Chapter 681: Investigation Complete, Hermes God's Discount Proposal

"Mr. Bert, you're back. Nothing happened, right?"

"No, the Minotaurs that fled were all dealt with."

Returning to the Familia group on this side, faced with Superhuman Labor's inquiry, the werewolf Bert waved his hand and answered.

"Miss Ais, while chasing the fleeing Minotaurs, did you encounter something good?"

The single-ponytailed golden-haired elf girl, looking at the approaching Sword Princess girl, asked with some curiosity.

"Why do you say that?"

Ais tilted her head, looking at her fellow Familia elf companion.

"Because you look like you're in a very good mood. For Miss Ais, who usually doesn't have many expressions, this is really somewhat rare."

"Oh my, Lefiya, do you always pay this much attention to Ais?"

The Flat Amazon girl leaned over and teased with a sentence.

"Ah, I, it's just that Miss Ais always takes care of me, so..."

The lively elf girl Lefiya explained the situation somewhat flusteredly.

"Eh, does that mean I didn't take care of you? Those words really make one feel sad."

"Wah, that's not what I meant..."

"Alright, Tiona, stop teasing Lefiya. This child liking Ais, anyone with eyes can see it. Not to mention this time when she came back, she was even saved by Ais."

"That's right, just like a Knight Saves Princess!"

"Wah~"

The lively elf girl lowered her head, her ear tips turning red from what the two Amazon sisters beside her said.

"Can't call it a good thing. On the contrary, Ais lost to a person in the Upper Floors."

The tsundere werewolf Bert, seeing the situation on this side, walked over and resolved the siege for the teased elf girl.

"Eh, what happened?"

Hearing this, the surrounding Loki Familia members all looked over, and the Nine Magic Princesses Riveria, as the Loki Familia Vice Captain, walked over and directly pursued the inquiry.

"This matter is quite troublesome to explain. Let Ais tell you herself."

Faced with the elf's inquiring gaze, Ais spoke in a calm voice and explained what happened on the Fifth Floor once through.

"That's how it is. He's a swordsmanship expert. His swordsmanship made me lose convincingly."

The swordsmanship Ais could think of that could match that boy was probably only the swordsmanship belonging to her father in her distant memories.

So, when she said these words, there wasn't much sense of loss on her face. Instead, because she remembered watching her father practice sword in her childhood, there was a faint sense of nostalgia.

"Lady Riveria, is Miss Ais alright?"

Lefiya looked somewhat worried, watching the departing Sword Princess girl's back figure, and asked the Elf Princess beside her.

"Mm, Ais is fine."

"Ah, but she lost a sword fight and is still this happy. Does this count as being fine?"

"Lefiya, this you don't understand. Ais, this is her seeing the path where she can continue to get stronger. For that, she feels happy."

Gareth walked over and said a sentence.

"One or two failures don't count for anything. As long as each failure lets us see the path forward, then those failures will become the cornerstones under our feet on the path to success."

Finn also said.

"The only problem is, the person who let Ais see the path forward is a Familia child of the Goddess Hestia, who doesn't get along too well with our Main God Loki."

The Main God's relationship often influences the relationship of the Familia members below. Going to ask for guidance on swordsmanship from the Familia child of a God who doesn't get along with one's own Main God sounds a bit unreliable.

"Well, given the degree to which Loki dotes on Ais, if she knows this can help Ais, she probably wouldn't care about losing face herself."

The Pallum Regiment Captain stroked his chin with his hand and said.

"But she'll probably require Ais to let her rub her chest a hundred times as compensation. And with Ais that kind of serious, competitive personality wanting to get stronger, she'll most likely agree."

The Nine Magic Princesses had a bit of a headache over her own Main God.

"Well, never mind Loki's side for now. What kind of reaction the Goddess Hestia's side will have, whether she'll be willing to let her own Familia child instruct Ais (rival Familia member) in swordsmanship, that's also a problem."

Gareth spoke, the other two beside him nodding.

"Forget it. Ais's matter, let's wait until after we hand in the Guild's Investigation Mission to discuss again."

Lefiya was somewhat dazed, but through the Captain and the others' conversation, still let this elf girl understand one thing:

The girl she admires, Sword Princess Ais Wallace, wanting to ask someone else for swordsmanship guidance, might not go that smoothly.

【I have to help!】

Thinking of Ais's care for herself, Lefiya said this to herself in her heart.

But specifically how to do it, she currently still doesn't know.

And at this moment, Broly had already taken Lili and Bell and left the Dungeon.

"Miss Eina, if you're free this afternoon, we'd like to treat you to a meal."

"This afternoon, I still have work to do. By the way, what's going on? Why suddenly want to treat me to a meal?"

"Bell subjugated a Minotaur in the Dungeon today. He wants to thank you for previously teaching him Dungeon monster knowledge."

Broly spoke concisely.

"Eh, Mr. Broly, you took people to the Middle Floors again? Or reached the Fifteenth Floor Labyrinth?"

Hearing this, Eina's face didn't show any joy. Instead, she straightened her face and asked seriously.

"No, Miss Eina, we didn't go to the Fifteenth Floor."

Bell hurriedly inserted himself into the conversation.

"If you didn't go to the Fifteenth Floor, how could you possibly encounter a Minotaur that only appears in the Fifteenth Floor Labyrinth and below?"

The Half-Elf young lady clearly didn't believe it.

"It was the Loki Familia who drove the Minotaur after us..."

Liliruca explained the situation.

"I see."

After everything was explained clearly, the Half-Elf young lady's stern expression finally softened.

"Congratulations on subjugating the Minotaur, but there's no need to treat us to a meal."

Teaching you that knowledge of Dungeon monsters is just what I should do as a Dungeon exploration consultant."

The Half-Elf young lady declined the three's offer to treat her to a meal, and did not claim credit for herself.

"If not a meal, then surely I can give you a gift?"

Bell asked.

"As long as the gift isn't too valuable."

The Half-Elf young lady smiled, answering the white-haired boy's words.

The three came out from inside Babel Tower; since they weren't going to the Dungeon in the afternoon, they prepared to go find Hestia to go outside and have a big meal together.

"Broly, you came at just the right time; our investigation commission has results."

Coming to the Fried Potato Ball Shop side, upon seeing the three of them, the Loli Goddess said.

"Hestia, these are your Familia's children, aren't they? They really are young and promising!"

A youth dressed in Far Eastern style, passing by the side, said a sentence to Hestia.

"That is only natural."

The Loli Goddess smiled in response, and began introducing the youth to everyone.

"This is Takemikazuchi, a good friend of mine in Heaven, and also a coworker at the Fried Potato Ball Shop where I'm currently working part-time, except he works at another branch."

"Greetings, Lord Takemikazuchi."

"Greetings to you as well."

After simply exchanging greetings, Takemikazuchi hurriedly left because he had to deliver Fried Potato Ball ingredients to the branch.

"What, Bell subjugated the Minotaur?!"

And upon hearing that Bell had subjugated the Minotaur, Hestia happily asked the Werebear female shopkeeper for a day off.

Then she went outside with Broly and the other two, found a restaurant with relatively high foot traffic, and properly celebrated for the white-haired boy.

"Next we need to go retrieve the investigation commission's intelligence; there's no need for so many of us to go together. You've already fought for a long time in the Dungeon this morning, so why not go back and rest for a bit?"

After eating and drinking their fill, Hestia said.

"I want to buy some thank-you gifts for Miss Eina."

Bell said, and he was the first to leave the group.

"What about Lili?"

"She's going to retrieve the Soma Familia's intelligence, so Lili can come along too."

The Pallum girl expressed that she wanted to go together.

"Aren't you tired?"

"Somewhat tired."

"Then go back and rest."

Hestia kindly suggested.

Regarding this, Liliruca looked at the boy beside her: "Broly-san is tired too, right? How about we all go back and rest together, take a bath together, lie on a bed and take a nap or something."

"Ah, that won't do; Broly has to come with me."

"Retrieving intelligence is something Hestia-sama can do alone, right? There's no need to force Broly-san, who worked hard all morning as a supporter for me and Bell, to keep coming along, right?"

The Pallum girl said with a sidelong glance; she had clearly seen through everything.

How much time does retrieving intelligence take? Hestia-sama clearly wants to, after retrieving the intelligence, openly date Broly-san.

Just like two days ago, even though the commission could have been placed at the Hermes Familia's side by herself, she insisted on having Broly-san come along.

That evening, when she inquired while the two were sleeping on a bed, Liliruca learned that the two had gone shopping afterward.

Although they had also picked out clothes for her, it still made the Pallum girl feel somewhat upset, and this time she didn't want to fall behind, giving the Goddess-sama a chance to be alone with the boy and sneak away.

And this matter was the same for Hestia; although she had already accepted that she would have to share the boy with others in the future, that didn't mean she was willing to let others be alone with her own boy.

"Then let's go together."

"If we're going together, then we're going together!"

"No, Hestia, what is this situation?"

When Hermes saw the Loli Goddess again, what he saw was her and another Pallum girl, each holding one of the Familia boy's hands, one on the left and one on the right.

Although there were no intimate actions like hugging, just from the atmosphere on the surface, he, an old hand who had frequented the Flower Bush for many years, could sense that this was a competition over holding the boy's hand.

A boy making a Goddess like him wasn't surprising, but a Virgin Goddess liking him was very surprising, let alone Hestia, this Virgin Goddess, appearing as if she was competing with another girl.

"This is all the intelligence we've investigated."

Hermes clicked his tongue in amazement in his heart, while on the surface he remained expressionless, placing several thick stacks of intelligence on the tabletop.

"According to our investigation, we followed the Soma Familia's members, and based on their position in the Soma Familia's food chain, divided them into dominant Familia members and subordinate Familia members."

The dominant Familia members within the Soma Familia are mostly exploiters, while the subordinate Familia members are mostly the exploited, and exploiters who exploit even weaker exploiters."

As for this portion, these are members who neither exploit others subjectively nor objectively, namely those who are dominant members within the Soma Familia but dislike exploiting others and earn money openly and fairly by their own means, as well as those who are objectively too weak to exploit anyone weaker than themselves."

The Hermes Familia, as expected of those who do intelligence work, had classified the intelligence they obtained clearly and plainly.

"So, how much money do we need to pay for this Investigation Commission?"

The thick stacks of intelligence paper made Hestia swallow, and she couldn't help but ask.

"Not much. Minus the deposit you've already paid, just give another Five Hundred Ninety Thousand Faris."

Hermes answered with a laugh.

"So expensive!"

"Not expensive at all. This already counts as a friendship price. I mobilized the majority of my children on This Side of Orario, had them all move out, and only then could I help you run a background check on almost the entire Soma Familia membership in such a short time."

"Alright, Broly, pay the bill."

Hestia didn't bargain either, merely instructing the boy to pay before cutting a sidelong glance at the Pallum girl.

"Lili, you'd better look clear just how much my Broly has paid out for you!"

"That goes without saying. Broly-san's kindness, Lili will remember for a lifetime, yet I have already sworn to devote my whole life to repaying him as much as possible.

Mhm, I will cherish Broly-san with even deeper affection than Lady Hestia."

The Pallum girl replied without hesitation.

"That's entirely unnecessary. You only need to pay a bit more attention to the fact that this child Broly actually prefers being alone with me, this Goddess. A little perceptiveness is all it takes!"

Hestia's words carried a pointed meaning.

"Lady Hestia truly loves to joke. Clearly Broly-san prefers being alone with Lili, just like this morning when he stayed by Lili's side."

"That was a Dungeon Dive!"

"I don't care about that."

Hermes: "..."

Well, no need to judge from the Atmosphere — this is openly a female rivalry.

At this very moment, he too made a sigh similar to Hephaestus's before: This Lower World really makes it easy for gods to change!

"Wait, I have a Proposal."

Just as the boy took out the Guild Voucher, preparing to pay, Hermes raised a hand to stop him.

"What?"

The Loli Goddess currently bickering with Liliruca looked over, and heard the other party's next words.

"If you're willing to let me, Hestia, observe this conflict between your Familia and the Soma Familia, I can give you a discount on this Commission Fee."

"Ah, you guy, you're not planning to turn around and sell our intelligence, are you?"

Hestia instantly went on Alert.

"Haha, how could that be? I just like watching the Lively scenes. I'm merely personally interested in your conflict with the Soma Familia, and the way you'll resolve that conflict afterwards."

"How big a discount?"

"Half price at most, Depending On how close a distance you're willing to let me observe from while you handle the Soma Familia's Strategy."

"Fine, but you have to Guarantee you'll keep this Secret afterwards, no selling our Familia's intelligence all over the place."

Hestia proposed the Condition.

"Deal Done." Hermes nodded, then asked: "Then how much are you willing to let me know about this matter?"

"Full disclosure."

"Eh, Hestia, you trust me that much?"

"It's not trust. I just figure you've definitely already investigated this thing seven or eight parts out of ten in private. If you're really interested in our business with the Soma Familia."

Hermes: "..."

Hestia's Intuition really is accurate.

Aside from not knowing what specific plan Hestia and the others have to Deal With the Soma Familia.

Everything else can be said to have been investigated and understood clearly.

"Then, let me hear just what this Holy Flame God has in mind?!"

Hermes crossed his arms, putting on a look of listening attentively.

Hestia didn't hide anything either, laying out the Changing Captain Plan discussed three days ago.

【Nani, you guys really want to stage a coup in the Soma Familia?】

【Also, selling the defeated to that Man Killer Captain at the Ishtar Familia — that's a bit ruthless!】

Hermes's Expression was somewhat Subtle.

"This is our plan."

After hearing Hestia's plan, a While passed before he raised a hand: "I have some doubts I want to ask about."

"What?"

"You plan to publicly topple the current Soma Familia Captain during the Sacred Wine Banquet they hold at regular intervals.

If it were your child acting, I could still understand him pulling it off, but the one in your plan to do the toppling is this Miss Liliruca, right?"

"Right. A new Order is often built on the ruins of a destroyed Old Order. By solving the past Captain, Lili can establish the new Captain's prestige and authority."

Broly nodded.

"Then the question arises: why are you so confident that Miss Liliruca can beat that Wine Guardian?"

Hermes had investigated the source figure of the conflict, and in the intelligence he held, Liliruca did not count as one of the strong members of the Soma Familia, even if she was a person possessing Falna.

"The Special Training I personally conduct for Lili, hiring Hephaestus Familia craftsmen to custom-forge a set of Strong Equipment tailored to Lili's Measurements, and if necessary, I will perform some necessary Weakening treatment on the opponent.

For Example, on the Previous Day before the Sacred Wine Banquet, let that Wine Guardian Captain suffer an 'attack' and 'injury' — a small accident like that.

If even that doesn't work, then At That Time I'll Intervene, but that would lower the authority of the new replacing the old."

Hearing this, Hermes Stunned for a moment, then started applauding: "I see. This Way, it's easy to understand why you're so confident."

He paused.

"However, I have a small suggestion regarding your plan to deal with the Soma Familia. I don't know if you'd like to hear it?"

"Hey, Hermes, you neutral god—do you plan to join us and deal with the Soma Familia together?"

Hestia asked curiously.

"No, no, no, this isn't joining. I am still a neutral god and do not intervene in any fight."

It's just that, as an audience member who likes liveliness, I want to offer you and your Familia members a suggestion that I don't know whether is bad or good.

As for whether you listen or not, that is entirely up to your own judgment; it is your own business.

Hestia had the feeling that Hermes was farting while pulling down his pants, but she still said: "Alright, tell me your suggestion."

(Chapter End)