Ash hefted the heavy bag of eris in his hand.
The crisp clinking of metal coins sounded especially pleasing in the current silence.
He then deposited these eris into the gate of babylon.
“Ash!
Run!
Run!” But then, Aqua’s wailing, tearful cry instantly shattered the peace.
She transformed into a blue blur as she chased after them.
“That blonde woman is catching up!
She must have changed her mind!
That’s a whole hundred thousand eris!” Aqua shouted while running, turning her head to look back.
Her sapphire-blue eyes were filled with terror, with glistening tears even hanging at their corners.
She had pretty much already claimed this money as her own.
“That could buy so many bottles of booze!
If she takes it back, my whole life…
no, my dignity as a goddess will be completely ruined!” Aqua crashed headfirst into Ash’s chest, her hands desperately clutching the front of his clothes.
“It’s not that I want to say this, but your dignity as a goddess is completely nonexistent…” Ash steadied his stance, looking down at the trembling blue head buried in his chest, his face a picture of helplessness.
He reached out a hand, placing it on top of Aqua’s head like one would to calm a restless cat, forcibly making her calm down a bit.
“Calm down, Aqua.
Use that brain of yours, which is probably filled with holy water and has an average IQ lower than a roadside Giant Toad, and think.” Ash sighed, his gaze going over Aqua’s shoulder to look at Darkness, who was panting heavily as she ran up behind them.
“There are two of us.
Why should we fear just her?
You’re a High Priestess, and I have this thing in my hand.
What can she possibly do to take it back?” “This stick?” “This is called the Ea!” Ash shook the bizarrely shaped, pitch-black Ea wrapped in red patterns that he held in his hand.
Aqua’s crying stopped abruptly.
She sniffled, blinked dazedly for a moment, then slowly turned her head to look at Darkness, who had now run up to them and was bent over, hands on her knees, breathing heavily.
She then looked at Ash’s composed expression.
“Oh, right!” Almost instantly, This Goddess completed a perfect switch from a “startled bird” to someone “relying on powerful connections to bully others.” She abruptly pushed Ash away, straightened her back ramrod straight, placed her hands on her hips, her delicate little face filled with arrogance.
She yelled at Darkness: “Hey!
You perverted knight over there!
What do you think you’re doing?
Now that the money is in This Goddess’s husband’s pocket, it’s sacred property protected by the teachings of the Axis Order!
If you dare have any improper thoughts, be careful or I’ll smite you with divine punishment so you’ll never get to drink water again in this lifetime!” Darkness finally caught her breath.
She raised her head, the breathtakingly beautiful face still slightly flushed, whether from the long run or the lingering excitement from earlier in the guild.
Her eyes now held an unusually serious expression, even carrying a hint of tragic righteousness.
“You two…
huff…
you both are officially registered adventurers, right?” Darkness puffed out her chest, her silver armor rising and falling with her breathing.
“What if we are?” Ash raised an eyebrow, his tone still cold.
“As a righteous knight who worships the goddess eris, I absolutely cannot allow such despicable acts of profiting through deception and humiliation to occur within the guild!” Darkness declared with a straight face.
If one ignored the slight trembling of her fingertips as she tightly gripped her sword hilt, she really did look like a glorious paladin.
“I will start closely supervising you from now on!
To prevent you from continuing to use that…
that heinous, vicious method to harm other pure and innocent adventurers!
I must step forward and become the shield that stops you from falling into the abyss!” The moment Aqua heard the word “supervise,” creditors and other derogatory terms immediately popped into her head.
She was just about to explode in refusal.
After all, in her view, this woman just wanted an excuse to get that hundred thousand eris back.
However, Ash was one step ahead.
He grabbed Aqua’s shoulder, forcibly pulling her close to his side.
He lowered his head, leaning close to Aqua’s pointy little ear, and whispered rapidly in a low, extremely persuasive voice.
“Listen, Aqua, don’t be foolish.
As a lofty goddess descending to the mortal realm for an inspection, how can you not have attendants?
It’s a matter of style.” “Moreover, as your husband, my future status is inevitably that of a supreme king who commands multitudes and possesses the gate of babylon.
When a king goes on a tour, how can he be without servants to handle the heavy and dirty work?
Since this justice-obsessed knight lady has voluntarily delivered herself to be free labor, why should we refuse?
Someone to block attacks, someone to carry luggage, and it doesn’t cost a single eris.
Where else would you find such a good deal?” Aqua’s eyes gradually lit up.
She began to exercise her meager but vanity-filled imagination: herself riding in a splendid carriage, Darkness pulling it from the front, Ash feeding her fine wine by her side, and all the troublesome matters dumped on this blonde woman.
“Ah, what you say makes a lot of sense.
As expected of my husband!” Aqua muttered quietly, then immediately adopted an expression of compassionate benevolence.
She raised her chin and spoke to Darkness.
“Ahem!
Since you are so sincerely seeking repentance and yearn for This Great Goddess’s salvation and guidance…
I shall mercifully permit you to join our party as a probationary follower for observation.
But let’s be clear upfront: we have no spare money to pay wages, and all the dirty work, heavy labor, and monster baiting must be handled by you, the knight.
Understood?” Darkness, who had originally been feeling proud of her perfect plan to “lurk among the villains and wait for an opportunity to be humiliated,” trembled violently when she heard “dirty work, heavy labor” and “monster baiting.” For a moment, a flash of almost morbid delight passed through her sapphire-blue eyes, and her breathing became rapid again.
“No problem!
I will supervise you properly!” She promised with a serious face, but her voice carried an uncontrollable, slight tremor.
“Well then, Darkness.” Ash turned around casually.
“We’re going to take care of some…
necessities.
Do you plan to keep eating dust at the entrance, or are you coming in with us?” Darkness hesitated for a moment, a hint of flustered blush appearing on her face.
She trotted to catch up behind Ash, her voice somewhat faint.
“Um…
could you take me to get a meal first?
That hundred thousand eris just now…
really was all the savings I had on me.” The moment Aqua heard this, she immediately found a sense of camaraderie.
She grabbed Ash’s other arm, shaking it like a clingy accessory.
“Exactly!
Exactly!
Ash, you big liar!
You just lied to me earlier, saying the vault was full of fine wine, but there wasn’t even a drop of water!
My throat is so dry it’s about to catch fire.
Since you swindled…
I mean, earned so much money, you should at least treat everyone to a good meal, right?
It’s the duty of a leader!”