About half a minute passed.
Only after gradually recovering from the mental pressure did Alma reveal a terrified expression.
"Di... Divine Might?!"
Levi did not give a direct response. "It is merely a skill I awakened recently."
Alma: "..."
His ancestors were once adventurers in Orario. Later, they accumulated a fortune to buy a title of nobility, acting as a mouthpiece between their affiliated nation and the patron gods of certain Familias in Orario. Through generations of accumulation, they had reached their current position step by step.
Precisely because of this, Alma actually looked down on the adventurers of Orario from the bottom of his heart.
Regardless of how powerful the likes of the 'Hero King' or 'The Fierce' were, seeming like the absolute protagonists of Orario...
In reality, those who truly decided the direction of the Labyrinth City, and even the Lower World, had been the deities from Tenkai from the very beginning.
Back then, didn't those as strong as 'The Warlord' and the 'Empress' also die in the process of crusading against the Black Dragon?
Even if...
Although Alma did not say it aloud, he understood in his heart, given the attitude of many fun-seeking gods in Orario...
If a 'Hero' capable of completing the final quest was truly born, They would not mind destroying him with Their own hands.
After all, as long as there was amusement, whether the Lower World continued to exist or was destroyed did not matter at all.
Compared to the 'clowns' in Orario, he, standing outside the arena, was the true bystander.
—As for issues like not being able to escape if the Lower World was destroyed, heh, such things were naturally for the tall people to worry about. He only needed to live his own days well.
But...
Alma had personally experienced 'Divine Might' in the past, so he did not believe Levi's so-called skill awakening statement at all.
In other words—could a human actually metamorphose into a deity?!
The moment this conclusion surfaced in his mind, it made the hair on Alma's entire body stand on end.
The worldview he had established over the past few decades was completely shattered at this moment.
If the destination of an adventurer was to become a god, then...
Sitting on the sofa on the other side, Levi couldn't be bothered to care about what the old man opposite him was thinking at this moment.
He indeed needed Valis and intended to cooperate for mutual benefit with other merchant guilds.
However, among the many money-making projects, opening Grand Bathhouses all over the world was absolutely not included.
More precisely, it was about sending the core parts of the pool water purification device to areas outside his field of vision.
Before obtaining the status of a true 'deity', unless Levi's brain was flooded with water, it was impossible for him to spread the foundation of his walking in the world—namely, the Primordial Runes.
And within the core parts of the purification device, as well as the shipbuilding device and the ready-made clothing device, lay hidden some of the core knowledge of this technology.
As thoughts flickered in his mind, Levi opened his mouth. "The Hestia Familia will only open the Grand Bathhouse within Orario."
He set the tone for this matter.
Had it been before, Alma might have been unable to resist persuading him with a few words upon hearing this.
But at this moment, after realizing that the 'Hero King' might have already ascended to godhood, the attitude he displayed became much more respectful and submissive.
"Is that so? I see it is getting late, I have disturbed you today."
Having said that, he stood up.
The next second, however, he suddenly heard: "However, the Hestia Familia plans to sell a batch of Level 2 cloth armor, the 'Shihakushou', outside of Orario next. If the Farat Merchant Guild is interested, we can have a good talk about cooperation."
"Shihakushou?" Alma sat back down.
As the person in charge of a merchant guild, he had naturally heard from the patron gods or executives of Familias he knew about this product that the Hestia Familia and Hephaestus Familia were about to jointly sell.
In the very beginning, he had even entertained the idea of becoming the clothing agent for the Hestia Familia in other countries.
It was just that the effect of the Grand Bathhouse opened two days ago was too outstanding, attracting the gaze of the vast majority of people in Orario.
Only then was he temporarily blinded by greed, rushing over hurriedly without even launching an investigation.
Now that events had taken a turn and there was light at the end of the tunnel...
Naturally, he was unwilling to miss the opportunity.
"May I see the finished product?"
Levi nodded noncommittally.
He took out a finished product used for display from his Inventory.
While handing it over to Alma, he introduced it aloud. "Shihakushou. Its defense is at the lower-tier level of Level 2 armor. It can resist attacks from Lv.2 and Lv.1 levels, and partially eliminate damage from Lv.3 and above. You can find someone to conduct experiments on the specific situation after you go back."
Alma nodded. Even without Levi's reminder, he would have done so.
However, he did not plan to show it. "What about the specific selling price?"
Levi raised his hand, making a '5' gesture. "A single piece is 50,000 Valis. Of course, this is the pricing within Orario. If the Merchant Guild picks up the goods, it's 45,000 a piece. If you purchase more than five thousand pieces at once, you can deduct another five thousand Valis."
Alma paused upon hearing this.
50,000 Valis definitely broke the floor price for Level 2 armor.
However, he did not plan to care. Whether prices in Orario fell or rose had little impact on the Farat Merchant Guild, which specialized in reselling Orario products.
Now that he had confirmed the 'Hero King' might have already ascended to godhood, there was no need to offend the other party for no reason.
"Then let's start with five thousand pieces."
The Farat Merchant Guild was the first merchant guild, aside from the Hephaestus Familia's business, to run over and cooperate with the Hestia Familia.
But it was by no means the last.
In the following days, from time to time, the Hestia Familia would receive letters of visitation.
The writers of the letters were, without exception, heads of merchant guilds traveling between various places.
Even the Guild, which had originally turned a blind eye to the Hestia Familia, sent inquiries. Their words were sincere, but their meaning was clear: they wanted to allocate a few more plots of land to the Hestia Familia as a buy-in, thereby getting a piece of the pie from the Grand Bathhouse's profits.
Facing the visits of other merchant guild heads, Levi's attitude was very direct: the bathhouse was the Hestia Familia's private territory. No matter who came, it was useless.
But if they were willing to cooperate, his side was also willing to yield part of the profits from the Shihakushou.
As for the Guild...
Levi directly wrote a reply letter, stating that as long as Royman and the other higher-ups were willing to add bans on gambling and pornography to the city regulations, then the matter of the Grand Bathhouse could still be discussed.
The profit from the bathhouse was huge; this point needed no further elaboration.
But whether it was the casinos or the Pleasure Quarter, the taxes handed over every month were also not a small amount.
It was naturally impossible for Royman to choose to tear down the east wall to repair the west wall.
Since he dealt with high-level adventurers year-round, he knew the foul tempers of these guys.
After the negotiation failed, he intended to continue giving the Hestia Familia the cold shoulder treatment.
However, other higher-ups within the Guild—especially those who were closer to the Evils or gray industries in the past—perhaps out of revenge, or perhaps simply out of revenge, began directing their subordinate staff to find trouble for the Hestia Familia after the Grand Bathhouse officially opened for business.
____
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