"Good morning, residents and guests of the magnificent Orario!" A deep voice, amplified by an improvised megaphone made of stiff paper, cut through the noise of the crowd.
Raine stood in the middle of the street like a seasoned herald, drawing the gazes of passersby.
"Allow me to make a request of you! Just recently, the great Goddess Hestia descended to us. And coincidentally—one of the most beautiful and kindest Goddesses in the world!" Raine paused theatrically, gesturing toward the counter. "Do not miss your chance! Taste the cooking of she who, by her very essence, personifies the hearth and home! A divine taste for the price of a street snack!"
People began to turn around. The aroma of hot oil and fried potatoes, which Raine was specifically fanning with a piece of cardboard, hit their noses, instantly awakening the appetite of those rushing about their business without breakfast.
Hestia, standing behind the counter, was red as a ripe tomato. She forced out a crooked, embarrassed smile, nodding to anyone who looked her way, and desperately trying not to sink through the ground from such a pretentious performance.
Half an hour ago.
"But they'll get cold!" Hestia protested, laying out another batch of *jagamarukuns* on a wooden tray. "Croquettes taste best piping hot! If no one buys them, they'll just go to waste, and we'll be in the red!"
Raine calmly sliced, then arranged a stack of cheap wooden cups he had bought at a nearby utensil shop on the edge of the counter.
"That's the point, Goddess," he smirked, checking the stability of the structure. "One of the main pluses of deep-fried food is its appearance. The golden crust and, most importantly, the smell. Hunger is an instinct. When a person sees a mountain of ready food and smells the aroma, their brain already starts eating it."
He moved the tray so it was visible from the road.
"Besides, people hate waiting. Between standing for five minutes waiting for fresh ones and getting warm ones right now, most will choose the latter. Speed is also part of the service. It's easier for a person to part with money when they see the goods face to face."
Hestia frowned skeptically, flipping the sizzling balls.
"And the cups?"
"Water is practically free, but in a moment of need, its value increases manifold. Here comes the deposit system: return the cup—get back the valis spent on it. This will force them to return to the stall, and there, maybe they'll buy another one."
Raine straightened up and adjusted his collar.
"In this business, the main thing is to attract attention and create a flow. And I'll take care of that."
The plan worked.
First, a couple of rookie adventurers approached, attracted by the loud words about a "Goddess." Workers and merchants followed. Raine worked quickly: taking money, handing out a croquette in paper and a cup of water, while Hestia, run off her feet, replenished the stock in the display.
Some ate on the go, hurrying to the city gates. Others, having bought food, stepped aside to the wall of the nearest building to snack and discuss plans for the day, washing down the greasy food with cool water. The container return scheme worked perfectly: people came back to return the cup, received a small coin back, and Hestia, beaming, thanked them.
By noon, the flow began to dry up. Raine, leaning against the side of the cart, drank water from the last clean cup with relish.
Hestia, finishing counting a pile of coins, looked up at him. Her left eye twitched nervously.
"So simple..." she whispered reverently. "There's revenue here... revenue for several days!"
Raine only chuckled mentally. *"Not much."*
"It's not enough to just sell food once," he said, looking at the street. "You need to make them want to come back tomorrow. However, let's be honest: *jagamarukuns* are sold on every corner. Taste-wise, we aren't much better than the competitors."
"Hey!" Hestia objected.
"Alas," Raine cut her off. "We have only one undeniable advantage over the rest. Something no one else has."
Hestia swallowed loudly. A spark of theatrical drama lit up in her eyes.
"And that is?.."
Raine lowered his gaze to her, half-closed his eyes, and said softly, with a slight cunning in his voice:
"You. Our cutest mascot."
Hestia froze. Color flooded her face from her neck to the very tips of her ears. She turned away sharply, jerking her pigtails, and buried herself in calculations, unable to utter a word.
Raine just smiled contently, closing his eyes slightly.
---
The sun was at its zenith when Raine approached the square in front of Babel.
In his hands, he carried a hefty paper bag with leftover unsold croquettes—Hestia had literally shoved it onto him, declaring it her gratitude and that "Bell's growing body needs to eat more," although inside it was mostly potatoes.
At the foot of the giant tower, in the shadow of one of the massive columns, he noticed a familiar white head. Bell was sitting on the stone parapet, swinging his legs relaxedly, and next to him, a tiny figure in a spacious, face-concealing robe had settled. They were chatting animatedly about something, chewing on something from a small basket standing between them. Bell smiled so openly, as if talking to a friend, not a chance acquaintance.
Raine approached silently, observing this idyll.
"Bell."
The boy flinched, nearly dropping his food, and spun around. The figure in the hood reacted differently. She didn't jump up like a frightened beast, but immediately gathered herself, as if becoming smaller. The girl (judging by the build, it was indeed a girl) somewhat hastily got to her feet, brushing invisible dust from her knees.
"Forgive me, I should probably go," a thin voice squeaked from under the hood.
She gave Bell a quick but polite bow, showing with her entire demeanor that she knew her place and dared not detain an adventurer.
"Thank you for the treat, Bell-sama. I'll be going."
She had already turned, intending to dissolve into the crowd as unnoticed as she had appeared, when Raine's voice stopped her.
"Wait."
It wasn't an order, but Raine's calm tone held such confidence that the small figure froze mid-step. She slowly turned to him. From the dark void of the hood, an attentive, appraising gaze flashed at Raine for a moment—too tenacious for a simple vagrant—but immediately changed to frightened and submissive.
Raine held out the bag of still-warm croquettes to her.
"Help yourself."
The girl hesitated, shifting her gaze from the bag to Raine's face and back.
"Is this... for me?"
"It won't go to waste," Raine nodded. "Take it while they're hot. The two of us can't eat this much, and throwing food away is wasteful."
Small hands, peeking out of wide sleeves, carefully, as if afraid of getting burned not by the food but by the situation itself, accepted the bag.
"Th-thank you..." she muttered, clutching the burden to her chest.
The stranger bowed again—first to Bell, then to Raine. This time her bow was slightly less deep, but a strange mixture of gratitude and wariness was felt in it. Not delaying another second, she turned and quickly, almost running, headed toward a group of other porters crowding near the entrance to the Dungeon, as if wishing to disappear from sight as soon as possible.
Raine followed her with his gaze until the small robe was lost among leather armor and heavy backpacks.
*"Supporters,"* he noted thoughtfully to himself. *"People afraid to fight monsters or simply incapable of it due to lack of talent. Living backpacks, playing the role of pack mules gathering loot while heroes gather glory."*
In their existence lay the cruel logic of Orario: if you are weak, you either serve the strong or you die.
He shifted his gaze to Bell, who was also watching the retreating small figure. In the guy's eyes, one could read a kind of naive warmth and, perhaps, even admiration.
"I'm not judging you, Bell," Raine said with an absolutely impenetrable face, crossing his arms over his chest. "Tastes differ, and morals are loose in this city. But she's a bit too young and small for you, don't you think?"
Bell blinked. The meaning of the words didn't reach him immediately—he was still thinking about his new acquaintance. And when it did, realization hit him like lightning. His face flared brighter than Hestia's just moments ago, becoming almost crimson.
"Eh.... Uh-eh...?!"