Rudra turned his gaze back to Vishnu.
[Elodie. I will keep my promise to you until then. Even if it means making an enemy of any God.]
[Rudra. How dare you say such a thing in front of me……!]
[Yes. I am Rudra.]
Crackle! Sizzle!
Wind swirled around Rudra, his clothes and hair fluttering in the wind, lightning flashing between them as they swayed.
[No God, no matter who they are, can kill me.]
[Rudra!]
[Vishnu, remember this.]
Compared to the three chief Gods, Rudra was certainly a high-ranking God, but he was definitely no match for Vishnu.
Or so it should have been.
But why.
The current Rudra was dangerous. Vishnu’s instincts told him so.
[If you are one of the three chief Gods, you should never forget my name.]
[……!]
A tone of grave warning. It was an insult to Vishnu to even speak to him like this, but Vishnu didn’t move.
The presence that Rudra was emanating right now was out of the ordinary, and Elodie was right next to him.
Above all, Elodie’s other Gods hadn’t shown themselves yet. That was because there was nothing more Elodie could do. They knew that Vishnu trying to strangle himself with Elodie’s hand was just a threat.
However, if he were to clash head-on with Rudra now, there was no guarantee that they would stand by and watch.
[……Rudra. You will regret speaking to me in such a manner.]
[Go cool your head.]
And so, Vishnu departed. Rudra let out what felt like his hundredth sigh of the day.
[I guess we can’t count on Vishnu’s help anymore, Elodie.]
“Why would I need help from that jerk? I told you, we’re through.”
Elodie said with a defiant huff. Rudra chuckled.
[Right. I should be careful not to get dumped myself.]
“Of course. And you made a promise.”
[Yes, I did.]
Rudra nodded.
And then, without giving Elodie a chance to say anything else, without even a word of goodbye, he simply vanished.
“……Seriously, I try to understand him, but I just can’t. What’s so hard about saying goodbye?”
Elodie grumbled to herself, then suddenly lifted her head
“That’s right, Frondier.”
Frondier would be headed to where Carla was right now.
To confirm if Athena’s possession was real.
And if it was true, then not only Athena, but almost all humans with divine power were at risk of possession.
“That would be the worst. It might look like a war between Gods and devils on the surface, but it’s the humans who are dying……!”
Using the cities where humans lived as battlefields, fighting devils with human bodies. From a human’s perspective, it was a completely unreasonable war.
‘Frondier went to the hospital, so I should go to the capital.’
Lily and Arald were already headed to the capital. Elodie decided it would be best to join them and assess the situation first.
She sped up her flight in a slightly different direction from where Frondier had gone.
* * *
“Aias. Look at that. That’s a pretty nice coat.”
“It is.”
Aias di Achaea absentmindedly followed his mother, Eriboea, as they strolled through the capital of Palma.
This impromptu vacation had been Eriboea’s sudden suggestion.
The whole family had come to the capital for the trip, but Eriboea had practically kept Aias glued to her side the entire time.
“Mother. Can’t I just walk around by myself?”
“Oh my, Aias. Do you not like being with your mother already? Am I boring you?”
“……Don’t whine like some lovesick girl.”
Aias sighed.
He could see right through Eriboea’s intentions.
‘She’s subtly trying to get closer to the Palma Palace.’
Eriboea had connections with many high-ranking nobles. Of course, those connections also extended to the King of Palma.
This was partly due to Eriboea’s excellent eloquence and refinement, but it was also because the Achaea family itself was already a prestigious one.
Eriboea was using this opportunity to introduce her son to the nobles residing in the capital. Of course, she hadn’t made any prior appointments. That would be too obvious.
However, the probability of her not encountering a single noble in this capital who was within her network was close to zero.
In fact, she had already met a few and subtly boasted about Aias.
“This is so embarrassing.”
“What’s so embarrassing? You have a handsome face, be confident.”
That’s not the point.
He swallowed the words that were about to leave his mouth. There was no point in arguing with Eriboea. He might not lose in a battle of logic, but he couldn’t win. That’s just how it was.
“There sure are a lot of processions today.”
Aias commented, glancing around.
He had a rough idea of the current atmosphere in the capital.
The two Goddesses, and the two women they each chose. The rivalry between their beauty had grown to a scale that could no longer be ignored.
Despite that, the capital was still peaceful.
The reason for this peace was simple.
A competition based on a woman’s beauty. No one was taking it seriously enough to cause a real stir.
Even if there were Goddesses backing them, it was still just a grand event for the citizens.
[Hello everyone~!]
And at the forefront of every passing procession, someone holding a megaphone would shout a similar message.
[April 1st! We will be holding a vote in the capital to determine the most beautiful woman! Who will put an end to this conflict and claim victory? It’s all in your hands!]
That was the gist of it.
The atmosphere in the capital was quite tense because of the vote, but also strangely excited at the same time.
‘……April 1st.’
Aias thought absentmindedly as he listened to the announcement.
‘That’s in three days.’
He was not a citizen of the capital, so he didn’t care about the vote, but if he wanted to participate, he could.
Most likely, the most people would gather in the capital’s plaza on that day.
The two most beautiful women in the capital would meet, their respective factions would clash, citizens would gather to cast their votes, and a large number of troops would be deployed to ensure safety and security.
April 1st.
In three days, this place would be overflowing with people.
“Who do you think will win, Mother?”
Aias asked casually.
“I have no idea.”
Her reply was just as casual.
“But someone has to win, right?”
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