Pre-Chapter AN: Hey there everyone thank you for the wait. Honestly should have posted this earlier, but between work and school, even I hit some lazy points here and there.
I would like to preface this by saying that this is more of an interlude Chapter and I will be the first to say that this isn't my best chapter as it does jump around from POV to POV. That said, I hope you guys still enjoy it!
The Denatus, one month later…
The Denatus.
The meeting of the Gods that takes place every three months. The day when the gods of Orario converge for two main purposes. The first purpose is, at its essence, the spreading of gossip as the attending deities discuss events within and outside of Orario that they would like to share amongst one another and respond to them if necessary, such as the occasional invasion by a particular god from the western side of the continent.
The second, on the other hand…
""""""Moon Rider it is!""""""
"Noooooooo!"
Comes in the form of a rather enjoyable event for most of the gods. Specifically those of more reputable Familias who have been given the opportunity to bestow an Alias down upon any child who has leveled up and reached the next step, while the minority of the gods are the ones who end up suffering.
And it was another child who was just now given a name by the attending deities, with the child's God in question quite literally breaking out in tears at such an embarrassing name for their beloved child, knowing how the child will just find it cool.
This process was something that has gone on for quite some time, with the gods having brainstormed name after name for these children who have leveled up in the past few months.
That being said, this Denatus had been more tame in the naming ceremony compared to their normal ones, with the previous one following the Great Feud having been more of a celebratory yet solemn one in light of their victory against Evilus in spite of their losses. This one on the other hand was a different matter entirely. While the gods did continue the tradition of bestowing regrettable names as they have always done, many of them were put on a bit of a metaphorical leash to the fact that Astraea surprisingly wished to host this Denatus, and considering that she was the motherly type of Goddess who many Gods wanted a lap pillow from, a lot of children were spared from receiving possibly more regrettable names.
But that was just one of many metaphorical meals. Now it was time for the final child as they all had gone down the list, this particular one catching the attention of the attending deities.
"And now onto the final child to name." The voice of the Goddess Astraea rang out, the beautiful brunette acting as the host of this Denatus while she and all of the attending gods looked through their copy of the paperwork to see a young boy in his teenage years, a particular child who she's has the pleasure of speaking to after he had visited her home last month to deliver cake to her children and making some more than surprising discoveries about him in the process.
After Sigmund and Kaguya's spar…
The two of them were now sitting across from each other within her Familia's home, Astraea waiting patiently for him to break the silence, as she didn't wish to press him for an answer.
"So…were my powers really that noticeable?" Sigmund asked, finally breaking the silence that fell between the two of them as Astraea patiently and kindly waited for the child to talk about what she had discovered just recently, knowing that he was most likely feeling awkward and nervous, much like how her own children had been when some divulged aspects of their lives that they wanted to avoid. After all, while she approached Sigmund out of curiosity, she also knew how greedy her fellow deities can be, so she also did this out of concern for the child.
"Yes, they were. The moment you showed me the light that formed your weapon, I understood what it was, yet what it also wasn't. A light that shone of the power of the gods, and yet it seemed sealed at the same time. I take it that Lord Dian Cecht is aware of this?" She asked him, certain that the God in question did know, but she wanted to still have this confirmed for her.
"He is, but to be honest, I actually wasn't aware of this until yesterday in the Dungeon, followed by him confirming it to me." Sigmund answered honestly, and Astraea nodded in understanding.
After all, even as a god, how would one be able to tell their child, much less one with amnesia, that their Magic uses a power that resembles an Arcanum yet it wasn't the genuine article?
But learning this bit of information also allowed her to connect some more of the pieces regarding the monster that appeared in the Dungeon.
"That monster had appeared in the Dungeon because of you didn't it? Was this why you asked me if I learned anything else about Black, am I correct?" Astraea asked the child who shook his head before realizing what he did and clarifying his action.
"Well, yes it did appear because of my power. That being said, that wasn't why I asked you about Black. I wanted to learn what our mutual visitor wished to share with you regarding Black to see where your knowledge of it stood, outside of the basic information you and your Familia learned: how it was a black monster that spawned without a god's presence, has intelligence, and can speak. If they didn't tell you anything else, then that's information that I'll wait for them to divulge to you."
While the goddess of justice was curious about what this information was, if it was something only Lord Ouranos knew of amongst the gods, she trusts that there was a reason for her not learning it, so there was little point in her pushing into such matters as of now.
"That aside, as far as I know, they are unaware of what my power holds, since they've never laid eyes on it before, which would make sense, otherwise all of the Gods in Orario would have already found me out just by me practicing with it whenever I was alone if they could sense it, making you and Lord Dian Cecht the only two Gods to know about what my Quincy magic truly contains. Although, my decision to reveal this power to you before I fought Kaguya was of my own volition. In fact I didn't even speak with Lord Dian Cecht about whether or not I should share my secret with you."
"Oh?"
This revelation truly surprised Astraea. While she quickly deduced that the child in front of her must have had a reason to want to blatantly show her his powers in front of her eyes, she did not expect for him to do this without his God even knowing. So she couldn't help but ask.
"Forgive me for asking, Sigmund, but why was it that you wished to reveal to me the nature of your powers? Or rather, why me specifically?" Astraea asked him, truly curious as to what could have prompted him to do such a thing. After all, while her own children were quite friendly with him, that wouldn't have been reason enough for him to reveal what the light of his Magic held.
After a brief moment of silence as if contemplating how he should answer, Sigmund let out a small sigh as he looked down at his feet.
"Because…it's because I need backing once people discover the nature of my powers. It might be tomorrow. It might be next week. It might even be in the next year or five years. But sooner or later, the Gods residing here and possibly outside of Orario will know the truth, and I'll need any support that I can gather as a deterrent, especially if any of them target my Familia or anyone else around me as a result. And I know that I don't have much to offer right now, but I swear that I will repay this one day." He answered before looking her dead in the eyes and giving her a smile, much to her surprise. But even then, she could see the weight that seemed to fall on his shoulder, paired with the lack of confidence in his smile, as if he was expecting the worst.
"As for why I am being open about this to you? Well, aside from the fact that I like your Familia since they're pretty nice people…well, it was actually an on the spot decision. After all, you're the goddess of justice aren't you? If I can't trust the goddess who represents justice, then who can I trust?" He asked her in a voice that betrayed some of his embarrassment at his confession about this choice being spontaneous.
Astraea couldn't help but to look at him in surprise for a moment, before she raised her hand to laugh softly behind it, unable to help but to find how funny his answer was.
He was blatantly telling her that her support for him would act as a shield from the greed of her fellow deities, not just for him, but for all those around him. This was understandable, all things considered. After all, he wasn't wrong. Many of her kind would greedily vie for such a power under their own wing and some would probably resort to underhanded methods, depending on who knew about this.
And yet at the same time, here he was, also telling her that he wanted to be forthcoming because he was taking a leap of faith merely because she was the goddess that embodied justice and he liked her Familia. Nothing more than just that, his budding friendship with her Familia and an act of faith because of her belief in justice just on a whim.
'The children of this world always manage to find a way to surprise us Gods, one way or another. But…I suppose that is why we love them dearly. Very well, Sigmund. I shall respond accordingly to your faith in me.' She thought to herself as she finished laughing and then gently smiled at the young boy before reaching out her hand for him to take.
"Heed my word, Sigmund Gulbrand. I, Astraea the goddess of justice, shall support you and your loved ones in your time of need, and all I ask in return is that, even if you are not one of my children, you be just and righteous, helping those who are in need of helping. As you have asked for me to be a shield for not just yourself, but for those around you, I ask that in return that you in turn, act as a shield for others, so that we can bring prosperity and happiness to the world."
She saw as Sigmund's eyes seemed to shine with relief, the burden on his shoulder seemingly lifting as he slowly reached out with both his hands to take hold of her own. She couldn't help but to be happy at how bright he seemed at that moment, as he seemed to be acting his age, much like how he had been with Kaguya briefly. Every other time she had interacted with him, it was as if he wouldn't allow himself a chance to just be a teenager, instead taking on the mantle of someone older than him.
'This child…I would like to see the light in his eyes remain where it is, just like for many others…'
"Thank you very much, Lady Astraea…" He softly said to her before releasing her hand and letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Well…since we're still here…I might as well confess a few things as a further olive branch of trust since you'll be risking a lot for me. You can meet with Lord Dian Cecht on your own time in order to confirm this. First is the creation of the new monster, the Asauchi known as Black. And second, an interesting skill that allows me to do the impossible in front of the Gods."
And thus, a connection has been formed between Astraea and Dian Cecht's child who was blessed with a God's light.
The creation of Black, formed of the souls of the monsters that he had slain in the dungeon, all of them being molded by the Dungeon before turning black, allowing for the birth of a monster of magnificent power, yet it was not under the control of the Dungeon. And then, his unique ability to lie to the Gods, which explained the sensation that she felt when she spoke to him prior to his spar with Kaguya. She had surmised that due to her domain as the goddess of justice, she could feel the slight lie that he had told her, despite his words all ringing as truth to her, and considering their conversation last month.
'To think that I had bonded with such a unique child who is not my own through such odd circumstances…' Astraea thought to herself with a small internal giggle before focusing her attention back to this naming ceremony.
'Although I'm sorry to say Sigmund, I can't provide you any help here today. After all, you have to also experience what my children have undergone as well.'
As everyone in attendance looked at his picture, they could see that in spite of his youth, he had a sharp yet fair appearance. Light brown hair that had been swept back. Steel gray eyes and where hidden behind a pair of glasses on his face. And what stood out the most was how he seemed to be dressed in all white, like some sort of male angel, much to the joy of some of the goddesses and a few of the gods as well.
He was the picture perfect definition of a young and graceful-looking human and just his physical features alone were of interest to some of these deities.
But while his appearance was spread around for all of the attending deities to glimpse at, the more important thing to look at was down in the 'personal history' column that revealed some of his deeds, even if there wasn't much revealed.
"He wiped out a pass parade that had that many monsters as well as an Infant Dragon unscathed?"
"He actually got a Jack Bird that early into his Adventuring dives?"
"Four months?! He leveled up in just four months?!"
While these achievements were honestly quite impressive for someone who was Level 1 and undoubtedly impressed the gods in attendance, there was also some matters in this column that left a bitter taste in some of these gods' mouths, especially the ones who do care about the children of the Lower World, even if those children aren't their own.
"Another victim of Evilus's attack? How despicable. At least he lived…"
"But he still lost his memories though. Poor child."
"That may be so, but we also have to acknowledge that it's still an incredible feat for a child who lost his memories to simply push onward and become an Adventurer in spite of what happened to him."
Whoever had said the last part garnered the nods of the gods in attendance.
And as they all were in the midst of discussing his achievements or his looks, there were a few gods who had an opinion regarding this new child.
Loki, who had been reading over the paperwork on Sigmund, was a bit peeved by the fact that a new child destroyed her little Ais' record with ease, but she wasn't going to raise a stink about it. After all, considering the child's history, she has no reason to get on his ass and would probably come off as the offending party if she tried anything, and despite how the old man Dian Cecht can be, the god isn't stupid enough as to use his Arcanum to help his child. Not to mention, if she raised a fuss to the top healing Familia for something like this, it wouldn't set a great precedent.
Even so…
"Man, that's quite a child ya got there, Dian Cecht. Leveling up in only four months and destroying my lil Ais' record like that. There something about yer child you wanna share with us?" She asked, wanting to prod around a bit to try to possibly get some answer.
Unfortunately for her, he wouldn't deliver.
"Ahahahaha! I am merely lucky to have been blessed with a hard working child such as Sigmund. A young man who lost almost all of his memories yet was blessed with the will and talent to grow to such an extent. That's all it is, the hard work of a child who claims that he will become the second Monster of Talent." Dian Cecht exclaimed with laughter undoubtedly filled with pride for his newest child.
And what a claim he had made just then, one recognized by all of the Gods whose minds went straight to the person who first held such a title.
Alfia the Silence, the first Monster of Talent.
Despite having been an enemy of Orario just months ago, before her death, no one could deny her physical and magical prowess. Her talent. A seemingly prodigal child of the Hera Familia who reached Level 7 while she was only 17 years old, cementing herself as the youngest Adventurer to reach such a prestigious level that was now solely occupied by the King, Ottar, following the deaths of her and Zard of the Zeus Familia.
And for someone who reached Level 2 in only a handful of months to make such a claim to his god. Whether or not this new child really is the second coming of the Incarnation of Talent, no one can truly say, but they were certainly not so foolish as to just dismiss such a bold claim.
"Really now? Well then, old man, that's sure a pair that the child's got on him. I'm looking forward ta seein' what yer child's got then." Loki said with a challenging smirk, curious as to whether or not this new sensation can really walk the walk.
As she listened to all of this, Astraea locked eyes with Dian Cecht who returned his brief own look before they broke eye contact and nodded to each other in acknowledgement in consideration of the child that has linked the two of them together, and wasn't that quite an interest conversation she had with him. To think that the God in question that Sigmund was linked to was in fact Yahweh. She didn't even think that he had descended to the Lower World before or after her, so to hear that his falsified Arcanum was what made its way into mortal hands was a surprise. But it only raised questions for the two Gods.
After all, they can't have children, so how is it that Sigmund has these powers?
Sadly, this is something that they'll have to hopefully discover in the future, especially in light of the child's amnesia.
"Well, it seems that since we've now had time to discuss his features and achievements, shall we hear our first alias nomination for Sigmund Gulbrand?" Astraea asked with a smile that warmed the hearts of gods and goddesses alike.
""""""YES!""""""
With a resounding cheer, the Gods all began vying for the bragging rights of giving the new record holder his first Alias as an Adventurer.
"Oh! I got one! How about…"
"That works, but what about this one!?"
"No, no! It doesn't work for someone like him! It has to be this!"
"Yes…yes…I can see where you're going with that, but it doesn't quite do the job though. How about this Alias?"
"I AM GANESHA!"
""""""DENIED!""""""
"Shut your trap Ganesha!"
"Oh my~ How about this one?"
"Oh really?"
"I think I'd like that…"
"Absolutely not." Astraea shot down with a disapproving stare as she looked at the commenters and those who seemed to have silently agreed.
""""WE'RE SORRY!""""
"Oh! Oh! I got just the one! This is the perfect one!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
""""""WE LIKE IT! AGREED!""""""
And with that declaration, the Alias of Sigmund Gulbrand has just been given, with Dian Cecht giving a small groan, but knowing it could have been worse. So much worse.
As of this day, Sigmund Gulbrand of the Dian Cecht Familia will now be known as…
[1st POV]
Dian Cecht Familia Home, the Well of Healing
"White Star of Fortune?"
Seriously?
I mentally began to rake through my knowledge of how the deities of this world determined the Aliases given to Adventurers, poor souls who didn't know that their aliases were given as some sort of chuuni entertainment, especially if they were from a weaker Familia. I guess my moniker is straightforward all things considered, so small silver linings.
Still…
I can see that 'White' comes from my literal all white clothing, the 'Star' might be because of the Quincy Zeichen, and 'Fortune' comes from…well…the good and bad luck that I've had in the Dungeon, from the Pass Parade to the Jack Bird and so on. But it might also be a play on me being called some sort of treasure, since a lot of deities might be interested in me.
Dear Lord, help me.
In short, I hated it.
On that note, I'm going to put that last thought on the back burner. And I might need to start looking over my shoulder more often.
"Lord Dian Cecht, be honest with me. How bad was it?" I asked him with a sigh, knowing full well that other more embarrassing names could have been given to me.
"Well let's see…" Dian Cecht hummed as he placed his hand on his chin in thought as if running through the Denatus in his mind.
"There was Bright Light as the first proposal."
Oh God, no. That's just awful, and it seemed that my expression made my thoughts known when my God nodded.
"Indeed. Hm…there was also Fledgling Star that was thrown out."
Ugh, that's even worse and patronizing.
"Someone even suggested Radiant Dawn."
Isn't that a title from another fictional franchise? Actually…that sounds sort of cool…no! Stop that Sigmund, don't fall into temptation!
"One that was almost accepted was Star Knight because of your Quincy Cross and how you are dressed in all white, as if you were some armorless knight, but everyone else thought that it was too dull."
I snapped my head towards him when he mentioned Star Knight.
"Really?" I couldn't help but to ask him, honestly shocked about how close that alias hits to home, so to speak.
How about that? I was almost given the English translation of Sternritter, and honestly Star Knight is a much better choice in comparison to White Star of Fortune. Though I have to admit that it doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well as Sternritter would.
Still…there were actually two potential names I wouldn't have minded taking. I don't know what that says about me or the gods: either I'm really like the other Adventurers and attracted to those chuuni names, or some of the deities actually had decent naming skills.
Dian Cecht, the observant deity he was, noticed that my shock was different from the distaste that I had displayed at the previous two names.
"Is there something wrong, lad?"
As much as I don't like doing so, it's best that I fib a little bit, albeit while using the truth.
"I'm just a bit shocked is all, Lord Dian Cecht. It's just that I actually somewhat liked that name. Sure, it doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but it'd honestly be a better one than White Star of Fortune." I explained to him before he let out a small hum.
"Ah I see…I suppose I can see the appeal of that name." He confessed as he thought the name through before ultimately nodding in silence.
"I have to know though, just out of sheer curiosity. What was the worst name?"
I could see Dian Cecht actually visibly shuddering before he opened his mouth to say the name of the supposedly worst Alias and once I heard it, I could feel my heart turn to stone and chip.
"..."
"..."
"To be fair, that name would have never been made a contender since Astraea shot it down."
And with that, I promise you Astraea, should you ask for it, I will build a shrine of worship for you one day and gather worshippers. Thank you, you fabulous motherly woman.
"You gods…you're all really weird aren't you?"
"Ah…I apologize on behalf of them, my boy."
"No, it's fine. Thank you for letting me know about my Alias, Lord Dian Cecht. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to work."
"Of course, my boy, do take care." Dian Cecht said to me, sympathy lining his voice as he allowed me to dismiss myself.
…
…
"Hello there Sigmund, so what was the verdict?" The voice of my newly instated Captain called out to me with a smile from a different room that I was passing as I was carrying a small crate of potions to the front of the pharmacy to fill up the stock in the front.
Cian was currently working on one of the many prosthetics that our Familia creates for those Adventurers who have lost an arm or a leg so that they can continue their lives in and out of the Dungeon. From what Airmid and Dian Cecht told me, our Familia has given out many prosthetics in this dark era to a variety of people, especially in light of the threat that had been Evilus following the loss of the Zeus and Hera Familias from Orario. So it's normal for some of the cheaper prosthetics to be sold to plenty of people while the higher quality ones would require a small loan in order to acquire, with these artificial limbs being constantly improved as the years go by.
"Yeah Sigmund! What's the verdict?" Another voice rang out, causing my head to turn over to a pair of twins, one who was going over the ledger for our pharmacy, the Well of Healing, while the other was tidying up the place.
These two were the Tipra brothers, Cu and Cethen. They would look absolutely identical to the other with their brown hair and blue eyes if it weren't for the fact that Cu liked his hair in a ponytail while Cethen preferred to have shortened hair.
"Don't worry, I'm getting there, if you'd let me speak." I said with a smile, walking into the room they were in to set the crate of potions on the table. While I had to admit that we weren't exactly friends, and I don't mean that in a negative way, we definitely get along with each other as fellow Familia members. It's nothing against the twins in any way, but we just have different lives outside of our duties as part of the Dian Cecht Familia, especially with how they are the traditional healing type Familia members while I'm the sole exception, traversing the Dungeon on my own, with our own evening lives to boot. That's why I don't think that we're friends in regards to my personal relationship with them, but they're still my fellow Familia members who I still trust and talk to fairly often.
"Sorry, sorry!" The person calling out to me turned out to be Cu as he paused from his work on the ledger to speak to me.
"It's no worries whatsoever. Now, as for what my Alias is, I've now been recognized by the Gods as White Star of Fortune." I answered, giving them the Alias that they requested for.
But I had to admit, I could feel some cringe when announcing what my bestowed Alias was…ugh.
"White Star of Fortune? That sounds pretty cool!"
"Hm, makes sense. I mean, he does have the all white."
"He did get to be helped by the Astraea Familia, the dog."
"What good luck for him indeed."
""Yeah, it looks like White Star of Fortune suits you a lot.""
Please stop you two…
Fortunately, Cian came to my rescue as he cleared his throat and drew our attention to him.
"Let's settle down you two. We can't all have names such as Freya Familia's King and Loki Familia's Braver, Elgarm, and Nine Hell. Remember that while your points do hold merit for how Sigmund received his Alias, White Star of Fortune is also partially reflective of his poor fortune too. After all, do you want to remind Airmid that the Astraea Familia helping him was what allowed him to keep his life last month?"
And with that, the two twins quickly shook their heads, not that I can blame them. Though the twins were 19 and Cian was 25, none of them wanted to draw the disappointment and ire of the little sister figure known as Airmid Teasenare, who was effectively our little mascot. Though, I couldn't stop the small grimace that formed on my face. The less I had to be reminded about that incident, the better.
"Exactly. Not to mention, Fortune also alludes to treasure, and considering how a lot of the Gods can be in Orario…" Cian trailed off all, allowing the twins to finish his train of thought.
"Some are interested in him." Cu muttered with a small 'tsk' escaping his mouth. "Not really that surprising honestly."
"Well, considering that the previous record was shattered by 8 months, it's no wonder." Cethen said, adding on to that.
As expected of the 'Holy Son' Cian to quickly point that out.
"Well don't worry guys, I don't think I'll be leaving our Familia anytime in the future. After all, I have the Holy Son and the Twin Scales to back me up, right?" I asked, bringing out smiles across the room.
"Yeah I guess you're right." Cu siad with a loud laugh. "You're the Dian Cecht Familia's White Star of Fortune, and there ain't anyone that'll make us say otherwise."
"Cu's right. After all, you're one of us. Not to mention Airmid would be very sad if you left us." Cethen said to me with a small smile.
"I couldn't have said it better myself. Even if we're not a Familia that's geared towards combat, neither are we a Familia that will let ourselves be stepped over by anyone. You're one of Lord Dian Cecht's children, just like us. And we know how he is with his children." Cian said, bringing out a small bout of laughter from everyone, myself included.
I found out about Dian Cecht's peculiarities some time after joining, no surprise there.
That being said…sure, he's eccentric since he has some sort of hate boner for Miach, loves money, and he enjoys showing off his children, in moderation at least since he isn't an idiot who would divulge my Quincy powers to anyone. But in spite of his odd points, he does care for his children and look out for us.
So while he's a bit of an oddball- and really, what god down here isn't- I don't regret joining him and asking him to take me in under his wing.
"What are you four doing?"
The four of us paused in our good cheer and simultaneously turned our heads to look at a frowning Airmid who was staring at the four of us with her arms crossed, and at this moment, I couldn't help but to feel as if we were children with our hands in the cookie under her gaze, despite how adorable she looked trying to be the responsible one between us all.
To be fair, we're on the clock right now, so we should be working at this moment.
I exchanged looks with Cian and the twins and almost as if we were having a mental conversation, the three of them nodded towards me.
'If you would.' Their nods and gaze seemed to convey to me, to which I responded with a nod of my own.
'Leave it to me.' I conveyed nonverbally to them before giving Airmid a smile and reaching out to pat her on the head.
"Well, my dear little sister, aren't you curious about what my new Alias is?" I innocently asked her, watching as her eyes widened and began to shine brightly.
"Lord Dian Cecht's back now? You have your Alias!? Please tell me! What is it!?"
Urk! Please Airmid, I beg you to not look so excited about my chuuni nickname. I feel like I'm going to cry…
But I can't just disappoint her by just sounding disappointed by my Alias. At least with the guys, I could sound neutral about it, but with Airmid, she's still a young girl more or less filled with cheer.
O Lord, give me strength.
"Well, you see Airmid, as of today, I am now Orario's 'White Star of Fortune' Sigmund Gulbrand." I said to her, almost forcing a smile on my face when I heard the noise filled with awe escaping her mouth. Urg…
"Anyway, I was just stopping by here since Cian saw Lord Dian Cecht come back and call me to discuss my Alias. I think he plans on announcing it to the Familia later today before we all go to the Hostess to celebrate my Leveling Up." I continued before walking over to the crate and picking it up.
"Anyway, I guess it's back to work everyone, so let's get to it." I said to everyone giving the guys an out to avoid Airmid's ire for slacking a bit on the job.
"Right!"
"Of course."
""You got it./You got it!""
…
…
"Thank you very much for visiting the Well of Healing. We hope to see you again." I said and gave a small bow to the Adventurers who had just come in to purchase some potions from us.
Now, you may be asking why I am working at our Familia pharmacy. Well, ever since the incident with Black, I've been taking it a bit easier in the past few weeks. I still travel down into the Dungeon to get some easy Magic Stones and drop items with an easy application of the Heilig Bogen as well as Hirenkyaku to go down to the Middle Floors, but otherwise I've been spending a bit more time on the surface, catching up with the people who I've gotten acquainted with.
I still visited the Hostess for the occasional meal. I catch up with Airmid and the guys by helping them by working some days in the pharmacy. And on top of that…
"Hello Sigmund." A voice rang out as its source entered through our front door.
"Oh! Hello Kaguya." I said in a polite greeting to the Far East Vice-Captain as I smiled at her. "What can the Dian Cecht Familia do for you today?"
"Do I need a reason to visit you, my dear Sigmund?" Kaguya asked me, batting her eyes like an innocent girl, causing me to snort a bit as I turned my head to the side and laughed, though I couldn't help but to think how cute that expression was to see on the face of the 17 year old Vice Captain.
"Careful Kaguya. Keep playing the innocent act and I might start calling you the second coming of Alise." I said to her before Kaguya broke her act and started laughing alongside me.
"Please don't ever compare me to that Captain of mine."
Ever since the spar between Kaguya and I, we've gotten to be fairly acquainted with one another, but I wouldn't go so far as to say we're friends though. Kaguya…while she's no doubt a nice and beautiful person, and we get along with each other pretty well, especially with the flirty jabs and the cleared air between us following the spar, we've not really set a foundation with each other for us to really be considered actual friends, just really good colleagues with each other.
That said, I hope we can be friends one day.
To be honest, the closest person to a friend who I have from the Astraea Familia would be Celty, Maryuu, or Alise. Celty enjoys watching my Spirit Weapons being formed as well as the Heilig Pfeil and talking to me about magic. Maryuu acts like the warm older sister, scolding me and telling me to be careful. Alise…well, Alise is like that annoying nuisance of a sister who you can't seem to get rid of, but you can't bring yourself to hate her. What can I say? She definitely has one hell of a charismatic side to her.
"Well, let's get back on track. What can the Dian Familia do for you today?" I asked her to which she pulled out a piece of parchment and slid it across the counter to me.
"We're in need of these supplies to stock up on for our next trip to the Dungeon. If you can have these prepared tomorrow, that would be appreciated." The Vice Captain explained to me as I did the mental math and then wrote the total price on the parchment before turning it over to her.
"This here would come out to the total cost you'd have to pay for these Potions, Kaguya."
I watched as Kaguya read the price of the order before nodding.
"I see. Thank you Sigmund. I'll be sure to bring the Valis over tomorrow, but aside from that, I'd like to officially put in the order with your Familia for these potions."
"Sure, that sounds good. I'll go ahead and get that order started so you can pick it up next time you come back. In any case, we'll see you later." I said with a polite smile that Kaguya acknowledged with a nod before she turned to leave, but not before looking over her shoulder at me to flash me a wide smile.
"Farewell, Sigmund. Until we meet again."
As she walked away, I couldn't help but to follow her with my eyes until the door closed between us following her departure.
Well, I better get the order ready for delivery.
But first…
"Oh, welcome to the Well of Healing. How can I help you today?"
And so the world continues to revolve…
[3rd POV]
Twilight Manor…
"Strong…how did he get strong so quickly…" A blonde child with golden eyes murmured as she continued her training outside.
"I'll keep becoming stronger too…"
"That girl…working herself to the bone again." A green haired elf commented to herself with a small shake of her head, seeing as how the girl she had been looking after has somewhat reverted back to solely training for the sake of attaining strength.
…
…
I am Ganesha…
"So that young man has leveled up then?" Shakti murmured to herself as she had heard the news of the newest record holder, leveling up in only just four months. She had spotted him every so often on the streets of Orario since meeting him, since it wasn't hard to spot someone wearing all bright white, but she never had the opportunity to reach out to him since he would be quickly out of sight and she had her duties to perform as Captain of her Familia.
"If I'm right, he's in the Dian Cecht Familia. Perhaps I should pay him a visit to congratulate him." She said to herself with a small smile.
…
…
In the Dungeon…
"So it seems that my Creator has advanced to the next step."
Black, the Asauchi, stood over the slain corpse of its normal monster brethren, pulling out their Magic Stones and watching as their bodies crumbled away into nothing, some of them leaving behind small tokens of their existence.
It popped the stone into its mouth and began to consume them, feeling a negligible boost in power that was granted to him by doing such an action.
"Interesting…how interesting. As expected of my Father." The Asauchi said as it let out a small chuckle before lifting its arm, revealing its right arm, looking at where its Father had severed its bladed arm…
That is, if it was still a severed stump.
But if one were to lay eyes on it, they would see a completely pitch black shadowy hand, while the left arm remained the same. And standing just a few feet away was a black blade that was stabbed into the ground. The blade that had once been its severed right arm before it tore at the arm and fashioned it as an actual blade.
"The majority of me that was formed from a War Shadow is sure the convenient thing, I must say. To regain use of my right arm and also wield my blade once again. How freeing, even if it's not as powerful." It murmured to itself before walking over to the blade impaled into the ground before pulling it out and hefting it on his shoulder.
"I shall await you further inside my home, Sigmund Gulbrand…"
In an unknown location far away…
"Whew…" A man nearing thirty years of age sighed out, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away his sweat before walking over to the tool shed to store the gardening tool so that it wasn't just lying in the middle of the sun. His gray eyes scanned the soil that he had just finished tilling, a smile gracing his face as the wind pushed against his light brown hair, set into a ponytail while an admittedly beautiful beard graced his face.
"Well old timer, you're sure sounding tired." The voice of a young man called out as he walked over to the older man, his short, wavy white hair glistening in the sun, and his singular golden left eye twinkling with delight as the other was covered by an eyepatch. "Are you sure that you should be out here working by your lonesome if you're going to lack stamina like that?"
"Hello my old friend." The man said before he let out a small laugh. "It's quite amusing how you're telling me this despite you being the older between the two of us. That said, I am happy to have you visit today. May I ask what brings you here?"
The 'young man' merely smiled as he turned to join the supposedly 'older man' in gazing across the farmland that had just been set up.
"Well, I could tell you that I wanted to witness this beautiful farmland with my own eye, but it would pale in comparison to the actual reason. You see…it seems that I saw something quite interesting and I figured that I should come to you about it. After all, it's about a certain boy who shares your same features."
The brown–haired man turned to look at the younger man with wide eyes.
"You mean..?"
"That's right. I saw the boy still alive and kicking, with something quite interesting as well. He was using an interesting bow made of a familiar light while also steeped in a literal darkness. All under the city where everything all began."
"The Dungeon. That means he's in Orario…" The man said in realization before letting out a shaky sigh of relief and smiled in joy, an invisible weight in his heart having lifted in this auspicious moment.
"I was afraid that I had truly…has it really been five years since…no…that doesn't matter now. All that matters is that he is alive. Tell me, my friend. Is he happy?"
"Well, I'm certainly not omniscient, you know that, right?" The young man asked with a small scoff, before giving his friend a smile. "But to answer your question…yes, I saw that he seemed to be quite happy."
"I see. Thank you very much. I hate to ask more of you but-"
"It's no worry for me. I've already sent Huginn and Muninn to Orario to investigate for me. After all, I can't just ignore the boy I named myself, can I? Even if he is yours. Now then-"
The young man's smile became a touch smug as his golden eye seemed to shine.
"Would you like to hear what I saw as the isolated hermit and miracle healer named Yhwach? Or would you rather we go with your real name this time? What do you say, Yahweh?"
The man revealed as Yahweh just stared at the smug smile for a moment before shaking his head with amusement.
"I think today I'll hear your news as both Yhwach and Yahweh. After all, as his father, I'd enjoy hearing anything about him in either capacity. God of wisdom, the ever knowledgeable Odin…please educate this young man as to how he has been."
"Tch, cheeky brat." The older god, despite his younger appearance, muttered, losing his smile as the two stared at each other briefly before breaking into small laughter.
"Well, since you formally asked this old man, I suppose I can tell you about what I saw. Allow me to enlighten you with the journey of your other half." Odin stated as the golden iris brightened.
Post-Chapter AN: Okay, so I know what some of you guys might be thinking, so I'll address them as best as possible.
Why Odin?
Well, to be honest, I wanted to introduce a few more gods aside from our usual cast so that while the timeline follows canon (more or less depending on Sigmund's interference in select events), Sigmund isn't just another character piggybacking off the primary story of Danmachi. In addition, I wanted there to be a reason behind Sieg's Germanic name since Yahweh/the Abrahamic God is more based on Hebrew names if I'm right.
Also yes, Odin is in fact a younger man, even if his mythological counterpart is depicted as being quite old, but when you have genderbent gods and supposed virgin gods who really wanna get some of their child, I should be allowed a few liberties of my own.
Sigmund and Astraea's conversation
Regarding Sigmund's conversation with Astraea, keep in mind that while he should be mentally older, this is also merely on an intellectual level, especially since he lacks the memories and actual experiences to actually match his mental age with whatever it was in his original life, and as such, he will naturally fall back on being a teenager at times, because in this new reality, that is precisely what he is. And this means having that weight on his shoulders as well, trying to act older than he should be. He's not dumb. Even with his knowledge of Earth's mythology or of the gods in Danmachi, he is inherently aware of the greed of some gods, and wants to avoid it however he can, even if it means taking some affordable risks. Even though it's not been brought up too explicitly, for those versed in mythology and are knowledgable on Danmachi characters, some of those dots would have implicitly already connected.
Now with that out of the way, the next chapter will have a decent sized timeskip since nothing really eventful will happen to Sigmund in the next few days (after all, it's not like his life is ridiculously mixed with constant harem drama and other odd bs.
As always, while I will respond to most reviews, if you want to discuss my story, other stories or just share interesting stuff, you can join my Discord server under the code kdyDgrj4QU where you can talk to me and a few other writers who have happened to join the server with cool works of their own.
In any case, take care everyone!