As Apollo spoke, a magic stone lamp in a corner of the banquet hall was activated.
It illuminated three human adventurers below, covered in casts and bandages.
At this sight, a commotion erupted among the gods attending the banquet and the adventurers they had brought with them.
Hestia, having already suspected Apollo was up to something, merely frowned slightly upon seeing the three.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Haven't I made myself clear?" Apollo's tone was cheerful, showing no sign of anger that his own had been bullied. "My children were adventuring properly in the Dungeon when they happened upon a Young Dragon. Just as they were about to kill it, that child of yours, Levi, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Not only did he steal the Young Dragon, but he also injured my children."
Hestia's eyes widened at his words, but she quickly realized that scoundrel Apollo was twisting the truth.
With a composed expression, she retorted, "Apollo, did you prepare this farce specifically to slander my Levi, knowing he isn't here today?"
"Slander? Why would I slander him?!" Apollo wore an expression as if his character had been insulted. "The ones who are injured are my children!"
With that, he gave Hestia no chance to find flaws in his words, turning directly to the three injured humans of his Familia and asking:
"Did you encounter a Young Dragon?"
"Yes."
"Were you planning to surround and kill that Young Dragon?"
"Yes."
"Did Levi kill the Young Dragon?"
"Yes."
"Were you injured?"
"Yes."
Mortals in the lower world cannot lie to the gods. To be more precise, any lie they speak is immediately detected by the latter.
However, this does not mean the gods are truly omniscient, with eyes that see through all deceit.
Just like now, Apollo had effortlessly created the so-called 'fact' that 'Levi stole his Familia's prey and injured them' through four completely unrelated questions.
Every evening at dinner, Hestia would listen to Levi talk about his adventures in the Dungeon.
She knew perfectly well how 'honest' her child was.
But just because she knew this, it didn't mean others would understand.
Or rather, many of the gods had seen through Apollo's trickery but, since it didn't concern them, were simply treating the scene as a farce.
"Ridiculous," Hestia scoffed. "Everyone knows my Levi only recently arrived in Orario, and it hasn't even been a month since he officially became an adventurer."
She paused slightly as she spoke. "I recall that even the 'Sword Princess' of the Loki Familia took almost a year to reach Lv.2. Or do you, Apollo, think my luck is so good that I'd just randomly stumble upon a super-rare card who can fight one against three, and even confront a Young Dragon with the potential of a Lv.2 while being interfered with?"
But to her surprise, Apollo also laughed.
"Hestia, must I remind you why you approached Levi Bright in the first place?"
Hestia: "..."
At his words, the people present, especially the adventurers, began to understand.
Levi Bright, captain of the Hestia Familia, was known to many for his public confession to Hestia in the Guild Hall before she was even his goddess.
But before that, there had been rumors that this guy had entered the Dungeon alone before even receiving a Falna.
At the time, many adventurers had scoffed at this news.
Even many gods had chosen not to believe it.
After all, this wasn't a thousand years ago when Orario was first founded. After a long period of promotion and development by the Guild, the Falna bestowed by the gods and the concept of an adventurer were inextricably linked.
Absolutely no fool would enter the Dungeon as an unblessed civilian.
But hearing Apollo's words and seeing Hestia's reaction, that rumor they had dismissed as a joke, as fake news, seemed... possibly... perhaps... true?!
"Damn, what kind of monster is that guy?!"
An adventurer couldn't help but mutter, voicing what many in the room were thinking.
In the crowd, Naaza Erisuis, captain of the Miach Familia who had once nearly swindled Levi, had a particularly ugly expression on her face.
Although she had since switched professions to become a pharmacist,
she understood perfectly well what kind of people adventurers were.
There were good people among them, of course, but most were the type to hold grudges over the smallest slights, villains who wouldn't hesitate to double-cross their own.
Miach, standing beside Naaza, guessed his child's worries and patted her head.
"Don't worry, Hestia and I are friends. Besides, Levi previously had Hestia tell me that he's no longer bothered by that incident."
"Oh, I see..."
Naaza nodded. Only at this moment did she truly understand that she had been wrong.
Not just because she'd been caught and had to admit fault insincerely.
"Levi Bright dared to enter the Dungeon before receiving a Falna. Or perhaps, he had already received a Falna, but the Familia he originally joined wasn't recognized by the mainstream Familias of Orario," Apollo declared loudly. "But regardless of the situation, I believe the Guild needs to conduct an inspection of his Falna and publicize the results."
His ulterior motives were now completely exposed.
But as before, aside from Hestia and her few close friends, the other gods didn't care at all.
Instead, driven by their love for gossip, they all loudly voiced their agreement.
Hestia frowned in annoyance. "On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that he hurt my children!" Apollo flashed a disgusting smile. "As the victim, I have the right to make demands!"
"Those three children of yours were not injured by Levi." Hestia's tone was calm as she spoke, but in the next moment, the goddess's chilling words echoed in everyone's ears. "If it were truly him, you would never have had the chance to see them on the surface again."
Apollo: "Huh?"
The three injured adventurers under the light: "..."
Everyone else: "???"
"Didn't you understand? Shall I repeat myself? Fine, no problem." Hestia crossed her arms. "The child I chose, my current lover, my future husband, Levi Bright, is not a man who tolerates even a speck of dust in his eyes. It's one thing if you don't provoke him, but for you, Apollo, to concoct such lies..."
At this point, the twin-tailed goddess paused slightly, and then, her cherry-like lips curled into a slight smile.
"Then you'd better prepare for Levi to target your Familia until it is completely disbanded."
"!!!!" xN
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