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As for Budo, if he hadn't blocked that strike with his Imperial Arm, he would have died on the spot.
Even so, the Imperial Arm was damaged by the blow.
The damage robbed Budo of his ability to fly, and he came crashing down from the sky.
He slammed into the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Before he could even react, Esdeath's sword was already pressed against his throat.
"So I actually lost…" Budo let out a sigh. His spirit visibly withered, and the pride he once carried was gone.
From that moment on, the title of the Empire's "Twin Pillars" ceased to exist. Esdeath became the undisputed strongest general of the Empire.
As for Budo, Alex didn't make things difficult for him. He only demanded that Budo hand over his Imperial Arm, then stripped him of his status and reduced him to a commoner.
After all, even in the original story, Budo wasn't really a villain. He was simply someone who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Empire.
It was precisely because he was so rigid and single-minded that the Minister had been able to use him.
With Budo dealt with, Alex's coronation ceremony continued.
…
[Group Member Alex has completed a three-star mission: Destroy the Empire. Reward: 100 points!]
With the mission complete, Alex received his reward points.
Unfortunately, those points were already spoken for.
Earlier, in order to integrate forging techniques, he had borrowed points from several people in the chat group to buy materials.
Now, with these 100 points plus the 300-plus points he'd accumulated from daily sign-ins over the past month, it was just about enough to pay everyone back.
After returning all the points he owed, Alex's balance dropped back to zero.
With no points left, there was no way he could bring Night Raid's members back with him to the DanMachi world.
After all, it cost 100 points per person, and Night Raid alone had seven members.
If you added Kurome, Tatsumi, Chelsea, Wave, Run, Bols, Sayo, Ieyasu, Suzuka, Pony, and Seryu, that made a total of eighteen people.
Eighteen people meant 1,800 points.
That was an absurd amount. Alex couldn't afford it no matter how he looked at it.
For now, the only option was to have them stay in this world, help maintain order, and keep the Empire running smoothly.
Once he had accumulated enough points, he could come back for them and bring them to the DanMachi world.
Before leaving, Alex handed full control of the Empire over to Najenda and Esdeath.
He then used the last twelve hours he had to write out a series of policies for the Empire's future development and entrusted them to the two women.
And then, right before their eyes, he was forcibly teleported away by the chat group.
Najenda stared at the spot where Alex had vanished, utterly stunned.
At first, she hadn't understood why he'd written so many policies or why he had handed power over to her so suddenly.
Now she finally got it.
He was leaving, and this had been him settling his affairs.
She turned to Esdeath beside her, the woman she had once hated with a burning passion, and asked, "Where did His Majesty go?"
Esdeath answered cryptically, "You'll know the next time you see him."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Najenda standing there with an annoyed look on her face.
DanMachi World — Orario
Alex had been gone for two months.
By the time he returned, Roxy and the others had already come back from their expedition.
During that expedition, they had encountered the Loki Familia along the way, joined forces with them, ventured into the deep floors, and ultimately fought the Corrupted Spirit together.
When they returned to Orario, Tiona, Tione, and Bete of the Loki Familia all advanced to Level 6 in one go, shocking the entire city.
On Alex's side, the gains were just as impressive.
Roxy, Merlin, Morgan, and Artoria all advanced to Level 4.
Saeko Busujima, Irisviel, Sera, Riselit, and Mai Kuji advanced to Level 3.
Erica and Lilianna, relying on their formidable combat strength to defeat monsters far above their level throughout the Dungeon, reached Level 2 as well.
If they'd been able to return mid-expedition to update their blessings, they might have even reached Level 3.
And then there was Bell.
The kid hadn't joined the expedition at all and instead farmed the Dungeon on his own.
In just two months, he had somehow reached Level 3.
All in all, the current overall strength of the Hestia Familia looked like this:
Zero Tier: Alex — Level 6
First Tier: Roxy — Level 4Merlin — Level 4Morgan — Level 4Artoria — Level 4
Second Tier:
Saeko Busujima — Level 3Irisviel — Level 3Sera — Level 3Riselit — Level 3Mai Kuji — Level 3Bell — Level 3
Third Tier: Erica — Level 2Lilianna — Level 2
Mascot Tier: Sakura — Level 1Illya — Level 1Shizuka Marikawa — Level 1
Of course, besides these members, there were also Shinobu Kocho, Takatsuki Sen, Miko Yotsuya, Kurumi Tokisaki, Mikoto Misaka, and Esdeath.
They were all busy in their own worlds with things they needed to do, so they hadn't been able to return to Hestia to update their blessings yet. Officially, they were still all Level 1.
Naturally, a familia's blessing level didn't truly represent their real combat power.
Because the members were leveling up so fast, Hestia hadn't dared to report their true levels to the Guild.
The levels she reported were Alex at Level 3, everyone else at Level 2, and Sakura, Illya, and Shizuka at Level 1.
Even so, that rate of growth was still absurdly fast.
For a god who had only descended recently to achieve this much in just a few months, it was only natural that other gods would get jealous.
Some of them even privately approached Roxy and the others, hoping to poach them into their own familias.
They were all turned down.
When Alex returned to the DanMachi world, the entire familia was in the middle of a meeting.
The moment he stepped into the meeting hall, Hestia jumped to her feet in delight and ran over to him.
"Alex! How did it go? Is everything done?"
"Yeah," Alex replied with a smile, nodding. "It's all taken care of."
In the entire hall, aside from Roxy and Saeko Busujima, who were also members of the chat group, no one understood what the two of them were talking about.
Erica leaned toward Lilianna beside her, looking puzzled."So the two months His Majesty was gone… was he carrying out a mission for Lady Hestia?"
Lilianna shook her head."Don't ask me. I have no idea either."
Merlin and Morgan had long guessed that Alex shared some kind of special connection with Hestia, Roxy, and Saeko, so they weren't particularly surprised.
After hearing Alex's answer, Hestia cheered happily.
Then she ran out of the meeting room, searching everywhere.
She didn't find anyone.
She hurried back and asked Alex, "Where are they?"
Alex smacked his forehead, looking helpless."One hundred points per person. Eighteen people means 1,800 points. Where was I supposed to get that many points to bring them all back?"
Hestia finally realized what he meant and winced."That's way too expensive!"
"Tell me about it," Alex sighed. "Looks like we'll have to work hard earning points from now on."
"No way," Hestia said quickly. "This is my familia. I'll cover the points. You don't have to."
"It's fine," Alex shook his head. "I'm the captain of the familia. I should contribute to its growth too."
Hestia had shown him kindness by taking him in, and this was one of the few ways he could repay her.
"…Alright then," Hestia said after a moment, seeing his resolve. "We'll split it fifty-fifty."
"Sounds good," Alex nodded, satisfied with that arrangement.
After settling the matter, the two of them returned to the meeting room.
A large oval table dominated the room. Alex and Hestia sat at opposite ends.
Those seats represented the captain and the patron goddess.
The other members sat along the sides.
Hestia cleared her throat a couple of times, then said, "Alright, let's continue where we left off. The topic is whether we should start a War Game with the Apollo Familia."
Alex was instantly startled.
So much had already changed in the story, yet Apollo still dared to target the Hestia Familia?
He quickly spoke up."I just got back, so I'm not fully up to speed. Why are we suddenly talking about a War Game with the Apollo Familia?"
Hestia explained, "Our familia's growth has been too fast, so we got targeted. They set Bell up, and now we're basically forced to accept the War Game."
She then recounted exactly how Apollo had laid a trap for Bell.
After listening, Alex gave Bell a strange look.
The whole setup was almost identical to the original story.
At the time, Roxy and the others were still on their expedition, and Bell had been the only one left in the familia, which was why he'd been singled out.
Bell stood up, his face flushed with shame, and bowed deeply to everyone."I'm sorry. It's my fault. I couldn't hold back and ended up attacking someone from the Apollo Familia."
Alex waved a hand, telling him to sit down."They insulted our familia. You were right to act. Since they want a War Game, we'll give them one and crush them completely."
"Exactly," Hestia said with a grin. "We need a lot of money to develop our side businesses anyway. The Apollo Familia is basically delivering a pile of fat meat right to our doorstep."
In the original story, with Bell as her only member, she'd never dared to accept a War Game against Apollo.
But now?
She had Alex, Merlin, and the others.
Even if it were the Loki Familia or the Freya Familia challenging them, she wouldn't be scared in the slightest.
And once they won this War Game, they could conveniently take in Daphne and Cassandra as well.
"..."
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