[FGO]: 18

Just as Lily was marveling at Ryou's increasingly efficient monster-slaying speed, three figures appeared in the distance, catching her eye.

The group was led by Canoe, her old comrade.

Canoe subtly made a gesture, and Lily's pupils contracted slightly. She nodded imperceptibly in response.

With a smile, Lily bid farewell to Ryou, "Gudao-sama, my companions from the familia have come to pick me up. Please allow me to leave first."

Ryou patted Lily's small head naturally, "Go ahead."

"Yes, then, Gudao-sama, see you tomorrow!"

Lily said with a cheerful, innocent smile.

One would never guess that this child's hands were stained with quite a bit of blood.

Just as Lily turned around and only took a few steps, Ryou's voice suddenly called out.

"Lily, if you have any difficulties, remember to tell me. I will help you."

Lily's small body paused. She then turned her head, still wearing a sunny smile on her face, "Yes, if something comes up, I will seek Gudao's help. Thank you for your concern!"

Polite yet distant.

Watching as Lily walked away and reunited with a trio led by a raccoon person, Ryou's gaze turned icy.

"The second time..."

Then Ryou turned around and headed toward the tavern without looking back.

Just as Ryou was passing by the tavern on his way to the dormitory, a clear voice called out to him.

"Hey! Stop right there!"

Hestia, who had been busy inside the tavern, came running out.

Hestia, puffing with anger, grabbed Ryou's cloak, "How dare you deceive a goddess! This is a grave sin! Beware, I might cast divine punishment on you!"

If it were anyone else making threats, it would only disgust Ryou. But when a petite, twin-tailed, black-haired goddess pretended to be fierce while threatening him, Ryou found it somewhat amusing.

Indeed, beauty is justice.

"How did I deceive you, my goddess?"

Hestia hesitated for a moment, then said, "I asked Syr and Ryuu; no deity has ever sought you out. Plus, I've observed that your daily routine is very regular. You go directly into the dungeon in the morning and return straight to the dormitory in the evening. Normally, someone as diligent as you would visit their familia's main god to update their status every few days, but you haven't. You lied; you haven't joined a familia, nor do you have a main god."

As she spoke, Hestia adopted a 'I'm a great detective, you can't fool me' look.

Little did she know, the more she spoke, the more Ryou's expression became strange.

Soon, Hestia realized that even gods could court death.

"So, you're saying you've been stalking me like a lovesick pervert these past few days?" Ryou's voice sounded like a bucket of cold water.

"How rude! Can you call a god's actions perverted? I was just... um!"

Before Hestia could finish, Ryou swiftly reached out and flicked her forehead hard.

A red mark immediately appeared on Hestia's fair forehead, and she hugged her head with tears in her eyes, "You, you dare! You've desecrated a goddess! You will be punished!"

Ryou pretended to flick her again, and Hestia instantly backed down.

"So, even if you prove that I haven't joined a familia or have a main god, what then?"

Ryou asked, both amused and annoyed.

"Of course, it's to make you join my familia!"

Hestia instantly perked up, patting her chest.

"Oppai Loli..."

Ryou muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

Hestia looked puzzled.

"Ahem! Nothing, don't mind it. So why do you want me to join your familia?"

Ryou turned his head slightly, feeling a bit guilty as he quickly changed the subject.

"Of course, it's so you can support me and I can enjoy delicious food every day!"

Hestia declared, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Ryou almost lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground.

"It's amazing how you can say such a freeloading statement with a straight face," Ryou said with a bitter smile.

"Of course, being straightforward is one of my virtues."

Hestia proudly puffed out her chest.

"I can see that," Ryou said, unsure of where to look. But since she wasn't going to stop him, he might as well look.

Hestia didn't notice the odd angle of Ryou's gaze. She said, "So, how about it? Join my familia, and I'll take care of you like a mother."

"Pfft!"

Ryou laughed, then stretched out his hand to measure the height difference between him and Hestia.

"How rude! If you keep this up, I'll get angry!"

Hestia's pigtails almost stood on end in her rage.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop."

Ryou wiped away the tears from his eyes.

"Have you ever thought that even if I don't join your familia, I can still support you…"

Before Ryou could finish his sentence, Hestia quickly took several steps back, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him warily.

"I must have misjudged you! Are you trying to take advantage of me!?"

Ryou's face instantly darkened, almost losing his temper. He stepped forward, grabbed Hestia's cheeks, and pulled them apart.

"Did this mouth just say that!?"

"Ow ow ow, I'm sorry!"

After a while, Ryou let go of Hestia, ignoring her resentful look as she rubbed her red cheeks, and began to explain his plan.

Recently, Ryou had earned quite a bit of valis by defeating monsters. Since he had a system and didn't need the expensive and impractical magic equipment of Orario, he hadn't spent much of his money.

He had overheard Mama Mia complaining recently that the tavern's expansion still didn't provide enough seating, and the staff dorms were also overcrowded.

An idea struck Ryou: instead of letting the money sit unused, he could invest in the tavern and turn it into a unique brand in Orario.

After all, Ryou believed in doing things to the extreme or not at all.

So, he discussed with Mama Mia about investing part of his funds to buy into the tavern. They planned to buy the surrounding land and expand both the tavern and the dormitories.

For example, the tavern would retain its mid-to-low-end pricing but would also build a VIP building to cater to high-level customers, completely separating the two areas.

The tavern's prices would become more affordable, while the VIP building would be luxuriously decorated and priced high to match Ryou's unique culinary skills.

The staff dormitories would also see significant expansion. The original four-person rooms were already cramped, and with more people, they had to squeeze even more in.

Having suffered through eight-person college dorms, Ryou knew how inconvenient it was despite the lively atmosphere.

According to his plan, two female employees would share a room over 100 square meters with a private bathroom, and the dorm would even have a small hot spring bathhouse. As for special privileges, he and Mama Mia would each have a larger single room.

But this raised a problem. As a single person, no one would be there to wash his clothes, make his bed, or tidy his room.

"So, you want to hire me as your maid?"

Hestia raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, no! It's 'personal life assistant'!"

Ryou corrected her immediately.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

 Hestia looked at him with a strange expression.

"Of course not. A personal maid has to warm the bed, but a personal assistant doesn't," Ryou said, though he added silently in his heart, "A personal assistant does have that duty too."

Seeing Hestia still hesitating, Ryou tempted her like a cunning wolf.

"Think about it, you won't have to do much dirty work, I'll pay you triple the salary, where else can you find a job this good?"

"Alright, fine, I agree," Hestia reluctantly agreed after thinking it over for a while, frowning.

"However, don't think you can do anything strange to me. Otherwise, even if it means being sent back to the Divine Realm, I'll break the seal and teach you a lesson!"

Hestia warned again, still uneasy.

"Yes, yes, my Goddess!"

"But I never expected you to be so good to your employees as a boss," Hestia said, somewhat surprised.

"To support a vast empire, it's not something I can do alone. If you don't treat your subjects well, how can you expect them to be loyal to you?" Ryou replied as if it were obvious.

Only a fool would exploit their employees for a bit of profit. Talents are the cornerstone of an empire, whether it be a commercial empire or a military one. Only by attracting talents can an empire continue to grow, becoming a towering tree.

Moreover, some of the female employees, due to their dark pasts, have hidden their identities, and among them are some powerful adventurers at levels 4 and 5. They deserve this treatment. Bringing them onto his team is nothing but beneficial.

Otherwise, why would Mama Mia agree to his seemingly absurd request? It was because she deeply understood the bloody pasts of those girls, and perhaps she, too, had a similar experience. Out of compensation and pity, she agreed. Additionally, many of them were on the guild's blacklist, unable to earn a living through normal adventuring means.

With this in mind, mama Mia agreed to Ryou's plan, just to give these homeless girls a warm place to belong. And Ryou's idea was simpler: if that's the case, why not make this 'home' bigger, stronger, and more comfortable?

As for making Hestia his maid, it can be said that half of it was his perverse interest, and the other half was perhaps a form of compensation for her. Since Ryou had sent Bell to Freya Familia, Hestia clearly could no longer find someone who matched her heart.

"It looks like I must give up on having you join my Familia," Hestia suddenly said. Facing Ryou's puzzled gaze, Hestia's expression suddenly became serious.

"The Familia in my heart is like a family, where everyone is family. But you are different; your ambition surpasses even that of ancient heroes, belonging to a king. Not just my Familia, even Loki's and Freya's Familia can't contain you."

Hestia stared at him intently, her eyes seemingly able to see through his heart. "I see in your eyes an ambition to constantly climb higher and never settle beneath others!"

...

After returning to his quarters, Ryou checked his system panel. It seemed that because all his basic attributes had increased to 20 points, now in a day, his basic attributes could only increase by 0.1 or 0.2.

Moreover, today he discovered a phenomenon. It appeared that the Primordial Runes did not increase in proficiency the more they were used, unlike other skills. After he could proficiently use the character that resembled an 'F', the proficiency was fixed at 4%.

Ryou had obtained 24 Primordial Runes plus one blank character from Scathach, totaling 25. Dividing 100 into equal parts, each part was precisely 4. So, he had a bold idea: his proficiency would only increase with each character he mastered; otherwise, he would be stuck there forever.

"Quite a challenge indeed," Ryou suddenly smiled. The Primordial Runes seemed to have already somewhat broken through the system's set rules. From this alone, one could see the unparalleled potential of the Primordial Runes.

With a hopeful outlook on the future, Ryou peacefully fell asleep.

...

At the same time, in a dark corner of Orario, Canoe and his men surrounded Lily.

"Lead that guy to the old place on the ninth floor tomorrow," Canoe commanded.

At that moment, a flicker of hesitation flashed through Lily's eyes.

"Finish this job, and you'll be free. Isn't that what you've always dreamed of, Arde?" Canoe whispered temptingly into Lily's ear, like a devil's murmur.

'Freedom'!

These words held an almost supreme power over Lily, who instantly cast aside her conscience and morals.

"Yes, Canoe-sama."

"Excellent! Excellent!"

Canoe left with his subordinates in high spirits.

Lily remained standing there for a long time, seemingly trying to convince herself. She muttered quietly, "Sorry, Gudao-sama. This is all for Lily's freedom! Besides, you are an adventurer Lily hates the most..."

...

The next morning, unusually rainy weather descended upon the bustling labyrinth city.

When Ryou arrived at the fountain in front of Babel Tower, wearing a thick waterproof cloak, Lily was already there waiting.

However, she seemed preoccupied and didn't notice him immediately.

"Lily, what are you thinking about?"

Ryou asked curiously.

Startled, Lily quickly looked up at Ryou, smiling.

"Nothing, Gudao-sama. Lily was just getting a bit bored from waiting."

"Is that so? Then let's go inside quickly."

Ryou habitually patted Lily's head. The feel of her dog ears was incredibly pleasing, almost like they were real.

Unfortunately, fake is fake. Just like Ryou, Lily had been using a false appearance from the start, and her words were filled with lies.

"Don't touch it, Gudao-sama, it's ticklish~"

Lily made a cute sound involuntarily.

Ryou sighed inwardly.

These leisurely days were likely coming to an end.

And so, the two figures, one big and one small headed towards Babel Tower.

They fought their way to the seventh floor without much resistance.

A hint of guilt flashed across Lily's face, quickly replaced by determination.

"Gudao-sama, now that you have new magic, why don't we venture to the lower floors?"

"Sure, I also feel that this floor lacks challenge," Ryou agreed readily, seemingly unaware of her ulterior motives.

Although the monster refresh rate on the ninth floor was faster, it was meaningless to him, who could already venture to the fifteenth or sixteenth floors.

Following behind Ryou, Lily pretended to struggle to keep up, deliberately widening the distance between them.

Every time she picked up a magic stone, she would discreetly glance at Ryou. If he was facing forward, a tiny bit of glowing powder would slip from Lily's sleeve, leaving a fingertip-sized fluorescent mark on the ground.

At a fork in the path, Lily's eyes sharpened momentarily before she nonchalantly suggested, "Gudao-sama, let's go that way. I remember there's a gathering place for man-eating ants over there."

Ryou looked at her deeply and said, "Alright."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had left marks, it was best to guide Ryou to the designated spot.

After they had walked some distance away, a new group of visitors arrived at the fork.

Canoe picked up a bit of the faintly glowing powder in the dark, grinning. "Excellent! It seems the little one didn't play any tricks and led the prize to the old place."

A subordinate suddenly laughed, "Boss has quite the twisted sense of humor. I wonder what look Arde will have if she finds out you never intended to set her free."

Another subordinate had the same schadenfreude smile on his face.

"Isn't it common sense for supporters to give everything for adventurers? After this job, we can kill her, and no one will know it was us. After all, the familia that can produce such magical items is not one we can afford to provoke."

"You two, stop talking so much," Canoe reprimanded, though his face clearly showed a hint of an undisguised smug smile.

"Yes, yes~" the two subordinates reluctantly replied.

...

Meanwhile, following the path Lily pointed out and walking a long distance, the two arrived in a huge space with no road ahead.

"Huh? Looks like I remembered the wrong path. Sorry, Gudao-sama," Lily said with a guilty, sycophantic smile.

Ryou suddenly turned around, staring directly into Lily's eyes.

"Lily, is there nothing you want to tell me?"

"Huh? What is Gudao-sama talking about? Lily doesn't quite understand," Lily turned her head away, not daring to meet Ryou's gaze.

"The third time..."

Ryou's voice was extremely cold.

"I have already given you a chance."

"Gudao-sam... Ugh!"

Lily was about to speak, but suddenly, in a blur, Ryou's figure appeared right in front of her.

Ryou reached out and grabbed Lily's delicate neck.

Lily was shocked and knew she was exposed.

Instinctively, she raised her right hand, aiming the hidden wrist crossbow on her arm at Ryou's head.

And Ryou surprisingly did not stop Lily's action, allowing her to shoot the tiny bolt at his forehead.

Clang!

The bolt bounced off like it had hit solid steel, leaving only a faint white mark, much to Lily's horrified gaze.

"Not bad, I felt that," Ryou mocked as he touched the spot where the bolt hit.

Lily's wrist crossbow was designed for its compact and flexible nature, but its lethality was severely lacking; even hitting a vital point might not be fatal.

Now, with Ryou's endurance attribute reaching 20 points, his body's defense was comparable to some light iron armor. On top of that, he had secretly inscribed a "protection" rune on himself, making his body's defense almost indistinguishable from full heavy armor.

Lily's wrist crossbow couldn't penetrate his body defense at all.

After teasing Lily for a bit, Ryou unceremoniously disarmed her.

The wrist crossbow was crushed into pieces, the dagger was snapped in two, and all the potions were shattered.

Finally, Ryou found two petrified, round organs from Lily's large bag.

Seeing these items being taken out, Lily showed a look of horror.

"These are tools to attract monsters, right?"

Lily quickly shook her head, but Ryou smiled.

"Lily, you are not being good. At this point, you still want to lie?"

"Gudao-sama, I didn't! I didn't..."

Lily hurriedly tried to explain.

But Ryou slightly tightened his grip, blocking Lily's words back into her throat.

"I should have snapped your neck directly..."

Ryou said with a faint smile.

But in Lily's eyes, it was like the Grim Reaper inviting her, and she quickly shook her head, her eyes filled with pleading.

"So, I decided to play a game with you and let fate decide your destiny. Hmm, that sounds a bit weird, but don't mind."

Ryou said, smiling as he dragged Lily to a corner, then revealed an exquisite ring in his hand.

A dark magical light glowed from the ring, transforming into a dense black mist that enveloped Ryou and Lily, whom he was gripping by the neck.

In the blink of an eye, the two living people vanished into the shadows.

This ring is precisely the purple-quality magical ring Shadow of Stealth that Ryou got from his first ten draws.

It allows the wearer to reduce their presence, cast the stealth skill three times a day, and increase agility by one point.

Although the concealment effect has significantly decreased due to Lily joining him, Ryou is not at all worried about being discovered by that group of weaklings.

Thus, the open space fell silent again, with only the sound of water droplets falling from the stalactites and hitting the ground.

After a while, three figures appeared at the entrance of the open space; it was Canoe and his two companions.

"Damn! Where are they?"

Canoe walked into the trap they had set with great anticipation, only to find it empty.

The three of them immediately panicked and rushed into the open space, frantically searching around.

But the open space was only the size of half a basketball court, and they quickly searched every corner, yet still couldn't find any trace of Ryou and Lily.

"Damn little girl, how dare she trick me! When I catch her, I'll make her pay!"

Canoe punched the stone pillar hard.

"Oh~ and how will you make her pay?"

=====

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