"Lord Heimdall must be joking."
"While it's true you may currently have no intention of blowing up Babel,"
"however—"
"Lord Ganesha specifically instructed."
"Your descent to the lower world caught all the gods by surprise."
"You are a god who will bring great changes to the structure of the lower world."
"Coupled with the uniqueness of your Divinity,"
"for someone with such characteristics, we, out of safety considerations, attach high importance to it; it is necessary to invest in security."
After saying that,
Shakti even gave a standard bow.
Her attitude was respectful and her tone sincere, without a single flaw to be found.
It was practically textbook-level official rhetoric.
Using the most polite attitude to say the firmest words.
In those blue eyes, a kind of almost stubborn persistence was clearly written—knowing it might be wrong, but still doing it because it was the mission.
This kind of person was the most difficult to deal with.
Facing this posture of raising the banners of "for your own good" and "safety first,"
if one were to get angry, it would instead make them seem unreasonable.
But Lord Heimdall was already tired of hearing this official jargon.
Safety considerations?
Attaching importance?
Anyone can say pretty words.
Thinking of this, Lord Heimdall flicked his wrist.
The long spear in his hand dropped vertically.
*Thump—!*
A dull, heavy sound rang out.
The butt of the long spear instantly sank into the hard stone-paved road, sinking in by three inches!
With the spear's butt as the center,
a circle of fine spiderweb-like cracks bloomed on the ground.
"!"
As soon as this action was taken, Shakti's voice stopped abruptly.
Her body, which had been maintaining a standard standing posture, also showed obvious tension.
This movement also gave the Adventurers who had been pricking up their ears to eavesdrop nearby a fright.
...
As a god,
Lord Heimdall naturally did not want to be labeled with various tags before he had even been in this world for two months or done anything yet.
Especially this feeling of being treated like a potential criminal was truly unpleasant.
If one were to talk about a bad track record,
Loki had even instigated the gods to kill each other in the heavens.
And this was not the heavens;
it was the lower world.
If he had really done something bad in the lower world and been caught,
then he would naturally have nothing to say.
But the problem now was!
He hadn't even been caught.
How had he already been labeled?
This was a big problem!
Lord Heimdall would not accept all of this just because someone raised the banners of "for your own good" and "safety first."
Therefore,
Lord Heimdall forcibly interrupted Shakti, giving her no chance to continue speaking.
Then he tilted his head, letting Shakti look at the surroundings.
Here,
—it was Orario's North Street.
It could be said to be one of the most prosperous districts in all of Orario.
Now, the originally bustling crowd had formed a vacuum circle with a diameter of ten meters because of the two of them.
No one dared to approach.
Yet there were still countless pairs of eyes standing outside this vacuum circle, paying attention to everything happening here.
...
"Look at the eyes of these people, Captain Shakti."
"What do you think they are thinking?"
"'Look, a god is being watched by the Captain of the military police; he must have committed a crime.'"
"'Even the Ganesha Familia Captain has been mobilized; this god is definitely a dangerous element.'"
"'Maybe he's even an evil god preparing to blood-sacrifice Orario one day.'"
With every sentence Lord Heimdall spoke,
a few people in the crowd shrunk their necks as if their tails had been stepped on.
Clearly, this was not groundless.
Due to special reasons, evil gods had always been a taboo in Orario.
As the "Military Police of the Labyrinth City"—the Captain of the Ganesha Familia,
every time Shakti Falma appeared fully armed,
in the eyes of these citizens and Adventurers living in the Labyrinth City, it meant—official intervention.
—Violent suppression.
—An absolutely untouchable red line.
It meant there was a riot, a brawl, or some malicious incident requiring violent suppression occurring.
Over time.
Shakti + fully armed was an image that had formed a deeply ingrained stereotype in the hearts of the citizens and Adventurers living in the Labyrinth City.
To adapt to a complex and ever-changing environment, the human brain protects itself by evolving an efficient mechanism.
—That is, label thinking.
By using stereotypes to simplify information, complex individuals are quickly categorized into fixed groups, reducing the brain's load and increasing the speed of judgment and decision-making.
From this.
A complete formula can be derived.
Shakti + fully armed = danger nearby.
But.
Shakti + fully armed ≠ she is the danger.
Then who is the danger?
Naturally, it is her target.
In that case.
The answer is obvious.
Self = target of Shakti + fully armed = danger.
A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf.
"..."
Faced with Lord Haimo's accusation just now.
Shakti also fell into silence.
Her heroic eyebrows furrowed slightly, forming a shallow crease between them.
A look of obvious conflict appeared on her face, which was usually known for being upright and rigorous.
After all.
Thinking about it this way.
She was fully armed, wearing uniform armor representing public authority and special metal gauntlets, following five paces behind a god from another Familia who was holding a long spear.
This behavior.
Indeed indirectly labeled Lord Haimo as extremely dangerous.
If things went wrong, it really could, as this god said, cause a serious impact on his reputation in the Lower World.
However.
Even if Shakti acknowledged this logic in her heart.
It didn't mean her original stance would change because of it.
After all.
As the Captain of the Ganesha Familia—the 'Labyrinth City military police' entrusted by the Guild to maintain order in Orario.
Shakti had seen too many incidents where gods caused massive casualties just to satisfy their own selfish desires!
—During the Great Feud.
In just a single day.
Several gods were forcibly sent back to the Heavens!
Ultimately resulting in over thirty thousand casualties among Adventurers and civilians!
It shocked all of Orario.
Those bloody casualty figures sealed in the Orario Guild archives!
They constantly reminded her.
These gods of the Lower World, every single one of them.
Even if they appeared harmless normally, the selfishness unique to gods still flowed in their bones.
Therefore, the one standing before her now.
—The war calamity.
Even her own primary god, Lord Ganesha, had spoken with unprecedented gravity when giving instructions regarding this god.
Facing such a god.
Shakti had to remain vigilant.
Furthermore.
Her original plan was actually to observe from the shadows at first.
Like monitoring a suspicious target.
But.
After Lord Ganesha found out, he specifically emphasized:
"It is not difficult for a sharp-witted god to discover someone tailing them, and peeking at a god from another Familia without permission is a major taboo. Once exposed, it will inevitably lead to an even greater dispute."
The rules between gods were very subtle.
Only a god can deal with a god.
And because of that.
To avoid causing unnecessary disputes and bringing trouble to the Ganesha Familia.
Shakti chose the safest method Ganesha had suggested.
—Proactive personal protection.
As long as she was there, if this god wanted to pull any little stunts, he would have some reservations.
It just seemed now...
The side effects of this approach were even greater than expected.
Shakti shifted her gaze slightly.
Her eyes swept over the passersby who were pointing and whispering.
Those voices that had been whispering recklessly just a moment ago, upon noticing Shakti's sharp gaze sweeping over,
Were like ducks whose necks were suddenly seized by an invisible giant hand.
With a "quack."
They came to an abrupt halt.
A few of the more timid ones even backed up several steps in fright, nearly stepping on the feet of people behind them.
...
This reaction.
Further confirmed Lord Haimo's words.
Thus.
After Shakti couldn't help but re-evaluate the situation in her mind.
She turned her blue eyes back toward Lord Haimo.
"I apologize, Lord Haimo. As you said, this standoff has indeed caused a significant impact on your reputation."
"I understand your predicament."
"The impact on you was indeed caused by my lack of consideration."
"On this point, I have no defense."
Saying this.
Shakti bowed slightly, frankly admitting her mistake.
"However."
"Regarding this, I truly cannot compromise; it remains a necessity."
"No matter how much you protest, I must ensure your whereabouts remain within a controllable range."
"But..."
"To make up for my error and to provide you with appropriate compensation."
Shakti paused, then changed her tone.
"I am willing to swear in the name of the Captain of the Ganesha Familia that all your expenses in Orario today will be borne by us, the Ganesha Familia."
"At the same time."
"Tomorrow, I will discuss a better compensation plan with Lord Ganesha."
"But please allow me to shed my identity as a military police officer today."
"And accompany you side-by-side simply as an ordinary Adventurer and guide."
"That way."
"I can also pay for all your expenses during this trip."
"What do you think?"
"All expenses will be paid for by your Familia?"
"Yes."
"..."
Lord Haimo raised an eyebrow, thinking of that dilapidated two-story building.
-------------------------------
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