The silver-haired girl in front of Hayashi Maki was clearly this world's heroine, the half-elf Emilia.
At her question, Hayashi Maki gave her a quick once-over and replied calmly:
"If you're asking about a small blonde girl, she just leapt over our heads and ran that way."
He casually pointed in the direction Felt had fled.
"Thank you, that helps a lot!"
The silver-haired girl bowed deeply in gratitude, then hurried past them and ran off after Felt.
Watching Emilia's retreating back, Hayashi Maki's gaze grew heated.
He'd never denied his lust for beautiful girls.
Emilia was a half-elf, and silver-haired on top of that. Hayashi Maki was definitely weak to white-haired girls.
And more than that—
Because of what she'd gone through as a child with the Witch Cult's Pandora and her own power going berserk and freezing everything, Emilia's mind was as pure and simple as a little girl's.
Taking such a pure beauty and staining her with his own color… that was extremely satisfying to Hayashi Maki.
"Hey, that's enough staring, she's already gone!"
Seeing him still staring after the silver-haired girl, Aqua puffed her cheeks out.
"Oh? Is Goddess Aqua getting jealous?"
Hayashi Maki looked back at her, amused.
"Ha? Jealous? I'm a goddess, okay, I don't have those kinds of thoughts. I'm just telling you to reel your eyeballs back in before they stick to her. At least try to maintain the image of us Axis followers!"
Aqua spoke righteously and gave him a big eye-roll.
Hayashi Maki could only laugh helplessly. "We Axis followers have an image? Aqua, don't mess with me."
"What's that supposed to mean? How do we not have an image!?"
Hands on her hips, Aqua glared at him. If he didn't give a good explanation, she'd blow up.
"I'm just being honest. The moment we shout 'Eris pads her chest!' as an official slogan, the Axis Church's image is already dead."
Hayashi Maki tossed back casually as he took her hand and started walking.
"Hey, but I'm just telling the truth! We Axis types are the most honest version of ourselves. Eris clearly has nothing there and still pads her chest, pretending to be busty— that's deception, pure deception!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're totally right. I highly suspect it's because more people believe in Eris than in you that you keep targeting her."
"Ha? I'm a high-tier goddess, why would I need to pick on my junior Eris? Don't misunderstand me!"
Aqua protested loudly.
"And anyway, why are you dragging me along? You planning to chase that silver-haired girl from before?"
"Exactly. I've taken a liking to her. She seems to have great potential as a future cultist, so I'm going to move first and recruit her."
"If that's the case, I'll help!"
Aqua's interest was instantly piqued.
After all, this world had no gods and no Axis Church. It was the perfect place for her to expand her faith and gather believers.
"So how are we convincing her to join, when we don't even know her name yet?"
Noticing Hayashi Maki's lecherous expression, Aqua couldn't help asking warily.
Hayashi Maki smiled mysteriously. "Just follow me. That silver-haired girl clearly lost something. The one who stole it is likely that shabby little loli who used our heads as a springboard."
"We'll go check things out first."
"If we can get that item back and return it to the silver-haired girl, we'll earn her gratitude. Then we can use that chance to learn more about this world from her."
"That makes sense! You're pretty sharp— you noticed all that." She paused, then squinted at him suspiciously. "But why do we have to get information from the silver-haired girl?"
Hayashi Maki explained as they walked: "Simple. She's too pretty, has pointy ears and elf blood, so she clearly isn't ordinary."
"And her outfit doesn't match the commoners around here at all. Her status definitely isn't simple. Building a good relationship with someone like that is always a good investment."
Aqua nodded in understanding at his logic… then immediately shot him a skeptical look.
"You sure it's not just because she's pretty that you want to talk to her?"
She'd already seen what he did to her. Newly met and he'd already dragged her into bed.
No question— Hayashi Maki was a massive pervert.
"Yes, I'll admit it— I do want to approach her because she's pretty. Cute girls are the best."
Hayashi Maki openly confessed his preferences.
That left Aqua at a rare loss for words. Her mouth twitched, and disbelief filled her eyes.
Still, her strongest trait was adaptability.
So after glaring at him once more, the goddess obediently followed as he headed into the slums.
Why the slums?
That was easy.
…The little blonde girl's clothes were ragged beyond belief.
One pant leg intact, the other ripped off and wrapped around her chest as a makeshift tube top.
Hayashi Maki already knew this world's basic story and some of the original plot.
Even though he'd killed Natsuki Subaru and derailed the script, some fundamentals wouldn't change.
He knew that Felt's true identity was that of a lost royal princess. The girl had been living in poverty with Old Man Rom, relying on each other to survive.
Her biggest dream was to escape the slums. And because she had the Blessing of Wind, she'd become a nimble thief.
Now that they were back in the slum district, the streets were full of people with numb expressions, huddled in collapsing houses, peeking timidly outside.
Others lay filthy on wooden planks in the open, like they'd given up on life.
Hayashi Maki grabbed a scruffy bearded man, handed him a piece of bread, and asked if he knew anything about a blonde loli.
"Blonde loli? You mean Felt, right? She's pretty well-known around here," the man said, looking delighted at the bread and answering earnestly.
"Judging by how you look, I'm guessing she nicked something off you. If you want it back, just go straight that way until you reach Old Man Rom's loot shop. You can buy it back there."