Orario was governed by the Adventurers' Guild, founded by the great god Ouranos.
The Guild held absolute authority over matters related to the Dungeon, the gods, familias, public order within the city, and even Orario's economic development—effectively acting as the city's ruling body.
All major familias were required to pay taxes to the Guild based on their rank; the higher the rank, the higher the tax.
With this parchment note, one could go to the Guild and withdraw eighty million valis. As expected of the Astraea Familia—a B-rank familia—they still had some financial foundation.
Roy accepted the note openly and without hesitation.
Eighty million valis—any adventurer with even a hint of greed might have run off with the money.
In this world, the cost of living was low. For an ordinary person, a single meal cost around forty to fifty valis. Orario was the center of the world; in other places, things were even cheaper.
What did eighty million valis mean? As long as you didn't do anything stupid, an ordinary person could never spend it all in a lifetime.
But Roy wasn't that foolish. Without Goddess Astraea's proof of identity, the note was nothing more than a useless piece of paper. Some people thought that picking up a check worth hundreds of millions meant they could cash it at the bank.
More likely, they'd end up with a pair of shiny silver handcuffs—or at best, a commendation certificate.
What mattered most was the person holding the check.
With the cooperation settled, Roy and Astraea sat in the mansion, staring at each other. Since it was their first meeting, they didn't have much in common to talk about—at most, they could chat about Ryuu.
Grrr—
At that moment, an ill-timed sound echoed.
Roy's gaze drifted downward to Goddess Astraea's flat stomach. Her flawless cheeks flushed red, and she gave a wry smile.
"Lady Goddess, I know a thing or two about cooking."
Roy naturally wouldn't embarrass a woman—especially not such a beautiful goddess. Even just having her sit there like a vase was pleasing to the eye.
These gods, once they unleashed their divine power, were omnipotent. Yet they willingly bound themselves within the framework of the lower world, experiencing ordinary joys and troubles. It made Roy feel a subtle sense of closeness toward them.
Time passed. Lying on the bed, the elven girl slowly awoke, her spirit and injuries fully recovered.
Ryuu quietly stepped out of her room and soon locked onto the kitchen, where she sensed the presence of two people.
"I'm very sorry to trouble you to help."
"It's fine—two people work better together."
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"I'm coming."
"Ow—"
"Bear with it, this one's a bit big."
…
The dialogue drifting out of the kitchen made the pure-hearted elf girl's sky-blue eyes widen instantly.
Recalling what Roy had said when he entered earlier, her pretty face turned bright red. No way—impossible! He had just met Goddess Astraea!
The blush spread to her pointed ears. Her crystal-clear ears drooped and then perked up, one high and one low, like a bird's wings.
"What are you doing?!" the elf girl shouted as she rushed over and pushed open the kitchen door.
The scene before her left her stunned.
The young man and the goddess were squatting on the floor. Astraea held a magic stone lamp in one hand for light, while Roy cradled the goddess's smooth, silk-like hand and pulled out a bloodied wooden splinter.
"Ryuu?"
Roy and Astraea looked at her in confusion.
Seeing this, the elf girl immediately realized she had misunderstood. A wave of shame surged through her, heat practically steaming from the top of her head.
They were cooking. When the goddess added firewood, a sharp wooden splinter had pierced her finger, and Roy—harboring nothing more than simple intentions—helped her pull it out.
"Why didn't you use magic-stone appliances?" Ryuu asked, glancing around.
She quickly understood. The magic stones in the refrigerator, stove, and hot-water kettle had all shattered. She pressed her lips together—how had Goddess Astraea been living these past few days?
About ten minutes later, four dishes and one soup were laid out on the table, their rich aroma filling the entire house: stir-fried beef with shredded potatoes, kung pao chicken, chilled cucumber salad, steamed egg custard, and mushroom soup.
Astraea and the elf girl stared at the food, eyes unblinking.
"This level of cooking is far beyond 'knowing a thing or two.' Being able to lie in front of a goddess without being discovered—you're impressive," Astraea said with a smile.
Roy gave a polite yet awkward grin. "A little knowledge—mastery in eight or nine parts!"
Meeting a god for the first time, Roy naturally wanted to test all the ideas he'd had for over a decade.
As long as he believed in his heart that he wasn't lying, a god could at most sense something slightly off, but not fully confirm it. Compared to the top chefs of his previous life, he really did only "know a thing or two"…
It all depended on who you compared him to.
Of course, if a god directly questioned him, no amount of verbal artistry would help.
Listening to Roy's sophistry, Goddess Astraea laughed softly, like flowers blooming—pure and unstained, far more alluring than even the food itself.
After the hard-fought battle in the kitchen, Astraea and Roy had grown much closer.
More importantly, Astraea sensed Roy's true intent—the method to save Ryuu.
"So you're from the Rakia Kingdom. That must have been difficult, especially with Ares there," Astraea said.
"It was fine. The greedy old man back home—our village chief—was even better than me at dealing with people," Roy replied.
"That's hard to imagine."
"Haha!"
…
Watching Roy and the goddess chatting happily, the elf girl beside them felt like the sky was falling. While she had been resting, what on earth had happened?
If she'd known that letting Roy meet Goddess Astraea would turn out like this, she would have gone back in time and slapped her past self twice.
The three of them swept the table clean. After eating their fill, silence settled over the room.
They all knew—what was coming couldn't be avoided.
The total annihilation of the Astraea Familia was a tragedy that demanded an answer.
"Astraea-sama," the elf girl said, lowering her head, still unable to face her beloved goddess.
"Ryuu, do what you believe is right," Astraea said softly. With this young man by her side, she wasn't worried that Ryuu would completely collapse.
Faced with the goddess's trusting gaze, Roy felt a bit embarrassed. But this time, with hope of reviving Alise and the others—and with the revenge plan being interrupted by him—the elf girl didn't fall into utter despair.
"Yes!"
The elf girl nodded heavily.
Roy and Ryuu left the Court of the Stars.
The moment they exited the mansion, Ryuu's expression turned cold as she stared at Roy. "Just what are you…?"
Roy cut her off with a laugh. "Let's go to the Guild headquarters. Next comes the second step."
Seeing Roy play dumb, Ryuu frowned. What was this man really up to? What was his goal?
Suppressing her doubts, she asked, "What do we do?"
Roy smiled. "If we're going to wipe out a familia of over a hundred people in one go, there's only one way—a War Game."