The War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia.
For Loki—there actually was not that much interest. Although she had some conflicts with the little dwarf, they had, after all, looked at each other in the heavens for so long.
It had not reached the point of taking pleasure in her misfortune.
As for the result, she had to admit that shortening the world record to half a month—if she had not witnessed it with her own eyes, she would probably have thought that Ron was some kind of freak.
But even so, Loki still did not believe that the Hestia Familia to which Ron belonged had any hope of victory.
"Hehehe…"
"At this kind of ball, couldn't they hold a few more of them?"
Holding a bottle of wine, even while lazily lying on the sofa beside the banquet hall, no deity dared to tease or criticize Loki's behavior with words.
When her entire Familia began its expedition—
Especially after all her pocket money had been spent on buying wine—her quality of life began to decline in a straight line. Apollo's ball, on the other hand, barely satisfied her craving.
Only, when the most well-capitalized presence in the entire venue, who was also her friend—Hephaestus stepped onto the stage of the banquet hall and announced, in her own name, the opening of this gamble, Loki could not help but sit up from the sofa.
Drinking was fine.
But she had never once entertained the idea of participating in a godly gambling pool.
Yet this time the situation was truly different—especially when she heard that the odds for betting on the Apollo Familia as the victor of the War Game were as high as 1:2.
Drool dripped from the corner of Loki's mouth.
"Why does it feel like… that fellow Hephaestus is doing charity?"
"…"
As for the odds of betting on the Hestia Familia and Ron achieving victory, even when they reached 1:5, she did not produce the slightest thought of placing a bet.
If her own Familia had not already begun its expedition, after sounding things out with Hephaestus, Loki would not have minded acting as the bookmaker. After all, Hestia had already been driven out of Orario.
If that were the case, who would she mock in the future?
'Finn and the others…'
'It will take at least half a month before they return. The key point is that the gains from the Familia's expedition may not necessarily offset the overall battle losses. We are still very short of money!'
'As a god, I must at least do something for the children, right?'
Thinking of this, Loki rose from the sofa and went to find Hephaestus, who was about to leave in the distance. As for the source of the betting funds, she had already thought of a way to resolve it.
Pawn off the equipment in the Familia that could not be used.
At the very least, that could bring back a bet of 5,000,000 Valis. As long as they waited for the War Game to end, they would reap 10,000,000 Valis—a profit guaranteed without loss!
"Hephaestus," rubbing her hands together, she naturally stopped her friend by the shoulder. "What you mentioned earlier—about opening a gambling pool for the War Game between the Apollo Familia and the Hestia Familia—is that true?"
"Of course."
"I can't take out that much money for the time being. Could I mortgage the equipment the Familia doesn't need to you, and you can convert it into Valis at a discounted market price?"
"…"
As expected, this fellow still could not hold back!
It was not that Hephaestus was setting Loki up to trick her. Even as a god, she could not guess the result—she was merely acting on her trust in Ron.
Even if the outcome truly proved unsatisfactory, this gambling pool could be regarded as a farewell ceremony held for her close friend Hestia.
"No problem."
"The minimum bet starts at 10,000,000 Valis. Who do you want to wager on?"
At this point, Hephaestus casually took out the thick stack of Adventurers' Guild deposit slips she had collected, all in denominations of 10,000,000.
"From an ideal standpoint, I would rather recommend betting on the Hestia Familia. The risk of this gamble is high, but as long as you win, the return will definitely be doubled."
The starting capital was already 10,000,000.
Even if she pawned off all the equipment at the very bottom of the Familia's chest, she still would not be able to gather that many Valis. Faced with her friend Hephaestus's reminder, Loki was filled with hesitation.
"…Can you reveal a bit of information?"
"No."
"But the Hestia Familia currently has only two Lv2 members, and they can also seek assistance from an external helper in Orario who does not belong to any Familia faction."
"…"
In Orario, any adventurer whose strength exceeded Lv3 basically had an affiliation with a Familia. Even if Ron truly managed to find a Lv3 adventurer to assist, placed before the Apollo Familia, it would still be entirely insufficient.
This kind of gambling pool not only allowed one to watch the spectacle, but more importantly, one could make money from it. In the end, she cast a pleading gaze toward Hephaestus and implored: "Then could you lend me some money?"
Things were developing in the direction she had anticipated.
The bait cast earlier by those gods had been quite effective. Hephaestus had even told her friend before her about her own speculation regarding the outcome.
But the final choice still rested in Loki's hands.
"How much do you want?"
"Just playing around a little. Lend me 25,000,000 Valis. Those pieces of equipment we don't need for the time being can also be pawned for 5,000,000. That makes a total of 30,000,000."
"I…"
It was equivalent to making something out of nothing.
From the standpoint of strength, she truly could not see any possibility of the Apollo Familia losing. With a simple turnover, she could freeload 30,000,000 Valis.
As for Hestia, she could only wish her good luck.
For once, Loki did not narrow her eyes. After weighing it for a moment, she finally made her decision and declared firmly, "I bet on the Apollo Familia to win."
As if thinking of something, she cast a verifying glance toward Hephaestus.
"Can I place bets on both sides at the same time?"
"Heh."
"…Forget I said that." Having her attempt to exploit a loophole exposed, Loki shrugged in regret.
"Write an IOU.
"No problem."
...
The ball concluded smoothly.
As Apollo looked at the banquet hall, now in complete disarray, there was not the slightest joy in his heart from Hestia having accepted the War Game.
Instead…
The series of developments that defied common sense had even made him begin to doubt himself.
Hestia, who had clearly been unwilling to accept the War Game, had, under her friend's mediation and his own concessions, agreed to it very readily.
She had even directly opened a gambling pool for the War Game at the banquet.
"It feels… like it was premeditated?"
Once the seed of suspicion sprouted in his heart, it spread uncontrollably. This was undoubtedly a gamble of enormous stakes. The price of victory would be seizing Ron.
Failure…
The Familia he had built over these years—every member and every asset—would all belong to Hestia.
"…"
Apollo's agitation at this moment was nearly reaching its peak. He knew that he must now guard against any special contingencies. With that thought, he called out into the empty banquet hall: "Hyakinthos."
"Lord Apollo, I am here."
A tall, slender young man whose beauty surpassed that of an elf stepped forward before the god Apollo, as if appearing from the corner of the staircase like a shadow.
The jealousy in his eyes was well concealed.
But even more so, there was Hyakinthos's admiration and love for his god.
And as a benevolent god, Apollo greatly enjoyed that feeling. What he could not understand was why Ron was so resistant to him.
He said in a low voice: "Before the War Game begins, keep watch over Hestia and Ron's movements, including the adventurers they come into contact with. Absolutely… absolutely!"
"Prevent any development that could lead to the failure of the War Game!!"
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