Time passed slowly. Ritsuka, who had lost 'interest' in Adventurers and 'favors', spent a few days finding ways to exchange all the crystals and materials for Orario's currency.
Something called valis.
Having obtained a lot of valis in one go, Ritsuka simply followed her whims and opened a shop.
Therefore, without anyone noticing, a shop next to the library quietly changed its appearance and put up a sign for 'The Emiya Family's Snack Shop'.
She used a sum of money to take over the shop and, after some simple renovations, Ritsuka began making snacks herself.
The amount she made every day wasn't much. After all, not many people bought them; only she and the old man next door ate them.
"Mmm, such a leisurely life, I feel like I'm going to degenerate."
In the shop of about thirty square meters, Ritsuka was crunching on a Pocky stick.
This thing was something she made herself, an imitation snack based on the records on the remaining packaging boxes, since she really had nothing else to do.
Strawberry Cake, Pocky, small Biscuits... With nothing to do, Ritsuka began to research various delicious foods. Anyway, no matter how much she ate, the calories could be converted into magical energy. Then, a few casual punches could consume the calories she had worked so hard to eat. After all, Noble Phantasms still wasted a lot of magical energy.
Coincidentally, her magical energy was overflowing, so she took the opportunity to strengthen herself and her use of Alcides' power.
As for the other Archer, Emiya Shirou's power, her use of it was extremely stable.
It was as if it were completely her own ability... In the back room, Ritsuka was pondering at the kitchen counter, holding a bottle of transparent, clear liquid. This was the product she obtained after improving the mapo water.
Compared to that hellish spiciness, she emphasized the two aspects of numbness and fragrance, but the improvement process was not smooth.
The primary problem was that the worlds were different. Some things here were very different from those in her memory. For example, she hadn't seen meat floss, only accidentally discovering something quite similar.
It was called Meat Puree, and the price was incredibly high.
Secondly, regarding the mapo water itself, although she had a sample bottle in her hand, she didn't know what the actual ingredients were.
This bottle of mapo water was still contained in a mineral water bottle.
The research hit a bottleneck.
"Lass, are you busy?"
Suddenly, a voice rang out in the shop, full of vigor.
Ritsuka immediately started walking toward the front.
---
The old man from the library next door walked into the shop, glanced around, and found only two girls who worked nearby sitting in a corner, enjoying ultra-low-priced delicious cake.
In Orario, although the price of cake isn't too expensive, the more famous ones are not something ordinary people can afford. Non-Adventurers would hesitate for a long time before buying a piece, let alone eating one every day as a meal.
They were just craving this cheap and delicious thing.
After all, even if Ritsuka didn't make much every day, there would still be some leftovers. If she ate them all herself, she'd be sick of it.
She simply sold them at an ultra-low price; at least it could make her reputation explode.
Moreover, the cost was really not high.
"I'm not busy, and there aren't many customers. Come in and sit."
The two girls in the corner finished their daily portion of sweets and left in a happy mood. For a moment, only Ritsuka and the old man were left in the shop.
Taking out some recently fried peanuts, Ritsuka came out from the back kitchen carrying a pot of sake she had brewed herself.
"Old man, here are your snacks and wine."
"Hehe, you really understand me, lass. I won't be polite then."
At the table, the old man, who had started drinking, was in quite a good mood.
Japanese sake has a low alcohol content and the liquid is clear, somewhat similar to a beverage, and the damage to the body is relatively small. Ritsuka used to buy it for Kiritsugu to drink as well.
However, she herself didn't drink and was not very comfortable with that alcoholic smell.
"Old man, did you come here for something?"
Sitting opposite the library old man, Ritsuka toyed with the newly developed mapo water. The crystal-clear liquid looked like sake, but it didn't smell like anything. Only when it encountered spiciness would it undergo a qualitative change.
She had to say, she felt that Kirei Kotomine was truly a genius.
"Sigh, I've been annoyed to death lately. That girl... the Goddess comes to sponge off books every day, and she insists on dragging me into her Familia."
"With my old bones, going to the Dungeon wouldn't even be enough as a snack for the monsters."
The old man shook his head and sighed helplessly.
Hestia.
The Kitchen God, the Fireside, and Fire in greek mythology, one of the Twelve Olympian Gods, and part of the same mythology as Heracles.
Her status is extremely high; she is the most sacred and ancient deity on Mount Olympus.
Ritsuka had a slight impression of the person who was more like a quirky Goddess than a proper Goddess.
Because she had seen her pestering the old man from the library, wanting to pull him in. Hestia seemed to be a Goddess who had not yet established a Familia.
Moreover, this divine name was quite famous, ranked alongside Artemis and Athena as the three famous virgin goddesses.
"Old man, didn't you try to refuse her?"
That Goddess didn't seem to have a bad character, nor was she the type to be relentlessly clingy. Logically, as long as he refused properly, it should be fine.
"The lower world is nothing good. It's better to just return to the heavens. Making a living in Orario is not that easy."
The old man's words had a hidden meaning, and his gaze was somewhat distant.
"In current Orario, the highest-level Adventurer is the Level 7 'the king' Ottar, but there is a reason for this. Before this, the Familias at the top of Orario were not the Freya Familia or the Loki Familia."
Instead, it was the world-renowned Zeus Familia and Hera Familia.
Back then, due to a great calamity, these two great Familias suffered a devastating blow. Their main forces were nearly wiped out, and they were subsequently driven out of Orario by the combined forces of Freya and Loki.
People leave, and the tea grows cold.
"Lass, have you ever thought about becoming an Adventurer?"
"I used to, but now I just want to spend my remaining time in peace."
Ritsuka couldn't read the old man's gaze and silently shook her head.
Even the strongest, Ottar, was only an Lv. 7; her expectations for the 'favor' had vanished into thin air.
Compared to things that strengthen the self, the stronger a person is, the less effective they become. If she were to receive a god's favor, she might not feel even a hint of improvement for the first few levels.
And leveling up wasn't easy; even the Sword Princess, the record-holder for the fastest growth in history, took a year to go from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2.
Ritsuka never considered herself a genius; she understood this deeply. Moreover, she no longer had the motivation to become stronger. Her mission had long since concluded—the moment she successfully sent Miyu to another world.
That was a peaceful world. She had been fortunate enough to catch a fleeting glimpse of its future at the moment her wish was granted.
That's enough... "Puhaha—! Lass, those words are far too mature. You need to smile more to look young!"
The old man suddenly burst out laughing, his body shaking so much that the peanut he was holding with his chopsticks fell.
Ritsuka nodded without arguing. "Yeah, it probably would be better to smile more."
Flashing before her eyes was Miyu's silhouette.
Her expression was calm and gentle, yet her eyes looked like they had seen many tragedies—somewhat clouded... yet tranquil... Those dull golden pupils seemed to say that these eyes had once shone brightly, but that was all in the past. After the passion faded, only an infinite void and the vicissitudes of time remained.