Even if the team was split in two, each facing the enemy, they should have been able to cope.
However, now it seems that this strategy of dividing the troops was sowhat hasty. Fortunately, the enemy chose to attack both teams simultaneously, instead of focusing all their strength on one side, otherwise, the consequences might have been quite serious.
"[White Haired Demon] revealed so information before dying," Riveria pondered as she recalled the scene at that ti.
That happened after Shirou left the chamber to pursue the masked person, Ein. Before Olivas was frozen by Riveria’s magic, he seed to have gone mad in despair and shouted frantically, leaking so clues.
"These [Monsters] seem to be worshiping so being," Riveria slowly said, "Olivas used ’her’ to refer to that existence, and their goal is apparently to bring that existence back to the surface."
"And also, Olivas ntioned a na, ’Enyo.’"
———
"Um, Lord [Saber]...", The post-battle debriefing eting was halfway through when suddenly soone knocked on the door.
The room’s door was carefully pushed open, and a human girl entered, it was the healer Line Arshe. She seed a bit nervous, softly saying, "Soone ca to see you... they’re now blocking the entrance to [Twilight Manor], insisting on seeing you."
Shirou looked slightly confused and asked, "Who is it?"
Line hesitated for a mont, cautiously glanced at Riveria, then hesitantly said, "A lot of people. There’s [Gale], and... a goddess..."
"Oh, Ryuu and Goddess Hephaestus, huh."
Shirou said, "I’ll go now."
But Line shook her head, "Not Goddess Hephaestus..."
Shirou: "Then Goddess Deter?"
Line again quietly glanced at Riveria, eyes showing hesitation, then whispered, "It’s... it’s Goddess Ishtar."
That one sentence instantly quieted the entire conference room.
Goddess Ishtar, ruler of the Pleasure District, Queen of the Night. She ca to block the entrance of Loki Familia’s headquarters together with Ryuu? Was she here to confront a man?
In any case, this matter was undoubtedly going to beco one of Orario’s biggest news of the day.
Riveria’s expression imdiately darkened. She stood up, grabbed Shirou’s hand, and without rcy dragged him straight to the entrance of [Twilight Manor].
When they pushed open the doors, they were t with several figures waiting in the night.
Ryuu stood in front, expression serious, and next to her stood Goddess Ishtar. That voluptuous goddess wore an unhappy expression, surrounded by several Lv.4 Amazonian warrior guards in battle attire.
As soon as Shirou appeared, the Amazons imdiately gazed at him with eyes full of affection, while Ryuu and Ishtar’s expressions looked quite sour.
"Shirou," Ryuu spoke first, her tone stern, "Just now, [Man-Killer] Phryne launched a surprise attack on [Hostess of Fertility] tavern."
Shirou’s expression tightened, imdiately asking, "Was anyone hurt at the tavern? What happened?"
Ryuu gently shook her head, "Thanks to Mama Mia and [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen, no one was injured. But Phryne... she leveled up, and not just a normal Lv.6. Her endurance... beca terrifying like a monster."
The elven girl personally witnessed Phryne clashing in brute strength against the Lv.6 [Demi Ymir] Mia, two high-tier warriors battling in the tavern shook the entire street.
Given Mia’s level and power, Phryne still wasn’t at an absolute disadvantage in her hands.
In the end, [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen suddenly rushed in from sowhere, Phryne had her throat pierced by the fastest cat person in the city, yet still escaped, lively as ever.
"I saw with my own eyes Allen’s spear pierce her throat. I thought she’d be critically wounded, but instead of red blood, what ca out was so kind of strange, sticky liquid..."
Ryuu spoke seriously, "Definitely sothing... not human."
This description made both Shirou and Riveria’s expressions instantly turn solemn.
The two exchanged glances, almost simultaneously thinking of one possibility, [Monster].
Goddess Ishtar opened her mouth, expression gloomy and furious, "That bastard Phryne actually betrayed !"
Through Ryuu’s description, Shirou and the others learned what had happened in [Hostess of Fertility] during their assault on the artificial dungeon.
[Man-Killer] Phryne had suddenly barged into the tavern, yelling "Hand over Haruhi," and launched an attack without restraint.
Ryuu and Anya imdiately stepped in to stop her, but upon seeing Ryuu, Phryne’s rage exploded even more, starting a battle with Ryuu.
Originally, Ryuu’s strength was more than enough to crush Phryne, she was the strongest Lv.5 adventurer, while Phryne ranked at the bottom among Lv.5s.
However, this ti sothing had clearly changed with Phryne. Her strength had significantly increased, far beyond before, and Ryuu quickly found herself struggling.
In the confined space of the tavern, Ryuu could only rely on her agility and various magics to deal with Phryne.
Anya, unable to dodge in ti, was affected by [Man-Killer]’s attacks and got injured.
At that critical mont, [Demi Ymir] Mia returned from grocery shopping. Seeing her beloved tavern in ruins, she rushed in without a word and began hand-to-hand combat with Phryne.
Though Mia was strong, she had no weapons, barehanded, she couldn’t gain much advantage in power, ending up deadlocked with Phryne.
Phryne realized things were going badly, her goal had been to catch Haruhi, and ideally kill Ryuu, but clearly that was no longer possible.
Assessing the situation, she decided to retreat imdiately. However, just as she tried to leave, a sharp spear shadow tore through the chaotic battlefield.
[Goddess’s Chariot] Allen suddenly charged out from sowhere, spear aid straight at Phryne, and with lightning speed pierced through her throat.
Phryne suffered a severe blow, but even more bizarre, what flowed from her wound wasn’t red blood, but so kind of strange, black-purple viscous liquid.
Even badly wounded, Phryne relied on her abnormal endurance to persist.
Then the battlefield shifted to a chase, [Demi Ymir] Mia and [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen tead up, beating Phryne to a pulp. But with her freakish endurance, she managed to escape into the sewers.
After Phryne fled, Ryuu and Anya rushed to Ishtar’s temple to confront the goddess.
However, Goddess Ishtar was equally shocked by Phryne’s betrayal, completely unprepared for such an act.
In truth, Goddess Ishtar hadn’t seen Phryne for so ti. Being rid of that dumb and ugly woman gave the goddess so peace of mind.
After hearing Ryuu’s account, Finn imdiately concluded, "It seems Phryne possesses [Monster] compatibility, she’s already beco monsterified."
"Obviously, she’s colluding with that group. Not only did she flee to the sewers, she also chose to strike while we were attacking the artificial dungeon."
Recalling Valletta’s shocked expression upon seeing [Uchide no Kozuchi], Finn quickly realized sothing, Revis didn’t know about Haruhi’s information. [Man-Killer] and those people weren’t fully united.
Phryne had long known of Haruhi’s existence, but she didn’t share this intel with anyone, instead, she wanted to monopolize [Uchide no Kozuchi]’s power for herself.
However, what she never expected was that Haruhi would join Loki Familia’s operation.
Also, Phryne didn’t know that in [Hostess of Fertility] tavern, there wasn’t just Lv.5 [Gale], but also the stronger [Demi Ymir].
Even [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen had been secretly watching that side all along.
At this mont, Goddess Ishtar’s face was especially dark, silver teeth clenched.
To be honest, that bottom-tier Lv.5 combat power Phryne, she no longer even looked up to.
But that stupid and ugly woman dared to betray her, this made Goddess Ishtar feel deeply humiliated and furious.
Goddess Ishtar locked eyes on Shirou, voice seductive, "Shirou, if you help kill that traitor, then in the lower world, I’ll let you do anything you want with ."
However, this "sincere" offer from the goddess only earned her eye rolls from Riveria and the others.
Seeing this reaction, Goddess Ishtar narrowed her eyes, raised her voice, "I am the goddess of beauty, love, and fertility! Whoever helps kill that traitor, I’ll bestow her a ’blessing’!"
Beauty, love, fertility, realizing these were Ishtar’s divine domains, the eyes of all the won imdiately turned toward her.
anwhile, in the [Artificial Dungeon], Phryne suddenly felt a mysterious chill all over her body.
———
The Goibniu Familia’s construction team was busy rebuilding [Hostess of Fertility] tavern. The site was bustling with activity.
Dwarves swung large hamrs and saws, the sounds of hamring and cutting filled the air, forming a lively rhythm alongside their loud shouts.
Several workers loudly shouted commands as they raised a large beam, others quickly stepped in to secure it.
At this point, the tavern’s exterior walls were partly rebuilt. The walls and roof were constructed with refined stone and timber, making the entire building appear stronger and more beautiful than before. Window fras were being installed, their intricate rivet structures showing off Goibniu Familia’s unique craftsmanship.
Shirou stood nearby, watching the dwarves work in orderly fashion. The once-destroyed tavern was gradually regaining its forr appearance, perhaps even becoming more refined.
Goibniu Familia specializes in building restoration, weapon and armor repair, and crafting, a production-type familia. Unlike Hephaestus Familia’s mass production of ordinary gear, they prefer custom orders, creating one-of-a-kind weapons tailored to clients’ needs.
This was Shirou’s first ti dealing with mbers of Goibniu Familia. At first, he thought, as a blacksmith from Hephaestus Familia, he might not be very welco.
After all, colleagues in the sa trade are rivals. And because of him, many of Loki Familia’s high-level equipnt orders had shifted to him, which originally belonged to Goibniu Familia.
However, to his surprise, Goibniu’s craftsn welcod him warmly. They were even grateful he took over those "problem child" orders from Loki Familia.
Just like Hephaestus Familia sees high-tier gear as a symbol, their true profits co from regular adventurers buying standard weapons.
Goibniu Familia was the sa. Their main inco didn’t co from those custom high-end weapons, but from their construction business, especially renovating buildings for various familias.
And to be honest, Loki Familia’s top adventurers, especially those Lv.5s, were among the least welco custors.
On one hand, their intense combat styles led to massive wear and tear on gear, very troubleso to maintain and repair.
On the other hand, Loki Familia’s finances were never great. Though paynt always arrived in the end, delays were common, very frustrating.
"Shirou, have so tea," The cute tavern waitress brought chilled honey lemon tea.
"Mm, thank you, Syr," Shirou took it and sipped slowly.
"And thank you all too, for your hard work," Syr called to the dwarves from Goibniu Familia, delivering drinks.
"Thank you so much, Miss Syr."
"This is nothing for us."
"I’m already missing [Hostess of Fertility]’s cooking. Let’s finish this quickly!"
"Yeah!!"
After a short break, the dwarves returned to work with even more passion.
"Shouldn’t take more than a few days before the tavern’s rebuilt," Shirou said to Mia while watching the dwarves.
Mia nodded, looking at the tavern under reconstruction, her usually stern and serious face showed a hint of relaxation.
"Mm, Shirou, actually, I have an idea," Syr ca back to Shirou’s side and whispered, "Why not just beco an investor in the tavern? While we’re at it, we can buy the two neighboring shops and expand."
Shirou blinked, then nodded, "Expand the storefront? That’s a good idea."
During the battle with Phryne, not only was the tavern badly damaged, but the surrounding shops were also affected, buildings smashed to pieces. Because of that, nearby property prices had dropped.
Syr suggested taking advantage of the opportunity to buy them up and expand [Hostess of Fertility].
Shirou didn’t hesitate and agreed. He never cared much for money, he didn’t have anything in particular to spend it on anyway.
If that money could help Syr and Mia, it was more than worth it. Their care and support had long exceeded anything money could buy.
And frankly, with [Hostess of Fertility]’s popularity, this investnt might even make a profit.
Watching the boy and girl chatting softly, Mia couldn’t help but shake her head.
Actually, if it was just expanding the tavern, with Syr’s "small" fortune, she could probably buy the whole street.
The girl pulled Shirou in as an investor just because she felt a little jealous and lonely seeing him always with Loki Familia lately.
At that mont, rembering sothing else, Mia looked a bit hesitant.
She looked at Shirou, "Actually, there’s one more thing I may need your help with."
Shirou: "Please say it."
Mia sighed, "There’s a junior... I want to ask you to forge a suitable weapon for him. Otherwise, I really worry whether he can co back safely from his next adventure."
Shirou answered without hesitation, "No problem."
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