Waking up in the morning without feeling dread of what would come was something I had yet to become used to. It was a welcome change, and I intended to savor the process. My habit of waking up awfully early was also there, though without the need to immediately leave the bed and prepare.

" Hm, what's this?"

My hands were holding on to a rather uniquely shaped pillow, one I knew we didn't have with our finances.

" Goddess?"

" Mmm~ Ten more minutes…"

A little panicked from realization, but not enough to immediately throw the Goddess of Hearth latching to me, I slowly grabbed her hand and released her hold on me.

" So breasts can be that big… That's just amazing."

Now I understood the weight of 'loli big boobs' alias of hers. They were truly unbalanced, enticingly so. Still, her look made it a bit hard for me. She looked fourteen, for Gods' sake! With her lightly snoring on the couch, I closed the door quietly and went off to look for some breakfast. Sure, we'd go eat some more during our outing, but that's no reason to bleed familia funds dry for overpriced food.

Like Mama Mia's. Delicious, but freaking expensive.

The easiest would be the potato poppers, but honestly, I'd like to explore a bit. Morning Orario… Sounds like an adventure to me. Not much ground I could cover though, since I gotta get back soon. Now, remind me again. Did the world of Danmachi have take-outs?

No, they didn't. Only snacks instead of actual food. So I was thinking of some skewered meat and croquettes, plus jagamaru-kun. I never really knew what her favorite food was so... I had to play it safe.

But man, it really sucked not having weapon on hand. It's only been three to four days since I came, but dungeoning really put a dent on your common sense. I felt off without the weight of weapon on my body. It felt so vulnerable, as if a frog shooter could suddenly shoot out and impale my head.

" You…"

My heart jumped hearing a soft, almost monotone voice from somewhere. What I saw was a silhouette of blood-soaked person wielding more blood-soaked sword, reaching out with blood dripping from their outstretched fingers. There was only one thing to do.

" Nigerundayo~ AAAHHHHHH!"

With my E-ranked agility that could outrun any monsters below middle floors, I escaped from the scene. Needless to say, I arrived home with no potato poppers, and absurd cramped legs.

" Hey! What happened to you?"

" I met Bathory imitation…"

" Who?"

The conversation wasn't continued, since we diverted our attention to the bags of food in my hands. Several meat skewers (really big ones, BBQ-sized had nothing on it), grilled fishes, bread, and some croquettes. I had no chance to buy the Jagamaru-kun since I was kind of preoccupied with running for dear life.

" Let's eat first, so we don't have to walk around hungry, goddess!"

She wholeheartedly agreed, gnawing on grilled fish while nodding. I, too, picked up the fantasy meat skewer and chomped on the heavily sauced meat gleefully. All I had to say was enough snack would make a meal. And hooray fantasy meat! There's no way a meat skewer that big and that good would go for only 90 valis per stick in Japan.

Or maybe adventurers were just making way too much money.

Oh well. Good food is good food.

After properly eating and refreshing ourselves, outside world was much brighter. The bustle of the adventurers' city was quite addicting. There were some places that sold raw ingredients like marine products that gave out fishy smell, but after two days in dungeon splattered with monster blood and guts, it wasn't that big of a deal.

" This is the library! You can find almost any book you want. Entrance's free, but borrowing is not. It's being kept by Thoth Familia."

" It's nice of them not to close up and play monopoly."

" They can't. It's the Guild's property in the first place. They're just taking care of it."

" I see. Might be nice to visit sometime."

We went inside for a while, look at a few books, walk around the shelves, and compare favorite genres. Goddess Hestia apparently loved heroes' myth and legend, especially those heroic tales you'd tell to kids. It kind of made sense actually. Orario was a place nicknamed land of heroes after all. That's also one reason why lots of Gods resided here.

You know, there's AC here. It was called cooling artifact, though. Load magic stone inside an implement with mild ice magic pre-installed, and voila. It's pretty awesome, without all the ozone damage too!

We were only there for a brief look, but we still spent around an hour there. Truly marvelous creations, books were. Then, we went around the town, visiting various familias specialized in things like potions, combat, etc. Coincidentally, those were her friends' familias, namely Miach and Takemikazuchi.

And then, the highlight.

There was this decently sized mansion that had several smaller brick huts around it. The whole complex was big, but each building was somewhat small, especially for a familia so prominent in Orario.

" Let's go in, Bell!"

So we met one of Goddess Hestia's close friends, Hephaestus. Apparently, her familia was mostly comprised of smiths, thus they were given their own place to compete and keep their secrets. The competition was harsh, but at least it was about smithing, not killing each other.

" This is your kid?"

" Pleasure to meet you, Goddess Hephaestus."

I was really glad that this world deviated from my original world's myths. Instead of an old man with deformed body ugly enough even his mother couldn't love (but a heart of gold by that mythology's standard), a buxom auburn-haired woman greeted us. Aside from her eyepatch, she was an honest-to-goddess beautiful, tomboyish woman. She was eyeing me very, very closely. As in, I could kiss her by moving an inch forward kinda close.

" Uh, Goddess Hephaestus?"

" Ahh, sorry, sorry. A bit too taken, I suppose. Make sure you grow well, okay? Make your Goddess proud."

" I'll try."

She nodded, seemingly not persuaded by my response. Honestly, I was really afraid she'd blown my dual identity thing, thus tripping me up.

" Believe it or not, he's already soloing the 6th floor! Even though it's his first week adventuring!"

" Hoo… how interesting. A bit recklessness is expected of young people like you, but try not to get yourself killed, okay? Hestia seems to like you quite a lot. I'd be sad if my friend lost her charge."

" I'll try my best."

After that, we went to admire the shiny weapons the familia created and showcased. The price definitely had too many zeros for our budget though, so we were stuck to only looking and dreaming for a while.

Oh right.

" Hephaestus…sama. Is there somewhere I can get these forged to a weapon for affordable price?"

I turned to the forge Goddess, unwrapping the clothed drop items I brought with me. She looked at the two sets of war shadow claws. Maybe if I could have them forged from multiple claws, I could get more durable weapons.

More durable weapons meant long-term investment, I'd say it would be well worth it.

" Your budget?"

" Around thirty to fifty thousand valis for both?"

She nodded. It was more than reasonable price for forging a knife made out of upper floor drop items, but I'd like quality weapons here. Ones I could trust to not break. The trip home after the war shadows ambush was hell without my knife. It was a situation where I had close to no option to defend myself. Swings with the sharp makeshift weapon would lose me my fingers faster than I could kill monsters. That one battle cut deep to my fingers' bones, leaving scars that I didn't know would ever heal or not.

" Alright. Give me that. I'll send you the bill later."

" Please and thank you."

I offered her the items and bowed. With weapons out of the way, I could finally look forward to going into dungeons again. I'd like to push to tenth floor soon. There, the monsters would vary more, and of course, the loot and excelia would also be on a whole different level.

Now wouldn't that be nice.

Thinking about my future cool weapons, I happily walked out of the mansion with Goddess Hestia in tow.

" Wow, you look really, really elated."

" Of course! I've graduated from my beginner's knife. Almost died in the process, though. Not to mention I'm on my way getting actual, real, ones."

I bathed in the morning sunlight, something really rare even from my previous life. My mornings were spent inside the office after all. My recent days in this world were also spent going to the dungeon really early, too. In a way, this was my first time truly enjoying the warmth of sun. Not in forever no, but certainly felt like so.

Around us, blacksmiths wearing their fireproof clothes, adventurers decked full with armor and gears, and their supporters sporting huge bags that would be impossible for them to carry if not for divine ichor running in their veins.

Today too, Orario was bustling with life.

"Jagamaru-kun, what flavor do you want?"

" Oh. Salty please, extra crispy."

" Geez, you're going to get high blood pressure eating sea-flavored snacks all the time."

" And you Goddess, will get cavities with how much sugar in yours."

She huffed and took a bite from her sweet potato treat. It was like croquettes in my world, but bigger and made completely of potatoes with no meat in it. I mean, what she had wouldn't have meat in the first place, but they served no meat here. Maybe so they could sell them for little margin by bulk every day.

" Still, though, I can't get over how good this is despite being so cheap."

The Goddess wiped the corner of her mouth with a thumb.

" There's none in your previous world?"

" Nothing as cheap. We have this thing called 'fast food'."

I proceeded to tell a story about fast food chains and unhealthily good and addictive grubs that sounded cheap, but would burn holes in your pockets through several unnecessary recommended additions you couldn't even separate from the things you wanted. Or you could, but ala carte would burn a bigger hole in your wallet. Even though they were supposed to be somewhat cheaper alternative than restaurants, they became semi-luxury food before I could get settled.

And after settling, I couldn't find that much time to relax and eat properly.

Damn you hustle culture.

And damn you corrupt workplace politics.

" Uhh, your face is scary." Goddess' rather high-pitched voice broke my reverie.

" Whoops. Just remembered unpleasant stuff back at home."

" Was your world such a hard place to live?"

I put my hand on my temple, trying to rub out the unwanted thoughts.

" I'd say because people there were so focused on making life easier, it actually made it far more complicated than it had to. Sometimes, simple is best."

" Not wrong. Haaa~"

Food was good. I could see why their stalls infested the whole Orario. Now this was a truly good cheap snack. It's become a rarity with all that buzz millennials made about viral food and stuff.

Simple crispy potato with salt, pepper, and a bit of cheese. No need for all that jazz about adding hot sauce of a gazillion scoville, or whatever idiotic viral trend. As far as relaxing, fun outing, I'd say this was a success. I also got my commission out of the way, so I was completely free.

The main street was, as the name suggested, the biggest road there was in Orario. It led straight to Babel, the imposing marbled tower stood tall and mighty as it always should. Otherwise, the whole world would be plunged into a monster apocalypse.

But that's too far in the future. For now, I'd really love to just sit back and relax. Leave future problems to future me and all that.

" Hm?"

It started. The observation. My neck felt cold as tingling sensation tickled my nape down to my higher spine. The divine gaze invading Bell so often that his senses grew sharp just from that. Now that I felt it properly, it really felt off-putting. Creepy, even.

" Goddess, could you explain to me about souls? You mentioned you saw my soul being entwined or some sorts inside."

" Hmm…" Her mouth puckered a bit as she fell to her thinking pose. A Goddess would be a Goddess, I guess. Maybe that one quote about Orario having enough beautiful women to make the world go mad with envy also referred to this. This city's divine population was absurd compared to other regions, after all.

" It's just soul. It shows who you are, your aspirations, thoughts, and just the radiance of your existence. I'd say it's like the color of humanity… well, it's not just me who thought like that, though."

My color, huh? What a vague explanation. But at least there's some light shed on this situation. My soul was fused with Bell Cranell. So it wasn't like I was independent of him, or him of me, but we both coexisted as one here.

" But one thing I can say for sure… Find yourself soon, before you lose it forever." She licked the icing from her fingers, finishing her explanation.

Her words cut deeper than war shadow claws did. But painful as it might be, they were not wrong at all. Now if I could figure out what finding myself meant…

Honestly, I was just happy someone actually thought of me that much. Perhaps having a familia was practically having a family too in this world. A family bound by divine blood… That sounded extra poetic, didn't it?

We spent a rather luxurious day, at least by our standards. Only today, we spent around 35.000 valis just walking around, trying out this and that, and other things. I also bought some clothes, since one of mine got destroyed during my fight with war shadows, and also bought goddess some for her own use. Granted, it was nothing much, but it's something.

We had to save up for a house. A proper abode.

When our feet brought us back to the old church, it was already sun-down. There, we leisurely cooked, ate, and washed the dishes together. Since I couldn't cook well, I mostly cut the ingredients and prepared the plates.

" Sorry for leaving it all to you, Goddess."

" I suppose it couldn't be helped, especially since your dishes look like disaster zone. They tasted somewhat okay, though, if not a bit too salty sometimes."

The first time I made a dish, it was fried chicken. The time spent washing the pan was longer than the time we cooked and ate combined. Sauce and everything got everywhere. In short, a disaster.

Luckily, the dish was salvageable. That was the only good thing from me cooking.

It wasn't super delicious or creative or innovative or whatever. It's just edible. Since the effort and the taste didn't quite match up, I mostly helped out with other things instead.

" I feel like I'm forgetting something… What was it…"

" No dungeon tomorrow! I'll have you learn everything up to the tenth floor!"

Cold sweat dripped from my whole body, a clear indication of someone thinking 'I'm screwed really hard now' Eina-san surely would chew me out tomorrow, and possibly chain me to a chair with stacks of books reaching taller than me standing on the table.

" Do you hate stir-friend meat and vegetables that bad?"

" Goddess, if I die tomorrow, will you forgive me?"

Her head tilted cutely.

" What?

My eyes could only look at the floor as the half-elf's piercing stare pricked me all over my neck upwards. It was wrong of me to stand her up yesterday, especially after she went out of her way to offer teaching me all about dungeon for my own good. I got too excited after getting a pair of new weapons, and went ahead and bought several shirts and pouch for extra magic stones or potions in the future. Not to mention for the first time in forever, I forgot that I was a middle-aged man and had fun like a teenager.

Her glasses gleamed as she crossed her arms under her blessed bust.

" Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

" I'm lower than a slug for breaking my promise. My apology may sound cheap, but I do feel very regretful."

My bow turned to a dogeza at some point. She finally sighed and offered her hand to me. Still feeling ashamed of myself, I didn't dare pick up her hand.

" Come on, Bell! People are staring here!"

Far be it from me to make further trouble for her, so I followed her to a waiting room of sorts.

" Eina-san, I—"

She raised her hand, stopping me from apologizing again.

" Bell, I'm angry, but not that angry, okay? First, could you tell me why you stood me up yesterday?"

She sat down on a fancy wooden chair with cushions. Even now, I still felt too ashamed to look her in the eyes.

" I was excited and went to blacksmith to get new weapons, and then to shops for new pouch, and then looked around Orario… Then I remembered our promise during dinner."

" You should sit, Bell."

I didn't refuse her suggestion. The cushion was comfortable and smelled new. Really, the Guild must be making huge profits if it could buy such huge buildings and fancy furnitures like these. Her hands pulled out a pouch from somewhere, and put it on the table.

" First, there are some rewards for you finding and alerting the Guild of an Irregular horde of lizards in the 4th to 5th floor. It's not much, but please accept it. The monster is named Dire Lizard, and they're mutated dungeon lizards that grew long enough."

" Okay. I just wanted to exchange my drops at that time, though."

It's a shame. I know this sounded really selfish, but I wanted them to remain unknown for a while longer. Their drops fetched really good money. Now that they're public, I'd think their drops would reduce in value.

" Just how did you meet those monsters, Bell? It's been decades since there's a new monster spotted in the upper floors. Deep levels, or even middle levels aren't that unusual, but upper floors are mostly mapped out already."

I recalled myself going around in circles to find monsters on the fifth floor after basically a genocide. After I decided to just descend a floor, I spotted a rather large lizard, that let out a roar before my knife could reach it. Then before I knew it, there were around twenty chasing after my ass. She twirled her brown hair in contemplation. Honestly, I thought it was just me being kind of lucky and unlucky.

" Bell, stick to the mapped regions. It's not just because it's safer, but also to allow you to get back home safely. Imagine getting lost, running around in circles, and eventually surrounded by monsters… I've heard countless adventurers meeting their end that way. I don't want you to meet the same fate."

Deep in my mind, I was thinking that I wiped out every single monster in the area. To the point of having to venture to some unmapped region. I also realized that she was saying this for my own good, and that I was getting too arrogant. But come on, I'd always been venturing with power to spare. My stats were growing rapidly and no one really knew why or how much.

" Then I'll have to go to lower floor… Can I?"

Her face turned angry for real this time. She was about to go on a long, winded rant about me not treasuring my life when I raised my hands in front of my face.

" My stats are upper F, even E. I think it's about time I go down to 7th to 9th floor."

Eina scoffed at my suggestion, but not for the reason I expected.

" Bell, please don't lie to me. You just started a week ago, going from I to F is just…"

" But I'm not lying!"

Her sharp-looking eyes examined my whole form, intent on finding chinks or weaknesses she could call out on. After a while, her words resolutely rang on my ears.

" Bell, undress."

" Eh?!" I immediately hugged myself in response to her molester-like request.

" I mean, your back. Show me your Status."

My lips were pursed, knowing just how serious a request she'd made. Status was something very personal, to the point members of same familia wouldn't knows others', nor would they ask them to show theirs. Their skills and stats were trump cards, and also the reflection of their true selves and values. Not to mention such precious information might get leaked. It was the equivalent of giving a self-destruct button of yours to someone who could make countless more and sell them like hotcakes.

It was beyond shameless to ask that.

And by the looks of her, she fully understood that as well.

" Please, Bell. I won't look for anything beyond your basic stats. If your abilities get leaked, you can blame it all on me!"

It's time to pry out the reason of her desperateness. I'd always been curious as to why Eina favored Bell so much compared to any other adventurers.

" May I ask why?"

Her expression became solemn as she almost seemed to sigh at her own inability.

" I don't want you to end up dying in the dungeon. I think of you as…my-my little brother after all."

Her hand reached across the table and ruffled my snow-white hair. Glad that this part hadn't changed much, I nodded and turned my back to her before pulling up my shirt. She fixed her glasses as her face came closer until I could feel her breath on my skin.

It seemed she couldn't believe her sight. It felt gratifying, honestly.

" Wow… Okay, you're a really fast rookie, Bell. I approve you going down to 7th floor, AFTER we're done studying."

" Sure. I'll be in your care. Ah, do remember to keep my stats a secret as promised."

I bet Eina never expected an adventure who's not a mage to clear out books like a starving teenager thrown to a buffet after three days of fasting. The stack of books and maps and documents about monsters, terrains, tactics and general knowledge about Dungeons and adventuring was whittled down quickly, and wiped in mere hours instead of days like she thought.

It was that sort of customers that made all-you-can-eat places take bitter loss. As for my dear advisor, her loss was apparent when I managed to ace the tests she gave me. Every single one.

Even if Bell Cranell sucked at studying, it's literally the only thing I was proud of back then. As if I'd ever fail in tests.

" Are you really Bell?"

" That's rude, Eina-san."

My smug smiled was replied rather frustratingly by my tester. She reluctantly allowed me to go to the seventh floor after that.