Recovering from her surprise, the brown-haired Goddess opened her mouth: "It won't be easy to achieve your goal."
Levi's tone was indifferent: "Whether it can be done, and to what extent, is one thing. But being willing to do it is another."
"Besides..." He paused slightly. "I don't intend to bite off more than I can chew all at once. Everything must be done step by step."
The reason he didn't immediately begin the 'Materialization of the Soul' modification on himself after returning to Orario, and instead prioritized constructing a 'Territory', was precisely to ensure that the Hestia Familia would have a safe rear base during the upcoming process of clearing out prostitution, gambling, and drugs.
This is exactly what is meant by 'to resist foreign aggression, one must first settle internal affairs'.
As for which of the three directions—prostitution, gambling, and drugs—he intended to solve first...
Prostitution is a bone-scraping steel knife, and gambling leads to ruined families and death. But compared to the former two, drugs are soul-devouring potions sufficient to make one lose even their sense of self.
Furthermore, regarding prostitution and gambling, although Levi didn't say it aloud, he knew in his heart that he certainly couldn't clean them up completely.
In the case of prostitution, Amazons are involved. This race is naturally open regarding flesh and sexuality, and Levi did not intend to force his will upon the other party's culture.
He only wanted to manage the poor souls who were forcibly trafficked or forced into prostitution due to the legalization of the Pleasure Quarter.
Behind gambling, there are shadows of The Guild and quite a few medium to large-sized Familias.
Before obtaining power sufficient to move the entire Orario, Levi would not foolishly make enemies for himself and the Hestia Familia.
Only drugs are things that are also prohibited from dissemination and sale within Orario.
Starting from this aspect would not encounter too much obstruction.
At least on the surface, this is indeed the case.
"Starting with contraband, is it..." After hearing Levi's plan, Astrea's tone changed significantly compared to before. She pondered for a moment and said, "The Astrea Familia only has two or three kittens now, so we probably can't help you much. However, I still know some Gods who hold enough goodwill towards the Lower World. If you need, I can act as a go-between for you."
A great man once said that politics is about making many friends and few enemies.
Levi wasn't a fool; he wouldn't choose to go it alone when there were allies to be made.
Hearing this, he smiled indifferently: "Then I thank you, Lady Astrea."
...
[Goddesses' Loving Protection · 6-Star (-)]
[No. 5 · 'Goddess of the Stars' Astrea's Love of Curiosity I -> 'Goddess of the Stars' Astrea's Love of Approval II]
"I knew it." Looking at the subtle changes on the Falna, Hestia hummed lightly. "As the Goddess of Justice, how could Astrea not be attracted by acts of justice?"
Levi sat up. Hearing his lover's words, his expression didn't change in the slightest.
"It's just reached Level II. Counting them up, there are over a dozen goddesses in the catalog who have reached this stage of affection. Astrea is just one more."
"True." Hestia nodded. "However, if you proceed according to your plan, don't say I didn't warn you. Astrea will most likely—no, absolutely won't be able to resist."
"Just as Hephaestus and I descended to the Lower World to seek the 'Unknown', Astrea is also pursuing her own 'Justice'."
"Justice, huh..." Levi curled his lips.
There wasn't a single falsehood in the words he had previously answered the brown-haired Goddess with.
In his previous life, hailing from the Flower-Planting Nation, due to the experience of his parents dying unexpectedly when he was young and his family property being seized by relatives, he obviously trusted tangible 'power' more than so-called beliefs or friendship.
As for the act of eliminating prostitution, gambling, and drugs, it was merely because he had been influenced by what he saw and heard in his past life; his character had long been formed, and he couldn't stand the behavior of some Familias in Orario.
It was just that the original Levi wasn't strong enough, so he could only pretend not to know many things.
But now, he could use his own will to influence others.
After having lunch and resting for a while, Levi relied on the Teleport Rune Stones placed on various dungeon floors by his Spirit Clones. In less than two minutes, he arrived at the 37th Floor, where the Floor Boss 'Udaeus' would spawn.
Udaeus was last subjugated about two months ago, and the normal respawn time was around three months.
In other words, if other adventurers wanted to challenge this Lv.6 Floor Boss, they would still need to wait another month.
But for Levi, it wasn't that troublesome.
Divine blood containing Hestia's Divine Power was taken out of the Inventory, followed by the familiar hand seals to unseal it.
Accompanied by the overflowing dispersion of Divine Might, in just 20 seconds, within Levi's 'Byakugan' vision, a gigantic skeleton covered entirely in black bones crawled out from the depths of the earth, accompanied by a roar of "aaaee hhh!!!".
A normal Udaeus, although also a skeletal body, would only reveal its upper body. As for whether its lower body actually existed, it had always been a mystery in the hearts of high-level adventurers.
However, what Levi summoned at this moment was a special version reinforced by the Dungeon.
Not only were its four limbs intact, but if one observed carefully, a very thin, almost semi-transparent layer of skin could be seen on the surface of the bones.
Especially near the Magic Stone located at the heart, it was surrounded by layers of hard bone, transforming into heavy and hard armor.
The difficulty of trying to win the upcoming battle through opportunistic tricks could be imagined.
Moreover, it seemed to have detected Levi's intention for a duel.
The pitch-black Udaeus standing in the distance suddenly raised both arms. Immediately, a black greatsword at least ten meters long and a round shield capable of covering half its body were ejected from the ground.
"Aaeeehhhh!!!!"
After gripping the greatsword and shield respectively, the pitch-black skeleton howled again.
It seemed to be issuing an invitation, yet also seemed to be pronouncing the arrival of death.
Facing such a scene, if it were other adventurers, perhaps they would have long been waiting in full battle array, or turned and fled while screaming.
But Levi, at this moment, couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
"A pure warrior-type Floor Boss, huh~ I hope you aren't even worse than the Three-headed Dragon."
While speaking, he had already taken out the Primordial Jade Cutter and arrived in front of Udaeus with a flash.
With a turn of his wrist, several white sword energies infused with Ice Element spewed out.
Udaeus's size was large, but its reaction was not slow in the slightest.
The shield held in its left hand raised up, easily withstanding these few probing attacks.
The greatsword held in its right hand swept horizontally, wanting to cut the small person beneath it in two at the waist.
Of course, this was a futile effort.
When the greatsword was about to touch Levi, his figure suddenly blurred for an instant.
The next instant, the youth with short pale-gold hair appeared atop the blade of the pitch-black greatsword, and then dashed quickly towards Udaeus's upper body, or rather, its head.
_____
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