Two more days had passed since the incident involving the Ishtar Familia.
During these two days, Eiji hadn't gone anywhere, quietly staying at Twilight Manor while awaiting the Guild's judgnt.
His reputation as a God Slayer had already spread throughout Orario.
The news of Ishtar's death at his hands had circulated through newspapers across every street and alley. Everyone was now talking about him—so admiring his courage, others angrily condemning his disrespect toward the gods.
The reverence mortals held for the gods was deeply ingrained. No matter how high Eiji's popularity had been before, it ant nothing now.
But Eiji couldn't care less about what the outside world thought. Right now, he was completely imrsed in leveling up.
"Train swords."
Ais approached him during his morning practice.
At that mont, Tiona was still asleep.
"Train swords."
After breakfast, Ais set down her bowl and spoke up.
At that mont, Tiona, looking utterly bewildered, closed her mouth.
"Train swords."
In the evening, after coming out from his bath, Ais, her long hair still damp, ca running over again.
At that mont, Tiona was pestering Eiji, staring dumbfounded at Ais.
"Seriously, don't you have anything else to do all day?"
Eiji was baffled.
She was a high-ranking executive, after all. While everyone else was searching for the key, was it really appropriate for her to spend all day asking him to train swords with her?
"I have things to do..."
Ais blinked slightly in confusion.
She lowered her head in thought, seemingly pondering sothing, then tentatively spoke again.
"Train swords?"
"..."
He understood now.
What she ant was that training swords was the thing she had to do.
"Fine, let's train."
Eiji wore a complicated expression.
At the very least, she was a Level 6. Training with Ais could still help him gain so stat points.
"How can this be? Didn't we agree to go out and have fun?"
Tiona whined pitifully, shaking Eiji's left arm.
"Who agreed to that? You know I can't leave the Familia these days!"
Eiji rolled his eyes.
Ais's gaze swept over his left arm before settling on his right.
"Loki's back!"
Suddenly, an excited shout ca from the direction of the entrance.
"Finally back, huh?"
Eiji's expression sharpened.
Ais and Tiona also reacted imdiately. Loki's return ant the Guild's verdict had been issued.
Within re minutes, all the executives—except for Bete—had gathered in Finn's office in the northern spire.
"Pwah! Finally alive again!"
Loki sat cross-legged on Finn's desk, clutching a bottle of alcohol in her arms while muttering incomprehensible things like "my precious" with an expression full of emotion.
"Damn that Ouranos! He kept tied up for two whole days and nights! It's just Ishtar dying—was all this fuss really necessary?!"
Loki was practically radiating dark energy, her resentnt threatening to pierce through the roof.
"Still, judging by your deanor, the outco wasn't too bad?"
Finn smiled as he observed her relaxed expression.
"In terms of results, yes. But only in terms of results."
Loki stopped complaining and scratched her ssy crimson hair.
"How should I put it... An ergency Divine Assembly was convened this ti. A lot of gods argued until they were blue in the face. There were gains, but also complications."
According to Loki, nearly all the male gods were in favor of throwing Eiji in jail.
Because most of these male gods were repeat custors of Ishtar!
As they put it, countless tis while seeking entertainnt, they had unknowingly strayed down the wrong path, their legs carrying them uncontrollably into Ishtar's temple, only to leave filled with regret each ti!
But the absurd part was the duration the male gods demanded for Eiji's imprisonnt.
"Three days!"
"One day, no more than that!"
"An hour! Can you even afford to delay his leveling?!"
"Why not lock him up in my Familia instead… slurp!"
Opinions varied wildly.
Yet not a single male god suggested imprisoning Eiji for more than a week!
"This is getting ridiculous, isn't it?"
Tione looked bewildered.
"It's perfectly normal," Loki said, shaking her head with a chuckle. "With Ishtar gone, their entertainnt options have already taken a hit. They can't afford to lose any more fun, can they?"
She continued, "Those gods are eagerly waiting to see how long it'll take Eiji to reach Level 6, Level 7, or even Level 9!"
If they locked him up for decades or centuries, wouldn't they miss out on all that entertainnt?
What a sha that would be!
"I see. That does sound very much like the gods," Riveria remarked with an amused smile.
"And the goddesses are even funnier…"
Loki burst into laughter.
"Nonsense! Acquit him imdiately!"
"No, he should be honored city-wide!"
"So what if Ishtar died? Eiji is way more important!"
They might as well have written "Eiji, mommy loves you!" on their foreheads.
Ishtar? Who cares!
For two whole days and nights, the gods bickered over whether Eiji should be jailed for a few days or celebrated city-wide!
The Guild Leader, Ouranos, was at his wit's end.
But he finally understood—the gods had no intention of punishing Eiji severely. The harshest penalty they'd consider was a two-day jail sentence. There was no point in dragging out the debate.
"Guild Leader, allow to speak."
At the very end of the divine assembly, the goddess Freya arrived fashionably late.
The mont she took her seat, she seized the floor—amidst the male gods' fawning and the goddesses' envy.
"I possess evidence of Ishtar's collusion with the remnants of the Evilus faction."
Freya's declaration stunned Loki on the spot.
"But, Lady Freya, Lady Loki has already addressed this matter. While it's true that Lady Ishtar and Lady Kali were connected, there's no direct proof linking them to the remnants of Evilus."
Guild Leader Ouranos looked troubled.
Indeed, this was a major issue.
The claim that the Ishtar Familia conspired with Evilus was, after all, just the Loki Familia's word. They couldn't provide concrete evidence—only that Ishtar had helped smuggle the Kali Familia into the city. There was no proof of Ishtar's malicious intent. It wasn't impossible that Loki had fabricated the accusation to protect her Familia.
"No, my evidence is irrefutable."
Freya snapped her fingers.
A burly man then strode into the conference hall.
Loki nearly lost her jaw.
"Tammuz!"
"Isn't he Ishtar's right-hand man? Why is he with Freya?!"
The gods erupted in uproar.
Loki was especially shocked.
So after betraying Ishtar, Tammuz had fled to Freya's side?
Wait a minute—thinking about it, that made perfect sense!
Tammuz must have been chard by Ishtar, yet he still betrayed her. That ans only one thing—he was subjected to an even stronger charm than Ishtar's!
And in all of Orario, there's only one person who could have made Tammuz betray her!
The goddess of beauty—Freya!
"So that ans...?"
Loki's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"The key to Knossos must be in Freya's hands!"
At that very mont.
Freya cast a aningful glance toward Loki.
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