*000000*

In the end, the money earned that day was split three ways. Ten thousand was put into the Hestia Familia's account with the Guild, another ten thousand was set aside for household expenses, and the remaining ten thousand was kept by Bell and Taylor and split 50-50 between the two of them.

This meant Taylor only had five thousand valis, or fifty dollars, to her name, but it was still hers. And that made her happy. She'd earned it with her own efforts, and not through crime or as blood money from working with the PRT and Protectorate.

"So… what now?" Bell asked. He wasn't used to ending his day so early, and felt a bit antsy.

"Can you show me around Orario until it's time to meet with the Ganesha Familia?" she requested, and he nodded.

"Sure! Come on!" he said eagerly. "Let's look at the weapon and armor stores!"

"I also need to visit an optometrist," Taylor said. She'd seen people wearing glasses here and there, so they had to have something like that somewhere within the city.

"Opto-metric?" Bell asked, butchering the foreign word.

"Somebody who makes glasses to help people see better," Taylor explained.

"Oh, okay," he nodded, before frowning. "Wait… Miss Taylor, do you need glasses in order to see?"

"I am near-sighted," Taylor said.

"Are you telling me you went into the Dungeon practically blind?!" Bell exclaimed, looking angry.

"I can see through my swarm," Taylor said dismissively. "And Chris' eyesight is better than mine, even with glasses."

"That is not the point, Miss Taylor!" Bell scolded. "You need to be at the top of your game whenever you venture into the Dungeon, or else bad things can happen!"

"Bell, it's fine," Taylor tried to assure him. "I'll get a new pair for myself today."

"I'm telling Lady Hestia," Bell threatened, and the parahuman flinched back.

"Dirty move," she grumbled. Making the tiny girl sad would be like kicking a puppy. Taylor couldn't even blame the Falna for that. Hestia was just so kind that making her upset made the parahuman feel like a terrible person.

Bell immediately took Taylor to the marketplace, and after looking around a bit, found a store that sold glasses. They were expensive, as expected, but the lens crafter was willing to allow Taylor to pay in installments, using the Guild as an intermediary. A portion of the money she'd make in the Dungeon would be subtracted until the bill was fully paid.

There didn't seem to be any hidden fees included within the contract, either, nor interest, so Taylor agreed, and was told to come back in a couple days to pick up her new glasses.

By the time that task was over, it was almost time for their meeting with the Ganesha Familia.

"You don't have to come with me," Taylor told the white-haired adventurer as they walked back towards the Guild Hall.

"We're a Familia, so we're gonna do this together!" Bell assured her, and Taylor felt touched by the show of comradery.

"Suit yourself," she replied simply, before walking into the Guild for the second time that day. Taylor immediately spotted Eina, and the pointy-eared office lady bowed politely to them.

"This way, please," Eina said, leading them into the back of the Guild. Stopping in front of a door, she opened it with a quiet, "Excuse me," and then stepped back, allowing Taylor and Bell to enter. The room had two couches separated by a coffee table, and had white-washed walls and brass light fixtures.

Taylor had known the room was occupied the moment she had entered the building, the hum of power radiating off of the two individuals impossible to miss. Now, however, she could see who they were as she stepped inside the well-furnished meeting space.

Sitting on a couch that was facing the doorway was an odd pair of people. One was a man, tall and broad shouldered with dark skin akin to that of an Indian. At least six feet tall with sleek ash-brown hair, and, oddly enough, a red elephant mask covering only his eyes. He wore an orange sash across his chest that was secured in place with a gold-rimmed leather plate around his stomach. He also wore white harem pants and gold jewelry on every finger.

Looking at him through her swarm, the man's 'hum' sounded like the trumpeting of elephants and the cheers of a crowd.

The other person was a woman who at first glance looked to be in her mid-twenties, with curious, dark blue hair and eyes. Despite that, she had the physical features and skin tone of an Indian woman. All she was missing was the red bindi. She was rather tall, too. Not as tall as Taylor herself, but taller than Eina or Hestia.

Her 'hum' was loud, almost as loud as Mama Mia's, and it was filled with the sounds of elephants as well, but softer, almost comforting.

'The man must be Ganesha,' Taylor mused, noticing a theme with the Trumps in Orario. They all seemed to give themselves the names of gods, which, to be fair, capes back on Earth Bet had occasionally done as well. Since this was a parallel world, the fact that some of Earth Bet's religions could also be found here wasn't all that surprising, though the lack of Christianity and associated Abrahamic faiths like Judaism and Islam was a bit odd.

Still, that was something to ponder later. For now, Taylor sat down on the couch facing the two other people, Bell awkwardly bowing to the two guests before sitting beside her. She left Chris outside the room. He was a bit too big to fit through the door.

"Hello, my name is Shakti Varma, Captain of the Ganesha Familia," the azure-haired woman said as Eina closed the door, giving them some privacy. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"And I am Ganesha!" the tall man boisterously declared.

"Quite," Taylor said slowly, glancing at the odd masked man before turning back to Shakti. "My name is Taylor Hebert."

"And I'm Bell Cranel! We're both of the Hestia Familia! Pleased to meet you!" Bell said, bowing his head once more to the two. Shakti's lips quirked up in a tiny smile while Ganesha loudly laughed.

"It is good to see the little one has such polite Familia members! I, Ganesha, am happy for her!" Ganesha declared. Again, loudly.

"I understand you wished to speak with me about Chris," Taylor began, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

"The Crystal Mantis? Yes, that's correct," Shakti said with a nod. "Normally, only somebody with the Tamer Developmental Ability can control a monster, as I'm sure you already know. However, Developmental Abilities can only be obtained at Level 2 or higher. As such, we wish to know how, exactly, this is possible. As a Familia of Tamers, this could very useful for us in the future."

"And what makes you think I'm not a Level 2?" Taylor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Guild publicly posts all Level Ups and they are a matter of record as well. Anyone may ask to know the level of an adventurer as well, though the stats themselves are kept private," Shakti replied. "As your name is not one I recognize, nor is it included in Guild records, that means you're either hiding your level, which is a crime, or you are a new adventurer."

"It's a Skill," Taylor replied shortly, deciding to admit that much. "Is that all?"

"That… we were hoping for a bit more than that, honestly," Shakti admitted, gaining a pinched look on her face at how curt Taylor was acting.

"I am Ganesha!" Ganesha piped up, and his captain shot him an exasperated look.

"I can control bugs. Any bug," Taylor stated. "If you want more than that, then you'll have to agree to a trade."

"Ah, of course," Shakti said with a nod, looking away from her loud-mouthed boss. "Can I ask you what you would want in exchange for a look at the Guild's copy of your Falna?"

"I want to see your stats," Taylor replied immediately. "Tit for tat."

Shakti blinked, clearly not having expected that as a request, and the 'god' tilted his head to the side as well.

"That…" Shakti muttered, trailing off before glancing at Ganesha.

"I am Ganesha! God of the People!" he declared, and Taylor resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Shakti seemed to share Taylor's exasperation, but still nodded at the request.

"Very well. I suppose it is only fair," she replied. "Let me go fetch someone from the Guild…"

"No need," Taylor said. "I've already let somebody know about our deal."

"What? How?" Shakti asked, surprised. "When did you do that?"

From behind the couch, a fragment of Taylor's swarm rose up, and Shakti tensed up at the sight of a humanoid mass of insects 'staring' at her.

"I have very good control," Taylor said, but through her swarm, the wings and chitin clicking and buzzing to from an approximation of human words.

Bell paled, eyes wide, and Shakti flinched. Ganesha, however, seemed fascinated if the way he leaned in to get a better look at her swarm was any indicator. Taylor dismissed it with a wave, and she leaned back to wait.

"Um, so, you're a captain, right?" Bell spoke up after a moment of awkward silence. "What's that like?"

"Busy," Shakti said, looking glad to have something to talk about to distract herself.

A few minutes later after Shakti informing Bell about what being a Familia captain was all about, Eina returned, looking frazzled. She shot Taylor a glare as she entered, adjusting her glasses a bit.

"Next time, Miss Taylor, please do not do… whatever it was you did earlier in the middle of the Guild," she requested snappishly.

"Sorry," Taylor apologized. Yes, thinking back on it, summoning a cloud of bugs to relay her instructions in the middle of a busy lobby was probably not the best idea.

Eina let out a tiny "humph!" before turning to Shakti. "Lady Ankusha, just to be sure, but you have agreed to let Miss Taylor look at your Falna, in exchange for looking at her own?"

"That is correct," Shakti confirmed with a nod.

"'Lady Ankusha?'" Bell asked, confused, and Taylor was glad he'd said it before she could inquire about it.

"Adventurers receive a nickname from the gods when they Level Up," Shakti explained, looking a little bit embarrassed. "Mine is 'Ankusha,' though I had a different one before I became the captain."

"Ah, I suppose being known as a tool that's used to train elephants would make sense as a cape name for somebody who leads a taming Familia," Taylor mused.

"Cape name?" Bell asked, while everyone else in the room looked surprised that Taylor had known what the nickname referred to.

"Ah, in my homeland, instead of calling people with powers 'adventurers,' they're known as capes," Taylor explained.

"Ganesha likes it!" the elephant masked god exclaimed. "Ganesha also likes the idea of wearing a cape! Ganesha must buy one!"

Eina cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, and then placed two sheets of paper face down onto the table in between the couches. Shakti nodded in thanks, picking up her own sheet of paper. She gave it a look over then passed it over to Taylor, who took it.

"Level 5," Taylor muttered as she looked at the stats.

SHAKTI VARMA

LEVEL 5

POWER – C 644

ENDURANCE – D 587

DEXTERITY – G 229

AGILITY – F 303

MAGIC – I 65

DEVELOPMENTAL ABILITY

Tamer – D

Spearwoman – E

Abnormal Resistance – E

Strong Body – F

SKILL

Wild Sensory – Boosts the five senses beyond that of the norm for the wielder. Increases even further every Level Up.

Intimidate – Unleash a burst of killing intent towards a target. More effective the weaker the target is compared to the user. Monsters that are weaker than the user will try to escape.

SPELLS

Janjeer Ultima – Magical chains bind a single target. Incantation: Bind! Constrict! Contain!

"Limit Break?" Shakti whispered in disbelief as she read Taylor's stat sheet, specifically the Skill information, and Taylor glanced up at that. The black-haired teen didn't have much a way to compare the stats here to her own, but from what she recalled Hestia saying about stats resetting every level up, this woman was likely incredibly strong.

"Have you satisfied your curiosity?" she asked, and Shakti nodded slowly, putting the paper back down.

"Yes. It was… enlightening," she replied slowly. "Thank you for this. While it seems we won't be able to take advantage of this ability for ourselves anytime soon, knowing there is an adventurer out there who can control monsters as effectively as you can is a bit of a relief. Perhaps we will be able to work together someday," Shakti said. "And, if you need any advice about how to care for a monster, our doors are open."

"We'll see. By the way, Mr. Ganesha, but you mentioned something about wanting a cape," Taylor said, glancing over at the eccentric leader of the Familia.

"I am Ganesha, and Ganesha did say that!" he confirmed.

"If you are interested, I can weave you one," Taylor offered. "Reasonably cheap."

Shakti and Eina blinked while Ganesha let out an excited laugh at that.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Ganesha would love to commission a spider silk cape! I am Ganesha!"

"I will bring it over when I am finished," Taylor replied, before standing up. "Now, if you don't mind, I think it's time for Bell and I to go back and get ready for dinner."

"Thank you again for being so open with us," Shakti said, giving a polite bob of her head in Taylor's direction. She nodded back, and left the meeting room with Bell scrambling out after her.

"So, uh, that was… interesting," Bell said as they walked away, Chris trailing behind them.

"It was informative. Now, what do you think about lasagna?" Taylor asked.

"What's lasagna?" Bell asked, head tilted to the side, and Taylor froze, only to stare at him in disbelief.

"It seems I'll have to introduce you to this dish from my homeland," Taylor replied, steering him towards the marketplace. She wasn't sure how easy it would be to recreate her mother's recipe here, but she would do her best. The lasagna demanded no less!

Chapter 7: Elephants and Silk

"Ugh! I can't believe you did that!" Hestia cried out, throwing her hands into the air in disbelief while pacing back and forth in front of Taylor. "Sharing your stats with that elephant-faced buffoon! Why would you do that?!"

"I felt it would be better to have a working relationship with the people who run the city's police, or the closest thing this place has," Taylor replied.

Bell watched their back and forth, wisely staying out of it. When they had gotten home with the ingredients for lasagna, Hestia hadn't been back yet. When she had returned, however, she had been aghast to hear exactly what Taylor had done.

"I suppose Ganesha isn't the worst god to know about this," Hestia sighed, rubbing her temples. "But please be careful in the future!"

"I won't tell just anyone about my stats," Taylor assured her.

"I'm going to update both of your Falnas, and then you and I are going to have a talk about not letting people know about Familia secrets, Taylor!" Hestia grumbled, grabbing Bell by the hand and dragging him off to the bedroom.

When the white-haired boy eventually stepped out, looking over the sheet of paper with his updated stats, Taylor went into the bedroom after him.

"Lie down, please," Hestia requested, and Taylor did so. There was the familiar pleasant burning sensation as the blood dripped down onto her exposed back, and a few moments later Hestia let her know she could sit up.

"Here," Hestia said. She had a grim expression on her face as she handed over the updated Falna sheet. As she looked it over, she was soon able to see why.

TAYLOR HEBERT

LEVEL 1

POWER – I 5 → I 21

ENDURANCE – I 10 → I 18

DEXTERITY – I 10 → I 30

AGILITY – I 5 → I 14

MAGIC – I 40 → H 101

SKILL

Queen of Escalation: Grants dominion over all invertebrates. Gain Excelia through dominated beings. Immunity to foreign mental effects, charms, and illusions. Limit Breaker.

God Slayer: wHaT iS A gOd To A nOnBeLieVeR? Consume the Essence of a god and usurp their Arcanum. Surpass all mortal limits. Bestow Shards onto the worthy.

"What is this?" Taylor couldn't help but asked in disbelief as she read the second Skill.

"That is why I wasn't happy when you told Ganesha's captain about your stats," Hestia said solemnly. "That second skill… it is nothing like I've ever seen or heard of. Not to mention the 'Limit Breaker' aspect for your first Skill… it's incredibly rare, Taylor. I know of only one other person alive who has it."

"I can see why you left it out the first time," Taylor muttered slowly. The ability to bestow Shards to other people was what really stuck out to her. Did that make her a Trump now?

Then, there was the mention of 'gods.' Taylor decided to ignore the implications of that for now. After all, everyone knew gods weren't real. Life on Earth Bet and the revelations about Scion had taught her that cold, hard truth.

Taylor shook her head a moment later, then brought the sheet of paper over to a candle sitting on the bedside table. She watched the paper burn until it was all gone and naught but ash, before pulling her shirt back on and standing up.

"I need to check on dinner," Taylor said, leaving the bedroom. The tiny oven had barely fit the casserole dish, but Taylor had made it work.

She also had to make everything else, including the flat noodles, by hand, but thankfully that was easy enough to do. Noodles were just flour and water, after all. The tomato sauce had been trickier, not to mention mincing the meat and shredding the cheese, but she'd done it with Bell's help. Really, she'd have never been able to do it with just one arm, and had been glad for his assistance.

Checking on the lasagna, Taylor was pleased by how it was looking. The oven wasn't like she was used to, and it didn't seem to use gas or electricity, but it worked all the same.

It didn't have a built-in timer or heat setting, either, the only options being to turn it on and off, and it only got up to a certain temperature. That meant Taylor had to eyeball it and occasionally poke and prod the dish to see how it was coming along. She resolved to make a note of the amount of time involved today, so she would know how long to cook the lasagna again later.

"It smells good," Bell said, drooling a bit as she brought it out of the oven.

"Just got to let it cool a bit before we can eat," Taylor said. "By the way, how are these appliances powered, exactly?"

"Magic Stones, of course," Hestia replied as she walked out of the bedroom, yawning a bit.

"Wait, you mean those crystal things we harvest from the corpses of monsters? Those Magic Stones?" Taylor asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah. What did you think you were collecting them for?" Hestia replied. "Magic Stones from a monster are chock full of magical energy, and they power everything, from the lamps in the streets to the hotplates in a kitchen. Not to mention they're used to make potions and enchanted items."

"So, are there other places to get Magic Stones?" Taylor wondered, because if not, Orario was akin to all of the oil producing countries back on Earth Bet rolled into one!

"There is only one Dungeon," Bell explained. "And while there are some monsters on the surface who are the descendants of the ones who escaped the Dungeon in ancient times, over the generations they've lost their Magic Stones."

"Orario isn't known as the Center of the World for nothing," Hestia said, sounding a little smug as she did so. "All of the Magic Stones used by the other countries come from the Dungeon, and of course this is where all the gods descend from Tenkai to live amongst the mortals. The city is very important for those reasons!"

That was a surprising revelation, and it put into perspective how powerful the city and these Familias really were.

'It also explains why the city doesn't seem to have a centralized government outside of the Guild, and is essentially run by gangs despite being so large and densely populated,' Taylor mused to herself. 'Orario is simply too important for a single governing entity to control, and nobody would allow a single country to monopolize the Dungeon and its resources. And so long as the Magic Stones flow to the other parts of the world, nobody cares that the Familias are playing pretend and calling themselves 'gods.''

As she thought that, Taylor began to cut into the lasagna, and she happily served the food to Bell and Hestia.

"Well, let's sit down and enjoy dinner," she suggested. "I tried my best to make this according to my family's traditional recipe. Some spices were missing, but it should still be good."

"I'm sure it will be great!" Bell said excitedly as he picked up his knife and fork. "You're a great cook, Miss Taylor!"

"Thank you, Bell," Taylor replied. She then took a bite of the food and let out a tiny gasp at the taste. It wasn't the same, but it was still so similar to the times her mom had made it that Taylor couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and melancholy that brought a literal tear to her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hestia asked, concerned, and Taylor rapidly nodded, wiping away the moisture.

"I'm fine," she replied.

Hestia just looked at her, not quite believing her words. But she said nothing, simply patting her arm comfortingly before taking her own bite.

"It's very good," Hestia praised after she chewed and swallowed. "I can taste the love."

"Thank you," Taylor whispered.

The moment was then broken by Bell eagerly asking for seconds, and Taylor and Hestia blinked in surprise at how quickly he'd eaten before laughing at the sight of his mouth smeared with a bit of tomato sauce.

111 ^^^ &&& ^^^ 111

The next couple of days passed by in a routine. Delve into the Dungeon for a few hours starting at eight in the morning, and exiting around three or four pm in the afternoon. Turn in the Magic Stones and Drop Items for valis, then split the profits, putting some away for a rainy day. Afterwards she and Bell would explore the city and buy ingredients for dinner.

They made around twenty thousand valis each time they went into the Dungeon, thanks in part to using Chris as a pack animal. He was big and strong, and was able to carry several sacks around with them that let them carry a lot more than they normally would be able to.

Taylor also discovered that monsters apparently ate Magic Stones. They could consume regular food, but a diet that included Magic Stones could make them stronger. She took the time to feed Chris any leftovers. He seemed to prefer Dungeon Lizard stones, so whenever he killed a few, he'd get a little treat.

Then, once they were back at home in the little underground den beneath the Church, Taylor would help Bell make food for dinner and the next day while also controlling a legion of spiders to spin silk in an unused closet. Simple sheets of plain, undyed silk for now, but she was experimenting with shapes.

Ganesha had sent over a letter as well, stating his intent to buy a spider silk cape. Taylor and Hestia had shopped around the city for a bit to get a feel for the price of regular silk in the market, and eventually settled on a million valis for the price of Ganesha's commission. Regular bolts of silk were around a hundred thousand valis, and garments made from it were at least five times as expensive.

Taylor's price was a bit more expensive than a regular silk cape, but it was deemed to be an acceptable trade-off as her spider silk was, for now, a limited commodity. It would take a while before she could produce it in anything approaching commercial amounts.

Hestia had been surprised to learn that Taylor could also command insects to do a limited set of instructions which they would follow even when they were outside of her control, so even when the parahuman was in the Dungeon her spiders continued to work. She did have to remember to tell them to eat in order to replenish their energy and silk after they accidentally worked to death one day, but Taylor never forgot after that.

Taylor had yet to try this with Chris. Would the Crystal Mantis go crazy if it was suddenly outside of her range of influence? Or would it just stand there, doing nothing, as it had absolute nothing in its head without her power telling it what to do?

The latter was the best outcome, but the danger of the former happening was too risky to attempt quite yet. Taylor wanted to test this out eventually, but only when she and Bell were stronger. And she had a feeling that wouldn't be all that far off.

She could feel herself getting more powerful. It was slow and subtle, but every day, when Hestia updated their Falnas after a trip to the Dungeon, she could noticeable see changes in her speed and physical strength.

According to the twin-tailed goddess, their growth was very unusual. Most people only gained a few points in any stat every so often, not massive jumps each and every time they went Dungeon Delving!

This worried Taylor, as standing out could be dangerous if you didn't have the ability to back it up. Would somebody come after them and try to abuse their power for their own benefit? Hestia certainly fear that to be the case, and Taylor agreed.

But right now, the mysteries of the Falna and how it worked wasn't important. Today, Taylor was taking a break from the Dungeon while delivering Ganesha's order of one silken cape.

"This is where he lives?" Taylor asked incredulously, staring up at the obnoxiously designed building.

"Yeah," Hestia said, looking at the giant statue of Ganesha that took up the front entrance. "He's… let's go with eccentric."

"He makes his guests walk through a door set into a giant effigy of his crotch," Taylor deadpanned, completely unimpressed. "At least Ganesha isn't a woman, or this would be really uncomfortable and awkward."

Hestia spluttered a laugh out at that as she walked up to the guards. From the hum Taylor's swarm could hear coming from them, they were a pair of Level 1's, more than enough to deal with the average visitor.

"Lady Hestia," one of the guards said, bowing to the short woman. "You and Miss Hebert are expected. Please, allow me to escort you to Lord Ganesha and Lady Shakti."

"Thank you, that is appreciated," Hestia said with a nod. The guard eyed Taylor and the Crystal Mantis at her side, but said nothing and allowed them all to enter. A single Level 1 and a monster couldn't do any harm to a Level 5, after all.

The Ganesha Familia compound was interesting, and Taylor 'looked' at it as she was led through the area. It was shaped like a giant square and divided into two parts, one of which was located below ground. The upper level, the main floor, so to speak, was built around a wide-open courtyard. This was a rather beautiful and well-maintained garden area with traces of Indian and Greek styles in the architecture.

A marble fountain in the shape of an elephant stood in the center spewing water from its trunk. The water was clean from what Taylor could tell and was used by the Familia for a bunch of different tasks as the water flowed away through pipes that led everywhere throughout the compound.

The main building was a very large palace-like structure at the far end of the courtyard with gold filigree on everything, with elephants carved into the pillars and arches. It was three stories tall, and flanked on either side of it by a pair of two-story side buildings. Barracks for the Familia members, from what Taylor was about to 'see.'

Below that, the underground section was filled with armories, storehouses, training facilities, and most importantly, cages filled with monsters. These monsters were wild and vicious, subdued via drugs for the most part. Only a few actually seemed 'tame,' and even then they were treated carefully.

The menagerie beneath their feet let Taylor observe all sorts of new species of monsters from lower floors. There were rabbits with odd, unicorn-like horns on their heads, and short, bipedal lagomorphs that seemed to be about as intelligent as goblins or kobolds. Creepy bats with unnatural wide mouths, more Ligerfangs and Trolls, and a few black dogs with muzzles fitted over their heads. There were all of these, and more. It was an impressive collection.

What was really interesting was that it seemed like there were tours going on for civilian children, like it was a miniature zoo!

There were also dozens of Familia members working in both levels, not all of which were adventurers. Almost all of them wore domino masks in emulation of their 'god's' own facial accessory.

Upon being led into the main building, which was quite large and impressive on the inside, with a ballroom in the back, they were taken to a meeting room elsewhere on the first floor that had a throne in it.

It was an impressive seat hewn from solid ivory, and Ganesha was sitting on it with Shakti standing at to the right of the throne. A handful of advisors and other adventurers – one of which was level four judging by the hum – were standing along the walls, watching.

Of course, the solemn and imposing air of the audience chamber was broken almost immediately as Ganesha jumped to his feet and hurried over to greet them.

"I am Ganesha! And I am excited to see you again, Little Hestia!"

"Don't call me 'little!'" Hestia scowled. Well, really it was more of a pout, and it just caused Ganesha to throw his head back and laugh.

"HAH! Yes, Ganesha remembers that temper! Why, Ganesha remembers back in Tenkai when you would shout at and scold Indra every time he got into a fight with Zeus, Thor and Susanoo!"

"It was their own fault for having a 'Lightning Bolt Throwing Contest' and using that mountain as a target! All it did was get Gaia pissed at them!" Hestia huffed.

"Yes, yes, good times!" Ganesha laughed, before turning to Taylor with an excited grin. "Now, Ganesha hopes that those packages are for Ganesha!"

"Uh-huh!" Hestia said with a nod, mood shifting as she grinned back. "I can't wait for the next Banquet of the Gods to show off my own silk dress! That washboard will be green with envy!"

Taylor wasn't sure who the 'washboard' was, but she took a small wooden box with a black spider mark stamped onto the lid off Chris' back and held it out to Shakti, who had approached from behind Ganesha. She accepted it with a nod and opened it, revealing a beautiful grey-white cape woven from pure spider's silk.

On the back of the cape was a trio of embroidered white elephants standing on each other's back. Each had been made by having the spiders carefully weave the images into the silk itself, so it had no stitches or seams. To top it off, a simple golden clasp would allow the wearer to put it on with ease. That had been the most expensive bit of the whole outfit, costing a few hundred valis to buy. The rest of the outfit was woven by thousands of spiders over the course of a few days.

"Oh!" Ganesha breathed out. "Tis beautiful! Ganesha approves!"

"It is quite nice," Shakti admitted, sounding surprised as she looked at the embroidery. "I didn't think…"

"My control over insects is very thorough," Taylor assured her.

"I can see that," Shakti agreed, before handing it over to Ganesha. The god eagerly put it on, posing a bit as he did so. Shakti rolled her eyes while a few of the other Familia members politely applauded, humoring their eccentric leader.

"Ganesha is very happy!" he declared, running a hand over the silk and marveling at the softness of it.

Shakti seemed to take that as a cue and handed over a pouch of money. "Here. One million valis, as agreed upon the other day."

Taylor nodded, accepting the payment that had been negotiated a few days ago between the gods while Hestia held in a squeal at the amount of money they'd just made. It came in the form of a Guild issued IOU, since carrying around a bunch of gold and silver coins would be troublesome.

"Also, um, do you have a catalog?" Shakti asked in a low voice, a faint dusting of red on her cheeks. "For, err, underclothes and such?"

"Not yet, but I can make just about anything," Taylor replied, voice equally soft. "I'd just need your measurements."

"I see," she murmured. "I will… stop by, then."

"Just let us know ahead of time," Taylor requested. A few more pleasantries were made, then a guard led them out.

"Well, what should we do next?" Hestia asked curiously as they left the compound.

"Not sure," Taylor admitted. "Bell said he was going shopping, right?"

"Right," Hestia nodded, a tiny scowl slipping onto her face. "With that half-elf."

"The advisor, Eina?" Taylor queried.

"Yeah, her," Hestia replied.

It took a considerable amount of self-control for Taylor to avoid rolling her eyes at Hestia's blatant jealousy. It was sorta cute, but also a little silly.

"Hestia, Bell doesn't see Eina like that," she assured the tiny girl at her side.

"Really?" Hestia said hopefully.

"If anything, Bell has a crush on that one girl… the blonde. Ais Wallenstein," Taylor said, experiencing a small amount of Schadenfreude as she watched Hestia twitch and fume.

"H-he just looks up to her! Because she saved him! That's all!" Hestia protested.

"Uh-huh," Taylor replied, unconvinced.

"A-anyways, what are you going to spend the money on?" Hestia inquired, trying to switch the topic while glancing up at her Familia member. Taylor had wanted to split it with the Familia, but Hestia had insisted that she keep it all to herself, since Taylor had made the cape all by herself.

In the end, after some back and forth, Taylor had agreed to give a quarter of her money to the Familia while keeping the rest. That still left 750,000 valis for her to do with as she pleased.

"I actually have a few things I want to get," Taylor admitted. "I need a few new pieces of equipment myself. A better blade, for one. Replace some of the missing and broken plates on my armor. And some extra supplies to help make more silk."

"All very good ideas," Hestia said with an approving hum. "Anything else?"

"Well, yes," Taylor admitted. "I was hoping to get some books."

"Books, huh?" Hestia said, rubbing her chin. "I know of a couple places you could buy one."

"One? How expensive are books in this world?" Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, not that expensive," Hestia replied, thinking it over. "Ever since Athena and Thoth worked together with Hephaestus and Goibniu to invent the printing press a few centuries ago, followed by buying the rights to make paper from the Far East, and books are a lot cheaper than they used to be. I think a brand-new, fresh off the printers book would be… ten thousand valis? Depending on what kinda book it is."

Taylor raised an eyebrow at that. A hundred dollars for a book? That was almost criminal! When she asked why it was so expensive, Hestia shrugged.

"Well, the printing presses are great and all, but you can only make so many at a time. And each page requires a unique block with everything inscribed on it. So, making blocks for a new book is expensive. A hundred blocks at a minimum is needed for a small book and those blocks have to be hand carved. They can also break often."

'Sounds like they only came up with a kind of woodblock press printer instead of the movable type printing press Gutenberg invented,' Taylor mused. That gave her… ideas for a new business.

"I see that look in your eyes," Hestia said, poking Taylor in the side. "I won't stop you, but be careful about what you try and introduce to Orario from your world. Not everyone will appreciate the changes."

"I'll keep that in mind," Taylor promised. She then smelled a pleasant scent in the air, and her stomach growled. Hestia giggled at that, until her own stomach betrayed her and let out an even louder growl.

"…Let's get some lunch first before we go shopping," Taylor suggested. Hestia nodded, face red with mortification.

They found an open-air café that was fine with having Chris stand (or rather loom) in an alley behind the building, and had a pleasant meal of egg and watercress sandwiches. The tea was good, too, and Taylor resolved to find out where they got it from. She liked coffee well enough, but hadn't seen any beans in the marketplace, and tea had always had a soft spot for her. Her mother would drink it a lot when grading papers, and Taylor had grown up in a proper tea-drinking household as a result.

Once they were finished, they headed off to do some shopping. No weapons or armor purchases in the end, as Taylor hadn't found any that called out to her, but she did get some new clothes to wear casually, and a pair of books. One was about the history of Orario, the other was a second-hand copy of a much older, and denser tome regarding the laws and regulations of the Guild.

Officially, there was no single ruler of the city. Unofficially, the Guild ran Orario. Technically, everything was run by various Familias working with the civilian population, but the Guild oversaw the Familias, and by extension, held a considerable amount of soft power.

Knowing the rules of a society was important, and Taylor wasn't going to be blindsided by some obscure law or regulation that the Guild, some random merchant or Familia could use to hurt her and her new family.

That done, they picked up some groceries and headed back to the church, where upon returning Taylor noticed that Bell was already back.

"We're back!" Hestia called out cheerfully.

"Welcome back Lady Hestia, Miss Taylor!" Bell replied happily as the duo descended the stairs.

"Is that your new armor?" Taylor asked, looking at the equipment Bell had laid out on the table. It was a white breastplate, the color and style reminding Taylor a bit of her own costume's armored plates. There was also a single vivid green vambrace that looked nice, but didn't really fit Bell's aesthetic.

"That's right! Pyonkichi Mark II!" Bell declared, pointing to the armor.

"I beg your pardon?" she uttered in a deadpan.

"Uh, well, that's what the blacksmith who made it called it," Bell said, looking away with a red face.

"Alright," Taylor drawled. "Poor choice of name aside, how does it compare to what you previously had?"

"It's so much better!" Bell cheered. "It's lightweight but durable, and fits great!"

He then looked to the side. "And, well, I also like it 'cause it kinda looks like your armor."

Taylor hummed to herself while quickly shunting the flash of embarrassment – and something else, an emotion she couldn't quite identify – away to her swarm. She wasn't quick enough, if the smirk Hestia shot her was any clue, but Taylor ignored it with all the grace and dignity she could muster.

"I was thinking about making meatloaf," Taylor said, changing topics. "Bell, can you help me?"

"Yes!" he nodded, eagerly running over to the kitchen counter as Taylor and Hestia put down their shopping bags and got out the ingredients for that night's meal.

She'd found a butcher who had a meat grinder and was willing to sell her ground beef. The butcher – a man with the ears and horns of a bull, which Taylor found strangely surreal – hadn't understood why somebody would want ground meat that wasn't going to be made into a sausage, but Taylor was a paying customer and hadn't argued about the request.

Taylor had also found out rather quickly that adventurers ate far more than a regular person did. And whatever Hestia was, she could also pack away the food that should have been impossible given how tiny she was. Between the three of them, there would never be any leftovers.

"This is meatloaf?" Hestia asked, curious as she watched the two work in the kitchen. "Not what I expected when you told me about it."

"It's certainly different," Bell agreed as he thoroughly kneaded the ground beef into the bread crumbs and tomato sauce.

Taylor just nodded as she watched and occasionally spoke up, giving directions. She rather liked this change of pace in her life. Being a warlord and later a Ward had been stressful. Being an adventurer was a lot more freeing and fulfilling. A lot fewer demands on her time, too.

This was good. It was nice. Pleasant. She hoped these slow days would continue, but Taylor had a feeling that that wouldn't be the case for long. She desperately wished it was just her paranoia speaking, but Taylor knew her luck was not that good