The Epic Story of the Heroic Spirit of Emiya Giant Warrior

Clearer than Ryuu's sky-blue eyes, they attracted the viewer like the starry sky.

The title of "Goddess" existed for her.

She possessed a purity, whiteness, and beauty that no amount of praise could overstate.

Goddess, Astrea.

Astrea maintained a gentle smile.

"Hello, Goddess Astrea."

Astrea embraced him.

The soft and warm embrace left Shirou at a loss.

Astrea said softly, "Thank you for everything you've done for Ryuu, Shirou."

From the perspective of a transcendent being, Astrea saw Shirou's most fundamental quality—steadfastness.

His will and spirit were like an unyielding holy sword, unshaken by any words or divine pronouncements. This absolute resilience, this unwavering spirit, was precisely what Ryuu needed most.

"I returned to Orario not only for Ryuu but also to meet you."

"…Thank you, Lady Astrea."

Shirou gently embraced Astrea.

The Goddess of the Forge coughed lightly, separating Shirou and Astrea, and then handed Aisha's note to Astrea.

"That such a thing would happen…"

"'Lesser Noble' Aisha should be sincere. Just in case, I can go and meet her."

Astrea said, "Hestia, your appearance would be a bit too obvious. I, on the other hand, wouldn't attract attention."

Astrea: "And if 'Lesser Noble's' information can be confirmed, I can think of three ways to deal with the Ishtar Familia."

Goddess Astrea explained her three strategies.

"But both the Ishtar Familia and our Hephaestus Familia are extremely large factions and control important industries in the city. Once a war starts, the impact will be huge and uncontrollable."

As a goddess, Hephaestus had to consider the well-being of her many followers.

"Yes, that's true."

After listening to Hephaestus's concerns, Astrea nodded and continued:

Astrea made a decapitating gesture.

"Watch the Freya Familia destroy the Ishtar Familia, and it will all be over."

The animosity between the 'Goddess of Beauty' Freya and the 'Goddess of Beauty' Ishtar was well known throughout the city. The Ishtar Familia's preparation of the 'Killing Stone' must also have been aimed at the Freya Familia. As long as the Freya Familia knew about Haruhime, Goddess Freya would naturally deal with Ishtar with the most ruthless methods.

The strength of the Freya Familia was slightly stronger than the Loki Familia and the Ganesha Familia, but the difference was not insurmountable. The three major factions in the city maintained a delicate balance.

Now, the Ishtar Familia was an important pillar of this city, objectively playing the role of maintaining order.

At least now, this Orario, which had just regained some peace, still needed the Ishtar Familia to manage the Pleasure Quarter, which was already the dark side of the city.

Before the rise of the Ishtar Familia, merchant guilds and gangs controlled this red-light district. The women there lived extremely miserable lives, with human trafficking and forced prostitution being rampant and a hundred times worse than the current situation.

But now, at least within the Ishtar Familia's sphere of influence, anyone who dared to be so rampant would be visited by Lv.3 combat prostitutes wielding swords.

Astrea and Hephaestus were goddesses of justice, but they were not pedantic. They understood that in Orario, where adventurers gathered, the demand for the Pleasure Quarter would always exist.

The current Ishtar Familia did not have a righteous First-Class Adventurer to inherit the faction's influence. Their only Lv.5 was a guy with major moral and intellectual flaws. If the Ishtar Familia were to be destroyed now, the Pleasure Quarter would likely return to a more cruel and chaotic state.

The goddess used the phrase "our camp."

And Ryuu alone was ninety-nine percent of the Astrea Familia's fighting power—after leaving the labyrinth city of Orario, the Astrea Familia also recruited some new members, but those girls were only Lv.1 children, and none of them were Upper-Level Adventurers who had undergone level ascension.

The Goddess of the Forge's words were also hinting to Astrea that she hoped Goddess Astrea would consider staying in Orario.

Although Ryuu had not yet updated her ability values, Hephaestus had already assumed that 'Gale' was a Lv.5 First-Class Adventurer the moment she saw Astrea.

Regarding Hephaestus's hint, Astrea remained noncommittal and continued to talk about the Ishtar Familia: "If you want Sanjouno Haruhime to join the Hephaestus Familia, then the Hephaestus Familia cannot easily take the stage."

"Sanjouno Haruhime… Perhaps we can put some effort into this child's background."

Astrea thought of her Familia's former vice-captain—Gojouno Kaguya.

Gojouno Kaguya's hometown was a country in the Far East, a country made up of several islands.

Among them, the nine oldest families, as high-ranking nobles, controlled the national government and shouldered the important task of steering the country.

The 'Gojouno' family to which Gojouno Kaguya belonged was one of the 'Nine Families'.

Among the many matters, 'Gojouno' was responsible for 'Fire Extinguishing'.

As a mediator, its duty was to quickly eliminate any harmful smoke generated by friction inside and outside the 'Imperial Court' that was detrimental to stability.

Sanjouno Haruhime's surname was similar to Gojouno Kaguya's. Astrea remembered that the surnames of the 'Nine Families' in the Far East were all related to numbers, and 'Sanjouno' was also one of them.

Astrea analyzed.

Hephaestus: "Could it be human trafficking? If that's the case, then there's something to be said."

And some things, if they don't go on the scale, they don't weigh two ounces, but once they're on the scale, a thousand pounds can't stop them.

"I remember that at the last God Assembly, there was a 'Takemikazuchi', who had just come to Orario from a country in the Far East. His captain is Lv.2, so he is qualified to participate in the God Assembly."

"Takemikazuchi Familia? We can ask him for information about Sanjouno Haruhime."

Takemikazuchi, Shirou remembered this name.

"And the key to everything is still you, Shirou."

Shirou asked seriously, "Yes, what do you need me to do?"

Astrea: "Go to the Pleasure Quarter for a night, tonight."

Shirou: "Okay… what?"

"Achoo!"

After Shirou left, Goddess Hephaestus asked softly.

"The important thing is not whether she believes it, but whether she is 'willing' to believe it."

"I will give Ishtar two choices: either believe that Shirou is acting in a 'personal capacity', and Ryuu 'happened' to defeat 'Man Killer' at the same time."

She looked out the window: "And that towering tower."

"Hey, useless elf, I'm giving you half a day off today, you can make it up next weekend."

The boss took the initiative to give me a vacation? Has the sun risen from the west?

"It's not fair, Mama Mia, the cat wants a vacation too, meow!"

The pure white outer garment, despite its defilement, traced the unique curves of a woman, yet still enveloped her soft limbs. Everything about her, including her demeanor, evoked the image of a chaste and noble woman, only the deep valley formed by her twin peaks was somewhat distracting.

Ryu's patron deity, the transcendent being who governs "Stars" and "Justice."

Suddenly meeting such a legendary deity, Shirou was at a loss for words.

"I see a brilliant starlight within you."

The light emanating from the boy was not a flawless purity. Within its brilliant radiance were suppressed, heavy, and even twisted shadows. But Astrea felt that Ryu would be better suited to follow such a light.

Changing Ryu's stubborn nature would not be easy; she needed a guide, and in Astrea's eyes, Shirou was the best candidate.

Astrea said, "Now, I feel I can entrust Ryu to you with peace of mind."

Hephaestus coughed. "Ahem, that's enough, Astrea. Take a look at this."

Astrea picked up the note and began to read, her delicate eyebrows quickly furrowing.

Hephaestus shared her concerns with Astrea, and the goddess of justice tilted her head slightly, pondering for a moment.

Gods could easily see through the lies of the Lower World's creatures, and Astrea, who had concealed her identity to enter Orario, could act in secret.

82

Chapter 82: Astrea's Plan.

"One method is to directly wage war against the Ishtar Familia, initiate a Familia War, and snatch Sanjo no Haruhime from their grasp before the next full moon."

Hephaestus thought for a moment and spoke.

The Ishtar Familia was not the Soma Familia. Putting aside the outcome of the war, even if they were to achieve a complete victory, the very act of "destroying the Ishtar Familia" was too significant. The subsequent impact and chain reactions might be more than the Hephaestus Familia could bear.

"Another strategy is to make Sanjo no Haruhime's information public, or directly hand her over to one of the Freya Familia, Loki Familia, or Ganesha Familia, preferably the Freya Familia, and then—"

"However, in that case, the ending might not be good for that child named Haruhime. Moreover, the balance of the city would be greatly affected as a result."

Astrea continued, "Furthermore, once the Ishtar Familia is destroyed, the situation in Pleasure Quarter, which has finally improved, will likely take a turn for the worse."

Any one of the three major Familias obtaining Haruhime could disrupt the balance of power at the very top of the city, leading to unforeseen consequences.

Moreover, although some of the Ishtar Familia's practices and the character of its members were questionable, they had stood on the side of justice in the dark ages of the past.

Perhaps the goddess Ishtar and her Familia did not have the subjective intention to do good, but they did reshape Orario's "Pleasure Quarter." As the guardian deity of prostitutes, Ishtar protected those women who constituted the red-light district but were in a vulnerable position.

Girls who yearned for the city came to Orario and were immediately targeted by merchants or gang members. They were then tricked or forced into signing contracts filled with traps, and their purity and bodies were completely ruined. In the end, they would even owe the merchants a huge sum of money. Previously, such situations were common.

And although the goddess Ishtar had a wicked side, she was indeed the only deity who had both the ability and the willingness to protect these women—because this goddess and her Familia sincerely regarded "prostitution" as a sacred, noble, and great profession.

"Indeed… Besides, I also have selfish reasons. If possible, I hope that child named Haruhime can join the Hephaestus Familia and become part of our camp."

Hephaestus was frank about this.

She said this because Ryu was not a member of the Hephaestus Familia, but because of her relationship with Shirou, she undoubtedly belonged to their camp.

Therefore, the Astrea Familia could also be directly counted as part of their camp, which was another reason why Hephaestus trusted Astrea, in addition to believing in her divine nature.

Currently, the Astrea Familia only had one member in Orario, Ryu, who was Level 5 and still under the protection of the Hostess of Fertility tavern, so they had nothing to fear.

With the Level 5 "Gale," plus the support of the Hephaestus Familia, the Astrea Familia should soon be able to gain a firm foothold.

"Shirou can act using his personal identity, but there needs to be a reasonable excuse."

Astrea looked at Shirou.

"Besides, Ryu can also participate using her personal identity…"

Astrea pondered, "The basic idea of this strategy is to suppress the nature of the incident and resolve it at the 'individual level' rather than escalating it to the 'Familia level.'"

Kaguya was a "princess" from the Far East, so Astrea knew something about that distant country.

The ruling structure of the Far East was a national-level Familia. The Familia's main deities included Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, and many other gods, making it a massive composite faction.

The various families had a clear division of labor in governing. For example, the administration of the capital, the rituals related to the great gods, and the dispatch of troops to conquer local clans and spirits that had not yet been pacified.

Wandering between major organizations, they have been renowned since ancient times for their peaceful and efficient mediation, enjoying the reputation of "Without the Five Articles, there is no way to avoid the calamity of fire."

"There must be some hidden reason why a child from a noble family like Sanjo would enter the Ishtar Familia, which operates brothels and the Pleasure Quarter."

The sale of people was strictly prohibited by the laws of the Labyrinth City. Now, thanks to the efforts of the major Familias, the situation was much better than in the dark ages, but the trade in the shadows was difficult to truly eliminate, and the Pleasure Quarter was definitely a disaster area.

Hephaestus recalled the strong god who shed tears at the Gods' Banquet because his captain was given the shameful title "Martial God Man."

Astrea said, "Perhaps they can obtain very crucial information, and even their Familia might have a miraculous effect…"

Astrea looked at the boy. "You need to do something very important. Considering that the next full moon is in seven days, you need to start acting tonight… It may require some sacrifice from you."

Ryu, far away in the tavern, sneezed violently.

"You said to let Shirou act in his 'personal capacity.' Will Ishtar believe that?"

The goddess Astrea spoke calmly.

The goddess Astrea raised her hand, as if her fingertips were moving a scale.

"Or, face the hammer of the Hephaestus Familia and the sword of the Astrea Familia."

83

Chapter 83: Lyu Lion, Lv.5.

Mia suddenly walked to Ryu's side and said this.

The dwarf proprietress's tall figure gave Ryu a great sense of oppression, and what Mia said was even more incomprehensible to Ryu.

"Cats are meow, too few holidays meow!"