Prytaneum
Interlude
Meeting of the Gods
Part 3
"Preventing any rules from being broken, it seems," Freya mused, lips curving gently in amusement. "Perhaps it's not normal, but as long as our rules were not broken, what methods Hestia used do not matter, do they? And neither does the nature of her child. In fact, Loki, you seem to have forgotten that it's forbidden to force another to reveal the inner workings of their Familia, including their Statuses. From where I'm standing, it doesn't look like Hestia is the one trying to break the rules."
Loki scowled at the other goddess, opening her eyes slightly wider to send a glare her way.
"Oi, Freya, don't go playing the airhead card now," She said with a slight sneer. "Even my Aiz took a whole year to Level up for the first time—a whole year. But this kid Leveled Up in a month by working really hard? You expect us to believe that? Even if Hestia didn't do anything herself, it's obvious that something's wrong!"
"Then may I ask about your child as well?" Freya mused casually, eyes seeming only distantly interested. "While perhaps not to such an extent, isn't it still odd that a human girl of only eight did what no adventurer in the history of Orario could accomplish before her? One might think she's rather abnormal as well, no? And so mysterious, as well. I've never heard of the Wallenstein family, I'm afraid, as proud as they must be of their child, and somehow I can't recall where it was the Sword Princess was said to hail from. It was as though she simply appeared one day and joined your family, rising like a star ever sense. Where did you find her, might I ask? What secrets have you been keeping about her? Or do you expect us to believe that she was simply a normal girl as well?"
A murmur went through the crowd of gods and Loki's hands clenched into fists, red eyes opening wide and blazing at the attempt to direct attention towards her favorite. Even so, she was left speechless—or rather, this was something that even she couldn't speak of lightly.
"No one has demanded an explanation for the Sword Princess' feats, whether out of respect or fear," Freya continued without giving her a chance to formulate a reply. "It therefore seems rather unequal to interrogate Hestia, simply because her Familia is so much smaller than your own."
It was a blatantly obvious attempt to turn things around on her and paint her as the bad guy, but what's worse, there wasn't much Loki could do about it right now. It was in situations like these that Freya thrived, after all, the power of her Familia and her natural Charm allowing her to all but dictate proceedings. Loki didn't have any dreams of beating her in a popularity contest, which was what things would devolve to if she simply tried to push.
"…Even so, you can't believe there was anything normal about this? Level 2 in three weeks…how can you believe this?"
"The Falna cannot be fooled," Freya countered firmly. "Of course I had a hard time believing my ears when I first heard, but if the Arcanum was not used, then I've little choice but to accept the legitimacy. Rare Skills and secrets aside, if you accept the premise, is it really so hard to believe? In a couple of days, Hestia's child first encountered the Soma Familia and nearly sacrificed his life to rescue a comrade and protect innocent people. The very next day, he remained behind to challenge a Floor Boss to give others time to escape and then fought it for a prolonged period of time. While it's true that we don't have all the details, recall that we witnessed only the end of that battle—are you assuming that it was simply an effortless triumph? As I understand, Hestia entered the Dungeon with the very intention of giving him a chance. Between those two events, is it truly so hard to believe that he Leveled Up? I rather think the difficult thing to believe is that he survived."
"Because defeating an enemy that many Levels above you is just that simple," Loki said dryly.
"Of course not," Freya said with a shrug. "Otherwise, it would hardly be worth Leveling Up, no? Perhaps it took a miracle. An ideal battlefield. Outside intervention and aid and magic and more—and in the end, it was Hephaestus' child who truly slew the beast. My Ottar Leveled Up by half-killing Balor, if you recall; a powerful Floor Boss a full two levels above him at the time. For the difference in power, is it truly hard to believe Hestia's child could do the same by matching an irregular Goliath for so long? If he's the first to reach Level 2 with such speed, then perhaps he's also just the first Level 1 to survive what he did. Certainly, I myself am interested…but there's no reason to go so far as to interrogate Hestia, is there?"
"Freya…" The tiny goddess said, looking towards the much taller woman.
As expected, Freya was quickly swaying people—namely, those who could only think with one head at a time—to her cause and soon several gods were themselves murmuring about the unfairness of it all.
"If the new Record Holder is such an irregularity," Freya said, putting gentle emphasis on the title, probably just to get under Loki's skin. It worked and she wanted to throw something at her. "Then simply treat him as one. I for one will take great interest in seeing what comes of him, but there's no need to try and smother something for being unique. Right, Loki?"
Loki knew when she was beaten.
"…Fine. I'll acknowledge that he might have become a Level 2 normally; I'll retract my words," She allowed begrudgingly. But, under the doctrine that petty victories were still victories, she continued. "But in that case, shouldn't we use this opportunity, then? To have become a Level 2 in such a way, there's no denying that he deserves an Alias, right? Any suggestions?"
All at once, the tide turned again, many gods falling quiet and smiling fiercely. Beside Hephaestus, Hestia swallowed.
"I'll go first! The burning zombie man, the Ashen Hero!"
Hestia flinched.
"The mouth of whirlpool, Hyper Spiral!"
Hestia flinched again.
"Knight of the lake, Emperor Vivian!"
"The warrior of the waves, Deep-sea Fighter!"
"The Goliath-slaying rookie, Cheating Mother—"
Seeing that Hestia's face was slowly distorting into a startling grimace, Hephaestus cleared her throat, but no one seemed to react. Seeing Hestia glance towards her desperately, she slowly exhaled and seemed to decide something—but it proved unneeded.
"Now, now," Freya said, brushing back a lock of silver hair with an amused look on her face. "Don't be too cruel—Hestia has been through a lot these last few days. Isn't it possible to pick a cuter name?"
"Yes!" A number of gods said at once, quick to jump to the support of anything Freya said. Realizing what was about to happen, Loki glowered, even more annoyed than before, while Freya sent a compassionate-seeming look towards Hestia who relaxed as if the weight of the world had just been taken off her shoulders.
"Cute, huh?" Ishtar said with a sneer, just as quick to oppose Freya's every move, whether she disagreed or not. "What about this big guy is supposed to be 'cute?'"
"Oh, I don't know," Freya mused absently, somehow managing to convey a dismissal to someone she was actively talking to. "I think he looks like a lost little puppy."
"Oi, all of you," Loki snapped, not having fun anymore. "Do what you want afterwards; aren't there more important things to worry about right now?"
"Eh?"
"But, wasn't this Loki's idea?"
"Shut up!" She ordered. "Like I said, we'll get to that later—we all got sidetracked from the main issue! Does anyone else have something to say like Dionysus did? Have there been any other suspicion circumstances? If not, then there's something major we have to consider—a monster was spawned on the eighteenth floor."
All of a sudden, the mood in the room died. It couldn't be helped; Rivira was an important location within the Dungeon for any adventurers who could go that far, as a staging point for further expeditions, a drop-off and resupply point, and a lot of other things. While it was extremely common for monsters to enter the floor—indeed, one could say that it was a paradise for the monsters, rather than the adventurers—nothing like this had ever occurred. If something on the level of a Floor Boss could spawn on the eighteenth floor, then there was no point in calling it a 'safe zone.' As long as such a thing was possible, the very existence of Rivira would be threatened.
"A monster like that…most of the adventurers that inhabit the eighteenth are Level 2 or lower. If it appeared again…"
"The first thing to figure out is why it spawned now of all times—and if it can do so again. Nothing's happened in hundreds of years; was this just an irregularity? And if not, then how long does it take to respawn? The normal Goliath requires two weeks, right?"
"Have no fear!" Ganesha suddenly exclaimed. "I, Ganesha, shall never allow the massive to be so deprived. I, Ganesha, will do all I can to investigate this incident thoroughly. I, Ganesha, believe that it might have some tie to the monster that attacked the surface at the same time, and will use the strength of the mighty Ganesha Familia to address this issue! I, Ganesha, will provide guards for Rivira for a short time, to see if such an incident reoccurs!"
"Mm, it's not a bad idea," Hephaestus said. "But, putting the burden on Ganesha alone is a bit much. My Familia depends on the eighteenth floor as well, after all."
"Shall we take turns?" Loki suggested, seeing an opportunity. "We can guard the city for a while, until we're sure things have calmed down—Rivira can afford it, too. A few discounts here, benefits there, maybe some payments…it's a good idea. I'll have Finn arrange it."
"I, Ganesha, think—"
"Anyway," Loki spoke over him. "There's nothing more we can do on that until we know more. Now, is there anything else?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Apollo said, having been uncharacteristically quiet. "It's somewhat unrelated but…under the circumstances, I think a bit of levity is in order and this seems as good a time to announce it as any. You see, I've begun arrangements for a celebration—and, of course, you're all invited."