Chapter 145
Chapter 145. Orpheus (2)
“My apologies. It seems my introduction was lacking. I am Orpheus of the Argonaut Expedition Team. People call me ‘Orpheus the Musician.’ A pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m called Anagin, and people call me Anagin. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”
With a smile, Orpheus introduced his affiliation and epithet and extended his hand, and Anagin returned the gesture as he introduced himself.
‘Not a Gigant.’
The moment their hands met, Anagin knew instinctively.
Orpheus was neither a Gigant nor a blessed one who had gained a powerful body through a blessing. At the very least, he wasn’t of the physical type.
Anagin took another careful look at the man named Orpheus.
Shining silver hair.
A face that looked to be in the late teens to early twenties.
Soft and delicate features, with eyes as deep and calm as a lake.
Perhaps because of that, even though he was smiling, he seemed somehow sorrowful.
An extraordinary appearance. Yet his clothing was that of an ordinary traveler, and though his body was well-maintained, he looked far from a warrior.
‘And he’s from the Argonaut Expedition Team?’
Anagin recalled the Original Argonaut Expedition Team he had met in the past. The Great Warrior Atalanta and Meleager The Immortal.
No matter how he looked at it, the feeling was completely different from them.
Still, it wasn’t that Anagin doubted Orpheus’ words.
Just from the shocked reactions of the people around them at how casually Anagin was treating him, it was clear he truly was part of the Argonaut Expedition Team.
“.......”
The onlookers were speechless with shock, and the New Argonaut Trio showed a reaction that said, 'As expected'.
It was similar to the reactions when Anagin fought Meleager.
That fool doesn’t know his place! This shouldn’t be happening!
Reactions like that.
It wasn’t a situation he particularly liked, but Anagin decided not to care.
He had already experienced it several times and grown used to it, and more importantly, Orpheus himself showed no such reaction at all.
With a sincere smile, he addressed Anagin.
“As it happens, I heard about you from these friends. I had wanted to meet you, and to do so like this, it feels like the will of the gods.”
Judging by his reverent tone, he seemed to be a man of deep faith.
Even among practitioners blessed by the gods, there weren’t many who spoke like that, so it felt somewhat unique.
Still, that was that, and this was this.
Anagin voiced his curiosity about why Orpheus wanted to meet him.
“Me? Why?”
“Hey. Watch your tone.”
While Anagin and Orpheus were talking, Tramachus gritted his teeth and gave a low-voiced warning.
Not just Tramachus, but Lynceus and Thyreos as well signaled with their eyes for him to fix his tone.
But that wasn’t happening. Anagin was just about to go off the rails—
“—It’s alright. I don't mind, so there's no need for that. I am the one who wants to have a conversation.”
Just before Anagin could fully become a rebellious three-year-old, Orpheus soothed them with a gentle voice.
It was a truly peculiar voice. Not in a funny way, but one that calmed the mind just by hearing it, like magic.
The New Argonaut Expedition Team settled down immediately, and Anagin missed his chance to be a rebellious three-year-old.
He had been just about to properly show them a bitter lesson, since they had been treating him a bit too casually lately, so it was quite a shame.
“It seems you came to eat. Would you care to join me? I only happened to meet these friends as well.”
“Ah, right… Where did Sanchonius go?”
Belatedly remembering Sanchonius, Anagin asked Tramachus. Sanchonius was supposed to be traveling with them.
“We sent him ahead when we met Lord Orpheus.”
Tramachus answered as if it couldn’t be helped.
It wouldn’t be proper to have an attendant sit together at the same table as Lord Orpheus the Musician.
However, Anagin criticized him immediately. Not as a joke, but in all seriousness.
“Hey, even so, how can you send him away without even letting him eat at the restaurant?”
To Anagin, food was a serious matter, so he felt deeply disappointed.
Of course, from Tramachus’ perspective, that made no sense.
It wasn’t that they didn’t feed him—it couldn’t be helped.
“On the contrary, he would have been uncomfortable if he had stayed!”
So whose words were right?
Surprisingly, the answer came soon enough.
“I will take my leave now.”
The bear-like man conveyed to Anagin that he wanted to excuse himself.
“Why?”
“Being among such high-ranking people… it’s too burdensome for me.......”
Furrowing his brow awkwardly, the bear-like man admitted that Tramachus was right.
When you’re with people far above your station, it’s only natural for those below to feel uncomfortable.
Like being too close to the sun, it becomes unbearable.
Anagin was wrong, and Tramachus was right.
Sometimes, sending someone away is a form of consideration.
But Anagin was a man with an unyielding will who never admitted his own faults, so he had no intention of just letting him go.
“Hey, is the owner here?”
“Y-Yes! Yes!”
The owner, who had been tense from the sudden arrival of such important guests, hurriedly answered.
“Do you do takeout?”
“Takeout, you say…? Y-Yes! We do. We can!”
Anagin took out a heavy coin pouch from his chest and handed it to the owner.
Even though he had been spending money like water since morning, the pouch was still heavy.
Thanks to seizing the wealth of the looters who had come after the Coins of Greed. At this rate, it felt like he could always make quick money this way whenever he ran out.
“Order some food to share with the people of the traveling troupe.”
“Pardon?”
The bear-like man looked both moved to tears and shocked at the same time.
He was surprised that Anagin could be this considerate.
“If I send you off like this, then I end up being wrong. I am never wrong.”
Of course, that feeling didn’t last long.
He wasn’t buying food for the traveling troupe out of kindness—he was doing it to prove he wasn’t wrong.
The logic made no sense, but since it was Anagin, there was no point worrying about it.
Anyway, the bear-like man expressed his gratitude.
Regardless of the reason, consideration was still consideration.
Following Anagin’s instructions, he packed the food and left.
“You are kind.”
Orpheus remarked, looking at Anagin.
Anagin accepted it readily.
“I am indeed quite kind.”
“Will you join us at the table?”
“Sure, since I won't have to wait in line.”
Anagin agreed willingly and moved to sit down.
However, since the original table was too narrow for five people to sit at, they soon moved to another spot.
A slightly larger table inside.
Fortunately, the original occupants willingly switched seats, so there was no problem.
Just like the practitioner who had yielded a room to Tramachus at the inn, it was given up naturally.
The people sat together around the slightly larger table.
As they sat down, Anagin and Orpheus ended up facing each other. Not that it mattered.
First, they ordered food.
“I’ll handle the order.”
Tramachus, who had experience dining at this restaurant, took it upon himself to order.
Since there was no reason to ignore someone with experience, Anagin left it to him, and Tramachus skillfully rattled off the order.
As expected of a place with good business, the food came out not long after ordering.
Freshly baked bread with butter and cheese, and stew as the basics.
Beef roasted together with wild leeks and bay leaves.
A pie stuffed with carrots, mushrooms, and venison.
Braised lamb ribs simmered thoroughly with honey, wine, and various herbs.
Roasted waterfowl seasoned with assorted spices.
Grilled eel coated in a special sauce, and more.
All kinds of delicious-looking dishes kept coming out, piling up like a mountain.
However, no one looked at that amount of food as strange.
As mentioned before, this was near the Temple of Delphi, where numerous practitioners gathered.
People with appetites like this were a common sight.
If anything, those who ate like ordinary people were rarer.
For example, like Orpheus sitting across from Anagin.
True to his refined appearance, he ate neatly and in moderate portions.
That was normally what one would call standard, but surrounded by so many Gigants, it stood out instead.
“Is it strange? That I’m part of the Argonaut Expedition Team?”
After suggesting they sit together, they had been eating in silence.
When Anagin glanced at him, Orpheus immediately asked, as if he had read his mind.
Was it strange that someone like him, who didn’t seem to possess much combat power, was part of the Argonaut Expedition Team?
There was no inferiority complex or sarcasm in the question. If anything, there was confidence.
“Hmm.......”
Anagin partially admitted it.
“It’s always strange when someone eats that little. Does that even fill you up?”
“It’s enough for me. If I eat too much, I feel bloated.”
Bloated—something Anagin neither understood nor wanted to understand. Eating was always a great joy to him.
“As for you being part of the Argonaut Expedition Team, that’s not really strange.”
“Is that so?”
Orpheus reacted as if that was what surprised him.
It seemed he had often been doubted about his affiliation.
But Anagin’s response remained the same.
“Yeah, looking at how these guys react, it seems you really are part of the Argonaut Expedition Team.”
Anagin pointed at the New Argonaut Expedition Trio, who flinched at every word he said to Orpheus.
Unable to watch any longer, Tramachus spoke up again.
“Anagin. Show proper respect when speaking to Lord Orpheus.”
“Why?”
Anagin asked back, baffled.
He was already on casual terms with Meleager, Tramachus’ cousin, and Orpheus himself was speaking casually to him.
Soon, the reason became clear.
“Lord Orpheus is older than my cousin and holds great renown as a practitioner.”
Even within the same Argonaut Expedition Team, there seemed to be ranks among them.
It wasn’t particularly surprising. Differences in level were only natural.
What surprised him more was that Orpheus was older than Meleager. Judging by the way he spoke, it didn’t seem like just a year or two difference.......
‘He doesn't look like that at all?’
Anagin thought as he looked at Orpheus.
A face without a single wrinkle. No matter how he looked at it, he appeared to be in his late teens to early twenties—around Anagin’s age.
“…A blessing?”
“That’s right.”
Orpheus admitted it.
“Out of my eight blessings, one is ‘Youth,’ and another is ‘Longevity.’”
At Orpheus’ straightforward admission of his blessings, the New Argonaut Expedition Trio looked shocked.
That was because blessings are usually kept hidden.
It was the same logic as not showing one's hand during a card game.
In other words, it meant he had absolute confidence in the hand he held.
Well, for an 8-star practitioner with eight blessings, that confidence was understandable.
“Eight blessings? Then you’re an 8-star practitioner?”
“That’s correct.”
Orpheus admitted it without hesitation.
At this point, even Anagin couldn’t help but be surprised.
After all, even Meleager the Immortal and the Great Warrior Atalanta were only 7-star.
At that level, he knew it wasn’t just a simple difference of one number.
‘Come to think of it, I think someone mentioned that Erysichthon the Devourer was as good as an 8-star if you counted his stars...’
Anagin let his thoughts trail off. It didn’t quite feel like he was truly an 8-star.
Of course, he couldn’t be certain.
It was merely his personal impression.
Still, Anagin trusted his instincts.
“8-star means you’re pretty high up, right?”
The New Argonaut Expedition Trio looked at him as if to say, ‘What kind of obvious question is that?’
In other words, they thought it was ridiculous.
They had already explained this to Anagin several times on the way to the Temple of Delphi, which made their expressions even more pronounced.
Taking this chance, Anagin reviewed what they had told him.
‘Right, obtaining a blessing itself is difficult, but once you’re blessed, reaching 3-star is generally achievable.’
Being blessed meant being acknowledged by a god, and once acknowledged, the gods tended to be more generous.
However, from 4-star onward, the standards for receiving blessings grew stricter again, and from 6-star onward, it becomes so difficult to receive a blessing that it’s called a 'Wall of Demons.'
In other words, reaching 7-star was extremely rare.
From what he gathered, one would have to achieve feats renowned across all of Hellas.
On top of that, from 7-star onward, there was talk that one had to accumulate as much merit again as they had already built up.
Meaning, depending on how you looked at it, 8-star Orpheus could be considered at least twice as strong as 7-star Meleager.
As Tramachus passionately explained this, Orpheus waved his hand and denied it.
“It’s not something that can be viewed so simply. Practitioners are far more nuanced than that—it’s difficult to explain with mere numbers or strength.”
For Tramachus, who had just explained it so earnestly, it was an embarrassing remark, but he couldn’t dare object.
With Orpheus, who had achieved greater merit, speaking that way, what could Tramachus possibly say?
“Even your cousin Meleager, though he has fewer stars than I, wouldn’t necessarily be weaker than me. His blessing of immortality is truly remarkable, enough to bring down even a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult.”
“Ah, thank you.”
When Orpheus praised his cousin, Tramachus expressed his sincere gratitude.
Anagin was quietly shocked. Wasn’t ‘immortal’ just a metaphor?
But that wasn’t the end of his questions.
From the way Orpheus spoke, it felt as if 9-star was the limit, yet if Anagin remembered correctly, there were a total of 12 stars.
Even after reaching 9-star, there were still three stages left.
He had heard something similar before, but he still couldn’t understand why.
Even though it had little to do with him, since he had no intention of receiving blessings, he still wanted to know the reason.
Just as Anagin was about to ask, Orpheus spoke a beat faster.
“If we convert your achievements, you’d be about a 7-star yourself. After all, like Meleager, you defeated a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult. And that too in less than half a year since becoming a practitioner.”
Anagin didn’t feign modesty.
He didn’t say it was just luck.
Nor did he say it was thanks to everyone’s help.
He didn’t mention that Hippomenes wasn’t truly at the bishop level, but rather someone who had failed to become one.
There was no need to go out of his way to explain, and it wasn’t the core of this conversation.
Instead of wasting breath on unnecessary words, Anagin got straight to the point.
“Is that why you wanted to meet me?”
A practitioner who had made a name for himself in less than half a year.
If that was the reason, it would be a bit disappointing.
That would put him on the same level as the practitioners who had pestered him at the inn.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—it wasn’t what Anagin expected.
“That’s not the only reason. There’s another.”
“What is it?”
“Are you truly a practitioner who aims to become a god?”
“Yeah.”
As always, Anagin answered immediately. Without the slightest hesitation.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I share the same goal as you. I became a practitioner because I want to become a god.”