At this moment, the entire hall was so quiet that no one even dared to breathe loudly.
Goddess Istar paced back and forth with a conflicted expression. Giving up Haruhime—the treasure she had finally obtained—was something she truly couldn't bear to do.
"Istar-sama, this condition can actually be accepted."
At this moment, Aru, Istar's male favorite, spoke up.
The reason he had managed to climb to this position was his intelligence. Many of the shady matters Istar didn't want to deal with personally were handled by him.
In a sense, he played the role of a "supportive spouse"—except here, the gender roles were reversed.
"What do you mean~?"
Istar looked at Aru. If she hadn't known that he was completely captivated by her charm, that single sentence might have made her want to kill him.
"Istar-sama, the ritual requires both the Killing Stone and a night of the full moon. This year's full moon has already passed, and we still haven't found the Killing Stone. So where Haruhime is right now doesn't really matter."
"Go on~"
"When the next full moon arrives and we've obtained the Killing Stone, we can simply send someone to kidnap Haruhime back. That way the ritual won't be delayed."
"Hmph. That's the Freya Familia, not your home. Do you think you can just kidnap people whenever you want?"
"Istar-sama, Haruhime may have some potential, but she's only Level 1. No matter how much Freya values her, she won't keep her by her side every day. That will be our opportunity."
"You do make some sense."
Istar nodded. Aru's words had convinced her.
After all, Haruhime was merely a sacrifice for the ritual. Whether she belonged to the Istar Familia or the Freya Familia didn't really matter.
As for worsening relations with the Freya Familia again—once the ritual was carried out, they would already be in a life-or-death conflict with Freya anyway.
At that point, offending her wouldn't matter.
More importantly, as Aru said, this year's full moon had already passed. The next one was still far away.
And they hadn't even found the Killing Stone yet.
Right now, all she had was Haruhime. Everything else was missing. Her so-called "plan" was nothing more than empty talk.
Most importantly, if she refused the deal, the Istar Familia might not even have a future. And in the end, Haruhime would still fall into Freya's hands.
Although she hated to admit it, power truly allowed one to do whatever they wanted.
Just like now.
The overall strength of the Freya Familia far surpassed that of the Istar Familia. No matter how furious Istar felt toward Freya, she could only swallow her anger.
After much deliberation, Istar finally chose to compromise.
She would hand over Haruhime.
Just as Aru had said, nothing was ready yet. Once everything was prepared, they could simply kidnap Haruhime back.
By then, her entire Familia would have advanced a level. Combined with the cannon fodder she had gathered and the chaos-loving Dark Faction, all of it together would surely drag Freya down from her pedestal.
"Freya… enjoy your time while you can. When everything is ready, you will have nothing left."
At this point, a crazed expression appeared on Istar's face.
Scene Break
"Greetings, my lord. I am Sanjo-no Haruhime. Please take care of me from now on."
"Uh—"
Looking at the golden-haired fox girl in front of him, Cao Ye was completely confused.
He then turned to look at Freya beside him.
What the heck?
You only went to cause trouble this morning, and by evening the person has already been delivered?
Your efficiency is way too high!
At the same time, Cao Ye felt speechless toward Istar.
They've already stepped on your head like this, and you're just going to endure it?
This is Haruhime—the cornerstone of your grand ambition—and you just handed her over?
If this were the storylines of those "transmigrator seniors," this would have exploded into a massive conflict, maybe even a War Game, followed by dramatic face-slapping and the protagonist gaining both fame and beauty.
But here?
As soon as his own goddess made a move, everything was instantly resolved.
"Lady Freya… this…"
"Didn't you see? She's already been delivered. Her conversion has also been completed. From now on, she is a member of the Freya Familia."
"I— you— this—"
For a moment, Cao Ye didn't even know what to say.
Other than giving a thumbs-up and saying "Amazing", what else could he do?
This also made him realize something.
When your faction is powerful enough, you can truly do whatever you want.
In the original story, Haruhime's plotline was an entire arc, leading to a chain of events.
But here?
It ended like a quick cutscene.
"By the way, there's one more thing. Ottar—"
As Freya called out, the door opened and the massive figure of Ottar walked in.
"Lady Freya!"
As soon as he entered, Ottar bowed respectfully.
"Haruhime, use your magic on Ottar."
Seeing him enter, Freya instructed Haruhime.
Although she had already seen the magic [Uchide no Kozuchi] during Haruhime's conversion, she still wanted to witness it with her own eyes.
More importantly, she wanted to see whether a Level 1 Haruhime could affect a Level 7 Ottar with her magic.
That was extremely important.
"Yes, Lady Freya."
Hearing Freya's command, Haruhime didn't dare delay.
She knew very well that this goddess was someone even Lady Istar dared not provoke.
Istar cursed Freya every day, but when something actually happened, she didn't dare utter a single complaint.
The difference in power was obvious, making Haruhime extremely cautious.
She was afraid of accidentally angering Freya.
"Grow larger—"
"With strength and action, countless treasures and countless wishes. When the bell tolls, I pray for prosperity and fantasy."
"Grow larger—"
"This body that partakes of divine offerings receives the golden blessing of the gods. Return the hammer to the earth and bestow blessings."
"Grow larger—"
A layer of golden light slowly appeared around Ottar's body.
But that wasn't the most important part.
The crucial point was that Ottar could feel his power instantly rise by an entire level.
He was stunned.
Back when he advanced from Level 6 to Level 7, he had gone through countless hardships before finally achieving it.
Yet now, a single magic spell had temporarily raised his strength by a whole level.
It was unbelievable.
"Lady Freya, this—"
"How does it feel?"
"Very powerful. Right now… I could easily defeat the version of myself from just now."
Freya smiled.
Haruhime's magic could affect Ottar.
Which meant that she now effectively possessed combat power close to Level 8.
And that made Freya extremely pleased.
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