Seeing the Elven waitress hurry off caused a small smile to play across Ais’ lips - Ryuu wasn’t the only one feeling smug this evening. When Ais’ memories had fully rejuvenated during her ascension to godhood, she had also clearly recalled some of the more recent ones, the ones from after she had joined the Loki Familia.
Not too long ago, there had been a very dark era shrouding the city, during which many of the more righteously aligned familias had tried to keep up a semblance of order. During that time, Ais had once faced a certain Elf in a pointless battle. They ended up at a standstill, with neither able to harm the other. However, as it had been too dark during their battle, she hadn’t been sure about the identity of the person that she had been fighting. Later on, when she had met Ryuu again, her memories of the previous encounter surfaced and she was briefly considering whether this Elf in front of her was the same one that she had confronted just days prior. Ultimately, her younger self had been made a fool of, as Ryuu had told her that the reason she recognized her was because they had once fought over potato snacks.
When she had entered the inn today, she had fully recalled all of this, and to get a kind of vain revenge, she planned to play a prank on the cold and distanced waitress. Luckily, Isaac’s knack for teasing certain kinds of people worked out in her favour, allowing Ais to watch Ryuu squirm around uncomfortably without even having to lift a finger.
Chuckling to herself at the other’s slight misery, Ais took a sip of the lemonade-esque drink she had ordered. Speaking of her choice of beverage, quite a few confused looks had been shot her way. After all, during the familia’s previous visits, she had partaken in alcoholic drinks as well, just like most of the others.
But after she had spent so much time in Isaac’s old world - or rather, his memory of it - she had picked up pieces of knowledge here and there. The one relating to the effects of alcohol on the body hadn’t been complicated whatsoever, so she had understood it very quickly. Her newly-acquired understanding caused her to decide to never knowingly consume alcohol again. While she was fairly certain that the new body she had acquired, the one of a deity, could get rid of any potential damages completely, even without her having to put in any conscious effort to do so, she didn’t want to deliberately poison herself. After all, she was neither a masochist, nor was she mad. To begin with, she had never been a fan of the effects of alcohol, so now that she understood the truth behind it, she grew even more determined in her decision to avoid it.
Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one at the table who hadn’t ordered an alcoholic drink. Both Riveria and Lefiya had always abstained from it, and then there was Isaac as well. Almost half of the people here chose to remain sober.
This, however, didn’t dampen the festive atmosphere in the least. Besides the initial odd looks, everyone proceeded to ignore Ais’ choice soon after. Unrestrained laughter ensued, delicious food was wolfed down en masse and inappropriate jokes were aplenty - it was a celebration like any other.
During this time, Ais and Isaac mostly communicated via the system, sending each other mental messages. Although they had initially intended to restrict the use of this feature, else they would grow too dependent on it, it was indeed perfect for situations like this one. Absolute privacy amongst a crowd, even without making Isaac blur their existence? That was the best thing that they could ask for.
A little bit later in the evening, Ais suddenly felt Lefiya pull on her left sleeve, so she turned her head to shoot her an intrigued look.
“Lefiya?”
Under normal circumstances, what would have most likely greeted her would have been a heavily blushing Elf, but this time, her close friend seemed rather downtrodden. Her ears were drooping heavily and a dark shadow was cast over her slightly pale face. Even after Ais had talked to her, Lefiya didn’t immediately respond. It felt like she really wanted to say something, but stopped herself from actually doing so time and time again.
Only after a few minutes had passed did she finally speak, albeit very quietly. What she wanted to address was obviously a topic that she didn’t want others to know about. And this atmosphere was actually the perfect time to talk about it, as there were so many loud sounds assaulting everyone’s ears that it was hard to make out even one’s own voice. Even with a high Level adventurer’s vastly improved hearing, it wouldn’t be easy for someone to listen in on their conversation, unless they got very, very close to the two girls.
“Now that you’re a goddess… do you think differently about me? About all of us?”
While she spoke, Lefiya let her eyes wander over all of their friends and companions, letting Ais know exactly who she was talking about.
Ever since the golden-haired beauty had followed in Isaac’s footsteps, Lefiya had been shaken to her very core. In her perspective, gods were beings that stood far above and apart from mortals like her. While her goddess Loki and some others seemed really approachable, at their roots, they were still beings that people like her could never aspire to reach or stand on equal grounds with. They were an entirely different kind of being.
It had already taken her so long to finally work up the courage to grow closer to Ais, and now that they had become such great friends, it felt devastating to see her enter what felt like an entirely different kind of world to her. She felt like she - no, all of their friends, even - would be left behind, never again able to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Before Lefiya could grow even more disheartened, she felt a slight sting of pain, making her hurriedly look up and rub the spot she had just been hit at. Ais had flicked her forehead and was still in the process of lowering her hand when the downtrodden Elf finally returned her gaze. Calming words proceeded to flow out of Ais’ mouth while she showed a slight but gentle smile on her face.
“I understand what you’re worried about. But you don’t have to be. No matter what will happen, no matter what you or I will become, we will always be friends.”
Even though it felt comforting to hear this, Lefiya’s desire to become an equal to her idol had neither been placated nor addressed yet. The Elf had perked up a little and was clearly relieved, but there was still a hint of worry and sadness glistening in her eyes. Thankfully, Ais’ next words changed all of this.
“What Isaac and I have taken is merely a shortcut. Becoming a goddess yourself is far from impossible. Ever since I’ve ascended to be one, that is the thing that I’ve grown the most convinced of. So don’t give up. Look at it as just another challenge instead!”
A roaring flame of motivation was lit in Lefiya’s heart during this short explanation. She finally fully recovered from what she had borne witness to earlier today. Her back straightened and her gaze sharpened. She didn’t doubt Ais’ words, as her friend clearly had more first-hand experience with the matter than she did. Also, she ended up realizing something and shot a contemplative look at the harbinger of all the recent changes in her life.
‘Right, how could I forget? With him around, seeing how quickly and easily he became a god, even if I don’t end up finding the correct path myself, I can just ask him. He’ll know what to do.’
Lefiya honestly felt a little bit stupid for having been so burdened and stressed before. Her teacher had achieved things that she had thought to be impossible with ease, time and time again. Over this period of time that she had known him, a little more than a month, she had also come to know that he enjoyed to challenge himself. If she asked him for help, it was very likely that he would end up supporting her, simply because her request would prove to be an interesting problem that he could solve. Even if that weren’t the case, as she was one of his people, he surely wouldn’t reject her… if she asked nicely enough, that is.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lefiya heavily slapped her cheeks and shook her head, before her eyes turned serious.
‘What are you doing, Lefiya!? You can’t just slack off and take advantage of him!’
It was very tempting to just inquire about a puzzle’s solution, as solving it oneself would require one to put in effort. But would it be satisfying? Not at all! In fact, she would definitely end up feeling like a failure and a useless burden should she ask for her teacher’s help any time that she faced a difficulty, an obstacle in her path. She would only end up in the same situation that she had been in before she had decided to follow him. In other words, she would regress to a state that she was anything but proud of.
Yes, catching up to her closest friend would be tremendously difficult. Some people would even call it impossible and give up right away. But that was not the kind of person that she wanted to be. Relying on Isaac’s teachings to improve herself was fine, but asking him to carry her all the way to the finish line? That would just be shameless!
‘You can do this, Lefiya!!’
Over and over again, she mentally encouraged herself, her conviction growing ever stronger.
-----
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Visiting the Lower World wasn’t easy, at least for a regular god. Unless they had the help of a primordial god, it would be extremely difficult for them to create their own mortal body and descend. Thankfully, there were a few primordial gods currently in the Lower World, which offered their services to the rest of the godly community. In exchange for some small remuneration, they would help any applicants with their descent.
The most popular out of all of these figures was Ouranos, the only primordial god currently openly operating out of Orario. Ever since his descent 999 years ago, he had used the Guild, an organization which he had formed, to regulate most matters related to the city - and absolutely everything regarding the dungeon. As the only place of its kind, it posed a fatal attraction to deities and adventurers alike, so the vast majority of gods chose to come to Orario when they wanted to experience a more mortal life in the Lower World.
What Ouranos was asking for also wasn’t much. It was for them to comply with a few simple terms, like never deliberately harming the city and following the Guild’s arrangements when necessary. These agreements could be broken, but as his reputation was very close to immaculate amongst the godly community, very few ever chose to make a fuss or tried to rebel. Still, even if there weren’t many, they could still occasionally pose huge problems.
In a room mostly devoid of light, only lit up by four raised braziers, an elderly but vigorous man with shoulder-length white hair sat upon a throne made out of some kind of stone. He wore a white robe akin to a tunic with a black hooded cloak draped above. His sandal-clad feet tapped on the stone floor rhythmically as his sky-blue eyes quickly scanned through a thick stack of application forms made out of Divine Energy. In this small sphere of light amidst the darkness, he flipped through page after page with a deep frown on his face.
The number of deities which had requested to descend here in Orario as soon as possible was simply unheard of. Normally, only one or two would choose to come down and play every couple of weeks, or even months. But this time, many tens of them had approached him at once. Considering the other primordial gods here in the Lower World, which would definitely have been asked for help as well, in total, there should be close to a hundred gods and goddesses who wanted to descend.
‘What exactly happened…?’
Whenever something that he couldn’t explain took place, Ouranos tended to become slightly nervous. It felt uncomfortable for something out of his expectations to happen. Sure, it wouldn’t always end up being a bad thing, but sometimes it would.
Regarding this strange occurrence, there were plenty of possibilities he could think of that could explain it. For one, this group of gods could have planned some kind of group activity here in the Lower World or simply wanted to go on a collective tour, and he just hadn’t heard about it beforehand.
There was only one problem with all of this, and it was the reason why he was so worried. All of the deities whose applications had come his way were related to the wind. They shared the same Divinity. Many of them were on everything but friendly terms, so there would surely be battles taking place once these arch enemies reunited. Thankfully, in their mortal bodies, the gods weren’t much of a threat. They could still rely on their Divinities somewhat and use their Arcanums, but the most dangerous and powerful ones would simply cause their bodies to disintegrate. Their mortal forms were unable to bear their own power, so they might not even get a single use out of some of their Arcanums. Therefore, the danger which these brats could pose was strictly limited.
But all of that aside, what could have alerted all of these wind deities? There was a very likely scenario - someone had ascended to godhood and obtained a Wind Divinity. Something like this wasn’t that rare of an occurrence, although it hadn’t happened for a couple hundred years at the very least. Still, compared to the eternity that the gods had experienced, it might as well be the equivalent of blinking a few times. Normally, any newcomers would be sent to Heaven immediately, so for one to resist this and stick around in the Lower World was simply unheard of.
‘Who could it be?’
For a moment, the Loki Familia’s Sword Princess came to mind, but Ouranos quickly dismissed this thought and shook his head. She was still far from reaching ‘there’. The only explanation left was that someone who he didn’t know about, in an area that he didn’t observe, had grown to this point. This was definitely possible, as there were quite a few places in the Lower World which could produce warriors on par with or even surpassing the adventurers of Orario. They were far away, with most of them having no connection to this continent whatsoever, so it wasn’t a wonder that he didn’t know about the specific person that had ascended to godhood.
But as worrying about this any further wouldn’t be of any use, Ouranos chased away these distracting thoughts and refocused on flipping through the applications. When he was finished and set them down, an epicene, somewhat disembodied voice interjected from the side of his throne.
“What have you decided to do, Lord Ouranos?”
The one that spoke was Fels, his currently most reliable subordinate. They were wearing a black cloak that completely covered their face or any other distinguishing features, so they seemed just like a shadow or a simple silhouette in these subpar lighting conditions.
With an indecipherable look on his face, Ouranos conjured a pen made of his own Divine Energy from thin air and signed all of the applications in a flash. Afterwards, with a wave of his hand, they disintegrated.
“I want you to closely monitor their actions, just in case. Report back to me should you stumble across anything of importance. They will arrive in Babel in the early morning.”
As he judged that it wouldn’t be his own backyard that would be on fire, he couldn’t be bothered to deny these deities their entry into the Lower World. Some of them might even end up useful for his future plans, and should he refuse his services, they would surely just ask one of his brethren instead. Ultimately, they would make it to the Lower World, one way or another.
Fels bowed slightly, then they slipped away into the surrounding darkness.
“As you wish.”
-----
A few hours later, shortly before midnight, most of the Loki Familia members were already almost knocked out, a few of them had even fallen asleep at their tables. As most of the adventurers ventured into the dungeon starting quite early in the morning, the Hostess of Fertility closed its doors at 00:30 a.m., because there was rarely anyone still out and about at that time, at least in this district of the city.
Although some were still a bit reluctant to leave, mainly Loki and her most staunch drinking companions, they didn’t plan to make a scene or make things difficult for the nice tavern staff. After they had made their intention to pay their bill and leave known, the Captain had to bring out the familia’s wallet to pay off their scarily large expenses. Still, even compared to the most inferior piece of equipment on the Executives’ bodies, this celebration had been extremely cheap. The higher the Level, the more expensive the gear. By the time one became a First Class adventurer, even tens of millions of valis wouldn’t be enough to buy anything decent. A bill amounting to less than a twentieth of that? A familia of their size and strength could basically disregard it.
“We hope to see you again soon~!”
Syr’s beaming smile sent off the group at the inn’s entrance, and slowly, one after another, almost all of the members of the familia left the building. Some stumbled out with unsteady steps, some dragged along their sleeping friends and some others simply walked normally. The latter were mostly Elves, as their entire race viewed the consumption of alcohol very negatively. Of course, some still ended up giving in to peer pressure, but most were able to stand their ground.
Many bad things could be said about the close-mindedness and arrogance of the Elves, but one thing was for sure: An arrogant demeanor was rarely based on empty air. For a group of people to grow convinced of their superiority over others, they first had to be in a truly superior position for a while. Only then could the rot that was patriotism, nationalism and racism slowly worm its way into the hearts of the people. But at the same time, bizarrely enough, whether the group of people had actually ever been superior to others in any way, shape or form didn’t really matter, as this belief could also be fostered through the usage of blatant and ignorant lies. In the case of the Elves, however, they honestly had their unique strengths and had made a lot of wise decisions in the past. But as was so often the case, what had started out as a genuinely impressive society had turned into a cesspool of conceit over the many millennia.
In any case, before the inner circle of the Loki Familia, which had stayed behind until everyone else was gone, could leave, Ryuu stepped forward and only stopped when she got close to Isaac. She had stayed away from their table for the entirety of the evening, in an effort to avoid him. But now that he was about to leave, she didn’t have a choice aside from approaching him.
Upon seeing the intrigued and slightly amused look on his face, she clenched her teeth and bowed her head slightly in a gesture of politeness.
“I would like to have a word with you in private. Could you spare me some time?”
Seeing as quite a few of his comrades seemed to be confused or wanted to ask about what was going on, Isaac hurriedly raised his hand to preemptively interrupt them, then he nodded at Ryuu. He really didn’t want to bother explaining the exact circumstances of his first meeting with their waitress.
“Go ahead without me, everyone. I’ll meet you back at home.”
After he had basically unceremoniously shooed everyone away, he motioned at Ryuu to lead the way. Thankfully, his fellow familia members were dragged off by Riveria, so there weren’t any complaints directed at him. A certain werewolf did cockily bark at the ever-reliable High-Elf for ordering him around, though, so he was met with frosty stares all around, causing him to clench his fists and curse under his breath. Still, he ended up behaving.
The ones who were confused about what exactly was going on also included some of the other tavern staff, but as it was Ryuu’s request, they didn’t interfere. They would just grill her for the details later. After all, this was the first time that they had ever seen her asking a man for some of his time. Even though they highly doubted that anything ‘spicy’ was actually going on, that wouldn’t stop them from teasing her about it. So if she wanted them to shut up, she would have to spill the beans.
While he was following Ryuu to the exact same room that she had disappeared to with Riveria previously, Isaac shot a glance at Syr in passing before smirking slightly. Just this small and harmless action of his made the girl tense up involuntarily, but this time, she managed to keep her facial features in check.
‘Heh, she’s actually more interesting than I expected.’
When reading the first few novels, simply due to the many deliberate hints that were dropped, it was hard to not speculate whether or not Syr could have a close connection to the goddess Freya, or even actually be her. But the truth was a bit different from what Isaac had anticipated.
‘While I’m already here, I should probably have a short talk with her as well.’