The night was deep, and the streets of Orario were completely empty.
Genichi stepped out from the Dionysus Familia's residence, his figure blending back into the darkness.
His footsteps were light, nearly soundless, but every step was exceptionally steady.
Dionysus's words still echoed in his mind.
"What a pity. The look in your eyes no longer has that same madness it once did."
The mad god's words lodged in Genichi's heart like a thorn.
Madness?
A cold smile curled at his lips.
Of course he still remembered the despair of his DanMachi self. The pain of being used as a punching bag day after day. The hopelessness of being trapped in darkness with no light anywhere in sight.
Back then, he really had wanted to destroy everything.
He had wanted to drag the whole world down with him.
But now?
He was no longer that weakling who could be butchered at will.
He had killed Valetta, destroyed the man-made labyrinth, and forced three gods to commit suicide and return to Heaven.
He now possessed enough strength to protect himself, and he also had someone he wanted to protect - that foolish woman, Demeter.
And frankly, he was not actually that DanMachi Genichi.
A figure suddenly appeared ahead of him.
The person wore a large cloak that concealed their face completely.
But Genichi recognized them at once.
Fels of the Guild.
That mysterious figure hidden beneath the cloak. The sage from centuries ago. The one who had achieved immortality through the Philosopher's Stone and had been secretly helping Ouranos govern Orario ever since.
Fels stopped in front of Genichi and, without any pointless detours, got straight to the point.
"Ouranos-sama requests your presence. He wishes to meet with you."
Their voice was calm and mechanical, as though deliberately altered to reveal no emotion at all.
Hearing that, Genichi only smiled indifferently.
"What makes you think I'll go?"
His tone was casual, even faintly amused.
At this point, the Guild no longer had any real leverage over him.
To put it bluntly, as long as the gods themselves did not personally intervene, there was no adventurer in the Lower World who could confidently say they could deal with him.
With Level 6 status and the reinforcement of countless spells and skills, his power had long since surpassed the ordinary limits of level alone.
So why should Genichi care whether Ouranos wanted to see him or not? Why should that automatically mean he had to go?
So what if he was a god?
He had just come from another god's home, and he had been talking and laughing with that lunatic face-to-face.
Even Fels clearly had not expected Genichi's attitude to be this... arrogant.
They fell silent for a moment, seemingly digesting his response.
As a sage who had lived for centuries, Fels had seen countless adventurers. But this boy was absolutely the first one who had ever responded to an invitation from Ouranos like this.
"What would it take for you to come with me and meet Ouranos?" Fels asked, and for the first time there was a trace of helplessness in their voice.
Genichi looked at them, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
"As a sage from centuries ago, you should know how to make grimoires, right?"
Fels paused slightly, then immediately understood what he meant.
"You want grimoires?"
There was a note of caution in their voice.
Grimoires were not ordinary items.
They were special tools containing the mysteries of magic, and every single one of them was extraordinarily precious.
As a sage, Fels did indeed have the ability to make them. But doing so required a huge investment of time and energy, and the materials were incredibly rare as well.
Genichi did not answer. He merely looked at them in silence.
Fels calculated rapidly in their mind.
They did not know how Genichi had learned their true identity, but that no longer mattered.
What mattered was that this boy had found their weak point - Ouranos truly needed to see him.
"How many?" Fels asked through gritted teeth.
Genichi raised one finger.
"One?"
Fels let out a quiet breath of relief. One grimoire was precious, but still within a tolerable range.
But Genichi shook his head and said, "Ten."
For a moment, Fels seemed to wonder whether they had misheard.
"How many? What did you say?"
"Ten."
That time, Fels fell completely silent.
Ten grimoires?
Did this boy think grimoires grew on trees?
Even for a god, producing ten grimoires would not be easy, let alone for a mortal sage.
"No. Forget it. Come or don't."
Fels turned and started walking away without the slightest hesitation.
Their back looked resolute and decisive in the darkness. Clearly, they had been irritated by Genichi's outrageous demand.
Naturally, Genichi could not just let them walk off like that.
He did genuinely want grimoires, but he also really did need to meet Ouranos.
After all, that god was the manager of the Dungeon and Orario's true guardian deity.
With the coming crisis approaching, reaching some kind of understanding with Ouranos could only benefit him.
But Genichi also understood very clearly that if he looked too eager, he would be the one getting controlled.
So he had to strike the right balance. He needed to get something out of this without pushing them so far that they actually left.
"Wait."
His voice rang out into the night.
Fels's steps paused, though they did not fully stop.
"You decide how many," Genichi continued. "As long as I'm satisfied, I'll go meet Ouranos."
At last, Fels came to a full stop and turned back.
"One."
Their tone was still firm, but Genichi could hear the give in it now.
After some further bargaining, the two of them finally settled on two grimoires.
"Two is acceptable," Fels said with a nod at last. "But first I need confirmation that you really do have the ability to help Orario."
Genichi smiled.
"Give me the grimoires first."
Fels frowned. "That's not how this is supposed to work..."
"Supposed to work?"
Genichi cut them off, a chill flashing through his eyes. "Fels, you should understand better than anyone that Orario no longer has the luxury of rules. Gods are committing suicide. The Dungeon is enraged. Evilus is stirring again. Rules are for times of peace. Right now, power is all that matters."
Fels fell silent.
They knew he was telling the truth.
"All right."
At last, they yielded. "I don't have the grimoires on me. I need to go back and retrieve them. Will you come to the Guild with me?"
Genichi shook his head.
"No. I'll wait here. Half an hour. If you don't come back by then, I'll assume you changed your mind."
Fels looked at him deeply, said nothing more, and disappeared into the night.
Genichi remained where he was, watching the direction they had gone, a satisfied smile touching his lips.
Two grimoires. This deal was not a loss.
Of course he knew that asking for ten had been an absurd opening bid. There was no way Fels would agree to that.
But two?
That should have been within the other side's tolerance.
As a sage who had lived for centuries, Fels certainly had some stock on hand. Two would hurt, but not enough to do real damage.
More importantly, through this little extortion, Genichi had confirmed one thing.
Ouranos was truly anxious now.
That god, who had always sat steady and unshaken, had finally become unable to sit still.
And what did that mean?
It meant the Dungeon crisis was even more serious than Genichi had imagined.
His mood became a little complicated.
(End of Chapter)
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