CHAPTER 44: GODDESSES IN FIERCE COMPETITION

The Assembly of the Gods.

This was a meeting held in the labyrinth city of Orario, convened only once every three months.

Because only deities participated, people regarded it with awe as the Assembly of the Gods, but in fact, for the gods themselves, it was nothing more than a gathering to relieve boredom and seek amusement.

Initially, it was merely a gathering where a group of idle gods talked about trivial matters to pass the time. As more gods participated and the gathering grew larger, over time its nature evolved. It became a forum for gods to share the latest information from the lower realms, exchange opinions on managing their families, and make some decisions in collaboration with the Guild that could impact the whole of Orario.

Thanks to that, for better or worse, any matter discussed and decided upon in this assembly had the power to affect the entire community of adventurers and the whole labyrinth city.

This was why Loki’s mood was so foul.

After all, nobody knew better than Loki that in a situation ripe for artful speech, even the most capricious gods, much less those craving entertainment and excitement, could bring up any sort of topic.

Just like at this moment.

"Don’t be so fierce, Loki darling."

"We just want to know about the newcomer in your familia."

"Hasn’t it been the talk among the children recently?"

"Is it true that your person went from Level 1 to Level 4 in just over a month?"

"How exactly was this accomplished?"

"Tell us about it."

"Right, right."

The gods looked as though they had been eagerly awaiting this moment. Though they all remained seated in their respective places, their gazes converged upon Loki, their faces displaying extreme excitement, encircling Loki mentally in an unbreakable ring.

Watching these scummy gods acting like they had found some amusing toy, all showing their ugliest grins possible, Loki also very obviously made a face of disgust.

Naturally, Loki was both proud and delighted that her child had done so well.

In a different setting, she wouldn’t mind downing a few drinks and then exaggerating Reiger’s achievements, proclaiming him the darling of the world, a hero of fate, and stoking the jealousy and envy of others.

But here, doing so would only backfire.

These so-called gods, craving the unknown and amusement, certainly wouldn’t mind doing some deeds Loki loathed most at the time of her triumph.

A god was such a creature that, on a whim, might turn their fleeting thoughts into actions, stirring Orario into complete chaos if necessary.

Therefore, Loki wasn’t just in a terrible mood, her complexion wasn’t looking great either.

"What? Isn’t it perfectly normal for my child to be remarkable?" Loki glared around fiercely and said softly, "Or are you trying to play dirty tricks behind the scenes? Fine by me! Come at me if you have a death wish!"

The notorious ferocity of the Evil God Loki made many gods, who had been carried away by excitement, shiver and quickly look away.

It’s a joke, after all. This was Loki, the main deity of one of Orario’s most powerful familias.

If she genuinely got upset and the Loki Familia started causing trouble, even some of the larger familias might not escape without significant damage, possibly even being driven out of Orario.

The gods were somewhat fearful of Loki because, even if deities couldn’t use Divine Power in the lower realms, the stronger a familia and the more powerhouses it possessed, the more influence it had in the mortal world. If conflict escalated into direct clashes or even wars between familias, there were few in Orario that could stand up to the Loki Familia.

So, the gods felt a bit intimidated by Loki.

Many gods started to disengage, directing their eyes elsewhere, choosing to inquire no further.

Of course, there were gods who weren’t afraid of Loki.

"Don’t be so angry, Loki. This is a rare gathering, isn’t it?"

A voice as melodic as chimes suddenly filled the temple, resonating thorugh the space and causing the gods to show fascinated expressions.

Especially the male gods – each and every one wore an obsessed, dumbstruck look.

Loki’s heart sank, knowing that the most troublesome person had made an appearance.

It was the Beauty God sitting opposite Loki, seeming to face her from a distance, their positions clearly rivalry, of no trivial standing.

"Frey, is it?" Loki said with evident displeasure, "What brings you, this love-struck fool, here?"

At these words, the goddess who presided over beauty smiled sweetly, making the air itself seem sweeter throughout the great hall.

"I haven’t attended in a while, and suddenly felt like coming to see," Frey responded with a smile to Loki, "Of course, I’m also a bit interested in the famous new member of your familia."

"That’s very kind of you, but no thank you," Loki replied extremely rudely, "Aren’t the boys you keep in the Wilds enough to satisfy you?"

Not at all offended by Loki’s mockery—even considering it an insult—Frey remained unaffected.

"It seems like you’re quite anxious about that child," Frey said with a blooming smile, "How about introducing me sometime?"

"Tch." Loki clicked her tongue, unreservedly expressing her annoyance.

She and Frey were old acquaintances.

Long before the deities descended to the mortal realm, back in Heaven, they were frequently in contact with each other.

However, saying that their relationship was good would be a stretch.

They had collaborated in the past, appearing inseparable in front of others.

They had also been adversaries, once engaging in a very earnest battle.

Now, the familias under their commands were among the strongest in Orario, acknowledged as the dual monarchs of the city, both rivals and enemies.

With the situation as it was, Loki knew perfectly well what the goddess named Frey was plotting now.

Without a doubt, she had set her sights on Reiger.

Although not yet fully, once this lovesick goddess laid eyes on Reiger, the situation was very likely to spiral out of control.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Loki rarely showed her true nature as an Evil God, her ferocity manifest.

"————"

At that moment, the atmosphere in the entire temple seemed to freeze, becoming oppressively heavy.

The gods all closed their mouths, lowered their heads, and beads of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.

Especially when they saw Freyja’s smile becoming even more intense, their hearts beat frantically.

This was a true brawl between gods.

Such a thrilling situation involuntarily provoked the gods to cry out in their hearts.

"Let them fight, let them fight, let them fight, let them fight, let them fight..."

This was a true case of enjoying the commotion without fearing the consequences.

However, where some gods reveled in chaos, others were weary of such conflicts.

"Alright, Loki, Freyja, this is not the place for you to quarrel; calm down, please."

The person who spoke in a listless voice was a goddess with flames for hair and a bright red dress, seated not far from Loki.

The red-haired goddess was no less beautiful than Loki; even compared to Freyja (Beauty God), there wasn’t much difference—only the eyepatch over her right eye somehow lessened her charm.

The one-eyed red-haired goddess suddenly spoke up, which indeed eased some of the tension between Loki and Freyja.

And the reason for that was...

"Since Hephaestos has spoken, I’ll follow suit," Freyja shrugged her fragrant shoulders and said, "I certainly wouldn’t want my children to miss out on the best arms in the future."

The red-haired goddess was none other than Hephaestos.

The strongest Forging Master family in Orario, the chief deity who stood at their pinnacle, and the goddess of forging from the myths, was now here in person.

"What, Feifei is here?" Loki grinned at Hephaestos and said, "I heard you were taking care of that freeloading, poor little dwarf god; I didn’t expect you to show up."

"That’s enough," sighed Hephaestos. "I’ve been wondering whether I shouldn’t have indulged her from the beginning."

"It’s not too late to do that now, Feifei," Loki said with a roguish smile. "Why not just kick that poor Dwarf God out and let her fend for herself?"

Hephaestos was actually somewhat tempted.

It wasn’t that she was heartless; it was just that her divine friend’s way of living had degraded so far that even the strong-willed and hardworking Iron God was at her wit’s end.

Maybe... she should just kick her out?

Hephaestos began to seriously consider it.

Watching this scene, Loki’s eyes whirled mischievously, evidently concocting some scheme to kick someone when they were down.

Unfortunately, there were more important matters at hand.

It was for this matter that Loki, despite knowing she would be ganged up on, had come here, keeping her displeasure in check.

"It looks like you have no other pressing business," Loki clapped her hands on the table and said, "Since that’s the case, let’s begin awarding titles to the children who have leveled up."

Yes, awarding titles.

This was one of the segments of the tri-monthly Divine Conference, and also a grand event for the Lower World.

Anyone who had leveled up to become a higher-level adventurer would have their name mentioned here, whether it was the lowest Lv.2 or the highest Lv.7, and would be granted a unique title by the gods.

For example, Ais, her title is "Sword Princess."

For example, Rephia, her title is "Thousand Elves."

Originally, Reiger should have received a title upon reaching Lv.2, but since the Divine Conference occurred only once every three months, and Reiger reached Lv.2 before the Conference was scheduled, his title was temporarily put on hold.

Until today, more than a month later, the Divine Conference was officially underway, yet Reiger had already reached Lv.4, which was unprecedented in history.

At this thought, the gods were filled with emotion.

Back then, when Loki Familia’s Sword Princess reached Lv.2 at the age of eight, merely taking one year to do so, all the gods were incredulous.

This rate of growth was already quite astonishing; not only in Orario but the whole world was astounded.

And now, someone even more outrageous had appeared.

If this person weren’t part of Loki Familia, the gods probably would have already rushed to the side of that child without hesitation.

Today, that person’s guardian (main god) was here behaving like a little dog, snarling at everyone present.

"Let me be clear: anybody who dares to come up with some nonsense for a title had better not blame me for turning on them."

The Evil God was intimidating them, prompting the gods to quickly straighten their faces and seriously contemplate.

Only Freyja, looking at Loki’s fierce face, slowly curved the corners of her mouth into a smile.

That look was both beautiful and chilling.