Demeter only smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Yet Astraea and Artemis had already read the answer from that silent smile.
A trace of clear surprise crossed both goddesses' eyes, then settled back into calm.
They weren't really shocked by it.
Or rather, after witnessing one display after another from Leon, Jeanne, and the others, feats that all but overturned everything they thought they knew, their threshold for acceptance had long since been dragged up to an extraordinary level. So even if Irisviel's potential in the field of healing could one day stand shoulder to shoulder with those two legends, the future Golden Witch and the Dea Saint... it didn't seem like anything worth gasping over.
After all, the Demeter Familia before them was no longer the agricultural faction of the past, one that survived purely on commercial influence while lacking any real strength.
The Demeter Familia of today possessed both the influence to shake the balance of power in Orario and the formidable, solid strength to back that influence up.
Maybe, for now, the Demeter Familia still fell far short of those two "kings" who stood at the very summit of the city...
But who could say what the future held?
...
Persephone stood quietly at Goddess Demeter's side, silently watching the unspoken understanding flow between the three goddesses.
Her gaze shifted lightly, passing over Irisviel, who was focused on healing Kaguya, then glancing toward Jeanne off to the side, cheeks still flushed as she spoke in low tones with Leon. Her expression remained unchanged; she simply reached up and gently pushed her glasses back into place.
The gods... have they tacitly accepted that we're hiding our true levels?
But none of them had said it out loud, as if they'd reached some unspoken consensus.
If that's the case, then the real intelligence on Leon and the others probably won't flow easily over to the Guild's side either...
At that thought, her eyes turned once more to the cluster of gods crowded around Irisviel, murmuring among themselves with all sorts of expressions, and a sudden notion flashed through her mind:
These gods... do they want the Demeter Familia to owe them a favor?
Linking that to the familia's current situation and its future possibilities...
A very faint glint of understanding passed through Persephone's eyes.
So that's it.
Everyone says the gods spend all their days chasing amusement and never bother with serious matters. But now it seems that the moment their own interests are involved, these fellows calculate more sharply than anyone. After all... who could refuse a potential heavyweight ally with enormous influence and a voice in Orario?
Accept this favor today, and tomorrow... even if it doesn't turn into a tight alliance, just keeping the relationship alive as long as it doesn't turn hostile is already a guaranteed win.
Having worked through all those twists and turns, Persephone turned her gaze to her own goddess.
Just as she'd thought. On the surface, Demeter still maintained that perfect posture, gentle and loving, unshaken.
But Persephone, who knew every subtle expression and small gesture of hers, clearly caught the real emotions quietly flowing beneath that flawless composure: a carefully concealed thrill, a relieved joy.
Mm... and there seemed to be something else too, a faint relaxation, the kind that comes only after a long-held tension finally eases.
...
The subtle shift in the atmosphere between Demeter and the other gods didn't affect Irisviel, who stayed focused on her casting.
Thanks to the refined technique she'd honed over and over through this period's "Baptism" rituals, Kaguya's wound, which looked vicious but carried no fatal risk once the curse was lifted, was for her... not exactly a piece of cake, but hardly a thorny problem either.
Compared to the near-limit injuries everyone endured during the daily "Baptism," this treatment turned out to be even easier than expected.
A low hum rose and faded.
In under two minutes.
The silver-white holy radiance gradually drew in and dissipated. Iri let out a soft breath and ended her hold on the magic.
Iri reached up and wiped her forehead, which didn't have a trace of sweat on it, a smile spreading across her face.
"There, the external wound is fully healed. Aside from the weakness caused by blood loss, everything else is taken care of."
"After this, just get her to eat plenty of high-nutrition food and rest for about three days, and she'll make a complete recovery."
Astraea sent Irisviel a grateful look, her voice gentle.
"Truly remarkable healing ability... thank you so much for this."
Iri's small face flushed a little, and she waved her hands, somewhat embarrassed.
"Lady Astraea, you're giving me too much credit... it, it was no trouble at all, and as a healer, this, this is simply what I'm supposed to do."
Hearing that, the goddess of justice only broke into a smile, then gracefully crouched down, gently stroking Kaguya's forehead as she murmured softly:
"Kaguya, well done."
"From here, I'll leave the rest to Alise and the others."
...
Kaguya's treatment came to a close, but Evilus's assault didn't pause for even a moment.
Even though the numbers of the fanatics and ordinary soldiers had plummeted with the arrival of reinforcements, under the bewitching spell of the evil god's vague, intangible "blessing," they still fought like crazed beasts, slaughtering indiscriminately.
All of it was plainly visible to everyone.
Jeanne, who had just ended that long, passionate kiss with Leon, still had the flush not fully faded from her face, her legs wrapped in black stockings still a little weak, her whole body all but leaning against Leon's chest. That intense embarrassment and the tingling numbness in her body still pulsed faintly through her veins.
But when she lifted her head from Leon's arms and saw with her own eyes yet another enemy charge into the fleeing crowd and take several lives in a self-detonation, the anger she'd suppressed for so long, the anger that had been scattered by her bashfulness, finally erupted for good.
"Leon!"
Their eyes met.
Noticing the fury in Jeanne's pale purple eyes, Leon raised an eyebrow.
He'd known it all along, expecting Jeanne to stand by and watch coldly just wasn't realistic...
Unlike him, a conservative who lived by "look after yourself when times are hard, help the whole world when you've made it," Jeanne's bone-deep kindness and sense of justice made it impossible for her to stay unmoved.
The hand circling Jeanne's slender waist stroked her flat stomach, and he turned his head to look at Demeter and Persephone.
The goddess said nothing, but her eyes told him everything.
"All right, in that case... everyone's free to join the fight."
"But I'd still ask you all to try not to do anything reckless that goes beyond your own abilities."
The words were barely out before, apart from him, Laurier, Aura, Margaret, and even Iri couldn't wait to throw themselves into the battle.
"L-let go of me..."
Jeanne flushed red, tugging relentlessly at the large hand resting on her stomach, her whole body tingling.
Seeing how firmly the Holy Maiden had made up her mind, Leon could only release her, reluctant to let go.
"Hmph!"
Jeanne shot him a fierce glare, then snatched up her sword and chased after the others.
...
Two and a half minutes passed.
Watching the women tear through the enemy ranks like wolves into a flock of sheep, each mowing enemies down like a one-woman army, Leon fell silent.
"..."
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