After leaving, Rod took Lavinia and the others on a stroll through downtown Lucifaad.
This was his first time properly touring a city in the Underworld.
Although he had been to the Underworld before, he had mostly stayed in Katerea's territory. The environment there was harsh, but the air had been incredibly fresh. Lucifaad, on the other hand, was one of the Underworld's major cities, and the air here could only be described as sweet.
Not only that, it carried a faint trace of moisture as well. For anyone suffering from rhinitis or other respiratory issues, this place was practically paradise.
Just living here without taking medicine would probably be enough to recover before long.
Compared to that, the human world, polluted by every kind of industrial exhaust, could only be described as a place where merely staying alive was enough.
The sky was still purple.
But unlike the dark violet of Katerea's territory, the sky here was much brighter. There was no sun, yet the brightness didn't seem any weaker than Earth under full daylight, and the vegetation here flourished in abundance.
On top of that, this place even had day-night cycles and changing seasons.
It wasn't scientific, but it was definitely magical.
And speaking of science, while the Underworld had started developing later than Earth, its technological level was ahead by several decades, perhaps even more.
Those devil soldiers Rod had seen at Kuoh Academy might have appeared to be carrying cold weapons, but in truth, their gear all contained some sort of internal energy core.
Of course, Rod still couldn't understand why, with technology this advanced, they still hadn't developed firearms or energy cannons.
It felt like some African nation in Marvel, taking the most advanced materials and energy source in the world and using them to make spears for their army. The sheer absurdity of it left Rod genuinely shaken.
Aside from that, though, there was nothing else especially unusual here.
The devils living here looked no different from humans, except that most of the buildings were domed.
Compared to Rod, Lavinia was much more enthusiastic, carrying a camera around and snapping pictures everywhere. Though she was a witch, she had never been to the Underworld before.
For a witch who had once made contracts with devils, the Underworld really was the sort of place one would long to see.
Asia, meanwhile, had an excited look she was trying very hard to suppress.
As a nun with deep faith in God, the Underworld had always been described as an evil, cruel place, the domain of devils, demons, and the dead.
Before coming, she had even braced herself with the dramatic resolve of someone marching toward certain death.
But after Koneko talked to her, and after seeing it with her own eyes, she finally realized that the Underworld was completely different from both what she had imagined and how it was described in scripture.
It was practically another version of the human world.
Kuroka, by contrast, was barely interested at all.
Her mother had been a nekomata, while her father had been a human researcher from a Naberius branch family, meaning she carried the blood of devils, nekomata, and humans all at once.
For her, because of what she had gone through, the Underworld was not a pleasant place. No matter how glamorous it looked on the surface, darkness still lurked underneath.
And she was one of the lucky few who had managed to escape from that darkness.
After wandering around for a while and buying quite a few things from the market, Rod activated the teleport anchor in the central square.
There were still quite a few unexplored areas in the Underworld, of course.
But as long as he could activate a teleport anchor, the current region's map would be unlocked.
Not every place qualified, though. It had to be recognized by the system as a landmark.
His house back in Kuoh had only worked because the system had labeled it as Home.
Houses in the Underworld, however, seemed much harder to buy. At least with his current status, there was no way for him to purchase property there.
After walking around a bit longer, the girls had already bought everything they wanted. Just as they were thinking of going somewhere else, a few devil soldiers came over and informed Rod that Lord Lucifer wished to invite him for a talk.
Rod and the others followed them to what was apparently the meeting place, only to discover that it was the same castle where he had parted ways with Rias earlier.
He wasn't taken through the main entrance, however, but instead escorted through a VIP passage.
Since Lavinia and the others had not been invited, they were arranged to rest in another guest room for the time being.
Fortunately, they were already tired from shopping and could use the break.
The devil soldiers did not accompany him further. They weren't qualified to enter the venue, which had its own dedicated guards.
Though Rod was now alone, the signs were clear enough that he had no trouble finding the place where the meeting was likely being held.
Before he reached it, however, he ran into two figures coming out of another VIP elevator in the corridor ahead.
One was a short old man with a white beard.
The other was a long-haired woman in a pale silver suit.
Judging from her features, she didn't seem very old. Her long, beautiful silver hair flowed like moonlight, catching the lights and gleaming with a soft luster that gave her an air of mystery.
Her eyes were the color of a deep lake, tinged with a vibrant green. Her features came together into a face as exquisite as a doll's. The serious expression on it gave her an unusually cool and resolute air.
Her fair skin was as smooth and delicate as glass, with the faintest flush beneath her cheeks lending a trace of allure to that cold elegance.
Her lips were as vivid as rose petals, enough to stir the heart.
The fitted suit outlined an exceptional figure, graceful and upright.
At Rod's sudden appearance, the woman froze for the briefest moment, then instantly stepped in front of the old man, shielding him behind her. Her emerald eyes locked onto Rod's every movement. It was obvious that if he so much as twitched strangely, she would strike at once.
At that moment, the system helpfully displayed their profiles.
The woman was named Rossweisse, a Valkyrie bodyguard of the Norse gods.
As for the old man, his identity was far from ordinary.
He was the chief god of the Norse Aesir, the king of the gods, Odin.
Odin?!
Rod was genuinely startled.
He hadn't expected to run into an actual divine king from mythology here.
In terms of fame, Odin's presence, in some ways, far surpassed even Lucifer's.
Whether in novels, anime, or films, he appeared far more often than devils ever did.
To be honest, though, even though the person before him was Odin, Rod didn't feel all that much pressure from him.
That was probably because this Odin didn't quite match the image Rod had in his head.
As a transmigrator, the version he remembered most vividly was still the one from Marvel.
Oh, and Odin's two sons who could practically blow Asgard apart.
"Rossweisse, don't be so rude. This is devil territory, after all."
"If he can appear here, then he must be another honored guest attending the meeting. If we offend another guest invited by the devils, wouldn't that make us the bad guys?"
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#~ Greek Myth: Primordial God of Love