My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected

by With Death Comes More Death

Hikigaya Hachiman's second year of high school has come to an end, but instead of finding himself in a new classroom, he's found himself in an entirely new world! Watch as this genre-savvy teen finds outs that there's much more dungeon crawling than just killing monsters. There's strangely also weird romantic comedy elements? (Now being cross-posted on Ao3 and SpaceBattles)

5. Half Chapter 2: The God has Favorites

- (actual line break) = POV shift (and if no character is specified, please assume we're going back to Hachiman).

... (centered ellipses) = scene change within perspective.

---

My Daily Life as a Dungeon Crawler is More Grindy than I Expected, Chapter 2.6 | Of Course, The Goddess has Favorites. [Edit]

…

"Wait, Tulle asked you to do what tomorrow?" I narrowed my eyes as I asked Cranel that question.

In response, the boy tilted his head at me.

Having come back to the church after getting tired of my fallback plan, I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to avoid and sat inside an empty basement, waiting for Cranel and Hestia-sama to come back from their respective responsibilities. Luckily, boredom got to me after a while and I was eventually able to fall asleep, mercifully making that time go by much faster.

Unfortunately, however, that mercy only lasted right up to when my albino familia came crashing through the door with more vigor than he usually had, yelling something about Tulle and Floor Seven. Admittedly, I didn't actually understand most of it at the time, due to the fact that I had just gotten up from a nap.

"Oh, my bad, did you not hear me?" He smiled and started scratching at the back of his head. "I was talking to her about maybe letting us head down to Floor Seven and—"

"—No, no, I heard all of that perfectly fine." Sensing that my familia member was about to start rambling, I cut him off before a snowball could turn into an avalanche. "Just repeat that last part again."

"Oh, ah, she told me that she wanted to meet with me tomorrow."

I nodded, seeing that I heard that part without issue. "Alright, why?"

The question made Cranel glance up towards the ceiling. Oi, didn't you just come back from the Guild? How are you already having trouble remembering this? "Um… She said something about wanting to take me shopping for better armor?"

The ease in which he said that made me want to stagger over.

So, you're finally making a move, Tulle? Isn't it a bit early to be showing your hand like that? Then again, considering that the guy you're pursuing completely glossed over your intent for asking him out in the first place, maybe it was a smart idea to get out ahead of everyone else in the arms race.

I opened my mouth to call my familia out on that, but before I could, he asked, "Why do I feel like you're about to tell me that I just said something really dumb?"

Breathing in and out deeply, I smiled at my familia. Well, at least, you're finally starting to learn.

…

"A d-d-date?! You think Eina-san asked me out on a date?!"

"Cranel, think about it for a second." Massaging the bridge of my nose, I let out a sigh that I hoped properly conveyed my current level of exhaustion. Once again, I'm astounded by the lengths of your denseness. "Tulle is my advisor too. Why do you think she only asked you to go out shopping with her?"

"M-Maybe it's just because you weren't there today!" Panicked, the boy grasped onto the first explanation that he could think of, which, coincidentally, was also the dumbest ones that could've come out of his mouth. "I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if you came with me tomorrow!"

…I'm sorry, Tulle. All this time, I've mentally lambasted you when, in reality, I should've pitied you instead.

"Cranel, trust me, the last thing she's going to do if I do that is 'not mind'." Me still being me, the words felt strange and foriegn coming out of my mouth. How did I ever end up in a position where I needed to be the one explaining social convention? "Look, date or not, just go ahead and meet up with her tomorrow. I still need to get all of my gear replaced anyways, so it actually works out."

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's not a date—" Before my familia could finish saying something incredibly dense again, he was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of wood smacking against wood.

Already knowing who it was, my body stiffened up in fear. The sound her footfalls made were light and airy, as to reflect her small size, but they may as well have been as loud as thunder as they traveled towards me and Cranel. I could practically already see the dark mist leaking past the foot of the stairs.

"Bell-kun…" I swallowed hard. Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and Home, had returned from work and she was angry. "What did I just hear you say about a date?"

…

"Ah, so it's actually not a date? Your advisor just wanted to accompany you while you picked out better armor?" In response to Hestia-sama's question, Cranel nodded his head more frantically than a killer ant's antennae. The goddess smiled at the boy with her eyes closed for a moment, before her eyes shot open and revealed the glare she had most likely been hiding the entire time. "Like I'd believe something like that. This is clearly meant to be a date."

"E-Eh?! You too, kami-sama?" Watching my familia reel back so much that he fell ass first on the floor was pretty hilarious, despite the anxiety that coursed through my own veins. Especially since doing so forced him onto a lower level than our small goddess, who was sitting down on the couch. "Eina-san couldn't have asked me out on a date. Girls only do that for guys they like, right? So, why would she ever want to do that with someone like me? I mean, she's super smart and knowledgeable, and kind and understanding, and—"

"—Oi, you both know that a date doesn't necessarily have to be romantic, right?" Sensing killer intent rising in my kami, I chose to interrupt my party member before she went on a killing spree. "In the end, isn't it just another name for two people getting together? So, I wouldn't put too much thought into it."

"Ah, r-right!" Seeing the out I presented him with, Cranel latched onto my words like a hand meant to pull him off of a cliff face. Oi, why are you pointing at me all of a sudden? "Just like that girl you went on those practice dates with, right, Hachiman?"

"W-Wait, date?!" Oi, Hestia-sama, what's with the incredulous look? Also, Cranel, specify goddammit! "Hachi-kun, you've gone on dates?"

I frowned and glared at my kami. "What's with that question? I'm a pretty smart guy and while no one else seems to see the value, my looks are at least above average. That makes my specs pretty above average, y'know?" Having properly defended myself, I turned my head back towards the ceiling. "Besides, I'd hardly even call any of that a 'date'."

"Um… How can something called a 'date' not be a 'date'?" Sounding eerily like me when I heard Cranel say something incredibly stupid, Hestia-sama ended up asking me the same question he did when I told him about my pratice dates with Isshiki. "Are you sure that you weren't just misinterpreting this girl's intentions?"

"Considering that she would make it exceedingly clear that she was just using me to test out ideas she wanted to use for the guy she actually likes, I sure hope not." Besides, being on the receiving end of that treatment got me a glimpse as to how it was like on the other side and I didn't envy Hayama at all. "Also, she felt fit to reject me near every time we've spoken, despite the fact that I've never once spoken to her with that intention. So, yeah, I don't think that was the case at all."

"Wow, I genuinely don't know what part of that I find more depressing…."

Hmph, depressing to you maybe…. "Still, it proves my point, right?"

"Hm, I guess…." Not looking her way, I could imagine my kami-sama glaring at me with her fingers cupped around her chin. "I'll allow it, but I still don't like it! Bell-kun, you be careful tomorrow, got it?"

Cranel let out a sheepish chuckle and nodded. "Understood, Hestia-sama."

Thinking that the conversation was over, I tried to focus my mind back onto falling back asleep, but before I could, my kami-sama asked another question. "So, if you're going shopping tomorrow, what are you going to be doing all day, Hachi-kun?"

"Pretty much the same thing, but on my own." Turning in her direction, I found that she was now standing over me for whatever reason. "Why?"

Instead of answering, Hestia-sama giggled and smirked, which suddenly made the fear that I had felt earlier feel a lot more justified. I had seen it far too many times before, all right before she'd start harassing Cranel.

"Good! Since you're free tomorrow…" Great, now why are you pointing at me now? "…it looks like you've got no other choice than to take me with you!"

I blinked at my kami-sama. Don't you have to go to work tomorrow?

…

As it turned out, Hestia-sama did have to go to work today. Unfortunately, however, that reality didn't get her to drop the idea at all. So, she asked me to come by her workplace around midday and we'd take care of everything then.

Of course, there was an attempt to convince her otherwise and while doing so, I thought I made some pretty sensible points in my favor, but for whatever reason, my kami-sama seemed very adamant in getting me to let her tag along. Eventually, through sheer force of will, she was able to wear me down and I relented.

A part of me thought about not showing up, but considering that I'd have to see her later again that night, I decided to learn from my past experiences with Hiratsuka-sensei and complied with my kami-sama's demands.

Besides, if I wanted to replace all of my equipment, I was going to need to come through Babel Tower no matter what, so it's not like it was really that much trouble anyways. Still, this was all making me question, when did Hestia-sama start working at a Hephaestus Weapons Store?

I pondered that for the exact amount of time that it took for the elevator door in front of me to slide open and then sent it to the back of my mind, all so I could step off and turn my focus onto my surroundings.

Immediately, I couldn't help but notice the surplus of window displays surrounding me, all of which displaying weapons, shields, and armor so pricey that I couldn't even afford to pay attention to them. However, the most curious detail to me about the displays was the fact that there wasn't a single door separating them, despite the abundance of glass.

Given what I knew about the goddess Hephaestus, which admittedly wasn't a lot outside her namesake, I always figured that she'd have sizable control on Orario's weapons trade, but having an entire floor of Babel dedicated to you? Even I didn't think that much was possible.

Turning to my right, I started following the directions Hestia-sama had given to me the night prior.

As I did so, another thing I couldn't help but notice was the amount of people wandering this floor, or more specifically, how starkly it contrasted the copious amounts of military opulence that first caught my attention.

To put it bluntly, the floor was almost completely barren of life. For what was effectively a high end retail store, that felt rather odd, but then again, considering the price of the product offered, that actually made a lot of sense.

Thirty million valis for a sword, eh? Sheesh. How does anyone even go about making that kind of money? Hopefully the prices upstairs are actually cheaper.

"Welcome~!" Accompanied by the sound of a door being swung open, an all too familiar voice came from my left, greeting me even though I hadn't actually walked into the store yet. "What can I do for you today, valued customer— Oh, Hachi-kun?"

Turning to face my kami-sama, I was immediately taken aback by the difference in her appearance. Her usual outfit consisted of a short, white dress that accentuated more than it covered up and a dubious blue ribbon that she used to support her Hestias, but today, those were replaced by a red and white get up somewhat reminiscent of a french maid outfit. Ironically enough, despite its description, it was somehow more conservative than how she usually dressed.

"Did I get here early or something?" My question made the twin-tailed goddess jump.

"Wait, is it midday already?" I nodded. "Ah, wait right there, I'll be right out in a second!"

With that, Hestia-sama disappeared back into the door that she so suddenly appeared from in the first place, leaving me to stand completely alone—

"—Does that say thirty million valis?!" Eh, another surprise Hestia familia appearance?

"Cranel?" For the second time in the past two minutes, I turned fully to face my newly arrived familia.

"Hachiman?" By the time I had my eyes on him, the albino was already looking my way.

"Hikigaya-san?" A few degrees off to Cranel's right and just out of vision, another new arrival made herself known.

For the sake of the gag, a part of me wanted to keep it going and say Tulle's name as well, but unfortunately, that would make no sense considering I already knew that they would be out with one another today. So, I just said the first thing that came to mind. "Yo."

Just like Hestia-sama before her, Tulle was also wearing something different to her usual attire, which I figured was going to happen, given the fact that what I usually saw her in was just the standard Guild uniform, but it still managed to throw me off.

All that being said, out of all the casual styles I expected out of my guild advisor, I never expected to see her wearing a skirt. Also, where are your glasses? Don't you need those to see? If not, why do you even have them then?!

"Alright, Hachi-kun, I'm ready to— Oh?" Behind me, I heard the big-boobed loli goddess enter the battlefield once more.

Figuring that she was going to become the focal point of the entire coming interaction, I turned to face her and took a step back so I was standing next to Cranel. Goddammit, how much longer is this bit going to go on for?

"Bell-kun?"

"Kami-sama?" After he asked that, Cranel looked up from our kami-sama and into the shop behind her. "What are you doing here— Oh, wait, this is where you got a job at?!"

"Y-Yeah, it is…." After she said that, my kami-sama locked eyes with Tulle and stared at her for a moment. The moment her blue eyes narrowed was the moment I braced myself for a battle and, for some reason, I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be fair at all. "Is this half-elf that advisor you were telling me about yesterday?!"

Oi, did you two forget that we're in public right now? I mean, I know that there aren't a lot of people around and thought all of that stuff about this being a battle, but could you at least stop yelling?

"Ah, y-yeah. Hestia-sama, I'd like you to meet—"

"—It is a pleasure to meet you, Hestia-sama." Suddenly switching on a much more formal tone, Tulle bowed and began to remind me of the half-elf that I was familiar with. "I am guildwoman Eina Tulle and I am indeed the labyrinth search advisor for both Bell Cranel and Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Oh, is that so?" From the look on my kami-sama's face and how she elongated that 'oh', I could tell that she was far from impressed. "Well, you lookie here, advisor-san…."

With that, Hestia-sama closed the distance between her and Tulle and motioned for the latter to lean down to her level. The half-elf complied and the goddess began to whisper something in her ear, which prompted me to glance over at my snow-haired familia, who shot me a wide-eyed stare.

Wait, do you still have no idea what's going on, Cranel?

"Um…" The sound of Tulle's voice forced my focus back to the main attraction, where my advisor had seen fit to put some distance between herself and Hestia-sama. A good idea. It would ensure her survival for a while longer. In fact, as if to further emphasize that she was no threat to the divine being, the half-elf even raised her hands up in a defensive position. "I like to keep business and pleasure separate."

I blinked at the exchange. Once again, the small goddess proved herself to be someone capable of punching above her weight class.

That being said, I was happy to see that the two had managed to settle things relatively quickly. Believe it or not, I had better things to do today than watch two women quibble over—

"—Anyways, if you don't mind!" Oi, just whose arm do you think you're grabbing all of a sudden?! "Hachi-kun and I have some very important business to attend to! Come on, Hachi-kun!"

"Ah, alright! I'll see you two later at home!" As I was swept away by the twin-tailed tide, Cranel called out to us. "Have fun you two!"

Wait, what are you talking about, Cranel? I'm not the one going on a date here!

…

"Hmph, that Bell-kun…." Hestia-sama grumbled that under her breath. With her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping against the floor of the elevator we were riding up on, as of right now, my kami-sama was the very epitome of a woman scorned. "Bringing that advisor girl to where I work…. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that he was trying to make me jealous or something."

"To be fair, Cranel would need to know you'd be jealous in the first place to accomplish something like that." The elevator started to slow as I said that. "And we both know that's just not something he's capable of."

"Yeah, I know." Coming to a full stop, the doors in front of us slid open. "But that doesn't make this any less irritating, you know?"

I didn't really, but I hummed back nonetheless.

Hestia-sama stepped off of the elevator, which prompted me to follow suit and when I did, I was almost immediately faced with a setting that was the complete opposite to the Hephaestus Weapons Shop on the fourth floor. Well, maybe not the complete opposite.

Just like the floor that we were just on, the first thing that caught my eye was the myriad of weapons, shields, and armor lining the narrow hallway. Unlike that floor, they weren't being kept behind glass panels and were, instead, presented in the open-air within their own separate stands, all of which being manned by their own merchant. The next big difference with this floor was its general atmosphere.

To put it bluntly, this floor was very loud.

The sound of hammers slamming against metal echoed faintly on the stone brick, almost completely drowning out the multitude of people sharing the space with us. With all of the talking that was going on, it was impossible to make sense of any of the individual conversations, but my eyes and context told me that they were probably talking about weapons in some capacity.

"So, Hachi-kun, you said that you needed to replace all of your equipment, right?" My kami-sama calling out to me pulled me away from my observations. Turning to face her, I found her staring at me expectantly. Having been caught off guard, it took me a moment to recover and nod, which prompted her to smile and me ask, "Where did you want to start?"

Hm, that was a good question. Stop. When everything needed replacing, where did I even begin?

…

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was weaponry. Go. I had a dagger and bow to replace, and while I was more than ready to graduate from both in terms of quality (both being cheap alternatives that I only really used because I didn't want to pay for anything better), I wasn't sure what I wanted to replace the prior with. Really, anything was better than a cheap, starter iron knife, but did I replace it with a better knife? A sword? Spear? The options were both limitless and crippling.

That being said, I did want to buy a ranged weapon to replace my bow, so might as well start there.

"Let's see if we can find some place that sells bows." Not knowing where to even begin, I glanced around me and found that none of the merchants in our immediate vicinity met that description. "Have you been up here at all? I know that you work downstairs and only started yesterday, but—"

"—Oh, I didn't start working there yesterday." Eh? What were you doing all of tomorrow then? Were you at your other job or something? "Anyways, I'm not really familiar with this place, so let's just walk around for a while and see what we can find."

Before I could reply, Hestia-sama started walking and since she had caught me off guard again, it took me a second to realize that I needed to follow. "Oi, don't you have to go back to work eventually?"

"Nope~! I told Hephaestus that one of my children got all of their equipment destroyed in a fight and that I wanted to be a responsible goddess and accompany them while they get it all replaced, and she pretty much caved right then and there." Hestia-sama smiled to herself smugly. Right then and there, I felt a permanent chill run over me. My kami-sama really was a terrifying being, huh? "So, don't you worry about time, Hachi-kun, we have plenty of it."

I let out a sigh. This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?

…

Being a proud self-identifying loner, I was loath to admit that the current situation I found myself in was far from a foriegn one. Unfortunately, due to a multitude of reasons, this was the umpteenth time I've found myself being dragged along on a shopping trip by a woman.

Other (lonelier) guys might see that as a good problem to have, citing that any interaction with the opposite gender was a good one (probably because they often had none). In contrast to those hormone-driven idiots, I knew better. My only function in almost every shopping trip I've been on was to serve as a sentient pack mule and thus, I loathed this kind of interaction to the pit of my being.

The first many were with my mother and Komachi, the reason for which being they were family (the only women who'd openly interact with me at the time) and being a kid, I didn't have a choice in the matter. What I was experiencing today was no different, save for a few key differences.

"Hey, how about we check out that store over there?" Although Hestia-sama had asked the question, she started walking towards the store without waiting for me to reply. Yep, outside of the specific details, nothing's really changed. "It has bows and stuff."

Fortunately, the stand that she pointed out did carry some of what I was looking for, so I couldn't be too irritated as I followed.

On all accounts, the stand that Hestia-sama chose was completely indistinguishable from the others around it, save for what it actually offered. A divet in the wall that had rather plain looking weapons hanging from wall-mounted hooks, but unlike the others around it, the selection consisted of six different sets of bows and arrows. The one outlier being a single crossbow, which was tossed into the mix at the foot of the stand itself.

"So, is there anything that catches your eye, Hachi-kun?"

Naturally, having had no formal exposure with weapons in the past, I had no idea how to actually differentiate one from the other in terms of quality. All I really had to go off was the prices being asked for them and unlike produce, I couldn't just default to the cheapest one and expect the same results. That being said, I still had a budget and a shopping list to adhere to, and while I could manipulate the latter to better fit my needs, the prior was far more strict.

Even for our relative inexperience, Cranel and I made decent money overall on our trips into the Dungeon. As of late, our average day took us to the fifth floor and beyond, which usually netted us around 3,000 valis overall/1,500 valis respectively. Every few trips, an item drop would cause a decent to significant increase in that.

Of course, a portion of that would have to be allotted into food, toiletries, and other such necessities of everyday life, but thankfully, the actual cost to live here in Orario's slums was less than five percent of those earnings. Also, thanks to my frugal spending habits, I was allowed a much larger spending range than other adventurers of a little less than a month's experience.

Specifically, I had 20,000 valis to work with, but considering all that I needed to replace, that really wasn't a lot at all.

"Hm…."

Stop.

The first weapon on the rack was a simple longbow. Pure white wood with no ornaments of any kind with a clean white string. It was as basic as basic got and its price reflected as much, being priced at 2,000 valis, which would definitely make my wallet happy and free up some of the budget to be allotted into other areas of my equipment. That being said, I couldn't help but wonder if it would really be an upgrade over a long branch and piece of twine.

The weapon right next to it seemed like a carbon copy of the first, save for the fact that it had fancy, laurel-like designs burned black into its surface. Unsurprisingly, it was priced at 2,500 valis. Yeah, not going to happen.

Next to the clear scam was yet another bow, this one being slightly shorter in length and had its tips curved forwards instead of being straight. Its body was tan and the tips were stained black. Its string was white just like the first two, but unlike them, it also had the same twine wrapped tightly around its middle section. I assumed that it was meant to be a handhold. All things pointed to it being of a higher quality - all things including its price, which sat a hefty 5,000 valis.

Now, before the Charging Wall, my bow was an important part of how I approached the Dungeon, but was it important enough to me to justify spending a quarter of my budget on one? I wasn't so sure. And again, I had no idea what I was doing, so I didn't even know if the upgrade would be at all significant.

I didn't dare pay any mind to the final three bows. From a glance alone, I could tell that they all cost more than the third one and if I wasn't really comfortable paying 5,000 valis, I knew my wallet couldn't take the abuse of thinking about going even higher.

So, in terms of bows, this stand gave me two viable options.

Fortunately, that still left me with the crossbow, which honestly caught my eye more than the bows did.

It was a perfectly alright looking weapon. Deep brown wood made up its body and the actual bow part was made of some sort of metal painted black. Seeing that the weapon looked brand new and without fault, I couldn't help but wonder why it was being sold for just 3,500 valis, but for the price I had to consider it.

Personally, the idea of having a crossbow was pretty tempting since it could theoretically free one of my hands up to shoot, although the fact that I would have to load shots would hinder my firing speed overall. Although, if I were to buy it, I would also no longer have to deal with keeping my bow drawn when aiming, which was a plus.

Hm….

Go.

"I'll take the crossbow."

"Woah, what's with the sudden answer?!"

Paying no mind to Hestia-sama's outburst, I stepped forwards and picked said weapon up off the ground to get a feel for its length and weight. I didn't know if it was due to my increased strength or not, but it was surprisingly good in hand. Light and manipulatable too. Yep, this could definitely work. Plus, I felt really cool holding it.

From what I could tell, it seemed like a pretty solid weapon, so why wasn't it on the rack like the others—?

"Oh, come on!" Before I could finish that thought, the sound of a man yelling close to me caught my attention. "You can't seriously think I'm gullible enough to believe something like that. You didn't even put the crossbow I gave you to sell on the rack, how are you supposed to sell it if you leave it on the ground like its trash?"

Huh, what a convenience.

Turning towards the yelling, I found two men in what was clearly a disagreement. One was a muscly, brown-haired man in a sleeveless tunic. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the other man, who had red hair and was wearing all black, save for a deep blue scarf that was tied tightly around his neck. Given the law of hair colors, I figured the latter would be more important in the long run.

The brown-haired man closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Crozzo, how many more times do I have to tell you…? You make good quality weapons, but I wouldn't have put that whatever you call it on the ground if I could actually sell it."

"But—"

"—I've dropped the price on that thing dramatically and I still haven't found a single person interested in buying it, and if I can't sell a product, then it might as well be trash." The muscly man opened his eyes as he continued. "Look, I know that it might sound like I'm being harsh, but I'm just trying to be honest—."

"—Oi, is this your store?" Seeing that I didn't have all day, I decided to interrupt the spat going on between seller and supplier.

The brown-haired man turned towards me the moment I said that, his brown eyes wide at the surprise. "Um, y-yeah, was there something you needed, sir?"

"I want to buy this crossbow off you." I gestured to it by raising it up to neck level. "You wanted 3,500 valis for it, right?"

"Wait, you actually want to buy that thing?" The man stared at me in shock. I could hear Crozzo sputtering to himself from just out of sight.

Humming in affirmation, I reached down into the pouch of valis I had tied to my left hip and pulled out enough valis to cover the cost, walking over to the man and holding them out to him when I did. "Here, 3,500 valis. Does that cover the bolts too or do I have to buy those separately?"

"'B-Bolts'? Oh, you mean the arrows? No, they're included…." Oh? Talk about a deal then. "Just give me a bit to go get them, I thought that I was never going to be able to sell that thing, so I have them stashed back at my supplies closet. Just keep your money until I get back."

I hummed again and I chose to not to watch the man as he walked off out of sight, grumbling to himself as he did so. Hmph, why are you getting mad at me? If you didn't want to sell the thing, then you shouldn't have left it out like you did.

"Well, would you look at that! 'Couldn't sell it', my ass!" Unsurprisingly, Crozzo made his feelings about the whole interaction known and he did so very loudly, which wasn't appreciated. "Thanks, man." Oi, just whose shoulder do you think you're touching?! Turning to glare at the man clasping my shoulder, I found that he was smiling at me widely and brightly. "You really saved my ass there."

"Hmph, it's not like I was trying to help you or anything." Being faced with such undue gratitude, I couldn't help but turn away. "I was going to buy the crossbow regardless, it just so happened that you were here to see it."

Crozzo let out a hearty laugh at that. He even threw his head back. Oi, what's so funny? "I guess I have to thank you for having a good eye for quality then!"

Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Now, could you please stop touching me?

In a move that made me recycle a joke that I've already used far too many times, Crozzo released his grip on my shoulder right as I thought that. "Anyways, I've got stuff to do so I gotta get a move on. Oh, and before I go, could I get your name?"

I narrowed my eyes at the man. "Why?"

"Hey, hey, now, there's no need to get all suspicious of me. Discerning customers such as yourself are pretty hard to come by nowadays, y'know? You're a rare breed and I can't just let someone like you be stolen away by some other smith, now can I?" Oh, so basically, you're just desperate for business then? Understood. "So, I wanted to offer you my services as your personal smith."

"'Personal smith'?" I raised my eyebrow at the term. "As in, you want to be the only smith I come to for equipment?"

"Yep, basically." The redhead nodded enthusiastically, not at all realizing the absurdity of what he was offering a literal stranger. "How about it?"

"What exactly is in it for me?" Of course, I couldn't just accept the offer being given to me outright. "Don't get me wrong. I may have wanted to buy this crossbow of yours, but I've never used one of your items before. How am I supposed to know if any of it is actually good?"

"Aha, I thought you'd say something like that!" Wait, why are you acting as though you've outsmarted me when you're literally giving me all the leverage? "That's why I'll even give you a discount on everything you buy from me."

I blinked and smirked at the offer. You really think that you're winning this negotiation, huh? Just how badly are you doing? "I need armor and a melee weapon. What can 16,500 valis get me?"

"16,500 valis, huh? Hm…." Crozzo brought his hand up and cupped his chin between his index finger and thumb. "That would depend on what you're looking for." Suddenly, he frowned. "Damn, I'd like to hash out the details with you more, but like I said, I got things that I need to take care of." The redheaded smith scratched at the back of his head as he let out a chuckle. "I don't wanna risk getting chewed out by Hephaestus-sama again."

Wait, did you just say 'Hephaestus'?

"Wait, did you just say 'Hephaestus'?" For the first time the entire conversation, Hestia-sama spoke up, which prompted me to turn towards her. Doing so allowed me to catch her staring at Crozzo with surprise, before she morphed it into a smile. "Ah, so does that mean you're one of Hephaestus's children, then?"

"Yep!" Being able to hear the pride pouring out of his voice, I didn't need to turn towards him to know that he was smiling. He might've even been pointing at himself with his thumb. "The name's Welf Crozzo, and what's your name little lady?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Crozzo-san." Hestia-sama showed off her god-given grace as she introduced herself. She somehow managed to sound like she was trying to make a good impression, while clearly not. "My name is Hestia."

"W-Wait, 'Hestia'?" Crozzo jumped back in shock and his face paled "As in the Hestia? The goddess Hestia?"

"Yep!" For her part, Hestia didn't seem like she was phased at all by not being instantly recognized. Then again, she wasn't a very well known kami and she was out of her usual attire, so I suppose that this was bound to happen. "And this boy that you've been talking to is my child, Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Yo."

"W-Well, it was nice to meet you two, Hestia-sama, Hikigaya-san." Probably realizing his position, Crozzo bowed his head as he spoke. It reminded me of something Cranel would do whenever he did something embarrassing. Well, actually, Cranel would've been on the ground prostrated by now if he was in the smith's position. "Sorry for being so improper just then."

"No, no, don't worry about it." Eyes closed, my kami-sama waved off Crozzo's apology. Of course, I knew better than to believe the words coming out of her mouth. "Anyways, you were saying something about not wanting to be late?"

"Damn, you're right!" Crozzo shot straight up at the reminder, his focus landing on me as he did so. "Hikigaya, come to my workshop later if you can. I'll help you with your equipment problem there. Just head towards the colosseum and head north once you get halfway there." Oi, just where do you think you're—? "Once you start seeing my familia's workshops, just ask around for my workshop and they'll point it out to you."

Crozzo ran off before I could comment, leaving me to wonder, 'How in the world are you still desperate to sell your weapons when you're a Hephaestus smith?'

"Well, looks like that problem ended up solving itself, didn't it, Hachi-kun?"

"Yeah, I guess it did." I shrugged in response to Hestia-sama's pointing out of the obvious. It's not like I was going to complain, though. That just meant less wandering around for me. "Still, it looks like it's going to be a bit before we can head to his workshop, so what did you want to do in the mean—"

"—Oh, that actually works out then." Wait, what? "I had some stuff that I needed to take care of too. I wanted to have you there for them, but this way it'll be more of a surprise." I blinked and opened my mouth to ask my kami-sama what in the world she was talking about, but before I could, she pointed at me with a wide grin. "Alright, Hachi-kun, you take care of all that you need here and get what you need from Crozzo-san. Once you're done, meet me back home once you're done, understood?"

Um… no, not really?

I wanted to voice that opinion, but the twin-tailed goddess turned on a heel and started walking away before I could. Unfortunately, I couldn't chase after her due to the fact that I hadn't actually paid for the weapon in my hand.

Goddammit, is this how that princess from yesterday felt? No wonder she got so riled up. This is really annoying (lol).

…

If I had to describe Crozzo's workshop, I certainly wouldn't call it befitting a Hephaestus smith. Really, it was nothing more than a dingy wood shack and it wasn't even the good kind either. It was so run down that I could almost see the inside just from the holes that littered its walls.

To be honest, it felt like I was more likely to meet a crazy serial killer here than a skilled craftsman (which wasn't a possibility that I had entirely ruled out yet), but since all of the smiths I've asked pointed me here, I had to assume that this was the place. You're lucky that you're offering me a discount, Crozzo, because this is the farthest thing from a good first impression.

Walking up to the front door, I raised my fist to the wood and knocked on it three times. I waited a few moments for a sign of life inside, but let out a sigh when I got none. I guess that means Crozzo still isn't done with whatever business he's taking care of yet, which made sense since I was only waiting on that shopkeep to come back and that didn't take long at all. Still, that meant more waiting.

Luckily for me, there was a pile of bricks that was perfect for sitting next to the door and that's what I did. Now what do I think about to help pass the time? Hm….

Oh, right, the whole weapon situation. Almost forgot that I had to figure that out at some point, but what kind of weapon fit my fighting style the most?

For the most part, my close-quarters exchanges consisted of me spamming my skill, using it to look for vulnerabilities in my opponent, and killing them with as much efficiency as possible - efficiency in this context meaning as little movement possible. That probably meant that my best bet would be something with enough power to kill monsters in one. Unfortunately, that only narrowed my options by so much.

Realistically, almost every weapon in the universe could one-shot a lower level monster, because almost all of the monsters on the lower levels were incredibly weak. Hell, I've killed plenty with a single punch and kick before. The really important thing to consider were the monsters a tier above that - monsters like that Charging Wall.

Of course, being the realist I am, I had zero aspirations of getting a weapon that could kill a literal walking boulder in a single hit. That just wasn't going to happen with my current budget. Still, at the very, I could get myself something that could actually hurt a mid-level monster without snapping on impact.

Maybe something big and heavy like a greatsword or war ax? Something like that would certainly fulfill those qualities, but would that fit me?

It'd be big and bulky and harder to manipulate, meaning that I'd have to time my attacks in a completely different way than how I do now. In the long run, that probably wouldn't be too much of a hindrance, especially after I got used to it, but the thought still made me hesitant to go down that route.

So, that meant getting something lighter and faster, which to me, immediately ruled out all blunt weapons. Could I kill a monster in a single strike with a one-handed club? Sure, but could I kill two or three? Possibly, if I tried really hard, but I wasn't about to spend all that money on a possibility.

That pointed towards a sword of some sort, but one that had enough cutting power to kill multiple monsters. If I could draw it from its sheath really quickly too, that'd be a plus— Oh no, I basically just cornered myself into getting a katana, haven't I?

Growing up, I used to hold my homeland's signature weapon in high regard, just like how most red-blooded, Japanese boys did. However, that line of thinking stopped during my adolescent years, when I realized that much of the katana's reputation as the sword of all swords was built off the glorification of my culture and not any practical evidence. That, and years of oversaturation just made it less cool in my eyes, but that was beyond the point.

At the end of the day, a sword was a sword. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, and from all that I've seen, katanas were at the very least good at cutting. So, it made the sting of accidentally typecasting myself hurt a little less.

Then again, I was still working off of what Crozzo could offer me and having him craft a weapon for me would probably cause the price to skyrocket, so the katana was really just a template for what I was looking for. If he had anything else that fit the bill, that'd be perfectly fine—

"Oh, looks like you beat me out here, Hikigaya, and that you bought my crossbow." Hearing someone call my name pulled me from my thoughts. Following it to its source, I found the man who I was just thinking about. "I take that means you're accepting my offer?"

"Would I be here if I wasn't?" Throwing the absurdity of Crozzo's question back at him, I slipped myself off of the makeshift roost I had made myself.

In response to my purposeful crassness, the redheaded smith let out a laugh and grinned at me. Huh. Typically, when I do that to people, they get irritated at me or nervous. "Well, in that case, you ready to get down to business?"

I scoffed and smirked. "Yeah, let's."

…

By the time I had finished my business with Crozzo and deposited all of my gear back at the church, night was threatening to overtake Orario. On one side of the sky was the just risen Moon and on other sat the almost set Sun, a conflict that cast the city in a deep blue hue that was only accentuated by the small sliver of orange that still barely peaked over the Eastern horizon.

That battle even extended out to my immediate surroundings. All around me, people moved to activate the strategically placed light crystals posts that lined Orario's major streets, all in order to create small pockets of light to illuminate and eliminate the already forming shadows. Inside and outside, in my direct view and in my peripheral, they all did their best to fight would inevitably come.

Seeing that made that bitter taste return to my mouth as I followed Hestia-sama to wherever she planned on taking me.

Some might look at me and my social standing and assume that I had a hard time picking up on people's intentions, that years of social ineptness have led to me being completely and utterly unable to pick up on the tiny cues that always foreshadowed people's actions. How could anyone so disconnected from others do such a thing? The answer was simple: disconnected didn't mean that I wasn't still there.

Just like how one didn't need to play a sport to understand its subtleties, I watched others from the sidelines, day in and day out, hoping that it would one day solve my troubles. It didn't but that was beyond the point.

That point being, I knew exactly what Hestia-sama was trying to accomplish and frankly, I was conflicted on how to feel about it.

If this was a few months ago, I probably would've been repulsed by the very idea. Action borne out of obligation was something that I despised more than anything. 'They're just doing it to be nice, they're just doing it to feel better about themselves, they don't actually care about me,' etc. That's how I justified it to myself.

When I realized that Yuigahama was the owner of the dog I saved my first day of high school, I thought about how much I hated nice girls. How I loathed the idea of a girl being nice to me for the sake of niceties, because it would always get my hopes up. I wanted so desperately for it to mean that I was rare and special to someone that I completely failed to realize the commonality of such gestures.

And so, I hated nice girls, but moreover, I hated the superficial kindness being presented to me. If someone needed a reason to be nice to me, then I'd rather they left me alone for good. But then, Yuigahama Yui came tumbling clumsily into my life and I came to realize something, 'if I rejected all kindness under the belief that it couldn't have pretense, then what kindness would I actually accept?'

I didn't know then and I don't know now; nonetheless, I continued to drag myself forwards.

…

Admittedly, out of all of the places that I expected Hestia-sama to drag me to, the top of a belltower had never crossed my mind.

Climbing the last step, I stepped out onto the open chamber and looked around. Save for the staircase behind me, all that there was around me was open space, allowing me to get a view of Orario that I assumed very few people got to see.

Directly in front of me was Babel Tower and since it had taken us quite a while to get up here, night had long since fallen. The deep blue of night now covered the entire city, save for the tiny specks of orange created by the light crystals down at the tower's base and the small white dots that littered the sky around its upper half.

It was a beautiful sight to see, which made me wonder why I was here even more.

"Ah, finally, we're here!" Hearing my kami-sama's voice coming from behind me, I turned to face her, doing so just in time to see her trudge up the final few steps. The moment she did so, she slouched over and put her hands on her knees. A part of me couldn't help but smile a bit at the irony. I probably would've been in her exact same shoes if it wasn't for her blessing. "I thought those stairs were never going to end!"

"Well, you're the one who wanted to come up here, so it's your own fault."

Looking up towards me, she shot me a pout and a glare before straightening herself out. I couldn't help but smirk a little at that.

Letting out a huff, I could practically see the little tick mark on her head as she closed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and walked forwards and past me to the balcony's railing. She leaned out over it, placing her arms up on top of the stone as she did so. Not knowing what else to do, I followed her over.

I silently stared out at the city for a while, but eventually, I couldn't help but turn to my kami-sama and ask, "So, you mind telling me why you brought me up here?"

"Ugh, would it ever kill you to read the mood?"

I blinked at the question. "Um… Isn't that exactly what I did just then, though?"

The moment after I said that, Hestia-sama snorted and a smile replaced her frown. She opened her eyes, but kept her eyes focused onto what was in front of her. "Have you ever wondered why Gods come down from Heaven?"

The question gave me pause. Mainly because I didn't know why she was even bothering to ask it in the first place, but still, it made me wonder, 'why would divine beings come down from a place called Heaven?'

The first thought that crossed my mind would be the implication of the name. 'Heaven' in the most typical terms was supposed to be the most perfect place to ever exist, where divine beings resided and spent all of their time living a life us lowly mortals could only imagine.

However, that description almost immediately fell apart in a world like this one, where not only did the Gods walk amongst human beings, they did so willingly. That fact alone pointed towards something being wrong with the place and I had a feeling as to what it could be.

"Was it because all of you were bored?"

'Perfection' was one of those words that, despite having a literal definition, was almost exclusively thrown around in a subjective manner. What one described as 'perfect' might not fit someone else's description, and vice versa. And even if such a thing were possible, if that was the only thing someone could ever experience, then it was always in danger of becoming stale.

In my mind, that's why a place like the human world might be attractive to a God. Things here were almost exclusively not perfect all of the time. They weren't always bad, but they weren't always good either. Things were always changing and that might be a good reason why a God would leave a life of leisure and comfort.

Or, at the very least, it was an idea. Admittedly, I was just saying whatever first crossed my mind.

Hestia-sama snickered. "Well, I guess you're not entirely wrong when you say that. A lot of us do come down from Heaven just for that." Suddenly, she turned towards me and flashed me a smile. "If you think about it, I guess you can say that was my reason too."

"Really?" My eyes widened a little at that.

"Yeah, I know that it's kinda hard to believe, but a lot of us Gods are envious of humans." Her smile decreased in intensity as she returned her gaze back onto Orario. "You all get to do things that us Gods just can't, like have a family for example. Up in Heaven, we can form friendships and court one another all we want, but no matter what we do, we can't have children or a family."

I waited a moment, just to see if she was going to say anything more. When she didn't, I decided to ask the question that her explanation dragged up to the surface. "And is that why you were so insistent on coming shopping with me?"

Hestia-sama's eyes widened as her head snapped over to me. Then, it was my turn to face Orario without saying anything. Eventually, after another few moments, she chuckled. "I don't even know why I'm surprised that you were able to figure that out."

"It's not like you were being subtle about it." I breathed in and let out a sigh. I mean, even Cranel was able to realize that there was something bothering you. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but I'm perfectly fine, alright? You don't need to go so far to try and make me feel better."

Once again, words stalled between the both of us. This time for so long that I started to wonder if I could get away with just walking away right now, but before I could seriously entertain the thought, Hestia-sama broke our impasse.

"You're such a bad liar, Hachiman." Her response made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Still, despite my reaction, I snorted at the question. "What makes you say that?"

"You always say things you don't mean." I didn't know when it had begun, but just then, I became acutely aware of how tightly I had been squeezing my hands into fists. "I can tell not just because you're my child, but because you have a hard time looking people in the eye after you say them."

I breathed in and then out deeply. "And just how long have you thought that?"

"From the very first time you've talked to me."

Hearing that made me purse my lips. I didn't know how to respond to that. I wracked my brain for something to say, but not a single solid retort came to mind.

Stop.

…

…

…

…Dammit.

Go.

"Hachiman, do you think I'm a bad kami-sama?" Having just deactivated my skill, the question caught my completely off guard so much that I jumped. My head snapped over to my kami-sama and I found that she was looking down towards the ground. "I wouldn't really blame you if you did. If I was in your shoes, I'd definitely feel the same after what happened the other day."

"Look, there's no need to—"

"—But now that I think about it, I think this is exactly what I wanted when I came down from Heaven." Huh? "I descended because I wanted a family. Not just a familia, but a real family and real families have to struggle through things like this…. They have to talk things out and work through their problems together, and all of those nice things, right? So, as my familia, would you please hear me out?"

Suddenly, she raised her head towards me and instead of finding the expression I expected to find, although I don't even really know what that would even be, I found her smiling.

"I'm in love with Bell. He accepted me when no one else would and because he's so kind, he'd give up his entire life for me just for that. I want to be able to give him just as much back. That's why I begged Hephaestus to make him a weapon for two straight days and put myself in hundreds of millions valis in debt. I want to be able to support him, not just as his kami-sama, but as something much more." As she spoke, her voice seemed to lose its foundation, as it got softer and softer in volume. If the world around us wasn't so silent, I probably wouldn't have heard her at all. "But by trying to do that, I completely neglected you and your needs, and even now, you'd probably sooner deny that fact than let me feel guilty about it."

Naturally, almost as if on cue, I opened my mouth to refute that fact, but I just as quickly shut it.

"You're such a kind boy, Hachiman. Or, at the very least, much kinder than you give yourself credit for." Suddenly, she turned her full body towards me and bowed her head. "I'm sorry for being such a selfish kami-sama. I know that you'll say that it's fine and that I don't need to worry about it, but please don't hesitate to hold me to a higher standard. I want to be the best kami-sama possible, not just for Bell—" A black blur raced upwards and suddenly, a pair of deep blue eyes were trained dead on me, transfixing me entirely. "—but for you as well. So, please, put your faith in me. I don't want you to feel as though you need to suffer through everything on your own anymore."

Stop.

If I could've taken a deep breath with time stopped, I would've taken one. I desperately needed a moment to digest what I just heard.

Contrary to what a lot of people believed, love and care were indeed finite resources.

If someone grew close to two other people, it was only natural that they would grow to like one more than they did the other. Someone always ended up getting the short end of the stick and as someone who's been on both the giving and receiving end before, I knew that better than most.

In the end, if the sole concern of both parties was to not hurt the other, they'd be doomed to stagnate.

That's why I couldn't bring myself to resent Hestia-sama for what was essentially blatant favoritism because, at the very least, she was ripping the proverbial band-aid off. All this conversation really amounted to was a simple stating of the reality that we both knew to be in front of us.

Hikigaya Hachiman would always be second to Bell Cranel in her eyes, both literally and figuratively.

All that being said, her favoritism really wasn't the problem here and most likely wasn't the reason she dragged me all the way up here. Despite our individual feelings about the situation, there was no way that it would've struck either one of us as a surprise. It was our differing perceptions of how to proceed past it that made everything so complicated.

Whereas I was alright with how things currently were, Hestia-sama wanted more. Not as much as she wanted with Cranel, but certainly more than what we had now and that was probably the driving factor behind what brought us here today.

Like she had alluded to earlier, there was a difference between being familia and being family, and she loathed herself for the fact that her actions could have contributed in making me prefer the latter to the point of keeping multiple near death experiences from her knowledge.

Of course, knowing exactly my reasons for doing so, I couldn't allow her to shoulder such blame on her own.

Go.

"Look, even if you say all that, it doesn't change the fact I'm still partially at fault here." This time, I made sure to maintain eye contact as I spoke. "If I had just told you the truth about what happened with the Charging Wall, then none of this would've happened."

Hestia-sama giggled at that.

"That may be true, but you only did so because you didn't want to be a burden, right?" I hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. "Then that just means we're in the same boat! So, how about this? I'll do my best to be a better kami-sama and you try to be more honest, and if we ever have any issues, we'll do our best to support one another through it. Just like a real family." Suddenly, she extended her hand out towards me. "Do we have a deal?"

I scoffed and smiled at the proposal. There was a finality to it that I found funny or, at the very least, ironic. Just because she had said all of that didn't mean anything. They were just words and words meant nothing in the grand scheme of things really. Sure, they did have their own intrinsic value, but if they weren't backed by some sort of action, that value was gone.

Acknowledging the problem was good and all, but reversion back to the status quo was still very possible. Thanks to what happened back a few months ago, I knew that it could very well happen now, but….

I took her hand and shook it. "Deal."

At the very least, it was a good place to start.

…

Ideally, things would've ended there and we would've gone home after that (hell, we even started to make our way back towards the stairs), but as it turned out, my kami-sama wasn't quite finished with me just yet.

"Oh, wait, one more thing." Eh? Are you serious? After all of that sappy melodrama, you're still not done? Truly, I've chosen to align myself with a cruel and irrefutable kami-sama. "I almost forgot to give you your surprise."

Having run to a back corner of the balcony we were on, I watched Hestia-sama pick some sort of purple square up off the ground before returning to me. She was holding two items in her hands: a plain purple kimono in her left and some sort of light pink fabric in her right. Both were folded into neat little squares - the light pink one being the smaller of the two.

"Here, take this one first." Holding the kimono out to me, I obliged and took it from her. Gripping it by its shoulders, I held it out in front of me and allowed gravity to unfold it for me. Yep, definitely a kimono. Actually, wait, now that I think about it, haven't I seen a kimono like this before—? "I got it from Takemikazuchi."

Looking back up at my kami-sama, I raised a brow at her. "'Takemikazuchi', huh?"

"Yeah, you know how I said that I didn't go to work yesterday?" With her eyes closed and her hand scratching at the back of her head, she chuckled to herself sheepishly. "I was actually going around town and getting all of this together. I went to Take-kun and asked if he had anything he could spare you, and he practically shoved this into my hand. He said something about wanting to give one of his fellow countrymen a piece of home."

I blinked at my kami-sama. "Yeah, that sounds like him."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try it on!"

Seeing no reason to not put it on, I slipped the kimono on over the black long-sleeve I had borrowed from Cranel, but since I didn't have anything to tie it closed with, I just left it hanging open. I couldn't see what I looked like, but I felt much cooler already.

Almost as if she were reading my mind, the twin-tailed kami in front of me clapped her hands together once. "And, well, would you look at that? My Hachi-kun is already looking much cooler!"

Suddenly, I felt as though I was back in those clothing stores with my mother.

"Alright, now try this one!" I expected to do as she did earlier and extend the other item she was holding out towards me, but instead, she just unfolded it herself, revealing it to be a very long, very soft-looking scarf. "Tada~! I got this one for you myself. It's going to be getting cold soon, so I thought that it might be useful for you. Well, actually, it might be more accurate to say that Ganesha got you it."

"Wait, 'Ganesha'?" This time, my repeating a name in the form of a question was borne from actual confusion. "Why would he get me a scarf?"

"Oh, well, it's not like he actually picked the scarf out and gave it to me." Chuckling to herself sheepishly, I had the sudden feeling that my kami-sama did something genuinely scary again. "I maybe sorta told him that you got all of your equipment destroyed by one of the monsters his familia brought up to the surface, and forced him to give me enough valis to properly compensate all that was lost."

Oh, wow. Looks like I was right. I know that this is probably coming a bit too late, but you have my condolences, Ganesha-sama. You may have almost indirectly gotten me killed, but even then, you didn't deserve to have something like that happen to you.

"Wait, you got Ganesha-sama to compensate me for my lost equipment and you spent all the money on a scarf?"

"Pft, of course not." Waving a hand at me, my kami-sama smiled at me mischievously. "What do you take me for, Hachi-kun? An amateur? I made up a much higher number and used some of that money to buy you a scarf."

Oh, thank all the kami for that. You came that close to undoing all of the progress we just made tonight. "Oh, really? Good job then."

"Hehe, Hachi-kun praised me…." I rolled my eyes at that. "Anyways, do you mind getting down on your knees for a second? I want to put this on for you."

My brows immediately furrowed at the demand. "What, why? I know how to put on a scarf."

"Aw, c'mon! Just humor me this once, would you?"

Being faced with the strongest of her glares, I let out a sigh. "Just make it quick, would you?"

Lowering myself to my knees, I watched Hestia-sama walk behind me and after a moment, I felt something light and airy touch the back of my neck. I waited for it to wrap around fully, but instead, what wrapped around me was something warm and fleshy. It took a moment for me to realize that I was being hugged.

"Hey, Hachi-kun, do you know what makes you special to me?" I could feel the warmth of Hestia-sama's voice as she whispered into my ear. "Bell might've been the first person to accept my offer, but you're the first person to come to me."

Naturally, hearing that made me want to pull away from my kami-sama, but in the end, her hold on me was too tight. So, with nothing else to do, I smiled and resigned myself to my fate.

…

Chapter End.

A/N: Hey, so here's the second part that I promised you and I have an answer for the whole SpaceBattles thing.

Am gonna start posting there. I'll post the first chapter there Wednesday and post all of the following chapters the following Sunday and Wednesday and so on, as per your advice to space updates out. Thanks for all your feedback, by the way! It was much appreciated.

Anyways, see y'all in a month or two where we can get back to the plot. Gonna be some juicy shit. Trust me.