The carriage wheels turned with a rumble.
Approaching late spring, a somewhat cool night breeze blew gently from the direction of the river.
Isagi looked out the window. Amidst the long river scattered with specks of starlight, a massive pure-white cruise ship moved slowly forward. Brilliant magic stone lights flickered upon it, and while melodious symphonic music drifted from afar, people on board, dressed in rich and magnificent attire, were exchanging toasts and enjoying candlelight dinners.
Farther away.
There was also the landmark architecture of Orario, the Bridge of Heroes. From the hero Flandre, who established the predecessor of Orario and resisted the monster fortress surging up from the depths of the great pit, to the time before the gods descended to the lower world, the statues of heroes who fought against monsters all stood there.
At the very center was the Great Hero Albert, who repelled the [Black Dragon].
Today, there are a total of thirty-one statues of heroes on the Bridge of Heroes, but one empty spot remains, reserved for the hero who will save the world.
This is the 6th District of Orario, the Trading District located between West Main Street and Southwest Main Street.
Numerous trading houses, hotels, Gnome Warehouses (Banks), as well as the city's largest free market and exchange, are all located here.
It can be considered the most prosperous and 'magnificent' place in Orario.
The headquarters of many large Familias are also here.
For example, the Ganesha Familia.
From a distance, one could see the colossal structure named 'I Am Ganesha'. The first thing that catches the eye is the giant statue of the god, tens of meters high, depicting Ganesha's usual appearance: arms crossed over his chest, wearing an elephant mask.
Long stone steps and a grand gate passed directly beneath it, leading to a massive internal space often used as a venue for the Banquet of the Gods.
"However, it cost quite a lot of money when it was built back then. It's said that it left the entire Familia destitute, and God Ganesha was lectured severely by his children for a long time."
The gentle and sweet voice of a beautiful woman came from beside his ear, accompanied by an equally soft touch and a warm, fragrant breath.
Goddess Demeter was smiling softly.
Her body pressed against his side naturally, leaning right up against him.
"But thanks to that, during the [Great Feud] era, many citizens were able to come here for refuge. It became one of the city's five major shelters at the time and saved many people."
"By the way, do the clothes fit? Astrea said that you usually dress like this, so Mama had several sets custom-made for you in advance. You look quite good in them~"
Ah...
Isagi moved his body slightly.
In truth, he wasn't quite used to wearing such formal evening wear; it was too tight. Usually in the city, when not going on an adventure, loose-fitting clothes were more comfortable to wear.
Of course, compared to this minor discomfort, the fact that Demeter always referred to herself as "Mama" made Isagi even more unaccustomed.
I really don't have that kind of relationship with you!
But who could argue with the fact that the Goddess is the deity presiding over harvest and growth? As the Earth Mother, she naturally loves every child.
Inexplicably, it made one feel she could also be considered the "Goddess of Married Women".
Demeter's honey-colored orange curly hair fell beside his shoulder. Without turning his head, Isagi's peripheral vision met the Goddess's gentle eyes, which were always slightly lidded and shared that same orange hue.
She was always smiling.
She wore no excessive accessories. Having changed out of the simple, plain pink long dress she usually wore, she was now in a decent beige one-piece evening gown. However, the Goddess's plump, mature body always gave the illusion that the clothes were about to burst.
It was hard to look too closely, feeling as if his gaze would be sucked into the abyss, but there was no helping it—that area occupied too much surface area. As long as he looked at the Goddess, he would inevitably see it!
Yet, the more restrained Isagi acted by looking away, the more Demeter wanted to tease this child.
She liked the boy very much.
Gods all had their own troubles.
For example, for Demeter, because she was too benevolent, the children of her Familia—and even other children of the lower world in the city—respected her too much. Such respect brought distance.
There were rarely people in the Familia headquarters on weekdays, and no one lived with her. The members of the Demeter Familia were basically farmers, so naturally, most had their own families and rarely stayed at the headquarters, nor was there any need to.
This left the Goddess completely unable to feel the intimacy that should exist between a mother and children in a "family".
But Isagi did not revere the divine.
This point was very special among the children of the lower world. It wasn't contempt, nor hostility, and certainly not the teasing look akin to viewing "social garbage" that children of Loki, Hermes, or Ganesha would occasionally show because their main deities were too "unreliable" and caused headaches.
It was simply that he felt Gods were the "same" as mortals. The boy's eyes expressed this at all times.
This, conversely, made Demeter feel very relaxed.
"Let's go."
The carriage stopped in front of the giant statue.
The Goddess naturally took Isagi's hand, and together they walked toward the long stairs ahead.
They were surrounded by well-dressed Gods and Goddesses. Some brought children from their own Familias, while others came alone.
Everyone greeted Demeter one after another.
Isagi naturally became the focal point of everyone's attention. After all, nominally, he was currently one of the rare adventurers in the Goddess's Familia who would go to explore the Dungeon. Many deities viewed this as the beginning of a "transformation" for the Demeter Familia, which was naturally noteworthy.
Before this.
The Goddess's Familia was a purely production-focused Familia and participated almost not at all in Dungeon exploration activities.
Fortunately, he didn't need to do anything.
While Demeter skillfully dealt with all the deities, they had unknowingly walked into the interior of the Ganesha Familia headquarters. Following the flow of people, they soon arrived at the banquet hall.
"Are you a bit unaccustomed to this?"
"It's actually alright."
"Don't forget, Isagi is here representing Astrea~"
The Goddess blinked, whispering quietly in his ear.
The theme of today's banquet was about the "Monster Festival" to be held in a few days.
Since the organizer was the Ganesha Familia—with the Guild's participation, of course—it was natural that before the festival began, God Ganesha held a banquet intending to discuss the matter with everyone.
Although.
There wasn't really anything to discuss.
The Monster Festival was a "Festive Day" that the entire city would participate in, similar to the Harvest Festival (Goddess Festival), Elegy Festival, Holy Night Festival, Holy Moon Festival, Grand Day, and so on.
However, the Monster Festival only started being held last year.
The Guild bafflingly and suddenly announced the hosting of a new festival. The content involved the Tamers of the Ganesha Familia—adventurers capable of controlling monsters in battle through special techniques—bringing tamed monsters from the Dungeon to the surface.
Then, holding a tour like a circus.
It is said that they had previously considered making it a festival where adventurers fought monsters, like in a "Gladiator Arena," but that was later rejected.
It turned into a purely joyful event where monsters performed various acts.
Since it had already been successfully held once last year, everyone didn't care much about it this year, simply thinking of going through the motions or seeing what new monsters the Ganesha Familia had trained.
Isagi had heard about it before too.
But what he was thinking was that on the day of the celebration, the area around the Amphitheater where the performance would take place would surely be overcrowded.
At that time, that place would become a "battlefield" in a certain sense!
When the time came, he would bring his fried potato snack stand, coupled with newly developed signature dishes. Not only could he make a huge profit, but he could also make a name for the fast-food restaurant he planned to run after retirement in the future!
It's just that in Orario, would it be bad to use "KFC" or "Golden Arches" or something as a signboard?
I need to think of a store name.
How about calling it "Old ASS Mini Burgers"?
...
"I am Ganesha!"
Inside the hall, amidst the interweaving beautiful music, the God located on the high platform of the central fountain raised his arms and shouted.
His robust body bore golden decorations, and he wore a traditional shawl robe. Beneath his black, messy shoulder-length hair was a red elephant mask and a heartily laughing wide mouth.
"Welcome, fellow countrymen, for coming here today!"
"Ganesha feels extremely honored!!"
However.
No one cared about the God's speech at all. No matter how he danced with joy and shouted at the top of his lungs, let alone in front of him, there wasn't a single listener in the vicinity.
Even quite a few members of the Ganesha Familia were talking about their own affairs in the distance, ignoring him.
So awkward. Isagi started to feel a bit of sympathy for this God.
And just as the gods were exchanging toasts and whispering to each other, suddenly, Isagi heard a somewhat familiar voice from afar.
"Ah~ Demeter, Isagi is here today too!"
"It's really lively today~"
Goddess Loki, who still looked absolutely no different from a male despite wearing an evening gown, trotted over while greeting them.
At the same time.
In a corner of the banquet, a blonde girl from the Loki Familia, who was wolfing down food, was suddenly stopped by her companion beside her!
"Report, Captain!"
The cute, short-haired Amazon girl, even attending a banquet of the gods, was only wrapped in a traditional bright yellow long skirt at her waist, and similarly, had white cloth wrapped around her slightly heaving chest.
Barefoot, she placed her hands in front of her eyes like binoculars, looking completely like a goofy idiot.
"Target spotted!!"
In the girl's bright brown eyes, there was not only the reflection of her own deity Loki's back but also Isagi, standing with Goddess Demeter, wearing a pure white suit and adorned with a rose on his chest.
And hearing this.
The blonde girl who had been eating sweets also immediately stopped the movements of her hands and looked over hurriedly.
"!!!"
That guy Loki actually didn't lie?!
Ais looked at the scene before her in disbelief. She never expected that the boy she wanted to find was actually an acquaintance of her own deity!!
___
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