"This is simple enough."
Seeing her grasp the situation and agree to cooperate so quickly, the Herrscher of Sentience nodded with satisfaction.
On the other side, after bidding farewell to Syr, Sushang and Furina began to ponder their living arrangements.
Although Furina was far more concerned about matters regarding the Familia, Sushang felt completely at ease with Senti handling things.
Once Focalors arrived, the two of them wouldn't need to worry about such trifles.
What did require concern, however, was Focalors' identity and the establishment of the Familia itself.
According to the situation Syr had explained to them, the divine blessing that gods carved onto people manifested externally as unique runes and divine blood—two things Focalors would never possess.
The runes were one thing, but divine blood was something entirely unrelated to Focalors.
Still... for her, the former was actually the more difficult hurdle.
Since identity cards were designed precisely for situations like this, as long as Focalors was given a local resident registration, there would naturally be no need to worry about the lack of divine blood.
Besides, Syr was merely a mortal; what exactly a god's blessing entailed remained uncertain. The reason it was described as an external manifestation was simply because the information had come from Syr's own account.
There was no point in overthinking it for now.
Regarding a place to stay, Sushang asked for the opinion of Furina, who had already been through this experience. Furina's reply was blunt.
"I just found a random inn and settled in."
She continued, "That inn isn't bad. We can stay there before joining a Familia. Although the lodging fee isn't exactly cheap, as long as it's only for a short time, our current operating funds will be just fine."
In truth, if she were on her own, she might have already started looking for somewhere more affordable.
After all, her income today had seen a sharp decline, something far beyond what the word 'fluctuation' could describe.
Until she found her next source of income, she naturally had to pinch pennies where she could.
But now there were two of them, and Sushang had come specifically to protect her. Even if it meant stretching her resources, she wanted to provide a decent place for Sushang to stay.
Moreover, the gold Sushang had produced was more than enough to serve as a cushion once the money earned from her street performances ran dry.
"But let's leave that for later. The most pressing matter is to gather more information about the various Familias."
Furina added, "Although I came here early and learned a few things about the situation, as you know, I haven't exactly been collecting intelligence on the Familias."
"According to Miss Syr, we can go to the Guild to inquire about matters regarding them."
The Guild, huh.
Sushang had no objections to this. Even though she had already decided to have Focalors serve as their Familia's deity, it wouldn't hurt to understand the situation with other Familias, as they would be dealing with each other eventually.
The destination wasn't far; it was the very same northwest main street Sushang had entered upon arriving in Orario, home to the most magnificent building nearest to the outer walls.
The Pantheon—or rather, the headquarters of the Guild—stood right there.
Sushang had been captivated by the architecture when she first entered the city; she hadn't realized it was actually the Guild.
Compared to Sushang, Furina didn't feel much awe. Her mind was entirely consumed by what her future Familia should look like.
What if there wasn't one that suited her preferences? Should she endure a place she disliked for the sake of resources and her future?
The responsibility she shouldered made her afraid to slack off in her own development, but to join a disliked Familia solely for resources...
As the two entered the Guild's lobby, they attracted quite a few gazes. There was no need to mention Furina; although she hadn't joined a Familia yet, she had gained considerable fame due to her beautiful singing voice and appearance.
The sight of major gods fighting over her was a piece of gossip that could be considered 'scandalous' even in Orario.
As for why Sushang attracted attention, it was simple.
She was striking and unique—those two reasons were more than enough.
Of course, the two didn't take the onlookers' stares to heart. Furina walked straight toward the front desk with her head held high. There were quite a few people in the lobby, but for adventurers, the Guild usually served only one purpose: selling magic stones.
Even those who needed to sign contracts under the Guild's supervision rarely lingered at the front desk.
As a result, the two arrived unimpeded before a staff member with long, golden hair.
"Hello. We are both new to this city and would like to inquire about matters regarding the Familias." Furina's demeanor was composed and elegant; she seemed less like an adventurer about to join a Familia and more like a young lady out on a leisurely excursion.
However, as a receptionist, the staff member had seen it all. She maintained a smile, keeping her tone professional.
"If you wish to learn about the Familias, you may fill out your personal information on the second floor. Your profile will then be available for various Familias to review. Should a Familia take an interest and send you an invitation, the Guild will forward it to your registered address."
"And if we want to know about the Familias before joining? Such as information about their gods or the overall atmosphere of the group?"
Furina nodded; she understood the process the staff member described, but it hadn't fully answered her question.
Seeing her persist, the staff member subtly observed the surroundings before leaning in.
"Normally, you would need to find out such things through your own means... but since no one else is waiting for service, I can give you a brief introduction..."
She was only halfway through her sentence when a much louder voice from behind them interrupted: "What are you curious about? You can just ask us, Furina~"
Sushang hadn't heard this voice before, but Furina recognized it.
She turned around toward the sound and saw a girl with messy, short hair and tanned skin—an Amazon.
"You are... from the Loki Familia..."
Furina carefully recalled the girl's name. In her memory, she had been with three other members of the Loki Familia. It started because one of them, an elf girl, had been moved by her performance and had come over to talk.
That encounter had conveniently helped her extricate herself from others trying to recruit her.
At the time, she didn't want to seem like she was misunderstanding their kindness for a demand for repayment, so despite their friendly interaction, they hadn't maintained close contact.
"Tiona! That's my name." The Amazon girl didn't mind the hesitation in Furina's reaction; she hadn't introduced herself at the time, so it was perfectly normal for her not to remember.
She grinned, looked at Furina, and then shifted her gaze to Sushang, her eyes lighting up.
Though she couldn't say why, she felt a strange affinity for this brown-haired girl, as if they were kindred spirits.
"My apologies back then..."
"No need to apologize! Forget that, are you finally planning on joining a Familia?" Tiona wasn't one for stiff social niceties. She didn't know much about art, but she had a pretty good impression of Furina.
Seeing them bump into each other again, she felt it must be fate.
Recalling that Loki had also mentioned wanting to recruit her, Tiona, who hadn't paid much attention to it before, suddenly felt her interest pique.
The two of them seemed to be together. If Furina joined, would this girl join as well?
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL