CHAPTER 196: CHAPTER 196: TAVERN BATTLE, GODDESS ISHTAR BLOCKS THE DOOR

Even if the team was split in two, each facing the enemy, they should have been able to cope.

However, now it seems that this strategy of dividing the troops was somewhat hasty. Fortunately, the enemy chose to attack both teams simultaneously, instead of focusing all their strength on one side, otherwise, the consequences might have been quite serious.

"[White Haired Demon] revealed some information before dying," Riveria pondered as she recalled the scene at that time.

That happened after Shirou left the chamber to pursue the masked person, Ein. Before Olivas was frozen by Riveria’s magic, he seemed to have gone mad in despair and shouted frantically, leaking some clues.

"These [Monsters] seem to be worshiping some being," Riveria slowly said, "Olivas used ’her’ to refer to that existence, and their goal is apparently to bring that existence back to the surface."

"And also, Olivas mentioned a name, ’Enyo.’"

———

"Um, Lord [Saber]...", The post-battle debriefing meeting was halfway through when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

The room’s door was carefully pushed open, and a human girl entered, it was the healer Line Arshe. She seemed a bit nervous, softly saying, "Someone came to see you... they’re now blocking the entrance to [Twilight Manor], insisting on seeing you."

Shirou looked slightly confused and asked, "Who is it?"

Line hesitated for a moment, cautiously glanced at Riveria, then hesitantly said, "A lot of people. There’s [Gale], and... a goddess..."

"Oh, Ryuu and Goddess Hephaestus, huh."

Shirou said, "I’ll go now."

But Line shook her head, "Not Goddess Hephaestus..."

Shirou: "Then Goddess Demeter?"

Line again quietly glanced at Riveria, eyes showing hesitation, then whispered, "It’s... it’s Goddess Ishtar."

That one sentence instantly quieted the entire conference room.

Goddess Ishtar, ruler of the Pleasure District, Queen of the Night. She came to block the entrance of Loki Familia’s headquarters together with Ryuu? Was she here to confront a man?

In any case, this matter was undoubtedly going to become one of Orario’s biggest news of the day.

Riveria’s expression immediately darkened. She stood up, grabbed Shirou’s hand, and without mercy dragged him straight to the entrance of [Twilight Manor].

When they pushed open the doors, they were met with several figures waiting in the night.

Ryuu stood in front, expression serious, and next to her stood Goddess Ishtar. That voluptuous goddess wore an unhappy expression, surrounded by several Lv.4 Amazonian warrior guards in battle attire.

As soon as Shirou appeared, the Amazons immediately gazed at him with eyes full of affection, while Ryuu and Ishtar’s expressions looked quite sour.

"Shirou," Ryuu spoke first, her tone stern, "Just now, [Man-Killer] Phryne launched a surprise attack on [Hostess of Fertility] tavern."

Shirou’s expression tightened, immediately asking, "Was anyone hurt at the tavern? What happened?"

Ryuu gently shook her head, "Thanks to Mama Mia and [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen, no one was injured. But Phryne... she leveled up, and not just a normal Lv.6. Her endurance... became terrifying like a monster."

The elven girl personally witnessed Phryne clashing in brute strength against the Lv.6 [Demi Ymir] Mia, two high-tier warriors battling in the tavern shook the entire street.

Given Mia’s level and power, Phryne still wasn’t at an absolute disadvantage in her hands.

In the end, [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen suddenly rushed in from somewhere, Phryne had her throat pierced by the fastest cat person in the city, yet still escaped, lively as ever.

"I saw with my own eyes Allen’s spear pierce her throat. I thought she’d be critically wounded, but instead of red blood, what came out was some kind of strange, sticky liquid..."

Ryuu spoke seriously, "Definitely something... not human."

This description made both Shirou and Riveria’s expressions instantly turn solemn.

The two exchanged glances, almost simultaneously thinking of one possibility, [Monster].

Goddess Ishtar opened her mouth, expression gloomy and furious, "That bastard Phryne actually betrayed me!"

Through Ryuu’s description, Shirou and the others learned what had happened in [Hostess of Fertility] during their assault on the artificial dungeon.

[Man-Killer] Phryne had suddenly barged into the tavern, yelling "Hand over Haruhime," and launched an attack without restraint.

Ryuu and Anya immediately stepped in to stop her, but upon seeing Ryuu, Phryne’s rage exploded even more, starting a battle with Ryuu.

Originally, Ryuu’s strength was more than enough to crush Phryne, she was the strongest Lv.5 adventurer, while Phryne ranked at the bottom among Lv.5s.

However, this time something had clearly changed with Phryne. Her strength had significantly increased, far beyond before, and Ryuu quickly found herself struggling.

In the confined space of the tavern, Ryuu could only rely on her agility and various magics to deal with Phryne.

Anya, unable to dodge in time, was affected by [Man-Killer]’s attacks and got injured.

At that critical moment, [Demi Ymir] Mia returned from grocery shopping. Seeing her beloved tavern in ruins, she rushed in without a word and began hand-to-hand combat with Phryne.

Though Mia was strong, she had no weapons, barehanded, she couldn’t gain much advantage in power, ending up deadlocked with Phryne.

Phryne realized things were going badly, her goal had been to catch Haruhime, and ideally kill Ryuu, but clearly that was no longer possible.

Assessing the situation, she decided to retreat immediately. However, just as she tried to leave, a sharp spear shadow tore through the chaotic battlefield.

[Goddess’s Chariot] Allen suddenly charged out from somewhere, spear aimed straight at Phryne, and with lightning speed pierced through her throat.

Phryne suffered a severe blow, but even more bizarre, what flowed from her wound wasn’t red blood, but some kind of strange, black-purple viscous liquid.

Even badly wounded, Phryne relied on her abnormal endurance to persist.

Then the battlefield shifted to a chase, [Demi Ymir] Mia and [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen teamed up, beating Phryne to a pulp. But with her freakish endurance, she managed to escape into the sewers.

After Phryne fled, Ryuu and Anya rushed to Ishtar’s temple to confront the goddess.

However, Goddess Ishtar was equally shocked by Phryne’s betrayal, completely unprepared for such an act.

In truth, Goddess Ishtar hadn’t seen Phryne for some time. Being rid of that dumb and ugly woman gave the goddess some peace of mind.

After hearing Ryuu’s account, Finn immediately concluded, "It seems Phryne possesses [Monster] compatibility, she’s already become monsterified."

"Obviously, she’s colluding with that group. Not only did she flee to the sewers, she also chose to strike while we were attacking the artificial dungeon."

Recalling Valletta’s shocked expression upon seeing [Uchide no Kozuchi], Finn quickly realized something, Revis didn’t know about Haruhime’s information. [Man-Killer] and those people weren’t fully united.

Phryne had long known of Haruhime’s existence, but she didn’t share this intel with anyone, instead, she wanted to monopolize [Uchide no Kozuchi]’s power for herself.

However, what she never expected was that Haruhime would join Loki Familia’s operation.

Also, Phryne didn’t know that in [Hostess of Fertility] tavern, there wasn’t just Lv.5 [Gale], but also the stronger [Demi Ymir].

Even [Goddess’s Chariot] Allen had been secretly watching that side all along.

At this moment, Goddess Ishtar’s face was especially dark, silver teeth clenched.

To be honest, that bottom-tier Lv.5 combat power Phryne, she no longer even looked up to.

But that stupid and ugly woman dared to betray her, this made Goddess Ishtar feel deeply humiliated and furious.

Goddess Ishtar locked eyes on Shirou, voice seductive, "Shirou, if you help me kill that traitor, then in the lower world, I’ll let you do anything you want with me."

However, this "sincere" offer from the goddess only earned her eye rolls from Riveria and the others.

Seeing this reaction, Goddess Ishtar narrowed her eyes, raised her voice, "I am the goddess of beauty, love, and fertility! Whoever helps me kill that traitor, I’ll bestow her a ’blessing’!"

Beauty, love, fertility, realizing these were Ishtar’s divine domains, the eyes of all the women immediately turned toward her.

Meanwhile, in the [Artificial Dungeon], Phryne suddenly felt a mysterious chill all over her body.

———

The Goibniu Familia’s construction team was busy rebuilding [Hostess of Fertility] tavern. The site was bustling with activity.

Dwarves swung large hammers and saws, the sounds of hammering and cutting filled the air, forming a lively rhythm alongside their loud shouts.

Several workers loudly shouted commands as they raised a large beam, others quickly stepped in to secure it.

At this point, the tavern’s exterior walls were partly rebuilt. The walls and roof were constructed with refined stone and timber, making the entire building appear stronger and more beautiful than before. Window frames were being installed, their intricate rivet structures showing off Goibniu Familia’s unique craftsmanship.

Shirou stood nearby, watching the dwarves work in orderly fashion. The once-destroyed tavern was gradually regaining its former appearance, perhaps even becoming more refined.

Goibniu Familia specializes in building restoration, weapon and armor repair, and crafting, a production-type familia. Unlike Hephaestus Familia’s mass production of ordinary gear, they prefer custom orders, creating one-of-a-kind weapons tailored to clients’ needs.

This was Shirou’s first time dealing with members of Goibniu Familia. At first, he thought, as a blacksmith from Hephaestus Familia, he might not be very welcome.

After all, colleagues in the same trade are rivals. And because of him, many of Loki Familia’s high-level equipment orders had shifted to him, which originally belonged to Goibniu Familia.

However, to his surprise, Goibniu’s craftsmen welcomed him warmly. They were even grateful he took over those "problem child" orders from Loki Familia.

Just like Hephaestus Familia sees high-tier gear as a symbol, their true profits come from regular adventurers buying standard weapons.

Goibniu Familia was the same. Their main income didn’t come from those custom high-end weapons, but from their construction business, especially renovating buildings for various familias.

And to be honest, Loki Familia’s top adventurers, especially those Lv.5s, were among the least welcome customers.

On one hand, their intense combat styles led to massive wear and tear on gear, very troublesome to maintain and repair.

On the other hand, Loki Familia’s finances were never great. Though payment always arrived in the end, delays were common, very frustrating.

"Shirou, have some tea," The cute tavern waitress brought chilled honey lemon tea.

"Mm, thank you, Syr," Shirou took it and sipped slowly.

"And thank you all too, for your hard work," Syr called to the dwarves from Goibniu Familia, delivering drinks.

"Thank you so much, Miss Syr."

"This is nothing for us."

"I’m already missing [Hostess of Fertility]’s cooking. Let’s finish this quickly!"

"Yeah!!"

After a short break, the dwarves returned to work with even more passion.

"Shouldn’t take more than a few days before the tavern’s rebuilt," Shirou said to Mia while watching the dwarves.

Mia nodded, looking at the tavern under reconstruction, her usually stern and serious face showed a hint of relaxation.

"Mm, Shirou, actually, I have an idea," Syr came back to Shirou’s side and whispered, "Why not just become an investor in the tavern? While we’re at it, we can buy the two neighboring shops and expand."

Shirou blinked, then nodded, "Expand the storefront? That’s a good idea."

During the battle with Phryne, not only was the tavern badly damaged, but the surrounding shops were also affected, buildings smashed to pieces. Because of that, nearby property prices had dropped.

Syr suggested taking advantage of the opportunity to buy them up and expand [Hostess of Fertility].

Shirou didn’t hesitate and agreed. He never cared much for money, he didn’t have anything in particular to spend it on anyway.

If that money could help Syr and Mia, it was more than worth it. Their care and support had long exceeded anything money could buy.

And frankly, with [Hostess of Fertility]’s popularity, this investment might even make a profit.

Watching the boy and girl chatting softly, Mia couldn’t help but shake her head.

Actually, if it was just expanding the tavern, with Syr’s "small" fortune, she could probably buy the whole street.

The girl pulled Shirou in as an investor just because she felt a little jealous and lonely seeing him always with Loki Familia lately.

At that moment, remembering something else, Mia looked a bit hesitant.

She looked at Shirou, "Actually, there’s one more thing I may need your help with."

Shirou: "Please say it."

Mia sighed, "There’s a junior... I want to ask you to forge a suitable weapon for him. Otherwise, I really worry whether he can come back safely from his next adventure."

Shirou answered without hesitation, "No problem."

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