by Fujino Omori
He followed Tione’s directions, running through a dim back alley with his heart racing and fighting for breath. One block, two blocks and—
“Ah! Hey, Aiz! Argonaut’s here—!”
“Aiz?! And—Miss Tiona?!”
Standing there to greet him were none other than the saber-wielding Aiz and the other Amazonian girl, Tiona, with some kind of large sheath resting over her shoulders.
Bell froze in surprise, but Tiona greeted him like a friend as the two girls walked up to meet him.
“We saw you from the window, Argonaut. Some kind of magic-stone lamp went off in Aiz’s head, and we asked Tione to meet you.”
Tiona went on to explain the other side of the story.
Aiz had figured out immediately what Bell was doing when he appeared at their front door. The look in his eyes told her that the boy wanted another round of training. However, they couldn’t allow the mob to see her, so they sent Tione outside to deliver a message.
Whether she wanted to help out her friend or she was just along for the fun, Tiona was completely on board with the idea.
“…Aiz, is this okay?”
Bell took a very cautious step forward as he spoke.
She had no reason to teach him anything, Bell was asking for a huge favor. Since their Familias were not working together, she’d be doing this on her own as well as face the consequences it might bring.
Bell’s words hung in the air for a moment, tension rising. Finally, Aiz gave him her answer.
“I cannot fight for you or alongside you…You have to do your best, and then…”
“Yep, yep! This is your fight, Argonaut!”
Tiona interpreted Aiz’s vague words before—whoosh!—pointing her finger right at him.
Bell broke out in a cold sweat. Aiz continued.
“I think it would be wrong to…abandon you.”
“Aiz…”
The look in the girl’s golden eyes made Bell’s heart melt. Completely ignoring the sudden change in mood, Tiona jumped back into the conversation.
“This is fine, no problem. If Aiz whips Argonaut into shape, the War Game will be more entertaining! Loki’n all the rest’ll be thrilled for sure!”
Bell could only grimace at the thought. If the difference in power between him and Apollo Familia wasn’t so staggering, their fight would be more fun to watch. Aiz looked at the Amazon and lightly smiled.
“But for me, Apollo Familia is going about this all wrong. Way over-the-top, dirty, I just can’t stand it…”
Tiona’s cheek twitched for a moment before she looked at the boy and grinned from ear to ear.
“So I’m gonna help you, too, Argonaut!”
“Wait, so that means…”
“Yep! You’re stuck with me, too!”
Bell looked at Aiz, unsure what to say. She nodded back to him.
Getting over the shock of this turn of events, Bell wasted no time in showing his appreciation to the girls.
“Really, I can’t thank you enough…”
“Relax, relax, it’s nothing! Let’s go, time’s a-wastin’!”
“Yes.”
Bell swore to himself right then and there that he would find some way to repay them for their kindness. He was in their debt.
Tiona was so excited that she thrust her large apparatus straight up, a childish smile on her face. Bell and Aiz followed her down the backstreet.
Their destination: the same place they’d trained before—the northwest city wall.
Bell’s training under two top-class adventurers was about to begin.
The Guild officially approved the War Game between Hestia and Apollo almost immediately.
At the same time, preparations began all around the city.
However, no one was busier than the Guild employees. They had to find a way to allow both sides to unleash their full potential within the rules of the game while posing no danger to the citizens of Orario. The combatants would need supplies, directions, and most of all a stage on which to conduct the War Game. It could start any day; there was no time to waste. They also had to accommodate the wishes of the gods.
There wasn’t a soul in the city, adventurer or otherwise, who wasn’t waiting with bated breath for the conditions of the War Game to be announced. In the meantime, all they could do was prepare.
“—Is Hestia still not here today?!”
On the thirtieth floor of Babel Tower in the center of Orario…
Apollo had reached his breaking point.
Many gods and goddesses had gathered around a circular table in the center of the web of high pillars that supported a lofty ceiling. The rules and style of the War Game were to be decided by the two participating gods as well as the observers—in order to squeeze every possible ounce of entertainment out of the event—at this Denatus meeting.
Three days had passed since the assault on Hestia Familia.
Apollo had become irritated that his opponent refused to show her face. She excused her absence by claiming to be “sick” for the past few days. Despite her assertion that she was not physically well enough to take part in the meeting, it was clear as day that she was stalling for time.
Apollo angrily paced around his chair, insisting that she was concocting an escape plan. The moment he finished his rant, the doors to the tall chamber swung open.
“Sorry I’m late. I apologize for keeping you waiting.”
Although her words were polite, she didn’t sound the least bit sorry. Miach strode in beside her.
What’s more, she showed no remorse for keeping the Denatus at a standstill. Apollo scowled at her.
“You’re very late, Hestia. How do you plan to take responsibility for delaying Denatus to this extent?”
“It’s not my fault I got a fever after being chased around the city by your followers. For a while there, I thought I was a goner.”
Hestia once again brought up her health to circumvent Apollo’s complaints. Miach sided with Hestia, backing up her claim.
“Yes, she was in dire straits.”
“Yah, yah, Itty-Bitty’s a moron, but enough burnin’ time. Can’t we get goin’?”
Loki was leaning back in her chair, one eyebrow raised and hands behind her head as if she were out of patience as well. All of the deities returned to their seats and the discussion finally got under way.
The first order of business was for Hestia and Apollo to sign the necessary paperwork with everyone present as witnesses.
“Once I’m victorious, I claim Bell Cranell.”
“…”
“I want to make that perfectly clear. There will be no petty excuses or far-fetched assertions after everything is over. Should Hestia win, she’s free to demand whatever her little heart desires.”
The possibility of defeat didn’t seem to cross Apollo’s mind. He wanted only one thing: ownership of Bell Cranell and his immediate transfer into Apollo Familia. Hestia remained quiet. The deity in charge of keeping notes for the meeting responded with an “All right, then” as he recorded their terms.
Next up, they needed to decide how the War Game would be fought.
“One-on-one, the best of our Familias settle everything. Wouldn’t that be exciting?”
Hestia didn’t even look at Apollo as she made her suggestion from her spot at the round table.
“It could be held at the Coliseum for everyone to see. The final battle right in front of our eyes. How could anyone not be entertained?”
“I agree. Watching all of Apollo’s children attack Bell one after the other sounds rather boring.”
“I second the motion.”
Apollo’s hostile gaze first fell on Hestia and then to her allies, Miach and Takemikazuchi.
Quite a few heads around the table started to nod, seeing the logic in her reasoning.
“What say you, Apollo?” “That’s the Ox Killer you’re fighting!”
“A strong opponent in a one-on-one duel, sounds good to me.”
“…”
The deities around the table grinned in Apollo’s direction. They were on no one’s side; they simply enjoyed watching Apollo’s reaction.
The blond deity wearing a crown of laurels put on a calm face before grinning once again.
“The only reason that your Familia isn’t larger is entirely due to your laziness, Hestia, when it comes to recruiting.”
“Muh…”
“You can cry all you want about your lack of children, but that’s no reason for me to have to accommodate.”
“Grrrr,” Hestia growled under her breath as Apollo pointed out that the size of the Familia was completely under the god’s control.
It was true that Hestia wanted to always be alone with Bell and had never tried to increase the size of her Familia.
“In the interest of fairness, why don’t we draw for it?”
Unable to defend her position, Hestia remained silent as Apollo suggested a different solution. “Sure,” came the voice of their transcriber as he pulled a box out from under the table and placed it on top.
Each of the gods in attendance wrote how they would like to see the War Game be played on a sheet of paper. The papers were collected and put into the box. Of course, Hestia wrote “DUEL” in big, bold letters and shoved her paper into the box.
All that was left was to decide who would draw.
“I can’t trust anyone who has sided with Apollo.”
“…The feeling’s mutual. I won’t accept a paper drawn by Miach or Takemikazuchi.”
Hestia and Apollo issued their conditions in curt, sharp tones.
In that case…Both of the deities looked around the table, their gazes stopping on one god in particular.
““Hermes””
“Ehhh…Seriously?”
Hestia’s and Apollo’s voices overlapped as they said his name in unison.
Shocked by his sudden selection, Hermes forced a smile without thinking.
“My dear friend, I leave it in your hands.”
“I’m counting on you, Hermes.”
Apollo, who had known Hermes since their days in Tenkai, solemnly nodded. Hestia looked up at the charming deity with trusting eyes.
This happened because Hermes had always taken the stance of the go-between and had never taken sides in these situations. “Looks like I gotta,” he said in a deflated voice, accepting the role thrust upon him by the other two deities. He stood from his chair and made his way around the table. Every set of eyes in the room followed him.
“Please be gentle…”
Hermes whispered to himself as he slowly lowered his hand into the box.
Hestia was on the edge of her seat, unable to breathe as Hermes withdrew one sheet of paper and unfolded it.
Hermes’s face went pale as he paused, an empty smile on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Castle Siege.”
—Slam! Hestia drove both of her fists onto the table, teeth clenched.
“Fa-ha-ha-ha-hahaha! This decision was reached fair and square. This is final!”
Apollo’s roar of laughter echoed throughout the chamber.
Whether on the attack or defending, this style of War Game required a large number of warriors. Most likely, Hermes drew the paper written by Apollo himself. “That’s Hermes for ya.” “Can’t wait!” The other deities reacted to the decision, chatting amongst themselves.
Hermes looked up at the ceiling in disappointment while Hestia’s face turned red, shaking in anger. Apollo, on the other hand, was in a very good mood.
“It’s impossible to defend the castle with just one person. So I concede the attacking role to Hestia.”
Apollo was all smiles as his words were recorded.
Hestia’s molars were halfway into her tongue out of frustration as the worst possible outcome had come to pass. Her shoulders started to droop…“Excuse me, may I have the floor?” Hermes spoke up.
“Apollo, this puts Hestia at an extreme disadvantage…It’s completely unfair. And I’m sure many of us here will get bored watching it.”
“…”
“Therefore, I would like to propose outsiders be allowed to participate in this battle.”
Hermes’s proposal to allow members of other Familias to join the War Game in order to even the numbers made Apollo frown.
“…Hermes, I know what you’re trying to do: playing something off like it’s no big deal while at the same time forcing me into a corner. Don’t think for a moment I’ll let it happen.”
Bringing up their rough relationship in the past, Apollo forced a smile of his own as he tried to stop Hermes’s plan in its tracks.
Apollo declared that he wouldn’t accept such a ridiculous proposition.
“All participants in the War Game must be contractually bound to a Familia directly involved, that’s the rule. The presence of other Familias on the field of battle would only disgrace the gods at war.”
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
“Also, should a top-class adventurer choose to join Hestia’s side, that would put me in danger. I happen to know that Hephaistos is rather friendly with Hestia as well.”
Apollo continued his response to Hermes as he looked at all of the gods around the table in turn.
Hephaistos’s followers were recognized not only for their skills as blacksmiths but for their exploits on the battlefield as well. Their goddess took one look at Apollo, folded her arms, and said, “I would do no such thing.”
Apollo sneered back at her, unwilling to take her at her word, when—
“My, my, Apollo. Are you frightened?”
“Freya…”
The silver-haired goddess had been sitting quietly in her chair up until now. A small smile bloomed on her lips.
“Are you afraid to fight more than one enemy at a time?”
“Don’t take me for a fool…”
“So then, you don’t trust your children? Is that the extent of your love for them?”
The deity with the power to control love itself took a shot at the pride of the god who loves too passionately. Apollo’s jaws clenched together, strong enough to make them cry out under the pressure. Sure enough, a large group of male deities sided with Freya and voted to allow the addition of outsiders. The Denatus instantly shook with fervor.
—So Freya is interested in Bell.
While the silver-haired goddess’s words set off alarm bells in Hestia’s mind, this was not the time or the place to voice them. If the Goddess of Beauty’s actions would make even the slightest difference in Bell’s predicament, she had to accept them with open arms.
Perturbed by this turn of events, Apollo gave in and agreed to accept one part of Hermes’s suggestion.
“…Fine, then. There may be one outsider. However, that outsider must belong to a Familia outside of Orario.”
You monster! Hestia’s lips formed the words, but no sound came out as her shoulders fell.
Disregarding sheer numbers, the average strength of a Familia located in Orario was much higher than that of the Familias residing outside its walls. Most of that was due to the fact that Orario’s top-class adventurers were just too powerful.
There were more than likely a few Familias operating close to Orario with adventurers above Level 2. The difficult part was making contact with one of them and negotiating some kind of deal before the start of the War Game. It was a next-to-impossible task.
There were no objections to Apollo’s conditions. The new rules were added to the War Game as is. Even Freya didn’t try to interfere.
The blond-haired god looked thoroughly pleased with himself as he glanced over at a silent and despairing Hestia.
“We can’t be usin’ just any old castle, so let’s get the Guild in on this. We can work out the date then, too. Shall we call it a day?”
Loki called an end to the Denatus. Chairs scraped on the floor as the deities made their way out. Apollo took his time, sneering at Hestia before disappearing through the exit.
&
nbsp; Hestia could do nothing but glare back at him. She let out a long sigh as soon as he was out of sight. Soon, only Miach, Takemikazuchi, and other friends of hers remained in the chamber.
“Sorry about that, Hestia. I kind of put you in a rough spot.”
“No, Hermes, it’s not your fault.”
Hermes was the first to approach Hestia and offered his own apology. She shook her head no. No matter how much she didn’t like it, the decision had been reached using a fair draw. It was a miracle that an outsider would be allowed to participate. It was all thanks to the fact that the gods and goddesses were thirsty for a good show, and Freya, that her side was given some favoritism during the meeting.
All of the rules were in place, so Hestia made up her mind to do everything she could with the pieces she had. Her eyes burned with the desire to find a way to win.
Mentally flipping a switch, Hestia turned her attention to the other matter that needed to be resolved.
“So tell me, Hermes, did you find out where our supporter is being held?”
She hadn’t been standing around doing nothing while feigning illness for the past three days. She had tapped every resource she could to find out what happened to Lilly after she was taken by Soma Familia, including asking Hermes for his cooperation.
“In fact, I did. That is to say, Asfi did. It looks like little Lilly was taken to Soma’s storage facility.”
“A wine cellar?! Not their home?”
“That’s right. Soma bought a big building just for storing his wine. Guess his home wasn’t big enough.”
Hestia doubted his words, but Hermes was serious.
The deity continued to relay the information.
“It’s located in the southeast, close to Daidaros Street. Apparently the security is pretty tight, tighter than their home. Upper-class adventurers are crawling all over the place.”
“…”
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to keep my children out of this. I won’t ask them to fight…What will you do?”
Hestia’s head snapped up in response to Hermes’s question.
“I’m going, of course.”
She’d promised Bell.