"This tastes really good. You're actually skilled at cooking, Haruhime."
Noah took a few bites and looked genuinely surprised by how well it tasted.
Haruhime blushed a little but stayed quiet.
She wasn't being shy.
She was too embarrassed to admit that some of the dishes she had practiced on earlier had turned into charcoal.
Every plate on the table was a simple recipe that anyone could make without real skill.
Still, it felt good.
Even though she had messed up a lot, Noah's praise right now meant he noticed her effort.
It proved he actually needed her around.
"By the way, what happened after I passed out?" Noah asked while he kept eating.
Haruhime thought for a moment, then slowly told him everything.
"At that time, you had fainted, Noah-sama. I was so scared I could only cry. Then a werewolf gentleman suddenly appeared. When he saw how badly you were hurt, he took out a potion and poured it on you right away. Your wounds started healing super fast."
Noah finally understood one thing: Bete was the one who used the Elixir on him.
He must have been nearby and came running when he heard the noise.
"That werewolf gentleman looked rough on the outside, but I could tell he was really worried about you."
"Ha, that guy's a total tsundere. Don't ever say that to his face though."
"Tsundere?"
"Mhm. It means someone whose outside attitude doesn't match their inside."
"I see. Then… is Noah-sama also a tsundere?"
"..."
The smile disappeared from Noah's face instantly.
He answered seriously, "Haruhime, you've definitely got that wrong. But it's okay. It's your first time hearing the word, so it's normal to mix it up. Just don't say it again."
"Please continue."
"Yes."
Haruhime kept going. "After the werewolf gentleman showed up, a lot of beautiful girls arrived too. When they saw you lying there, they all gathered around you."
'That must have been the Astrea Familia.'
"After that, a lady named Shakti came. She brought people and took down the one who went crazy and attacked us."
'Shakti Varma, captain of the Ganesha Familia.'
'So she was the one who subdued Phryne Jamil.'
"Then one of the girls named Alise took me and the unconscious Noah-sama to another place, where we met another beautiful girl."
Were Haruhime's adjectives running out?
How many "beautiful girls" had shown up in her story?
Did he actually know that many?
If he hadn't been hearing it from someone else, he probably wouldn't have noticed.
"That girl used magic on you, then gave me a bill."
"I see. Wait… a bill?"
Haruhime nodded, stood up, and trotted over to the cabinet.
She took out a slip of paper and handed it to him.
Treatment fee: 1,000,000 valis.
Signed by… Dian Cecht Familia.
'What the fuck?'
Alise had taken him to the Dea Saint for treatment?
So that "beautiful girl" was Airmid Teasanare—one of the three great cheats?
A historic meeting between two of the three great cheats, and he missed it because he was unconscious? He felt a little regretful.
Plus, this treatment happened after Bete had already used the Elixir on him.
And they put the medical fee on credit!
Noah felt a headache coming on.
Two whole days had passed and his work was now behind schedule.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, that Hermes guy's notes on magic items were actually pretty useful.
As expected of perseus.
Even in her early days she could research magic item mechanisms that deeply.
She might even become the Sage of this era.
"Finally, our goddess got into a huge argument with the goddess of the Ishtar Familia because of you. They almost started a War Game."
Noah's hand froze halfway to his mouth.
It seemed this wasn't the time to relax and eat anymore.
'A War Game.'
That was a duel where an entire Familia could be put on the line.
A system recognized by all of Orario where both sides went all out to completely crush the other.
Hephaestus actually wanted to start one for him?
The only reason it didn't happen was probably because the other side refused.
Their only Level 5 had turned into a cripple who could barely stand.
Even with their Level 2s and 3s, they couldn't beat Tsubaki, a Level 5.
Not to mention Hephaestus Familia had tons of second-class adventurers at Level 3 and 4, plus the terrifying ability to mass-produce magic swords.
If they made hundreds of magic swords overnight and started bombarding the moment the war began, even Loki or Freya Familia might not survive it.
A blacksmith's fighting power couldn't be judged by level alone.
The Ishtar Familia would have to be crazy to accept it.
Besides, picking a fight with Hephaestus Familia was the last thing they wanted.
They already had the powerful Freya Familia as a rival.
Why would they want to make enemies with Orario's strongest production Familia?
"It seems the Ishtar Familia decided to quietly accept the Guild's punishment."
That was a smart move.
They had no advantage in Haruhime's case either.
Slave trading wasn't allowed in Orario to begin with, and being connected to Evilus made it even worse.
If they tried to complain about losing their "deposit," it would stop being a simple business dispute.
"Haruhime, come with me later. Let's go back to the base and see our goddess."
"Yes, Noah-sama."
"Oh, right. Before that, there's somewhere else we need to stop first."
...
Twenty-five minutes later, in front of the Dian Cecht Familia shop.
Noah brought Haruhime with him.
"Welcome."
The moment they stepped inside, Noah saw the wide counter and shelves full of medicines.
The Dian Cecht Familia was a commercial Familia that sold potions.
Thanks to the Dea Saint's reputation, they dominated every other potion-making Familia in the city.
Mixology wasn't a common Development Ability, but quite a few people had it.
It was easy to develop if you trained for it.
Still, even with the same ability, the quality of potions could be completely different.
Take the Dian Cecht Familia for example—their potions were some of the best in Orario, more expensive than normal shops, and they could even make and sell Elixirs.
Top-class pharmacists could even create brand-new potions.
In Orario, ordinary medicine didn't sell well.
First, adventurers almost never got sick.
Normal people who did get ill went to regular doctors. If they were rich, they hired healers for magic treatment or drank recovery and status-cure potions.
This world wasn't backward.
Thanks to the miracle of magic, daily life here was just as convenient as modern society.
Magic stones collected by the Guild were sent to factories and turned into all kinds of magic-stone products—like the magic-stone lamps found in every house.
Even Babel Tower had elevators.
Because of magic, this world's technology had taken a completely different path from the modern world, yet ended up just as convenient.
Maybe that was what people meant by "all roads lead to Rome."
Even if you take different routes for a while, you'll still meet again in the end.
"I'm here to see Miss Teasanare." Noah showed the bill.
The clerk glanced at it and guided them politely. "Please wait in the rest area over there. Miss Airmid is treating a patient right now and will be out shortly."
Noah nodded and sat down with Haruhime.
While they waited, Haruhime asked curiously, "Noah-sama, is Lady Airmid a really important person?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you think so?"
Speaking of the Dea Saint, everyone in Orario knew her name.
But it made sense that Haruhime, who had been brought here from the faraway Far East as a slave, had never heard of her.
"Because both the clerk and the girls yesterday seemed to respect her a lot."
"Well, yes. Airmid Teasanare showed amazing talent even during the great conflict two years ago. She has high-level healing magic that can heal wounds, remove curses, and cure poisons. She's basically Orario's number one healer."
"I heard someone call her the Dea Saint?"
"Oh, you probably don't know this yet, Haruhime. You know about adventurers, right? But there's something else you might not have heard. More than half the adventurers in Orario are Level 1—lower-class adventurers. When someone reaches Level 2, they become upper-class and receive a title from the gods themselves."
"Bestowed by the gods?" Haruhime covered her mouth in surprise.
In her homeland, gods were treated with the same respect.
Her father had been an official who served the goddess who ruled the Far East—Amaterasu.
And it was exactly because she had accidentally eaten the divine offerings meant for Amaterasu that she was exiled and disowned by her father.
Even though she hadn't actually done it, no one believed her.
Because of that past, gods were sacred and untouchable in her heart.
So the fact that those same gods would personally give titles to people in the lower world… that had to be an incredible honor reserved only for truly remarkable individuals.