"What is it?"
Hearing this, Ais—whose curiosity had been thoroughly piqued—slipped fully into the moment too. Unable to help herself, she took a small step forward, tilted her head, and pressed on inquisitively.
"It's that there's a layer of mystery surrounding Haimer that even we gods—who claim to wield the authority of omniscience—simply cannot see through."
"To begin with, Haimer was not like us, born into existence from the very start."
"Back then, that fellow appeared in the Heavens without the slightest warning! Out of nowhere, all of a sudden."
"Can the lot of you even picture that scene?"
Loki reached out and gestured emphatically in midair.
"It was just like you're sleeping soundly in your own room, and then you open your eyes to find a complete stranger you've never met standing right by your bedside!"
"So much so that when the gods first laid eyes on him, they weren't even clear on what kind of thing he was—or, for that matter, whether he could even be counted as a god at all."
"After all, the gods had existed for so long, and for an unknown fellow to suddenly pop up like that—it was an unprecedented first, the likes of which had never been seen."
"In order to investigate his origins, and to discuss how to deal with this anomaly that had abruptly appeared in the Heavens, the gods—who, the moment they met during the divine wars, were itching to beat each other's brains out—set aside their mutual grudges for the very first time, another unprecedented event."
"Every single one of them gathered together in perfect unison and convened an assembly the likes of which had never been held before." Loki pillowed her head on her arms.
"And then?"
Ais pressed on.
"Back then, ah, the squabbling at that assembly was something fierce." Loki snapped her fingers and continued reminiscing with vivid flair.
"Some of the gods felt that Haimer's appearance was an aberration that would utterly shatter the Heavens' original system of balance. So this bunch of conservatives huddled together, scheming over what method they could use to safely exile Haimer—at the very least, to keep him from staying in the Heavens."
"But the other faction, the more extreme fellows, didn't have nearly such an even temper."
"They figured that since Haimer had appeared so suddenly, he absolutely could not be any life-form that conformed to the rules, much less a creature of the Lower World. So they flat-out proposed activating the highest-grade divine punishment, to erase Haimer right then and there—not leaving so much as a speck behind."
"But the final outcome, well..."
Loki smacked her lips.
"It was right when that assembly had quarreled itself into an irreconcilable deadlock, before any final conclusion had even been reached."
"Haimer was suddenly carried off by a certain someone."
"Carried off?"
Ais was puzzled, and Riveria too raised an eyebrow, clearly not having anticipated such a dramatic twist.
"That's right—snatched away, bag and baggage, just like that." Loki nodded.
"That fellow took advantage of everyone being caught up in the argument and carried Haimer straight back to her own temple, then publicly declared to all that Haimer was her possession."
"At the time, the gods who'd been in the middle of the assembly naturally objected fiercely upon hearing this news, demanding that Haimer be returned."
"However..."
"Later on, when Haimer appeared once more not long after, his body began to surge with a Divine Power strong enough to rival that of the ancient great gods."
"And it was from that very moment that, no matter how unwilling the gods were in their hearts, they had no choice but to hold their noses and formally acknowledge Haimer's identity as a god."
"But it was also from that very moment that the structure of power in the Heavens began to shift." Having heard out this secret history.
The dressing room fell into a brief silence.
Ais's thoughts spun rapidly.
Lord Haimer was a being who had appeared out of thin air and then swiftly come to command power rivaling that of the great gods. Then, in the Heavens... the god who could carry Lord Haimer away under such circumstances was...
"So then, the god who spirited Lord Haimer away back then..."
Ais looked at Loki.
"Was it Lord Hestia?"
After all, judging by Orario's current situation, the relationship between Lord Haimer and Lord Hestia was so intimate as to be utterly without reserve.
Lord Haimer even allowed Lord Hestia to freely eat and drink at his expense within his own estate, right out in the open—and even among the gods, that was an extremely rare case.
Of course. The precedent before Lord Haimer was also Lord Hestia.
Back when Lord Haimer had not yet descended to the Lower World.
Lord Hestia had been eating and drinking at Lord Hephaestus's expense.
And so, Ais arrived at this conclusion as a matter of course.
Hearing Ais's conjecture, Riveria gave a slight nod too, indicating her agreement with the logic.
"No." But who would have guessed—the very next second. Loki shook her head with great decisiveness.
"It wasn't her."
"Though the little squirt's standing in the Heavens back then was indeed extremely high."
"But the one who spirited Haimer away at the time was not her."
"That said, it was precisely because the little squirt hesitated back then, and was half a beat too slow to act, that this matter became a thorn in her heart she could never quite get over."
"In fact, most of the goddesses in the Heavens, whenever they recall that affair even now, still huddle under their covers, beating their chests and stamping their feet over it."
Having heard out this whole speech from Loki, Ais and Riveria looked at each other.
Though Loki had not named exactly who the god that took Haimer away was, Haimer's depth as a god seemed to be even more unfathomable than what she currently understood.
At this point. As time went on.
The perspective shifts back to the streets of Orario. As time wore on.
The sunlight nearing noon grew fierce, utterly dispelling the thin mist that lingered in the morning air.
Along both sides of North Avenue, with its neatly laid flagstone pavement, the various high-end shops were welcoming the peak of their foot traffic.
Haimer, with Hestia in tow, came to a stop before the entrance of a clothing boutique done up in the most extravagant decor.
On the signboard, in gilded lettering, was written——[Starwoven Threads].
This was by no means a place that commoners could afford.
Those who usually came and went here were all officers and branch members of the great factions, or else the wealthy merchants and magnates ranked among Orario's elite.
The enormous floor-to-ceiling glass display window was wiped spotless.
Inside, draped over the mannequins, were one resplendent evening gown after another, each cut with an exquisite artistic sensibility.
One only needed to step a little closer to see clearly.
The hems and necklines were all densely set with small gemstones polished to near perfection, and the threads stitching them were a special material that shifted colors under the sunlight.
"Gulp." Hestia stood outside the display window, looking up at those prices trailed by several zeros, and swallowed hard. Her feet were nailed to the spot, utterly unable to take a step.
"Hai... Haimer."
Hestia shrank her neck, turned around, and somewhat awkwardly and bashfully reached out a hand to tug at Haimer's sleeve.
"How about... we just go to a different shop instead?"
"I saw a secondhand-clothes remaking shop over by that alley entrance up ahead—maybe we could dig up a few wearable pieces there too."
These past few days of affluent living had let her indulge to her heart's content, but the moment she thought about how all this money would ultimately be tallied to her own account, the poverty-goddess genes in Hestia began frantically sounding the alarm, and she made her case with an obvious lack of confidence.
"Look at this paltry sense of ambition of yours." Haimer, gazing at this little shorty who clearly wanted it yet was so stubbornly clinging to her pride, truly couldn't hold back a sigh, and dragged her into the shop.
"So that tomorrow, at the Denatus, my ears can have a bit of peace—and I won't have to listen to you going on and on at my side about how you should've bought something nicer."
"Since we've already come all the way out today, then this money—you're spending it today whether you want to or not." "Waaaahhh! But it's so expensive here!"
Hearing this, Hestia hollered as she was half-dragged, half-hauled by Haimer through the shop's front door.
"Ding-a-ling~!"
The instant they crossed the threshold.
A crisp welcoming chime rang out.
Inside the shop, the several attendants who had been softly introducing fabrics to customers immediately looked over, their professional smiles habitually in place.
However. The moment they saw clearly that it was Haimer, the smiles on the clerks' faces froze stiff and died on the spot. A few of the girls standing in the front row even instinctively retreated half a step.
After all. Haimer was now the most notorious evil god in all of Orario.
These few lowly tailor-shop clerks—if they were to displease this god and put him in a foul mood, they feared they wouldn't even know how they'd died.
"No need to be so tense. I'm only here to bring someone to buy a gown."
Seeing the clerks' reaction, Haimer spoke up in a mild tone, intending to break this suffocatingly taut atmosphere.
But then. At that moment.
A gentle, mellow woman's voice—one carrying a quality that could instantly put a person at ease—suddenly drifted out from the VIP lounge area on the inner side of the shop, half-concealed behind a velvet curtain.
"Oh my, now this really is a surprise."
The instant this voice sounded.
Haimer's gaze shifted slightly, and he looked toward the direction of the voice.
There, upon the broad red-velvet settee in the lounge area.
Sat a woman with fair, pale skin.
There she was. She wore her flaxen hair long and thick, cascading like waves, and atop her head was set at a tilt a broad-brimmed straw hat, its hand-woven brim studded all around with fresh ears of wheat.
A pastoral-style long dress of somewhat thin fabric utterly failed to conceal her ample figure—the kind that set the blood racing.
Especially that astonishing cleavage at her chest, fathomless even while she was seated, which jiggled slightly with elastic bounce as she braced against the settee and rose to her feet.
In every gesture and movement, her whole being radiated the rich charm and embracing temperament unique to a mature woman, like a fruit ripened to perfection.
——This was none other than the renowned goddess of agriculture of the Lower World.
——The goddess of the great commercial faction [Demeter Familia], which centered on large-scale cultivation and the sale of vegetables, fruits, and grain to the entire city.
——Demeter.
In Orario, a city sustained and kept running by the exploration of the Dungeon.
Demeter was one of the very few patron deities who possessed the privilege of freely passing in and out of Orario's gates without need to report.
In the eras gone by, her Familia had even been ranked together with the most preeminent [Zeus Familia] and [Hera Familia], the three of them collectively hailed as the three great pillars supporting Orario.
It could be said that, were there a day without this even-tempered, benevolent goddess and her faction providing basic supplies.
Orario's entire Dungeon-exploration system, even if it did not collapse on the spot, would within a matter of days face the large-scale famine crisis of running out of food—such a great goddess was she.
"I knew it. That voice I just heard from inside—how could it be so familiar."
Demeter, a spring-breeze-like smile playing on her lips, walked over before Haimer with leisurely, graceful steps.
Not the least bit shy of the broad-daylight, public setting.
Demeter simply reached out those slender hands of hers and, ever so naturally, wrapped them around Haimer's arm, leaning the better part of her upper body against him.
"It's been a long time, Haimer."
Demeter's voice was soft, and the familiarity that came through in her words showed she didn't regard Haimer as any sort of fearsome, fiendish god at all.
"It has indeed been a while, Demeter."
Haimer, for his part, let her grasp his arm; his face betrayed no aversion, and he returned the remark with equal familiarity.
After all. This rapport carried over all the way from the Heavens. Up above, Demeter's sultry figure combined with her easygoing temper had drawn no shortage of those pesky male gods buzzing around her like flies.
To escape that harassment, the thing she most often did was head straight to Haimer's temple—a place not even other gods dared linger in for a single second more than necessary—to take refuge.
Through one such occasion after another, the two naturally grew about as close as two could possibly be.
However. This harmonious scene of a handsome man and a beautiful woman, old acquaintances reunited.
Falling into the eyes of Hestia, who had been standing at Haimer's side all the while. It became, quite directly, the spark that lit the powder keg.
"Hey, hey, hey! Demeter! Don't go putting your hands all over Haimer the moment you show up!"
Hestia, like a little cat guarding its food, immediately darted out from behind Haimer, swatted away Demeter's hand that was grasping Haimer's arm, then hugged that arm of Haimer's herself, pressing her whole self against it.
"Haimer is here accompanying me to buy clothes!"
Hestia, eyes brimming with hostility, glared at this agriculture goddess whose bust size was faintly even a notch larger than her own.
Faced with this bristling, attacking posture of Hestia's.
Demeter, far from getting angry, instead raised a hand to cover her lips and let out a dainty giggle.
"Hehe, Hestia, this flustered, fussy temper of yours—after spending so long in the Heavens, and now having come down to the Lower World, it really hasn't changed one bit."
Demeter bent that sinfully alluring, supple waist of hers ever so slightly, looking Hestia level in the eyes.
A mature woman's generous smile, like cotton candy, directly dissolved every bit of Hestia's sharp hostility.
"Come to think of it, I heard everything quite clearly from inside just now."
"You've come to pick out a gown for tomorrow's Denatus, haven't you?"
As Demeter said this, she extended a finger painted with pale-pink nail polish and lightly tapped it against Hestia's forehead.
"Speaking of which, it's a rare thing for me to make the trip from the countryside farm all the way to this bustling city. As it happens, I've got nothing urgent today and am free anyhow."
"Since we've run into each other, then let me give you a good bit of advice on the matter of coordinating your outfit, Hestia." With that. Demeter, smiling, gave Hestia no opening whatsoever to refuse.
Reaching back to grab Hestia's wrist, she dragged her straight toward the row of high-end custom-tailoring section at the very back of the shop.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Let go of me this instant! My eye for fashion is excellent—I'll pick for myself!"
Hestia kicked both legs wildly against the floor, trying to resist Demeter, who carried herself as the mature elder-sister type.
"There, there, just trust my eye for it."
Demeter, while coaxing Hestia along as one would soothe a child, glanced back over her shoulder, gave a playful wink in Haimer's direction, and waved her hand.
Watching the two of them disappear, one after the other, behind the clothing racks, Haimer was only too happy for the peace and quiet. He went straight over to the settee, sat down, and casually flipped open a product catalog lying on the table.
As for the clerks who had just now been too frightened to make a sound.
Upon seeing the goddess Demeter actually chatting and laughing merrily with the evil god Haimer.
And with the evil god Haimer wearing an especially easygoing manner, no less.
The tense atmosphere eased up a little as well.
There was even one of the more quick-witted ones who brought over a cup of steaming, high-grade flower tea, set it down carefully beside Haimer, and then immediately withdrew.
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