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Buying the house was fine.
In its own way, it was an investment.
If Hestia Familia ever collapsed into ruin, the property could always be sold off later.
At this point, Hephaestus was still judging Hestia by the worst version of her she remembered, the same freeloader who used to mooch meals and laze around without a care.
She had no idea that Hestia was no longer the goddess she had once known.
In more ways than one, she had become a capable wife and mother.
"Oh, right, Goddess."
Anos added one more thing.
"If I can gather enough valis within a month, could we make another deal?"
Buying the house had not been the real reason he came.
That had only been a side matter.
"Oh? What kind of deal?"
Hephaestus gave him a long, meaningful smile.
She liked people who dared to propose deals to gods.
"It's about…"
Anos stepped closer and explained it to her in a low voice.
A few seconds later.
…
"Hahaha."
Hephaestus burst into laughter.
"You do realize what you're saying, don't you?"
She had not heard anything this interesting in a very long time.
Interesting.
Truly interesting.
"If you really have that kind of ability, and if you can pay my price, then I don't see why not."
That was her promise.
A god's promise.
"Good, Then let's wait for that day to come."
Anos smiled.
As far as this matter was concerned, he was more than ninety-nine percent certain.
…
The next morning.
The moment Anos woke up, he felt warmth and softness pressed against him.
He turned his head and saw Hestia clinging to his waist like he was a body pillow.
"Hestia... Hestia?"
He tried nudging the tiny goddess awake.
Hestia had many good qualities.
Being far too attached to him was just one of her less manageable ones.
He was certain she had not been beside him when he fell asleep.
Which meant she had snuck back into his room during the night.
"Mmm… mmm?"
Hestia slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
"Mmm? Anos? Anos?"
A little line of drool hung at the corner of her mouth, She was always like this first thing in the morning.
"Ah… right, We're back in Orario."
She looked around, finally piecing together the situation.
"I have something to take care of today," Anos said, patting her head while getting dressed. "You and Bell should go buy the things we need for daily life."
By the time he finished dressing, Hestia had mostly woken up.
"Anos, what did you say you were going to do?"
Now that she was awake, she had already forgotten everything he had just told her.
"I said I have something to handle outside, You and Bell should go buy daily necessities."
After explaining it again, Anos finally left.
He really did have important things to do.
He made his way to a quiet, isolated location and activated the Fivefold Mystic Void Formation.
When the formation faded, he found himself in a place he had never been before.
That was necessary.
What he was about to do absolutely could not be seen by the gods.
Opening his eyes, he let crimson-gold light rise from his chest.
Then, before him, three differently colored vortices formed in the air.
Three world gates.
One leading back to the world of High School DxD.
One leading to the world of Akame ga Kill.
One leading to the world of Strike the Blood.
Anos stepped toward the gate to his original world and crossed back into it.
There was something he needed to handle.
Taking out the phone, which he could not use in the Dungeon world, he activated the ultimate technique.
Calling people to do the work for him.
"There's something I need you to handle."
He spoke calmly into the phone.
"Yes, Lord Anos."
The reply came instantly.
These were the subordinates he had gathered while building his underground power structure.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, they were not especially meaningful.
Even a mid-level fallen angel like Raynare could erase human memories and remove all traces of her presence. To the true supernatural powers of the hidden world, ordinary human elites were little more than ants.
That was exactly why Anos had always avoided exposing himself openly. He preferred to operate from the shadows.
If his public identity were revealed too early, what would stop someone from the supernatural world from threatening him through his influence in ordinary society whenever they needed something?
Showing your hand too early was a foolish mistake.
But now, he finally had enough of a foundation to begin.
"Collect every kind of firearm and weapon you can get your hands on. New or old, it doesn't matter. Start with five hundred of each type."
Yes.
What Anos wanted was modern weaponry.
"Yes, Lord Anos. How should we deliver everything to you?"
The request was broad, and the quantities were huge.
But these were Anos's orders. They would carry them out.
Besides, if his entire network moved at once, even acquiring military-grade equipment would not be impossible.
"Put everything in a warehouse and notify me when it's ready."
He ended the call.
His reason for buying those weapons was simple.
He needed money.
A lot of money.
In this world, money was just a number.
It meant nothing.
But in the Dungeon world, Valis could buy things this world could not.
What he planned to exploit was the industrial gap between the two worlds.
You think you're strong because you're an adventurer?
Try a bullet.
You think a monster is tough?
Then let the merciful Gatling Bodhisattva offer salvation.
While such weapons would not mean much against high-class adventurers, anyone above Level 4 could largely ignore them, changing the reality for lower-level adventurers would already be enough to reshape Orario itself.
Take Minotaurs, for example.
A rocket launcher or concentrated Gatling fire would absolutely ruin their day.
After returning to this world, Anos flipped the time ratio again.
One hundred days in the DxD world would now equal one day in the Dungeon world.
That meant the time spent waiting for weapons to be gathered would amount to less than a single day there.
"Still, it's a shame. I have other things to handle before going back. Once I return there, I'll switch the time flow again, wait a little longer, then come back here. By then the shipment should be ready."
With that done, Anos opened the gate back to the Dungeon world.
He still had more ways to make money.
Method one.
Sell maps to familia and take a share of their profits from Dungeon runs.
Method two.
Introduce modern weapons from another world into the Dungeon world and completely overturn the existing balance. And since only he could reliably provide ammunition, the buyers would keep coming back to him for more.
As for method three…
That would require a little more preparation.
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