Chapter 99 - Denatus!
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, nearly a year has passed since Luke and Ais joined the Loki Familia.
During this time, Luke has led a stable daily life.
However, today is different; it is a relatively special event compared to his usual routine over the past year.
It is the convening of the 'Denatus.'
The central hall of the Tower of Babel, a towering white tower in the labyrinth city Orario, located on its 30th floor, serves as the venue for the Denatus.
The Denatus is a meeting of the Gods held once every three months.
However, rather than a meeting, it is more like a tea party.
During the Denatus, the gods exhibit their whimsical natures, speaking without restraint, and sometimes making shocking statements.
Of course, they occasionally discuss serious matters, such as proposing or reviewing the 'activities' organized by the city.
In addition, there may be emergency situations that require the presence of gods.
In most cases, the most important and eagerly anticipated project in the Denatus is organized by this group of unrestrained gods and is closely linked to the adventurers' fame—the 'Naming Ceremony.'
The conditions for participation are that at least one member of the 'Familia' must be a high-class adventurer, meaning only gods with at least one Lv2 member are allowed to participate in the 'Naming Ceremony.'
The number of Familia members who promoted and elevated their 'vessel' directly affects the gods' status in the mortal world, as it involves the god's accomplishment in competing against other gods.
Because the rise in level even somewhat implies getting closer to becoming a divine being, so with more higher leveled members, other gods will also recognize the achievements of this god.
(PS: I always felt that this was foreshadowing, but the original work did not explore it further.)
The Naming Ceremony is used to determine the adventurer's alias.
Every time an adventurer elevates their 'vessel,' meaning after a successful upgrade in level, they have the opportunity to be bestowed with or modify their existing 'alias.'
So, the Denatus is also the meeting to declare the alias of a newly promoted adventurer.
Perhaps due to receiving prior notice and knowing that this Naming Ceremony is particularly special, the number of gods attending this Denatus can be said to be exceptionally high.
"Wow, Freya is here!?"
"Amazing! She's beautiful as usual! Ahhh!!!"
"Look, Ishtar is also here!"
"Thank the heavens, what a feast for our eyes!"
Even some rarely seen gods are all present in this Denatus.
The meeting hall occupies the entire floor, with a massive space supported by several huge pillars reaching up to the ceiling.
The surrounding walls are made of a transparent structure, allowing a panoramic view of the sky from the 30th floor.
At first glance, it looks like a temple floating in the sky.
Gods, appearing one after another through the only entrance, gather around the round table placed in the center of the hall.
There is an orange-haired male god with a cynical smile on his face, and there is also a weird god who shouts "I am Ganesha!"
There are also male gods who jokingly prostrate themselves at the feet of the two 'goddesses of beauty' with silver and purple hair, and many goddesses rolling their eyes at these unsightly male gods.
Gods of various ages and genders take their seats, many of which exchange greetings or chat with gods they are familiar with.
Seeing that almost all the gods are present, and the time is about right, a familiar goddess with flowing red hair stands up.
"Alright, everyone is almost here, right?"
Rising from her seat, Loki squints her eyes and smiles.
Looking at the gods who instantly quiet down due to her standing up, Loki loudly announces:
"I declare that the Nth Denatus officially begins, and I, Loki, will be presiding over this meeting! Please give me your advice!"
"Oh~ Yahhh!"
With Loki's announcement, cheers and applause erupt from the impatient gods.
To those gods who applaud her, Loki waves back at them.
The reason why she is taking on the role of hosting this Denatus is also because of the Naming Ceremony that follows.
To keep these unrestrained gods in check at this Denatus, only gods with high status can do it.
As the goddess in charge of one of the strongest Familia in Orario, since Loki actively volunteered to host this Denatus, the other gods naturally dared not object.
Standing on her seat, Loki surveys the gods around the round table.
Seeing that all their attention is focused on her, and ensuring no one is distracted, Loki nods in satisfaction and announces the start of the first project of the Denatus.
"As usual, let's start with information exchange. Does anyone have any jokes to share with others?"
"I have one!"
"I do too!"
"Hey, I heard that gay guy Apollo made a move on someone else's child again."
As Loki finishes speaking, the hall instantly becomes lively.
Information exchange is one of the initial important purposes of holding the Denatus.
However, at this point, it mostly involves gods boasting and joking.
Nevertheless, if there are indeed new pieces of information from the dungeon or Orario, they will use them as topics for verification and sharing.
The Denatus, where the gods of major factions in Orario gather, often conveys some high-profile information.
Since most Gods are all unrestrained, they act recklessly, speak without thinking of the consequences, and bring the entire agenda into chaos, sometimes even causing major disruptions.
These gods gather around the round table, laughing heartily and speaking freely, changing one topic after another.
Children in the mortal world often have the misconception that Denatus is a serious and dignified meeting organized by the gods, following proper procedures.
But if they were to witness this scene of complete disorder, they would surely realize, "Isn't this how the gods usually behave?"
"Alright, everyone, quiet down!"
Amidst the uncontrollable vortex of chatter, Loki, as the host, shouts loudly, bringing silence to the venue.
"Let's wrap up the small talk; I'll summarize some relatively important parts."
Among the chaotic discussions, simplifying and extracting valuable content is also an important role of the host.
"First of all, as expected of you, Apollo."
Loki first names the god who was mentioned the most in the recent discussions.
"You're once again using tricks to snatch someone else's child, aren't you? It's about time to stop; if you go on like this, the guild might give you a warning."
"Oh? What do you mean by tricks? Those two children 'voluntarily' converted to my Familia."
The orange-haired god named Apollo, who was called out, is not intimidated by Loki but explains with a smile.
"The conversion process cannot proceed without the permission of their previous god. This indicates that I received the approval of their previous god and obtained those two children completely through proper procedures."
"Why would the guild warn me who is completely innocent?"
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