She didn't want to see someone she had a favorable impression of be defiled by that perverted god, Apollo.
"Don't worry." Hestia made an 'OK' sign.
Since she didn't deliberately lower her voice, her words reached the ears of many gods present.
Loki, never one to shy away from stirring up trouble, immediately jeered, "Hey, hey, hey, I can't pretend I didn't hear that. What, can your little boyfriend beat my children, or Freya's 'Champion'?"
Hestia replied with an enigmatic smile, "Guess~"
"Hah, you can only talk big for now." Apollo sat on the other side of the hall, his face also showing no worry about the War Game.
"Although I don't know how long it took dear Levi to go from Lv.1 to Lv.2 (the gods have already assumed Levi had a Falna before entering Orario), to be able to concoct a potion for limb regeneration is a unique [Unknown] in the lower world. Add to that his shield magic and spatial storage magic, and it's possible an ordinary Lv.4 would indeed not be his opponent. But that doesn't mean you can rest easy when top-tier Lv.4s team up."
When he wasn't acting crazy, Apollo's mind was quite sharp.
The premise being that the intelligence he had gathered was accurate.
Hestia toyed with her fingers, looking somewhat arrogant, even disdainful.
But this War Game had been started by Apollo's side in the first place. The fact that she could sit here and endure her displeasure was already out of respect for the other gods present.
"Mm, please continue. I'm listening."
Seeing her reaction, Apollo wanted to say more, but Hephaestus, sitting beside the blue ribbon, couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Pfft—"
Seeing the gods look at her, she waved her hand sheepishly with a smile on her face. "Ah, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Apollo, please, go on. Say whatever you want today. I won't interrupt you."
If it was Hestia's dismissal, Apollo could still bear it; after all, their relationship in Tenkai was never very good.
But Hephaestus's act of twisting the knife in the wound made him completely lose his composure.
"Hephaestus, you!"
Just as Apollo slammed the table and stood up, the commentator Ibri's voice came from the divine mirror again.
"The scheduled time is up! The War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia officially begins!"
____
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