Chapter 203

Chapter 205: Haruhi, Haruhi is entertaining guests~

As the sea breeze swept over the port walls, Hermes tipped his traveling hat down a little further, squinting as he watched the retreating back of his child.

“Asfi, I really haven’t lied to you this time…”

Though usually he was an utterly capricious deity who liked to act on his own whims without consulting his children’s opinions, this time he truly hadn’t indulged in his usual mischief.

Just as he had said before, the reason for stopping in the city and delaying the delivery of the “goods” was simply to buy some time.

At first, Hermes didn’t know what he was delivering. The client, Ishtar, had specifically instructed that it was “confidential” and not to be opened.

But curiosity, especially for gods, was something impossible to suppress.

So naturally, when Hermes got hold of the goods in the Far East region, he couldn’t wait to open them up and investigate.

And upon discovering the true nature of the cargo, Hermes felt a twinge of regret.

He had no idea that Ishtar would ask him to transport something so forbidden.

The “Killing Stone,” a forbidden magical artifact—any deity wanting to maintain a good reputation and attract followers would keep far away from such things.

If discovered, it would be utterly disgraceful.

But alas, the deposit was paid, the goods were already in hand, and there was no turning back now.

Hermes wondered what he could do? He himself was just as helpless!

However, while delivering the goods, Hermes still had his own little schemes in mind.

Currently, he was in an important port city of a small kingdom. This kingdom was close to Orario and even had a regional branch of the Adventurers’ Guild, where news from Orario could relatively quickly reach.

As for why Hermes was stalling… well, it was kind of to prepare for potential conflicts?

It also had something to do with Izay.

The “Killing Stone” was a magical artifact specifically designed for fox people.

By chance, Hermes learned that during one of his free nights with Izay, the person sharing his bed seemed to have been a fox girl.

That fox girl held a rather special status in the pleasure quarter; apparently, all the fighting courtesans knew about her existence.

When Hermes was lured away by those fighting courtesans to meet Ishtar, passing Izay’s room, the courtesans had casually mentioned the fox girl.

Their comments carried a teasing tone:

“Haruhi has finally reached her first time.”

“I hope she doesn’t pass out again.”

“It might be difficult, considering it’s Haruhi.”

“Yeah, probably once her fox tail goes limp, she’ll lose consciousness.”

“Poor guy who spent the night with her.”

These kinds of conversations.

Even though the courtesans were whispering quietly, Hermes caught every word.

Because of this, Hermes became aware of the relationship between Izay and the fox girl. It made him wonder if Izay would interfere in this matter.

‘What if Izay and that fox girl developed feelings for each other?’ The god speculated with a mischievous grin.

After all, visiting the pleasure quarter only had two outcomes: once or repeatedly. Once someone got a taste of it, they’d want more.

So Hermes decided to wait and see.

Izay, at Level 4 with extraordinary combat strength, already had the capability to face Ishtar’s faction.

Having witnessed Izay’s prowess, Hermes had no doubt about this.

Could Izay disrupt Ishtar’s carefully laid plans?

Hermes found himself oddly looking forward to it.

He planned to return to Orario and inform his young friend about the “Killing Stone.”

“Just consider it…” Hermes mused aloud, “…repayment for that night.”

“And also payback for that morning when Ishtar made it seem like I was caught in a police raid.”

As the sea breeze brushed against his face, the deity effortlessly found excuses for his capricious behavior.

…

Meanwhile, back in Orario, Ishtar was feeling quite gloomy, completely unaware that the person she entrusted with her task was trying to screw her over.

“What? Still no news of Hermes returning near Orario?”

Clad in extravagant gold and silver jewelry, with barely any clothing save for a belt and loincloth, the goddess shamelessly flaunted her beauty.

From the highest level of her magnificent, luxurious, and exceptionally towering palace, where all four windows were wide open and cool breezes flowed freely, she questioned her followers irritably.

Upon hearing this, the battle courtesans behind the goddess immediately bowed their heads.

“We apologize, Lady Ishtar. We’ve done our best to investigate, but we haven’t found any trace of Lord Hermes near Orario. Even Port City Merun has been discreetly checked, with no results.”

“Perhaps… Lord Hermes hasn’t returned to Orario yet…”

The member responsible for gathering intelligence knelt on one knee, speaking humbly.

“Tch!” Ishtar clicked her tongue irritably. “That carefree idiot must be wandering around somewhere wasting time.”

It had been about half a year since she entrusted Hermes to retrieve the goods.

Even accounting for detours to cover up the “goods,” it should have arrived by now!

The goddess’s reprimand left everyone too afraid to speak, even though they weren’t the ones being scolded.

No one dared to provoke her wrath when they knew she was already in a bad mood.

As battle courtesans and the closest followers to the deity’s will, they were all too aware of how terrifying this goddess could be. Someone had once tried to defy her, but now that person was as obedient as could be in front of her.

“Fine, that fool isn’t new to this. Let’s talk about something else…” Ishtar lit her tobacco pipe, took a small puff, then exhaled a cloud of smoke. “How’s that girl Haruhi doing lately?”

“Haruhi has been very quiet recently, occasionally entertaining guests… However…” The battle courtesan hesitated.

Ishtar furrowed her brow. “However, what?”

“Her clients seem to be from the ‘Silver Star.'” She added at the end, “Always.”

In short, she was getting extremely close to one particular person.

Ishtar twitched the corner of her mouth. “The rising star adventurer from Loki Familia? The one who just reached Level 4 not long ago?”

“…Yes.”

Good grief.

Right now, Ishtar could only mutter, “Good grief.”

What did “always” mean?

From the first night to later, it was always the same person.

Did these two develop feelings for each other?!

Thinking of the worst possibility, Ishtar involuntarily twitched her lips.

If that were true, wouldn’t she have to deal with both Freya and Loki, the two largest factions at the same time?!

‘Shit…’ Ishtar almost let out a curse.

After a moment, Ishtar calmed herself down with a drag of her tobacco.

No, it wasn’t that bad yet.

There was no way that kid from Loki Familia would know anything about the Killing Stone or the ritual.

He shouldn’t interfere with her plans.

Things weren’t at their worst point yet.

Ishtar had confidence in her intelligence network.

Even if they developed feelings, so what?

To adventurers, Haruhi was nothing more than an insignificant courtesan.

Even if she suddenly disappeared, that ‘Silver Star’ wouldn’t do anything drastic about it.

At most, he’d search for a while and give up.

Then she could just say Haruhi went back to her hometown and call it a day.

Yeah, that’s what she’d do.

Ishtar felt she already had a plan in place.

“Hmm… What is Haruhi doing right now?” Taking a deep breath, Ishtar asked.

“Uh… Haruhi is entertaining guests…”

“……”