Aisha, who had been shoved aside, saw this and quickly hurried after her own patron goddess.
Amid stood where she was, blinking her purple eyes somewhat innocently, watching Ishtar's retreating figure that clearly carried a hint of shame-turned-anger, and for a moment felt rather bewildered.
"By the looks of it, it seems she's been pricked right where it hurts by what you said."
At this moment, Dian Cecht stroked his beard and stepped closer, watching Ishtar's retreating figure that plainly betrayed a guilty conscience, his gaze sweeping a circle around them to confirm that their conversation had not drawn the attention of the other gods.
"Lord Dian Cecht, I just find it a little strange..."
Amid turned her head and looked at her own patron deity.
She truly couldn't understand it: if all the gods felt the rules had been flouted, then why, at the great gate, was there not a single god who dared be the first to show hostility toward that Lord Haimer?
"Haah."
Hearing Amid's words, Dian Cecht let out a sigh, looking with a face full of helplessness at the still-dazed Amid.
"In any case, from here on you'll just follow quietly behind me—watch more, say less."
With that said.
Dian Cecht raised his hand and patted her shoulder, signaling her to follow.
By now, within the brass gates, gods were filing in one after another, each bringing along the prized members of their own Familia.
Takemikazuchi, too, drew near with Mikoto at his side.
As she passed by Amid, Mikoto even quietly shot her a complicated glance of fellow-sufferers' sympathy.
As a warrior, she could sense it: the two rows of [Ganesha Familia] guards stationed at the gate, standing ramrod-straight yet not daring even to breathe too loudly, had long since said it all.
Clearly, everyone understood in their hearts that tonight's Denatus was absolutely a hornet's nest that could blow up at any moment.
Before long, the gods had entered the interior of the Denatus banquet.
The space inside was immensely vast, the domed ceiling soaring high, with stone pillars each carved with the mythic deeds of Ganesha supporting the enormous expanse, and from the top hung luxurious chandeliers powered by Magic Stones.
Countless long tables draped in spotless white cloth were arranged throughout, already laden with the lavish dishes and precious wines that the [Ganesha Familia] had specially ordered from every major tavern across all of Orario.
Rock-boar meat roasted golden and dripping with grease, cheeses giving off a rich aroma, and barrel after barrel of chilled ale just hauled up from the cellars.
Haimer, for his part, didn't fuss over matters of seating precedence.
After all, tonight's banquet was nothing more than a warm-up.
He casually found an open seat near the front with a fairly decent view and sat himself down.
"Heave-ho!"
Seeing this, Hestia plopped herself down and firmly claimed the chair to Haimer's left.
Not only that, she casually plonked that little carved wooden bear right onto the table, with the air of someone forcibly staking out a seat and guarding her food.
"Ara, then I'll just sit on this side."
Demeter, upon seeing this, gave a light smile, her eyes curving slightly like a pretty crescent moon.
Unhurriedly, she drew out the long bench and, as a matter of course, seated herself to Haimer's right.
And because she sat down, that wheat-yellow gown stretched taut over her ample curves, all the more outlining the astonishing, nearly fully-ripened figure she possessed as a goddess of fertility.
Loki and Hephaestus exchanged a glance.
Hephaestus, somewhat resignedly, adjusted that tight-fitting pure-black rose mermaid dress and slowly took her seat.
Loki, meanwhile, brashly crossed one leg over the other and sat down in one of the two seats directly across from Haimer, those slender, narrowed eyes sweeping back and forth between Demeter and Haimer, a mischievous grin at the corner of her mouth that said she'd love nothing more than for the drama to grow bigger.
As the gods entered one after another, the once spacious, deserted hall quickly grew lively.
However.
Over on Haimer's side.
Still, every god who passed by Haimer's table would deliberately slow their pace.
Hyacinthus of the [Apollo Familia], as the Lv.3 number-one Familia member, had originally been following haughtily behind his own patron deity, Apollo.
But as they passed Haimer's table, Apollo grabbed hold of him, swallowed hard, bent slightly at the waist, and forced out a smile uglier than a grimace, stiffly nodding in greeting to Haimer, as though terrified of being marked.
As for the other gods of mid-to-large factions who were normally just as proud, they simply yanked along the children of their own Familias, willing to take the long way around more than half the hall rather than ever pass directly through Haimer's line of sight.
As Miach took his seat with Nahza in a relatively secluded corner off to the side, watching this scene unfold, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly to himself.
Gods who, on ordinary days, put on every air of lofty superiority before mortals.
Now, faced with a true god of calamity, were truly like a flock of sheep that had run into a starving wolf.
Noticing her patron deity's gaze, Nahza followed it toward that direction, lightly lifting her teacup, and asked in a low, somewhat puzzled voice:
"Lord Miach, is that Lord Haimer... really so terrifying? Even Lord Apollo..."
"Well, as for that... let's just say that Apollo had an experience with Haimer back in the Heavens that he's been unable to forget to this very day..."
Hearing Nahza's question, Miach gave a bitter smile, his gaze drifting unbidden toward Hestia, who sat at Haimer's side.
At the same time.
"Honestly."
Hestia was stretching out her fair, dainty little hand, leaning her body forward, struggling somewhat to reach the grapes at the far end of the table, all the while grumbling in dissatisfaction.
"If I'd known this Denatus allowed bringing in the children of one's Familia, Haimer, we should have brought Rin and Tsukuyo and the others along too! It would've been so much livelier, and we could've let them eat plenty of good food."
"After all, this is all Ganesha's treat—it'd be a waste not to eat it!"
As Hestia spoke, she popped the peeled grapes into her mouth one by one.
Haimer, listening to Hestia's complaints, turned his head somewhat helplessly and glanced at her.
Watching her act as though it were all so natural, he could only feel resigned at how she now completely took it for granted that his Familia was her Familia.
As for Hephaestus, seeing Hestia's utterly unrefined manner of eating, she sat to the side rubbing her brow with a slight headache and quietly cautioned her.
"The Denatus is hardly a place to bring children to romp about."
"Besides, the commotion Haimer has stirred up in the city lately has been far too great. If Haimer really did bring the children along, the other gods at the Denatus probably wouldn't be able to eat in peace at all."
As Hephaestus spoke, she swept her right eye over their surroundings.
Though those gods were eating and drinking, the vast majority of them had their minds not at all on the food, their sidelong glances all darting toward this side.
"What's there to be afraid of? With Haimer here anyway, who would dare have any objections?" Hestia, paying not the slightest heed to this, replied indistinctly and casually picked up a glass of freshly-squeezed juice, taking a big gulp.
And just as the few of them were chatting idly.
A small commotion suddenly arose among the crowd on the side of the hall.
The several minor-faction patron deities who had originally gathered in that direction, as though they had seen some inconceivable being, consciously drew back to either side, opening up a path.
A figure clad in a slim-fitting pale-blue formal gown parted the crowd at the side.
Holding an exquisite crystal wine goblet in one hand, he walked unhurriedly toward the direction of Haimer's table.
It was none other than a male god with a head of dazzling blond hair and features of an extremely refined, gentle bearing.
A perfect smile hung at the corner of his mouth, and even the light in his eyes carried a gentleness that made one feel as though bathed in a spring breeze.
Such a highly deceptive appearance was, in the Lower World, especially apt to draw the adoration of pure maidens.
——He was none other than the patron deity of the [Dionysus Familia], Dionysus.
Following behind him.
Was an elf maiden with white hair and red eyes.
—The captain of the [Dionysus Familia].
—Formerly the 「White Witch」, now the 「Banshee」, Filvis Challia.
There she was.
Filvis still wore that same rather conservative white robe as usual, her hands folded before her, gaze cast downward, her entire being giving off a cold, frosty aura.
"Lord Haimer."
Accompanied by a refined, gentle voice—one that even sounded as though it left the listener bathed in a spring breeze—suddenly sounding at Haimer's side.
Following the sound.
One saw Dionysus standing at the edge of the table, holding a glass of pure-hued red wine.
Dressed in a well-tailored pale-gold formal gown, with that impeccable, well-mannered smile on his face that left not the slightest fault to be found, he held the crystal goblet brimming with exquisite divine wine level before him, came to a steady halt before Haimer, then bowed slightly, lowering his posture to the utmost.
"Lord Haimer, to be able to meet you once again in the Lower World is truly an honor."
"Since we parted ways in the Heavens, I have often found myself missing those days when I presented my humble works to you."
Dionysus's tone was respectful, without the slightest overstepping to be found.
But for one god to honorifically address another god as "Lord"—
This, in the Lower World, was somewhat appalling to hear.
Amid and Miach, standing at a distance, along with Aisha, who leaned against a pillar watching coldly from the sidelines, upon hearing these words, had their pupils abruptly contract, and they all widened their eyes in unison.
As for Hestia, Loki, Hephaestus, and the other gods, they were not at all surprised by Dionysus's honorific address toward Haimer.
After all, in the Heavens, who didn't know Haimer's identity?
Dionysus especially, back in the Heavens—had once served as the brewer who attended to Haimer's making of divine wine.
Still, when they saw Dionysus suddenly take the initiative to walk over at this critical juncture, the gods—who had thought themselves so well-disguised—couldn't help but crane their necks, even pricking up their ears.
Haimer, for his part, turned his head slightly and saw Dionysus.
Abiding by the principle that one does not strike a smiling face, and out of the courtesy due an old acquaintance.
The corner of Haimer's mouth lifted into a faintly amused smile:
Seems he's caught on that something's amiss.
"Ah, Dionysus, it has indeed been a long while."
Haimer raised his glass and clinked it against the other's.
"I hear you're still brewing divine wine down here in the Lower World?"
"Let me have a taste sometime, if the chance arises."
"Though... I do hope the flavor of your divine wine hasn't grown more muddled than it was back in the Heavens."
"After all, from what I've observed of late, even gods will always end up mixing in a bit of mortals' filthy thoughts."
At these words, Dionysus's fingers holding the wine goblet tightened slightly.
Yet the smile on his face did not lessen in the slightest; he even bowed his head a touch:
"Yes—I am grateful for your fondness for the divine wine I brew."
"Though the mortal materials of the Lower World are indeed coarse, and what's brewed from them will always carry some impurities, now and again one does come across some decent ingredients, passable enough for making wine."
"I only hope this craft of yours hasn't been ruined by the murkiness of the Lower World."
"Of course not."
Dionysus bowed slightly, picking up where Haimer's words left off.
"Come to think of it, I have indeed found several superb ingredients of late, and brewed a batch of private vintage with a fairly pure taste."
"Considering that your new residence will be completed before long, when that time comes, I shall have this batch of carefully-brewed divine wine sent over as a congratulatory gift. I think it might just barely be worthy of your eye."
Dionysus said with a smile, his posture humble.
But once he said this, Haimer did not immediately respond.
Instead, it was Demeter who, hearing Dionysus's words, tilted her head slightly and fixed a wary gaze on him.
It was obvious she knew that the raw materials for the divine wine Dionysus brewed came precisely from plundering her Familia's caravan.
Dionysus, just then, happened to lift his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Demeter.
The two's lines of sight met in the air.
A brief locking of eyes.
The air itself seemed to gain a faint whiff of gunpowder.
All of this, naturally, did not escape Haimer's eyes.
Haimer gently swirled the crystal goblet in his hand, the blood-red liquor sloshing against the glass walls.
He had known Dionysus back in the Heavens.
What this brewing god—who always seemed so refined and gentle, whose words were watertight—was really like at his core, Haimer knew better than anyone.
Dionysus liked to watch the residents of the Lower World struggle in their desires, liked to listen to those agonized screams of people falling into despair.
"Lord Haimer."
At this point, Dionysus withdrew his gaze from Demeter and looked back at Haimer, the smile on his face still perfect.
It pulled Haimer back from his thoughts.
There—
Dionysus turned slightly to the side and made a gesture of invitation.
"The hall is crowded with too many eyes. I wonder if you might do me the honor of stepping aside for a word?"
"Let's go."
And so.
Under Demeter's gaze, tinged with a trace of unease.
The two passed through the crowd and arrived at the terrace on the side of the hall.
The terrace was broad, paved with smoothly-polished marble.
The night wind blew in through the carved stone balustrade, carrying away a touch of the hall's stuffy heat.
Looking outward from here, one could see the bustling night scenery of Orario.
Dionysus walked to the balustrade, turned to face Haimer, his attitude still respectful enough to leave no fault to be found.
After all, back in the Heavens, he had been merely a subordinate god who brewed wine for Haimer.
Haimer's terrifying power, sufficient to slaughter the gods, remained even now a sharp blade hanging over the heads of all deities.
This, too, was the reason he had taken the initiative to approach today.
He needed to test the waters.
"Lord Haimer."
Dionysus rested both hands on the balustrade, looking out at the night scenery, and lowered his voice.
"To be honest, I had originally thought that a being such as yourself would never set foot in the Lower World."
"After all, this Lower World must be far too dull for one like you."
A trace of puzzlement showed in his eyes.
"But I never imagined that you would not only come down, but even bring those monsters up to the surface."
"This act of yours has truly sent the whole of Orario into a tremor."
"Are you... planning to stir up some grand commotion?"
"Of course, so long as you have need of it, Lord Haimer, the strength on my side is ready to serve you directly at any time."
Dionysus paused, turned his head, looked at Haimer, and the corner of his mouth curved into a meaningful smile.
After all.
In his view, this move of Haimer's was by no means simple amusement.
There had to be some grand scheme to overturn the entire order of the Lower World.
And his own plan happened to want to create exactly this kind of chaos.
To that end, Dionysus chose to take the initiative and extend an olive branch.
Dionysus.
There is no need to wait for the 『Appointed Time』—this Lower World, too, shall be transformed into the Netherworld... orgia... the 『Frenzy』 I so yearn for will come to pass in the end.
____
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