Chapter 51

A loud slap sounded in the Stardust Garden. Bell winced at the sound, flinching away like most others in the house. Solaris' face was turned sideways, emotionless, as she stood in front of her goddess. Hestia was red in the face, gasping for air as she tried to calm herself down. He couldn't blame her for buckling under the stress she was under. He was caught up to speed about what was going on. The spread of rumors that escalated to refusing services to them, to harassment, judging and even attacks by thugs. The latter wasn't exactly noticed by his Familia however, with Kojiro and Solaris assuming it was just 'business as usual'. If the situation weren't so dire, he'd have laughed at that and wondered why he never had any thugs sent after him in Orario. But now he could only feel regret. Regret at leaving them alone, having to face all this while he selfishly went on an adventure. Regret that it came to this, that his gentle goddess was upset enough to actually hit one of her children. At least her eyes glistened with remorse, but her voice broke with anger as she grabbed Solaris by her shoulders, starting to shake her frantically.

"You... you idiot! Why did you do this?!"

"You are aware that you have been played? Completely, like the easiest fiddle in the world?" Kaguya drawled from the couch, her arms spread out as she tilted her head to give Solaris a look of utter disgust. Yet his captain didn't care. She bit her lip, taking a deep breath. Then she looked at everyone, who had varying degrees of disappointment on their faces. Gently she pried off the hands of their goddess before shaking her head.

"I don't care."

Groans sounded in the room. Ryuu clicked her tongue before throwing her arms up in the air in indignation.

"You should! A captain should take care of her Familia!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?!" Solaris snarled back. Lyra however wouldn't have any of that and pushed her finger into her chest repeatedly.

"Putting them at risk!" She rubbed her temples before flicking her wrist at Solaris in frustration. "Yes, words hurt and that Eris managed to convince all sorts of places to refuse their services to you guys is bad, but you didn't have to walk right into their trap!"

"I had to!"

Her voice cracked when she screamed her heart out. It was enough to make Lyra and Ryuu back off in shock at the heat of her emotions. Solaris sniffed, wiping her eyes as they began to tear up. Her breath shook for a moment before she could control herself once more. She put a hand on her heart as she looked at everyone with pained eyes.

"I am sick of people aiming for us. I am sick of people hurting my goddess." She let out a scoff before glancing at Hestia. "Maybe you were right. Maybe just waiting and letting the rumors die out would be enough." She closed her eyes shut as her voice became a whisper filled with frustration. "But I can't accept that. I can't accept another second of people doubting my accomplishments. Of people saying bad things about Lady Hestia." A growl escaped her and she looked up, pointing at the ground. "So screw them. If it means beating up another Familia twice my power, so be it! Violence is the only language they seem to understand anyway!"

Silence fell as Solaris breathed heavily, rubbing her throat from the exertion it went through. Arash let out a sigh, patting her shoulder before turning to the others, being remarkably calm in comparison to everyone else sans Alise and Astraea.

"Do you feel the same?" He asked the others in the Hestia Familia, a small smile on his face. As if he already knew their answers. It was obvious to be fair. Bell, Haruhime and Kojiro looked at each other before nodding. There was a reason none of them even bothered to really stop Solaris. It was the Renard that stepped forward first, fiddling with her fingers as she kept her eyes to the ground.

"I-I may not have been long in this Familia…" She gulped before raising her fists, trying to pump herself up. "But I refuse to allow its honor to be besmirched!"

"I am always looking forward to a fight." Kojiro's smile faded as a rare frown appeared on his face while he leaned against the nearby wall. "Not to mention that their accusations were becoming... annoying."

"We can't let them get away with this."

He wasn't sure if this could be called justice. Maybe he was just losing himself to his own emotions. But above everything, he would not lose his home. Not again. The thought that he came just a day later. Or several, with the War Game long under way. The image of him returning to the Stardust Garden, only to find everyone gone, just like with his grandfather... Maybe it wasn't a heroic thing to do. But right now, all he wanted to do was defeat Eris and everyone involved. They wanted to crush them and that would not fly whatsoever.

Seeing their determination, the fire in their eyes, Hestia choked, tears dropping down her cheek as she covered her mouth.

"You guys... "

Astraea pulled her into a hug, giving everyone a small smile before consoling her friend. The other ladies of the Astraea Familia shared awkward looks. They still disapproved. It was clear in their eyes. But their discomfort showed that they didn't exactly disagree with what the HEstia Familia felt. Their captain sighed before stepping forward.

"I get it. Really. I do." Alise pressed her lips together before crossing her arms, turning to he fellow captain. "But it doesn't change the fact that you were acting too rashly. There's a difference between having faith and being arrogant." A conflicted smile appeared on her face, filled with sympathy. "This might cost you guys everything. We could've at least backed off now to buy time. Now the stone is rolling."

Solaris flinched at the words and lowered her head. Yet Alise wasn't done yet as her voice became more gentle as she raised Solaris' face by her chin. Looking into her eyes, the Scarlet Harnel wanted to make sure she got the message across, the severity of the situation.

"This could ruin you. In a War Game, winner takes all." She shrugged with an awkward laugh which quickly died down. "Running away is the only other option I guess. But your reputation wouldn't survive this. And being outside Orario... You would be easy prey. We can't help you out there."

"I... "

Suddenly Alise let out a snort, ruffling Solaris' hair. The Crozzo, who was at the verge of tears after the potential fallout was hammered into her, could only stare at Alise in confusion.

"Well, nobody is a perfect leader. Maybe too hot headed, but your head is in the right place." She raised her thumb as she flashed a wide grin. "Just learn from this for the nex time, okay?"

Solaris smiled weakly before nodding. Bell bit his lip, feeling a bit bad for his captain. She was baited. No questions about it. Right now it wasn't that bad in the sense because they most likely would've chosen this path anyway. However Alise was right. They could've gained more advantages if Solaris didn't lose herself like that. Still, nobody could blame her. Of course that didn't mean that everyone took it easy on them.

"If there is a next time... "

"Kaguya!" Ryuu shouted as the mood plummeted down once more. The Senbonzakura on the other hand faced the elf's glare with her own before she rose to her feet.

"I'm being realistic." She raised a finger on each of her hands. "Adventurers are different from monsters. A level three warrior and a level three monsters are different in the way they think and act. The former surpassed the gods' expectations twice for example."

The air became heavy. That's right. Bell thought back to his own level up. Defeating a monster that was supposed to be above his level. With the right tactics and will. Adventurers in comparison to most monsters had the advantage of being able to 'surpass their limits'. And their enemy were filled with individuals who managed to do just that. To compare them to regular monsters would be an insult.

"That is assuming it's going to be a one on one. I'd only give Kojiro a good chance at victory in that case," Ryuu muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. The swordsman in question chuckled at their words but remained quiet. Bell bit his lip but repressed the flare of jealousy in his chest. They were right after all. Unlike everyone else, he managed to defeat someone that was basically two levels above him. Bell himself couldn't claim such an accomplishment. Not without making it clear that he was reliant on luck or help in every single fight he was in so far.

The Far East. Altena. The Minotaur. The Demi Spirit. The Sea Serpent. Ishtar's vice captain. They all had some factor involved that allowed Bell to win despite his inferior status. If it came to a white room duel, he wasn't sure he could pull another miracle off as he was now.

He was shaken out of his musings when Haruhime raised her hand nervously, clearing her throat when everyone turned to look at her.

"Uhm... what is a War Game anyway?"

"You don't have War Games in the Far East?" Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow at Kaguya. The latter rolled her eyes in exasperation while Haruhime winced at some memory of hers.

"Not... exactly."

"Usually it devolved into open street fighting. Or flat out war," Kaguya added with a dry tone. Bell pressed his lips together. Yeah, that sounded right. Without any supervision of any sort of guild, the Far East was kind of rough. Alise whistled before turning to Solaris.

"Does Rakia have War Games?"

"We are united by our patriotism, no need for that!" The Rakian proclaimed with pride, hitting her chest with her fist. Kojiro hummed thoughtfully before tilting his head with a pointed look.

"...Romulus?"

"Duh."

The room couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. Well, if one was as charismatic as Romulus and made it a habit for everyone to work together to expand their empire, internal tensions were probably unlikely. Astraea, having Hestia's head on her lap as the small goddess seemed to have fallen asleep out of exhaustion, raised her hand to gain everybody's attention.

"In general it is a competition between Familia to settle disputes in a 'controlled' way." She made quotation marks with her fingers before patting Hestia once more with a frown. "What competition it will be is another question entirely. Usually there will be a vote with every god involved. It could be anything. Siege, duels, capture the flag. Name any form of combat and it's probably on the table."

"What do we hope for?"

"I guess our best bet really is a singular duel with Kojiro." Astraea closed her eyes with a sigh before shaking her head with a shrug. "We can push for it, but knowing everyone, it might end with a random pick."

Random pick. He didn't know how large the Eris Familia was, but they were big enough to cover an entire district, with all the casinos and what not. If something like an army fight was picked... he did not even want to think about that, Bell thought with a shudder. As if sensing their trepidation Alise let out a dramatic groan as she stretched her back. With everyone's eyes on her she rubbed her hands together with a bright smile.

"Welp, no use breaking our heads over this! Let's let Lady Hestia rest until she has to go!" She snapped her fingers at her own Familia. "Until then, let's talk preparations! Potions, gear, training plans, chop chop!" She turned to Solaris and the rest of the Hestia Familia. "You guys try to clear your heads. Just as long as you stay here."

"Shouldn't we help out with prep?" Solaris asked with a slight frown, causing Alise to shake her head with a smile, waving her hand dismissively.

"Nah, we got it. Just try to relax."

The first half of the Stardust Garden's residents moved to the backyard to discuss their future. But before Bell could go to his room or somewhere else like the others did, he felt a finger tap his shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was Ryuu, who covered her face with her mask. The young man couldn't help but blush, the intrusive memory resurfacing once more before he pushed it back down. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong however, the elf suddenly bowed at him.

"I'm sorry, Bell."

Her voice was filled with remorse, causing the White Fool to gape at her with confusion filling his wide eyes.

"R-Ryuu?"

"I-No, we should've done more to stop this." She looked away in shame after straightening up. "In your absence, we allowed this to escalate... "

"It's fine. Really," Bell quickly said, not wanting her to feel so guilty. He reached for her shoulders but Ryuu shook her head, refusing his touch. He tried to ignore the slight ache in his heart when the young woman sighed.

"It's not. You regret not having been around."

"I do... " He admitted, not willing to lie to her. He opened his mouth, trying to find any sort of sentence to convince Ryuu this wasn't her fault. But in the end he couldn't come up with anything. Cursing his own incompetence, he could only put up a weak smile. "But I can't change the past. All I can do is help now that I'm back."

Ryuu returned his frail smile before clearing her throat, about to move past him.

"We shouldn't let them wait then."

Before he knew it, he grabbed her shoulder once more. She gasped in surprise, facing him with a faint blush on her cheeks. Bell yelped, letting go quickly, with his own embarrassed expression. He acted on reflex. But now that he did this, he had to follow up. Taking a deep breath, he scratched the back of his head.

"We... are we... " Gulping nervously, he looked her in the eyes. "What are we to each other?"

"...I don't know," Ryuu replied in a whisper, after a silence that dragged on way too long. Bell didn't know if he should feel glad or disappointed at that ambivalent reply. But before he could press on any further, she raised her finger, sending him a small glare. "This is not the time however. Let's make sure the Hestia Familia gets past this storm first."

With that, she abruptly turned away once more and walked up to the meeting. Bell stared at her retreating back for a moment, noting how strong it looked. His eyes started to wander down before he slapped his cheeks a few times. Running his hands through his hair he smacked his lips. Right. She was right. Focus on the first issue, the next could wait for later...

/

Any other day, Loki would've been excited that something was happening in this city. Sometimes it was just a tad too peaceful. But at the current moment it was a bit distracting given all the shit her Familia had to deal with. The failed assault on Knossos was just one of many things Evilus or whatever they called themselves now did to cause the goddess one hell of a migraine. Sure was nice that everyone could play around like they usually could but Loki was stuck doing cleanup with Astraea. The only thing that stopped her from going into complete depression was that her cutiepie Lefiya officially made it to level four. But even that was only a minor improvement of her mood. Sighing, she stretched her arms. Screw it, she could deal with this later, like figuring out how Lefiya's magic stat jumped up to S from a singular quest. For now, she had to deal with whatever Itty Bitty got herself into. The trickster glanced at her direction at the round table they were seated at. Well, at least she didn't look like the crying mess she expected her to be. While yes, her eyes were puffy and red, she now had a determined fire in them that made her look like a fierce puppy. Of course Eris was not fazed at all, casually resting her chin on her palm, smirking at Hestia as if she was the most amusing thing in the world.

Loki cracked her neck a few times as she clicked her tongue with narrowed eyes. She couldn't believe all of this crap happened while she was distracted. While the thought made her sick, she would've most likely stuck to Hestia's side. Like, who the hell actually believes Itty-Bitty had slaves? But alas, with the decades she spent in Orario, the one thing that was a constant in everyone's life was that public opinion could be utterly retarted. And now, a War Game of all things. She glanced at Eris, who met her eyes. A coy wink was her reply and Loki made a disgusted noise. God, she hated this two faced capitalist. This was clearly just an excuse to wipe out the Hestia Familia in a completely legal manner. Then again, this also helped Hestia, ironically enough. There's always a clear difference between slaves and free individuals fighting seriously in a fight. Anyone who knew their stuff would see it via the Divine Mirrors. Given that this was a city filled with adventurers, the majority would see it and the rumors would be quickly squashed like bugs. Loki sighed. What a terrible day. To be stuck between cheering for Itty-Bitty or Eris. The big breasted monster or the money inhaling beast. Why couldn't Astraea fight instead? Then she could cheer for the Familia of hotties with zero complaints!

She rang the bell a bit harder than usual, causing the commotion in the meeting to calm down. Putting it down, Loki stood up, clapping her hands a few times.

"Alright, everybody, let's cool it!" She put her palm onto her papers, smirking lazily into the round. "I know we're all excited about this, but let's get the show goin', okay?"

Nods and agreeing murmurs sounded in the hall. Loki nodded before turning to Hestia and Eris respectively before tapping the table once more.

"So. Just to be sure. Both sides want this?"

"I am not one to deny a beggar, no," Eris replied, fanning herself as if she was on vacation. The strangled noise Hestia made as she shot up only caused the casino owner to giggle as she hid her mouth behind her annoying tool.

"My kids will make you eat those words!"

Itty Bitty was breathing heavily as Astraea gently pushed her down by her shoulder. Some in the crowd hollered, egging the two on, wanting to see more of a "cat fight". Loki on the other hand rolled her eyes before whistling, silencing them all.

"Cool, that's a yes from both." She sat back down and held up the papers. "Now let's get the paperwork outta the way. Who gets what when they win."

The first to make their demands was Eris. She rose to her feet, gracefully, slowly, dramatically and annoying, as she shut her fan and pointed it at Hestia. If Loki didn't know a bullshitter when she saw one, she might have actually believed the face of calm righteousness.

"Naturally, I stick to my words. Hestia is an agent of evil in my eyes. Thus I demand she returns to heaven when my children win. That way her little slaves will be freed as well. Two birds, one stone if I say so myself!"

Even the biggest assholes among the gods stayed silent, gaping at her. Loki raised an eyebrow herself. How lopsided was that of a demand? This wasn't just kicking the little goddess off the game, that was basically signing the death sentence for Hestia's kids if Astraea wasn't fast enough to protect them. The trickster bit her lip. Great, this was going to be a long discussion. There was no way Itty Bitty was going to-

"Fine."

Everyone snapped their heads towards Hestia. Her resolute voice would have been admirable if not for what it actually agreed to. Except for Astraea, everyone had the same word escaping their mouths.

"What?!"

Not bothered, or at least pretending to, she raised her hand before pointing it at Eris with a glare.

"But if I win, you have to reveal all your operations and the like to the Guild. And I mean everything. No stone unturned, no piece of paper missing."

A twitch of her eyebrow. It was the only hint that Eris was looking down on Hestia. That she was offended at the mere thought a 'loser' like Itty Bitty would make any sort of demand. But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. Her poker face, a pleased expression, was put back on.

"Hoh? Still pretending to be an ally of justice? Amusing! Very well, I agree to that demand!"

The gods once more mutter amongst each other, gossiping about the purpose of such demands. Loki on the other hand felt a migraine forming in her head. Well, that was one way to get this outta the way quickly. But by god, she hoped Hestia would go for something more selfish, like kicking Eris off herself. Why did she have to be such a goodie two shoes?!

"What's gonna be the theme of the War Game?"

The moment someone asked, Hestia shot her arm up, eyes not leaving Eris', as if daring her to speak up herself.

"A one on one duel! Strongest representative takes all! We can hold it in the arena for everyone to see!"

"Hm, Hestia does have a smaller group than Eris does... "

"Yeah, nobody wants to see an army pile on four people."

Miach and Takemikazuchi immediately joined Hestia. Loki raised an eyebrow at that. Huh. Looked like poor people really do stick together. Neat. Of course Astraea was not far behind, politely raising her hand herself with a warm smile.

"I for one am interested to see if Hans was exaggerating or not about Kojiro."

"My, doubting my genius child?" Freya commented in a sultry tone before nodding in agreement. "But I can't say I am uninterested in how accurate his fantasy is."

Right. That book. Honestly it sounded like a drug trip at times. But Loki couldn't hold back a smirk, just like some other people in the room like Hermes. If it was really true, she wanted to see it. A man pick on another individual two levels above him. However, it was not a choice made in stone. After all, many gods meant many opinions.

"I dunno, there's just something exciting about a few people taking on overwhelming odds." One no name said whose name Loki couldn't be bothered to remember. "I'd say we should do Familia vs Familia!"

With that, the discussion exploded into motion. Loki silently listened to all the suggestions, making disgusted faces at some while being neutrally interested in others.

"Depends on the game for me I guess. Just two sides clashing with each other would be boring."

"How about a siege?"

"Siege? How are four people supposed to attack a castle, much less defend it?"

"That sounds like a problem for her, not mine!"

"Maybe they should pick by random."

"Random sucks!"

Loki saw Hestia move, as if she actually wanted to agree with random. Maybe she figured Eris wouldn't want any theme that overlapped with Itty Bitty's desire. And given her Familia's track record, going for a luck based choice was probably the wisest choice in her eyes. But before Hestia could voice her agreement, something happened that shocked everyone.

"Hestia does have a good idea."

Everyone's heads snapped towards the goddess of chaos, who was leaning back with her legs crossed. Everyone blinked at once.

"She does?"

"I do?" Hestia asked, just as dumbfounded as everyone else. After all, nobody expected this. That the opposite party would support the idea of their enemy. Yet this was exactly what Eris did as she enjoyed the attention brought upon her. She clapped her hands together before giving everyone a coy smile.

"Why yes. Even if I am the goddess of chaos, there is something called 'too much of a good thing'. If I involve my entire Familia, it'd be hard to keep track of everything. Not exactly entertaining."

"So what, you're saying you want a duel too?" Loki asked in a skeptical tone, raising an eyebrow at that. Eris in response shrugged nonchalantly.

"I wouldn't be opposed to it." Her smile fell and Loki could see Hestia shiver, as if she was caught in a predator's gaze. Eris made a thoughtful expression as she tapped her chin. "Though I believe there is some room for... modifications. A singular duel has the opposite problem."

The casino owner stood up, a dark smile on her face as she shook her head.

"All this excitement and preparation for a fight that might last at best twenty minutes if we are being generous? No, no, we gotta make this worth it." She raised a finger, pointing it at a ceiling as if showing a revelation from the heavens themselves. "I propose a Point Fight."

"Point Fight?" Hestia whispered, confusion clear in her eyes. Eris showed her teeth while facing her, twirling her hand as she did so.

"Indeed. We keep the one on one duel. But we do it until one side has... oh, let's say four victories. After each fight, one can decide to keep on fighting or switch out. Obviously potions and the like are forbidden during a fight. If they could fix up their wounds in a battle, it'd take ages. If a fighter uses those to heal up after a fight, that's grounds for disqualification as well."

Some gods like Hermes, Astraea and Loki included narrowed their eyes. At first it seemed like a fair compromise. But the matter of fact was that it was first to four, not best out of four. The implications hit Hestia as well as she slammed her hands down with indignation.

"Hold on a minute, you still have the number advantage! You can just keep switching even if we go past four fights!"

"Well, I believe I am being quite generous," Eris countered, unfazed by her outburst. A smirk appeared on her face as she pointed with her fan, drawing circles with it at Hestia. "If you are so worried about my number advantage, you just have to win four fights straight in a row, correct~?"

"You... !"

The sight of Hestia grinding her teeth together gave Eris a lot of amusement as she didn't bother hiding her laugh. However her laughter died down when she spotted Hermes raising his hand. As usual, the self proclaimed neutral god smiled lazily before taking off his hat.

"May I make a suggestion? In order to even things out a bit, how about letting Hestia have one more adventurer outside her Familia to support her?"

"Denied."

The travelling god blinked at the rapid reply. Eris didn't even bother looking at him as she turned back to Hestia, giving the goddess of hearth a taunting grin. To everyone's surprise however it was Freya who chimed in, chuckling as she leaned forward.

"Such a fast rejection. Does your love only extend to that level? Where is your self confidence?"

Eris let out a deep sigh. With a look that screamed unimpressed, she tilted her head a bit before putting a hand on her chest.

"Freya, I am insulted. Do I look like Apollo to you? I'm not so easily baited." Her smile grew when Freya's mouth twitched for a moment. Eris waved her hand dismissively. "I play for keeps. So no support for Hestia, whether it be from Orario or some other place. I'm not keen on seeing them saved with the help of the Royal Gale for example. Or heavens forbid Mizuchi or the Radiance. It'd ruin the point we are trying to make here: Is her Familia worthy or not?"

Hestia growled quietly as Hermes and Freya shrugged, as if they were saying they tried their best. Loki wondered what the point of that was. Only someone with no control over the ego would allow such a risk. Well, someone like Apollo, but who knew what that creep was doing after getting kicked out by Astraea. Maybe they got eaten alive by some other country, who knew?

Either way, Eris bowed dramatically, as if conceding the stage to Hestia.

"Anyway, if you want to try to gamble, I am the last person to judge you. Who knows, maybe you get your singular duel." She looked up, a glint in her eyes as she tilted her head. "Or you get an army fight. What will it be, Hes-ti-a~?"

Loki couldn't hold back a whistle. No wonder that bitch was in charge of the casinos. Tempting people with a less than optimal choice and pure chance. It ate away at Hestia as she bit her thumb, turning those unoiled gears in her head. The chance to get an even worse theme was high. Very high. Yet there was also the chance for getting the optimal outcome. But Loki could see her decision from a mile away. Hestia wasn't the gambling type. She didn't have the confidence for it. So like a starving fish, she jumped at the bait with a conflicted snarl as she slammed her fist down on the table.

"Fine, we'll do it Point Fight style!"

The crowd roared, silencing any objections or misgivings by the far far smaller party. Loki hummed with her eyes closed. So Itty Bitty really was aiming for four victories in a row, against a Familia that had higher leveled adventurers than she did. Common sense dictated that she was doomed. Yet she recalled the tales from her own Familia. How they witnessed them take on overwhelming odds before. And if the White Fool, the book not the brat, was anything to go by...She couldn't help but form a small grin. Hestia better not disappoint then. She glanced at them, her eyes half lidded as her ears sharpened to pick up Astraea's and Hestia's words through the noise.

"It was the right decision. You just have to believe in them."

"I just hope they won't be too mad when we tell them... "