The moment Shiro finished speaking, the atmosphere between them immediately became tense.
Ouranos was the patron god of the Guild and, at the same time, the only god in the Lower World still capable of using divine power.
His position was far too special.
Shiro had never believed that taking the Divinity from the Dungeon could truly escape Ouranos's notice.
The two of them had previously signed a Contract stating that as long as Shiro dealt with the One-Eyed Black Dragon, Ouranos would tolerate some of the minor things he did under the old god's watch.
But Shiro's recent actions had obviously gone far beyond anything that could reasonably be described as "minor."
Whether it was the Dungeon's Divinity or the Xenos, the consequences extended far beyond Orario alone.
With the situation as it currently stood, if a god capable of using divine power like Ouranos chose to interfere, countless people would suddenly find their actions restricted.
Shiro naturally counted among them.
Rather than leaving such an unstable factor alone until it exploded at some unknown moment, Shiro preferred to settle matters with him now.
Even if that meant the two of them might end up completely falling out.
"You seem rather worried that I might do something."
Faced with Shiro's question, Ouranos narrowed his eyes with apparent interest.
"Compared with monsters that know nothing except killing, humans capable of using intelligence are obviously more dangerous."
Shiro met his gaze calmly.
"Especially when that 'human' is actually a god whose power is no weaker than those monsters."
"I see."
Whether Ouranos's response was a question or simply an observation was difficult to tell.
He lifted the teacup from the table and slowly took a sip.
"Tomorrow night, Ishtar intends to attack Freya Familia."
Shiro's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Our Guild is not in a position to interfere."
"Can I take that to mean our cooperation is still continuing?"
"I care only about the safety of the Lower World."
Hearing that answer, Shiro's lips twitched.
As expected, every god who descended to the Lower World had about eight hundred hidden schemes rattling around in their head.
Apparently, even the Guild's chief god, famous for fairness and impartiality, was no exception.
First, Ouranos conveniently informed him that Ishtar would attack Freya Familia tomorrow night, effectively selling him a favor.
Then, immediately afterward, he announced that the Guild would not interfere.
Wasn't he basically dumping the entire mess onto Shiro and expecting him to handle it?
For free, no less.
Ouranos claimed he cared only about the safety of the Lower World, but what exactly counted as a threat to that safety was still something Ouranos himself got to decide.
'What is this supposed to be?'
'Three sentences and you get a Level 7 adventurer to work for free?'
Even hired labor was supposed to receive minimum wages.
Yet Ouranos thought a piece of information Shiro had already more or less guessed was enough payment?
"I understand."
Despite his complaints, Shiro had no real reason to refuse.
He had already made most of the necessary arrangements on Freya's side anyway.
Compared with that, there was something else he wanted to know far more.
"But there's another matter I'm curious about."
Ouranos waited silently.
"How many people know about the Xenos?"
Shiro stared directly into his eyes.
"More specifically, does Ganesha know?"
Ganesha Familia was one of Orario's most powerful Familias and had been entrusted by the Guild with maintaining public security throughout the city.
On the surface, the Familia known as the [Military Police of the Labyrinth City] did not appear particularly suspicious.
And yet this very Familia, which spent its days running through every street and alley of Orario, organized an event every year that brought them little obvious benefit.
The Monster Feria.
Before learning about the Xenos, Shiro had assumed the festival was simply something resembling the gladiatorial spectacles of ancient Rome.
But once he knew intelligent monsters existed, the purpose behind Ganesha Familia's Monster Feria became much more thought-provoking.
Was it held under orders from the Guild?
Or was Ganesha secretly using the Monster Feria as cover to capture Xenos from the Dungeon?
"I asked Ganesha to organize the Monster Feria in order to reduce the divide between people and monsters."
Ouranos immediately understood Shiro's suspicion and explained.
"Even the children of his Familia do not know about the Xenos."
"Then the people hunting Wie... the Vouivre were?"
"Evilus."
Ouranos paused briefly before continuing.
"There are many people in this world whose tastes are rather... unusual."
"A considerable number of them are interested in these special monsters."
"The people hiding in the darkness noticed the profit that could be made from that demand, so they began capturing Xenos and selling them to maintain their funding."
As Ouranos spoke, he seemed to remember something unpleasant and frowned.
"Perhaps because of the influence of their patron god, however, their methods are exceptionally extreme."
"Whenever the Guild manages to capture one of them, they immediately detonate a Fire Stone and kill themselves."
"To this day, we still have no idea which god stands behind them."
"Evilus again..."
Shiro could not help sighing.
'Why are you guys involved in everything?'
Hadn't Evilus been appearing a little too often recently?
The artificial labyrinth.
The Corrupted Spirit.
And now the Xenos.
All of them seemed to have Evilus lurking somewhere in the background.
And those were only the things Shiro currently knew about.
If Loki had not personally told him that Evilus's main forces had already been wiped out several years ago and that only remnants remained in Orario, Shiro might have started wondering whether the lot of them could simply unite and form an entire anti-Guild organization.
Considering how many people had been secretly causing trouble since the Great Feud, the fact that Orario had somehow avoided another massive disaster until now was practically a miracle.
"Leave those people to me."
Shiro leaned back against the sofa.
"In exchange, I'll need some assistance from the Guild later."
"It seems you already know who they are."
Ouranos's gaze sharpened slightly.
"That's exclusive information."
Shiro extended one hand toward him.
"If you want to know..."
The meaning could not have been clearer.
Shiro was willing to deal with them, but the method would be his decision.
After all, those people still had some use to him.
If the Guild wanted to participate and take a share of whatever benefits came out of this...
They would have to pay extra.
"The Guild must preserve its credibility among the people."
Ouranos completely ignored Shiro's outstretched hand.
Like an impartial judge delivering a solemn ruling, he declared,
"So publicly, the Guild cannot favor any individual."
Shiro raised an eyebrow.
Then a somewhat mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, yes. Don't worry."
He deliberately emphasized the words.
"The 'Guild' certainly won't favor anyone 'publicly.'"
After all, knowing Ouranos's personality, there was absolutely no chance Shiro was the first person he had secretly helped.
And those Xenos, creatures indistinguishable from monsters in the eyes of ordinary adventurers...
How could they possibly be private forces secretly sheltered by the righteous and impartial Guild?
…