"If you choose to accept, I'll give you endless pleasure. How about it?"
Ishtar swayed her body seductively, emanating an irresistible charm. Anyone with weak willpower would have already fallen for her beauty.
"You dare mock me, Lady Ishtar?" Adam's steady voice carried undeniable anger.
Time and time again, she displayed such vulgar behavior, showing none of the dignity expected of a deity, acting like a contemptible harlot.
Did she think her beauty granted her such confidence? Or did she believe the 『 Hero 』 would be so easily ensnared?
Gradually, Adam lost his patience. Until now, he had always shown basic courtesy to every deity he encountered.
But before him stood Ishtar, who kept trying to sell herself, shamefully offering herself as if she were mere merchandise.
She wasn't worthy of his respect!
Adam issued his final ultimatum.
"If you don't agree, we'll have no choice but to use more forceful measures!"
This was something he had discussed with Hestia before coming to the Ishtar Familia headquarters. If Ishtar refused, they would immediately challenge her to a War Game.
For their companion, they would do anything necessary. They would use overwhelming force to compel her to release Haruhime — or resort to brute force if needed.
This was the unanimous decision of the Hestia Familia.
Bell and the others were too vulnerable to Ishtar's influence, which is why Adam came to negotiate alone.
"You fool, do you know who you're talking to?!" Ishtar's fury erupted, "Just because other deities favor you, you dare speak so boldly. Don't get cocky merely because you bear the title of Hero!"
"...It seems negotiations have broken down."
This was precisely what Adam had anticipated.
Defeating Freya and dragging another Goddess of Beauty into the mud had become Ishtar's obsession.
Upon discovering his potential, she had tried to win him over. When she realized her failure, anger and embarrassment consumed her.
No woman in power maintains composure after rejection — they are willful beings. Even Goddesses are no exception.
"Then there's no choice! I, Adam Carter, on behalf of the Hestia Familia, challenge your Ishtar Familia to a War Game! For our companion's rescue, we will show no mercy!" Adam's voice thundered through the hall.
His words made the battle courtesans tremble in fear.
The famous 『 Hero 』 was once again stirring up trouble in Orario. Yet none had expected their Familia would be at the center of this storm.
In the center of the hall, Ishtar and Adam stood facing each other. He expected the Goddess of Beauty to continue her disdainful remarks.
But someone else intervened.
"Arrogant brat! Don't think you can insult Lady Ishtar just because you're good-looking!" A rough voice boomed from behind.
Adam turned to find a strange woman standing at the hall's entrance.
She was large and bulky, with facial features as broad as her frame. A predatory grin spread across her face as she gazed at him hungrily, as if wanting to devour him whole.
A toad... Though disrespectful, this was the most fitting description for her.
Phryne Jamil, Captain of the Ishtar Familia, Level 5 First-Class Adventurer
So it was her — no wonder she dared insult her own deity right in front of Ishtar.
"What's wrong, speechless at my transcendent beauty?" Phryne struck the same seductive pose as Ishtar, "It's okay, let my goddess-like beauty comfort you."
Her voice was hoarse and dripped with narcissism, her muscular arms and robust body swaying gently.
Ugh—! No! Can't take it anymore!
Unlike Ishtar's genuinely beautiful figure, Phryne truly resembled a toad. Her desperate attempts at being alluring only made her more repulsive.
She had a delusional perception of her own beauty. If Ishtar made Adam uncomfortable because of her personality, then Phryne made him physically ill with her appearance.
"Do as you please." Ishtar approved without hesitation.
She felt this toad, who never followed orders and constantly defied her wishes, needed to be taught a lesson. If it weren't for their mutual understanding — if she didn't still need her — she would have expelled her from the Familia long ago.
"What's wrong, don't be shy. See, I'm even more beautiful than Lady Ishtar, right?"
"Beautiful my foot!" Adam couldn't contain himself any longer.
In a flash, he appeared before her. Without restraint, he threw a right punch straight at her broad, dark face.
After a dull sound, Phryne's bulky body went flying, blood droplets scattering in the air. When she got up, her cheek was grotesquely swollen, with a crimson line trailing from the corner of her mouth.
"Y-you bastard, ooooh—!!!"
She was livid now, having been ambushed and humiliated before her Goddess.
Phryne, who delusionally viewed herself as equal in beauty to Goddess Ishtar, seethed with rage at this insult.
Meanwhile, Ishtar frowned as she assessed Adam's formidable strength.
Though the 『 Hero 』 was known for his magic, he had just injured her captain with pure physical strength. Even accounting for the element of surprise, it was merely meant as an insult — yet Phryne had been defeated far too easily.
As someone well-versed in the capabilities of a Level 5 First-Class Adventurer, Ishtar realized their situation was becoming precarious.
Haruhime could not be relinquished — not after all their preparation!
Yet the stubborn 『 Hero 』 had proven immune to her charms. If she provoked him further, he might completely destroy the Ishtar Familia!
Then, a brilliant idea struck her.
Her goal had always remained constant: to drag Freya into the mud. Both Haruhime and the 『 Hero 』 Adam were merely means to that end.
So why not pit the 『 Hero 』 against the Freya Familia?
It would divert Adam while still targeting Freya — a perfect solution.
But just as this scheme crystalized in her mind, a series of deafening explosions erupted near the Familia compound.
Thick black smoke and flames shot skyward!
The massive explosions startled both Ishtar and Adam.
"You! Was it you?!" Ishtar's eyes flashed with fury as she glared at Adam, convinced he was behind this.
Adam shook his head firmly. "No, it wasn't me."
Ishtar's face twisted with disbelief.
"Not you? Then who dares?!"
"I do." A voice as seductive as Ishtar's own drifted in from outside the compound.
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