Ryo was completely at a loss.
A Floor Master.
It was one of Little Garden's systems for governing the lower layers.
A Floor Master's primary responsibilities were suppressing Demon Lords causing trouble within their territory, managing Boundary Gates, overseeing the allocation of land within their jurisdiction, and handling the promotion of Communities.
In a sense, they were people who held both military and political authority.
They also stood at the very top of the regional hierarchy: Regional Master, Outer Gate Master, and finally Floor Master.
(AN: It's okay to have more than one Floor Master in the same area. For example, in the original story, one of the Northern Floor Masters was the leader of Salamandra, while another mentioned was from the Onihime Alliance. So, we can see that each area can have more than one Floor Master. The position that can only be held by one person is the Overall Floor Master. And only two people have ever held that position: the first was Leticia Draculea, and the second is Shiroyasha. )
...
Just as Ryo was puzzling over the matter, Shiroyasha's teasing voice came through the Gift Card lying on the table. "Well, you were nominated, so naturally I passed the offer on to you."
"Who nominated me?" Ryo frowned, genuinely puzzled.
"Apollo."
There was something oddly suggestive in Shiroyasha's tone. "One of his subordinates was actually one of the Floor Masters in our East Area. But his Community is going to ascend to the upper layers with him, so naturally, their position needed someone to fill it, especially now. So, Apollo nominated you to take over."
Ryo couldn't help but be surprised. "Apollo is leaving the lower layers?"
"Eventually. He's just moving ahead of schedule."
Shiroyasha sounded utterly relaxed.
In truth, ever since Zeus ascended to the upper layers, the Greek faction in the lower layers had lost one of its pillars. Then Ares disappeared, while Artemis and Athena were confined to Arcadia, making an already difficult situation even worse.
The Greek forces in the lower layers had essentially lost their high-level combat power.
If not for the Godslayer War currently underway, conflicts between the major powers would have already broken out.
And in reality, the upper layers were also taking advantage of the Godslayer War to reconsider and redistribute the spheres of influence among the factions in the lower layers.
Shiroyasha and Apollo nominating Ryo as a Floor Master carried a similar intention.
After all, in the eyes of those "people in the know" on the upper layers, Ryo Yagami, the fourth-generation God King of Greece, had already begun constructing his own Divine Group.
It was highly likely that Ryo would inherit the old Greek territories and use them to develop his own Divine Group. So Apollo stepping down, ascending to the upper layers, and relinquishing his position as Floor Master was clearly a gesture of goodwill. More than that, it was practically a public declaration to the gods that Ryo was the person he supported.
Some of the more cynical God Kings even suspected that Apollo had gone to the upper layers to make trouble for Zeus on Ryo's orders.
Quite a few God Kings actually believed that, and quite a few supported Apollo for doing exactly that.
Shiroyasha, whose relationship with the Greek faction was relatively close, knew the truth. "Apollo was persuaded by Hephaestus this time. He went up there specifically to give Zeus a hard time. And since you've met Hephaestus yourself, you should know what he's capable of."
What was Hephaestus capable of?
Wealth.
Lots and lots of wealth.
Ryo silently snarked to himself.
He wasn't surprised in the slightest that Apollo had agreed to make things difficult for Zeus. There was simply no way to refuse when Hephaestus was throwing that much wealth around.
At that moment, Ryo's response was deliberately noncommittal. "Doesn't becoming a Floor Master require a succession game? This really isn't a good time."
Lately, Ryo had no intention of sticking his head out.
At the very least, he didn't want to make himself too conspicuous.
What he really wanted was to accumulate his cosmos to its absolute limit, then attempt to reach the Eighth Sense. Once he succeeded, he could show himself again.
That was why Ryo had sealed away his sense of touch.
When using a secret technique that accelerated the accumulation of a cosmo by sealing one of the five senses, sight and touch were generally the two most recommended choices, since they were the senses people relied on most.
For Ryo, touch had the greatest impact on him, so naturally, he chose to seal it.
At that moment, Shiroyasha's voice came through the Gift Card again, this time much more serious. "Don't refuse yet. Just drag it out. We actually don't intend to have you formally take the position anyway."
"What happened?" Ryo frowned.
"There's been some trouble up on the upper layers recently." Shiroyasha paused.
It sounded as though she was checking her surroundings on the other end of the communication. After a while, she finally spoke in a cautious voice. "The Heavenly Army seems to have gone to war with Ouroboros. Right now, the upper layers are full of Heavenly Army propaganda units listing Ouroboros's crimes. You'd better keep your head down for a while and stay out of the spotlight."
The Heavenly Army had gone to war with Ouroboros?
Ryo was stunned.
He instinctively glanced at Algol, who was lying on the sofa with a facial mask on.
"What exactly happened?" Ryo asked, his tone strange.
"I don't know the specifics." Shiroyasha's tone was equally strange. "Apparently, Ouroboros was secretly wiping out Communities. It got exposed, which led to the birth of a new powerful Last Embryo. A God King's true body was even killed. And Brahma happened to stumble across the whole thing while investigating the lower layers."
"The Heavenly Army's prestige has been declining for the past few centuries. Then there was that recent incident where Indra was ambushed, which exposed just how weak their position had become. So the Heavenly Army is desperate to establish some new authority. You know how it is."
The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched.
He glanced guiltily at Algol and silently mouthed, 'Was this you?'
Algol frantically shook her head and spread her hands. 'Not me.'
She had only helped cover up some traces. And she'd done it indirectly through an item, too. Who could have known Brahma would come looking?
Unless Brahma had happened to be nearby at the time.
But that would have been one hell of a coincidence.
"So, if you take over as Floor Master right now, you'll have to assist the Heavenly Army in wiping out Ouroboros's strongholds. Honestly, it's a pretty troublesome job." Shiroyasha's voice came again.
"I'll do it!" Ryo's expression remained perfectly calm. "So when do I take over?"
"Wait, what? Weren't you supposed to put it off for a while?" Shiroyasha was stunned.
Ryo spoke with righteous conviction, "Fighting Ouroboros is my duty."
"…"
Shiroyasha suddenly went silent.
How could she not understand what Ryo was getting at?
This guy was definitely plotting something.
And there was a very good chance he was planning to kick Ouroboros while they were down.
"Of course, I haven't prepared for the succession game yet." Ryo's tone made it painfully obvious that he was trying to bargain with Shiroyasha.
"…"
Shiroyasha understood immediately and sighed helplessly. "The succession ceremony can be postponed. I have the authority to appoint you as a temporary Floor Master. That status is enough for you to participate in the operation against Ouroboros."
"Thank you for your cultivation, Lady Shiroyasha." Ryo actually offered her a rare compliment.
"Oh, spare me! Just behave yourself for once and I'll thank my lucky stars." Shiroyasha sounded exasperated. "I'll take care of the paperwork. I should be able to get back to you by the day after tomorrow at the earliest."
With that, the communication ended.
Ryo put the Gift Card away, then turned toward Algol. "Looks like Ouroboros has gotten itself into some serious trouble."
"So?" Algol glanced at him. "Does that mean you're not joining them anymore?"
"How could I?" Ryo grinned. "I already collected the deposit."
His smile widened. "As a competent mole, naturally, I have to help Ouroboros relocate its bases."
"And transfer all its assets into your own pockets?" Algol rolled her eyes.
Ryo grinned. "Who knows me better than you, Algol?"
He laughed, then continued, "After recovering Anat's Spirit Rank and Authorities, we only got a little over 1.3 million points. How about the 300,000-plus for the guy who led the operation goes to you, and I take the remaining million?"
Algol frowned. "Three hundred thousand points won't be enough. I want to use them to attract some unaffiliated powerhouses into the Tricksters."
"Then keep them for now. Transfer them to me when I need them."
Ryo thought about it and realized she had a point.
Having only people directly connected to Ryo in the Tricksters wasn't going to work. If they got caught, things would become troublesome. They needed some peripheral members as well.
And being able to obtain treasures that didn't exist in Little Garden was the greatest advantage of having Points. It was also one of the Tricksters' biggest advantages.
Still, faced with the brutal reality of having not a single point left for himself, Ryo couldn't resist complaining. "So I killed a three-digit, and all I got was a free job for you."
Algol rolled her eyes.
She'd already given herself over to the cause, and now she was working for free too. If he needed anything, wouldn't she just give it to him anyway?
"Then find another God King to kill for yourself."
"..."
"Nah, I love peace!"
Ryo knew perfectly well just how difficult it was to kill a God King.
After all, there weren't many idiots like Anat who would leave their true bodies sitting around on the lower layers.
After thinking it over, Ryo shook his head and stood up. "That's enough. I should head over to Athena's."
Now that the matter with Anat was settled, Ryo needed to find somewhere to hide for a day or two and avoid being tracked.
Algol's concealment abilities were powerful, but the experts of Little Garden weren't exactly pushovers either.
And with Ouroboros likely going berserk over the Heavenly Army's declaration of war, they would definitely be hunting for the culprit behind everything.
If they managed to uncover even the slightest clue, that could spell trouble.
With that in mind, hiding in another world where most tracking abilities would be rendered largely ineffective was definitely a good choice.
Algol tore off her facial mask and sat up, waving at him. "Have a safe trip. And remember to bring me some local specialties. You know what I like, right?"
"I know."
The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched as he thought helplessly to himself.
Does the Crimson Realm even have cosmetics?
Probably not, right?
With that question lingering in his mind, Ryo walked out of the room and left.
.
.
.
TL: For anyone who doesn't feel like reading the Shakugan no Shana part, it's only 7 chapters, covering Chapters 853–859. So it's not really an arc or anything, just a short side story.