The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning…
"Huh? Renjiro-sama isn't going to the Dungeon with us today either?"
In the first-floor hall of the Maria Orphanage, the members of the Frigg Familia were having breakfast together.
As for Renjiro—there was no way he could explain his downright haunted itinerary for today to everyone else.
So, under the narrowed, smiling gaze of Syr (Freya)—the ever-amused trickster goddess—he could only clear his throat, look at Lili, who was asking with a puzzled expression, and shrug.
"Yesterday, after we won the War Game, we received quite a few rewards, remember?"
"Today, I need to spend some time collecting all those 'good things.'"
"The trickiest part is the development rights to certain areas"
That's right. Perhaps as a deliberate olive branch from the Guild, once this highly influential and widely discussed War Game concluded, the Freya Familia not only received an enormous sum of gambling compensation from the Soma Familia, but also gained a piece of land.
It was the very ruins that had served as the War Game's venue.
That place had once been the headquarters of the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia.
More than ten years ago, when the two former "strongest familias" withdrew from Orario at the same time, the area gradually fell into disuse. Then, several years back, during the Seven Days of Death, it became a battlefield and was half-destroyed by the Evilus familia.
Time passed. Although many people had coveted that land over the years, almost no one had the spare funds to carry out large-scale development.
Those with money didn't have the right to use the land.
And to obtain the rights, they had to pay an enormous price to purchase them from the Guild.
But after buying the land, the money was gone—leaving nothing for further development. A perfect deadlock.
As for those who had money to burn—like Freya, Hephaestus, or Ishtar—they already had their own established bases and didn't care for that place at all.
And so, it remains vacant to this day…
"We really lucked out and picked up a Barcain," Renjiro said with a smile. "With the development and usage rights to that land, plus the compensation money from the Soma Familia, we'll be able to move into a new home before long."
He turned his head toward Maria, and toward Ray, Fina, and the others. "When that happens, everyone can have their own room."
At that, Renjiro glanced up toward the roof beams. "Sayu won't have to sleep on the roof every day anymore."
Hearing this…
"Yay~!"
Led by the Ray, all the children burst into excitement.
Maria simply smiled softly from the side.
She understood that for a familia to continue growing, a respectable base was indispensable.
Now, thanks to the existence of the King of Magecrafts, the Freya Familia's reputation had grown astonishingly loud—so much so that, in a short time, it might even rival the fame of the Twin Stars…
"The third adventurer capable of summoning Genshins"—just that fact alone was irresistible.
And since Renjiro was clearly not someone who could be persuaded to leave, it was inevitable that elites of all races would soon flock here to apply for membership.
That was the terrifying promotional power of a War Game.
Against that backdrop, this abandoned church truly wasn't good enough anymore.
Maria was a perceptive woman.
She knew that if she said, "I'll stay living here," then the whole family would probably stay with her.
And so, she said nothing.
She only quietly worried about what she should do in the future… and what she could still do.
Renjiro had clearly noticed this too. That was why… he had already planned to find a chance later to speak with Maria in private and tell her this:
As long as he remained captain, the Freya Familia would fully support her in rescuing and caring for any homeless or helpless orphans within Orario.
That kind of money—he could earn it.
And Syr would support his decision as well.
In short…
"Make sure to pack your things properly over the next few days," Renjiro said as he rubbed Rai's head. "The construction efficiency of the Primordial Gods is downright terrifying."
"We'll be able to move into the new home very soon."
"Oooh~"
======
Today, on the surface, every member of the Freya Familia had their own business to attend to.
Lili would continue delving into the Dungeon with Razor to grind monsters and earn money.
Syr and Bell had already planned out their schedule for the day.
As for Renjiro…
"Hmph~"
After claiming he was heading off to work, he had actually handed everything over to Ningguang to manage.
After receiving Syr's—or rather, Freya's—remote guidance, he went out in disguise.
Accompanying him was the ditzy little sister, who had also changed into a more casual outfit.
In other words…
Syr was going out with Bell.
And "Freya" was going out with Lumine.
Today, this four-person group was heading to shop in District One
Their agreed meeting spot was near a fountain in the Central Plaza.
Not long after—around eight in the morning…
"Over here, over here."
Syr, who was accompanying Bell, waved proactively at the one goddess and one person from the Freya Familia.
When the latter two drew close…
"I missed you sooo much~ Sister 'Freya'—sis~ter~"
The "silver-haired goddess" raised her right hand and flicked the gray-haired girl (goddess) on the forehead.
After yelping in pain, the latter instinctively dodged back, then stuck out her tongue, wearing a mischievous little-sister grin.
At the same time…
A certain rabbit boy stiffened up all over once again when he saw Lumine dressed in casual clothes.
"Don't tease him right now," Renjiro hurriedly warned the ditzy little sister through their mental link. "Otherwise, who's going to carry the bags later?"
"I know,"Lumine tilted her head toward him and blinked subtly. "I won't tease him now. Later… later, once we get to the clothing store, right?"
"Hehe~"
"Hehehe~"
They exchanged knowing smiles.
Today, Renjiro had only one goal—
"Put on the dress, young man."
"If you hadn't scared me half to death last night, I wouldn't be… well, actually, I'd still be suffering through this anyway."
But still…
You actually dared to secretly change the target of your Liaris Freese—how dare you rebel.
"Bell, I swear I'll scare you so badly you awaken the full-blown 'fear of women' performance of the Only God."
On the other side…
"Today, I absolutely must make Brother Renjiro wear the dress I personally pick out for 'her,'" Syr (Freya) revealed a wicked grin. "You actually dared to say my—Freya's—clothes weren't proper. How dare you rebel."
And just like that… without anyone realizing it, a bizarre food chain had already taken shape.
And at the very bottom of that food chain, without question, was—
The rabbit.
Bell shivered instinctively.
"Why does it suddenly feel a bit cold?"
…..
Completed version available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]