Chapter 72: Familia Formed! Lily’s Invitation

"Lord Shirakawa, your familia registration is complete. Now I'd like to ask—what direction will your familia take? Will it be a business-based one, or a combat-focused one for dungeon exploration?"

"Combat familia."

Shirakawa didn't hesitate. If he wanted to expand his influence in Orario, combat was the only viable path—taking on the dungeon head-on.

It was best to get things done here while he was still at the Guild.

"Understood."

Aina filled out the remaining sections. The paperwork would be sent to the god overseeing the Guild—Ouranos—for approval.

She gathered the documents with a smile. "The process will be completed soon. Please wait here, Lord Shirakawa."

"Thank you."

Shirakawa sipped his tea. The Guild's service impressed him.

While he waited, Hestia slipped back in and eyed his tea cup with envy. She remembered when she formed her own familia—she hadn't gotten this kind of treatment at all.

Looking at Shirakawa reclining lazily on the sofa, she asked eagerly, "So? How's the registration going?"

From her tone alone, Shirakawa could already tell she wanted a favor.

"It's under review now. The result should come soon. Just tell me what you need," he said bluntly.

"Well… I have a request. It's about Mai Sakurajima."

"I want to recruit her into my familia."

"To freely travel between worlds, you need 150 points. That's because you can only place a teleport anchor in a world you've physically visited."

In DanMachi's normal timeline, the story would begin in a few days when Liliruca meets Bell. But now that Shirakawa was here, he intended to rewrite that narrative.

He didn't mind Hestia recruiting Mai. As long as he secured Hestia, her familia was essentially his too.

More importantly, the requirements for a Chosen of Pleasure were that the subject's body, heart, and faith belonged to him. There was no rule saying they couldn't join another god's familia.

It was actually common in Orario for new adventurers to join strong familias for faster growth.

Having Mai as Hestia's first member would completely change the story's direction, shifting her focus to recruiting from the chat group instead. That would make future plans easier.

Thinking this through, Shirakawa quickly agreed. "Fine. One more thing…"

"If you can ensure your familia only accepts women, I can offer some extra help—like access to other worlds' power systems."

Hestia's limited understanding of the Konosuba world would help here.

The adventurer card system, level ups, job changes—all these came from exploiting an information gap. As long as Shirakawa left the Divine Mark on their lower belly and used the magic device to appraise it, they could receive adventurer cards from the Konosuba system.

Letting Hestia handle status updates wouldn't betray her original dream of building a familia and would also secure the foundation for Shirakawa's future harem base.

"Really?!"

Realizing she'd spoken too loudly, Hestia quickly lowered her voice, her eyes wide in disbelief. She knew other worlds had power systems, but didn't expect Shirakawa to be able to bring them in wholesale.

That would massively boost her familia's strength.

Still...

Why did he insist on only female members?

When Hestia seriously thought about the question, a smile tugged at her lips.

"Hey, Shirakawa-kun… don't tell me… you've got that whole love-at-first-sight thing going on for me?"

"That's right."

When dealing with Hestia, you had to go straight for the direct approach.

Shirakawa smiled and nodded. That was genuinely how he felt. Who would say no to a busty, innocent, and adorable loli goddess?

But his straightforward attitude made Hestia's cheeks flush red. She stole glances at Shirakawa's side profile. Honestly… yeah, it made her heart flutter a little.

"We're not even that close yet… maybe you're just feeling something temporary. I think using the word 'like' is a little rushed..."

Straightforward.

And it made her shy.

Seeing Hestia's reaction, Shirakawa knew he had gotten the outcome he wanted. He replied seriously,

"We still have plenty of time to get to know each other."

"..."

"Shirakawa-sama, your Familia registration has been approved."

Eina didn't keep him waiting long. She soon returned with the approved application form, stamped with Ouranos' seal—signifying that Shirakawa's Familia was now officially allowed to recruit in Orario.

"If you've already decided on a Familia emblem, you can register it at the Guild. I'll be your assigned advisor from now on."

"Thank you."

Shirakawa smiled and nodded. Now he needed to think about how to make money. With enough money, he could buy or lease a home base.

Unlike the world of Konosuba…

In Danmachi's world, the main way to earn valis was through killing monsters, collecting magic stones, and selling them to the Guild. There was also…

…War games.

But that's definitely not on the table right now.

Eina was genuinely surprised by Shirakawa's sincere demeanor. She had never met a god quite this… pleasant.

She smiled and replied,

"That's part of my job!"

Looking up at Orario's bright sky, Shirakawa began mapping out his next steps. As a god, entering the dungeon could have consequences.

He glanced at Hestia standing beside him.

According to the original story, it was the gods' entrance into the dungeon that caused an anomaly—the birth of the floor boss in the safety zone of the 18th floor.

The Black Goliath.

The dungeon itself loathes the presence of gods.

With that in mind, Shirakawa quickly opened his god profession panel. He hadn't checked it since the number of his Chosen of Pleasure had surpassed ten.

As it unfolded, the details appeared before him:

Profession: God

Divine Attribute: Pleasure

Authority: Circle of Avidity

Followers: 0

Chosen of Pleasure: 11

Sub-Gods: 0

Core Skills: Divine Blessing, Ecstasy Domain, Authority of Carnal Discipline, Power of Faith

Basic Skills: Divine Mark (Lv2), Faith Extraction (Lv1), Blessing: Stat Boost (Lv1), Blessing: Luck Boost (Lv1)...

"..."

After skimming through the updated stats panel, a particular passage popped into his mind:

(Just as the hymns praise the Lord of Pleasure—sculpt, sing, and pursue every dream of ecstasy in His name.

Satisfy all hunger. Fear no risk. For it is your source of bliss.)

"This… this isn't a Chaos God panel or something, right?"

His mouth twitched involuntarily. His original class panel hadn't been overwritten; rather, everything was now split into two sections.

The latter half hadn't changed much.

But after evolving into a god-class profession, a bunch of new fields had appeared—followers, chosen, and sub-gods.

Followers were easy to understand.

Just like Aqua and Eris, who had their own churches. Sub-gods, meanwhile, were those who pledged allegiance to the God of Pleasure and became part of His divine hierarchy.

"So… this Circle of Avidity… is it really what I think it is?"

"…"

Rather than working slowly over time, it would instantly change a poor person's life—showering them in wealth and pleasure.

Then…

It would crush everything. When they lost everything and couldn't recover, they would offer absolute devotion—or even their soul—to the God of Pleasure.

So… was he really a Chaos God?

According to Warhammer 40K, outsiders were the ultimate demons. That logic… kind of held up in this crossover world too.

After obtaining the God profession panel, Shirakawa hadn't expected his godhood to merge with his identity as a transmigrator.

Through the mastery panel… he'd become an unnamed Chaos God of some alternate dimension?

"..."

"Shirakawa-kun? Are you okay?"

Noticing the change in his expression, Hestia turned toward him. Out of concern for the new godling, she asked kindly,

"Did something happen?"

"..."

"Kind of. There's just a lot to consider. Besides putting up a recruitment notice at the Guild, I'll need a base."

Naturally, he didn't mention his inner turmoil.

Shirakawa just briefly explained what was needed to establish a Familia. But a possibility came to mind—what if, as a Chaos God, his mere presence triggered dungeon anomalies?

Could he still be accepted by the dungeon?

It might be worth a try. Even if the dungeon created a new floor boss, he had enough power to handle it easily now.

"You don't need to rush these things."

Hestia smiled and reassured him. She herself had been like this at the beginning, but now… she'd learned to take it easy.

Luckily, with the dimensional chat group—

She also had to start working harder, like trying to recruit Sakurajima Mai as her own Familia member.

And tonight… where would she sleep?

The moment Hestia remembered that, her expression froze. She had promised Hephaestus she'd find a place to stay.

But…

She figured it'd be fine, considering how many times Shirakawa had helped her. Surely he wouldn't mind?

"Shirakawa-kun, where are you going next?"

"Don't go into the dungeon—gods entering causes anomalies. Although… with your strength, you probably could handle it."

"Understood."

He could take advice.

Shirakawa smiled back at Hestia. The world of Konosuba was still an option.

For now, making money was the priority.

He had to explore the dungeon—he had come this far, after all.

He headed toward the towering skyscraper Babel, while Hestia returned to Hephaestus' place to find a spot to stay.

As for future Familia recruitment?

He didn't plan to use the traditional method of the gods in Orario. Once someone was willing to give him their all, he could simply grant them the status of Chosen of Pleasure.

Using Konosuba's magic-tech devices to assess their abilities…

That would work just as well.

"Recruiting a Familia might be a bit tricky… maybe I should test out the Ring of Greed's authority. It might corrupt them nicely."

"..."

Heading toward the dungeon entrance, Shirakawa saw adventuring parties here and there, each with supporters trailing behind, lugging oversized packs.

Since he hadn't yet mastered any spatial-type skills, venturing into the dungeon still required a partner. Hiring a supporter meant splitting the profits, so there was no need to worry about money.

Shirakawa casually scanned the people around him.

Eventually, his eyes settled on a girl in a gray robe with a hood—her figure even smaller than Hestia's—carrying a backpack too large for her frame.

A Pallum.

Her appearance felt familiar. She wasn't with any adventurer team and seemed to be looking around for someone to hire her.

Then—

Liliruca Arde's gaze met Shirakawa's.

He had an unfamiliar face, likely a newcomer to Orario, and given his direction, it seemed he was heading to the dungeon?

Carrying her oversized bag, she approached. Looking up at the tall, clean-looking young man, she spoke with genuine sincerity.

"Hello, adventurer. Are you in need of a supporter?"

Still quoting the usual price, Lili added seriously, "The commission is just 3,000 valis per day."

...

The girl had short, slightly curled brown hair. Her height was about the same as Mary's—not to mention her cute looks. Shirakawa instantly recognized her.

She was the supporter from the Soma Familia—Liliruca Arde, who hadn't yet met the protagonist from the original Danmachi story.

She was still wandering around, looking for a team.

Shirakawa also knew her personality. Trapped in the swamp that was the Soma Familia, her reputation as a supporter wasn't great.

Skimming off commissions, inflating prices...

A twisted worldview formed through a survival-of-the-fittest society. Shirakawa didn't have any lofty ideals about rescuing loli heroines or anything.

If anything did pique his interest, it was the divine authority of the Circle of Avidity on his god panel.

So he didn't refuse.

"Of course."

The chance to escape the Soma Familia was right in front of her. When adventurers finally broke under the pressure, what followed was loyalty born of despair.

If every heroine needed elaborate effort to win over, Shirakawa would've been exhausted. He always believed—don't miss out on a good girl, and don't waste time on a bad one.

Even if Lili's nature was just a product of oppression.

Without hesitation, he activated his authority as the God of Pleasure—the Circle of Avidity. There were no casting effects, but it felt like a brand being etched into her.

It remained on Lili's body.

"Then shall we head out now?"

Lili hadn't expected Shirakawa to agree so easily. His gear was… honestly a bit plain.

Still, he might bring in some loot...

And if not, she could always use the excuse of "helping exchange the loot" to snatch all his magic stones as her commission.

The extra cut?

That was her real profit!

Having been squeezed dry by Soma Familia adventurers, even her part-time job at a flower shop had been interfered with. She harbored only resentment toward Orario's adventurers.

Even toward Shirakawa—who seemed nice on the surface—she assumed he was no different deep down.

Supporters were always exploited.

That daily torture had worn her down. She only wanted to live a normal life again.

For some reason, though, she had this sudden, strange feeling—that this under-equipped adventurer was some kind of treasure trove.

She felt that if she stuck with him…

She'd definitely make a fortune!

Saving enough to buy her way out of her Familia and quit being a supporter, Lili beamed brightly.

"My name's Lili. What should I call you?"

"Just call me Shirakawa."

"Okay!"

Eager to reach her goal, her enthusiasm was overflowing.

"Shirakawa-kun, is this your first time in the dungeon? I'll be your guide!"

"Yeah."

Shirakawa could clearly sense her change in demeanor. That had to be the effect of the Circle of Avidity. He didn't mind.

Everything was proceeding just as he planned.

Following Lili's lead, they moved toward the dungeon stairwell. Shirakawa was also quite curious about the monsters in this world.