Hestia and Artemis welcomed the newcomers with open arms and invited them to dinner.
It was a normal dinner overall with all of the Goddesses just calmly talking with each other about random things. Meanwhile, Tsubaki couldn't stop staring at Riveria while Ottar's eyes didn't leave Kisuke.
"Now that we're all satisfied, I hope you don't mind clearing up some of my confusion." Hephaestus started while the tea was being served.
"Then I would like to apologize in advance as I can't tell you that much. All I can say is that we won't involve ourselves with the 'Spirit'." Kisuke immediately prefaced.
Hephaestus became silent before saying, "At least tell me why Hermes is so keen on you taking action." She wasn't able to ask but it was incredibly weird that the Deities there were so sure that Yoruichi and Serafall would be able to deal with the corrupted 'Spirit'. It's not like it was impossible to defeat it with their current combined forces, but there would certainly be casualties that everybody didn't want. However, that doesn't really justify their weird reaction and behavior from the earlier meeting, 'It's as if they were the only correct solution for this problem.'
Kisuke smiled at her. He was a bit more patient with her since it was because of her giving away every Magic-powered vehicle in her inventory that the whole city of Orario and Melen were able to evacuate safely in a timely manner. Along with Ganesha, they were the two most prominent actors that pulled out all stops and opened their wallets just to ensure that every non-combatant person was safe and comfortable to do their tasks.
"Because Hermes and some of the Gods there know their abilities. If I were to compare them to Bell Cranel, that kid is just a little bit better than small fries compared to those two."
Tsubaki and Ottar's eyes widened in surprise.
And seeing that, Freya muttered, "Oh right, I almost forgot." Then with a snap of her fingers, the 'Charm' that was affecting both of them was instantly lifted and Serafall's Magic Power that was powering the spell dissipated.
In that instant, the memories that were locked behind a strong mental wall forcefully flooded their heads, causing a massive headache for Tsubaki and Ottar.
"Ughhh..." Tsubaki groaned while clutching her head and the first thing she thought after this was, 'How did I forget people like them!?'
Ottar, on the other hand, only silently endured the pain while muttering loudly, "...Either one of them is enough to deal with the corrupted Spirit."
He then looked at Kisuke with a regretful smile, "And if he is to take action personally, something like this would be obliterated within just a few seconds."
Hephaestus and Tsubaki were stunned to silence at his comment, not because of his ridiculous words, but because those ridiculous words came from someone like him who was very prideful and hated lying.
"Hey! I could do it within a few seconds too!" Serafall, meanwhile, protested at the underestimation of her.
But Ottar ignored her as there was a more important thing on his mind. He turned to Freya and asked with a heartfelt expression that he never really showed, "...My Goddess... Freya-sama... Why?"
"Are you disappointed?"
Ottar hesitated for a bit before nodding, "...Yes."
"What are you disappointed about?"
"...Freya-sama. You didn't trust me with this 'knowledge'."
Freya looked at him with knowing eyes, "But that's not the main reason you're disappointed, isn't it? More than myself, you're most disappointed in yourself."
Ottar's head hung low and was unable to refute her. Deep inside, he knew that her actions were not the source of his disappointment, but the fact that he wasn't even able to close the distance between him and Kisuke. He genuinely thought that as long as they train with them as their goal, they would sooner or later reach that step. However, even now that he thinks that it'll be hard for him to get stronger, he's still a mere ant in front of them, '...I see. We became too obsessed.'
But all of a sudden, he remembered the one person that disappeared for an entire seven years and the unknown strength that she'd just shown. Ottar's head snapped to Riveria, "You..! Did you...? How!?"
Riveria scratched her cheek with an awkward smile, 'I can't really tell him that I got stronger because of something that doesn't exist in this world, can I?'
"...It's the difference of mindset, environment, and how they view power." In the end, she could only give a vague answer.
Riveria thought that would be the end of it and Kisuke would further explain it to him, however, the look in his eyes changed, and said, "I challenge you to a duel. Please fight me."
Riveria wanted to refuse but Loki suddenly clapped her hands and interrupted her, "That's a good idea~!"
"Loki?"
Loki turned to Riveria with her sharp eyes, "I'm also very curious about what you can do. Aren't you the one who's going to deal with the corrupted Spirit?"
Hephaestus and Tsubaki were finally able to react to the nonsensical conversation, "You?" Asked the latter with disbelief.
Riveria didn't confirm it but that was the plan. She came into agreement with Yoruichi and Serafall that she should be the one to deal with the corrupted Spirit since they needed all the manpower they could get for what was going to happen after that, no matter how inconsequential it was. Although they would be capable of fighting it on their own, they didn't like the large casualties that it'd cause. So instead of wasting their lives on something as trivial as this, they should actually deal with this on their own.
However, it was not as easy as that since they didn't want to provoke the one that watched from the sky so they could only opt for Riveria who was the absolute limit.
Riveria could only sigh and couldn't find any reason to refuse, "Fine."
.
.
.
Outside, Riveria and Ottar were standing some distance away from the rest of the group. "Now that I think about it, to what extent did Riveria improve? Everyone told me that she could copy Magic, but to what degree?" asked Yoruichi.
Like how Yoruichi and Serafall didn't reveal anything about their progress, Kisuke and the other girls also didn't reveal much about themselves to surprise each other when they see each other again, "It'll be an interesting show, so just watch."
Ottar was already ready to go with two greatswords in his hands along with his Ki and Magic Power flaring up.
Riveria, on the other hand, was rubbing her chin and eyes closed in deep thought.
"Should I start?", asked the impatient and somewhat offended Ottar, 'She didn't even take out her wand, and what's with that very casual stance? She doesn't see me as an opponent?'
Riveria finally opened her eyes after a few seconds and said, "Let me do the opening act."
Ottar saw Riveria raise her left hand and got into a defensive stance. The next instant, a weird Magic Circle appeared on top of her but after a few seconds, Riveria let out a disappointed voice, "...Ah...", before it suddenly disappeared without doing anything.
But unlike her sad expression, the corners of Kisuke's mouth were twitching, "...Just what are you doing?"
Without any hesitation, Riveria answered while looking at her left hand, "I tried summoning Midgardsormr through the Dragon Gate but it seems that the dimension is locked tight. I can't pry it open."
Hearing that, Serafall pointed her finger at her while looking at Kisuke with a blank expression, "Oi... Did I just hear that right? Setting aside how she managed to make a contract with the Sleeping Dragon, she wanted to summon a Dragon King in a simple spar? And the largest one at that? Does she want to kill him from a heart attack?"
"If he doesn't die from a heart attack, he'll die from a single tail swipe," Yoruichi added with a similar expression.