— — — — — —
After leaving the Ori Tower, they returned to the hotel where they were staying.
Only then did Kuroúsagi, who had been quiet the whole way back, finally ask, "So... the people locked in those cells weren't newcomers?"
"What makes you think that?" Ryo dropped onto the sofa in the suite and poured himself a glass of water.
'Because every time you bring someone back, they're new members...'
Kurousagi's expression turned strangely complicated. "I even prepared everything for a welcome party..."
Ryo rolled his eyes.
After taking a sip of water, he sighed, "Don't tell me you didn't read the descriptions of their Spirit Ranks."
"I did. But they were only people who happened to share the same names as gods and buddhas. Besides, they were only Five-Digit."
She looked genuinely puzzled.
If the people Ryo had rescued were truly alternate versions of those legendary deities, there should have been plenty of Four-Digits among them—maybe even a few Three-Digits.
After all, one of them was Vishnu, whose Spirit Rank was said to have the potential to reach the One-Digit realm.
There was even a famous story about Hermes of the Greek pantheon. By absorbing an alternate-universe version of himself, he had advanced from a legendary Four-Digit to a Three-Digit.
Using counterparts from other worlds to strengthen oneself wasn't uncommon. But Hermes had simply been absurdly lucky. Most people gained nowhere near that much, largely because few pantheons possessed the overwhelming weight of faith and achievement enjoyed by the Twelve Olympians.
"I'm telling you the truth." Ryo looked up at her. "Every single one of them is an alternate counterpart. Algol used a secret technique to sever the connection to their true names."
"If that seal is removed, every one of them will be absorbed by the original they're connected to. And when that happens, we gain absolutely nothing while inheriting a mountain of trouble."
He rolled his eyes again. "Believe it or not, the first person to come after me would probably be your great-grandfather."
"Lord Indra?" Kurousagi instinctively shrank back, "...No way. He's actually a pretty nice person."
Among the Moon Rabbits, Indra's authority was unquestionable. He was their ancestor, after all. No matter how eccentric he might actually be, the family records depicted him as majestic.
And having grown up listening to those stories, Kurousagi couldn't help being intimidated by him.
Though in Ryo's opinion... she was scared of practically every god.
"If that's really the case..." Kurousagi muttered, still shaken. "Then it makes sense why you wanted the black market to deal with them."
She had always despised the black market.
Partly because Little Garden nobles naturally loathed anything illegal. But more importantly, many of Arcadia's defeated members had once been sold through the black market as well.
So far, only Leticia had managed to return.
No one knew where the others had been sold.
That alone was enough to make Kurousagi hate the place.
Ryo felt much the same. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to swindle the black market's operators.
He had treated Singh fairly politely, but the truth was, if the man hadn't still been useful, Ryo wouldn't have minded killing him on the spot.
Ori was one of Ouroboros's subsidiaries.
Many of Arcadia's captured members had been auctioned off there after their defeat.
The fact that Ryo hadn't started a massacre already was an exercise in remarkable restraint.
Since they would be staying in Elm City for several more days, Ryo looked at Kurousagi and said, "For the next few days, don't go more than five kilometers away from me. If someone decides it's worth taking the risk to attack, I don't want you caught alone."
Kurousagi immediately understood what he meant and puffed up her cheeks. "Ryo, I'm not as weak as you make me out to be! And attacking a Little Garden noble is a serious crime! The Heavenly Army and the Floor Masters would hunt them down!"
"True enough," Ryo admitted. "But the people backing Ori aren't exactly known for playing by the rules."
He sighed before adding gently, "Being careful never hurts."
"...I understand." Kurousagi lowered her head, seemingly giving up the argument.
Ryo relaxed.
At the same time, he couldn't help wondering why she'd been so unusually stubborn today. She normally wasn't like this.
Meanwhile, with her head lowered, Kurousagi quietly smiled, 'Mission accomplished.'
She had been the one who booked the hotel.
Ryo still wasn't familiar with Little Garden customs, so he hadn't realized... she had only reserved one room.
Originally, she'd been worried he'd notice.
But now? It didn't matter. He was the one who insisted she stay within five kilometers of him.
Sharing a room was only logical... right?
Sneaking a glance at Ryo, she secretly clenched her fists.
'Come on, Kurousagi. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You can't keep backing away like before. If... If those little foxes get pregnant first... it'll be too late.'
Her eyes wandered around the suite.
The more she looked, the less satisfied she became.
'Although it's luxurious... it has absolutely no atmosphere. It's nothing like the place where Lady Shiroyasha used to fool around with those maids...'
Meanwhile, Ryo glanced at her suspiciously but said nothing.
Instead, he checked the time. "If I've judged it right, the people behind the black market should be arriving soon. Want to come downstairs and look around with me?"
Kurousagi's eyes lit up.
She had just been wondering how to get Ryo out of the room long enough to rearrange things.
Wasn't this perfect?
"I'll pass... I'm a little tired today."
At that moment, Ryo became absolutely certain.
'Something is definitely wrong with this rabbit.'
A Little Garden noble capable of wrestling high-ranking sub-dragons to death... claiming to be tired?
Still, he didn't expose her, "All right."
'I'll take a walk downstairs... then come back and see what she's really up to.'
With that in mind, Ryo casually left the suite and took the hotel's teleportation lift down to the special facilities on the sixth underground level.
The hotel was considered one of Elm's more respectable luxury establishments.
Even so, Ryo found it absurd.
Not only was there an entire underground shopping district, but beneath the hotel was a whole world of entertainment: a casino, a tolerated red-light district, strip clubs, sex shops, and just about every kind of nightlife imaginable.
When he'd checked in earlier, one of the hotel attendants had openly handed him a flyer advertising those services—without the slightest concern that Kurousagi was standing right beside him.
Fortunately, Ryo had hidden it quickly. Otherwise, Kurousagi definitely would have seen it.
Still, despite his less-than-faithful reputation, he had little interest in the gaudy women working those clubs.
Instead, he decided to wander through the casino and satisfy his curiosity.
After all... it was his first time inside an actual gambling hall.
Entering the gaming floor, Ryo strolled around without placing a single bet.
He simply watched. Coldly observing the intoxicated crowd as he silently calculated when to head back upstairs.
Just then... Several gold coins bearing the emblem of Thousand Eyes landed in front of him.
Ryo blinked.
Out of long-standing habit, he instinctively bent down and picked them up.
Five coins.
For an ordinary citizen in Arcadia City, that was enough savings to take two years to accumulate.
Before he could say anything, a woman's voice sounded from behind him, "Not bad. I'll book you for tonight."
Ryo froze.
His expression turned increasingly strange.
'...Did she just mistake me for a gigolo?'
.
.
.