Early morning, in the slums on the outskirts of Orario.
Inside a dilapidated church, a dozen plainly dressed men bustled around. Some were skilled masons, others adept carpenters, and even a well-known architect was among them. The former altar was now piled high with construction materials.
Standing near the basement entrance, Kai greeted the workers, "Take a break, everyone. Have some water."
"Mr. Kai, we're fine! Just leave it over there!" said the burly, square-faced foreman with a smile before returning to work.
"Alright then. Keep it up. I'll give you a bonus when the job's done."
"Woohoo!"
"You got it, Mr. Kai!"
"Leave it to us!"
Hearing the promise of more pay, the workers redoubled their efforts.
Money well spent, Kai thought with a smile. After watching for a while, he turned and left the church, heading toward the city.
It had been half a month since he transmigrated to this world.
Thanks to Lili's help, all the magic stones from their hunting had been collected efficiently. After exchanging them for valis, the first major expenditure Kai made was hiring workers to renovate the church.
He had initially planned to buy a house near Babel Tower, but Hestia refused to move—perhaps she'd become emotionally attached to the place.
And honestly, the slums had their advantages: it was quieter than the crowded Familia zones. So after several failed attempts to relocate, Kai gave up and focused on fixing up the church.
If he expanded the basement, refurbished the interior, added statues of Hestia, and lit some fancy lanterns…
It might actually turn out pretty great.
So, with a clear vision, Kai splurged. In just two weeks, he'd spent over 3.4 million faris—far more than buying a new home. And it wasn't over; the later renovations would cost even more. Only with his insane monster-farming speed could he afford such extravagance. Any other adventurer team would go bankrupt from this alone.
With that kind of investment, the workers poured their hearts into the job. Some even said, "After this gig, I won't need to work for ten years!" They gave it their all like artists chasing their life's masterpiece.
Seeing their dedication, Kai felt it was worth the money. His earlier discomfort over the heavy expenses eased.
Totally worth it.
Instead of heading straight to the dungeon from the slums, Kai made a detour to the Hostess of Fertility tavern.
Since the church was being renovated, Hestia, Bell, and the newly joined Lili had temporarily moved into the tavern. As the one footing the bill and the first member of the Familia, Kai didn't move in with them. He stayed with the workers to supervise the renovation.
After all, if you're spending that much, you want to make sure it's done right.
His black coat fluttered as he passed through the early streets. Soon, he arrived at the tavern and pushed open the door.
Inside, Bell and Lili (now with her hood off, revealing her brown hair) were laughing and enjoying breakfast together.
Thanks to Kai, both formerly impoverished members now ate to their heart's content at every meal.
"Okay, that's enough. Don't overeat—we're going into the dungeon later."
Kai sat across from them and pulled over a steaming plate of lamb noodles.
"Where's Lady Hestia?"
"She's still asleep," Lili replied. "Probably won't be up for a while."
"Kai-sama, will we be on the fifth floor again today?" Lili asked curiously.
She'd learned the term "grinding" from him—used to describe effortlessly slaying waves of monsters.
So far, only Kai truly fit that term.
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Kai asked as he noticed Lili hesitating. Smiling gently, he added, "If there's something on your mind, just say it."
"Yes."
Lili finally asked the question that had been bugging her. "With your strength, you could probably go solo down to floor 10… maybe even 12. Why are you still grinding those low-reward monsters?"
The weaker the monster, the less valuable its magic stone, and the less experience gained. Killing a dozen goblins might not equal the reward from defeating one Killer Ant. If Kai went deeper, his earnings would multiply.
What's more, his experience was already maxed out. He just needed combat experience against powerful enemies to level up. But he didn't seem to care, which frustrated Lili—and even Bell joined in urging him to go deeper.
"Lili, I get what you're thinking. But I have my reasons."
Kai wiped his mouth and explained, "The deeper you go, the faster and stronger the monsters become. There's a real risk of elite monsters showing up. Normally, they're manageable. But for me, the moment I enter a floor, the spawn rate spikes… It could get dangerous, even for me."
Hearing that, Lili was left speechless.
It was true. Every time Kai entered the dungeon, monster spawn rates soared. Within thirty minutes, an entire floor would respawn.
He was fast—but only in lower levels. If he went deeper and triggered a larger-scale monster surge… even imagining it made her shiver.
"Alright, time to go. Let's work hard today."
Ending the topic, Kai stood up and headed outside. As he passed a gray-haired waitress, he smiled.
"Morning as always, Syr."
"Yes, and you're as early as ever too, Mr. Kai."
Returning a sweet and healing smile, the beautiful waitress named Syr Flova stepped aside to make way for Kai.
"Oh my, seeing a beauty like you first thing in the morning, Syr, makes me feel like today will be a lucky day."
"Then that would be wonderful. If Mr. Kai really has a lucky day because of Syr, then next time Syr will make you breakfast personally, a special one just for you."
"A beautiful girl's special handmade bento? I'll be looking forward to that..."
Because Kai was generous with money, all the tavern staff had a good impression of him. Even slightly flirtatious jokes were accepted now and then without anyone getting offended.
Well, almost anyone. That didn't include those outside the tavern.
For example—Liliruca.
She watched as Kai and Syr bantered, her eyebrows immediately arching upward.
"Kai-sama is way too flirtatious!"
"Uh… Lili, I think Senpai's behavior is totally fine though…"
Standing beside her, Bell smiled awkwardly as he tried to defend Kai. As a fellow man, he totally understood Kai's approach and even deeply admired it—especially his ability to casually chat up beautiful girls like Syr.
To be able to talk to someone as beautiful as Miss Syr with a straight face...
Ahh, as expected of Senpai. He's amazing in every possible way!
Lili glanced at Bell's admiring expression and suddenly kicked him hard in the shin.
"YOWCH! That hurts… Lili, what was that for!?"
"Nothing. I just suddenly felt like kicking you. Much better now!"
Rolling her eyes, she stepped forward, grabbed the still-chatting Kai, and dragged him out of the tavern.
"Goodbye then, and I hope you have a lucky day, Mr. Kai," Syr said with a sweet smile as she turned back to clear the dishes, murmuring softly, "What an interesting customer…"
Lagging behind, Bell happened to overhear her muttered words as he passed by, and admiration filled his face again.
Just a few words and Syr's still thinking about him... Senpai really is something else!
He sighed inwardly and quickly ran after Kai out the door.
After he left, Syr had finished cleaning the table. Holding a gleaming gold valis between her pale fingers, her smile became even more radiant.
"It's been so long since I've met such an interesting customer…"