After all,
As someone who knew a bit of the inside story,
Seeing how cautious Lord Ganesha was towards this deity,
Shakti couldn't imagine
Which deity in Orario would dare to stick their neck out and provoke this one.
It would be like they were tired of their comfortable life in the lower world.
...
Thinking of this,
Shakti silently glanced at Tsubaki, who was still drinking and talking loudly, her mouth twitching slightly, but ultimately decided to keep her thoughts to herself.
After all,
Some things
Were often safer kept to oneself without explicit permission.
However,
Tsubaki's words did catch the girls' attention.
...
"Um..."
The usually well-behaved Kikakujuo Mary put down her fork, her face showing a hint of confusion as she asked:
"I have a question. Aren't deities supposed to be noble, kind, and guide mortals forward?"
"Aren't we all part of the deities' Familias?"
"Aren't deities all brethren?"
"Why would other Familias want to suppress us?"
"Does such scheming and suppression exist in Orario?"
These questions
Voiced the thoughts of most of the girls present.
Deities
Were supreme beings.
Like Lord Heimdall, though sometimes mischievous, this was a privilege of the strong.
Since they all came to the lower world to enjoy life,
Why would there be such hostility, akin to gangsters fighting over territory?
This sounded full of human malice.
"Pfft—cough, cough!"
Hearing this question, Tsubaki nearly choked on her drink, quickly pounding her chest, and looked at Kikakujuo Mary with a strange expression.
"Noble? Kind?
"Brethren?"
"Ha!"
"That's the funniest joke I've heard all year."
With that,
Tsubaki wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth and dropped her previous casual demeanor.
"I don't know where you got that idea, maybe from some third-rate knight novel,"
"But you need to understand one thing."
"Apart from their endless lifespan and the sealed divine power they can't use,"
"Deities are basically just like us."
"Take this one, for example."
"Look."
Tsubaki unceremoniously pointed her finger across the table.
...
In an instant,
Everyone's gaze followed Tsubaki's finger.
There,
Hestia was gnawing on a tough roasted pork knuckle, her cheeks bulging, with a sesame seed stuck to the corner of her mouth.
"As you can see, Hestia is a proper deity."
"But do you think Hestia resembles the grand deities you imagine?"
Tsubaki finished speaking.
"Gulp."
Immediately after,
Accompanied by Hestia forcefully swallowing the meat in her mouth,
"Burp!"
A loud and prolonged belch echoed clearly in the suddenly quiet corner.
Seemingly noticing the sudden change in atmosphere, Hestia looked at the strange gazes directed at her, blinked, and immediately furrowed her eyebrows.
"Hmm?"
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
...
The girls fell silent.
"See?"
Tsubaki spread her hands, looking helpless.
"This is the norm."
"Deities in the lower world are just like humans."
"They can be virtuous and kind,"
"But there are also greedy, jealous, vain, and competitive deities."
"There are noble deities and there are inferior ones."
"And because they live so long and are so bored, these traits are magnified countless times."
"Especially for the deities."
"The entire lower world is just a giant playground."
"Since it's a game,"
"there are winners and losers, competition, and tactics."
"Therefore, in the lower world,"
"some deities will do anything."
"All kinds of dramas have played out countless times in the history of Orario."
"Even more so,"
"they will instruct their followers to cause trouble out of spite, for the sake of 'face', because they are interested in a soul, or simply out of jealousy that another Familia has a good prospect."
Deities with eternal life stand in the clouds, looking down on the multitudes for eons.
It is difficult for them to maintain empathy for the ephemeral mortals.
Just like when humans were children, crouching on the ground to watch ants moving.
When in a good mood, they might throw some breadcrumbs, an act of grace.
When in a bad mood, a stream of urine might pour down, a natural disaster.
As for whether the ants feel pain or despair?
Humans find it hard to perceive.
Thus, this arrogance stemming from the hierarchy of life is also present in the deities of the celestial realm.
Even though many deities disguise themselves as humans, that underlying disregard for all things is hard to erase.
...
With these words spoken,
the air at the dinner table grew tense.
The girls looked at each other, clearly shocked by this other side of the world.
So,
beneath this seemingly prosperous city of adventures and glory,
such murky undercurrents were surging.
"So,"
Tsubaki sighed, drawing everyone's attention back.
"That's why I don't let you randomly find those freelance supporters during the day. The reason is right here."
"Among those freelance supporters, who knows which Familia's spy might be mixed in."
"If you really bring them in,"
"they might stab you in the back at a critical moment, or deliberately attract a horde of monsters and then steal your weapons in the chaos."
"Then you'll have nowhere to cry."
"That..."
At this moment, Inaba Tsukiyo, who had been silent, slightly turned her head, her blind eyes accurately focusing on Shakti's direction.
"What about Shakti?"
"Isn't Shakti's Ganesha Familia known as the city's military police?"
"Since there is such a force to maintain order,"
"why would such things be allowed to happen?"
Hearing this question,
Shakti's hand gripping the wine glass tightened slightly.
"military police?"
Tsubaki glanced at the silent Shakti, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
"Yes, they are the military police."
"Responsible for maintaining public order, apprehending criminals, and upholding the surface order of this city."
"But in the end,"
"the Ganesha Familia is still a Familia."
"The Ganesha Familia also receives money from the Guild to maintain order on their behalf."
"As long as there is no blatant killing and arson on the streets, as long as the Guild's rules are not broken,"
"the shady dealings in the dark corners, even the Ganesha Familia can do nothing about."
"After all, there are unspoken rules among the deities."
"Of course,"
"a long time ago,"
"there were indeed those who would risk their lives to uphold absolute justice."
"At that time, there was indeed such a group of people."
"They did not care whose face they were looking at, nor which deity stood behind them."
"As long as they saw injustice, they would draw their swords."
"They were a truly admirable group."
At this point,
Tsubaki paused,
her mind flashing with a few white figures.
—The Justice Goddess, Astrea Familia.
That Familia which once upheld absolute justice in Orario, regardless of black or white, never tolerating evil.
—It was the Familia that once struck fear into the hearts of countless dark factions.
"But..."
"Unfortunately,"
"they are no more."
"In this dog-eat-dog world, the purest things are often the first to be destroyed."
Tsubaki's voice held a hint of regret.
...
Shakti lowered her head.
This was also a perpetual pain in her heart.
It was also a scar that the entire justice faction of Orario could not heal.
Astrea Familia.
The Familia of the Justice Goddess.
That once brilliant existence that fought alongside the Ganesha Familia to maintain order in Orario.
Now,
not even their bodies can be found.
-------------------------------
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