Chapter 78

Chapter 79: Best Buddies, Betray Each Other (Third Update)

“Lo… Loki-sama… Riviria-sama…”

Perhaps due to the guilt of his recent misdeeds, Raul felt a pang of anxiety upon seeing these two figures.

“Hey, Raul, we’re asking you something! Where’s Izay?”

Noticing his guilty demeanor, Loki slightly furrowed her brows, sensing something amiss, especially since Izay wasn’t around.

Similarly, Riviria turned her gaze toward him.

“Well, this is because…”

Raul nervously averted his eyes, instinctively preparing to spill the truth.

But then he recalled how Izay had betrayed him without hesitation.

As the saying goes, enduring temporarily brings peace, but retreating makes you angrier.

Raul couldn’t escape this ironclad rule.

And someone else said: Aren’t best friends meant for betrayal? Why hesitate?

In that moment, Raul’s thoughts became crystal clear.

“Loki-sama, Izay was detained by an unfamiliar Goddess. I was just about to report it to you!”

This was a lie.

Yet not entirely a lie.

After witnessing Izay’s antics earlier, Raul mimicked his approach and added some embellishments to his words.

Raul had returned only out of guilt, intending to confess rather than report on Izay.

To avoid dying too painfully later…

“Huh? You mean Izay ran off with another Goddess???”

Upon hearing Raul’s words, Loki raised her voice in disbelief.

“Y-yes, that’s exactly what happened…”

Raul omitted their initial intentions and briefly recounted the situation.

He knew the truth would eventually come out, and he wouldn’t escape punishment.

But still!

Just like Izay had thought, it was just a scolding at worst, nothing more serious.

After all… hadn’t things not gone through yet?

But choosing to betray Izay now made all the difference.

It was satisfying!

Come on, let’s hurt each other, best buddies!

Who’s afraid of whom? Who betrays who?

What?!?!

I, Raul, may die, but you, Izay, won’t get away unscathed either!

After a while, when Raul finished speaking, Loki gave him a suspicious look.

The intuition of a deity.

Loki felt that Raul was hiding something from her in this matter.

Even among deities, facing Artemis versus facing Loki was different.

Artemis, for various reasons, believed Izay completely when he explained himself confidently.

Loki, however, wasn’t so easily fooled.

“What do you think about this, Riviria?”

“Half true, half hidden.”

The elven royalty calmly retracted her gaze and responded.

“Is that so? Just what I thought…”

Raul told the truth, but also concealed something from them.

“Alright, let’s set this aside for now. We need to check who dared to be so audacious as to poach right under my nose, Loki’s nose! Let’s go, Riviria!!”

Deciding to give Raul a temporary reprieve, Loki marched off with an unforgiving gait, quickly leaving the Familia’s base with Riviria.

“By the way, blue-haired Goddesses are pretty rare… What do you think, Riviria?” (PS: In his panic, Raul didn’t remember the name.)

Stepping out of Twilight Manor, treating Riviria like Di Renjie, Loki asked for her opinion again.

“Have you guessed her identity?”

“Eh, nope…”

“So how do you plan to find her?”

“Hmm, well… leave it to fate?”

Scratching her head, Loki chuckled awkwardly in response.

Riviria twitched an eye.

“If we can’t find her, we’ll just buy some booze and head back. Izay will return on his own.”

Having spent so many days with Izay, Riviria had some confidence in him.

Izay wasn’t the type to be swayed into betraying his Familia.

“Alright… let’s buy alcohol on West Street first!”

A certain unreliable High Deity proceeded onward…

“Phew…”

That’s it, it’s over.

Watching the two depart, Raul burst into tears.

Sure, causing trouble for Izay was great, but the cost was too high… There’s no way to hide that he incited Izay to visit the Pleasure Street now… waaaah…

But if given another chance, Raul would still choose this path.

Because the relationship between that blue-haired Goddess and Izay seemed far from ordinary—there was definitely something fishy going on!

As a best friend, if Raul didn’t retaliate, could he even call himself a best friend?

Izay, I hope you’re okay…

…

The scene shifts to The Bountiful Mistress tavern.

The inn was bustling with business as usual, every seat occupied by patrons.

At a table near the window, a group of girls had gathered.

Among them, Izay stood out like a single green leaf amidst a sea of flowers.

Many envious glances were cast his way.

Amidst the lively chatter within the inn, a buzz of mixed reactions began to rise.

“The blonde human with those features… there’s no mistake, that’s Alford.”

“That little brat?”

“He broke the fastest world ‘upgrade’ record, surpassing that Swordswoman by eleven months, and he’s part of Loki Familia.”

“I heard he truly defeated a ‘Enhanced Species’ alone on the fifteenth floor.”

“Just one ‘Enhanced Species,’ what’s the fuss about?”

“Can you do it?”

“Hehe, no.”

Many people were talking about Izay’s achievements, but more attention was drawn to the fact that he was surrounded by a group of girls.

There’s even a Goddess among them! And she’s sitting so close!!!

“Wow, you’ve become quite the celebrity, Izay.”

Sitting at the same table, Letsha smiled warmly at Izay after being absent for a while.

“Not really, it’s just a fleeting hype that will fade soon.”

Izay smiled faintly, honestly, he didn’t care much about what strangers thought of him.

There might be genuine admirers among them, but most were just sour grapes types.

Not worth mentioning.

“Mr. Izay… isn’t he part of Loki Familia? How did he end up with Goddess Artemis? They seem awfully close, don’t they, Ryu?”

Still dressed in her tavern uniform, Hiel took a break from work to tease Ryu, who seemed somewhat distracted beside her.

“Whatever relationship Mr. Izay has with other Goddesses is none of my concern. Please stop bringing it up, Hiel.”

Ryu uncomfortably shifted her gaze away.

She felt that Hiel was deliberately teasing her, and she couldn’t fall for it.

“Eh… But Ryu, your eyes haven’t left him once, have they?”

“I’ll ignore you if you keep this up, Hiel!”

“…”

Even saying such childish words, Ryu, are you telling me you don’t care?