Although a conflict that could hardly be called a war had taken place some time ago, Orario itself had not changed much.
Those who needed to work continued working, and those who needed to explore continued exploring. People's lives went on as usual, most following the same routine day after day.
However, there was one familia that was anything but ordinary.
Because of the battle, they had to bear tremendous losses and had fallen into massive debt.
Not only the upper ranks of the familia, but even the lower members had begun exploring the Dungeon, and at a very high frequency.
This was the Freya Familia.
If it were an ordinary familia, some members would likely choose to leave after learning about such overwhelming debt, right?
But the Freya Familia was different—leaving was not so easy!
So the members could only grit their teeth and earn valis, striving to repay the debt as soon as possible.
Ottar, the Goddess' Chariot, Hildrsleif, Dainsleif, the Four Warriors of Burning Gold, and even the half-retired little giant all chose to contribute.
Otherwise, who knew how long it would take to repay such a massive debt?
Seeing her familia working so hard to explore the Dungeon and earn money to repay what they owed, Freya had no mood to sneak out and have fun, so she chose to find a job and work as well.
As for what kind of shop she worked at—it wasn't hard to guess.
Inside the Starlight Shop.
"Hey, captain, you're not seriously planning to let this... her... work as a shop assistant here, are you?"
"Did you forget what she did to us?"
Seeing the goddess walk in from outside, Lyra was completely startled. She had never expected Elise to recruit this person into their shop.
"Don't worry, Lyra. Freya is no longer the same as before, right?"
Elise turned her head to look at Freya beside her, a gentle smile on her face.
The silver-haired goddess wore a standard attendant uniform, standing properly as if she were truly just a shop clerk—completely different from her usual lofty demeanor.
Hearing Elise's words, Freya immediately took over and even grabbed Lyra's hands.
"Yes, just as Elise said, I've fully realized my mistakes during this time. So..."
"I'm sorry, Lyra. And to everyone in the Astraea Familia as well—I will personally visit another day and apologize face to face."
Huh?
An apology?
Lyra's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an orange. Freya... apologizing?
She couldn't even imagine such a thing!
Who was Freya?
A goddess!
And not just any goddess—one with overwhelming power!
Lyra had heard plenty of stories about Freya and knew just how proud she was.
But now—
This same Freya was apologizing to a human?
Could she be plotting something?
As someone from the city of crime, Lyra naturally thought more deeply than others, and one thing was certain.
She didn't trust Freya.
After everything this goddess had done to her familia, how could she possibly forgive her so easily?
And Elise—why bring Freya here? She should know Freya's personality.
What if she got captured again and used to threaten her familia?
In the end, it was because she was too weak!
That's right. While everyone else was training to grow stronger, Lyra had been helping Elise manage the shop, selling goods...
She had already been weaker than the others to begin with, and now the gap had likely grown even larger.
"I can't accept this... I'm sorry, Elise." Lyra lowered her head, her expression hidden.
"I haven't been in a good state lately. Maybe it's because I've been mentally distracted. I need to fight to regain my edge."
"Whether it's training within the familia or exploring the Dungeon, either is fine. I probably won't be able to help manage the shop for now..."
Seeing Lyra like this, Elise could only sigh helplessly.
She and Astraea knew about the issue with Freya, so they could easily accept this new version of her.
But the members of the Astraea Familia didn't know, so it was natural that they still felt a barrier toward Freya and her familia.
Lyra was a clear example of that.
"I understand. Take this time to rest well, Lyra."
"Thank you, captain."
Just like that, Elise and Freya watched Lyra leave. The shop was left with only one human and one goddess.
"Now it's just the two of us, Elise."
Almost the moment Lyra disappeared, Freya turned and lunged toward Elise. However, with her divine power sealed, she was no stronger than an ordinary human—how could she possibly match an adventurer who had surpassed her limits?
"Hey! That's too much! Why won't you accept my embrace?"
Missing her target, Freya fell flat onto the ground and looked up resentfully.
"You still have the nerve to ask? Stay away from me!"
Completely ignoring Freya's grievance, Elise lifted her foot and stepped on her face.
"Didn't you just get reborn? Why are you still this disgusting?"
A portion of Freya's soul had been devoured and replaced by Elise. While Elise was stepping closer to becoming a goddess, Freya was moving closer to becoming human.
"Isn't that obvious?"
Without resisting at all, Freya leaned forward again, trying to grab Elise.
"Even as the new me, I'm still me!"
"My feelings for you will never change, Elise!"
"Come on!"
Elise finally couldn't take it anymore.
"You've got to be kidding me—know when to stop!"
Thud!
Clenching her right fist, she delivered a solid punch to Freya's head. The sound alone made it clear she hadn't held back.
"That hurts!"
Freya's face was full of grievance, but Elise showed no mercy.
"Since Lyra isn't around, the shop will be managed by me and Est for the time being, along with you."
"Ottar and the others asked me to take care of you so they can explore the Dungeon without worries."
"You'll be paid normally for your work, though it won't be much, so don't expect too much."
"After all, you still owe me more than twenty billion valis!"
Elise showed no courtesy toward Freya. Even as a goddess, Freya didn't dare act too recklessly at this moment and could only nod obediently.
"I understand... hm?"
"Huh?"
At that moment, both Freya and Elise seemed to sense something at the same time and turned their heads toward the entrance.
There, a male god with orange hair had somehow appeared.
"Um..."
"I think I just saw something I wasn't supposed to see..."
The god kept stepping backward, nearly reaching the door...
Bang!
But with a wave of Elise's hand, the doors and windows of the shop instantly shut.
"Well, uh... can I just pretend I didn't see anything today and be spared, Lady Freya?"
Originally planning to escape through the window, the god immediately gave up upon seeing the starlike lights surrounding him and instead dropped to his knees in a full prostration.
"I'm truly sorry!"
"Ara..."
"Isn't this Hermes?" The moment she saw an outsider, Freya's attitude changed completely. "What wind has brought you here? Don't tell me you've taken on another request?"
"Care to share?"
That's right—the orange-haired god was Hermes. At this moment, cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
Hadn't Elise just defeated the Freya Familia not long ago? How were their relations this good?
Could there be some private deal between them?
And he had just walked in on it?
Would he be silenced?
"It's nothing important, I just... I just..."
Hermes' eyes darted wildly as he tried to come up with an explanation.
If he said he came to buy something, they definitely wouldn't believe him, right?
And after what he just saw...
Was this really where his life would end?
"Isn't this Lord Hermes? The batch of potions you ordered earlier has been completed. Please wait a moment, I'll bring them over right away!"
Elise's words instantly eased the tense atmosphere. Even Freya chose to quietly wait.
Hope lit up in Hermes' eyes...
"Alright, everything is here. The total is 500 million valis. Thank you for your patronage!"
That hope shattered instantly, leaving only pain on Hermes' face.
Excruciating pain!
"What? 500 million valis?"
"That's way too expensive! I don't remember ever ordering—"
Just as Hermes was about to refuse, he caught sight of Freya's gentle smile and immediately fell silent.
"Ahem... I did indeed order these items."
"But I remember that when I bought them, that pallum said I'd get a discount..."
Hermes continued to struggle, but Elise agreed. She handed the note in her hand to Freya and said softly, "I see... since Lyra promised it, then it can't be helped. We'll give you a discount!"
"Thank you very much!"
Holding the note, Freya crossed out the original 500 million. Hermes was deeply moved—until the next moment, when his face froze.
Because Freya wrote a six in its place.
The original 500 million had instantly increased by another 100 million!
"How is that a discount?! That's clearly an increase!"
Freya crossed out the six and wrote a seven instead...
"This is the discount—fourteen percent off."
"..."
You're really something else!
Forget it!
It seemed he couldn't escape. Hermes let out a sigh and signed his name on the note.
Losing some money was one thing—losing his life would not be worth it.
Still...
At least he gained something from this encounter.
"Thank you for your patronage!"
Elise and Freya stood together, waving goodbye to the departing Hermes.
It seemed Freya was actually quite suited for this job—she had picked up the tricks of business surprisingly quickly.
And if her charm were added on top of that...
Elise could already imagine it. Gods who had prior connections with Freya would surely come to support the shop.
When that time came...
It would all depend on Freya!
And she wouldn't even need to pay her much!
What a profit!
...
"That's it for today! You've worked hard!"
The day passed quickly. While settling accounts, Elise noticed that with Freya in the shop, more items had been sold and more customers had come.
Especially Loki!
After hearing that Freya was working here, she even abandoned her drink and rushed over.
As a result, Elise witnessed a rare scene—Loki and Freya arguing back and forth!
However, Loki ultimately didn't buy anything, which made Freya quite annoyed. She even declared that she would get her revenge next time.
"Here, this is for you—consider it a reward."
Elise bought two snacks from nearby—recently famous fried potato balls. They tasted quite good.
"Could it be... this is a date?"
"Walking together at sunset, sharing fried potato balls... ah!"
"How romantic!"
Freya held her cheeks, swaying her head like a shy young girl.
Even though she knew Elise wouldn't agree, it didn't matter. The current Freya only needed to express her love and wait for Elise to accept it.
Though she had no idea when that would happen...
"After you finish eating, I'll escort you back to your familia. I'll also come pick you up tomorrow morning. I promised Ottar, so I'll make sure to protect you."
"Elise..." Hearing words that sounded almost like a confession, Freya's eyes lit up. "Thank you!"
Thud!
However, discordant sounds always appeared at the worst times.
"Help! There's a robbery!"
Even if Elise was the strongest in Orario and the Astraea Familia was the strongest familia, crime could never be completely eradicated.
They had established many rules for Orario—where there were those who followed them, there would always be those who didn't.
Otherwise, the Astraea Familia and the Ganesha Familia wouldn't need to conduct regular patrols.
"What a mood killer." Freya clicked her tongue in annoyance and said to Elise, "Go on. I'll wait here."
In such a situation, Elise would never stand by and do nothing—otherwise she wouldn't be Elise.
"Then please wait for me a moment."
As she spoke, wind began to swirl around her body. With its assistance, she shot forward at incredible speed toward the robber.
Boom—!
With just a single strike, the robber was sent flying by the storm.
It wasn't that he was weak—it was simply that Elise was too strong.
Elise could even say that even if the robber were Finn, she could still send him flying with one blow!
From the moment Elise appeared to the moment the robber fell, it took less than ten seconds.
This was the overwhelming suppression of strength from Orario's strongest.
"Oh! Isn't that little Elise?"
"As expected of the messenger of justice—dealing with that robber so quickly!"
"With you here, we can all live in peace!"
Thanks to her intervention, many citizens recognized her, their praises unending.
Elise waved to the nearby residents and returned the stolen goods.
"Alright, it's getting late. I'll take you back now..."
Returning to Freya once more, the goddess wore an expression of admiration, just like any ordinary person.
Having someone like her in Orario... how wonderful.
Seeing Elise like this, many residents felt hopeful for the future.
Of course, some even took action.
For example, a little girl with golden hair suddenly grabbed Elise's clothes and, under Elise's puzzled gaze, shouted that shocking word.
"Mom!"