"So why do I have to come along too?"
The next morning, Ryoji headed out with Tiona and Tione, lugging an enormous sack that weighed several thousand kilograms as they made their way up and down Northwest Street.
"You're one of the executives now. Try acting like it!" Tione had an equally heavy bundle slung over her shoulder. At his complaint, she spread her hands helplessly. "Negotiating with the higher-ups of other Familias is the executives' job."
"Even if you say that... doing business and all..." Ryoji looked away uneasily. "If we end up losing money, don't blame me."
"We're the Loki Familia. It's not that easy for anyone to rip us off!" Tiona declared confidently.
Ten minutes later, the three of them walked side by side out of another Familia's base, both Amazon sisters wearing thoughtful expressions. The bundles they had been carrying were now half their original size.
They had sold a large portion of the materials they'd brought back from the Dungeon, and in exchange, they were now carrying a sack stuffed full of valis.
"How did you manage to sell everything that cheaply?" Tione looked at Ryoji in complete confusion.
"Well... I don't really know the market prices." Ryoji cleared his throat and answered with a perfectly serious face.
"Good thing we came with you. If we'd let you handle this alone, you'd probably get conned out of your underwear."
"Come on, I'm not that stupid."
Even so, half an hour later, the Amazon sisters were starting to question reality.
"Forget it. Just don't touch any of this anymore." Tione genuinely felt at a loss. They had never asked him to handle this sort of work before, but getting even basic common sense wrong wasn't clumsiness anymore; it was plain ignorance.
Thank goodness they'd come with him. Otherwise, they would have taken a huge loss. Under no circumstances could they ever let this guy handle business again. At that moment, Tione reached that profound realization.
The gods really were fair. They had blessed him with talent beyond anything anyone had ever seen, but in exchange, they had stripped away his ability in other areas. Somehow, that made her feel much better.
Ryoji curled his lips. I told you not to make me do business. You two just wouldn't listen. How is this my fault?
"The last delivery on the list is for the Dian Cecht Familia." Tione glanced at the list Finn had given them.
"We're going to see Airmid?!" Tiona's eyes widened in alarm. "Ryoji, put on a few more layers of clothes!"
"Knock it off. Are you trying to suffocate me?"
Near the northern end of Northwest Street, close to the Northern Suburbs, stood a pharmacy bearing the emblem of a glowing orb and medicinal herbs, the headquarters of the Dian Cecht Familia. The three of them made their way there like old regulars.
"Hey, little girl, I'll say this one last time!" Before they even reached the entrance, an overbearing voice echoed out from inside. "Join my Familia. Otherwise, there'll be no reason for this so-called Dian Cecht Familia to keep existing!"
"Someone's here looking for trouble?" Hearing such a blunt threat, Ryoji raised an eyebrow. "From the way they talk, it's a god... and they're unbelievably arrogant."
"We're on pretty good terms with this Familia. We can't just ignore this." Looking thoroughly annoyed at the prospect of getting involved, Tione let out a sigh and headed toward the entrance.
Whoever was inside, they sounded like the proud, overbearing type. Whether the name of the Loki Familia alone would be enough to make them back down remained to be seen.
Tione, who was walking in front, didn't notice that her younger twin behind her seemed to have recognized something. Tiona's expression had turned strangely complicated.
Inside the pharmacy, Airmid's doll-like, beautiful face showed a trace of helplessness. The goddess standing before her simply refused to give up.
She showed no respect at all for the patron deity of the Familia, openly declaring in broad daylight that "this Familia has no reason to exist anymore." It was clear she didn't take anyone here seriously.
"Please leave, Lady Goddess. I'm honored that you've taken an interest in me, but I'm very happy with my current Familia. I hope you'll understand." No matter how much she disliked this goddess, Airmid remained perfectly polite. It wouldn't do to show disrespect toward a deity.
"So you're determined to refuse me, no matter what?"
Standing opposite her was a petite goddess. She looked like a little girl of seven or eight years old, yet she spoke with the air of someone far older. As if out of personal preference, she wore a mask that covered her face, with only openings around the eyes.
"It's not that. I just don't want to leave my Familia."
"Hmph. Being chosen by me is an honor, and you dare refuse..." The masked loli goddess narrowed her eyes, a dangerously cold look appearing in them.
In that instant, an overwhelming, blood-soaked aura surged from her body, as vast and unfathomable as towering mountains and the deepest sea. Standing directly in front of her, Airmid's face immediately turned pale.
It was divine power, and a very distinctive kind of divine power. There was no doubt about it: she was a god of slaughter.
"Whoever you are, Lady Goddess, she's already said she doesn't want to go. If you keep pushing, don't you think that's beneath a god's dignity?" Just then, Tione walked into the shop and addressed the goddess without either groveling or showing disrespect.
"Oh?" The masked loli goddess's eyes flickered. She turned around, her crimson pupils filled with amusement. "Well, if it isn't Tione. It's been a few years. Have you become the type to stand up for other people now?"
"You're...?!" The moment Tione saw her face, her eyes widened. Shock spread across her face, and her expression instantly darkened. "So that's who was talking so arrogantly. It's you. No wonder."
Her tone immediately turned hostile. There wasn't the slightest trace of reverence in her voice as she faced a goddess, openly displaying her contempt.
"My, my. It's only been a few years, yet you've gotten so bold. Back then, you didn't even dare breathe too loudly in front of me. Has joining the Loki Familia really made your ego swell that much?" The masked goddess casually shook her head, her crimson gaze drifting with interest to Tione's chest. "Hmm... Those have gotten a lot bigger, too."
"Where are you looking?!" Veins bulged on Tione's forehead as she shouted through gritted teeth.
"Compared to her, though..." The masked goddess's gaze shifted to Tiona, who had just entered behind her. "...Still exactly the same as I remember."
"Where are you looking?!" Tiona had been keeping quiet until then, but the goddess's deeply disappointed remark instantly made her explode in anger.
"You know each other?" Ryoji looked between the two sides. The twins clearly knew the masked goddess, and judging from their reactions, they obviously shared a past that wasn't a pleasant one.
"She calls herself Kali," Airmid walked over and quietly explained. "She's most likely the goddess who rules the Kingdom of Telskyura. If I'm not mistaken... she should have been Tiona and Tione's very first patron goddess."
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395