"Hecayas, no need to be nervous, hehe."

The Cold Winter Goddess cuddled the obedient little kitten, with her icy demeanor melting away completely, and joyfully rubbed her cheek against its soft fur.

Really nice.

Aww, so good, so good.

Hehe, should I let them help next time?

The Cold Winter Goddess mused delightfully while stroking the cat.

"..."

The other Goddesses glanced at each other, noticing the Cold Winter Goddess's markedly different caring attitude, and silently shrugged their lips.

Heh, women.

Acting all cold towards us, as if we owe you money, right?

But when facing a little kitten, you reveal your true nature, huh?

Ha!

Fake aloofness!

Still, they didn't say anything about her spoiling; didn't criticize her about it.

And although the Ice and Snow Goddess seemed a bit embarrassing, it was actually a normal display.

The Cold Winter Goddess doting on her subordinate deity is nothing significant.

Isn't it just a pet?

Doesn't everyone have one?

Keeping "pets" is practically a classic tradition in the Natural Pantheon.

Who doesn't have one?

Everyone's raising them.

Like the Spring Bud Goddess, her mount is an entirely pure white majestic unicorn.

It's not just an ordinary divine unicorn, but the Unicorn God, both the Spring Bud Goddess's mount and her subordinate deity.

However, due to its large size, and its unwillingness to appear at such gatherings, it wasn't brought into this banquet and is currently outside chatting with the water sprites in the lake.

The Goddess of Cool Summer fosters a flame tortoise, whereas the Goddess of Autumn Grain has a giant owl companion...

The Natural Pantheon never lacks similar little animal deities—well, although most are just decorative.

Most are lucky ones within their species, granted divinity by the Main God, or having some divine position separated from them, to become divine with help.

However, among them are exceptions, those originally the strongest of their respective races, truly becoming deified through their own efforts.

And such self-deified divine beings, though perhaps not as powerful, hold a higher status in the pantheon than those decorative ones.

No one would force them to become pets—unless they voluntarily want to, that's another case.

Yes, everyone should actively refuse to arrange animal performances.

But the issue is, there's no way to refuse animals willingly performing.

If they truly have aspirations and want to shorten the path by hundreds of years by choosing to be a "pet"... well, no one can stop them either.

"Already don't want to work hard anymore. JPG"

"Good~ good~"

Under the Cold Winter Goddess Uphemia's prolonged soothing (and opportunistic fondling), the little ice-kitten finally calmed down.

"Let, let go of me!"

It attempted to escape from the Cold Winter Goddess's embrace.

But some homes of comfort are easy to enter yet hard to leave.

Want to run?

Not a chance!

"Hehe, don't think about escaping."

Under her Main God's relentless grip, the struggling little ice-kitten had no choice but to helplessly come to terms with reality, bowing to the oppressive force.

It could only shrink its body further, with most of it nestled within, leaving only its cat head protruding out.

A seemingly obedient and well-behaved little kitten—only the occasionally flashing hint of defiance in its lively eyes proving its spirit hadn't completely yielded.

Brave little cat, never surrender!

Always ready to escape these clutches!

Uh, given the current situation... demonic milk?

The Moon Goddess saw Hecayas had regained composure and gently asked, "Hecayas, do you know this young man named Herbert?"

She had long grown accustomed to the Natural Pantheon's hobby of "master and pet" role-playing, more concerned about Herbert now.

The God of Assassination's curse before dying was quite unexpected; She thought Herbert would fall into trouble.

Yet Herbert's reaction left Her utterly surprised.

Her initial thoughts were to advance by retreating, temporarily yielding, reducing focus on oneself.

The specific approach involved declaring oneself not a Godslayer, clearing suspicions, and then finding a strong divine deity for backing.

And the Sun God was undoubtedly an excellent choice.

As long as the Sun God was willing to advocate for Herbert, the God of Assassination's death curse wouldn't be entirely useless but its impact would be significantly diminished.

Yet Herbert chose advancing by retreating—being aggressive enough for others to step back voluntarily.

Not only was the title "Godslayer" not enough, but he also vowed divine oaths, openly challenging the Evil Gods.

Too aggressive.

Quintessential extreme Paladin operations.

Though even with Herbert's flawless performance, incredibly perfect, the Moon Goddess still had a special feeling inside.

She vaguely sensed Herbert might not be as righteous as he appeared, not just rigid and inflexible.

All based merely on Her subconscious intuition.

To avoid alarming Hecayas, She graciously reminded, "Don't worry, this isn't an interrogation, just a casual conversation, share what you know."

"Understood, Lady of the Moon." Hecayas nodded obediently.

The kitten caught in the gap looked quite submissive.

The Ice and Snow Goddess was proud and wilful before her own master, like a little rascal, but this was just bravado within her circle, showing true humility facing other divine beings.