After finishing his status update, Emiya left the Etna Volcano and returned to his own home.
Next to the same street as the [Hostess of Fertility] tavern, a spacious mansion had now been built. Counting the courtyard, its total area was far larger than the expanded tavern, more than enough to serve as the headquarters of a mid-tier familia.
To build such a mansion in the commercial district where every inch of land was as precious as gold was, without a doubt, an extremely extravagant move. But Emiya's original intention was simply that he didn't want to be far away from everyone at the tavern. The cost-effectiveness of such an investment was never within his consideration.
Taking Emiya's preferences into account, the building was designed in the Far East style, resembling the Emiya residence of his previous life, though with a much larger area.
Emiya lightly pushed open the main gate, crossed the courtyard, and entered the building. Just then, he happened to bump into a young girl.
Syr, dressed in a maid outfit, was cleaning the dust in Emiya's room. Hearing footsteps, the girl turned her head, and their eyes met.
The girl froze for a moment, the duster in her hand slipping down. A moment later, she gave a gentle smile.
"I'm back."
"Mm, welcome home~", the girl said happily.
Emiya looked at the girl, and under the gaze of those molten-gold eyes, Syr subconsciously averted her eyes.
However, Emiya stepped forward and gently embraced Syr.
"You've worked hard," he whispered softly in the girl's ear.
Syr's body stiffened. After a few seconds, she raised her hand and placed it on the boy's shoulder.
"And thank you."
After a while, Emiya let go of Syr. The girl lowered her gaze slightly.
She clearly saw a necklace hanging around the boy's neck, its pendant being a ring.
[Valkyrie's Holy Ring]
The girl seemed to have let go of something, smiling lightly.
"I…", Syr began, wanting to say something. But, looking into Emiya's eyes, she fell silent.
"Shirou, how do you see me?", she asked.
"Syr is the best friend of mine, Ryuu, Anya, and the others, the cutest 'girl' in the [Hostess of Fertility] tavern," Emiya replied.
"…Mm," Syr lowered her eyes, nodding gently. She reached out to wipe the corners of her eyes, then lifted her head with a smile.
"Come on, Shirou, let's go to the tavern. Everyone's waiting for you to come back~"
The girl had returned to her usual lively self.
"Shirou, after your house was built, everyone's been wanting to move here, the dorms Mama Mia gave us are too small!"
"That's fine. There are plenty of rooms in this mansion. I don't mind you all using them. If you want to stay here sometimes, you're always welcome."
"Shirou, you're being too greedy~"
"Speaking of which, I can't always trouble you girls to clean. It must be tough, right?"
"Mm… Though I really want to answer coolly with 'not tough at all,' it actually is pretty exhausting. After all, your house is way too big, Shirou."
That was a lie. This woman only came to clean because today was the day Emiya returned to the city. On the days when Emiya wasn't in the city, she always sent Miss Heith to do the work.
Emiya nodded, thinking, "When I lived at the tavern it was fine, but now… keeping such a large place tidy would be too hard on Haruhime."
"As expected, I should hire a few professional maids."
———
Thud!
The twin-tailed girl leapt, spun once in the air, and landed forcefully in front of the goddess Hephaestus.
Secret Technique, Airborne Rotating Dogeza!
"Please, Pha-tan, take me in!", Hestia pleaded earnestly.
Looking at her best friend in the heavens, Hephaestus's lips twitched.
Normally, Hephaestus wouldn't mind letting Hestia stay over. She wasn't worried about being eaten into poverty by this little goddess.
But Artemis and Hestia had actually come to Orario together with Emiya, and that made the goddess Hephaestus feel a little complicated.
On the way, Hestia had already envisioned living a blissful rice-weevil life at Hephaestus's place, maybe about a week or so, before setting out in search of her destined encounter.
Now, realizing that happy life might vanish into thin air, the goddess Hestia immediately used her last-resort move.
"Sigh, fine, I don't really mind you staying, but Hestia, you absolutely cannot go on being a shut-in like in the heavens," Hephaestus pressed her hand to her forehead, speaking helplessly.
"Of course, I'll start looking for children right away, build a familia, and my goal is to surpass that flat-chested goddess Loki!", Hestia declared with ambition brimming.
"For starters, it'd be better to set a slightly more realistic goal," Hephaestus retorted.
'Still, seeing her so fired up, this time she probably wouldn't fall into laziness again, right…', Hephaestus thought.
"Artemis, what about you?", Hephaestus asked, turning to the other goddess.
"I think… I'll find a job in the city," Artemis replied.
She had descended in the loophole role of a "spirit," so she was neither allowed nor intending to form an Artemis Familia again.
Like the children of the lower world, her plan was to find work and support herself.
Many gods chose this way to experience life in the lower world. For mid- to lower-tier familias, it was common for their gods to also work hard themselves. Take Takemikazuchi, for example. He worked diligently at a sushi shop to support his hometown shrine and familia children.
Hearing Artemis's words, Hestia's heart thudded. Compared to her own plan of living off others, Artemis's choice of job-hunting looked way too responsible.
She grew worried that Hephaestus might suddenly demand she find a job too, to support herself.
Fortunately, Hephaestus didn't bring it up.
"What about the goddess who came with you to Orario? What are her plans?", Hephaestus asked.
She and Tiamat had never even met in the heavens, so naturally Tiamat wouldn't visit or rely on her. Still, Hephaestus was curious about her situation.
Artemis hesitated, "I feel like Lady Tiamat doesn't have any intention of forming a familia either. She probably descended just to witness the stories of the lower world."
"Rather than directly participating, she prefers to watch from the sidelines… That type, huh," The goddess Hephaestus nodded.
"Actually, if Lady Tiamat were to form a familia, or find some job that needed help, I'd rather go assist her," Artemis said, "After all, I'm now considered Lady Tiamat's retainer."
Of course, Tiamat had never treated her as a retainer, nor considered reviving the moon goddess any kind of debt. To the Creator Goddess, shaping a divine body was nothing more than a casual effort.
But even if Tiamat didn't care, Artemis couldn't think that way. She sincerely wished to repay Tiamat's help.
"I wonder what Lady Tiamat plans to do next?"
———
"So this is Orario, how lively!", The goddess Tiamat walked the streets, curiously glancing left and right.
Because of the sheer number of gods in the Dungeon City, although her beauty drew many glances, that was all. It didn't attract more attention.
The goddess arrived at the city center, where she found a crowd gathered around a bulletin board.
"Excuse me, what's going on here?", the goddess asked, tugging at a girl trying to squeeze her way forward.
"[Grand Saber] Lord Emiya is hiring maids!", the girl replied quickly, before hurrying to push her way in.
[Grand Saber], a Level 6 first-class adventurer, some believed he had already surpassed the [King], truly standing at the peak of the city.
He was also the world's number one blacksmith, known as the [Money Printer by the Forge], his personal wealth surpassing all others in the city.
Moreover, his looks and physique were flawless, and his demonic king–like aura captivated countless hearts.
"The Emiya Residence's maid", in the eyes of many, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Forget generous pay, even if one had to pay to do it, there would still be countless people vying for the job.
But after understanding the situation, Tiamat grew angry, her adorable cheeks puffing out.
"Honestly, that child why didn't he come to Mama if he needed something!", The goddess Tiamat huffed angrily and marched straight toward the Emiya residence. [T/N: IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!!!]
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