Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"Expand the fountain's area? Why?"

Before Charles could finish speaking, a unified roar erupted from the crowd:

"We want to build a home of our own for the beautiful Miss Marie!"

"These are essential facilities for worshipping the Immortal Spirit, and we absolutely cannot compromise on them!!"

"The guild has taken so much money from us taxpayers! It's time to give it back!"

"Since we're going to rebuild anyway, what's wrong with expanding it a bit?!"

After hearing the crowd's shouts, Charles was speechless: "Aren't these people going a bit too far?"

Alexie, however, inquired with great interest about the fans, then nodded repeatedly: "Hmm, the idols of victory and hope?!"

"Hmm, hmm, it's nice to listen to Marie-chan's soothing voice every time I come back from the dungeon. Maybe I can even pray to her for some 'mermaid blood,' so Kaguya and the others can heal their injuries quickly."

Ciel rolled his eyes: "Hey, Leon, do you think so too?"

Ryu was a little shy at being addressed by her first name, but she still nodded in agreement.

"Just like Adi said, if the battles with monsters could be turned into songs and weapons into musical instruments, the world would definitely become a very happy place."

Charles suddenly began to examine himself: "Is my heart too dirty? I actually thought of enclosing the dungeon to protect the monsters from being eaten to extinction by humans."

"How can this be!"

It seemed that Ryu had finally found a blind spot in Ciel's knowledge, and she earnestly gave Ciel a lesson:

"The monsters in the dungeons are infinite; this has been the rule for thousands of years."

Alexandra added, "I've never seen any monster suddenly disappear from a dungeon."

Charles shrugged: "That's just because the value of monsters isn't as high as expected. When the price of hunting a unicorn rabbit rises from a few hundred falies to several thousand, or even tens of thousands of falies, I think the dungeon will look very different."

In Sharl's opinion, the income of low-level adventurers was too low.

A normal level 1 5-person adventure team can only earn 2 Fali per day, averaging 4000 Fali per person. After deducting the cost of supplies and equipment repair, the remaining Fali is not even enough to eat potato balls for a few days.

This is a farce that was earned at great risk; it's too cheap.

Without sufficient incentive, unless people are truly desperate, no one will be willing to become an adventurer. The probability of producing high-level adventurers will also decrease.

But what if Ciel's "Delicious in the Labyrinth" restaurant opened and started buying monster corpses at high prices? What if the price of a corpse was higher than that of magic stones?

Will the newbie floors be overcrowded with countless adventurers camping out at the spawn points?

Of course, to forcefully promote "monster meat" in the DanMachi world would probably require cooking skills on par with "Food Wars!".

Charles then remembered the guild's rule that prohibited high-level adventurers from going out.

No wonder, once you reach level 3, you can go to any kingdom outside the city and become a general or a royal knight. The treatment and salary are better than in the city, and you don't have to risk your life.

To this, Charles could only sigh heavily.

To improve Orario's overall combat strength, we need to address it from various aspects.

Should we recruit more familiars to increase the birth rate of adventurers, and then have them fill the entire floor and harvest magic stones non-stop?

Ugh, what a heartless, maze-like company this is.

……

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Liu and listening with great interest to the residents' support for their idol, Xia Er and Alyssie said their goodbyes and left.

They circled several streets and, in a quiet corner of the city, returned to the Astrea Familia's cottage, the House of Stardust.

As Alexandra's energetic "I'm back" played, the three of them pushed open the door and entered.

"Dame da yo, Kaguya." The green-haired elf with large-framed glasses clenched her little fists and anxiously urged:

"Amid-chan just said that you can't drink alcohol right now."

Before her sat Kaguya, poised and imposing, on the sofa, sipping her wine from a small cup.

"Don't be so stingy, Celty."

Her shoulders, wrapped in bandages, were bare. She glanced up at the doorway and, upon seeing Alexandra, instinctively hid the wine cup behind her back.

He then glanced at Ciel, his attention shifting to:

"Hey, what brings you here?"

Alexie raised her eyebrows: "Don't be like that, Kaguya. Ciel-kun came all this way to visit you."

"Are you here to laugh at me?" Kaguya squinted and sat up cross-legged.

"Yes, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let's see if we can find a chance to strike while you're down and take your lives," Charles teased, closing one eye.

"Oh dear, Ciel-kun, don't joke around, I'll take it seriously." Astraea came down from the second floor with a smile on her face.

Ciel put Andromeda down and said with a grin, "This is a gift. It's a beautiful girl who's fast asleep."

Alexie chuckled and helped Asfi into the guest room: "That's so insincere. Who treats people like gifts?"

"Where's Lyra?" Charles looked around but didn't see the brat.

"Don't bother, that guy's injuries are much worse than mine. A monster gnawed off one of his legs, and they only found the bone. He won't be able to get out of bed for a while," Kaguya explained, a rare occurrence for her.

"Laila is resting on the second floor. Come with me." Astraea chuckled and gestured for Charles to follow.

Ciel nodded. Although the appointment was for three days later, Ciel realized that Astraea might not understand the references to Journey to the West, so he decided to chat about it as well.

After going upstairs, the two did not enter Lyra's room, but instead went into the shrine.

Astraea sat on her bed, squinted, and patted the spot next to her: "Come on, don't be shy."

"Could I possibly have the honor of visiting the goddess's bed twice in a row?"

"Mr. Joker, you dare to kill even a god, what else wouldn't you dare to do?"

Charles sat down without ceremony: "Erebus told you?"

“No, I guessed it.” Astraea tilted her head back, as if she could see the distant starry sky through the ceiling:

"After all, you are the only one who directly points out the arrogance of our God."

Chapter 252 Huh? The undercover agent has been given a formal position?

"Hey, Ciel."

Astraea braced herself on the bed, leaning forward towards Ciel, her clear, lake-like eyes fixed on him:

Can you tell me your true thoughts?

"What are you thinking?" Charles feigned ignorance.

"What do you want to turn this world into?" Astraea's face drew closer, not radiating divine power, but exerting immense pressure on Sharl as if drawn by a powerful gravitational pull.

Xia Er took a step back, turning away from Miao Renfeng's gaze.

Do you think I can change the world?

"you can!"

"You think too highly of me."

Astraea quipped, "Now that things have come to this, are you still going to say you're just an ordinary supporter?"

Charles remained silent.

“Okay, I admit it. I might actually have some talent.” Charles sighed. “But I never thought about changing the world. My initial goal was simply to survive. To survive, I kept getting stronger and stronger.”

Astraea pressed, "So, has your opinion changed now?"

Charles extended his hand: "Perhaps you already know that I can usurp some of the powers of the gods by killing them."

He glanced at Astraea's reaction and continued:

“Since God cannot help mortals, then I will take your place and exercise divine authority.”

"So Erebus invested in you?" Astraea asked with certainty.

"Perhaps. Compared to forcibly killing a god, this kind of voluntary bestowal allows me to gain more power," Charles frankly admitted.

"Therefore, I will continue my actions. I will keep accumulating divine power until I have the same power as the gods to change the world."

Astraea didn't react in any particular way. Her azure eyes seemed to be pondering something before she asked, "Then, is your current main god yourself? Or...?"

“Lotus,” Charles said frankly.

“I thought your next target would be Loki?” Astraea laughed.

“How could that be? Lord Loki is my sister-in-law!” Ciel exclaimed excitedly.

Astraea chuckled, "I've heard about that. What a pity. Your former commander didn't have that kind of luck."

The two chatted like old friends, venting about things that had happened in the past.

Astraea also told many interesting stories about Ryu, Alyssa, and everyone else.

Ciel also shared his past stories: the infighting within the Soma Familia, his irresponsible parents, and his sister who recently found Kuji.

Time flies by unnoticed...

When Charles noticed that the sky was gradually darkening and the sun was setting, he hurriedly took his leave.

Astraea took Charles's hand:

"Hey, you're actually a good kid. Ah, I'm not lecturing you. I know you can't turn back now. Since you've decided to carry the boulder of 'the end' and walk straight down the dark road, can I be a light for you?"

Astraea smiled gently and stroking Ciel's cheek:

"If you get tired, look back. There are still people guarding the last glimmer of light for you."

Charles paused for a moment, then smiled with relief, "I have my own light, I don't need to look back, it will accompany me!"

Astraea's eyes widened slightly, and she said with relief, "That's good."

Charles pushed open the door, pondered for a moment, glanced back at Astraea, and scratched his head: "I appreciate your kindness. If there is any information about the Dark Faction, I will inform you in advance."

"Is this alright?" Astraea asked, her hands behind her back, her beautiful eyes crinkling into a smile.

Charles chuckled softly: "Who would complain about having too many lights in the dark?"