Chương 90: A Toast in Orario

The Ubuyashiki estate. Less than three hours had passed from their arrival in Yoshiwara to their defeat of Upper Rank Six and return to the estate. They were now in the central courtyard of the Ubuyashiki estate, the place where Hashira meetings were held.

"Those two really are noisy. At least my ears are finally clear now." Only the siblings' two heads remained. Their eyes kept moving, glaring at Tengen as if they wanted to eat him alive.

"I think they are pitiful," Tanjiro said gently as he looked at the two demon heads on the ground. He could feel their sorrow, the pain of people who had lost everything.

"When they were human, someone must have hurt them deeply." Inosuke saw the two demon heads and his legs nearly went weak.

"Pitiful? What is pitiful about demons? That worm-like thing ate so many people. The whole cave was covered in white bones," Boar Boy shouted.

"They really were pitiful when they were human. After everything was taken from them, they became demons. At that moment, becoming demons probably felt like salvation." Cael looked at the twisting demon heads on the ground and sighed deeply. When they were human, they had fought with everything they had just to live. As long as they could survive, that had been enough. Yet even that last satisfaction was stripped away cruelly. No one had reached out to help. Even the world treated them coldly.

At their most desperate moment, they met a demon, received a new life, and began devouring people for pleasure as revenge against an unfair world.

"If I had met you while you were still human, I would absolutely have reached out to help you. But now you are demons, and the grief of countless innocent people clings to you. I cannot reach out to you like this."

"I can only hope you are treated gently in your next life."

"Did Captain learn something through the gate?" Tanjiro asked.

"Something like that. Those who have everything taken by people become Upper Ranks. Those who have everything taken by demons become Hashira. It is only a cycle of karma." Cael raised his head and looked at the moon.

"I believe the blade in my hand cuts karma, not people."

"Those who have everything taken by people become Upper Ranks. Those who have everything taken by demons become Hashira. A cycle of fate. Cutting karma, not people. That actually makes sense," Tengen said, thinking of something. Sometimes the captain was unreliable, but when serious, he was dependable.

"Well, enough of that. We cannot carry out the plan until tomorrow anyway, and it is almost the time we agreed on. We will wait for everyone." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Tonight was the welcoming banquet. Most restaurants in Orario opened at night, so they had to wait until evening to hold it. Soon, everyone arrived as agreed. The two demon heads were carefully carried away by members of the Demon Slayer Corps.

After that, Cael opened the World Gate and brought everyone back to Orario. When he stepped out of the World Gate, he touched his chin. I feel like I forgot something. But what was it? He could not remember right away. At the same time, outside Tengen's estate, a swordsmith wearing a hyottoko mask paced back and forth.

"Hey! Where are they? Did they not say they would take me to meet a god? Where are they? Where did they go? They did not forget me, did they?"

"Mm. I cannot remember for now. I will think about it later." Magic-stone lamps decorated Orario's shops, giving the streets a charm that could rival a modern city's nightlife. On East Main Street's Fifth District, even the air was filled with the fragrance of food and the dizzying scent of ale. Adventurers' laughter and boasting mixed together until it was hard to tell which tavern it came from. Cael and the others were in a tavern called The Hundred Wines.

The curtain over its door showed a Familia emblem of grapes in a wine jar. This was a shop run by Dionysus Familia. Orario had quite a few wine gods. The wine here could rival Soma Familia's divine wine, but it did not have the addictive, intoxicating effect. It was simply delicious, so the tavern was always full at night. Near the stairs to the second floor, Hestia Familia's members sat around a large round table reserved for large parties. Bang. Wooden cups collided, and some ale spilled over the rims.

"Cheers!"

"Gulp. Wow, this wine really is good. Tonight is the first banquet for everyone joining Hestia Familia. We drink until we drop." Cael drained a cup in one go and raised it high while looking at the smiling members of Hestia Familia.

"Also, cheers to our successful defeat of Goliath. Cheers to everyone successfully becoming Lv. 2 upper-class adventurers."

"I believe it will not be long before everyone's wishes come true."

"My wish might already have come true, Captain. Hahahaha!" Tengen laughed loudly.

"Then do not hold back. Tonight is on me. Anyone who does not drink enough is not celebrating properly." Cael thumped three barrels of wine onto the table.

"I do not drink much, but even if I do not get drunk, I will still raise a cup to the captain," Shinobu said with a smile as she sipped her ale.

"Gulp. Burp." After Sanemi drained his cup in one go, he slammed it heavily onto the table and roughly wiped his mouth.

"After returning from the Dungeon, I became at least twice as strong. This speed of growth is so fast even I can hardly believe it. If we go a few more times, maybe my Basic Abilities will rise to S soon."

"Maybe. But the higher the Level, the slower the growth. When you reach Lv. 4, you may hit a bottleneck. Half of Orario's adventurers are Lv. 1. Of the remaining half, more than half are Lv. 2, and most of them have no hope of ever leveling up. Only the rest are Lv. 3 and Lv. 4. As for Lv. 5 and above, there are only a limited number in all of Orario." After Cael finished speaking, Lili asked curiously.

"Lady Shinobu and the others have all reached Lv. 2. Why has Lord Cael not leveled up yet? Logically, Lord Cael should have leveled first." Even people who had entered the Dungeon for the first time had leveled up. Lord Cael was much stronger than Rengoku and the others, yet he had not.

"I have already met the great-feat requirement, but I feel my potential has not reached its limit yet. I have not hit a bottleneck, so I want to keep raising my Basic Abilities." He had already met the great-feat requirement before going to the Middle Floors. If he wanted to level up, he could ask Hestia to raise him to Lv. 2 right now. But his Lv. 1 potential had not reached its end, and he felt advancing now would be a loss.

"Captain's potential is truly incredible. That is our captain!" Rengoku said in a clear, energetic voice.

"To be favored by Lady Hestia, he was never going to be ordinary," Obanai said.

"Lord Cael grows so quickly. Lili thinks that after two or three more trips to the Middle Floors, leveling up will only be a matter of time," Lili said with a little pride. While Hestia Familia chatted and laughed, people in the same uniform at two nearby tables looked over.

"A bunch of mere Lv. 1s defeated Goliath in the Middle Floors? Next time they enter the Dungeon, they will level up to Lv. 2? At least make the lie believable."