A double agent who joined halfway through was somehow about to become the boss of the Hero Faction?
Although, judging from the current situation, that was still who knew how far off in the future. But if even Jeanne was thinking that way, then those Hero Faction members from earlier were probably thinking the same thing too.
So should he do some humble refusal next?
You have brought such suffering upon Us.
Still, if things had turned out like this, then all Rod could say was that no matter the world, anyone named Cao Cao seemed very prone to being betrayed by his subordinates.
But in the end, Cao Cao had brought it upon himself.
At the beginning, he had relied on his eloquence to recruit many people. But as time passed, it was only a matter of time before others realized that the Hero Faction was nothing more than a stepping stone for him to achieve his own goals.
And Cao Cao's goal was to challenge the limits of humanity.
For that purpose, he founded the Hero Faction, recruited all kinds of people, and challenged the various mythological factions, attempting to ignite a new round of war.
As for his claim that they would demonstrate the value of heroes through war, at least for now, that was nothing more than a line he used to deceive others.
But honestly, if that were all, Rod would not have felt like criticizing Cao Cao.
The key problem was that while Cao Cao claimed he wanted to show the gods humanity's strength and value, he was also making deals with Hades, Indra, and others.
Therefore, Cao Cao's defeat in the original story was completely within Rod's expectations.
If Cao Cao had led his followers down one single path until the bitter end, then perhaps he might truly have deserved to be called a "hero."
But in reality, Cao Cao was simply using the Hero Faction's forces to fulfill his own private ambitions.
Then again, if that were not the case, Jeanne would not have been turned against him by just a few words from Rod.
And now that Jeanne had suddenly brought this up, Rod also began to consider that if he could take the Hero Faction under his command, it might not be a bad option.
Thinking this, Rod nodded.
"In that case, let's give it a try."
Hearing that, Jeanne's face immediately bloomed with joy.
...
After leaving Romania, Rod returned to Kuoh Town and resumed a peaceful life.
Jeanne continued operating in Europe. Once the next trip to Kyoto began, she would contact Rod immediately.
The Hero Faction members stationed in Romania to investigate the vampires reported that the situation remained calm.
Even after the destruction of the important blood factories, no vampires from the Tepes Faction appeared to investigate the culprits.
It was obvious that the Tepes family had been tied up by other matters.
Aside from that, the aftereffects of Loki's attack also gradually faded.
Rias, Akeno, Sona, and the others had already returned to their normal school lives.
Then, one day, Odin's visit to the Three Great Factions and the gods of Kyoto officially came to an end.
During that period, no other criminals launched sneak attacks. In the end, Odin returned to Norse mythology very satisfied, riding Sleipnir.
However, while Odin was satisfied, Rossweisse, who had been deliberately left behind, felt as though the sky had collapsed.
As Odin's Valkyrie bodyguard, Rossweisse was the last person to learn that Odin had left and returned to the Norse realm.
When she found out Odin had abandoned her and left on his own, Rossweisse, who was temporarily staying at Rod's house, collapsed onto the floor and screamed.
"It's over! I'm completely finished! Wuuuuuu!"
"Too much! Odin-sama has gone too far! He actually left me here all alone!"
Rossweisse lay sprawled on the floor, sobbing loudly, completely shattering whatever elegant Valkyrie image the others had of her.
"Why?! Odin-sama! You forgot, didn't you? You must have forgotten!"
The refined woman in a suit cried until tears streamed down her face, every word filled with accusation against Odin.
Seeing her like this, the other girls in the living room looked at one another, not knowing how to comfort her.
"Mm, mm. Miss Rossweisse, please don't be too sad. Maybe Odin-sama really did just forget? After all, Odin-sama's schedule must be very busy. He has to meet all kinds of important people every day."
Asia was the first to step forward and comfort Rossweisse.
Hearing that, Rossweisse's expression improved slightly, and her emotions were no longer as intense as before.
She clenched her fists and muttered to herself,
"Yes, that's right! It must be like that! Odin-sama has such a busy schedule. Maybe he only forgot about me temporarily!"
"If I leave now, maybe I can still catch up to Odin-sama!"
However, before Rossweisse could fully recover, Kuroka, who was playing a game nearby, casually said,
"Odin may be a dirty old man, but do you really think he's senile, nya? He definitely left you behind on purpose, nya."
"Huh? W-Why?!"
Rossweisse looked toward Kuroka in shock.
The black-haired catgirl in a kimono did not even turn around. Her eyes stayed fixed on the screen as she fought a boss.
"Who knows, nya? Maybe it's because you nag too much, like an old granny. Or maybe he thought you were useless and dumped you outside to fend for yourself, nya."
Koneko had wanted to stop Kuroka from speaking, but it was already too late.
Rossweisse, whose mood had only just improved a little, burst into tears again with a loud "Waaah!"
This time, she cried even louder than before.
"Layoffs! This must be a layoff! I worked so hard for Odin-sama! Even if I had no achievements, I still suffered for the job! And in the end, I was still abandoned here alone! Wuuuuuu... F-Fine, I'm just a nagging woman who can't do anything right, an old woman whose years single are equal to her age!"
At this point, Rossweisse had clearly started giving up on herself.
Seeing her cry so hard while still talking this much, Asia no longer knew how to comfort her.
Koneko began repeatedly smacking Kuroka on the head with her game controller. Kuroka clutched her head in pain and cried out, "Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!"
Rod, meanwhile, sank deep into the leather sofa, swirling a glass of red wine of unknown vintage. Of course, it was not from 1982.
He glanced at Rossweisse, whose character model stats were quite excellent, and said,
"If you've already been abandoned, why not come stay with me?"
"My place was expanded not long ago, and there are still plenty of empty rooms. There are so many people here to play with every day, and when you get tired, you can just go straight to sleep."
Hearing that,
Lavinia, who had been studying Rune Magic, blinked.
Why did that sentence sound strangely familiar?
Walburga's eyes lit up.
Could it be? Had her spring finally come?
Was she finally no longer going to be the lowest-ranking person in the household?!
"Huh?! R-Really?"
Hearing Rod's words, Rossweisse lifted her tearful face and looked at him, still sobbing from time to time as she spoke.
"Of course it's true. But if you don't want to, I won't force you to stay."
Rod shrugged.
At that, Rossweisse became deeply conflicted.
"But can I really survive here? Ah... I studied and worked so hard for so long before finally getting a stable job, and I never expected to be laid off before even finishing one full year."
That said, Rossweisse knew that even if she returned home now, people would say, "Odin-sama has already returned to the country, and you, his bodyguard, still have the nerve to come back?!"
In the end, she probably would not even be able to keep her original job and would be demoted to a position with an even lower salary.
The thought alone made Rossweisse's heart ache terribly.
Besides, Asgard already owed her one month's salary.
Then, just at that moment, she heard Rod say,
"I provide room and board. If you work for me, you'll even get paid."