"…Who is it this time?"
At first, Shakti didn't take it too seriously.
Aditi was cute, and she was strong. Plenty of people had confessed to her—some of them were even girls. Shakti was almost used to it by now.
But once she realized one thing, she couldn't wrap her head around it anymore.
In the past, Aditi never needed to ask her. When someone confessed, Aditi would politely refuse on her own.
She'd always said she wasn't mature enough yet—and more importantly, she'd never felt her heart stir. So she wouldn't accept a confession, and she definitely wouldn't come to her big sister for advice.
But now…
This kid's face was practically burning red.
If this wasn't springtime infatuation, then what was?
"Aditi… what do you think?"
Shakti narrowed her eyes slightly.
Under her gaze, Aditi lowered her head, unable to meet her eyes.
"It's just… there's a boy I know really well. He didn't say it outright, but he was willing to risk his life to save me… That kind of passionate confession—I really can't reject it."
"Cid?"
Aditi had tried to be vague, but Shakti knew her well. What she'd said was basically the same as handing over an ID card.
A boy she knew really well? The boy Aditi knew best—honestly, the only boy she knew well—was Cid.
And Shakti had already heard from elsewhere that Cid had saved Aditi's life.
"Huh?! I didn't say it was Cid—well, it is Cid, but—but… Cid is injured right now! Sis, you can't go pick a fight with him!"
Aditi panicked, afraid Shakti would do something impulsive.
Cid was badly hurt and shouldn't be disturbed—and he was badly hurt because of her.
If anything happened to him, she'd have no face to see the members of Astrea Familia.
"So it really is him… I'm not angry. If anything, I need to thank him for this."
Shakti spoke through clenched teeth, but she had to acknowledge the debt.
In fact, once things calmed down, she'd have to prepare a generous gift and go thank that arsonist who'd tried to set fire to her adorable little sister's heart!
Just thinking about it made her furious.
And Aditi coming to her for advice reminded Shakti of something else.
Shakti hadn't even had the chance to tell her about Cid saving Aditi—but Shakti already knew through other channels.
A Lv.2 taking a slash from a Lv.7 and not dying. Anyone who knew was already spreading the news as a major headline.
The only reason it hadn't spread far yet was because the decisive battle was imminent, and everyone was busy.
Otherwise, the gods who lived for entertainment alone would have turned it into a spectacle known by the entire city.
Especially with the "hero saves the girl" angle—those prank-loving gods would dine out on it for ages.
Shakti made a mental note to stop that story from spreading.
At the very least, she had to erase the detail that Cid stepped in specifically to save her little sister.
Otherwise… those prankster gods had far too many ways to "have fun" with people.
Aditi was usually passionate and righteous—rarely the type to get shy.
But looking at her now, Shakti could tell: when it came to romance, her sister's skin was thin.
If the gods started egging her on, she might genuinely miss out on a relationship.
Setting aside the fact that her "little cotton jacket" was being stolen…
Shakti also knew Cid pretty well. Gritting her teeth, she could accept him as a choice—at least she wouldn't stand in the way of her sister's happiness.
"Do whatever you want with him. But don't go too far. Until I acknowledge your relationship, you are not allowed to do anything intimate!"
With that, Shakti didn't bother to see her sister's reaction. She turned and walked off.
As for when she'd acknowledge it…
If someone wanted to steal her cutest little sister, the absolute earliest would be ten years from now!
Aditi watched Shakti leave, and it took her a long moment to process what she'd just heard.
"I never said there'd be anything intimate!"
"…What's wrong, Aditi? Why is your face so red?"
Ryuu, who'd come to find her, was completely stunned.
This kind of outburst from Aditi was something she'd never seen before.
…
Inside the artificial labyrinth, the executives of Evilus gathered once again.
Valletta was presiding over the meeting. She was irritated—and she had plenty of reasons.
First, none of the three members of "Greatest Evil" had shown up.
They didn't care about Evilus at all, which—fine—was normal for them.
Second, the other executives were all hanging their heads, acting like they'd lost last night.
But last night, they had won!
Third, no one was giving her grief over losing to Finn.
It was as if everyone had collectively decided that her loss to Finn was perfectly normal.
Before the meeting, Valletta had worried she'd be mocked, and she'd braced herself mentally.
When she walked into the conference room, her eyes had practically been dripping with killing intent.
Mock her all you like—she was Lv.5. If anyone got in her face, she'd start slaughtering.
But now, nobody even cared.
In theory, she understood why.
Orario and Evilus were heading into the decisive battle, and the key factors would be the two "Tyrants" and that mysterious adventurer.
Until now, they'd felt victory was assured—no one could possibly stop those two Tyrants.
But after last night's duel, anyone with a brain could guess that Zard had lost.
Compared to that, who cared about Valletta losing to Finn?
So Valletta was gloriously ignored.
But that didn't make her happy. The shame she felt was worse than being mocked to her face.
It was like a student who failed an exam and was terrified to tell her parents—only to find her parents obsessing over how her older siblings "only got second place in the grade," while nobody cared that she'd failed at all.
After learning her score, they couldn't even be bothered to scold her!
And so Valletta couldn't help thinking:
Am I still the most precious baby in this family?
"Bang!"
Valletta slammed the table.
"We won last night. We won. So why do you all look like we lost?!"
She truly didn't get it.
Ever since the two great Familias declined, Orario had become the territory of Loki Familia and Freya Familia.
But Evilus wasn't toothless either.
Over the past eight years, they'd fought more than fifty small-scale battles.
Right and wrong, twists and turns—too much to put into words.
It was in this god-blessed city that so many Familias' fortunes rose and fell, one flourishing as another withered.
And thus, since ancient times, there was the saying: to seize Orario is to claim the crown!
Back then, even at the height of the two great Familias, Evilus still had the Osiris Familia secretly stockpiling strength, waiting and watching.
And yesterday, Evilus had finally twisted itself into a single rope—and dealt Orario a brutal blow.
Valletta couldn't understand why everyone looked like doom was inevitable.
As if the coming decisive battle was bound to end badly for Evilus.
Once, Orario had brimmed with life—vigorous, bursting, everything competing and thriving.
But yesterday, hadn't they crushed it, draping Orario in darkness?
As for that mysterious adventurer who defeated a Tyrant—
"No matter how you slice it, the number of Tyrants is two to one. The advantage is mine!"
After Valletta finished, the Evilus executives applauded in unison.
They'd been drowning in fear and hadn't thought things through.
With Valletta's little push, everything clicked.
She was right!
Yesterday, they had absolutely achieved real gains.
And that mysterious adventurer… at most, he could beat one Tyrant.
Was he really going to beat both?
Seeing the atmosphere revive, Valletta nodded in satisfaction.
This family would fall apart without her!
....
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