A man mistakenly becomes the city lord of the land, conquering all the heavens and myriad worlds.

"Pleasure District...Does Lord Chenhai mean to destroy the 'Ishtar Familia's' business?"

Chen Hai didn't answer, but turned around and looked at Orario again.

“I want my city to be quiet, and I believe Miss Astraea feels the same way.”

"Yes……"

"Then it's up to you, Miss Astraea."

Chen Hai looked at the goddess who had suddenly sought him out.

"Prove to me the value of the 'Asteria Familia'."

The goddess of justice and order will now follow Chen Hai's instructions and begin her operation!

Chapter 81 Ishtar, the Goddess of Beauty: Temptation! Offer Yourself!

The top of the Tower of Babel, the second floor of Freya's residence.

Astrea was somewhat surprised after hearing Chen Hai's arrangement.

Before coming here, Astria had told her family members about it.

Faced with the dungeon lord who now rules Orario, she devised two completely different plans.

First: If the other party is an unreasonable person, Astraea will use her 'divine power' to fight them and try to finish them off before being 'forcibly returned'.

Second: Assuming Chen Hai is communicative and is a rational and logical person, then the 'Asteria Familia' will re-enter Orario and continue investigating the 'Dungeon Lord'.

As for the reason for his sudden return...

Five years ago, Astrea left Orario after her clan suffered a major misfortune and chose to live in the sword-making city of Zoringen, where she has several new clans.

During a transaction with a tourism merchant, she learned from him that 'the world of Orario has changed'.

Magic stone production increased;

The number of adventurers has increased dramatically;

The number of chambers of commerce that have moved in has also increased significantly.

After inquiring about the reason, they realized that a 'Dungeon Lord' had appeared in Orario.

Upon hearing this, Astraea was reminded of her past misfortunes.

She didn't want that kind of thing to happen to other clans.

Meanwhile, in order to investigate the 'Dungeon Lord', Astrea led her new Familia to Orario.

As mentioned before, she devised two completely different plans in response to the dungeon lord's reaction.

Combat and cooperation.

Upon arriving at the scene, Astrea quickly discovered that the 'Lord of the Underground City' she had heard about was completely different from what she had imagined after seeing and talking to him in person.

He is a rational person;

A person you can communicate with.

I think it's because of my own prejudice that I imagined the 'Dungeon Lord' as a terrifying being.

But there is no way...

Astrea's former kin suffered misfortune in the dungeon, which made her always regard the dungeon as the greatest threat.

Although the 'dark faction' interfered, the horror and terror of the dungeon are undeniable.

However, on the way there, Astrea overheard merchants she met saying that "the trade of magic stones in Orario is going much smoother than before, and everyone is making money."

And it all started with Chenhai issuing the 'New Regulations for the Underground City'.

Recalling everything about the 'new Orario', Astrea couldn't help but look at Chen Hai beside her.

Chen Hai noticed the goddess's gaze and looked back at her.

To be honest, Chen Hai was somewhat surprised by the sudden appearance of Astrea, the goddess who symbolizes justice and order.

"Is there something on my face, Miss Astrea?"

"May I ask a question... Lord Chenhai?"

"Please say."

"The dungeon... the dungeon you control, has it been hostile to us gods and humans from the very beginning?"

"Actually, this is a difficult question to answer, because I've already said it before."

Chen Hai asked Astraea to recall what she had heard before.

I know your past, but that belongs to the 'past.' The 'dungeon' I control begins in the 'future.' You don't need to see me as the creator of those misfortunes, otherwise I wouldn't have changed this city.

This was Chen Hai's answer.

Simply put, it means cutting ties with the old dungeons.

Everything starts anew, from scratch.

Astraea felt conflicted by this explanation.

Her kin were killed by terrible monsters in the dungeon, and the Adventurers' Guild covered up this information;

The dungeon lord who caused all this misfortune has now turned against the Heavenly Generals and become the boss of the Adventurers' Guild...

Of course, Astrea is not asking Chen Hai to take responsibility for all his sins from the past to the present.

It's important to know that countless adventurers have perished in dungeons over the years.

If Chen Hai only recently took control of the underground city, he certainly has no reason to be responsible for the past.

and--

If Chen Hai harbors hostility towards humanity, countless monsters might break free from their confinement and wreak havoc on the land once more, threatening humanity worldwide.

But Chen Hai didn't do that.

Moreover, Astraea also overheard something else—

She looked at Chen Hai and asked earnestly.

"Is it true that adventurers won't be killed by monsters in dungeons?"

"Of course it's true, every adventurer can attest to that. However, that doesn't mean they can move freely in the dungeon. Adventurers can still get injured, even have their limbs broken or their equipment stolen. But the floors I assign them are all appropriate to their abilities. As long as they don't deliberately try to be brave, they rarely even get seriously injured."

"Very good……"

Astraea breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Chen Hai's reply.

The memories of the past were not forgotten by this goddess.

Now that she heard that the adventurers' lives were safe, Astrea had a new perspective on Chenhai.

"Why does Lord Chenhai take such good care of the adventurers?"

"This question has been asked many times..."

All the gods Chen Hai knew had asked him this question.

Because in the eyes of the gods, it would be better for the powerful 'Dungeon Lord' to simply invade the entire world.

Monsters will keep spawning, but the number of adventurers is limited.

Although the two sides will engage in a protracted battle at the beginning, Chenhai will ultimately emerge victorious.

“I also have my reasons, because adventurers’ exploration of dungeons is beneficial to me.”

"There are benefits... Could it be that the adventurers' actions in the dungeons can hone their skills against the monsters and improve their strength?"

"That interpretation isn't wrong."

Chen Hai nodded.

Astrea's guess is close to the truth about Chen Hai 'gaining combat experience points'.

Overall, it's not exactly wrong.

After all, if the monsters don't kill the adventurers and instead run away if they lose, their combat experience will increase.

As time goes by, the intensity and quality of combat in the entire dungeon will surely increase significantly.

At that time, your experience points will most likely double.

"I understand, Lord Chenhai. I will complete the task you just gave me."

"Is that so? I thought you would think about it for a while. After all, the way 'Ishtar Familia' manages Night City is based on power in addition to profit. The Familia she leads is not weak."

"Me too. Over the years, living in Solingen has allowed me to meet a group of trustworthy and powerful families."

"Just like before, are they all girls?"

"Why do you ask that? Even though they're both women..."

Astraea stared at Chen Hai with a strange look in her eyes.

"Are you going to attack them?"

"I didn't say anything."

"If it really comes to that, I will risk everything to stop you."

"So here's the question... what happens to your clan after you've staked everything? I'm not going to lose to you."

"That is……"

"Just kidding, don't worry, Miss Astrea, I'm not the kind of guy who likes to build harems everywhere."

This is the truth.

Chen Hai will only choose those he sets his sights on.

Of course, the possibility that everyone is being observed cannot be ruled out.

"Before that, may I speak with Ishtar?"

"of course can."

"By the way... Lord Chenhai is in charge of the underground city and possesses great power. It should be easy for him to eliminate the Familia led by Ishtar, right? Why not just talk to him directly and then abolish that street?"

"Because it's more fun that way."

"..."

Upon hearing this answer, Astraea, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

"Maybe my previous guess was right."

"What guess?"

"Lord Chenhai is just like us... a god."

In the eyes of the goddess of justice and order, everything Chen Hai has done has begun to resemble that of a 'god' in the heavens.

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.

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.

As Chen Hai returned to the lobby after leaving the second floor, he saw Hestia approaching him.

"You guys spent quite a bit of time up there, what did you talk about?"

"I can tell you about some interesting topics when we get back."

"A word is settled!"

After the two finished talking, more people gathered around.

Whether in the celestial realm or the human realm, Astrea is quite well-known.

Therefore, when faced with Astraea's sudden return to Orario, the gods all expressed their doubts.

"Astraea, according to human timekeeping, it's been a long time since we last met."

"Why did you suddenly return to Orario with your kin? Did you hear about the changes in Orario?"

"As you can see, Orario is indeed very different from what it used to be, and everything is based on a new rule set by Lord Chenhai."

"Dungeons no longer claim adventurers' lives, but their danger remains; however, the rewards for exploration have been greatly increased."