Chapter 140: Accepted Ideal
Sion could have easily used Astrea as a mere tool if he truly wanted.
However, he had no interest in controlling a puppet.
He wanted a god who shared his vision and stood by his side willingly.
If their views clashed, Sion wanted Astrea to accept his path.
Even if she disagreed, he needed to know she would not stand in his way.
"The initiative has always been in your hands. My only choices are to agree or refuse your offer," Astrea spoke helplessly.
"You don't just want control over the familia, you want me to be an active part of it, right?"
When their views inevitably clashed, who would have the final say?
That was the core issue.
Given his overwhelming strength, he could suppress his own god, meaning it hardly mattered whose orders the familia actually followed.
He was the authority.
Even if new members joined in the future, their opinions would hold little weight against his own.
"So, what is your answer?" Sion asked, looking directly at Astrea.
Despite the serious nature of their conversation, his gaze briefly drifted to her enormous chest.
If they were sitting at a standard dining table instead of a low coffee table, her chest could have rested right on the surface.
It was a size that Meteria and Alfia simply could not match, looking both beautiful and absurdly heavy.
"My answer is simple. As long as you stay true to your initial goals, I will stand by your side no matter what," Astrea answered with a warm smile.
"That's the promise of the goddess of justice."
After their heart to heart talk, Astrea concluded that even if Sion engaged in brutal acts, they were stepping stones toward a greater overarching justice.
To become the king of mankind, a ruler had to centralize power.
Morality alone was never enough to govern the world.
But paving a new, prosperous future for humanity was undoubtedly a noble goal in itself.
This conversation had given Astrea a broader understanding of her own domain.
"Welcome to the team," Sion smiled.
The heavy tension in the room vanished, prompting the surrounding girls to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Even young Ais had felt the suffocating pressure of their philosophical debate.
"That is insane," Alfia commented after the interview concluded. "Hera always told me that a god is bound by the core concept they represent."
"It is hard to imagine a goddess of justice tolerating your ruthless ideas."
"She isn't wrong but as Sion pointed out, the boundaries of justice are actually quite blurry."
"Even as the goddess of justice, I can't define the concept perfectly," Astrea explained.
"Speaking with him helped me discover a new perspective on my own ideals. That is why I can accept his methods."
"You are surprisingly open minded," Meteria sighed in admiration.
Astrea governed justice but that did not mean she was blind to the necessity of the dark.
She understood that light and shadow were intertwined.
A just outcome achieved through dirty means was still justice.
Therefore, as long as Sion did not lose himself to pure malice, they would get along fine.
In fact, the anime had already proven that members of the Astrea familia were willing to use dark methods for the greater good.
Kaguya Gojou, a gorgeous swordswoman from the far east, was born into a prestigious noble family.
The far east was a massive nation primarily overseen by the Amaterasu familia.
Despite its majestic outward appearance, the island nation was burdened by suffocating aristocratic hierarchies and the constant threat of monsters outside its city walls.
Yamato Mikoto, Hitachi Chigusa and Kashima Ouka had been orphaned by those monster attacks before being taken in by the Takemikazuchi familia.
The Sanjo family handled the religious rites of the nation, which ultimately led to the predicament Sanjo Haruhime faced in the anime.
Meanwhile, the Gojou family was deeply entrenched in the strict, political environment of the nobility.
Kaguya hated the stifling rules of her aristocratic life, eventually abandoning her homeland and fleeing to Orario.
In the anime, after Ryuu became the sole surviving member of the Astrea familia, she relied on the ruthless methods Kaguya had taught her to hunt down the remnants of evilus.
Ryuu slaughtered anyone associated with evilus, going to such violent extremes that the guild had no choice but to place a bounty on her head.
Without a doubt, Astrea had never denied that kind of violent, shadow clad justice.
"Only a god like myself could handle a powerful familia like yours," Astrea joked playfully.
"I prefer that over a useless god," Sion added.
"Hearing you talk about useless gods brings a certain friend to mind," Astrea chuckled.
"Unfortunately, she probably won't be descending to the gekkai anytime soon."
Even though Hestia was a notorious homebody in the tenkai, they had crossed paths a few times.
It was an undeniable fact that Hestia was useless, largely because her overwhelming laziness prevented her from accomplishing anything meaningful.
After chatting for a while and letting the atmosphere settle, Sion spoke up. "Let the ceremony of inscribing the falna begin."
"Perfect timing. Alfia and Meteria can go through the conversion process together."
"Alright, then take off your shirts," Astrea smiled.
"I know it is part of the process, but it still sounds weird when you say it like that," Sion complained, lifting his shirt before lying down on the sofa.
Astrea always had a playful streak.
Sion remembered how she used to tease her dependents in the anime, jokingly offering them dinner, a bath or herself first.
Since gods lived for millions of years, they naturally kept up with most jokes and humor.
Life with her certainly would not be boring.
"Oh, right. I forgot something important."
Sion pointed toward a nearby set of drawers and glanced at his maid. "Elsa, the needle is in the second cabinet. Go get it."
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