Trash should be squeezed for everything it’s worth.
That was the truth Enman lived by, and the one he was squeezing happened to be a bottom-rung supporter with dead parents and nobody to rely on.
He honestly didn’t think he was doing anything wrong.
Even if he weren’t the one bullying her, some other adventurer in the familia would have been.
If anything, Lili should be grateful to him.
And now she’d stumbled onto a rich adventurer, so of course she had to be put to her best use and steal that weapon.
Better yet, wring every last drop out of the guy.
That adventurer dagger alone, made by the Hephaestus Familia, would sell on the black market for four or five hundred thousand valis at minimum.
That was more than two months of his own exploration income, and that was assuming he didn’t eat or drink.
“Soma…”
He couldn’t wait to taste that divine wine again.
When the girl he found so disgusting finally showed up, the middle-aged beastman still put on a gentle smile.
“So how’s it going?”
“…”
“I’m working on getting his trust…
He only has that one weapon, so the only chance is when we’re heading back to Orario.”
She kept her head down, just as docile as before, and her voice came out timid.
“Right now he still won’t hand everything over for me to hold.”
“…”
At least the little waste was actually doing her job.
Enman was pleased.
It proved all that bullying hadn’t been wasted effort.
His tone stayed cold, the way you’d talk to a piece of garbage.
“How much longer?”
“Maybe…
five or six days?
He’s really wary of other adventurers, so there’s no way to rush it.”
The real problem was that she hadn’t gotten her story straight with Renn beforehand.
All Lili could do was test Enman’s limits based on experience, because Zanis, the captain of the Soma Familia, worked the same way.
Every seven days he’d hand out the divine wine and use it to bleed everyone dry.
“Make it fast!”
Impatient as he was, he didn’t reject the deadline.
If he handled it himself, it would obviously go a lot quicker.
But even an idiot could see the issue.
For a rookie adventurer to have a weapon that good, there had to be connections behind it.
And if things went wrong, he had Lili to throw under the cart as the scapegoat.
He’d still get the money, and his own life as an adventurer wouldn’t be affected at all.
“I…
I’ll try.”
She answered with a tremble in her voice, then looked up and was about to ask to leave when he waved her off in disgust.
She took it like an order and turned to go, gripping the straps of her supporter backpack, but a question stopped her in her tracks.
“Wait!”
“…”
“What’s that guy’s name?”
“Daniel…”
*
So now that today’s run was over, what exactly was he supposed to do with the rest of the day?
It felt like working brutal overtime every single day and then suddenly clocking out on time, with no idea what to do with yourself.
Renn knew that feeling well.
The worst part was that Orario didn’t have modern entertainment.
Otherwise he could at least scroll videos or play a game to kill time.
On top of that, his goddess hadn’t come to pick him up.
Hestia probably had things to deal with today.
“Guess I’ll exchange today’s haul for valis first.”
Thanks to the drop items from the war shadows, his earnings came out at double what he’d made yesterday.
8,848 valis.
Combined with what he’d already brought in, Renn had a decent amount saved up now.
Getting off that girl’s support would be a lot easier at this rate.
He went back to the empty dorm room and washed up.
After changing into clean clothes, he left again and headed up the street toward North Main Street.
The jagamarukun stall.
Adventurers had fairly loose schedules, so as long as Takemikazuchi had time, he could go ask him about more advanced combat techniques.
He still had a problem he hadn’t solved, after all.
Fighting monsters wasn’t much of a worry anymore, so the training he needed now had to be aimed at fighting other adventurers.
The god was enjoying a rare quiet stretch, and when he noticed Renn walking up, surprise flickered in his eyes, since the boy was supposed to be down in the Dungeon.
“Huh?
Weren’t you exploring today?”
“I was.”
Renn nodded, and he didn’t hide how far he’d gotten.
“I made it to the sixth floor today.
Fighting war shadows burns through stamina pretty fast.”
“So I came back to Orario early, just to be safe.”
“?”
If Takemikazuchi remembered correctly, the Adventurer’s Guild had flatly labeled war shadows as monsters no rookie could beat.
And every floor had a minimum status requirement just to explore it.
He went quiet.
If memory served, this kid had come to him for basic combat training three days ago.
Which meant Renn had gone from a complete rookie to meeting the G-F stat range needed for floors five through seven, and beating the newbie killer on top of that.
In three days?
“…”
As a god, Takemikazuchi could tell truth from lies, and looking at the black-haired boy standing in front of the stall with that sincere expression, he knew it wasn’t a lie.
Renn didn’t look like he was bragging either.
He’d only brought it up because he’d been asked.
“I’ll be honest with you.”
“The vessel you have is beyond anything I imagined.
Hestia really did pick up a fine sprout!”
He felt a stab of envy.
But there was no chance of him trying to poach the boy.
The goddess in question was his friend, after all.
“Congratulations.
Looks like you’ve adapted to an adventurer’s life quickly.
I hope you keep working this hard and keep moving forward.”
“Thank you, Lord Takemikazuchi.”
Am I actually a genius?
The thought popped into Renn’s head, but he hadn’t forgotten why he’d come.
“Actually, there’s something…”
“Go ahead.”
“I’d like to learn advanced techniques for fighting other adventurers.
Could you keep it a secret from Lady Hestia?”
He didn’t explain the whole story.
He just didn’t want it reaching Hestia through Takemikazuchi and making her worry.
“That’s fine.
I’m free the day after tomorrow.
Come find me at the Townhouse and I’ll teach you what I know about it.”
“Thanks.”
“Lady Hestia seems to really like jagamarukun.
What flavor does she usually get?
I’m earning money now, so I want to bring her some.”
“The black pepper one.”
Listening to the boy in front of him, the one who didn’t want Hestia to worry and kept thinking about his goddess, Takemikazuchi had to admit it.
He was a little jealous.