Chapter 190
"Ottar, that child is growing remarkably quickly."
The tension suddenly left Freya’s body, and she sank languidly into her chair. Even her voice became soft and dreamy.
"The brilliance of his soul grows more enchanting every time I see it."
Ottar stood silently beside her, his posture perfectly straight and his expression unchanged, as solid and imposing as a fortress.
Freya was long accustomed to his silence.
Resting one hand against her cheek, she sighed.
"I truly want to see how far he can go."
"The Denatus has been arranged for tomorrow evening," Ottar reported in his deep voice.
"Invitations will be delivered to the gods tomorrow morning. The Guild has also been informed, so no one should interfere with us again."
"Good."
Longing flickered through Freya’s eyes.
"At last... I’ll finally be able to see you again, Kiriya."
...
Early the next morning, Hestia woke before sunrise.
After enjoying a large breakfast, she set off for the Hostess of Fertility.
"Do you really need to work this hard?"
Kiriya walked beside her, unable to understand her sudden enthusiasm.
"You don’t get it."
Hestia raised one finger and waved it knowingly.
"If I’m going to do something, I should give it my best. Even a goddess needs that much dedication."
"True."
Kiriya gave her a thumbs-up.
"You picked up everything I taught you yesterday remarkably quickly. You ran out of energy toward the end, but I can’t fault your enthusiasm."
Hestia’s cheeks immediately turned crimson.
"You’re the worst!"
She hammered her small fists against his shoulder.
Her punches were so soft that they felt more like a massage.
Their shameless flirting made many of the early-morning workers around them deeply uncomfortable.
The male adventurers in particular looked as though they wanted to set Kiriya on fire for flaunting his happiness in public.
Most of them wisely lowered their heads the moment Kiriya glanced over with a pleasant smile.
Even Allen Fromel, the Vana Freya, had lost to him.
They had no intention of volunteering to be next.
Still teasing each other, Kiriya and Hestia soon arrived outside the Hostess of Fertility.
"You two are awfully close."
A cute gray-haired girl stood by the entrance, smiling warmly at them.
"I’m a little jealous."
"Oh, good morning, Syr."
After greeting her, Hestia wrapped both arms around Kiriya’s and hugged it possessively against herself.
"You’re here early."
"Yes. I had a lunchbox to deliver."
Syr’s smile did not waver as she produced a neatly wrapped box and offered it directly to Kiriya.
"Here you go. Today’s lunch."
"Huh?"
Kiriya stared at her.
’Seriously?’
’You’re doing this right in front of Hestia?’
Was this girl fearless, or had she simply decided that the tiny goddess posed no threat?
"..."
The temperature around him seemed to drop several degrees.
Goose bumps spread across Kiriya’s skin.
When he glanced sideways, he found Hestia staring expressionlessly at the lunchbox while a nearly visible aura of darkness gathered around her.
Kiriya suddenly felt trapped.
Accepting it seemed dangerous.
Refusing it seemed equally dangerous.
"Kiriya, she went to all the trouble of making it for you."
Hestia continued hugging his arm. Her fingers tapped against it lightly as she spoke in a perfectly calm voice.
"You should accept her kindness."
"After all, you used up plenty of energy last night. You need a nutritious meal."
Kiriya’s mouth fell open.
He turned toward his goddess.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Hestia looked completely composed.
"All right, then."
Kiriya stopped hesitating, accepted the lunchbox from Syr, nodded in thanks, and walked away with surprising confidence.
The two girls remained outside the tavern, silently staring at one another.
"Lady Hestia, thank you for your generosity."
Syr offered a graceful bow.
"There’s no need to thank me."
Hestia dismissed the matter with a wave.
"It won’t accomplish anything."
"Oh?"
Syr tilted her head.
"Why not?"
"That man isn’t some shy, harmless herbivore."
Hestia rubbed her aching lower back, looking like someone who had endured a very long night.
"He’s an unapologetic predator."
"Your little lunchbox strategy is far too tame."
That was the source of Hestia’s confidence.
When it came to her relationship with Kiriya, she already held an overwhelming lead.
Someone who had reached the summit had no reason to fear those still climbing.
"Underestimating your opponent is how battles are lost, Lady Hestia."
Syr’s cheeks reddened, but she refused to concede.
"Hahaha! Then go ahead and try."
Hestia remained unconcerned.
And honestly, even if Syr succeeded...
A little assistance might not be so terrible.
Keeping up with Kiriya had become rather exhausting lately.
Her position was already secure, and Hestia trusted her judgment of people.
With that thought, she entered the tavern and looked around.
The familiar green-haired elf was nowhere to be seen.
"Where’s Ryu?"
"She said she had something important to take care of, nya," Anya explained as she approached.
"She asked Mama Mia for the day off first thing this morning. She looked really worried, nya."
"Oh."
Hestia did not think much of it and began the day’s work alongside Anya.
...
After parting with Hestia, Kiriya visited the captain of the Hephaistos Familia, Tsubaki Collbrande, and commissioned a new weapon.
Tsubaki was happy to accept an order from Orario’s rapidly rising star, particularly since he was paying generously.
"What do you want from the sword?" she asked.
"Durability and sharpness."
Kiriya’s answer was concise.
He then gave her the approximate measurements and dimensions he wanted.
"That’s all?"
Tsubaki stared at him.
"Oh, and make it resistant to corrosive monster fluids."
Kiriya remembered how the blood of that strange curse had ruined his previous sword.
"All right."
Tsubaki waved one hand and accepted the painfully straightforward commission.
There was nothing especially creative or challenging about it, but work was work.
Kiriya paid the deposit, purchased a temporary sword worth one million valis, and headed directly for the Dungeon.
With his current strength, the upper and middle floors posed virtually no threat.
He tore through every monster in his path and soon reached the eighteenth floor.
Kiriya had been preparing to continue straight toward the thirty-seventh floor when a particularly interesting disturbance in Rivira caught his attention.
Someone had been murdered.
A large crowd had gathered near the edge of town.
Driven by simple curiosity, Kiriya approached and heard an angry shout from within the group.
"It was Gale! I’m certain of it!"
A tall beastman gestured wildly, his emotions running high.
"I saw her kill someone with my own eyes, and then she escaped toward the lower floors! There’s no possibility I was mistaken!"
He turned toward Bors.
"Listen, Bors. Rivira is our territory."
"Gale murdered someone here and walked away as though our rules meant nothing. If we do nothing, every adventurer in the Dungeon will think this town is weak."
"And what does that say about you, the man supposedly in charge?"
His words immediately resonated with the surrounding adventurers.
Rivira had become what it was because the eighteenth floor was a natural safe zone, but that alone had not built the town.
The merchants and adventurers who lived there had worked together to preserve order and maintain one of the few reliable resting places inside the Dungeon.
Without that fragile order, the average adventurer would turn the place into a battlefield within days.
The rules were the foundation that kept Rivira alive.
If Gale Wind could openly murder someone there without consequence, then that foundation meant nothing.
The crowd began demanding that she be captured and punished.
Bors, the one-eyed leader of Rivira, stared grimly at the corpse lying on the ground.
"Turk, are you willing to take responsibility for what you’re claiming?"
"What?"
Turk looked deeply offended.
"When have I ever lied?"
"You don’t trust me?"
He raised one hand and declared firmly,
"I swear that if a single word I’ve said is false, may a sword pierce my heart."
The conviction in his voice erased Bors’s remaining doubts.
The large man stood and raised his arm.
"All right, boys! Anyone with the courage, follow me!"
"We’re hunting down Gale Wind!"
"Yeah!"
The crowd erupted.
Many adventurers volunteered to join the hunting party on the spot.
Turk exchanged a glance with one of his companions, satisfaction shining in both their eyes.
Kiriya noticed.
An idea immediately occurred to him.
"Mind if I join you?"
Everyone turned.
The moment they recognized him, their excitement grew even stronger.
"It’s Sylvan!"
"Perfect! With someone like him helping us, Gale won’t escape."
"Exactly!"
Turk’s face also brightened.
His happiness lasted only a moment.
A hand suddenly settled heavily on his shoulder, and Kiriya’s voice sounded beside his ear.
"Before we leave, would you mind telling me exactly what happened?"
Turk turned his head.
A pair of Sharingan filled his vision and the genjutsu activated.
"There was no murder committed by Gale," Turk confessed without hesitation. "We fabricated the entire story so we could surround and kill her."
He gestured toward Bors and the others.
"These idiots are the bait we prepared for her."
Bors stared at him.
The adventurers stared at him.
Turk’s companion stared at him.
’You absolute son of a bitch.’