Seeing Cao Ye and the four Amazon women behind him, Ottar couldn't help but frown slightly.
This was the territory of Goddess Freya, yet Cao Ye had casually brought four unknown women into the place.
In Ottar's view, this was a clear lack of discipline.
"The Goddess has already gone to rest."
Ottar said calmly.
His gaze remained fixed on Cao Ye.
The meaning of his attitude was obvious:
If Cao Ye dared to disturb the goddess's rest, Ottar would personally teach him what proper rules meant.
"She's already asleep?"
Cao Ye didn't think much about it.
At this hour, sleeping was perfectly normal.
Then his gaze shifted toward Ottar.
"Ottar, could you find a place to lock these four up?"
"Where did you find these Amazons?"
When mentioning them, Ottar's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
"These four belong to the Ishtar Familia."
"They tried to pull a Monster Offering on me in the dungeon earlier."
"So I captured them alive."
"Monster Offering?"
Hearing this explanation, Ottar glanced at him again.
You've only been in Orario for a few days.
Yet somehow you've experienced everything.
Monster Feast.
Monster Rampage.
Monster Offering.
At this point, the only thing you haven't encountered yet is an Enhanced Species monster.
Ottar honestly didn't know what to say.
"In the dungeon, there are no rules."
"If they tried to set you up, you should have simply killed them."
"Why bring them back here?"
"Because we can make use of them."
"After all, they belong to the Ishtar Familia."
"?"
Ottar was a pure warrior.
Even though he had followed Freya for many years, his mind didn't usually think in complicated schemes.
Cao Ye sighed slightly.
This guy was really a simple brute.
"Goddess Ishtar has always been hostile toward Freya."
"She constantly tries to cause trouble for our goddess."
"So why not use this opportunity?"
"Members of the Ishtar Familia tried to kill me using Monster Offering."
"Don't you think that's a perfect excuse?"
"You mean…"
Ottar immediately understood.
They could use this as leverage.
He glanced again at the four unconscious Amazons.
Indeed—
This was an excellent justification.
After all, the Pleasure Quarter was the largest money-making district in Orario.
Even though the Freya Familia didn't lack money, gaining a large amount of valis was still beneficial.
"So what do you want to do?"
Ottar asked.
"Have Freya confront Ishtar."
"They can either pay compensation to avoid trouble…"
"Or we initiate a War Game."
"With the strength of the Ishtar Familia, defeating them should be effortless, right?"
"Destroying the Ishtar Familia would pose no difficulty."
Ottar said calmly.
And he absolutely had the strength to say that.
Both his own power and the Freya Familia's strength supported that claim.
In the original story, when Ishtar tried to interfere with Bell, Freya became truly furious.
The Freya Familia deployed several executives and crushed the Ishtar Familia completely.
Even the goddess Ishtar herself was sent back to heaven by Freya.
"Exactly."
"If they're willing to hand over money to settle things…"
"Why shouldn't we take it?"
"I'll report this to the goddess tomorrow."
"I'll take custody of these four."
Since it could benefit the familia and also suppress a rival who constantly annoyed Freya, Ottar was more than willing to handle the matter.
This was one of the defining traits of the Freya Familia.
As long as something benefited Freya, no one would oppose it.
In fact, the Freya Familia was probably the most purely devoted familia in Orario.
Everything they did existed for the sake of Goddess Freya.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"I'm heading back."
"Mm."
After finishing the arrangements, Cao Ye turned and left.
Dragging those four women all the way out of the dungeon had exhausted him.
Even the excitement of obtaining the Excalibur Morgan had faded somewhat.
Now sleepiness was finally catching up.
Nothing happened during the night.
The next morning, a knock on the door woke Cao Ye from his sleep.
Creak—
Cao Ye assumed it was Ottar outside.
After all, Ottar was usually the one knocking on his door.
But when he opened it—
He froze.
Standing outside was Freya herself.
She wore a light, revealing rose-colored dress, looking like a blooming rose.
"Lady Freya?"
"Ottar already told me about what happened last night."
"So… what do you think?"
Hearing her words, Cao Ye smiled.
For Freya to come to him this early in the morning, she clearly had a reason.
"Tell me your real objective."
Freya said calmly.
"What do you mean?"
"Seeking benefits for the familia isn't your style."
"Don't forget, you still owe me 20 million valis."
Cao Ye felt speechless.
Lady Goddess… could you please stop bringing that up?
"I happened to learn some information earlier."
"And it caught my interest."
"Information?"
Freya tilted her head.
You barely know anyone in Orario.
What kind of information could you possibly have?
"The Ishtar Familia recently acquired a secret weapon."
"They plan to use it to destroy our familia."
"Destroy my familia?"
"Ishtar?"
Freya burst out laughing.
Her face was full of mockery.
Freya had reached the top of Orario through strength.
Her familia had flourished for years.
And Ishtar—who spent her days running a pleasure district—thought she could defeat them?
Freya had never taken her seriously, neither in heaven nor on the lower world.
Even though they were both goddesses of beauty, the gap between them was enormous.
"Go on then."
"How exactly does she plan to destroy my familia?"
"In the Ishtar Familia, there's a fox girl."
"She possesses a special magic or skill that can temporarily raise an adventurer's level by one."
"Hmm?"
"Temporarily raise a level?"
"Is it a skill or magic?"
"I'm not sure."
"I only heard about it by chance."
"I ran into an Ishtar Familia team in the dungeon once."
"They mentioned it while chatting."
"I don't know the details."
"Even so, it doesn't matter."
"The strongest adventurer in the Ishtar Familia is only Level 5."
"There's more."
"They also mentioned a ritual…"
"And something called a Killing Stone."
Cao Ye stopped speaking there.
He had already said enough.
Freya was a goddess who had lived for millions of years.
Never underestimate the intelligence of a goddess.
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