Chapter 50: A Certain Fox
"Thank you, Lady Istaroth!"
The figure gradually dissipating in the sky was naturally seen by Barbara. She had originally thought she could only borrow the power of those entities; who would have expected to summon the actual person directly?
Though the time was incredibly short, the goal was at least achieved. Under the power of the Shade of Time, Ishtar's time was constantly regressing.
As for what she would regress into... who knows?
Presumably, only the Shade of Time Istaroth herself would know; Barbara certainly hadn't figured it out.
The business for today was thoroughly concluded. She only needed to return to the Familia smoothly, and no one would ever know she was the one behind tonight's events.
"Did you see that, Lady Ishtar?"
"I've saved everyone here!"
"But things might get a bit chaotic from here on out..."
Barbara gazed out at the distant Pleasure Quarter, her silhouette gradually vanishing into the air, for the noise over there had already begun to escalate.
"What's going on? What was that beam of light just now?"
"It looked like Deities' Repatriation? Why now?"
"Which god exactly was sent back?"
The beam of light from a deity's repatriation naturally couldn't be hidden from anyone. The deities and humans in the Pleasure Quarter raised their heads almost simultaneously.
Even some people who were 'at work' stopped their physical movements, their faces turning pale.
These were the women of the Ishtar Familia, most of whom were Amazons.
The Amazons felt their strength weakening almost the instant that beam of light left the earth, which was why their expressions changed so drastically.
The repatriation of a deity meant the invalidation of their Falna. While they would retain a small portion of the strength they had trained over the years, most of it would be sealed.
If they didn't find a new place to stay, they would easily fall into danger. After all, the people in the Pleasure Quarter... those who know, know.
If they were captured by certain familiar guests, they might end up living in a basement for the rest of their lives. The Pleasure Quarter was just that dark!
"My strength... is gone?"
"The one sent back was Lady Ishtar!"
After a brief silence, the entire Pleasure Quarter became rowdy. Anyone running a shop along the street grew panicked, and they fled the Pleasure Quarter almost simultaneously.
There was also a small group of people who were under Ishtar's Charm. Even though the goddess had left, they had no intention of giving up; they walked toward the Ishtar Familia residence together, attempting to find the vanished goddess, though all of it was in vain.
—
"What's happening? Is it an attack by Evilus?"
The blonde male god Hermes stood at a high vantage point with his Familia, the expression on his face very serious.
"The Loki Familia only just returned from the Dungeon, it hasn't even been a day, and the Pleasure Quarter suffers such an attack... It's hard not to link these two things together."
"As expected, the wheels of time are rolling once again. What fate will Orario head toward next?"
"Will it be like seven or eight years ago—breaking down to stand again, heading toward a new life? Or will it fall completely into the Abyss?"
"Let us wait and see..."
When Hermes was serious, he indeed looked quite handsome, but his Familia standing behind him watched him with dead-fish eyes.
"Lord Hermes, even if you put it like that, it doesn't change the fact that you were planning to go have fun in the Pleasure Quarter..."
Hermes didn't care about his subordinate's mockery at all; instead, he returned to his usual frivolous self.
"Haha, you really know me best, Asfi."
"But seriously, why the Pleasure Quarter? Ishtar should have been a good cooperative partner for Evilus. Why was she repatriated?"
"I can't figure it out!"
"But for now, let's just watch this good show first. Maybe we'll learn some news from it... then again, maybe not?"
There were actually many deities like Hermes watching the show.
Ever since Ishtar was repatriated, those deities had retreated to the outskirts of the Pleasure Quarter as fast as possible to observe the situation.
Some deities simply liked chaos, while others truly intended to see something deeper...
In another location.
"To think Ishtar was actually destroyed..."
"Fair enough. That goddess should have died back when Hera was still around!"
"I didn't expect it to take until today for her to vanish... what goes around comes around!"
Though the white-haired woman had her eyes closed, she could sense the state of affairs within the Pleasure Quarter, so her tone inevitably carried a hint of joy.
After all, as long as one was a normal woman, they would absolutely never like a place like the Pleasure Quarter!
"Only those in the Zeus Familia would like this place..."
"But now, there are more important things to do."
The white-haired woman didn't give the Pleasure Quarter another look. Instead, she turned her head directly and walked toward a place that was both familiar and strange in her memories.
"A resurrection?"
"If nothing else, it should be the work of a 'Deliverer'."
—
In addition, many people lingered near the Pleasure Quarter.
But their suspicions were actually correct, because the perpetrator of all this, Barbara, indeed hadn't left the vicinity. On the contrary, she had sneaked into the core area.
Because just as the girl was preparing to leave, she suddenly thought of someone... or rather, a certain fox.
"I almost forgot about you, Sanjouno Haruhime!"
In the world of Danmachi, there was a Renard girl known as the 'Prostitute Fox' who possessed an extraordinary Magic.
That was the ability to temporarily increase an adventurer's Level!
In this City where most adventurers were Level 1 or Level 2, no one could possibly be ignorant of what a level increase represented.
Especially for those Familias with top-tier adventurers, it was a trump card capable of overturning any disadvantage. Even with a time limit, it was extremely exaggerated.
"So, I'm coming in?"
After locking onto the Renard girl's location, Barbara immediately flashed outside the window of a certain hall and easily opened the door to enter.
Unlike the outside, the room appeared exceptionally tidy. Haruhime didn't seem to have fallen into a panic over Goddess Ishtar's repatriation...
Because she was already unconscious!
Despite being full of 'knowledge', Haruhime would faint from excessive shyness whenever it came time for the real thing.
If you were a guest and found the girl in front of you fainted just as you were about to start, and she wouldn't wake up no matter what you did.
What would you think at that moment?
Is she sick, or is this a scam?
So all along, Haruhime had remained a 'pure' girl, never truly defiled by the Ishtar Familia.
This time was no different. The fox girl understood nothing and had mysteriously fallen unconscious.
Barbara directly manipulated a breeze, gradually lifting the little fox up.
"If your ability were exposed, it would probably cause a lot of trouble, wouldn't it?"
"So, just come with me!"
Taking the unconscious Renard girl with her, Barbara slowly vanished into mid-air...
In the sky.
"This one... fainted again?"
Sanjouno Haruhime slowly opened her eyes, but what met her sight wasn't that familiar ceiling, but a starry sky shimmering with countless points of light, exquisitely beautiful.
Once upon a time, Haruhime had gazed at the sky from within the Pleasure Quarter, fantasizing about the world outside, but because she was kept by the Goddess of Beauty, she was never able to truly leave.
But today, the girl suddenly realized...
She was free?
"Are you awake?"
"Don't worry. I've taken you out of the Pleasure Quarter; you won't have to live there anymore."
Though the voice didn't sound very old, Haruhime felt an unprecedented warmth and peace of mind.
"You are...?"
Only then did Haruhime realize she had been taken out of the Pleasure Quarter by someone, but she could only stare blankly at everything before her, unable to say a word.
"I'm Barbara! And you?"
Under the starry sky, the girl's golden hair shimmered with points of light, making her look not like a human, but a deity under the moon.
At this moment, it was as if only one person remained in Haruhime's eyes...
"This one is named Sanjouno Haruhime..."
"Thank you, Lord Hero!"
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!
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