"Yesterday, I made it very clear to you."
"That is—I have no interest whatsoever in your so-called Soma information. More precisely, I don't even want to have much contact with you at all."
Meeting Lili again left Ron in a mood that was hard to describe. However, the little Pallum girl before him had already shed the disguise of 'Cinder Ella' and returned to her original appearance.
Looking closely, he could even see bruising near her eye sockets.
There was no need to guess the reason.
It was absolutely the filthy and chaotic environment of the Soma Familia, where the oppression of supporters by Familia members was allowed to run rampant. Even so, his gaze remained calm.
"There are members of the Soma Familia monitoring you at the Central Plaza."
"And also..."
"The adventurers that Captain Zanis sent into the Dungeon to search for the truth didn't bring back any information about the 'abnormal situation.' More precisely…"
"They've already begun to suspect you as the target."
The feeling of having every secret laid bare was indeed tormenting.
Lili's slightly childish face showed no emotional fluctuation at all; she merely unilaterally conveyed the intelligence she had obtained, free of charge, to the boy before her.
As for Ron's wariness—
She felt it was entirely reasonable. There was no reason that someone who had done so many sordid things should then demand to appear in others' eyes as though they were a pure, spotless white lotus.
Last night, her Valis had been snatched away by members of her own Familia.
And as for the oppression she had suffered over the years, and matters such as damage to the Familia's interests—Lili no longer cared about any of it, as long as it was something Zanis despised.
Then it was right!
The girl even hoped that this dispute would grow as large as possible.
Ideally, Ron would deal with all the adventurers tracking him. As for overthrowing the Soma Familia, she harbored no such unrealistic expectations.
"Overall speaking, once they've figured out your movements, they will definitely take action."
After leading Ron away from the Central Plaza via another Adventurers' Street, Lili pulled on the cord to tighten her hood, her figure gradually disappearing into the alley.
Leaving only him standing there.
Free information was not something to refuse. Ron did not think Lili had suddenly seen the light, but he was certain that her stance would absolutely not be on the side of the Soma Familia.
Once they figured out his movements, would those filthy vermin take action in the Dungeon?
"So…"
"If I really run into Lv.2 adventurers from the Soma Familia, I can only lure them toward the area of the 7th Floor!"
Thinking of the strength possessed by the Killer Ants, dealing with adventurers who had no Soulslike experience at all should not be a problem. The key point was that during the battle, he had to completely eradicate them, leaving no loose ends.
After synthesizing and analyzing the information at hand, Ron quickly arrived at a simple conclusion. It could only be said that the Dungeon's so-called "extinction mechanism" had utterly shattered his dream of becoming an invincible grindlord.
What should he do next to improve himself…
After racking his brain, the only things he could think of were seeking guidance from the War God Takemikazuchi, or from powerful adventurers, in order to further refine his practical combat skills.
Powerful adventurers.
He had only arrived in Orario not long ago—surely he couldn't go looking for Lefiya, right?
Recalling the elf girl he had first encountered in the Dungeon, the one who talked far too much, Ron decisively dismissed the thought. Their Familia affiliations were different.
More importantly, he had no idea whether she would even have the time.
"Old man Takemikazuchi."
"In the end, it really feels like you're still the most reliable one!"
Having made up his mind, he headed toward West Main Street. Before any technical training, the first priority was still to fill his stomach.
The destination was the Hostess of Fertility restaurant.
...
Hephaestus Weapon Shop.
Inside the office.
Looking at her close friend kneeling before her in an impeccably proper posture, even before any request was made, Hephaestus already felt a headache coming on.
This was definitely not going to be simple.
After all, when Hestia had first helped Ron scrape together a fourth-tier armament, she hadn't gone this far. That alone showed just how troublesome this matter was going to be.
Hephaestus helplessly pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Could you stand up and talk?"
"No."
"Mainly because my carpet is quite expensive. I'm afraid you'll damage it—then I'd have to deduct it from your wages. Would your rent still be manageable after that?"
"Hephaestus."
Even with the conversation having reached this point, Hestia still didn't stand up, instead starting to play the emotional card from their days in the heavens. "We've… known each other for a long time, haven't we?"
"That's right."
If she had known it would come to this, she would have regretted ever meeting this troublemaker.
Hephaestus nodded. Truly unwilling to waste time on a situation like this, she asked, "Just say it. What do you want to do this time?"
"Weapons."
"Your Ron has already spent money to commission a weapon."
"But I want to do something for him."
Of course Hestia understood—even yesterday, when Ron paid that exorbitant weapon customization fee, she herself had felt a pang of pain.
Even if she wasn't entirely sure—
What kind of predicament was he in now, to leave him in such an unprecedentedly grave state?
But as a high god, how could she possibly stand by and watch a child of her Familia bear such pressure alone? As for discarding one's dignity—
The key point was, to be honest,
Hestia truly did not feel that doing a dogeza carried any psychological burden at all!
After a brief moment of thought, she added, "I don't understand what weapons adventurers need for Dungeon exploration. Right now, Ron wants to commission a greatsword."
"Which means…"
"This weapon will be extremely important for his upcoming explorations."
"If possible, could its armament grade be forged to a higher tier? As for the additional cost, you can deduct it from my future wages."
"…"
You two really are a pair of ill-fated lovers!
As expected, it all still came back to weapon forging. Hephaestus did not continue to hide anything. "The weapon Ron commissioned—I charged strictly according to the materials."
"The final product will most likely be a third-tier armament."
"Can it be raised further?"
"You also work in the shop. You know the price of second-tier armaments—it generally won't be less than ten million Valis. I don't think your wages can bear that."
"…"
The girl said nothing, remaining in a dogeza.
In the end, unable to endure this bizarre atmosphere any longer, Hephaestus took a grayish-brown parchment from a drawer in her desk.
Knowing this person really is bad luck!
Even so, she still gave an answer. "Ron's greatsword—I'll have Tsubaki forge it, and I guarantee the armament grade will definitely exceed second-tier."
"As for the additional cost."
After carefully calculating, Hephaestus still couldn't bring herself to let her close friend shoulder that much debt. She decided to symbolically charge only the material cost.
She slowly stood up, her fingers lightly tapping on the desktop.
"I estimate it at about five million Valis. This is an IOU—one hundred thousand Valis will be deducted from your wages each month, over the next four-plus years."
"You'll be working here the entire time!"
"Hestia, if you have no objections, then sign it…"
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