“I was only joking. Let me continue the introductions. The one who can sound a little fierce when she talks is Miss Dagger, and finally, the imposing Lord sitting over there. She’s probably been here the longest, right?”

So Kashalia’s codename was Dagger? Fenmu had thought it’d be something like Greatsword.

The young Lady Lord neither confirmed nor denied the claim about her seniority. She said:

“There were a few others here before, but they never showed up again. Some of them were as timid as mice. Take the one who came in, immediately got spooked, and left—never to return.”

Their discussion fell quiet again, and everyone’s gaze returned to Fenmu.

“Since they’re only codenames, you can call me Coffin, seniors. Senior Sister Samurai guessed right—I’m a man.” Fenmu scratched his head, his manner modest.

“What? A man?!” Miss Dagger—that is, Kashalia—stood up in shock. “How could the Lady Stranger, one of the True Gods, possibly bless a man?!”

Though a veil of gray mist obscured her face, the others could easily imagine the look of shock on Dagger’s face from her tone alone.

Fenmu frowned. A True God? How could it be a True God? What the hell did his master have to do with a True God? And how had this Kashalia managed to get in here?

Dagger’s challenge left everyone around them silent. The mood turned strange, and suspicion began to stir in each of their minds.

“It seems the Stranger among the True Gods—or the ‘Outsider,’ if you prefer—is quite the many-faced god.” Lady Lord’s comment was loaded with meaning. She looked at Fenmu with interest.

“What do you mean?” Dagger, too, sensed something odd in the atmosphere. Why weren’t they surprised at all that a True God had blessed a man? Weren’t they the lucky ones favored by the God of Farewells and Foreign Lands?

The Stranger, the True God of Farewells and Foreign Lands, was an anomaly. Of all the True Gods, she alone had no parish, and everything about her was shrouded in mystery. Many people sought a way to become her followers, but rumors about her were few and far between.

The cheerful Samurai clapped her hands and cut in:

“That’s going too far. Don’t forget the rules we agreed on: we don’t casually reveal our identities or private affairs here. If you want to learn more, you trade something of equal value.”

Like a seasoned hunter, Lady Lord struck swiftly. She was the first to ask, “Little Coffin, I’d really like to know what made a god take an interest in you—and why you chose to worship the same god we do. You’re the first male follower I’ve ever met here.”

“Of course, that information counts as a trade. You’re still new and there’s a lot you don’t know, so the next time you want some information, I’ll give it to you for free.”

She’d cut off Miss Dagger before she could ask her question, yet avoided any discussion of True Gods and false gods by using the word “god” instead. Senior Sister Lord was trying to steady the mood here—and she’d succeeded. Dagger no longer seemed intent on pressing Fenmu for answers.

Fenmu’s opinion of Lord rose a little. She was far too skilled at controlling a situation; she really might be some kind of ruler. Still, he was puzzled. Why did Kashalia seem like a completely different person?

“How would I know why a god took an interest in me? Maybe they thought I had some talent for smithing.” Fenmu spoke earnestly. “As for my goal, of course it’s to get stronger and find myself a wife!”

Of course, that was a lie. Fenmu had no interest in getting stronger. He just wanted enough strength to deal with giant ingredients—dragons, for example. Besides, he still couldn’t figure out why Anastasia had taken an interest in him. Maybe she just found him amusing?

But one thing was certain: this explanation was far more convincing than the truth.

Senior Sister Ninja seemed neither to agree nor disagree, but she still asked in confusion:

“Marry a wife? I don’t think you need to get stronger for that. If you’ve got a handsome face, or you’re good enough at smithing, plenty of women would marry you.”

“No, no, Senior Sister Ninja. Isn’t what you’re describing just being a kept man?” Fenmu corrected her.

“A kept man?” Ninja thought about the phrase and seemed to grasp its meaning. “Isn’t it perfectly normal for men to live off women? What else would they do?”

“But that’s not me! Being a kept man is so humiliating. I hate it more than anything. I’ve always refused to live off a woman.”

His words amused the women present. They weren’t mocking him maliciously; they simply found him entertaining. Almost all of them were standouts in their respective circles, members of a rare elite. Normally, no man would dare say something like that in front of them.

Never mind the harsh reality—even the radiance these women carried was enough to make any man with designs on them feel inferior. Not even men from privileged backgrounds would dare say something like that.

Senior Sister Lord stepped in front of him and studied him, trying to see the younger man’s true face through the gray mist. She teased him:

“I’ve heard friends tell me something similar. There are men with ideals like yours, but in the end, reality still gets the better of them, and they end up groveling at the feet of noblewomen. What about you?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve just set your sights on some pretty village girl. If that’s the case, then what you said would be easy enough to achieve,” Dagger said with a laugh.

Not everyone in this world could cultivate. In many ordinary families, the woman was just an ordinary person, and there wasn’t much difference in status between men and women.

“Of course not. She’s an incredibly powerful woman, and she’s beautiful too. You all agree she’s one of the strongest around.” Fenmu’s voice was firm.

One of the strongest, by common agreement? Beauty was subjective, of course, but there was far less room to argue about someone’s strength if everyone agreed on it. Names of powerful figures flashed through their minds, but none of them was someone a frail young man could actively pursue and win over.

The senior sisters had nothing more to say. Lord decided the gathering had gone on long enough, clapped her hands, and addressed everyone present:

“We didn’t trade any information this time, but we did get to see something interesting. I hope things work out for you, young one.”

“If all else fails…” Senior Sister Ninja patted Fenmu on the shoulder in consolation. “See that big idiot Samurai over there, junior? She was saying she wanted to be a kept woman earlier. If nothing else works out, you can settle for her.”

“Hey, why are you making me sound so frivolous? I can’t help it either~ The doctor says I was born with a bad stomach, so I can only be a kept woman.” The female Samurai felt no shame and turned the tables on someone else. “Besides, maybe one day the junior will win Lord over?”

Lord paid no attention to the teasing. She gave a small shake of her head, then retreated into the gray mist and left.

After the others said their goodbyes one by one, Fenmu also left that dreamlike world of gray mist.