Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Loki is serving as the master of ceremonies at today's assembly of the gods. This is because...

"Almost all the children in my clan have gone on 'expeditions,' and I'm so bored—can I be the emcee?"

She volunteered beforehand.

Only a deity with a certain status could control the gods who were talking all at once during the assembly of gods. Since she, the chief deity of the largest faction in the city, made such a request, the other gods did not object and obediently said, "Please, please, please."

Loki rose from her seat, and all the gods around the round table looked at her. Many were familiar faces, including Freya, the goddess of beauty with whom she had maintained a sworn enemy relationship since the beginning of the heavens, and Hephaestus, the red-haired, red-eyed goddess who had formed the "Expedition" alliance. With her right eye covered by an eyepatch, she smiled at Loki, as if to greet him.

In the midst of this, Loki glanced at the young goddess next to the God of Forging.

(The little dwarf really came... Damn it, so arrogant.)

Her petite figure oscillated between that of a young girl and a teenage girl, and her jet-black hair was tied up on both sides with bell-shaped hair ornaments. Most striking of all were her breasts, which created an overwhelming presence.

Seeing the little girl (loli) goddess flaunting her eye-catching huge breasts, Loki really wanted to spit. For the sake of her bust size, Loki had always regarded this "stinky, short, big-breasted potato ball girl" as a thorn in his side.

The other party also seemed unhappy with Loki being the emcee, giving her a fierce glare.

Although the two of them would always yell at each other whenever they met—

(Hey, forget about that shorty for now, I have important business to attend to.)

Loki pretended not to see it.

The other person seemed to find it strange that Loki only glanced at her without saying anything, but Loki ignored her and continued with his duties as the emcee.

"Okay, let's start with a quick question and answer. First, let's exchange information. Anyone want to share some interesting topics?"

"Yes, yes, yes—! I heard that Soma received a warning from the guild, and his only hobby was confiscated!"

"What----------------------------!?"

Starting with a remark from Loki, the hall quickly became noisy and chaotic.

One of the purposes of the Gods' Assembly is to exchange information. Although most of the topics are trivial, meaningless, and worthless, any news about dungeons or cities will be used as topics for verification and sharing.

One significance of the assembly of gods, where the main gods of the major factions of Orario gather, is to convey a highly anticipated message.

The gods are unrestrained.

They raised their hands freely, offering a cacophony of opinions that exacerbated the chaos in the parliament. Amidst laughter, the topics of discussion at the round table shifted rapidly.

The children in the lower realm mistakenly believe that the assembly of gods is a "council of gods held in a solemn atmosphere." If they saw this chaotic scene, they would surely realize, "Ah, it's just like the usual gods."

"Okay, everyone, please calm down!"

The seemingly chaotic and uncontrollable debate immediately quieted down at the emcee's (Loki's) shout.

"Very good. Let me summarize. The thing we can't ignore right now is the kingdom's situation. I'll report to the guild. But that old fox Uranus probably already has some information, right? He might summon all the Familias currently present. Is everyone okay?"

"learn. 』

She exercised her authority as the meeting moderator and briefly reviewed the information discussed in the discussion.

After hearing Loki's report, the other gods nodded obediently.

"Oh, right. I also have something I'd like to mention, is that alright?"

Finally, after all the topics about the gods had been discussed, they gradually fell silent, and the enthusiasm of the conversation subsided slightly.

A smile appeared on Loki's face as he slowly began to speak.

As she glanced around at the gods at the round table, she subtly exchanged a wink with the two male deities.

Separated from each other, the blond god Dionysus and the handsome god Hermes sat in two separate places, one with his eyes closed and the other with a smile in response.

"Recently, a new type of monster that looks disgusting has appeared in places such as festival floors and security floors."

A jolt.

Some of the gods reacted.

The goddess with the beautiful silver hair glanced at Loki, while the ignorant little sister goddess tilted her head.

Perhaps knowing full well that their kin had become victims, the usually composed faces of the various gods, including those from the exploration (dungeon) faction and the many adventurers in the inn town (Rivera), stiffened.

"Those monsters are brightly colored, like they've been splashed with watercolors. Their strength is equivalent to a second-level adventurer... and they seem to appear and disappear unpredictably, able to move freely between dungeons and cities."

Loki was spying on the gods.

No, it's "shaking" the gods.

Loki volunteered to be the master of ceremonies in order to control this assembly of gods, observe the reactions of the attendees, and thereby obtain clues about the series of events triggered by the monster festival, the 18th floor, and the 24th floor food warehouse.

Man-eating plants, "treasure fetuses," creatures, and then the remnants of the Evils.

The commotion that began with Ais and her companions' first encounter with the colorful monsters during their previous "expedition" has gradually escalated into a serious problem that could potentially overturn the labyrinthine city. Faced with this situation, Loki joins forces with Dionysus and Hermes, with whom he had formed an alliance a few days prior during a secret meeting at a high-class tavern, to try and provoke a reaction from the gods.

In other words, it's about making the suspect give himself away.

To me, all the gods in the city are suspects, enemies of children.

These are the words of Dionysus, whose family was killed.

Loki didn't deny that many of the gods were cunning and treacherous. At that moment, as she surveyed the area around the round table, every single god she saw seemed suspicious, without exception.

The entity that is gradually coming to the fore, calling itself "Urban Destroyer (Ernio)," is very likely the mastermind behind it all.

The underground forces lurking in the dungeons, and the surface forces composed of remnants of dark factions. The latter, in particular, must have a god who bestows "blessings (power)" upon the remnants—an "evil god."

Loki and his companions used this assembly of the gods in order to find out who the leaders or accomplices were.

Take advantage of this feast where powerful urban factions of gods gather.

"I've also heard that some of those mischievous bastards from before are still around, sneaking around... so everyone be careful—"

Loki narrowed his crimson eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips, hinting at the existence of the dark faction.

Dionysus and Hermes strained their eyes, scanning every corner of the round table to see if anyone would do anything suspicious after hearing her words.

Some gods who had just arrived in the mortal realm or had only been in the city (Orario) for two or three years wore strange expressions. The goddesses around them said "Ouch!" and covered their mouths with their hands in a pretentious manner, while the gods said "How scary!" but their faces were all smiles.

All the gods were drawn in, scheming against each other.

"Can I ask you something too?!"

At this time.

A strong, brown arm was raised.

As he rose from the round table, the god Ganesha, wearing an elephant mask, appeared.

"First, allow me to declare—I am Ganesha!!"

"Yes, yes, okay, sit down."

"I'm sorry, my gut reaction was wrong! — First of all, please allow me to apologize to everyone for the trouble caused by the monster festival a few days ago! However, I swear in the name of [Group Leader (Ganesha)], the man-eating flower monster in the report was not captured by my [Familia]! Please believe me!!"

In response to Loki's hasty reply, Ganesha quickly corrected his statement, fidgeting in his chair and saying repeatedly.

The Ganesha Familia, acting in cooperation with the guild, single-handedly organized the Monster Festival. As the chief god, he sincerely apologized at the All-Gods' Assembly for the trouble caused to the other gods and their retinues who were helping to quell the disturbance during the previous festival, inadvertently allowing a monster to escape.

Loki glanced over—and saw the silver-haired goddess, who was half responsible for the commotion, calmly sipping the red tea served by her servant, God Number One.

Ganesha asserted that the other half of the reason, the man-eating flower monster, had nothing to do with him.

"One more thing, during the incident where the same monster wreaked havoc on the 18th floor, my guild members were killed! I don't know if this is related to the Monster Festival, but I want to avenge my children. If anyone knows anything, please help!!"

Ganesha slammed his fist on the round table and made a request to the gods.

The incident on the 18th floor is the case of Hassanna Dorria, a second-level adventurer and member of the Ganesha Familia, who was murdered by a red-haired woman named Revis after accepting a confidential commission to retrieve the "Precious Jewel Fetus".

As if mourning the death of his family, two tears slid down his cheeks from the elephant mask.

The tears shed by the usually eccentric god caused all the surrounding gods to remain silent for that one moment.

"Waaah, Hassanal, why, why did you—die in your stomach?! To be seduced by a hot beauty to the point of stroke, I'm so envious... no, I mean, it shouldn't have happened!! If only I could take your place!!"

"Hey, Hassanna didn't die from an abdominal injury."

"what?"

Ganesha, who was filled with envy and tears streaming down his face, was ridiculed by Loki.

I don't know how it got distorted into this, but in the heart of the supreme god, it seems that his child was sexually assaulted by a busty beauty until he ascended to heaven.

Loki's icy gaze struck the elephant-masked, foolish-looking god, but Ganesha, as always, ruined the somewhat serious atmosphere.

"Sigh, really..."

It's all because of this idiot that the atmosphere has become so strange. Loki sighed.

Seeing Dionysus and Hermes smiling wryly, Loki decided to stop probing and return to the purpose of the Council of Gods: to discuss the issues.

"Have you said everything you needed to say? Is that enough?"

Next, Loki fulfilled his duties as the master of ceremonies for the meeting.

She calmly chaired the meeting, confirming that almost all the topics had been covered.

Looking around at the silent gods at the round table, she thought... then let's proceed as planned.

Loki smirked like a clown.

"Now let's move on to the next segment. The naming ceremony will begin."

In an instant, a sense of tension enveloped the hall.

Starting with Loki's speech, the expressions of several gods who had been silent and not participating in the discussion changed drastically, including the little goddess who had been keeping quiet.

Another group of gods, however, laughed evilly.

Some of the gods who were regulars at the assembly of gods put on the most lewd smiles of the day.

The comedy (banquet) has begun.

"Everyone has received the information, right? Let's begin! So, let's start with the adventurer from Set's side, named Seti."

"Please, please, have mercy...!"

"Nose is important."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

This is the "Naming Ceremony" that bestows titles upon adventurers.

The official titles of upgraded high-level adventurers, such as [Sword Maiden] and [Great Severer (Amazon)], were all determined by the "Naming Ceremony" of this Conference of the Gods.

The gods praise the great deeds of the people on earth and bestow upon them nicknames. Only the chosen ones receive this symbol of strength and fame, proof of being appreciated by the transcendent being (Deus·Dea).

The noble (high-ranking) titles of gods, which are beyond the reach of humans, are objects of respect and envy for the inhabitants of the lower realm.

"Alright, adventurer Erika Rosalia, titled [Biollante]."

"No! Aa ...

However, only children who are out of touch with the times would think this way; the gods, on the other hand, are doing everything in their power to prevent tragedy from happening.

The nicknames given in the "naming ceremony" are mostly "painful names" that even the gods themselves find unbearable to hear. The children they raised are forced to accept these ridiculous... or rather, stigmas that make one almost faint; there is no crueler torture than this.

A few wicked gods, wanting to laugh at the sight of proud children receiving titles and the gods struggling in agony, forced these horrific titles upon the children.

Whenever Loki, the master of ceremonies, listens to the opinions of the gods, discards the worthless and selects the essential, and announces the final decision by majority vote—to put it bluntly, a death sentence—both male and female gods will scream in agony.

(The naming ceremony has already begun; the assembly of gods will probably end happily like this.)

As usual, Loki thought to himself as the weaker, lower-ranking gods of the various factions were targeted and bullied as the newcomers were subjected to their usual bullying.

Honestly, since she was going to do it, she really wanted to probe a little further and observe the reactions around her, but she couldn't hope for too much.

While Loki was thinking, he continued to fulfill his duties as emcee.

"Have you decided on a nickname for Wa no Mikoto's sister yet? If not, then it's over—?"

"It's not over yet! My title candidate is going all out! [Angelic Code]!!"

"【Far Eastern Divine Wind (Yamato Jeanne d'Arc)】!"

"【Saint Tail】!"

"You bastard, you only want [Lave]!!"

"Stop! Please stop! Aa ...

The atmosphere at the round table meeting reached its peak, and the chief god, whose child was being held hostage, continued to scream in agony. Loki glanced sideways at the god, whose hair was tied into round buns beside his ears, who was burying his face in his hands and weeping, before turning his gaze away.

Noticing her gaze, the god Dionysus shrugged at her.