"I'm heading out, Lady Astraea!"
"Remember to come back early. I'll prepare a table full of food for you when you return!"
At the entrance of the Familia residence, Elise and Est once again set off, preparing to venture into the Dungeon for an expedition.
During their last expedition, they had been forced to return early because of Ottar. After that, they had gone to the Freya Familia for special training with him, which had taken up quite a bit of time.
So over the next few days, Elise planned to make up for all of it. It just so happened that she had advanced to Level 2 and could now challenge even stronger monsters.
This time, Elise's targets were two Floor Bosses within the Dungeon.
Amphisbaena.
Udaeus.
Both were powerful Floor Bosses with strength comparable to around Level 6.
Now that Elise could easily overwhelm a Level 6 Ottar, dealing with those two monsters should not be a problem.
For some reason, Ottar had already become the unit of measurement she used to evaluate strength.
If she had the opportunity, she even planned to deliberately damage the environment of the deep floors of the Dungeon. If she could trigger the birth of a high-level Juggernaut, that would be perfect.
After all, Elise now had to start considering her Great Feats.
Grinding monsters could quickly raise her ability values, but accomplishing Great Feats was far more troublesome.
Once Elise and Est's figures disappeared from sight, Astraea slowly lowered her hand.
During the time Elise was away, she would have plenty of time to do the things she wanted.
However, as the Goddess of Justice, living off others was not acceptable...
Well, living off Elise was not really a problem. Her child was outstanding enough, which saved Astraea a great deal of worry.
At the very least, the Familia no longer had to worry about food and clothing. They did not need to starve twice a day like those impoverished or debt-ridden Familias, nor survive on bark soup.
Still, since the valis were earned by Elise, Astraea felt that control over them should remain in Elise's hands. Elise should decide how much she herself could use.
But...
"You are my patron goddess!"
"You've always treated me so well, Lady Astraea, and you even granted me your blessing... If I really did as you said, wouldn't I be struck by divine punishment?"
"Besides, didn't we already agree?"
"From now on, Lady Astraea belongs to me. You can use as much valis as you want. If it's not enough, I'll just go grind monsters in the Dungeon again."
Having received the answer she had expected, Astraea was not surprised. Elise had always been this kind of person.
Instead, it made her feel like she was the overly fussy one.
"Still, I must consider the Familia's future... Let's take one percent from the valis Elise has stored in the Familia. That should be... around one million or so?"
"Perhaps that's still too much?"
And so, the Goddess of Justice, who did not fully understand the market conditions of the lower world, seemed to head out carrying far too many valis.
...
"Hmph, hmph!"
"So this is Orario, the center of the world?"
"It's truly magnificent!"
A red-haired girl with her hair tied in a high ponytail stood at the gates of Orario, hands planted firmly on her hips.
She looked up, a delighted smile spreading across her face.
"So this is the legendary Babel? It's even bigger than the books described! That saying was right—seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times."
"The outside world really is exciting!"
The red-haired girl opened her backpack, intending to take out some valis to buy food, but...
A horrifying sight greeted her eyes, causing them to widen in disbelief.
Her coin pouch was empty.
Her first reaction was that she had been robbed.
But when she carefully recalled her journey from her village to Orario...
It seemed she had handed out quite a bit of valis along the way.
Children too poor to afford food, elderly people who nearly fell over while walking, and quite a few wanderers.
"To think that on my very first day in Orario, I've already run out of funds..."
The girl lowered her head in disappointment. In the very next second, however, she raised it again with a bright smile, chest puffed out proudly.
"But it doesn't matter!"
"A lovable beauty like me will definitely be taken in by some kind-hearted Familia!"
"Ahahahaha!"
Striking what she believed to be a cool pose, the red-haired girl threw her head back in laughter, drawing countless gazes from passersby.
But when they noticed her shriveled backpack, they immediately understood the situation.
This kid had gone broke.
She paid no attention to their looks, slinging her backpack over her shoulder as she set out to explore the unfamiliar city.
"I've only ever read about Orario in books before. This is my first time seeing it with my own eyes."
"Even an empty coin pouch can't stop my exploration of the unknown!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
"My heroic tale begins here!"
...
"Lady Goddess, I want to hear that story again!"
"Me too! Me too!"
Children's laughter echoed all around as Astraea flipped through the heroic tale she had purchased.
"Alright, alright. I really can't refuse you."
"But this truly is the last time. After this, I have to return to the Familia."
After leaving the Familia residence, Astraea had first taken a stroll through the city. After all, she had only been in Orario for less than a month and there were still many places she had not seen.
Of course, she had no intention of visiting places like the Pleasure Quarter. If anything happened there, Elise would have no way of rushing back from the Dungeon immediately.
It was not until the afternoon that Astraea purchased some books and food and headed to a simple orphanage filled with children.
These children were all descendants of adventurers, but most of their parents were already gone.
Some benevolent gods took them in, but the price was heavy. Their Familias would decline as a result, for supporting so many mouths was no easy task. Even those kind gods had to work from morning till night.
Although they could avoid starving to death, hunger had long become their norm.
That was, until Astraea arrived.
"The house needs repairs. The yard should be decorated as well."
The kind-hearted goddess did not hesitate. She directly hired a construction Familia to renovate the place. Before long, the children would be able to live in a proper house.
As for herself, she brought the books and food she had purchased and told stories to the children in the open space.
The children adored this newly arrived goddess. She was beautiful and willing to tell them stories.
"And that's where today's story ends. We'll continue next time. I'll bring even more books so you can read to your hearts' content!"
Leaving the books behind, Astraea softly bid the children farewell.
She genuinely enjoyed helping others.
However, at that very moment, a sharp scream rang out from the distance, drawing the attention of countless people.
"Why does something like this have to happen to me?!"
A red-haired girl was sprinting toward them from afar, with three Amazons chasing after her.
And the direction they were coming from...
Seemed to be the Pleasure Quarter.