When Ryuu woke up, she found it was already evening.
The scorching red setting sun fell into the room from the window, and from afar, she could still smell a very sweet scent; it was honey, butter, and...
The Elf girl got out of bed with some confusion. It took her a short while to figure out why she was here.
Mainly because it was too abnormal.
Compared to the entirety of the past year, the current situation was completely different.
Ryuu stood up and walked to the window. Then, in the distance, she saw Isagi and a Demi-human Cat Person girl cooking something under a tree. She recognized the dark green employee uniform that girl was wearing; it was the attire of the Hostess of Fertility pub.
During the time of the [Great Feud], many refugees in the city were taken care of by them, with food distribution and...
Ah, she remembered that she seemed to be quite powerful.
Distant memories surged up all at once. Ryuu stood quietly at the window, not stepping out—she didn't know if it was good or bad to disturb Isagi and the Cat Person girl at this moment.
They seemed to be making mashed potatoes.
The charming Cat Person girl was holding a spoon, constantly stirring and stirring. Although she couldn't see clearly from afar, just relying on the scent—the mixture of sweet butter, honey, and boiled potatoes—was enough to make one feel it was delicious.
"Gu..."
Her stomach was hungry again.
Ryuu just stood at the window watching for a long time.
Watching the sun finally droop, the sky turning from orange to a dark cyan hue, followed by the quiet ascent of the stars and the bright moon. The boy also stepped out the fire he had originally set up on the flat ground to boil the potatoes.
Isagi bid farewell to Anya, letting Cecil and Lefiya escort the Cat Person girl back first, while he himself would wait a bit before leaving.
Thus, after the girls drove the carriage away.
Only then did he turn and walk towards the farmhouse not far away. At the same time, he was carrying a pot of mashed potatoes in his hand, as well as a dinner bento prepared by Goddess Demeter.
"Let's eat first."
This was still the first sentence Isagi said after seeing his Familia senior.
Heaven is vast, earth is vast, but eating is the greatest matter, and sleeping is the second.
While Ryuu was eating, Isagi also voiced his thoughts regarding the subsequent investigation. The two discussed for a while and reached a conclusion.
Immediately after the Elf girl swept away all the dinner.
The two then left the house and went to the pigsty beside the farmhouse. That Pallum merchant guild president, Blu, was lying weakly in the smelly corner.
"I'll leave the upcoming investigation to you, Ryuu-senpai. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to the Dungeon."
Isagi said.
The training for himself and Anya was about done, so it was time to continue adventuring and leveling up in the Dungeon.
"Okay."
"Contact me anytime if anything happens."
After saying this, the two refocused their attention on Blu.
These past few days, Isagi had only guaranteed him the minimum limit of water and food, so the Pallum was currently in a state of collapse, groggy, and unable to even focus his thoughts.
Isagi and Ryuu exchanged a glance, then nodded...
...
By the time Blu unknowingly came back to his senses.
A basin of cold water was poured right onto his face. Subsequently, a few pieces of bread and a waterskin were thrown in front of him.
Caring for nothing else, Blu immediately began to wolf down the food, nearly choking several times, and hurriedly gulped down large mouthfuls of water.
Only after he had eaten and drunk his fill.
Did he discover that he was currently in a certain alleyway of the city.
He couldn't even think about what he had experienced over the past few days; simply put, it was good to just be alive.
That brat actually kept his word!
Thinking this, Blu propped up his body, exhaustedly limping along. It took him quite some time to finally return to the gate of his original grand mansion.
However, the guard at the door stopped him.
Blu seemed to realize something. It wasn't until he saw the merchant guild's second-in-command—that Dog Person strongman whom he had cursed out just a few days ago—walk out of the mansion with his men, looking down at him from above, and announcing that during the few days of his disappearance, the guild had been completely taken over by him.
Then, he kicked Blu away, accompanied by a glob of thick spit.
"Get lost!"
There was nothing more to say.
Blu had already figured it out; they must have colluded together. It was that guy... Magatsuhi-no-Kami!!
He barely managed to climb up from the ground.
This Pallum merchant guild president took quite some time to realize that he now had nothing. He walked under the night sky, traversing through the alleys of the city, feeling the various gazes cast upon him from the surroundings.
Blu soon took off the still relatively valuable Far East kimono he was wearing, found a general store run by a Gnome, and pawned it for tens of thousands of Valis—even though when he bought it, this outfit was worth hundreds of thousands, and he had only worn it twice!
But it didn't matter.
Pallums lack strong bodies; what they rely on for survival is their agile brains. He was absolutely unwilling to leave the city in such disgrace. Back then, he also started from scratch, turning a few thousand Valis into a fortune of tens of millions, and today he could still do it!!
Soon.
A few days passed, and Blu found a new way to "get rich."
That was to use the startup capital from selling his clothes to purchase inferior fake wine and pass it off as "Divine Wine" brewed by gods.
He keenly noticed that currently in the city, it was the period of the Soma Familia's rapid expansion. Many hooligans and thugs had been absorbed into this Wine God's Familia.
And rumors said.
As long as one took a sip of the Divine Wine, all other wines in the world would become tasteless. Those addicted to the Divine Wine would only infinitely yearn for this creation from the gods, willing to pay any price for it.
Therefore, in the city's underground at that time, the Soma Familia's Divine Wine was a very scarce commodity. Blu fished in troubled waters here and soon earned quite a bit.
He believed that as long as he earned another portion of capital, he could rely on his previous channels to continue the human trafficking business.
Before long, he would be able to make a comeback!
But before Blu could be happy for a few days, for some reason, the people of the Soma Familia found him.
In a pitch-black alley.
The Pallum, who wasn't even an adventurer, was beaten black and blue, his body covered in injuries, and all the money on him was snatched away.
In this heavy night, the hope that had just risen was shattered once again. Blu lay on the ground, struggling, wanting to crawl towards the bustling city outside the distant alley, but he was now truly like a dying roadside wild dog, possessing nothing once more.
And in the distance.
While Ryuu quietly watched all of this, sure enough, on the side of that bustling long street, inside a cafe directly facing the pitch-black alley where Blu was, she discovered an old man wearing a Far East kimono.
He sat by the window, savoring the black tea in his hand, quietly casting his gaze deep into the alley.
[Magatsuhi-no-Kami].
The Elf girl confirmed the other party's identity as a god at a glance, because gods are different from mortals.
From beginning to end, They emit an aura of "Divine Might." Only some special gods can suppress it, completely blending into the Lower World so that mortals cannot distinguish Them at all.
Just as Isagi had said, at the moment when Blu's hopes for the future were completely shattered, the God governing [Disaster] and [Misfortune] would appear.
Carefully savoring this good show that He had single-handedly orchestrated...
...
Time rewinds to a few days ago.
After parting ways with Ryuu and letting her monitor the released Blu, Isagi went directly back to Daedalus Street, preparing to continue adventuring in the Dungeon with Lefiya the next day.
The target this time was to attempt to kill the boss behind the Fog Gate on the 3rd Floor and begin exploring towards the 4th Floor.
Previously, during the days he was raising his Ability Scores, he would occasionally, while still having chances to resurrect, wear ordinary standard armor and weapons to go clash with the BOSS behind the Fog Gate.
He couldn't say it was a sure thing now, but he was more than fifty percent confident.
Under the night sky, Isagi traversed the complex terrain of the "Labyrinth Street" as usual, and then he seemed to hear someone calling him from the side.
It was a god.
Amidst the fountain in the center of the small plaza, which counted as one of the "landmark" buildings within Daedalus Street, an aged crone was sitting there.
She was covered in filth, wearing rough linen clothes and a cloak. Her messy silver-gray long hair hung down somewhat greedily, and her figure was thin and weak.
The Goddess of Poverty, Penia.
Isagi knew her because, theoretically speaking, Daedalus Street was considered her territory.
However, Goddess Penia had no Familia. She simply gave alms and preached on this street every day, accepting offerings from believers. Many families on the street believed that as long as they offered their wealth to the Goddess and lived a life of honest poverty, they would obtain happiness.
When Isagi first heard this, he just thought it was absurd.
But the gods of this world are just like this; They have Their own "views on the world" and are extremely stubborn.
Kind gods like Goddess Astrea and Goddess Demeter are certainly good, but there are also weird guys like Penia. Of course, she counts as "normal," because the old woman only asks her believers to offer up money, viewing material goods and gold as dirt, and simply living in honest poverty.
She was holding a wine jug, pouring sweet wine into her mouth on her own accord while waving at him.
"Child, come over here."
"You're a child of Demeter's house, right? I remember. Why are you living here... Ah, I seem to be prying where I shouldn't."
She smiled, simply speaking to him calmly.
"You are an adventurer, right, child? Then, I want to entrust you with a request."
"A request?"
Isagi asked curiously. Then, he saw this Goddess, who required believers to live in honest poverty and not enjoy themselves, take another drink of wine on her own.
This wine was extremely mellow and beautiful.
Even from a far distance, Isagi could smell the sweet aroma within it.
"Recently, a believer left me. Ah, this is originally a very normal thing. I do not force any believers to stick to a life of poverty, but this isn't the first time. Moreover, according to other believers, shortly after leaving me, they all become unfortunate..."
The aged Goddess paused, then smiled.
"You know, child, I do not have Familia members, so can I count on you? After all, you are one of the few adventurers on this street."
"I will pay attention."
[Misfortune].
Isagi caught the keyword in Penia's words, then nodded, learning quite a few more details from this Goddess.
He planned to write a letter to send to Ryuu after returning home.
Penia's request wouldn't disrupt his plan to go to the Dungeon because he had agreed with the Elf girl that they would perform their own duties; the subsequent investigation would be entirely completed by her.
And just as Isagi was speaking with the Goddess of Poverty in the fountain plaza.
In the distance.
Under the night sky, a gold-haired god was also watching this scene.
"Penia, that fellow, hasn't drunk too much, right? How many times have I told her to drink a little less... Filvis, go check on her later and ensure she didn't spout nonsense."
"Yes."
The black-haired Elf girl stood quietly to the side, speaking softly.
"Also, send a batch of [Cargo] to the Dungeon tomorrow. Don't worry, the quality this time is very good. You don't need to do anything, just take the people to Rivira."
"Thanatos is rushing urgently over there; they also need to replenish new Familia members... and..."
The gold-haired god rubbed his temples, seeming to be pondering something.
Surveying the whole situation, there were too many things to consider, and he had to balance various factions. This dark side of Orario really couldn't function without him.
"Forget it, let's leave it at this for now. You may go, Filvis."
"Yes."
Still just nodding slightly, the Elf girl silently retreated, her figure soon disappearing into the heavy night...
___
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