After finishing the preparations for the shop, Izumi set up a barrier inside the building.
At this point, all that remained was to wait until tomorrow for the official opening. When that time came, he planned to release Wiz—the designated shop mascot—and have her handle the sales.
As for himself, he would simply sit back, collect the money, and receive the materials.
Once everything was settled, Izumi left the shop behind and began strolling leisurely through the streets of Orario.
Just like in other cities, there were many students around. Amid the bustling crowd, Izumi even spotted several familiar faces—people he recognized from memory.
However, since he wasn't particularly close to any of them, he didn't bother greeting them.
Instead, he headed toward where Kanase Kanon and the others were.
At the moment, Kanon and her group were gathered around food stalls along North Street, sampling snacks unique to this world.
By the time Izumi arrived, several little girls already had their hands full, each holding a variety of snacks and continuously stuffing their mouths.
The moment she spotted him, Enju Aihara excitedly waved her hand.
"Onii-chan! I'm over here!"
She dashed over from afar and held out the snack she was eating.
"Hey, hey! This one's really good!"
"Do you wanna try it?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked up at him.
Izumi smiled gently.
"Thanks, but you go ahead and eat it."
"I'll take you out for a proper meal later."
"So don't eat too much, okay?"
Hearing that, Enju looked a little disappointed, but she still nodded obediently.
Soon after, Izumi joined their group, and everyone continued wandering through Orario together.
With several young girls gathered around him, the group naturally drew attention wherever they went.
That was especially true with Hestia, the notoriously poor goddess, tagging along.
As a result, many passersby cast curious glances at Izumi, Hestia, and the almost saintly-looking Kanon.
Izumi, however, was long used to this sort of attention and didn't pay it any mind.
When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Hestia led everyone to a restaurant known as the Hostess of Fertility.
This was one of Orario's most famous establishments.
Even now, the place was already lively and packed with customers.
As Izumi and the others arrived, the cat-eared girl standing at the entrance immediately called out cheerfully,
"Welcome, nya~!"
At that voice, Fuse Midori instantly looked up.
When she saw the catgirl, her eyes lit up.
She had heard that this city was home to cat-people, but this was the first time she had actually seen one in person.
Noticing Midori's gaze, Izumi smiled faintly.
He reached out and removed her shrine maiden hat.
In the next instant, a pair of fluffy cat ears was revealed for everyone to see.
The catgirl who had been about to guide them froze for a moment—then her eyes shone brightly.
"Nya?!"
"You're a cat-person too?!"
Saying that, the catgirl immediately squatted down, wrapped her arms around Midori, and started rubbing her cheek against her enthusiastically.
"Nya nya nya, this is the best, nya!"
"I haven't seen such a cute cat-person in ages, nya!"
"Uuu~!"
Faced with such overwhelming enthusiasm from the older catgirl, Midori panicked.
"Um… p-please let go of me…"
Hearing that, the catgirl let out a playful giggle.
"Sorry, sorry!"
"It's just been so long since I met someone from the same race that I got a little too excited."
"I'm Anya Fromel. What about you?"
The catgirl introduced herself with a bright smile, then looked at Midori expectantly.
She was, without a doubt, the famously airheaded catgirl working at this restaurant.
Hearing her question, Midori replied shyly,
"I-I'm Fuse Midori…"
"N-nice to meet you."
She bowed deeply as she spoke.
So deeply, in fact, that she nearly toppled over.
Watching this, Izumi chuckled.
"Midori-chan, that's not necessary."
"You don't have to be that shy."
Hearing him say that, Midori muttered a few complaints under her breath.
Whose fault did he think this was, anyway?
If Izumi hadn't taken her hat off, would this have happened?
Izumi didn't continue teasing her and simply placed the shrine maiden hat back on her head.
Then he turned to the somewhat scatterbrained catgirl in front of them.
"Do you have any seats available?"
Anya immediately sprang to her feet.
"Yes, yes, of course we do! This way, please!"
She turned and excitedly ran back into the restaurant.
As she did, she called out to another catgirl inside,
"Chloe, look! I found a little milk kitten!"
...
Hearing that, Midori didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She wasn't a milk kitten, you know?
Meanwhile, Izumi and the others burst into laughter.
Back in her original world, Midori had always been reluctant to let others see her cat ears.
But ever since she had been brought along by Izumi, that situation had completely changed.
Whether it was the DxD world or this one, having cat ears no longer required any concealment.
No one found it strange.
If anything, they found it adorable.
In the DxD world, Koneko and Kuroka had doted on her endlessly.
Now, in this new world, she was surrounded by even more people with cat ears.
Deep down, Midori felt genuinely happy.
This way, she didn't have to worry about being stared at with strange or hostile looks ever again.
As the group entered the restaurant, the interior buzzed with noise and laughter.
The catgirl called Chloe Lolo walked over as well.
The moment she saw Midori, her eyes lit up.
"What a cute child."
"What's your name?"
"Can you tell me?"
Midori stared at the cat-eared girl in front of her in surprise.
Still, she shyly introduced herself once again.
After hearing Midori's name and seeing her bashful reaction, Chloe looked even more delighted.
However, before she could do anything else, a clear voice rang out,
"Chloe, get back to work, or Mama's going to scold you again."
"Please follow me, everyone."
The one who spoke was a gray-haired girl.
When Izumi saw her, a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes as he looked her over.
Being stared at so intently, the girl lowered her gaze shyly.
She was Syr Flover.
If Izumi hadn't already known that she was, in truth, Freya herself, he might have been fooled by that innocent demeanor.
Back before his reincarnation, DanMachi Volume 16 had already confirmed it—
Syr and Freya were one and the same.
That so-called "daughter" was nothing more than an act.
Izumi had no particular interest in either Syr or Freya.
At the moment, Freya was likely sharing Syr's five senses.
Which meant that the one watching him right now was Freya herself.
Deep within Syr's eyes, Izumi could clearly see an intense possessiveness.
The same gaze he had felt earlier near Babel Tower resurfaced once more.
In response, Izumi quietly intensified the brilliance of his soul.
You want to look?
Fine—then look your fill.
Just don't blame me if it blinds you.
As his soul flared brighter, Syr's pupils contracted sharply, and she instinctively shut her eyes.
"Ah…!"
She covered her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.
This sudden reaction startled Chloe.
"Huh? Syr, what's wrong?!"
Hearing that, Syr hurriedly waved her hand.
"It's nothing."
"I just got some dust in my eyes."
"You take care of the guests. I'll go wash up in the back."
With that, she turned around and quickly disappeared toward the kitchen.
Leaving behind a thoroughly confused Chloe.