"Thank you for showing mercy."
Finn stepped forward and gave Genichi a slight bow.
His voice was calm, yet carried a gravity that was impossible to hide.
Bete had been run through with a single strike, his lung pierced and his injuries severe, but Finn understood perfectly well that this had already been mercy.
If Genichi had wanted to kill Bete, that blade would not have gone through his lung. It would have gone through his throat.
If Genichi had wanted to kill him, he would not have twisted the blade just a few times. He would have cut him in half outright.
He had held back.
So Finn had to thank him.
No matter who started this conflict, no matter how foul Bete's mouth had been, no matter what sort of feelings remained on the Loki Familia's side -
they had to acknowledge the mercy they had been shown.
That was proper conduct.
And it was dignity.
Genichi looked at Finn, and there was not the slightest ripple in those black eyes.
He gave a small nod.
He said nothing.
No polite reply.
No extra courtesy.
No unnecessary gesture.
He simply accepted Finn's thanks in silence.
Finn looked at him, a complicated emotion flickering through his blue eyes.
This boy really was different.
Anyone else, when thanked by the captain of the Loki Familia, would have reacted somehow.
With modesty, with polite words, or by taking the chance to ask for something.
But he had done none of that.
He had only nodded.
As though it was not worth saying anything more.
As though, in his eyes, the Loki Familia was no different from weeds on the roadside.
Finn drew in a slow breath and suppressed the thoughts rising in his mind.
Then he turned and walked toward Riveria.
Bete was still lying on the ground. He needed to be taken back for treatment as quickly as possible.
Genichi paid them no more attention.
He walked over to Demeter and looked at her.
"Are you full?"
His voice was calm, but there was a trace of softness in it that only she could notice.
Demeter wrapped herself around his arm, her amber eyes filled with a smile.
"I am."
She paused.
"Let's go home."
Genichi nodded.
The two of them turned and headed for the tavern door.
Moonlight spilled down, stretching their shadows long across the ground.
Demeter clung to his arm, a happy smile on her face.
There had been a little trouble tonight, but...
She had gone out with him.
She had eaten with him.
And now, after watching him teach someone a lesson, she got to hold his arm as they went home together.
That was enough.
More than enough.
And yet...
Just as they were about to step out through the tavern doors, Genichi suddenly felt a sharp, piercing gaze fall on him.
No, not on him.
On Demeter.
More precisely, on the hand Demeter had looped around his arm.
There was a jealousy in that gaze that was impossible to ignore.
Genichi's brow shifted slightly.
He stopped, turned his head, and looked toward the source of that stare.
The face that met his eyes was Syr's familiar one.
Gray hair. Gray eyes. A gentle smile resting on her lips.
But those eyes...
Were fixed dead on Demeter's hand where it clung to Genichi's arm.
That was not Syr's usual warm gaze.
It was something hotter, more dangerous, more...
Jealous.
Freya.
It was Freya again.
The Goddess of Beauty was once more looking at him through Syr's eyes.
No, she was looking at Demeter's hand around his arm.
Genichi met that gaze.
A flicker of panic flashed through those gray eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.
In its place came a smile.
The same warm smile Syr usually wore.
But Genichi knew it was not Syr.
It was Freya controlling her body.
He was silent for a moment.
Then he turned away and did not look at her again.
"Let's go."
His voice was calm.
Demeter nodded, and the two of them continued out the door.
Behind them, Syr stood rooted in place, watching their retreating backs.
A complicated light flickered in her gray eyes.
At the top of Babel Tower.
Freya withdrew her gaze and slumped back against the sofa, breathing heavily.
A sickly flush spread across that beautiful face.
"Damn it..."
she murmured.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it..."
She had seen it.
Seen Demeter's arm wrapped around Genichi's.
Seen how close they stood.
Seen the happy smile on Demeter's face.
That woman...
Why?
Why did she get to hold his arm so naturally?
Why did she get to wear that kind of happy smile?
Why...
Did she get to have him?
Freya closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.
But it was useless.
The flames of jealousy roared inside her, almost enough to swallow her whole.
She had never felt anything like this before.
As the Goddess of Beauty, she had seen countless souls and collected countless "treasures."
She had never once felt true possessiveness toward anyone.
Because no one had ever been worth it.
But that boy...
That boy's soul had made her, for the first time, feel the urge to truly possess someone.
That ultimate contradiction, filth and radiance coexisting in the same soul, had completely enthralled her.
That blinding brilliance had intoxicated her.
She wanted him.
Wanted to have him.
Wanted to make him hers.
And yet...
That bitch Demeter had gotten there first.
What right did she have?
The more Freya thought about it, the angrier she became.
Her eyes snapped open, and in those jewel-like irises, furious fire burned.
"I won't give up," she whispered.
"Genichi..."
"I will have you."
"No matter what."
...
At the Demeter Familia's home.
...
Inside Genichi's room.
Demeter sat at the bedside, looking at him.
"You're saying that Syr just now..."
She paused.
"Was Freya?"
Genichi was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah."
Demeter's brows drew together slightly.
"She's set her sights on you?"
"Maybe."
His voice remained calm.
Demeter fell silent.
She knew what it meant to be noticed by Freya.
That Goddess of Beauty was one of the most dangerous beings in all of Orario.
Her obsession with "collecting" was famous among the gods.
Once she took an interest in a soul, none of them ever escaped her grasp.
If she had really targeted Genichi...
Demeter did not dare think further.
"Don't worry."
His voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
He walked over and sat down beside her.
"I'll be fine."
Demeter looked up at him.
Her amber eyes were full of unease.
"But-"
"There is no but."
Genichi cut her off.
"I have Apparition, I have Alfia, and I have enough trump cards."
He paused.
"Even if Freya really tries something, I can still run."
Demeter looked at him, all kinds of emotions churning in her amber eyes.
She knew what he said was true.
With the strength he had now, he was no longer some helpless lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
But...
She was still worried.
Because that was Freya.
The goddess who now reigned over Orario.
And what worried Demeter most of all was Freya's divine authority as a goddess of beauty.
(End of Chapter)
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