"So what do I get out of it?"
Genichi's voice echoed through the altar, calm and direct, without the slightest attempt at politeness or evasion.
Ouranos narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the boy standing before him, a boy audacious enough to demand benefits from a god with such blunt honesty.
Genichi continued, "Don't start talking to me about duty. Whether Orario gets destroyed or not means absolutely nothing to me."
He said it lightly, but that only made the words land heavier.
The expressions of all three gods shifted in subtle ways.
Loki frowned. Astraea's gaze grew more complicated. Ouranos fell silent.
Genichi was not bluffing.
He was stating a fact.
To him, Orario was simply a place for gathering resources and power.
It had the Dungeon for monster hunting, the Guild for trade, and all kinds of factions to maneuver around.
But if the city were truly destroyed, he could simply leave with Demeter and head for the City of Swords, or some other kingdom. There would always be somewhere else to go.
To him, Orario was only a temporary stop, not a home.
"What is it that you want?"
At last, Ouranos spoke. He did not waste time on lofty rhetoric about duty or justice. He went straight to asking what Genichi wanted.
As a god who had lived for thousands of years, Ouranos understood well enough that in the face of利益, lofty ideals often rang hollow.
Rather than trying to persuade a boy who did not care about Orario with empty principles, it was better to negotiate in straightforward terms.
If Orario had it, and if Ouranos could give it, then it was on the table.
A smile tugged at Genichi's lips.
Talking to smart people really was easier.
"The Guild's stockpile of potions, equipment, and grimoires. I want all of it."
His voice remained calm, but the weight of those words was enormous.
All of it.
Not one item or two. Not one batch or two.
Everything. Anything he had his eye on, anything useful to him, he wanted.
Ouranos fell silent.
Beside him, Loki could not stop the twitch at the corner of her eye.
This bastard really was shameless.
She looked at Genichi's perfectly matter-of-fact expression and could not help cursing inwardly.
This was not a negotiation.
This was a robbery.
And not just any robbery, either. He was trying to rob a chief god, one who oversaw the entire Guild.
Loki stole a glance at Ouranos, and sure enough, the old god's face had gone dark.
The resources Genichi was asking for would practically gut the Guild.
Those rare potions accumulated over a thousand years. Those top-tier weapons and armor forged by divine hands. Those grimoires containing the secrets of magic. If all of that went to Genichi, how was the Guild supposed to keep functioning?
There was no way Ouranos would agree.
Loki sneered inwardly, waiting to see Genichi get turned down.
But Genichi clearly did not think so.
Seeing Ouranos remain silent, he immediately added, "If you don't agree, then forget it. You can figure it out yourselves. Whether Orario gets destroyed has nothing to do with me. I've already decided that if things go bad, I'll just take Demeter and run."
Spoken so lightly, the words somehow sounded even heavier.
Astraea opened her mouth as if to speak, then slowly closed it again.
What could she possibly say?
That Genichi should sacrifice his own interests for Orario?
She had no right to ask that of him.
She herself could choose to sacrifice for justice, but that was her own decision.
She could not demand the same of someone else, especially not Genichi. He had no connection to her, was not her child, and owed her nothing.
Astraea lowered her eyes, a complicated feeling rising in her chest.
Loki, meanwhile, stared at Genichi in disbelief.
This guy really dared to speak to Ouranos like that?
Was he not afraid Ouranos would get angry and crush him outright with divine power?
But Loki quickly realized the answer.
Ouranos could not do that.
If he attacked Genichi, he would be breaking the rule that gods could not actively harm mortals.
And if that happened, how would the other gods view Ouranos?
How could the Guild possibly continue maintaining any image of fairness?
More importantly, Genichi was not helpless.
With Level 6 strength and all those strange spells and skills, even if a god moved against him, taking him down would not necessarily be easy.
Loki drew in a breath. For the first time, she truly understood.
The boy before her was no longer the ordinary adventurer she had once rejected.
He had already grown to the point where he could speak to gods as an equal.
No. More than that.
He could even turn things around and put pressure on them.
A long silence settled over the altar.
Ouranos's gaze was deep and unreadable as he watched Genichi, as if trying to see all the way into his heart.
Genichi met that gaze openly, without the slightest fear or hesitation.
After a long while, Ouranos finally spoke.
"Do you understand what your demand actually means?"
His voice remained deep and authoritative, but there was the faintest trace of helplessness in it now.
Genichi shrugged.
"It means the Guild treasury gets emptied out. It means you have to bleed for this. I know."
"And you think I would agree?"
"I think you will."
Genichi answered with complete confidence. "Because if you don't, Orario may really be destroyed. If you do, then at least there's still a chance. As the god who has protected this city for thousands of years, you won't gamble with Orario's fate."
Ouranos went silent again.
Genichi had hit the core of it.
He truly could not gamble with Orario.
This city was the result of thousands of years of protection. It was home to countless adventurers. It was the hub where the mortal world and the divine world connected.
If Orario were destroyed, the loss would be unbearable.
Compared to that, the contents of the treasury, though precious, were still only material things.
"And besides," Genichi went on, his tone turning more serious, "I wouldn't be taking these things just to waste them. I'd use them to get stronger, to deal with Dionysus, and to face the coming monster surge. In the end, all of it would still be used for Orario anyway."
A sharp light flashed through Ouranos's eyes.
This boy might be greedy, but he was not driven by greed alone.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
And he knew exactly what he would do after taking those resources.
"Everything is impossible. You may submit a list of what you need."
At last, Ouranos gave ground. "It cannot be a matter of simply taking whatever you want. Some items in the treasury are indispensable to the Guild's foundation and cannot be touched."
Genichi smiled.
"That's fine. But I want the right of first selection. Anything I set my eyes on, as long as it isn't an absolute foundation of the Guild, I get to take."
Ouranos considered it for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Agreed."
At the side, Loki had already run out of words.
Ouranos had agreed?
He had really agreed?
That was the Guild's wealth, accumulated over a thousand years, and he was actually handing part of it over to this brat?
Loki felt like her entire worldview was shaking.
In all her long life, she had never once seen someone successfully extort a god like this.
Astraea, meanwhile, revealed a faintly complicated smile.
Genichi had won.
That boy had used his nerve and his mind to win a game against a god.
Hearing all this, Loki could not help muttering under her breath, "This brat is basically a demon."
Astraea could not help laughing softly.
Ouranos let out a sigh, but there was a flicker of appreciation in his eyes.
This boy might be greedy. He might be arrogant.
But he truly did have the right to make such demands.
His power, his courage, and his intellect all justified those resources.
And more importantly, he really would use them where they mattered most.
"So. We have a deal?"
"We do."
Genichi smiled in satisfaction.
This haul was going to be massive.
He turned and started to leave the altar.
But when he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped and looked back at Ouranos.
"Oh, right, Ouranos-sama."
"Yes?"
Genichi said in a serious voice, "If you had started talking about the millions of people in Orario, or justice, or the bond between gods and mortals, I would have walked out immediately. I wouldn't have taken a single valis."
Ouranos paused slightly.
Genichi continued, "Because all of that is bullshit. An exchange of利益 is the only thing that's real. You give me something, I do something for you. Fair and reasonable. Neither side owes the other."
With that, he turned and left, his figure disappearing into the darkness.
The three gods remained silent in the altar for a long time.
Loki was the first to speak.
"This brat really is something else."
She shook her head, not quite knowing what else to say.
Astraea spoke softly. "But he's right. An exchange of利益 really is more reliable than lofty principles."
Ouranos nodded, deep in thought.
"This boy is no ordinary one."
Loki gave a bitter smile. "Obviously. Anyone who can pry open your treasury can't exactly be ordinary."
Ouranos did not argue.
He simply gazed in the direction Genichi had gone and murmured, "Perhaps Orario's crisis really will depend on him."
Astraea and Loki exchanged glances, both seeing the same complicated emotion in each other's eyes.
A boy who had only arrived in Orario two months ago. An adventurer Loki herself had once rejected. A madman bold enough to extort a god.
And now, he had somehow become Orario's last hope.
The irony of it was almost laughable.
(End of Chapter)
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