"Hmph. One after another, you're all the same. Someday, I'll make every last one of you..."
Watching Aisha disappear into the distance, Ishtar gave a cold snort.
Then something seemed to cross her mind.
Her expression changed in an instant as she stared viciously through the open sides of the room toward the very top of the Tower of Babel.
"Damn you. What gives you the right to sit up there and look down on the rest of us?"
The Tower of Babel could practically be called the symbol of the Labyrinth City.
Above the twentieth floor, only patron gods of Orario's foremost Familias were permitted to reside.
Thanks to its unique location and extravagantly luxurious rooms, it was arguably the most prestigious residence in all of Orario.
Under the Guild's management, rent became increasingly expensive the higher one went.
By the top few floors, money alone was no longer enough.
Only patron gods whose Familias possessed both tremendous wealth and prestige could live there.
And the place Ishtar was glaring at through clenched teeth was the highest floor of all.
The residence of Orario's other Goddess of Beauty.
"Are all those bastards blind?"
Ishtar spat the words through her teeth.
"Just wait and see!"
As the ruler of an entire red-light district, Ishtar naturally had no shortage of something as superficial as money.
What she lacked was the one thing most difficult for a business like hers to obtain.
Prestige.
That was where commercial Familias fundamentally differed from exploration Familias.
Exploration Familias risked their lives entering unknown regions of the Dungeon, but the fame they could gain was equally enormous.
One major discovery could transform an adventurer into the subject of a heroic tale sung by bards across Orario the very next day.
For commercial Familias, gaining that kind of prestige was far more difficult.
Markets changed constantly.
A clothing store packed with customers one day could become deserted the next simply because the weather turned cold before it had time to replace its inventory.
And Ishtar's business was prostitution.
There would always be demand for it, but it was ultimately not the sort of industry that could stand proudly in the spotlight.
When Orario needed to rally its adventurers, exploration Familias naturally held an advantage over commercial ones.
Aside from special exceptions like Dian Cecht Familia, whose medical business gave it unusual importance, most commercial Familias began at an inherent disadvantage.
Ishtar had already built her palace higher than every other structure in the Pleasure Quarter simply because she refused to lose to Freya.
But even that was not enough.
Compared with the enormous white tower piercing the heavens in the distance, Ishtar's palace looked almost laughable.
Like a child standing on tiptoe in a desperate attempt to become taller than an adult.
And the woman Ishtar hated most could always stand at the very highest point of that tower and look down upon her.
Look down upon everyone.
"Still... it won't be much longer."
After staring upward for a long time, Ishtar suddenly murmured to herself.
Then the corner of her mouth rose into an ominous smile.
"Stay right there and wait for me."
"I'll drag you down from that place soon enough."
...
"Tempest!"
The extremely short chant acted like a signal.
A ring of raging wind instantly wrapped around the girl's slender body.
Yet even after activating Ariel, Ais did not rush forward.
Her right hand gripped Desperate as she lowered her center of gravity and stared intently at the woman standing across from her.
"What's wrong?"
Alfia's voice remained cold.
"You disturbed my peace first thing in the morning, yet you don't even have the courage to swing that blade at me?"
"..."
Ais ignored the provocation.
Or rather, she was already using every bit of concentration she possessed merely to keep herself from exposing an opening.
Alfia, on the other hand, stood with her eyes closed and one hand resting on her hip.
Her posture was completely casual.
Nothing about her stance suggested she was in the middle of a battle.
And yet precisely because of that effortless posture, Ais could not find even the slightest point she could call an opening.
As the seconds passed, cold sweat gradually appeared on her forehead.
'No weaknesses at all.'
Only now did Ais truly understand just how terrifying the opponents Riveria had faced during the era when Evilus ran rampant.
"Haah... Are you two going to fight or not?"
Watching the pair remain frozen in their standoff, Shiro yawned from the sidelines.
"If not, I'm going back to sleep. I've got other things to do tonight."
He had already gone to bed late because of Ouranos the previous night.
Shiro had fully intended to catch up on his sleep, only for Ais to start knocking on his door before five in the morning.
If he had not promised her this training session a few days ago, and if Alfia did not require him to supply the Magic she used in battle, he would have fled long ago.
If he had known the two of them would spend this long standing on the city wall like statues, he might as well have fought Ais himself.
At least then he would not be this bored.
"Looks like someone is getting impatient."
Alfia opened her mismatched eyes and glanced toward Shiro.
"Good. I dislike troublesome things too."
Her gaze returned to Ais.
"Especially educating little girls. It only reminds me of unpleasant memories."
"So let's finish this quickly."
The moment those words left her mouth, the queen who hated trouble finally moved.
A crushing pressure surged toward Ais like a tsunami.
Under that overwhelming weight, Ais tightened her grip on Desperate as though it were the last piece of driftwood keeping her above the surface.
'So strong.'
The thought surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.
And in that exact instant...
The gray figure vanished from Ais's golden eyes.
"Never take your eyes off your enemy during a fight."
"?!"
The voice came from below her.
In less than a breath, Alfia had seized that tiny lapse in concentration and slipped inside the distance where Ais's blade could properly reach her.
Then—
A sweep.
Agonizing pain erupted through Ais's abdomen without warning.
Her vision jolted violently.
Both feet left the ground as her body shot backward like an arrow released from a bow.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the city wall.
Only after the cloud of smoke began to disperse did Ais's figure slowly become visible again.
But she no longer resembled the immaculate [Doll Princess] known throughout Orario.
Several scrapes marked her light blue armor, while dust clung to her long golden hair and dulled its usual brilliance.
More importantly, her left hand was pressed tightly against her abdomen.
The pain twisting across her face made it obvious that her condition was far worse than her outward injuries suggested.
"Ugh..."
A pained groan escaped between Ais's clenched teeth.
One attack.
Alfia had not even needed to keep her eyes open.
With a single blow, the monster once praised by Orario's adventurers as the [Incarnation of Talent] taught the [Sword Princess] exactly what true strength felt like.
…