I love time travel the most!

"Hurry up and serve the food! I'm starving!"

"That's right, Lily, I've been to so many places today, I'm completely exhausted."

"Actually, me too, I was so hungry that I had no energy left."

They all chattered as they walked toward the dining table.

Of course, Kobayashi also enjoyed a rather lavish dinner.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

late at night.

The moon, half-hidden by gray clouds, cast its hazy moonlight upon the labyrinthine city.

Far from the bustling city center and noisy streets, near the east gate of the labyrinthine city, at the end of a dark alley, a handsome man is playing with a piece of parchment in his hand.

Below him were his family members reporting to him.

"how's it going?"

"Yes, we have already traced the channels and the merchants who facilitated the smuggling of goods from the city."

"I see, well done!"

Hermes nodded in satisfaction upon hearing the report.

The labyrinth city is the center of the world, where all sorts of people appear. In such a mixed environment, it's inevitable that some things you don't want to see will happen.

The Hermes Familia, who were responsible for transporting goods, naturally took on this task.

The key is--

"There is one more thing I must report... As you said, we have also confirmed the smuggling of monsters."

The words of his family made the handsome young man narrow his eyes.

Who is the buyer?

"We infiltrated the location and discovered it was the mansion of the nobleman Ellia. Through our investigation, we learned that the monsters might also have been transported to the residences of other kings and nobles in other regions."

Human XP is freedom.

Some people also have a fetish for monsters.

Those pleasure-seeking, thrill-seeking nobles are utterly disgusting; how dare they do such a thing...

"Hermes, what do you intend to do?"

"...Lulune, you said you found a suspicious child, right?"

"Yes, she's an elf girl I've never seen before. She's also searching for information about talking monsters. I was planning to follow her, but Mr. Kobayashi stopped me."

"Xiao Lin?"

Upon hearing this name, the pretentious male god suddenly stood up.

"Please tell me the details."

"Yes, Hermes."

She then recounted what had happened.

After learning the whole story, Hermes pinched his chin and grumbled, "Honestly, even though the client's orders are absolute, this is still a really hot potato thrown at us, Uranus."

His slender eyes gazed at the moonlit night, then his gaze fell upon the parchment in his hand. It contained information about the trading companies connected to the smuggling ring and intelligence on the routes for the illegal sale of monsters.

Their investigation eventually led them to the labyrinth city, and all the information pointed to the name of a certain clan.

—The Familia of Ikeros.

It is the dark faction, and the instigator of all this.

"This is really a headache..."

Hermes scratched his head, then tossed the parchment in his hand to Lulune.

"Hermes, the god?"

"Lulune, didn't you say Kobayashi wanted information? Give this to him."

"...Huh? Is this alright? Isn't this the information from the client (Uranus)?"

Is there a difference between them?

Hermes smiled and said dismissively, "He wants to know anyway, so let's just dump this troublesome matter on him."

"...Hermes, you really will be sent back to heaven by Mr. Kobayashi if you do this."

Seeing her own upper body like this, Lulu couldn't help but complain, but the handsome male god waved his hand as if he didn't care at all.

Chapter 318 Where did this birdman come from, trying to run away after putting on an act?

After dinner.

A group of people sat together again.

“Since things have come to this, we still have to go to the underground city,” Hestia spoke first. “The information we can get on the surface is far too limited. And Kobayashi, didn’t Uranus tell you anything?”

"No."

"Hmm...that's suspicious."

She didn't seem to believe Xiaolin's words and felt that he was hiding something.

Besides, Kobayashi is a member of Uranus's retinue, how could he not know anything?

Kobayashi retorted, "While it's suspicious, it's a pity that the High God Uranus didn't mention anything to me. Besides, even High Gods don't tell their followers everything. You know what I mean, Hestia, the High God who owes 2 million berries."

"This...this is different!"

How can you lump them together like that!

Hestia denied it in a fit of rage.

Kobayashi is alluding to the fact that she initially borrowed 2 million from Hephaestus to forge Bell's short sword, and only told her family after defeating the Apollo Familia, indirectly causing the failure to expand the Familia.

And it was thanks to this success that her further questions were dispelled.

Hestia bit her finger and muttered, "What exactly is Uranus trying to do?"

"Who knows."

Kobayashi was also puzzled.

Uranus sent him here, probably to assist the Hestia Familia, but he didn't give him any relevant information or instructions for the next step, which is really puzzling.

Could it be that he's not only testing Bell, but also testing himself?

Thinking about it carefully, he doesn't seem to have ever said whether he has any prejudice against monsters, and it's only because he's unsure of the gods on earth that he would resort to this tactic?

Hey, hey, hey, I'm from another world.

Don't you think it's a bit much to treat an outsider like this?

Hestia continued, "Kobayashi, could you please take Bell and the others to the dungeon tomorrow to look for clues?"

"Hmm... sure."

Xiaolin agreed.

Bell and the others looked pleased.

To be honest, it's too much of a stretch for Bell and his group to reach the middle management level. They need a veteran to guide them, both in terms of ability and experience.

And here happens to be a suitable candidate.

And so they decided to head to the 19th floor first thing the next morning, the place where they first met Winnie, to look for clues.

night.

Kobayashi did not leave, but instead chose to stay overnight at the Hestia Familia for convenience.

Anyway, there were plenty of rooms, so Hestia and the others were happy with that.

Bell, Hestia, and Winnie returned to their rooms early, but the rest of the group all went to Kobayashi's room without prior arrangement. Kobayashi was about to do something fun with Ryuu, and was a little annoyed at being interrupted.

"So, what's the matter?"

"This can't go on any longer."

Lily said something seemingly nonsensical, but Kobayashi understood exactly what she meant.

Winnie's appearance was unpredictable even for the gods, and there was no doubt that they were now facing an extremely difficult problem.

However, Bell is a nice guy.

Having received such kindness, they couldn't refuse; it wasn't that they agreed, but rather that they gave up their opposition.

Don't let emotions bind you.

Once you let your guard down, you'll eventually misjudge the situation, and that will be the beginning of a tragedy.

Lily always plays this role.

You could say she likes to contradict others, but she does make the right judgments when Bell is being silly.

Humanity has become more aware of its own situation.

"So, in other words, to make Bell realize the difference, it's best to draw a clear line?"

"Yes. I know this is a difficult question, but I have no choice but to ask you. Lord Kobayashi, please help Lord Bell."

"...Please help Bell (Your Excellency)."

The three of them bowed their heads deeply in front of Kobayashi.

It's really tough on them to go to such lengths for an inexperienced leader.

"I don't know if I can do it... Okay, I agree."

"Thank you, Lord Kobayashi!"

And so, they left, heavy with their own thoughts.

the next day.