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"My name is Syr. Thank you, Lady Hestia and Captain Anos Kanzaki, for visiting the Hostess of Fertility. I hope you'll keep coming back and supporting us."
Syr spoke with a warm smile.
On the surface, it sounded like a simple greeting meant to welcome new customers.
But Anos knew better.
He had been noticed.
Syr was not just Syr.
Syr was one of Freya's masks.
Syr could read people's hearts, and Freya could see straight through the souls of mortals.
If Syr had taken an interest in him, then Freya had taken an interest in him.
"Interesting, Did she notice something in my soul?"
"But according to my calculations, even with her ability to read souls, she shouldn't be able to fully see through mine."
"No… it's also possible she's simply drawn to the mystery itself. To the divine and unknown nature of it."
After running through the possibilities again, Anos more or less understood why Syr had approached their table.
He only paused for a heartbeat before smiling at her.
"If we had a waitress as charming as Miss Syr serving us every day, I'm sure we'd become regulars."
That was his answer.
Freya had already made her move. Trying too hard to avoid her now would only make him look more suspicious.
With Freya's reach, it was only a matter of time before she discovered the truth. She might even already know that the one working with the Guild was him.
For now, all that mattered was keeping the full details out of the hands of the wider adventurer population.
Before that changed, there were still preparations he needed to make.
The Resonance Convergence Method could create overwhelming layered reactions in battle, but outside combat it could also be used as a kind of split-body technique.
After dinner, Anos headed to the house Hestia had chosen.
"This place is…"
It was much larger than he had expected.
He had assumed Hestia would pick a cheap inn or something temporary.
Instead, she had somehow found a villa.
"Well… Hephaestus helped us with it," Hestia admitted, poking her fingers together before lifting her head to look at him with the expression of a child trying to stay out of trouble. "She said we can rent it, and if we can't keep up with the payments later, she'll just throw us out."
"Don't worry, Anos," Bell added quickly. "The rent is actually very low. It's much cheaper than most places on the market."
"It's fine, I know."
Anos had already evaluated the rent the moment he stepped inside.
After comparing the price to the size of the property and its condition, that was why he had asked in the first place.
"I'm going to meet Goddess Hephaestus for a moment, You two should rest."
"Anos?"
Hestia looked at him in confusion.
"Don't worry, Hestia. I'll be back soon."
He smiled, and in the next instant, he was gone.
Hestia could not use divine power in the Lower World, and Bell had only just started her journey. Neither of them had any chance of keeping up with him.
"Honestly…"
Hestia puffed her cheeks into a little bun of frustration. Even though she had not been able to control Anos for a very long time now, it still irritated her whenever he ignored her wishes.
"Lady Hestia, let's go inside first."
Bell could only smile helplessly.
…
At Hephaestus Familia.
No matter how diligent their patrols were, Anos slipped inside without difficulty.
All he had to do was keep calculating the weakest point in their security and move through it.
Click!
He opened the door and found Hephaestus reading a book on ore smelting.
"Hm? You came here in person? What is it? Did you come to pay back your debt already?"
She set the book aside and smiled.
"No. I came because the house you rented to us is better than I expected, so I decided to buy it."
"…What?"
For once, even Hephaestus looked completely thrown.
Compared to the weapon Hestia had taken, the house was insignificant. But it was still expensive.
Had he really made that much money so quickly?
"Thirty-five million valis. That should be the house's value. You can take this card to the Guild and exchange it directly."
Anos tossed the card toward her.
He had accepted the money from the Guild as emergency funds.
And this counted as an emergency.
Their daily expenses would not be high, and Bell did not need top-tier equipment yet. By the time she did, he would be upgrading his own gear too.
"You… you earned this much in a single day?"
Hephaestus rose to her feet immediately.
She did not believe for a second that Anos would do something as stupid as lie to a god. The truth would be too easy to verify.
"That's right. I wasn't joking when I said I could handle it."
Anos shook his head.
Honestly, the situation felt almost absurd to him.
All his life, he had been the type to play the role of the one with capital, the one who built monstrous wealth through his own abilities. In the human world alone, his influence had once reached the point where he could be called rich enough to rival nations.
And now here he was, in debt.
Life really was unpredictable.
"Interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you can take Hestia Familia."
Hephaestus accepted the card without hesitation.
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