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Is It Wrong For The Devil To Fool Around In Orario?
Chapter 6
The Salome
Lucifer could only shake his head in amazement as he watched the numbers on Bell's falna shoot up once again. It had been several days since the young man had returned to the club battered and bloody, but some healing potions and a day of rest had been all Bell needed to fully recover and he had dove back into The Dungeon with renewed determination. Bell's determination to improve and grow stronger both impressed and worried The Devil as he watched the numbers on Bell's back finally settle and he took a sheet of paper to copy them onto.
"So how was your haul today? With numbers like these you must have struck down quite a few monsters." Lucifer said as he finished copying the information and handed the paper to Bell. "Any plans on how to spend your newfound wealth? Some new armor or weapons maybe? Or were you planning to save it for when you finally work up the courage to ask young miss Wallenstein out?"
At the mention of the Sword Princess Bell blushed and fidgeted in place, his pubescent mind conjuring up fantasies of that very situation before he forced them back down.
"No, it's too soon to even think about approaching Miss Ais." Bell said as he looked over his growth for the day. "Miss Eina says I should invest in some better equipment so that is what I think I will do."
Lucifer let out a light chuckle as he came to stand in front of Bell.
"Just be sure to not work too hard alright." Lucifer said as he looked down at Bell. "After all, all work and no play makes Bell a dull boy. In fact, I've heard the patrons talking about a festival going on tomorrow, I believe it's called "Monsterphilia" or something like that. Have you heard about it?"
"No, I don't believe I have." Bell replied. "Is it a festival unique to Orario?"
"I believe so. From what I understand it is run by the Ganesha Familia and involves them bringing up monsters from The Dungeon to fight in a stadium they own. And not only that but there will also be plenty of stands around the stadium offering food and games." Lucifer said with clear interest. "I was thinking about heading down there tomorrow and seeing what it is like, care to join me?"
Bell looked up at Lucifer in slight surprise as this was the first time his god had offered to spend time with him outside of the Salome's walls, but his expression became hesitant.
"I'm not sure Lord Lucifer." Bell said before quickly clarifying. "I mean I would be happy to visit the festival with you! It's just that I haven't made all that much valis and all the really good quality weapons and armor cost sooooo much. I'm not sure I can afford to spend much at a festival when I need my valis for more important things."
"Oh, don't get so hung up on valis Bell!" Lucifer said with a roll of his eyes and placed his hand on Bell's shoulder and lowered himself down so he could look the young man in the eye. "If you're really that concerned about getting new equipment then save your valis. I have plenty from the club so I can cover anything we come across."
"But I can't just take your valis like that!" Bell said aghast. "You already provide so much for me, from the room to the food in the kitchen! It feels wrong to take more just so I can enjoy a festival."
Lucifer sighed in exasperation at Bell's polite refusal before fixing the young man with a sterner expression.
"Bell." Lucifer said in a rare moment of seriousness. "You have been going to The Dungeon almost every day since I gave you your falna. And the almost in this context is the day you came back beaten bloody after spending most of the night fighting through The Dungeon."
Bell felt his face flush at the memory, remembering with shame the concern he had caused for both Lucifer and Maze upon his return. Lucifer leaned down slightly to better look the young man in the eyes as he continued to speak.
"I may not be much of a fighter myself but even I know that making sure to properly rest both your body and your mind every now and again is also an important part of training to become stronger." Lucifer said calmly. "So, don't worry about taking a day to simply relax every now and again."
"….. Alright." Bell said after a few seconds had passed. He looked up at Lucifer with a grateful smile spreading across his face. "I would be happy to visit the festival tomorrow with you, Lord Lucifer."
"There's a good man!" Lucifer said as his expression immediately brightened, and he slapped a hand on Bell's shoulder. "I plan to head down there around ten tomorrow, so I'll meet you at the entrance then."
With that Lucifer stood up straight again and made his way to Bell's door and bid the young man good night before leaving the room. He then proceeded down the stairs to the club's main area, finding it quickly filling up as business began for the night. he casually made his way over to the bar and took a seat at the stool across from where Maze was standing.
"So did the kid agree?" Maze asked as she was in the process of putting together several drinks.
"He did indeed." Lucifer relied as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on the bar. "Now I just need to remember the name of the food stand and hope Hestia is as nice as everyone says she is."
Maze simply nodded in response and placed down a glass in front of Lucifer, which he began to slowly drink as he thought about his plans for the following day.
While Lucifer had been genuine in his concern regarding Bell's habit to overwork himself there was also a second reason he was so keen on having the adventurer accompany him tomorrow. That reason being he figured it was high time that Bell formed a party, and the best people Lucifer could think of for him to do it with were the two young ladies from Hestia Familia that Bell was familiar with. Lucifer had hoped that Bell would eventually decide to approach the young women about the possibility of forming a party on his own but the young man had remined steadfast in his desire to not appear weak or needy in front of the two girls.
At first Lucifer had accepted Bell's decision with only minor annoyance but after seeing how his impatience for growth and tendency to venture into The Dungeon alone had almost gotten him killed several days prior, Lucifer had decided he needed to find Bell a party. And while the two girls were likely not very strong themselves, given how they were also rookies, Lucifer hoped that they would be willing to work together to increase their chances of survival.
Lucifer's greatest concern with his plan was how the two girl's goddess would react to the proposal. Lucifer had heard very little about this universes Hestia other than she was still a goddess of virginity and was apparently quite stacked in the chest department. She was also apparently employed at a potato snacks food stand that would be set up at monsterphilia tomorrow. Lucifer very much hoped that the fact that both of her familia members were female did not mean that this Hestia had something against men and would not be against the idea of their familias working together for the safety of their "children". He knew that most familias preferred to keep to themselves and not ally with others when it came to exploring The Dungeon, but he hoped that the small size of both of their familias and the inexperience of their adventurers would make the decision to team up more appealing to the goddess in question.
Lucifer continued to contemplate how his future meeting with the goddess of the hearth might play out for a time before he felt a hand run from his right shoulder across his back to his left, drawing his gaze in that direction. As he turned a lovely young amazon stepped into his line of sight and smiled invitingly at him. She had long dark hair and purple eyes and was clothed in a thin purple outfit that left most of her tan skin visible. As Lucifer saw the young woman his expression changed from one of contemplation to a welcoming smile as he recognized her.
"Aisha, how lovely to see you!" Lucifer said as he rose from his seat to embrace the familiar amazon, an embrace Aisha Belka of Ishtar Familia returned.
"A pleasure as always, Lord Lucifer." Aisha said as the two of them separated and then turned to face Maze and offered a respectful nod. "Ms. Mazikeen."
Maze returned the nod with one of her own as she continued to tend the bar, quickly placing down a drink in front of the amazon without prompting. Aisha accepted the drink and leaned against the bar facing Lucifer's direction as she took a light sip.
"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company tonight?" Lucifer asked. "Are you here to enjoy a night off or does Ishtar want something?"
Ever since Lucifer and Maze had first taken up residence in the Entertainment District Aisha had served as Ishtar's primary messenger to them. Aisha usually visited the club once a week to either see how business was doing, relay messages from Ishtar, or even to just enjoy a night off as she came to enjoy the atmosphere and entertainment the Salome offered. Her last visit had only been three days ago so Lucifer was assuming she was there with a reason tonight, a hypothesis Aisha quickly confirmed.
"Lady Ishtar would like to speak with you at our home." Aisha said in response to Lucifer's question. "She did not tell me about exactly what, but if I had to guess it probably has to do with the fact that the entire city has been talking about Ms. Mazikeen defeating Vanargand in a fight on west main street a few days ago."
At those words Aisha took a quick glance at Maze and both the demon and The Devil could see a flash of respect in the amazon's lilac gaze. When the two of them had first arrived in the district Maze had been looked down on by many members of Ishtar Familia due to them believing that they would be stronger than her because they were able face the monsters of The Dungeon as opposed to the weaker monsters that could be found on the surface which they assumed were what Maze had fought up to that point. However, Maze had quickly proven herself to be far stronger than any of them expected when she had single handedly defeated three level three adventurers who thought that because the club was not run by Ishtar Familia that they could do as they pleased, which resulted in Maze beating the three into unconsciousness single handedly without receiving a scratch in return. This event led to several members of Ishtar Familia challenging Maze to sparing matches to figure out exactly how strong she was and being thoroughly beaten in response. After these events most members of Ishtar Familia came to treat Maze with a degree of warry respect, her clear strength earning her respect from most of the amazons.
Aisha had been one of the first to challenge and be defeated by Maze and ever since she had always shown the other woman a simple respect whenever the two of them interacted. Now that respect seemed to have grown even more as the city was filled with gossip about her defeating one of the strongest adventurers in Orario single handedly. Maze noticed the newfound respect and accepted it with a slight smirk on her face while Lucifer just huffed and wondered what other complications might arise from Maze publicly beating the Loki Familia's werewolf.
"Did Ishtar happen to mention when she would like to speak?" Lucifer asked as Aisha downed the last of her drink. "As happy as I am to…. "converse" with Ishtar I have some rather important plans for tomorrow."
"She instructed me to bring you to her as soon as you were willing to leave." Aisha said as she set her glass down on the counter. "We can leave now if you would like."
"That would probably be best." Lucifer quickly downed his own drink and turned to Maze. "I shouldn't be that long, try not to have too much fun while I'm gone."
Maze just nodded, her lips still set in a pleased smirk at the thought of the entire city talking about how she had pummeled that mouthy mutt in front of the Hostess.
"Well, my dear shall we depart?" Lucifer said as he held out his arm to Aisha.
Aisha grinned in amusement at Lucifer's manners before deciding to play along and taking the offered arm and moving to stand very close to his side as they made their way out of the club.
The two walked out onto the brightly lit streets of the Entertainment District, the road filled with many eager pleasure seekers and many scantily clad women openly advertising either the delights of their establishment or the delights of their own bodies. The sight brought a pleased smile to Lucifer's face, and he waved at many of the people occupying the street who he had become at least passingly familiar with since he had taken up residence in the district. His greetings were returned with many other pleased greetings as people called out to The Devil in a friendly manner or invited him to join in their revelries for the night, invitations Lucifer sadly rejected as he simply said he had some business to attend to.
Lucifer and Aisha walked through the busy streets towards the three towers that dominated the center of the district. Belit Babili was one of if not likely the most decadent familia homes in Orario, resembling a grand palace more than anything else. With Aisha at his side Lucifer was simply able to walk through the front gates of the wall that surrounded Ishtar's abode and proceeded to the central tower. As they made their way into the tower they passed numerous members of Ishtar Familia but none made any effort to impede their trek and instead offered nods and waves of acknowledgment, with some even calling out to Lucifer to come and find them later if he was free. Despite the initial caution and belligerence with which he and Maze had been greeted with, Lucifer had since managed to win over most members of Ishtar Familia with his charm and open minded view on the pursuit of pleasure. Now Maze was viewed with respect by the mostly amazon familia and Lucifer was viewed as quirky but respectable member of the Entertainment Districts community.
Belit Babili remained as grand as always as the two made their way up its corridors. All the stonework was of good quality and there was marble of various shades scattered everywhere. The rooms they passed by all had carpets and furniture of excellent quality and there were crystal chandeliers with magic stones casting plenty of light throughout the tower. It all showed that Ishtar cared for modest living about as much as she cared for dressing modestly and that she very much enjoyed flaunting the wealth and influence her familia wielded to anyone who had eyes to see. Not that Lucifer thought less of her for it as modesty was not a virtue that he cared much for either.
Finally, the two arrived at their destination and Aisha detached herself from Lucifer's side and stepped forward to knock several times on a large mahogany door. Several seconds later a call of "enter" came from within and Aisha opened the door and stood to the side so that Lucifer could enter. Striding inside Lucifer found himself in a familiar room with a deep red carpet and two ornate couches facing each other with a low wooden table standing between the two. Against one wall was another table with several expensive bottles of alcohol and two fine crystal glasses. The space was recognizable as a high class meeting room with one very noticeable addition, a large four poster bed with red silk sheets behind one of the couches.
Standing alone in the room with her back to the door, looking out a large window was a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She had dark brownl skin and dark purple hair done up in an elaborate braid. She was clad in only a thin red cloth that fell from her neck and barely covered her large breasts and a long skirt that went down to her ankles but had a slit up one side that went all the way to her hip. She was also adorned in various pieces of gold jewelry and these adornments along with the revealing nature of her clothing might lead some to mistake her for the favored concubine of some king or emperor. However, the presence the woman exuded, while filled with sensuality, was a commanding one, far more fitting for a queen or empress than a simple concubine. After several seconds had passed the woman turned to regard Lucifer with her brown eyes and a pleased smile appeared on her face.
"Lucifer." Ishtar, the undisputed ruler of Orario's Entertainment District, purred out." How pleasant to see you again so soon."
"Always a pleasure, Ishtar." Lucifer said as he enjoyed the way the light from the window allowed the outline of Ishtar's shapely legs and hips to be seen through the thin red skirt. "What can I do for you this lovely night?"
Ishtar let out a pleasant laugh and moved to take a seat on the couch directly in front of the bed and gestured for Lucifer to take a seat as well. She then motioned towards the bottles on the table against the wall and Aisha immediately moved towards them and began preparing two drinks.
"I heard two rather interesting rumors recently and was hoping that you could verify if they are true or not, since they happen to be about your familia." Ishtar said as Lucifer sat down across from her.
"Ah, I thought it might be something like that." Lucifer responded. "Things have taken a rather…... odd turn recently so I am going to have to ask you to be a bit more specific."
"Well for starters I heard that you added a new member to your familia recently." Ishtar began as Aisha finished preparing their drinks and set them down in front of them. "A young white-haired boy called Bell that has been going to The Dungeon almost every day for the past several weeks. I am surprised that you added another member to your familia given that the reason you told me you wanted to take up residence in my district was because you simply wanted to have fun and were not truly interested in doing anything in relation to The Dungeon. Might I ask what has changed?"
"Ah, well that was a rather unexpected occurrence for us as well." Lucifer said as he picked up his drink and swirled it in his hand. "I quite literally ran into Bell several weeks ago and inconvenienced him rather badly. To make up for it I offered to help him realize his goal of becoming an adventurer, but things did not quite go as planned so I ended up having to give him a falna myself. I am currently looking to try and find another familia to introduce him to so that he can transfer over to them after his required year with us has ended."
"Hmm, so you have no desire to hold onto the boy after the required year has passed?" Ishtar asked before taking a sip of her own drink.
"I do not believe that would be good for either of us." Lucifer said as he stared into his swirling drink. "Bell wants to become a great adventurer and the rest of us are not particularly interested in diving into The Dungeon. Oh, Maze may want to take the occasional dive to let off some stress and keep her combat skills sharp but I doubt she would be interested in going on an expedition that could take several days or weeks. So, it is for the best that we find a group that better aligns with Bell's desires rather than keeping him in a familia where he is the only one serious about exploring The Dungeon."
"I see." Ishtar said after finishing her drink. "I might have offered to take him off your hands myself if he was a girl, but I suspect that brining him into my familia would only result in getting "devoured" before he could even set foot in The Dungeon again."
At those words Ishtar sent an amused glance over at Aisha, who stood perfectly still next to the wall with a bottle clasped in her hands in case either of them desired a refill.
"The second rumor I wished to speak with you about concerns your first child, Mazikeen." Ishtar leaned forward and her face became much more serious than when they were discussing Bell. "Is it true that she picked a fight with Loki Familia's Vanargand and emerged the victor?"
"I'm unfamiliar with the title but if you are referring to a white-haired werewolf with a tattoo on the left side of his face then yes, Maze did indeed tell me she fought him several nights back."
Ishtar's eyes widened slightly, and her expression of curiosity shifted to one of clear interest.
"How surprising." Ishtar said. "I was aware that your child was quite good from what I had heard of her fights previously, but I did not believe she could be more than level four at the most. Now I hear of her single handedly defeating one of the strongest level fives in the city, someone I am not even sure my own captain could defeat. I don't suppose you would be willing to share how she managed to grow so powerful outside of Oaraio? An adventurer rising to level five is already rare in Oarario and practically unheard of outside."
"I'm quite certain that Maze would not exactly be pleased by the thought of me sharing her personal secrets, so I am afraid I am going to have to keep my lips sealed for now." Lucifer replied back with an apologetic shrug. "If you want to know then I'm afraid you'll need to obtain Maze's permission first. Otherwise, I'm afraid that information will remain a familia secret."
Ishtar briefly pursed her lips in clear annoyance before letting out a defeated sigh. She held out her glass in Aisha's direction and the amazon stepped forward and refilled it for her.
"Oh alright, keep your secrets." Ishtar said in mock disappointment before her expression became serious again. "Do you have any plans on how to deal with Loki Familia going forward?"
"I wasn't really planning on doing much in regard to Loki and his- ahem her children." Lucifer responded with a simple shrug. "A nice gift basket and a few bottles of top shelf wine, maybe? Honestly, I doubt much will come of it since from what I hear that werewolf gets in fights all the time, so this should really be nothing new for them."
"Oh Lucifer, my dear sweet innocent Lucifer." Ishtar said, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Please tell me you are joking."
"I assure you I am not." Lucifer said, his tone becoming somewhat indignant. "Like I said, the werewolf already gets in fights all the time so as far as I am concerned just sending a simple apology should be enough."
"Yes, Vanargand is indeed known for his willingness to pick a fight." Ishtar replied in an exasperated tone. "But he is also known for winning those fights as well. This means that while Loki Familia does lose some face when the mutt acts up, his displays also show how powerful the familia is as well. I suspect the apologies Loki Familia extends towards the losers familias has more to do with keeping up appearances rather than any sense of actual remorse on their part. After all there is a rather substantial difference between apologizing for one of your members being too strong for the other familia to handle and having one of their top executives being beaten in public by a complete unknown."
Ishtar leaned forward to better look Lucifer in the eye and convey how serious this matter was.
"Now Loki familia has suffered a loss of face, something that very few familias are willing to abide, especially if they intend to hold one of the top positions in the city." Ishtar spoke in a clear and serious tone of voice. "So, you had best believe that they will not take this defeat lying down, not if they don't want to feel some of the other top familias start nipping at their heels, testing them to see if they really are as strong as they present themselves to be."
"So, they aren't likely to just take the gift basket and call the matter resolved?" Lucifer released a tired sigh and downed the contents of his glass in one go before holding out the glass towards Aisha for a refill. "Bloody damned politics. I just can't seem to escape nonsense like this."
"Nonsense like this is just part of the game we play here in the lower world, my dear Lucifer." Ishtar said in slight amusement at the other deity's annoyance. "It is part of what makes our games down here so entertaining. You can either learn how to best play the game or you will find yourself checkmated by a more dedicated player. If I were you, I would try to think of something more substantial to offer Loki Familia than a gift basket. Unless of course you do not want to try and make peace with them. If that were the case, then I would suggest finding some rather powerful friends to join with you when Loki Familia eventually comes knocking."
"Oh, I don't suppose you would be offering an alliance would you Ishtar? After all this wouldn't exactly be the first time we've hopped into bed together." Lucifer asked.
Ishtar let out a short laugh at Lucifer's words before rising to her feet and making her way around the table to take a seat next to Lucifer. She turned and gave Lucifer a sultry smile and The Devil's nose was teased with the exotic scent of her perfume.
"No, it wouldn't be." Ishtar purred out. "But I have a suggestion that might help with your current dilemma."
"Oh?" Lucifer said as he grinned and leaned in closer toward Ishtar. "Well feel free to share."
"I happened to hear that Loki Familia's last expedition into the deep floors did not go the way they planned, so they are already talking about preparing for another expedition." Ishtar whispered into Lucifer's ear. "Given how much Braver loves to add new feathers to his cap I suspect he will prioritize the expedition over dealing with your familia, at least for the moment. If you were to approach him and offer to assist in the next expedition then I think that offer might be substantial enough to resolve whatever bad blood may currently exist between your familia and Loki's, especially if you make sure it is publicly known that you are helping them."
"Hmmm, I think that sounds like an excellent idea my dear Ishtar." Lucifer said as he smiled and leaned back slightly from Ishtar. "I don't suppose you would be willing to share what goes into preparing for these expeditions? After all your familia has far more experience in these matters than mine does."
"Well one of the most important things you will need when preparing for an expedition is of course valis. Even expeditions to the middle floors require many high quality healing potions and mind potions so that the party can stay in fighting shape." Ishtar patiently explained to Lucifer. "Also, most expeditions like to have several magic swords on hand in case they find themselves in a particularly sticky situation and need some extra firepower. Lastly you could offer to contribute manpower to the expedition. Having Mazikeen fight alongside Loki Familia would likely go a long way towards improving their view on your familia."
"So, I could either offer resources or Maze." Lucifer said as he leaned back into the couch and adopted a thoughtful expression. "Well offering valis seems like the simplest solution, but I do know a few traders who I could convince to sell me some of their more high-quality items. And as for Maze, well I'll leave that decision up to her."
"I'm glad to see I was able to be of assistance." Ishtar said before leaning towards Lucifer again and placing a hand on his knee. "Now, perhaps we can move on to more…. pleasurable discourse."
Ishtar gestured towards the bed with her free hand and Lucifer placed his hand on top of the one Ishtar was resting on his knee.
"Well, it is only fair that I give something in return for all your wonderful advice." Lucifer said as he leaned forward so that his and Ishtar's faces were nose to nose. "Have I ever told you how much I enjoy these chats of ours?"
Ishtar did not speak and instead simply closed the remaining distance between their lips, deciding that they could begin where they were and make their way over to the bed later.
/
Ishtar stood alone in the meeting room and stared out over the Entertainment District. Her district she thought with pleasure for what was likely the ten thousandth time. she had not bothered to get dressed after her and Lucifer's "chat" had ended a short while ago and the odd deity had returned to his own home. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how the current spat between Lucifer Familia and Loki Familia might affect both her and her future plans, but she was fairly certain that the situation would likely be resolved before too long. From what she knew of Loki Familia and its leaders she believed they would most likely accept Lucifer's offer of aid in preparing for their next expedition and let any animosity fade before it could fester. This was good as her long laid plans would be coming to fruition in the next several months and she did not need any unexpected problems arising to muck things up.
As she considered unforeseen problems her thoughts shifted towards the single biggest unexpected event she had experienced in recent years, the arrival of Lucifer and his child Mazikeen in her district half a year earlier.
Shortly after they had arrived in Orario Lucifer had come knocking on Belit Babili's doors and had requested a meeting with Ishtar, explaining that he was hoping to set up a nightclub in her district. Ishtar had been amused at first since Lucifer was not the first deity to approach her with that kind of offer. Over the years several other deities had attempted to settle in her territory, drawn either by the wealth the district generated or the desire to partake in its debaucheries. No matter why they had come Ishtar always dealt with them the same way. She used her charm to extract the reasons they were there and make them answer any questions she wanted and then she would send them out of her district with some suitably embarrassing command and would have them humiliate themselves Infront of the cities populace as a warning against seeking to meddle with what was hers. This had been her plan when Lucifer had been brought before her but then something wholly unexpected happened.
He resisted her charm! He had looked her directly in the eyes and laughed after she attempted to control him! And then, as she and her children stood there in complete and utter shock he had done something that she had not thought possible. He had reached out with a power she had never experienced before and made her reveal her desires! It was as though she had temporarily lost control of her mouth as she blurted out her desire to dethrone Freya and become revered by all as the most beautiful of all the goddesses. As she and the others in her throne room had stood there completely flabbergasted Lucifer had simply nodded his head and asked if she would be willing to discuss a partnership of sorts in exchange for helping her with her desire. With her mind still reeling in shock all Ishtar had been able to do was nod in response and listen to Lucifer's proposal.
A short time later Lucifer had left her home with the deed to the building that would become the Salome and would begin seeking out people open to the idea of working at his club. A mere two weeks later the club had opened and had proven itself to be one of the most profitable businesses in her district. In exchange for letting him and Maze settle in her territory Lucifer gave a percentages of the clubs earnings to her as rent and endeavored to help her with her goal of becoming revered as the most beautiful of all goddesses. Lucifer's method of doing this involved spreading word about her beauty and the prosperity of her district in an effort to boost her reputation both within Orario as well as beyond the city's walls.
Ishtar's initial response to Lucifer moving into the Salome had been to keep the club under constant surveillance and had her children learn anything they could about the odd due, a search that proved utterly fruitless. She thought about declaring a wargame and having Lucifer sent back to the heavens when he lost, but the shock of having her charm resisted and being dominated in turn had left her extremely warry of Lucifer and his child so she held back and simply watched to see what he would do next. A month had passed and her familia told her of nothing suspicious going on with Lucifer or his actions, and eventually Lucifer returned to Belit Babili to offer her their first payment of rent. By that point Ishtar had managed to regain her composure and had Lucifer brought to her again.
This second meeting proved far more cordial than the first and the two had talked about the Entertainment District and ways they both thought it could be improved, the two of them chatting for several hours before Lucifer had left. After she had watched the odd deity depart her home for the second time a question had formed in her mind, that being if he was able to resist her charm then would he be able to resist other goddesses of beauty as well? This thought brought to mind a part of her plan to deal with Freya that she had been unsatisfied with for a long time, a flaw that may prove disastrous when the time to act finally came.
Ishtar had been meticulously planning how she would deal with Freya and her familia for years and while she was certain that she had come up with a way to destroy freya's followers by using Knossos and a veritable army of amazons empowered by shards of the killing stone there was still the matter of dealing with Freya herself. With her charm Freya would be able to easily deal with almost any attempt on her life with but a glance, turning any would be killer into a fanatical defender. The only people who had any kind of resistance to a goddess of beauty's charm were either a virgin goddess or another goddess of beauty. Ishtar did not have a good relationship with any of the virgin goddesses so acquiring the assistance of one to take on Freya was unlikely, and the only other goddess of beauty in the lower world was a blonde airhead who Ishtar would not trust to watch her pet let alone work with her to send Freya back to the heavens. Because of this Ishtar had thought she would likely have to deal with Freya herself, an unpleasant prospect because like Ishtar herself Freya was a goddess of war as well as beauty. This meant that if it came down to an outright fight between the two of them Ishtar was uncertain who was more likely to win, and Ishtar despised the possibility that she might get so close to victory over the snow haired bitch only to be the one who was sent back to heaven at the final moment. This was a dilemma Ishtar had struggled with since she had first sworn to dethrone Freya and it was one she had almost given up on finding an answer for… until now that is.
Ishtar felt a sneer creep onto her face as she looked down on Lucifer's club from her spot at the window. Over the past several months she had done all she could think of to befriend Lucifer, from speaking with him on how they might improve the district together to inviting him to share her bed. She had made sure he felt welcome in the Entertainment District and was treated as a respected member of the community. She had also made sure to hide some of the less savory aspects of the district from him and also made sure that no word of the slaves that were brought in to work at some of the brothels reached his ears. She had even gone to the extent of charming her familia's captain Phryne Jamil to stay away from Lucifer's child Maze since her captain had desired to fight her after she heard how strong Maze appeared to be.
Now all that remained was to find some way to incite enmity between Lucifer and Freya, so that when the time came, and Ishtar required someone to have her back when she dealt with Freya she would be able to count on Lucifer stepping in to assist her. With a willing and uncharmable comrade to help her she felt confident that the two of them would be able to send Freya back to the heavens with relative ease, removing the last obstacle from her ascension to her rightful place as the most revered and desired goddess in all Orario, as well as the world beyond.
As for what would happen to Lucifer and his familia after that Ishtar had two choices she had not yet decided between. The first was that she would allow Lucifer to remain in her district, keeping him around as a kind of regent for the Entertainment District while she worked to spread her fame and influence beyond Orario's walls. The second would see Lucifer taking the trip up to heaven himself shortly after Freya, just to remove a piece from the board she was not sure she could completely control. Oh, she would be sure to give him an absolutely divine sendoff beforehand but something she knew from experience was that gods were just as defenseless as mortal men after they had been satisfied, and just as susceptible to concealed knife.
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So I know some of you were hoping to see the fallout at Loki Familia this chapter but I felt now was a good time to provide a look into the relationship that exists between Lucifer and Ishtar and why she allows him to live in what is essentially her own section of Orario. We WILL be going over how Loki Familia reacted to Raul and Aki's failed mission but that will be happening in chapter eight as I plan to cover Lucifer's and Bell's outing to Monsterphilia next chapter.
As you can see above the reason Ishtar has allowed Lucifer to remain in her district is because she believes he may prove useful to her in the future and allowing him to run a single nightclub is a small price to pay when it means having someone who can't be charmed backing her up when she makes her move against Freya. I have yet to read the part in the light novels where Freya confronts Ishtar but I remember from the anime that she tried to flee rather than face Freya directly. This could be in part because she was caught off guard by the suddenness of Freya Familia's attack but I believe it could also be seen as a slight fear of Freya herself. After all its not like any of their familia members would be able to interfere when the two of them can charm anyone they set their sites on so I chose to look at that scene as Ishtar being uncertain she could defeat Freya by herself. So when she finds someone who is immune to charm and has a friendly disposition towards her it makes sense she would try to gain their favor so that she would have someone who could not be charmed at her side when she finally confronts Freya. The revelation on how strong Maze actually is would likely be icing on the cake as it potentially means another powerful amazon to hurl at Ottar and the other leaders of Freya Familia when the time comes to set her plan in motion. Compared to this the loss of a single building is essentially nothing, especially when you remember that Lucifer does indeed give a percentage of the profits to Ishtar as "rent".
As for what Lucifer thinks of Ishtar's desire to supplant Freya, well he does not see a particular problem with it. This is mostly due to the words Ishtar used when he asked her what she desired, the key word being her desire being to DETHRONE Freya. If Ishtar had said she wanted to KILL Freya then he would not be willing to assist in that, but he currently thinks that Ishtar is more interested in being seen as greater than Freya rather than in outright attacking her with the intent to kill. He has basically badly underestimated the lengths Ishtar is willing to go to take down Freya due to the fact that she said dethrone, which does not necessarily require violence, instead of kill which is how her plans for Freya end. This misunderstanding plus Ishtar's own efforts to get on his good side are why he has such a friendly disposition towards her.
My question for you all this time is this, do you think I should have Maze accompany Loki Familia on their next expedition to the deep floors? I am on the fence on whether to have Maze offer to accompany them as a way to make amends with them but I am not planning to send Bell to the deep floors because while he is a very strong level one by the time they leave he is still a level one. At that level Bell is basically screwed if any kind of monster from the deep levels manages to get a shot at him and he wouldn't be useful as anything other than a pack mule for such high level adventurers.
As always I hope that you have enjoyed the chapter and feel free to leave a review, have a pleasant day.