Back by the bonfire, Rayleigh answered the girls' endless, strange questions one after another.
Eventually, the conversation reached the important part.
"You're saying these swords all have their own consciousness, just like us?"
"That's right."
Rayleigh glanced at the four Zanpakutō leaning quietly beside him and explained, "A Zanpakutō is connected to its wielder's soul. It wouldn't be wrong to think of the two as a single whole."
"Which sword gave you the power to freeze Rakia Kingdom's royal capital?"
"This one."
Rayleigh picked up the sword and explained, "Its name is Hyōrinmaru. It's an ice-and-snow-type Zanpakutō. It can freeze the moisture in the atmosphere to create ice and control it. It can even manipulate the weather."
"Manipulate the weather!"
"Seriously?! That's amazing!"
Being surrounded by girls and bombarded with questions might be an unparalleled pleasure for some people, but once the questions piled up, it truly became a headache.
In the end, Rayleigh could only escape that sea of suffering by using the excuse that he had not fully recovered yet.
His encounter with Artemis Familia had been a coincidence.
But it had indeed formed a connection between both sides.
....
Early the next morning, Rayleigh set off for Orario and bid them farewell.
"Lady Artemis, don't tell me you've taken a liking to that boy?" Letsa asked her patron goddess, who was staring fixedly at Rayleigh's departing back.
Artemis immediately denied it. "How could that be possible? I am the goddess who governs chastity!"
"Is that so?"
Letsa's face was full of disbelief.
After all, from her perspective, this virgin goddess looked exactly like a young girl quietly falling in love.
In short, she was incredibly adorable.
Their goddess was already beautiful enough to bring ruin to a nation, and when that beauty was paired with the innocent expression of a girl experiencing first love, the destructive power was something no one could possibly withstand.
Even Letsa, a woman herself, could barely take it.
If men saw her like this, they would probably offer up their hearts on the spot.
"We'll meet again."
"Mm."
...
Moving alone, Rayleigh traveled at tremendous speed.
And by that afternoon, he had returned to Orario.
Through Kakushitsuijaku, Rayleigh had located the Reiatsu signatures of Lulune, Eleonora, Phobos, Welf, and the others, confirming that all of them had already arrived in Orario.
In front of the city gate, people lined up to undergo inspection.
Orario, the center of the world. Some time had already passed since the Great Feud, and the city had fully regained its vitality and prosperity.
The number of merchants and travelers coming and going was as vast as the sea.
At this moment, the long line before the gate had more than two hundred people in it, and it was constantly moving.
Rayleigh stood calmly in the queue and waited.
Suddenly, a voice filled with surprise and delight rang out.
"Ooh! If it isn't Rayleigh!"
Rayleigh looked up and saw a male god who always made him feel somewhat troublesome.
At the same time, he was also the patron god of the supporter who had been working with him not long ago.
"Lord Hermes."
He called out the other party's name.
A traveler's outfit, handsome features, and eyes and brows that always seemed to carry a smile.
Even among the gods, he was one of the greatest lovers of entertainment.
"Wow, you're back. I knew you'd be fine," Hermes said in a tone that made them sound extremely close.
"Hephaestus was very worried about you."
"Thank you for your concern."
"Hahaha, you're far too polite. I have high hopes for you, you know."
Hermes threw him a wink.
Rayleigh did not hide the disgust on his face at all and took two steps back.
"Uh."
Hermes awkwardly scratched his cheek.
Just then, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed his ear.
"Ow, ow, ow! Asfi, that hurts! Stop, stop!"
"Don't bother Rayleigh-san. Don't we still have a commission? Hurry up and put your attention back where it belongs!"
The blue-haired girl scolded Hermes sharply.
Then she came before Rayleigh and nodded in greeting.
"Rayleigh-san, sorry for disturbing you. This fool means no harm, so please don't take it to heart."
Rayleigh smiled faintly and said, "You really have it rough."
Asfi sighed. "That's what happens when our patron god is a hopeless scoundrel who lives entirely for amusement."
After saying that, she grabbed Hermes by the back of his neck and left with two other members of Hermes Familia.
"She really does have it rough."
Rayleigh muttered while watching them leave.
Although Hermes Familia had the special privilege of being able to leave the city, and only a very small number of Familias in Orario possessed that right, it was not exactly a convenient benefit.
Their trips outside the city were usually for commissions or information gathering, which meant every journey came with a considerable amount of risk.
Fortunately, that god was well suited for this sort of work.
Even so, Hermes Familia often suffered losses.
During the Great Feud, they had lost several members, and they had not even been able to recover the bodies.
As intelligence agents, if they fell into the hands of Evilus, one could imagine what kind of end awaited them.
A quick death would probably have been a luxury. It was hard to imagine what they had gone through.
Hermes did not show anything on the surface.
But that man was also a parent who loved his children.
If his children suffered something like that, there was no way he would not feel grief as their parent.
Even for a god who lives for amusement, once his bottom line was touched, he could not keep smiling.
Thinking of that, Rayleigh scratched his head.
He had probably made his own "parent" worry quite a lot this time too.
Although Hephaestus could know whether he was alive or dead through their Falna connection, with that goddess's personality, she might already have grabbed her hammer and gone to Ouranos, threatening him into sending help.
"Next."
After waiting in line for a long while, it was finally his turn.
Rayleigh stepped forward.
"Register your name, race, identity, Familia... Famil—?"
The guard at the gate stopped halfway through his sentence.
When he lifted his head and saw Rayleigh's face, his eyes widened in sudden surprise.
This guard was a member of Ganesha Familia.
Rayleigh recognized that through the flag standing behind him and the emblem on it.
This was probably also one of the ways Ganesha Familia recruited people.
Because Ganesha Familia served as the city's military police, guarding the city gates naturally fell within their duties as well.
Usually, members of Ganesha Familia and Guild employees worked together while on duty.
Because of the Familia's captain, Shakti, and her younger sister, Ardee, Rayleigh had a fairly high level of recognition within Ganesha Familia.
"Yotosai-dono, were you out completing a commission?"
Realizing that he had been recognized, Rayleigh nodded calmly.
After that, the Ganesha Familia guard quickly helped him register his information and let him through.
This was completely different from the first time he had come to Orario.
Back then, he had gone through quite a bit of questioning and had needed some effort before successfully entering the city.
But now, he was already an adventurer whose name was rising within the city.
He was no longer the unknown rookie who had just stepped onto the stage!