The next day.
Cain woke up early and headed to West Main Street.
This area was near the adventurer headquarters; even though dawn had just broken, many adventurers were already on the streets.
After greeting a few passing regular customers, Cain walked toward a tavern on the street corner.
The tavern bore the sign 'The Hostess of Fertility', and a cat-girl stood in front of the door cleaning.
Sensing someone approaching, the cat ears atop Anya's head twitched twice, and she looked up.
"The tavern isn't open for business yet. If you want to eat, please come back later... hm? Oh, it's Cain-nyaa~"
"Good morning, Anya."
Cain raised a hand in greeting.
He had a cooperative relationship with The Hostess of Fertility, having frequently come here to source ingredients recently.
Over time, he had become familiar with the tavern employees, and they all knew each other.
"Is Ryuu here? I have something to discuss with her."
"She's inside cleaning. I'll call her for you-nyaa~"
Anya pushed open the tavern door and waved to the Elf Maiden wiping tables in the corner.
"Ryuu! Cain is looking for you!"
"Looking for me?"
Ryuu stopped her work and came outside.
"Is something the matter?"
"I have a gift for you."
Cain took out a sealed envelope and handed it to the Elf Maiden.
"Find a private place to look at it later when you're free. There's a surprise inside."
"Why so mysterious-nyaa?"
Seeing Cain leave immediately after speaking, Anya, who had been eavesdropping, poked her head over to look at the envelope in Ryuu's hand.
"Ryuu, what's inside?"
"I don't know."
Ryuu tucked the envelope into her dress.
"Eh? You're not going to open it and look?"
Anya stared expectantly at Ryuu.
"Cain told me to open it somewhere private."
"Nyaa is a cat, not a person!"
"Stop playing around and get back to work."
Ryuu remained unmoved and turned to walk back into the tavern.
Syr hadn't come today, so she had to hurry and handle her portion of the work as well.
...
After leaving The Hostess of Fertility, Cain arrived at the Takemikazuchi Familia's residence.
"You must be Hestia's child. I've heard about you for a long time, and I've finally met you today."
Takemikazuchi patted Cain's shoulder with a warm expression.
Before Hestia left the fried potato puff stall, she had told him she found a wonderful child.
Yesterday, when Ouka and the others returned, they also told him various stories about Cain.
Because he was so expectant, Takemikazuchi had woken up early this morning to wait for the visit.
"I heard you wanted to ask me for a favor?"
"Yes, I would like to ask you, Takemikazuchi-sama, to help me refine a Breathing Technique."
Cain handed the pre-transcribed Thunder Breathing to Takemikazuchi and took out a commission letter from his pocket.
"These are the commission requirements and the reward."
"There's no need for a reward or anything."
Takemikazuchi waved his hand. "It's just refining a Breathing Technique; for me..."
"One million Valis?!"
Ouka, standing nearby, let out a cry of surprise.
"Hm?"
Takemikazuchi instinctively looked down at the commission letter.
At the bottom of the letter, the task reward column was clearly marked with a long string of zeros.
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands... one million!
Takemikazuchi cleared his throat. "I take back my previous statement. I need the reward for this commission."
As a benevolent god, after descending to the Far East Island, Takemikazuchi had adopted and cared for many orphans.
However, as the number of orphans grew, Takemikazuchi gradually fell into a financial crisis.
As the saying goes, even a hero can be brought to his knees by a single penny.
Takemikazuchi had led Ouka and the others from the Far East to Orario specifically to earn money so the children could eat their fill.
One million Valis was already a massive fortune for the Takemikazuchi Familia.
"It's quite alright, Takemikazuchi-sama. I've learned about your situation from my goddess."
Cain pushed the commission letter in front of Takemikazuchi and pointed to the requirements column.
"These are the requirements. Please take a look first."
[Breathing Technique Refinement Directions]
[1. Lower the difficulty of practicing the Breathing Technique]
[2. Improve the physical strengthening effect of the Breathing Technique]
[3. Based on the existing six sword forms, create even more powerful techniques]
...
[10. Based on the original Thunder Breathing, create an exclusive version for Cain and a public version suitable for ordinary people.]
As expected, money isn't that easy to earn.
Takemikazuchi set down the commission letter and immediately began to examine the Thunder Breathing he had just received.
He didn't know until he looked, and one look gave him quite a shock.
Just as he started reading the beginning of Thunder Breathing, Takemikazuchi was stunned by the content.
You call this a Breathing Technique?
In Takemikazuchi's understanding, a Breathing Technique was a method that anyone could practice to strengthen their body.
But this technique Cain gave him was the exact opposite of what he knew; every line was filled with a sense of self-cannibalization.
To practice Thunder Breathing, not only was a certain level of comprehension required, but the practitioner also needed a resilient will to endure various extreme training sessions to strengthen their physique.
Furthermore, even if one mastered Thunder Breathing through training, activating it would still place immense pressure on the heart and lungs.
Using Thunder Breathing for prolonged periods could even shorten one's lifespan and affect their very foundation.
"Cain, where did you get this Breathing Technique?"
"From a country infested with demons."
"Demons... I see. So that's how it is."
Takemikazuchi had a sudden realization and gradually understood everything.
If the creator of the Breathing Technique was in a dangerous environment, oppressed by the powerful and living in constant peril...
Then, for the sake of survival, creating this kind of lifespan-shortening Breathing Technique was understandable.
Compared to a shorter life, staying alive was the most important thing.
"Cain, in the commission, you asked me to create a Breathing Technique suitable for the masses based on Thunder Breathing. Is that also for the people of that country?"
"Yes."
"Then just wait for my good news!"
Feeling the sincerity in Cain's words, Takemikazuchi was instantly filled with motivation.
While making money, he could also help the commoners in a foreign land who were oppressed by the powerful.
Nothing was more meaningful than this.
Takemikazuchi: "I will do my best to perfect this Breathing Technique to its absolute limit!"
Cain smiled and nodded: "Then I'll look forward to the final product."
Although he didn't know why Takemikazuchi suddenly got fired up, at this moment, he only needed to give a polite yet non-awkward smile.
After chatting with Takemikazuchi for a while, Cain turned his gaze toward Ouka nearby.
"Ouka, does the Takemikazuchi Familia have any plans for today?"
"Not for the time being. Why?"
"I have another commission here."
Cain took out a second commission letter and placed it on the table.
"If you are free, help me monitor a person and confirm her movements."
"No problem."
Ouka agreed immediately.
As the captain of the Takemikazuchi Familia, his desire for money was not inferior to his own primary god.
Besides sending money home so his younger siblings could eat their fill, he also had to take care of the Familia members.
Whether it was repairing equipment or buying potions, it was all a huge expense.
Being able to take on more commissions to earn money, Ouka naturally wouldn't refuse.
Picking up the commission letter from the table, Ouka looked at the task target column.
Liliruca Arde.
...
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