Chapter 266 - CH. 271: Deal
Loki frowned as her eyes cracked open. A serious glint flashed in those red pupils. She put her thumb in her mouth and chewed her nails like a maniac.
"I knew we had more traitors."??
She berated herself for believing Evilus had no allies left in Orario.
"I'm tired of their shit," she said and glared at Asahi. "What do ya want from me?"
Asahi grinned. "A simple thing. Just handle the aftermath with the Guild if I end up destroying some big Familia."
"Why should I do that?" Loki joined her hands behind her head and gave a sly smile. "I see no profit in stepping in yer business."
"My business?" Asahi deadpanned. "Your jokes aren't funny."
Any chaos in Orario will hurt Astraea the most. Asahi cared for Astraea enough to flip Orario upside down.
"I'll help ya on one condition."
"Better not be something like joining your Familia. I'm not leaving Astraea."
"Aww. Look at ya. Going so far for that virgin goddess. Is this the reason they fell for ya?"
"..."
"I know ya can teleport into the dungeon. How low can ya go with this skill and how many can you take?"
Her motive became obvious to Asahi.
"I can take ten people to the 45th floor."
Teleporting ten people wasn't a big deal if he used Grayfia's magic circle, or better ask her to teach him this skill. He wouldn't need to rely on Klyscha's teleportation powers after that.
(Another responsibility will be taken away from me. I'm going to become a useless housewife at this rate!)
'How about becoming a spoiled housewife? You can finish your goddess duties or something during the day, and we can cuddle and make love every night.'
(S-Stop tempting me. You already know the only thing I can't resist is cuddling with my love!)
'I'm kidding. You're doing a great job in helping the girls.'
Klyscha interacted a lot with his other women. As much as he tried, he couldn't spend equal time with everyone. So, Klyscha's help was always appreciated.
Meanwhile, Loki was lost in thoughts. Asahi's ability to teleport to the 45th floor was too good to pass on. Her Familia, despite being close to the strongest adventurers, became drained after going through numerous monsters. This accumulating mental stress dragged them down from their peak, putting them at a disadvantage against the monsters found on the 55th floor and beyond. Her party could descend beyond the 59th floor with his help and break the record of Zeus's Familia. Though the ten-man limit irked her.
"Can't ya do something about the party limit? Ten people can't carry much food."
Adventurers needed food. A lot of food to keep up with the Mind (Magic) consumption.
"I can store food too if you want," Asahi said with a grin. "Are you sure about leaving Ais with me?"
"...Riveria will be there."
Asahi's grin widened. "What makes you think I can't seduce the high elf princess too?"
Unable to refute his question, Loki clicked her tongue. A man who made a virgin goddess fall for him, could he not seduce a virgin elf princess?
"Riveria won't fall for a brat," she declared confidently. "Ya shouldn't go for a flat-chested woman like her. You already got some decent elves in your Familia."
Asahi eyed her chest. "Even flat chests have their appeal."
"Oh, really?" Loki rolled her eyes. "You'll carry my Familia to the 45th floor."
Asahi revealed three fingers. "Three times is the limit. You gotta pay after that."
"Five."
"Three."
"Five."
Asahi refused to yield. Loki was speechless to find someone shameless of her own caliber.
"Four."
She threw her final offer.
"Alright. Only cause I like your curves."
"..."
"I also have one condition. Let me and my women kill the monsters. Your adventurers can relax."
'What a weird condition!'
Loki nodded regardless of how she felt about it. Other than Ais, all the adventurers in her Familia felt no particular pleasure in slaying monsters.
"See ya later, Loki."
Asahi returned to the mansion. Lyra hurriedly handed him the list.
"I added some popular names outside Orario."
Ganesha, Freya, Loki, Demeter, Ishtar, Ares, Dian Cecht, Miach, Goibnu, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ikelos, Thanatos.
One particular name stood out for Asahi.
Ishtar, the Queen of Pleasure Quarters—the red light district of Orario. In the anime, he had seen her ambition to overtake Freya and how far she was willing to go to fulfill them.
"Could she be the one?"
He had a strong feeling about this. His instincts provoked a grin on his face.
'Oh well. It's easy to search her place.'
He took a pen from his ring and crossed Demeter and Loki. Demeter was too wholesome to be part of Evilus. On their first meeting, he couldn't sense any sort of malice from her. Then he crossed Ikelos as they were confirmed to be part of Evilus, then Hephaestus. The goddess of smith had too much pride to collude with low-life scums. Miach too was a decent guy. Hermes and Ganesha didn't have any reason to cooperate with Evilus.
That left him with Freya, Ishtar, Dian Cecht, Goibnu, Thanatos, and Ares.
"Who is Ares?"
He hadn't heard of this god of war staying in Orario.
"Uh. The head of Rakia, a nation-type Familia located in the western part of the continent." Kaguya glanced at Ryuu. "They are a bunch of warmongers who used Crozzo's magic swords to burn elven forests."
Ryuu shook her head. "...I don't hate them. They already got punished by Spirits, so they can't make any more magic swords."
'I forgot how overpowered magic swords are in this world.'
"Grayfia, Rakia is on you."
Her speed in flying was only second to Asahi.
Kaguya sighed. "Rakia is too far to travel in a day. I also don't think they will conspire with Evilus."
"No harm in making sure."
"You must guide me." Grayfia?grabbed Lyra. "I'll return soon, My Lord."