Chapter 207 — The Goddess Who Was Ensnared by Light
Izumi knew the instant he was being watched.
That scorching, obsessive gaze—
there was no mistaking it.
Freya.
At the thought, Izumi's will shifted.
The Third Magic activated.
In that moment, the radiance of his soul flared forth—
a brilliance surpassing even sunlight itself.
High above, within Babel Tower, Freya's pupils contracted violently as Izumi's soul-light flooded her vision. Instinctively, she shut her eyes.
"Ah—!!"
Blood streamed from the corners of her eyes, as if her sight itself had been gouged out.
And yet—
There was no fear on Freya's face.
Only ecstasy.
"So dazzling… how wonderful…!"
"This is it—this is the light I have longed for…!"
"Ahhh—!! I must have him, I must have him… no matter what!"
"No matter the cost—I will claim him!"
"Ottar!!"
Her voice rang out, trembling with manic delight as her body collapsed limply to the floor. The ground beneath her was soaked—whether with sweat or something else, no one could tell.
At her call, the doors opened.
A massive man strode in, power incarnate—
a towering warrior with beastlike ears atop his head.
Ottar froze when he saw her.
Blood flowed from Freya's eyes.
"Lady Freya!!"
He rushed to her side at once.
"What happened to you?!"
Freya waved him off impatiently, then pointed toward the lower levels of Babel Tower, her voice quivering with excitement.
"Find him. Immediately."
"That boy."
"Investigate everything about him—I want him."
"No matter what it takes, I will have him."
"Go. Now!"
She looked utterly unhinged, like a goddess driven mad by desire.
Ottar frowned, following her gaze downward—but the figure Freya spoke of was already gone.
Still, this was no time for questions.
He immediately summoned healers to tend to her wounds.
As for Freya—
Her mind had already fallen into madness.
Completely, irrevocably ensnared by the light of Izumi's soul.
At that moment, there was only one thing in her heart.
I will have him.
And Izumi was well aware of it.
From the moment he set foot in this world, he had already anticipated this outcome.
Being noticed by Freya was inevitable.
With the Third Magic, his soul had long since reached a state of absolute perfection.
For a goddess who adored souls above all else—
he was irresistible.
Still, Izumi paid the incident no further mind.
Their destination had arrived.
The Guild—
the place where magic stones were exchanged and adventurers registered.
Upon arriving, Hestia looked up at Izumi with sparkling anticipation.
"Hey, hey, Izumi-kun! We're at the Guild!"
"Are you going to do something here?"
Izumi nodded calmly.
"Yeah. Wait here for a bit—I'll be done soon."
"Kanon, stay with her."
With that, Izumi headed straight for the counter.
Hestia took Kanon to a nearby seating area, where the two began chatting animatedly. She eagerly asked about matters from other worlds, and Kanon answered each question honestly.
A goddess and a godslayer sitting peacefully together, chatting like old friends—
It was an oddly fascinating sight.
At the counter, Izumi began unloading gold and gemstones he had brought from another world.
The moment Eina Tulle saw them, she froze.
"U-Um… sir, are you certain you wish to exchange all of this for Valis?"
Valis—the currency of Orario.
The sheer quantity of gold and jewels before her was absurd.
Converted, it would amount to several billion Valis at the very least.
Izumi nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. All of it."
"And if there are any entire buildings available near the Dungeon entrance, I don't mind trading for those instead."
His true objective was a shop.
Even if everything were converted into Valis, he would simply spend it on property anyway.
Eina nodded quickly.
"Please, come this way."
"I'll fetch the property records immediately."
Honestly, this was the better option.
If the Guild tried to pay out billions of Valis in cash at once, today's adventurers might as well forget about exchanging magic stones—the Guild didn't have that much liquid currency on hand.
After leading Izumi to a private lounge, Eina hurried off.
Judging by his attire alone, Izumi was clearly someone from another world.
Adventurers like that weren't rare—but those who arrived with enough wealth to open a shop?
That was a first.
She had seen people exchange gold before, but never in such staggering quantities—
and never someone who outright requested real estate.
Though puzzled, she asked no questions.
When she returned with the documents, she asked politely,
"May I ask what kind of building you're looking for, sir?"
"And what sort of shop do you plan to open?"
Izumi answered plainly.
"I'd like a three-story building—one suitable for both residence and business."
"I'll be selling a variety of goods."
"Magic items, high-grade weapons…"
"I'll also buy alchemy materials from this world."
"So it should be fairly spacious."
"As for the price—doesn't matter."
"I just like big places."
"If this isn't enough, I've got more."
The blatant nouveau-riche attitude made Eina's lips twitch.
"P-Please, that won't be necessary!"
"This is already more than enough."
Does this man have any concept of money at all…?
With this much Valis, he could practically buy an entire floor of Babel Tower.
She quickly selected the finest property available and showed it to him.
"How about this one?"
"It's right next to the Guild, near the Dungeon entrance."
"It's also the largest among all available buildings."
"It's remained unsold simply because it's too expensive."
Izumi glanced at the building.
It perfectly met his requirements.
Without hesitation, he nodded.
"Alright. I'll take it."
"Deduct the cost directly."
"Give me the keys and contract—I'll head over now."
Eina stared at him in disbelief.
He agreed as casually as if buying vegetables, without even inspecting the interior.
She had seen wealthy clients before—
But never anyone like this.
Still, she said nothing and swiftly prepared the contract and keys.
When everything was done, she handed Izumi two heavy sacks of gold coins.
"This is the remaining balance."
"And here are the keys and ownership documents."
"If you need anything, please feel free to come see me."
Izumi nodded.
With everything secured, he took his leave and headed back toward Hestia—
Ready to discuss the matter of cooperation.