— — — — — —
In the end, Sachi left alone.
Before she went, however, she took seventy percent of the Oni Sake with her.
The theft left Asura so furious her face turned bright red. She flopped into the chair across from Ryo and spent the next while grumbling under her breath about what an awful mother Sachi was.
Ryo merely glanced at her without commenting. He listened quietly, piecing together what he could about Sachi from the drunken complaints.
Meanwhile, near the reservoir, Kurousagi was helping organize the "dowry" Asura had brought with her.
Gulp!Gulp!
A massive wyvern sprawled along the edge of the drinking reservoir upstream, guzzling water like there was no tomorrow.
Whenever the water level dropped, the divine tree beside Ryo's seat glowed with a soft blue light, instantly replenishing the reservoir.
The water level never changed, and the wyvern gradually settled down.
These wyverns were bred as pack beasts. Though each possessed the strength of a five-digit powerhouse, their intelligence was lacking, about on par with a three-year-old child. They took a fair bit of effort to manage.
In the upper layers of Little Garden, wyverns were about as common as family cars. The real treasure was the mountain of supplies stored inside the palace mounted on the wyvern's back.
...
Two full hours passed while Kurousagi checked and cataloged everything.
By the time she finally returned with an inventory list and a beaming smile, Ryo and Asura had already polished off most of the remaining Oni Sake.
"Lady Asura, I've finished taking inventory."
"I don't wanna see it." Asura's cheeks were flushed from drinking. She hiccupped drunkenly and waved a hand. "Just give everything to yourself. Leave me out of it."
She immediately filled her own cup again, then topped off Ryo's. "Come on. Let's keep drinking."
Kurousagi edged closer to Ryo and whispered, "Is... is she going to be okay?"
Ryo shook his head. "She's fine. She probably realized she caused a huge mess and is drowning her worries in alcohol."
"I didn't cause a mess." Asura, who had practically collapsed onto the table, suddenly raised her head and protested indignantly. "It's obviously Father's fault!"
"Sure, sure. It's all Indra's fault." Ryo answered absentmindedly, though inwardly he couldn't help feeling sorry for a certain Asura prince.
Officially, the man was Sachi's husband. In reality, Asura wasn't even his daughter, and she refused to acknowledge him as her father.
Asura had told Ryo that once, when Indra visited the Asura clan to "discuss matters" with Sachi in her bedroom, that unfortunate prince had stood guard outside the palace entrance, preventing Asura from going inside.
The whole thing was so absurd that Ryo couldn't help recalling one particularly infamous historical cuckold.
Honestly, he felt that prince deserved some kind of medal. There were simply some mindsets Ryo knew he'd never understand.
"You'll probably be staying here from now on. If you've got any complaints, say them now."
"Complaints?" Asura shook the nearly empty bottle with obvious dissatisfaction. "I need more Monkey King's Oni Sake. This isn't enough."
Ryo looked toward Kurousagi.
"Umm..." Kurousagi smiled awkwardly. "A small amount would be fine... but if the Monkey King finds out we've been supplying Lady Asura with wine..."
Ryo rolled his eyes. "Then just tell her Asura has married into our community now."
"That's lying." Asura lifted her head and objected with complete seriousness.
"If you want to drink, then keep your mouth shut." Ryo shot back without missing a beat.
"...Then I won't drink." Asura slumped back onto the table. "Plum wine is fine instead. Cheap sake will do if there's nothing else."
"You're still sober?" Ryo looked genuinely surprised.
He'd only finished one jar himself, and he already felt his thoughts getting sluggish. Asura had drunk three times as much, yet she was still speaking clearly.
That was impressive.
"It's a racial trait." She hiccupped. "The drunker an Asura gets, the better we perceive concepts... and the clearer we think."
"...That's the most alcoholic racial ability I've ever heard." Ryo sighed. "No, scratch that. It's practically a biological mandate to become alcoholics."
He turned toward Kurousagi, "Later, put her in the room above the wine cellar."
He paused. "Actually, forget that. Just connect her room directly to the cellar."
Asura immediately sat upright, looking wary. "...You're not actually trying to woo me, are you?"
"Get lost." Ryo rolled his eyes. "Just drink your wine. Stay with the community for a while and guard the place for me."
"Oh," Asura answered lazily before pouring herself another drink while still lying across the table.
'She's basically a loyal guard dog,' Ryo thought to himself.
Then he looked at the quietly giggling Kurousagi. "As for the community's internal affairs, you and Athena can handle them."
"Handle what?"
A goddess dressed in white appeared beside him without warning.
Golden hair, blue eyes, and an olive wreath resting atop her head.
Ryo's eyelid twitched. "I wasn't talking about you, Athena. I meant loli Athena."
"If you keep calling her a loli, she's going to get mad." Athena laughed as she took the seat beside him. She gave Kurousagi a casual wave. The rabbit-eared girl had gone bright red with excitement.
"We've met several times already. You don't have to be so nervous."
"B-But..." Kurousagi looked exactly like an overexcited fan standing before her idol.
To be fair, Athena really was one of Kurousagi's idols.
"Oh, you." Athena shook her head helplessly before glancing at the quietly drinking Asura. A faint smile crossed her face. "So Sachi actually sent you here. It seems Indra's condition really is worse than I thought. Or maybe he's just pretending as always."
Ryo nodded at the last words.
He refused to believe someone as calculating as Indra was genuinely that weakened.
"Whether he's pretending or not doesn't matter." Athena sighed softly. "At the very least, he's shown everyone that the Heavenly Army is no longer capable of maintaining control over the lower layers."
She paused. "If that's the image they're trying to create... then the Godslayer War will probably expand once again, exactly as they intended."
"...What do you mean?" Ryo frowned.
Athena didn't answer directly.
"Zeus summoned me to attend a meeting in the upper layers." She glanced at him. "It's about you."
Ryo blinked. "I've barely killed any Heretic Gods."
He'd only hunted a handful in Greece and taken a few Gifts.
Were the gods already planning to restrict him from participating in the Godslayer War? Were they really so unwilling to let someone else profit?
"It may not be about barring you from the war." Athena's expression grew solemn. "It could be something even more serious."
The meeting hadn't begun yet.
She had a few guesses, but no certainty.
In the end, she simply sighed, "This... may only be the beginning."
Ryo's face darkened.
He understood exactly what she meant.
'So this is only the beginning of the gods' efforts to suppress my growth... not just the Greeks.'
After a long silence, he slowly let out a breath. "When are you leaving?"
"I've already sent one of my avatars to attend in my place." Athena shook her head. "Now... we wait for the answer."
.
.
.