Chapter 10 - A war game!? Against Evilus!??
Lain and Astrea looked at her with confusion.
In this situation, the elven girl immediately realized that she had misunderstood, and a sense of shame welled up inside her, as if waves of heat were rising from the top of her head.
The two were cooking when, as the Goddess added firewood to the stove, a sharp splinter pierced her finger. Lain helped her pull it out.
"Why not use Magic stone appliances?"
Ryuu glanced up and quickly understood. The Magic Stones used to power the refrigerator, stove, and other appliances had been shattered during the attack or subsequent neglect. She pursed her lips, wondering how Astrea had been living these past few days.
A dozen minutes later, four dishes and a soup were placed on the table, and a rich aroma filled the whole house.
Astrea and Ryuu stared intently at the food on the table, their eyes glued to it.
"Your culinary skills are more than just dabbling; to be able to lie to a Goddess without being caught, you're truly impressive," Astrea said with a smile.
Lain gave a polite but slightly embarrassed smile. "I know a little bit, but compared to true experts, I'm just an amateur!"
Upon first encountering a god, Lain was determined to test the theories he had developed over the past decade.
As long as he believed in his heart that he wasn't lying, the gods might at most sense a slight ambiguity but couldn't be completely certain of a falsehood. Compared to the top chefs of his previous life, he really only knew a little bit...
It mainly depended on what you were comparing it to.
Of course, if a deity questioned someone directly about a fact, no matter how skillfully they used language, it wouldn't work.
Listening to Lain's sophistry, Astrea smiled gently, her smile as pure as a hundred flowers blooming, far surpassing the allure of the delicious food.
After making food together in the kitchen, Astrea and Lain became much closer.
More importantly, Astrea realized Lain's true intentions and the way to save Ryuu.
"So you're from the Kingdom of Rakia. It must have been tough for you, considering Ares is the patron deity of that country."
"Fortunately, my old man is better at interpersonal relationships than I am."
"That's unimaginable."
"Haha!"
...
Watching Lain and Astrea chatting happily, the elf girl next to them felt like the sky was falling. What exactly happened while I was asleep?
If she had known that introducing Lain to Astrea would lead to this outcome, she would have gone back in time and slapped her past self twice.
The three devoured the delicious dishes on the table, and after they had eaten and drunk their fill, the room fell into silence.
They all knew that what was meant to happen would happen.
The Astrea Familia was wiped out; such a tragic outcome demanded a resolution!
"Lady Astrea." Ryuu lowered her head, still finding it difficult to face her beloved Goddess.
"Ryuu, do what you think is right," Astrea said softly. With this boy by her side, she wasn't worried that Ryuu would break down completely.
Faced with Astrea's trusting gaze, Lain felt a little embarrassed. But this time, with the hope of reviving Alise and the others, and the fact that her revenge mission had been interrupted, Ryuu did not completely succumb to despair.
"Yes!"
Ryuu nodded emphatically.
Lain and Ryuu walked out of the Stardust Garden.
After leaving the mansion, Ryuu's expression instantly changed, and she stared coldly at Lain. "Who exactly are you...?"
Lain interrupted her, chuckling, "Go to the Guild Headquarters. Next, we'll move on to the second step."
Seeing Lain feigning ignorance, Ryuu's expression darkened. What is wrong with this guy? What is his purpose?
Ryuu suppressed her doubts and asked, "How do we do it?"
Lain laughed, "To take down a Familia of over a hundred people in one go, of course, it has to be a War Game!"
"War Game?"
The elven girl's lips parted slightly; she never expected Lain to have this in mind.
In Orario, when the conflict between two Familias became irreconcilable and war became unavoidable. A formal conflict with self defined rules would be waged.
To put it simply, it was about two Familias choosing a method of combat, with the winner taking all, plundering everything from the loser, and potentially even sending the losing god back to Tenkai.
Ryuu stared at Lain with her eyes. "Do you have some misunderstanding about my abilities?"
Even if the Rudra Familia was weak, it still had several hundred members. Was she supposed to fight a War Game against them all by herself? Was this revenge? Or just throwing her life away?
Lain knew what Ryuu was worried about and said calmly, "Don't worry about the combat strength. I'll have a way when it matters."
His greatest advantage was the information gap! With access to future knowledge, finding help from others was incredibly easy for him.
If pushed too far, he could just sell the information about Bell to Freya ahead of time and let the Freya Familia take action. The Rudra Familia would be dead ten times over!
But the risk was too high. The allure of the Goddess of Beauty was not to be trifled with; he could be charmed in a single encounter.
Ryuu felt like she was going crazy. Ever since she met Lain, she had been led by the nose the whole time.
"Believe me!"
Lain looked intently at the elven girl, his face devoid of any hint of joking, his voice deep and resonant.
Looking at Lain's serious face, Ryuu felt a strong sense of loneliness emanating from him, as if no one in the whole world could understand him.
Having lost all her companions, she felt a deep sense of empathy.
The two were like orphans abandoned by the world, hiding in a dark corner, licking their wounds alone.
"Alright."
Ryuu asked, "Then how can you guarantee that they will agree to the War Game?"
"They will definitely agree!"
Lain said confidently. As a semi entertainer, he knew the god's nature very well. The gods of Orario were divided into the Lawful and Chaotic factions. The Lawful ones, needless to say, were willing to abide by the rules of the Lower world and live peacefully.
The Chaotic faction retained only the most basic bottom line not using Arcanum and did whatever they wanted in other areas.
Ultimately, the Familias were just organizations established by the gods for their own amusement. The gods decided the development direction of their Familias; some explored the dungeon, some forged weapons, some liked farming, and some liked to be villains, deliberately going against the mainstream...
Lain couldn't believe that Rudra, the patron deity of that Familia, could resist such an interesting opportunity.
Even if the other party held back, Lain had several backup plans.
"No one is allowed to die in War Games."
"That's a War Game with ordinary Familias, but the Evilus familia is a different matter."
The two exchanged questions and answers until, in the end, Ryuu was speechless, realizing that Lain was not exaggerating. This guy knew an extreme amount about Orario's situation. Where did he get such detailed information?
The two chatted as they headed toward the Guild Headquarters.
As they took a shortcut and entered a narrow alley, Ryuu suddenly stopped. "Stop!"
Lain silently stepped back, shielding himself behind Ryuu.
Ryuu's face was cold, her wary eyes fixed on a dark bend five meters ahead. She said coldly, "Stop hiding your presence... show yourself!"
A ghostly figure stood there, shrouded in a black robe, his hands clad in intricately patterned gloves, exuding mystery.
"Gale..."