At the same time—
News of the Astraea Familia’s newest member was spreading across Orario far faster than Lelouch expected.
Guild employees told stories about the young man who had made Royman sign a new agreement within a single afternoon.
Adventurers who had seen him walking beside Alice claimed Astraea had accepted the son of some foreign noble house.
Some merchants said he had crushed the Guild with numbers.
Others claimed he had threatened to make every Familia in the city rise up against it.
The most exaggerated version insisted that he had seduced every female employee in Guild headquarters with his handsome face—
Then ordered the Guild chief himself to kneel and sign the contract.
Before long—
Every version reached Twilight Manor.
Inside one of the Loki Familia’s reception rooms, Loki lay sprawled across a sofa while complaining that nothing entertaining had happened lately.
Finn sat at the table reading a Guild report.
Riveria reviewed mission documents.
Gareth quietly maintained his axe.
Then one of their members hurried through the door.
“Lady Loki!
News from the Astraea Familia!”
Loki barely raised one eyelid.
“If it’s another story about Astraea’s cute little girls helping someone for free, just leave it there.”
“They’ve just secured an annual subsidy agreement with the Guild.”
Finn immediately looked up.
“How much?”
“Twenty-four million Valis, plus partial mission reimbursement.”
Gareth stopped working.
Riveria took the report from the messenger.
“The Guild agreed to reallocate funds at a time like this?”
Her eyes moved across the page.
“Who negotiated it?”
“Their new member.
His name is Lelouch.”
Finn rubbed the thumb that had suddenly begun to itch.
“I’ve never heard that name.”
“What Level?”
“Level One.”
The messenger hesitated.
“He only received Falna last night.”
The room went silent.
Gareth lowered his axe.
“A Level One made Royman approve twenty-four million on his first day?”
“According to the report.”
Finn took the document.
Interest appeared in his eyes as he read.
“The terms are exceptionally tight.”
His finger moved down the page.
“Mission documentation.
Expense audits.
Six-month review.
He even required the Guild to issue a transparent public statement.”
A faint smile appeared.
“Whoever designed this proposal understands Orario’s political structure far better than a newcomer should.”
“Wait.”
Loki slowly pushed herself upright.
“You said Astraea has a new member?”
“Yes.”
“What was the name?”
“Lelouch.”
“What race is the girl?”
The messenger paused.
“He’s not a girl.”
Loki’s narrow eyes slowly opened.
“What?”
“He’s a man.” This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
A terrible silence descended.
Then—
Loki leapt to her feet on top of the sofa.
“WHAAAAAAAAAT?!”
Her scream shook Twilight Manor.
“ASTRAEA LET A MAN INTO HER FAMILIA?!”
“Apparently he’s their first male member,” Riveria replied without looking up from the report.
“Impossible!
That innocent-faced goddess betrayed me!”
Riveria lowered the document.
“Astraea never made any agreement with you that she would refuse male members.”
“That agreement exists in my heart!”
“Then it applies only to you.”
Loki ignored her.
“Who the hell is this bastard?!
How dare he infiltrate himself among all the beautiful girls of the Astraea Familia!”
She began counting dramatically on her fingers.
“My Alice!
My Ryu!
My Kaguya!
My adorable little Lyra—”
“None of them belong to you,” Riveria said.
“He’s clearly planning to steal my harem!”
Gareth stroked his beard.
“If they were never your harem in the first place, can it really be called stealing?”
“Gareth!
You’re talking far too much today!”
Finn ignored the shouting and kept reading.
“Do we have any other information about this young man?”
“There are rumors that he’s from some foreign noble family.
Physically he appears rather weak, but his face…”
The messenger looked nervously toward Loki.
“What about his face?” the goddess asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
“He’s apparently extremely handsome.”
The man swallowed.
“Several people described him as looking like a prince.
Some female Guild employees were reportedly staring.”
Invisible flames of jealousy seemed to rise around Loki.
“Handsome too…”
“He also lives at the Astraea Familia manor, although they’ve placed him in a separate guest building.”
“UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS THEM?!”
“Separate building,” Riveria corrected.
“Inside the same fence still counts!”
Loki jumped down from the sofa and grabbed her coat.
“This cannot stand.
I’m going to see that bastard’s face right now!”
Riveria moved in front of the door.
“It is dinner time.”
“Exactly!
I have to get there before he uses his face to deceive those girls while they’re emotionally vulnerable from the happiness of eating!”
Riveria stared at her.
“I fail to see any connection between those things.”
“You don’t have to understand!
Just move!”
Finn folded the report and stood.
“I’d like to meet him as well.”
Loki snapped around.
“Finn!
Are you going to help him steal my harem too?!”
“I want to evaluate someone capable of constructing this agreement in a single day.”
Finn’s tone remained calm.
“If he can understand Orario’s power structure this quickly…”
His smile sharpened slightly. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“He may become a useful ally.”
“Or a danger we would be better off understanding early.”
Riveria sighed.
She knew allowing Loki to go alone would inevitably create trouble.
And now that Finn had decided to accompany her, stopping the visit was pointless.
“Where are they?” she asked the messenger.
“The Hostess of Fertility.
Apparently the entire Familia is celebrating there.”
Loki threw open the door.
“Perfect!
I’ll expose his sinister scheme in front of everyone!”
“Don’t cause trouble in Mia’s tavern,” Gareth warned.
“She’ll throw you out.”
“I’m a goddess!”
“Mia has thrown gods out before.”
Loki hesitated for half a step.
Then possessiveness toward her entirely imaginary harem overpowered her survival instincts.
“Even if she throws me out, I’m seeing his face tonight!”
She sprinted out of Twilight Manor.
Riveria followed with an exhausted expression.
Finn came after them wearing a smile filled with interest.
Gareth eventually decided to accompany them as well—
If only so someone would be available to carry Loki home should Mia actually deal with her.
Back at the Hostess of Fertility—
Lelouch, completely unaware that trouble was currently sprinting across the city toward him, abruptly set down his dessert spoon.
Alice looked over.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lelouch turned toward the entrance.
No wind had passed through the tavern.
And yet—
The back of his neck had inexplicably gone cold.
The sensation differed from standing before an enemy with a sword.
It was not killing intent.
Rather—
It was the unmistakable premonition that an enormous nuisance was heading directly toward him.
“I merely have the feeling that…”
A distant shout echoed from the far end of the street.
“WHERE’S THE PRETTY-BOY BASTARD TRYING TO STEAL ALL MY GIRLS?!”
Every customer inside the tavern stopped talking.
A second voice followed from farther behind.
“THEY ARE NOT YOUR GIRLS, LOKI!”
Lelouch slowly closed his eyes.
“It appears the next problem has arrived.”
Alice—
Grinned.
Her eyes sparkled as though she had just been promised front-row seats to a performance.
Astraea raised her cup to hide a smile.
Behind the counter, Syr’s hands stopped moving.
For the briefest moment—
Her gray eyes turned toward the entrance with unmistakable displeasure.
The celebration was not over yet.
And Lelouch’s next negotiation—
Apparently would not involve a single useful document.
….
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….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it