There was definitely something going on here.
Tsubaki raised one brow and let her gaze linger on the fully armed captain of the military police, who still hadn't even taken off her gauntlets.
Looking at that cold face that practically said official business, no questions asked, Tsubaki thought for a moment, then wisely decided not to pry any further.
After all, this god had already brought her more than enough surprises over the course of a single day.
First, her own miserly chief god had done the impossible and allowed them to bring people into the Familia armory to choose weapons freely.
Then there was the way these little monsters had performed on their very first trip into the Dungeon.
At this point, one more surprise hardly made a difference.
Especially when it came to matters involving gods, it was better not to dig too deeply.
With that in mind, Tsubaki turned her head and looked at the girls behind her.
Even though they were covered in dust, and there were still specks of blood on their clothes, every one of them looked bright and energetic, without the slightest trace of fatigue.
Her gaze lingered in particular on the black bear standing there obediently under Warabi's direction. The massive hide bundle on its back rose and fell slightly with its breathing.
Whatever was going on with the gods might not be something she should ask about.
But what was inside that bundle was very real.
"Well…"
Tsubaki shrugged, then turned toward Haimer with a grin.
"No matter how you look at it, Lord Haimer, the rookies you recruited really are a bunch of genuine little monsters."
"They bulldozed their way straight from the first floor all the way to the twelfth."
"If it weren't for the fact that it was their first day getting used to the Dungeon, and that it was already getting late, I might've taken them straight into the middle floors for a little adventure."
She truly sounded reluctant to stop there.
And that praise was no small thing.
After all, there were only a handful of people in Orario who could make Tsubaki speak so generously.
At the same time, everyone around them, including Shakti, nearly had their eyes bulge out.
From the first floor to the twelfth on the first day?
What kind of joke was that?
A normal rookie party was already considered decent if they could survive the first six floors on day one!
And yet, looking at Tsubaki's completely serious expression as a Level 5, then looking at the girls who might appear delicate but clearly still carried the smell of blood on them, the bystanders suddenly felt their throats go dry.
"To receive such high praise from Miss Tsubaki, it seems these children's performance today truly didn't disappoint me."
Haimer nodded, a smile appearing on his face as though this had all gone exactly as expected.
Then he smoothly changed the subject.
"In that case, Miss Tsubaki, why don't you join us tonight for a meal at a tavern to celebrate?"
"That way I can also hear about their heroic deeds down there."
"As for the cost…"
"Because of certain special circumstances today, all of my expenses are being covered by Captain Shakti."
"So there's absolutely no need to worry about that."
As he said this, Haimer shifted slightly to the side and presented Shakti with perfect smoothness.
Shakti: "..."
Suddenly being called out like that, Shakti felt a trace of helplessness.
The way he put it somehow made her sound like a fool with too much money.
But a promise was a promise. She had already said that she would cover all of this god's expenses for the day.
Naturally, she wasn't about to back out halfway through.
So she simply gave a silent nod from where she stood.
Tsubaki, meanwhile, raised a brow and let her eyes rest for a second on the subtle but telling distance between the two of them.
Just as she thought.
There really was something going on here.
Still, Tsubaki had no intention of digging deeper.
"Of course, no problem!"
She flashed a broad grin and agreed immediately.
"There's no way I'd turn down a good deal when someone else is paying!"
"But before that…"
"Lord Haimer, I think we should handle the important business first."
"The Guild's exchange counter has a rule, if you miss the deadline, you wait until tomorrow."
"If we go too late, these magic stones will have to wait until the next day to be exchanged."
"And besides…"
"I originally thought Lord Haimer would be shocked too."
"But now it turns out I was overthinking it."
"Still, after being the only one getting surprised all day, I'm not exactly satisfied."
"So I'd very much like to see what kind of wonderful expression those yawning people behind the Guild counters make when they see a group of rookies who registered today bringing back this much loot."
After all, joy shared was joy doubled.
When something shocked you this badly, you had to see other people's reactions too before your heart felt balanced again.
Haimer nodded after hearing that.
"If Miss Tsubaki is that interested, then let's go."
…
And so, under the glow of the setting sun, a very strange procession appeared on the streets of Orario.
At the very front were the fully armed captain of the military police, Shakti, and Tsubaki, striding along with a wicked grin on her face.
In the center was a giant black bear built like a tank, carrying a beast-hide bundle nearly as large as itself, which rattled noisily with every step.
Behind it trotted a smaller bear with a small pack on its back.
And further behind them walked a black-haired god carrying a silver-white spear, refined and aloof in bearing, followed by a group of extremely beautiful girls with wildly different styles, all of them giving off a faint smell of blood.
Mixed in among them was also one little goddess who was still happily munching on fried potato balls.
With a lineup like that, saying they had a three-hundred-percent head-turn rate was honestly still an understatement.
"Hey, hey… that's Captain Shakti, right?"
"And behind her, is that… a bear?!"
"Whose Familia is that? This lineup is insane…"
Adventurers and townspeople along the way all stopped to point and whisper, but because of the intimidation coming off Shakti's uniform, nobody dared get too close.
The group marched grandly through several streets, heading straight for that imposing building,
the Guild headquarters, Pantheon.
…
Creak
The doors of the Guild swung open.
The hall, which had been noisy just moments before and filled with adventurers bragging and talking nonsense, suddenly fell silent, as if an invisible hand had grabbed it by the throat.
Only the heavy footsteps remained.
Thud.
Thud.
Countless pairs of eyes turned in unison.
And the moment they saw the figure leading the group, Shakti, clad in the full uniform of the Ganesha Familia captain, quite a few adventurers with guilty consciences, or those who had only recently caused a bit of trouble, immediately lowered their heads on instinct.
The entire hall became eerily quiet.
Tsubaki was quite satisfied with that.
The atmosphere was perfect.
Without paying any attention to the fearful looks around her, she led the group straight through the crowd and walked toward the rookie reception counter on one side of the hall.
There, the half-elf girl from earlier that day,
Eina Tulle, was buried behind a stack of documents nearly half as tall as she was.
Her brows were knit tightly together, and the feather pen in her hand flew across the parchment at high speed. It was obvious that, as an advisor carrying several different responsibilities, this was one of the busiest times of day for her.
"Miss Eina."
A familiar voice sounded above her head.
The tip of Eina's pen paused. Then she looked up.
What entered her vision first was Tsubaki's signature smiling face, eyepatch and all.
"T-Tsubaki?"
Eina froze for a second.
Then her gaze moved past Tsubaki.
"Lord Haimer?"
"And…"
She looked further back.
That blue-haired beauty in perfectly fitted light armor.
Lady Shakti?
Wait-
Hold on?!
Why is Lady Shakti with Lord Haimer???!!!!
At that sight, Eina's emerald-green eyes behind her glasses widened noticeably.
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