With Ishtar's return to Heaven, Ishtar Familia was completely forgotten by the times.
But the existence of the Pleasure Quarter would not disappear just because of that. Even without Ishtar, the prostitutes and merchants here would rebuild it themselves.
Before long, the Pleasure Quarter would once again become the most prosperous district in Orario.
Only, in the eyes of the major powers, this place would be reshuffled and its interests redistributed.
As one of Orario's indispensable districts, the amount of valis flowing through the Pleasure Quarter every day was enormous. Ishtar Familia had been filthy rich.
Moreover, compared to venturing into the Dungeon, earning valis here was obviously much safer, and even faster than many merchant Familias. So Ishtar definitely had her own private treasury.
However, after the great fire two days ago, everything here had been buried beneath the ruins. Quite a few people came hoping to try their luck, searching for that possibly hidden treasure.
Many Familia members also chose to approach the prostitutes, wanting to gather information from them to see if they could make a fortune from this opportunity.
Hermes was one of those people.
"This beautiful young lady, would you be willing to join my Familia?"
The male god with bright yellow hair knelt on one knee before a prostitute, looking as though he were proposing marriage.
"Lord Hermes, please restrain yourself a little! There are still plenty of people watching nearby. If this keeps up, our Familia's reputation is definitely going to be ruined!"
Even though his Familia members were desperately trying to pull him away from the side, would Hermes care about that?
"I am a true gentleman!" The male god's face immediately became serious. "Do you expect me to see those ladies in danger and not offer any help at all?"
Although the chief god looked extremely handsome while striking that pose, the words coming out of his mouth were utterly terrible.
"You just took a liking to their beauty, you damn god!"
"No, no, no. I came here because I accepted a Guild request! I have a perfectly legitimate reason, so don't slander me!" Hermes rejected the accusation with righteous confidence.
But everyone knew exactly what kind of god he was.
The task might be real, but this thing called Hermes was definitely planning to use the mission as an excuse to privately get close to those prostitutes.
Being a member of Hermes Familia was truly exhausting. Not only did they have to deal with endless troublesome matters, they also had to constantly clean up after their chief god...
Because if they weren't careful for even a moment, he would immediately create countless new problems.
Sure enough, before long Hermes was flirting with the prostitutes again. Truly hopeless.
However...
Even though he gave off an extremely unreliable impression, Hermes was still a god. He could still distinguish the severity of matters.
"What a surprise. I never thought Freya would actually make a move against Ishtar..."
As a Familia that maintained deep contact with the great god Ouranos, Hermes knew some of the inside details. For example, he knew it was Freya who had sent Ishtar back to Heaven.
But why?
Hermes understood Freya's usual attitude, which was precisely why he couldn't understand why Freya, who normally wouldn't even spare Ishtar a glance, would suddenly do something like this.
Could it be... Elise?
Hermes had originally planned to speak with Elise during the banquet yesterday, but Astraea interrupted him.
In the end, he had no choice but to stand at a distance and observe, unable to insert himself into the women's conversation.
Still, although he had been standing far away, Hermes was not blind. He had clearly seen Freya constantly stealing glances at Elise.
"No way... right?"
Destroying an entire Familia for the sake of one person... no matter how he thought about it... wait.
If it were Freya, then it actually did seem possible.
As a god who was extremely famous within Orario—for negative reasons—Hermes' efficiency in handling matters was absolutely first-rate. Both Freya and Ishtar had privately sought his help before.
As a result, Hermes understood many gods and people very well. It could be said that he possessed one of the widest networks in all of Orario.
On top of that, Hermes had once been connected to Zeus Familia and knew many hidden truths.
For example...
Heroes.
The Black Dragon.
But recently, Hermes had encountered a difficult problem. No matter how much he investigated Astraea Familia's information, he could never obtain a complete answer.
Combined with Freya's strange behavior this time and Ishtar's return to Heaven, Hermes felt that he might have stumbled upon something serious.
At the center of all these issues was very likely Astraea Familia's Elise.
Hermes did not possess the eyes of a goddess of beauty that could see through souls, but he did possess extremely sharp instincts.
From Elise, he seemed to see the shadows of Zeus and Hera Familia's members...
"I need to find a chance to test her again. If it really is Elise..."
Hermes did not finish his sentence, but the serious expression on his face clearly proved that this matter was definitely no trivial issue.
...
Several days later.
Elise happily walked down the streets, greeting the surrounding citizens while purchasing ingredients.
Everyone in the Familia had been training extremely hard recently!
Basically every day, they insisted that Elise train them, carrying an attitude that practically screamed: If you don't beat us flat, don't even think about leaving.
Naturally, Elise could never refuse the requests of her Familia members and immediately agreed.
Come on, how could Lady Saintess possibly refuse when she saw the light shining in her companions' eyes?
So she used even greater power than before and gave them all a merciless beating!
As a result, everyone in the Familia was currently sprawled across the training room floor, unable to move without difficulty.
At this rate, it probably wouldn't be long before their Endurance experienced another explosive leap upward.
Precisely because of this, the task of grocery shopping could only fall to Elise. After all, Astraea couldn't carry that many things, and someone needed to take care of the three-person floor-crawling squad.
"Isn't this Elise? It's been a long time!"
A cheerful voice came from nearby, its tone filled with gentleness. Clearly, yet another kind goddess.
"It's been a long time, Lady Demeter!"
Elise gave Demeter a slight bow. Toward this goddess, who overflowed with warmth and often gave her food, Elise had always maintained great respect.
In a world like DanMachi, where the majority of gods were pranksters, villains, or perverts, a normal goddess like this was simply far too rare!
"A few days ago, my Familia successfully cultivated some new vegetables. If you have time, you should come visit my Familia and try them. Everything is free."
As for how Elise had met Demeter in the first place, it was nothing more than a coincidence. Demeter had once tasted a dish Elise cooked, and immediately grew fond of the girl.
"If only you were part of my Familia... I'm so jealous of Astraea!"