The doors to the Eris owned casino were more or less kicked apart with great force. The few guests within, as it was still daytime, stopped their games and idle talk, instead screaming and gaping in shock at the sudden intrusion. Then they collectively paled when they saw the King himself quietly entering as if he hadn't just destroyed the entrance with an emotionless expression. Then he stepped to the side, like a butler introducing his lady. Immediately a cloaked figure entered, followed by the famous author Hans Christian Andersen. Some men and women blushed for some reason. Their bodies heated up just by the mere presence of the stranger. One worker, clearing his throat, gathered his courage and stepped forward with a face filled with indignation.
"Excuse me, you can't just-"
The individual pulled the hood down and the entire room fell silent as their breath was taken away. It wasn't magic or a curse. No divine power was used. It was merely the natural charm of the most beautiful existence in this mortal world. Freya put her finger on the man's lips, her frown doing nothing to make the worker any less of a drooling mess.
"Hush. Bing Eris to me," she whispered in the silence that reigned in the room. Her victim immediately saluted, panting like a dog.
"O-Of course... !"
The goddess cracked a smile while Hans behind her rolled his eyes in exasperation. He gave her a dirty look when she glanced at him.
"Y'know, I almost believed you were actually angry and not being a seducing succubus."
"It's called multitasking," she responded with a wink, causing the author to scoff.
"It's called bull."
Freya pouted for a moment before shaking her head. Then she walked forward and proceeded to sit down on what would've been air if there wasn't another casino worker literally jumping across the air with a chair to put it underneath her. Then she held her hand out, receiving a glass of wine in a split second by a blushing mess of a woman. Sending a coy smile at the crowd, causing some to actually faint from her charm, she sipped at the drink before twirling it in her hand. She looked at Hans who grabbed a chair himself and let himself fall onto it. Ottar meanwhile stood guard as always, stoic as ever.
"Want some wine as well?" She offered the two men. Her captain shook his head while Hans reached into his coat pockets and pulled out a canteen. Downing a few gulps he wiped his mouth with a mocking smirk.
"Why would I want to downgrade?"
"Someday I hope you share your hoard."
Freya let out a sigh. It was amazing if you thought about it. Soma was not immune to her charm. None of the gods were, even if they were more resistant if they tried. However, her charm wouldn't work on someone if they didn't even recognize their presence at all. In that regard, Soma's focus on wine is truly beyond even divine understanding sometimes. If she tried harder it would only hurt her own pride and she wasn't that desperate for the wine. Still, with one of her children having easy access to it, she couldn't help but develop a desire for some tasting. Of course Hans was as crude as ever, taunting her by dangling his canteen before her before pocketing it with a light laugh.
"When you become a real girl."
The goddess pouted, putting her glass down. Such a tease as always. Meanwhile Ottar cleared his throat, his forehead furrowed as the only hint of his displeasure at the author's words.
"Hans, please."
"Stop acting like a child stuck between arguing parents. You're literally the most grown man I've met in this city," he responded with a drawl, causing Freya to giggle in amusement. Ottar looked away, a slight hint of a blush appearing on his cheeks. Then he turned to the goddess, crossing his arms. "Seriously though, you are enjoying this way too much."
"What can I say, I am petty."
"Admitting it is the first step to improvement, huh?"
Their jabs to each other were interrupted when they heard the commotion behind the giant, tacky doors hiding Eris' hiding place. The two shared a dark smile with each other while Ottar narrowed his eyes, his muscles bulging for a moment, ready to protect his Familia in a split second.
"Took her long enough," Freya commented, causing Hans to wave his hand dismissively.
"Probably was busy having a panic attack."
"Most likely."
With those words the doors opened wide. She tried to hide it. But Eris was slightly out of breath, even with her fake smile as she adjusted her hair a bit. She stepped forward, trying to be graceful as she opened her fan and hid her face behind it.
"How rude. You could've at least-"
"Do shut up for a second."
The goddess of discord stopped in her tracks. Freya ignored the outrage, the veins pulsing with anger behind that cheap fan that was most likely made by some beggar in the Far East. She made it a point to reach for her glass of wine slowly. Twirl it. Smell it and enjoy the aroma for the mediocre wine it was. Then she sipped slowly. Agonizingly slow. Eris looked like she wanted to scream. To throw a dagger at her or something. But naturally her eyes wandered to Ottar next to Freya. The King who stood there like a statue, daring anyone to commit suicide by moving against his goddess. So she kept quiet, fully aware of the hierarchy between them. With a self satisfied smile Freya put her glass away and crossed her legs.
"I am not here for small talk. Do not delude yourself that this is in any way a social call."
Eris exhaled slowly. She stood where she was, not daring to take a step further. She put her fan away, motioning with her head to her children, whose names Freya didn't bother to learn, to stand down. With a deep breath the casino owner glared at the goddess of love.
"So why the visit then?"
Freya's smile was as radiant as ever. Yet a certain aura surrounded her as the next words were uttered. Like the aura of a predator staring down on meek prey she leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm.
"That boy you are targeting? I would've appreciated it if you didn't. So after this is done, cease. Or else Ottar here will have to force you to obey."
"Are you threatening me?" Eris growled. Freya in response blinked in confusion. She turned to her children with narrowed eyes.
"Hans, Ottar, am I not being clear?"
"You are, milady."
"She's just dumb. Acts contrarian to pretend she's still in control."
"Just as I thought."
"So what, you want me to throw this War Game?!" Eris barked out, interrupting the little play put on by the intruding Familia. Freya scoffed, waving her hand dismissively as if she was trying to swat a fly away.
"Oh, not at all. This suits me in the way. Any opportunity to give him a chance to grow is one I look forward to." She rose to her feet, her smile disappearing as she crossed her arms. "However, if you overstep your boundaries, be aware I am absolutely willing to destroy what is left of this so called Entertainment District. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," Eris bit out through gritted teeth. Freya giggled, satisfied with herself. Pulling her hood up, she motioned for Ottar and Hans to follow her. But just as she left the door, the goddess stopped one last time, tilting her head coyly.
"Oh, by the way. Invest in better wine."
The ensuing scream of rage that followed as they walked down the streets filled her with quite the satisfaction.
/
Entering their home in Babel, Freya glanced at Hans who was walking beside her.
"Hans, you were weirdly silent back there. Something on your mind?"
He looked back at her before shrugging nonchalantly.
"You had it well handled. Besides, I don't waste my breath on extras."
His goddess frowned for a moment. There wasn't a lie within his words but by now she knew him good enough to know when he deflected. With a sigh, Freya shook her head.
"Well, if you don't want to tell me, just say so."
They entered the chambers of Freya. The moment the doors opened, a certain small but well endowed goddess shot up from her seat, waving her hand frantically while the other goddess looked up from her book with a smile.
"Freya! Hey!"
"Missed me that much?" Freya asked in an amused tone, seeing Hestia bounce up and down. The latter laughed awkwardly, sitting back down as she scratched the back of her head.
"Well, your kids aren't exactly that social...so the air was kind of... "
Freya hummed thoughtfully. No wonder she and even Astraea seemed a bit tense. Letting out a sigh of exasperation she shook her head. Oh well, she should've figured. Powerful and wonderful as her children were, they were not picked based on their flattering social skills. Chalking that mistake up to herself Freya took her seat with Hans taking his own in a nearby corner. Ottar meanwhile stood guard at the door as usual, erasing his presence despite his giant build. Once she made herself comfortable, Freya glanced at her two guests, snapping her fingers with a smile.
"Any of you two interested in seeing your children train?"
The two women snapped their heads up, eyes wide. Then Hestia frowned, crossing her arms.
"Divine Mirrors are illegal, remember?"
"Not to mention anyone can take a look at what we are looking at," Astraea added with concern in her voice. Using one's Arcanum was grounds to get kicked back into Heaven after all. Besides the training of the Hestia Familia was meant to be hidden. Using the Divine Mirror would give an opening for potential spies to take a look. But Freya waved those concerns off with a wave of her hand.
"I'd prefer to call it 'frowned upon'. Also I made sure it'd be private."
Convincing some of the gods to look the other way was rather easy. Most others were too busy paying attention to the Guild's preparation for said War Game, organizing everything. The only concern was Eris, but there was a reason she paid the fool a visit. If she tried to spy on Freya, the strongest Familia in Orario would know. And she knew Eris' type. They would fold in front of true power, too afraid to do anything.
Seeing her confidence, Hestia and Astraea shared a short look before nodding to each other, having made their decision.
"Scoot over."
"Ottar, may I have some more water?"
Freya looked at Ottar, nodding at him with a smile.
"Ottar, be a dear and heed her request."
"Understood, milady."
Hans pretended he was uninterested, but she could see from the corner of her eyes that he glanced into their direction, not actually reading the book in his hand. Always so shy, Freya thought with a chuckle. As if reading her mind, the author raised his middle finger at her while spitting to the side.
"Who first?" Freya asked, looking at the guest in question.
"Hmmm... !" Hestia nodded to herself before raising her arm. "Haruhime!"
"Here I expected you to go for Bell first," Astraea commented. Her friend huffed, crossing her arms.
"I worry more about her at the moment!" A dirty look appeared on her face as she let out a giggle."Also the best is best saved last!"
"On that, we agree."
"Hold up, wha-"
Ignoring the weird look she received, Freya snapped her fingers and leaned forward.
"Let's see here... Any idea where they went?"
"Of course," Astraea responded and shared the locations of their children. The goddess of love nodded in approval. Those were decent training spots. Close enough to the city but hidden enough to hide any excessive moves. The mirror moved, brushing over the lush forest. Then it zoomed in until they spotted movement.
Even Freya had to wince at what they were seeing, while Hestia let out a fearful gasp. The poor Renard was launched against a tree so hard that it cracked. She coughed up blood, almost slumping down. But then her eyes snapped wide open and she barely dodged to the side, the foot crashing down and narrowly missing her face. The force was more than enough to send her rolling to the side. As she breathed heavily, the Senbonzakura stood above her, face devoid of mercy. Her lips moved, but the Divine Mirror didn't reveal any sound. Fortunately for the goddesses that was easily fixed. The deep baritone voice spoke up from behind them, seemingly repeating what she was saying.
"Get up. The Divine Arms Style should make this easy for you. What, you think your enemy won't hurt you? They are stronger than you. So be prepared to fight even with broken hands and ribs."
"You can lip read?" Astraea asked with surprise, looking back at Hans. The man shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's an acquired skill." He leaned forward, just as Kaguya punched Haruhime, her head bouncing off the ground. Freya could've sworn she heard the crack even through the mirror. "I told you, didn't I? Find your fang or die to me."
"C-Change! Change please! I can't watch this!"
Freya complied, feeling a bit of pity for Hestia and Haruhime. Though the pragmatic part of herself recognized that this was necessary. Not many shared Bell's immense growth, which meant more desperate measures had to be taken. The soul of pink hidden by dirty crimson, like blood covering a pure color, certainly didn't want to do this. Yet her poker face was more than enough to push the almost gold like color that began to grow its own dark exterior. It was barely nothing, but Freya was looking forward to how the Renard would evolve from this. Ignoring Astraea calming down Hestia from the harsh training they witnessed, Freya decided to move on to the next set.
Two bright red souls, resonating with each other. At first glance they were identical, but one was a bit brighter than the other. More calm while the other was literally like a wild blaze that was begging to consume everything. Once more the group winced at the sight but for entirely other reasons.
"Hotter!" Alise shouted, a rare frown on her face while Solaris Crozzo was literally setting herself on fire in the cave they were located in. Solaris screamed in defiance and pain, trying to overcome the agony that came with turning her skin into blisters. Eventually the self torture came to a stop as the Flamma exploded, dispelling the fire around her. Immediately after Alise doused the girl with healing potions as her trainee caught her breath.
"How you feeling?"
"Crispy," Solaris responded, a tired smile on her face as she raised her thumb. Alise grinned in approval, smacking her back and causing Solaris to wince at the touch.
"The more you burn now, the less it hurts later! Your fire is your ace, so up, up and away!" She stepped back, drawing her blade before twirling it. "Sparring time! Unless you are too tired?"
"I'm a fuckin' Crozzo, we never sleep when we forge something!" She roared in defiance, picking up one of many spears and shields before assuming her stance. Alise blinked for a moment, tilting her head as she pointed at her.
"You aren't a blacksmith."
"I am the Magic Sword that's gonna burn Eris Familia to the ground!" She responded, setting her spear on fire. The Scarlet Harnel laughed before spreading her feet across the ground.
"Good enthusiasm! Worrying word choice, but good!"
As they clashed Hestia laughed awkwardly.
"Well, at least they have fun. Even if I don't enjoy-"
"A fried chicken?" Hans finished her sentence. He ignored the dirty look he received, instead taking the opportunity to take another sip from his canteen. Astraea giggled before turning to Freya.
"Let's see how Arash is doing."
"Let's," Freya agreed, switching the perspective once more. Weirdly enough, the strongest of each Familia did not have any weird training that shocked their hidden audience. For some reason they were in the Lower Levels, at the waterfall to be specific. The training they saw was relatively simple. However to Hestia, it was mind boggling in another way.
"...Wow, they are fast."
Arash bombarded Kojiro with arrows made of his own magic, while Kojiro did his best to parry or dodge as best as he could. To Freya's eyes it was a bit boring. Partially because she made it a point to not look at the chaos of colors that was Kojiro and instead focused on the monotone actions of the bright, rainbow colored star. Not even monsters dared to approach, having realized that Arash was a certified killzone if one was in his line of sight. With a shrug she switched perspectives once more, not seeing a lot at all. Instead now the mirror revealed a large lake. It was on top of a hill if Freya recalled her geography correctly. What she saw made her lick her lips, an action that Hestia mirrored as well.
Bell rose to the surface of the lake, taking a deep breath of air while revealing parts of his naked upper body. Before Freya could appreciate it more, she let out a yelp when wet water hit her face. With a glare she looked at Hans who held a water spray bottle out of all things. Understanding the message, Freya sighed, deciding to keep her... appreciation to a minimum. Instead she couldn't help but frown a bit at Ryuu, who stood off to the side, blushing while she looked away. Meanwhile Lyra pulled Bell out of the water before drawing her own weapons.
"Your speed is meaningless if you can't keep it up. So you're going to take a dip every morning before I throw every underhanded trick I got in the book at you before Ryuu finishes you off with whatever she has planned. Probably some sort of tag," the Pallum explained before rolling her shoulders. Bell nodded with determination, picking up his black blades before preparing to fight.
Freya shuddered before snapping her head up and giving Hans a warning look just as he raised the spray bottle. The man nodded in approval, as if smiling at a pet before lowering his bottle. The goddess of love bit her thumb a bit with narrowed eyes.
She couldn't wait to see the War Game.
Time until the War game: Two weeks and a half.