And so.
Before this.
Everyone headed to the Guild to dispose of this massive pile of loot.
After all.
They couldn't just have the people from the Takemikazuchi Familia carry such heavy bags around with them forever.
Those large canvas bags, which were nearly half the height of a person.
Were quite heavy.
However.
As Haimer's group marched grandly toward the Guild Headquarters, the head-turning rate along the way could be said to be absolutely a hundred percent.
It would be hard not to attract attention.
"Hey... look over there."
"Is that the rumored rookie Familia?"
"The one that just registered yesterday?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Don't you see who's walking in front?"
"The Main God of the Loki Familia is right there, and you dare to gossip? Do you have a death wish?"
"But... look at the bloodstains on them, they must have just returned from the Dungeon, right?"
The adventurers by the roadside lowered their voices and whispered amongst themselves.
Especially when their gazes landed on Amou Kirukiru and Onigawara Rin.
Their pupils couldn't help but violently contract.
Blood.
Although it had dried along the way and turned a dark brown.
"It seems... they really just got back from the Dungeon?"
"And looking at this pile of things, they've slaughtered quite a lot again..."
The surrounding gazes became much more complex.
There was curiosity, inquiry, as well as undisguised jealousy and fear.
"Tsk."
Feeling those surrounding gazes practically sticking to her body.
Amou Kirukiru clicked her tongue in extreme displeasure.
That kind of look, like they were watching a monkey show, made the blood in her body somewhat restless.
"So annoying."
"If I dug out all of these guys' eyeballs and tongues... it should get quiet, right?"
Amou Kirukiru muttered in a low voice.
"Eek?!"
An adventurer closest to her only felt a chill on his neck, getting so scared he almost sat on the ground, and hastily and carefully shrank back into the crowd.
Walking beside her, Lefiya also shuddered violently upon hearing these words, tightly gripping her magic staff.
S-So scary!
Why does this person say such frightening things?
And is that kind of thing something you can just say out loud so directly!
Sensing that the tone Amou Kirukiru used to say those words didn't seem fake at all.
Lefiya's body already wanted to shrink closer to Loki, attempting to seek a little bit of a sense of security.
However.
At this moment.
Loki was busy rekindling her bond with Haimer, completely oblivious to the fact that her own Familia member was currently in deep waters and scorching fire.
And so.
When Haimer's group arrived at the Guild Headquarters.
As the core institution managing all adventurer affairs in Orario, even at this hour, the lobby was still crowded with people.
Adventurers turning in quests, exchanging money, looking for party members, or simply shooting the breeze, caused the space here to be filled with a noisy buzzing sound.
It was just that.
When Haimer's group pushed the doors open and entered.
All sounds came to a halt.
"That... is..."
Especially in front of an inquiry counter directly facing the main entrance, where the Half-Elf girl Eina Tulle was looking down, organizing a mountain of documents.
Noticing the sudden, abnormal silence in the lobby, she subconsciously raised her head.
Then.
"Snap—"
A crisp sound echoed.
The expensive quill pen in Eina's hand slipped, directly drawing a shocking ink mark across the important documents she had painstakingly organized all afternoon and was just about to archive.
But at this moment.
Eina could no longer afford to feel heartache for her documents.
"L-Lord Haimer?!"
Eina's pair of beautiful emerald-green eyes widened perfectly round.
Of course.
What made Eina lose her composure was not just this point.
It was even more so because...
[Guild Tulle]
"Heave-ho!"
"Heave-ho!"
"Heave-ho!"
They saw Kashima, Mikoto, and the others step forward, panting heavily, and heavily unload those massive canvas bags that were practically about to crush them onto the floor in front of the counter.
"Phew..."
Kashima straightened his back, wiping a handful of sweat from his forehead, feeling like his entire person had just come back to life.
"This..."
Eina looked at all of this, and an extremely absurd conjecture surfaced in her mind.
"M-Miss Tsubaki..."
Eina swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling her throat go a bit dry.
"You guys... are..."
"Could this possibly be..."
"The Haimer Familia's harvest for this single day again?"
"What else?"
"What? You don't believe it?"
Tsubaki smiled brightly, that single eye of hers curving into a beautiful arc.
"N-No... No..."
Eina's voice was a bit floaty. She took a glance at the volume of those few bags, and then looked at those panting members of the Takemikazuchi Familia.
"I-It's just that, Miss Tsubaki..."
Eina swallowed a mouthful of saliva with some difficulty, her voice trembling slightly.
"Which floor... did you guys go down to today?"
"The 13th Floor."
Having said that.
Tsubaki then looked back at Amou Kirukiru, who was crossing her arms with a bored expression, and shrugged.
"If it weren't for the fact that the bags couldn't hold anymore."
"Coupled with the fear that these little ones would go too crazy with the killing and forget the time."
"We might have even strolled down another two floors."
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Immediately after.
"The 1-13th Floor?!"
"The First-Class line?!"
"It's only the second day and they've already reached the Middle Levels?"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"The second day?! Going straight down to the First-Class line?!"
"Hey, hey, look at the horn sticking out of that bag... is that a Hellhound's tooth?"
"It really is! And those long ears... an Almiraj?!"
"My god... these are all monsters that only appear starting from the 13th Floor!"
Facts speak louder than words.
[Vivid Details]
Especially when Kashima untied the rope of one of the bags.
"Crash—"
A pile of long white horns, as well as dozens of massive canine teeth, tumbled out.
It was precisely the specialty of the 13th Floor—the long horns of the Almiraj, and the materials from the Hellhound.
Furthermore.
Besides this.
The other bags similarly lacked any impurities.
There wasn't any of that garbage from the Upper Levels.
It was purely a uniform collection of Middle Level monster materials.
At this moment.
All voices of doubt became stuck in everyone's throats.
Looking at those piles of genuine materials.
Everyone's expressions changed.
After this.
The subsequent procedures became exceptionally smooth.
As a top-tier staff member of the Guild, Eina's professional competence was naturally beyond reproach.
There were also seven or eight other Guild staff members bustling around that pile of materials and Magic Stones.
Inventorying, sorting, appraising, and recording.
"Alright."
"The inventory is finally completely finished."
Eina finally let out a long sigh and handed over a parchment scroll.
"Lord Haimer."
"After deducting the Guild's handling fees and the exchange conversion for some materials."
"The final total amount has been calculated."
"It is all on here, please verify it. It will be transferred to your Familia shortly."
"Furthermore, because the long horns of the Almiraj and the teeth of the Hellhound belong to the scarce materials of the Middle Levels, the current purchase price has slightly increased."
"Mhm, thank you very much, Miss Eina."
Haimer nodded, merely taking a simple glance at the numbers on the parchment.
Then.
He took a glance at Kashima and the others, who had been waiting to the side looking somewhat restrained.
Haimer then looked at Eina, who was still waiting for instructions.
"Since the amount is correct."
"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Eina to process one more thing."
"This sum of money..."
"I discussed this with Miss Tsubaki earlier."
"Based on the Guild's highest standard for Middle Level material transport commissions."
"Plus..."
"A thirty percent hardship bonus deducted directly from the profits of these drop items."
"Transfer all of it together into the Familia account of the Takemikazuchi Familia."
Having said that.
Haimer pointed to Kashima's group standing reservedly to the side.
"Eh?"
Eina paused.
"What is it?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Ah... No! No problem!"
Eina hastily snapped back to her senses, a standard smile appearing on her face.
"Um... If it's according to that standard."
Eina quickly calculated it on the paper.
"Then it would be..."
"Roughly this amount."
"Lord Haimer, can you confirm this is correct?"
"Confirmed."
Haimer nodded.
"Then I'll leave it in your hands."
"It's no trouble at all."
Eina gently shook her head and didn't say anything more. The quill pen in her hand flew across the parchment.
Stamped.
Archived.
A series of operations flowed as smoothly as moving clouds and flowing water.
"One is the breakdown of today's earnings."
"The other is the receipt for the transfer into the Takemikazuchi Familia's account."
Very quickly.
When the setting sun had completely sunk below the horizon and night had just fallen.
The group was already standing once again on the steps outside the Guild's main entrance.
"Th-This... This is..."
"So much money..."
Kashima tightly gripped that parchment contract in his hands. His entire person felt as if he were stepping on cotton, his footsteps floaty and his eyes staring straight ahead.
Even the usually composed Mikoto, as well as Chigusa and Asuka, wanted to pinch themselves to confirm if they were dreaming.
This sum of income.
Not only solved the Takemikazuchi Familia's urgent needs.
But even...
Provided a solid source for the massive repair funds needed for the Far East Shrine.
"Lord Haimer!"
The very first moment they snapped back to their senses.
Without any hesitation, Kashima led Mikoto and the others in turning around in perfect unison, delivering a standard, deep bow right towards Haimer.
With that posture, their heads almost smashed directly onto the stone slabs.
"Truly... Truly, thank you very much!"
Kashima's voice trembled slightly.
"With this money, we can..."
"Alright, alright."
Haimer extended his hand to gently support them, interrupting Kashima's unfinished tears of gratitude.
"I already said it."
"This is a transaction."
"And it is the reward you deserve for the labor you put in."
"Among adventurers, although there is competition, there is also mutual assistance."
Speaking of this.
Haimer smiled, his gaze seemingly casually glancing at the tachi by Mikoto's waist.
"Speaking of which."
"Your Main God and I can be considered minor acquaintances."
"Back in the Heavens, Takemikazuchi was a Martial God who hollered all day about conquering everything with martial arts; he's a guy with a pretty decent personality.""
"Eh—?!"
"Lord Haimer and Lord Takemikazuchi are friends?!"
Kashima and Mikoto violently raised their heads, their faces full of shock.
They had been in Orario for quite some time now.
But they had never heard their own Main God mention this before.
"You could say that."
"So since you are the Familia of an acquaintance."
"Looking out for you a bit is only proper."
Haimer shrugged and didn't elaborate further.
Kashima, Mikoto, and the others, meanwhile, looked at each other in dismay.
"Alright."
Without waiting for them to think too much about it.
Haimer pointed at the brightly lit street ahead.
"Then, just as I said before."
"Would you do me the honor?"
"If you don't mind, care to join us for a drink?"
"This..."
Kashima and Mikoto exchanged a glance.
A hint of troubled expression appeared on their faces.
"Um..."
"R-Right, Lord Haimer."
Kashima scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.
"Although we really want to go..."
"Tonight's dinner... we might not be able to attend."
"Such massive good news..."
"We want to go back and tell Lord Takemikazuchi right away!"
"If we don't go back, since it's getting so late, Lord Takemikazuchi will be worried."
This was actually the truth.
If these kids didn't return when it was too late.
He would probably get so anxious that he'd search the whole street for them.
"I see."
Haimer wasn't surprised by this and had no intention of forcing them to do something difficult.
"In that case, I won't force you to stay."
"After all, everyone is in Orario."
"We'll be seeing each other around constantly."
"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"Yes!"
"Then definitely next time!"
"Yes! Thank you once again!"
Having said that.
After Kashima, Mikoto, and the others finished bowing one more time, they hurriedly slipped into the gradually thickening night.
Those impatient retreating figures.
Revealed an unconcealable joy.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Looking at the backs of that group disappearing.
Loki, who had been standing to the side acting as a background character the entire time, finally couldn't help but smack her lips.
Those squinted eyes of hers opened slightly to a slit. Wearing a wicked smile that seemed to see through everything, she leaned in front of Haimer.
"Haimer~"
"You're still as skilled as ever at playing this hand of buying people's hearts."
They saw.
Loki's face, bearing a wicked smile, leaned closer, her squinted eyes opening slightly to a slit.
"To actually bring out Takemikazuchi as a cover."
"Not only did you earn a good reputation."
"You also conveniently sold Takemikazuchi a favor."
"As expected."
"You really haven't changed at all."
"Even after coming to the Lower World, your belly is still full of dirty tricks."
"The children of the Lower World might not know."
"But I remember it crystal clear."
"Ever since you tricked Takemikazuchi into sparring with you once."
"That guy locked himself away in his own temple for a very long time, and for hundreds of years after coming out, he would always take a detour whenever he saw you."
Loki wore an expression of taking pleasure in others' misfortune.
Clearly.
Regarding those things Haimer had done back in the Heavens, this God of Mischief knew them like the back of her hand.
"..."
And upon hearing these words from Loki.
Onigawara Rin and the others, who had originally been marveling at "so this is the friendship between Gods," also perked up their ears.
Beating the Main God of the Takemikazuchi Familia into a secluded retreat?
Was their own Kami-sama so brutal in the past?!
The gazes of all the girls immediately drifted over.
"As the saying goes, out of blows, friendship grows..."
"Furthermore..."
Haimer turned his head expressionlessly.
Looking at Loki's large face right at hand.
Then.
He reached out his hand.
"Heh."
One second Loki was still smiling cheekily, but the very next second, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she abruptly jumped backward, her hands tightly covering her own ears.
"Hey! A gentleman uses his mouth, not his hands!"
"I was just stating the facts!"
"Are you flying into a rage out of humiliation?!"
Loki wore a look of vigilance.
"You're overthinking it."
"I just felt my ear was a bit itchy."
Haimer, on the other hand, wore a helpless expression and smoothly redirected his raised hand to pick his own ear.
Party time!
The corner of Loki's mouth twitched, realizing she had been played by Haimer, and immediately curled her lips.
"Alright."
Seeing this, Haimer was too lazy to bother with this fellow anymore and directly chose to ignore her.
He turned around and waved to the girls who were still watching the show.
"Since all matters have now been handled."
"Then our next stop is—the Hostess of Fertility!"
"Let's go!"
Having said that.
Haimer then set off.
"Go, go, go, let's head out!"
Hanasaka Warabi was the first to cheer and follow along.
...
Looking at Hanasaka Warabi's excited appearance.
Onigawara Rin and the others also let out a helpless sigh.
After all.
They were truly hungry.
Having fought and slaughtered in the Dungeon for the better part of the day.
Aside from briefly gnawing on some dry rations in the middle, they hadn't eaten a proper meal.
And so.
Everyone followed suit one after another.
Leaving Loki standing in place.
A gust of cold wind blew past.
Appearing exceptionally desolate.
"Hey..."
"Are you kidding me..."
She was completely ignored.
The corner of Loki's mouth twitched.
Although she normally didn't put on any divine airs either.
But...
She was still the Main God of one of Orario's two strongest Familias, for crying out loud!
Did she really have absolutely zero face like this?!
"Um..."
However.
Just as Loki was feeling depressed.
She saw.
Kikakujou Mary had not directly left like the others.
Instead, she fell a few steps behind.
Walking in front of Lefiya, who was still standing in place at a loss.
"Miss Lefiya... right?"
A faint smile appeared on Kikakujou Mary's face.
Causing the originally somewhat constrained Lefiya to blank out for a moment.
"If you don't mind."
"May I call you that?"
"Would you like to come along?"
Kikakujou Mary extended an invitation to Lefiya.
"Actually..."
"I've always been very interested in magic."
"If it's an excellent Mage like Miss Lefiya."
"If we could exchange ideas and learn from each other, that would be wonderful."
"Eh?!"
Lefiya clearly didn't expect to be individually invited.
And
Furthermore, to be invited by a well-educated blonde young lady like this with such a sincere tone...
"Um..."
Lefiya's face flushed red, and she subconsciously wanted to refuse; after all, it would be too bothersome to others.
However.
Before Lefiya could even open her mouth.
"We're going! Why wouldn't we go!"
Loki's figure instantly darted over, throwing an arm around Lefiya's shoulders. That "left out in the cold" expression on her face vanished without a trace.
Replacing it.
Was an utterly righteous and confident smile.
"After all, that guy Haimer already said he's treating!"
"It's just adding two extra sets of bowls and chopsticks!"
"And look!"
Loki pointed to herself, and then pointed to Lefiya, who wished she could bury her head into her mage robes.
"We are the famous Loki Familia!"
"Being able to treat us to a meal is your honor!"
"This is an opportunity countless people would beg for but never get!"
"Furthermore..."
Loki leaned in front of Kikakujou Mary, raising an eyebrow with a wicked smile.
"Although this child Lefiya is a bit of a useless deadweight."
"But when it comes to magic..."
Later, shortly after everyone took their seats in the corner of the tavern.
"Nani—?!!"
"Miss Lefiya's magic can use over a thousand types?!!"
Upon learning that everyone's magic quantity had a fixed maximum cap of 3 slots, yet Lefiya could use over a thousand types of magic, everyone instantly widened their eyes.
____
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