If you read my other story, you know I didn't apologize for the long wait. If you didn't read it, shame on you for starters; secondly, I'm still not apologizing! Shit happens; I'm trying to improve, so let's move on, haha!
Thank you to those who have stuck with me during the long hiatus; you guys are the real MVPs. To any new readers, congrats, you missed a long break due to life's circumstances!
I also got Grammarly, so I don't know if it will improve my writing, but you guys will be the judges of that. I hope it looks better, lol!
To the comments, skip if they aren't you or you don't care; it's long this time, lol!
Frankieu- Thanks! I wanted to try and give off a more fleshed-out character with quirks, flaws, addictions, and anything else. I don't like the generic character!
Barley Bread- Coffee seems to be the bringer of comments, lol! I hope the update was good, even if it was unexpected!
Grim Riper- A lot was being said, so I will have to summarize, or else this chapter will be mostly commenting. PM me if the reasonings don't feel flushed out. 1- He isn't just going for power, but a life to live as well, not just being the best. 2- I'm trying for a solo character; of course, he needs the ability to do that. I will give him handicaps to all his abilities; don't fret. Magic is still used without a falna; it isn't common in the anime/manga. 3- No, they just aren't present because DanMachi loves boobs. Quite a few male elves are present, judging by the Wiki. I have someone in mind, don't worry. 4- His life isn't only about the dungeon but also about living. While the system is a motivator, so too is his life outside. Last point, there isn't a problem that he has to solve; he is going about his new life while having fun and a more thrilling experience than the one in his old life.
Silent casting is no fun! Don't start OP; you have to earn it!
Chaddts- I did not know that, but Asura probably doesn't either, so is it a "common" mistake?
tH1s- Got to start somewhere, right? I have never actually read a DanMachi FF where it began in the very beginning, so…
Noone cares if u disagree- Nope, no harem! It's generic, but it got you to read, so it must have some gram of creativity!
Now that that is over with, onto the story!
Gods be damned, does Gus's coffee have a kick to it! It's only been around five minutes since I left The Adventurer's Rest, and after finishing the coffee, still having my spell active as I am very opposed to death, and the caffeine high is as vibrant as the first sip! I don't know what he put in it, but it's definitely right up my alley, as I can practically feel the electrical nerves firing in my skin! With the caffeine high, I can take more of the city in as I walk through the streets, often looking down at the note Gus wrote for me and following the steps.
As I look around, the city is alive in its midday bustle. Vendors hawking their wares, shoppers buying said wares, city folk walking around going from one place to another, beggars asking for spare Valis, storefronts, restaurants, and most importantly, adventurers! The closer I got to the adventurers guild, the more adventurers could be seen; who knew! While I was aware of the different races of this world thanks to the anime, seeing them was a different experience altogether. From the normalcy of seeing multiple elves in one place to the numerous varieties of Beast Humans, and even seeing Pallums and Dwarves the size of myself in such regularity practically made me stop to take it all in.
'Sometimes I forget that I am truly in a different world… Being around my parents and friends made me forget the eccentricity of this world!'
I didn't have too much time to be introspective as I was quickly pushed to the side of the street by the throng of people behind me. I stumble slightly as I try to regain my footing from the slight shoving, only having to brace myself on the ground with one of my hands so I don't fall face-first onto the pavement. Before the small crowd can swallow me up, even with me being on the side of the street, I quickly straighten myself up from the ground and begin to walk with only a slight flush of embarrassment at my slip up in front of all these people.
I pick up my pace as I weave between the people, streets, and alleyways toward the Guild, ignoring the rest of the views so I don't make another mistake in introspection. I will have to wait another day to take in the views and sights on a less busy day than today.
While not losing focus from the surrounding scenery, my mind wanders after a few minutes of walking, returning to my family's history from the grimoire…
Illusio Family Grimoire
Siora Illusio
December 21, 120 A.D.
Today is the day of the Winter Solstice, the longest night out of the year, a day full of festivities for those closest to nature, a day of death and rebirth, and the day I chose to honor my mother's death, Ashera Illusio. I write this in our long-abandoned cottage, waiting for the night to come. Hopefully, it comes soon; it's getting cold in this decrepit building.
It has been five years since my mother's death, and my life has continued without her, even if I wish it hadn't. As my previous entries have shown, I have continued to live on, but the day my mother died, I lost my will to live the life she made. My mother was everything I had in this world, and she was taken away from it so quickly and without any fanfare that sometimes I forget that she even existed when I don't consciously think about her.
As each day passes, my grief slowly passes, and my memories fade, even those I thought held such joy and emotion… How pathetic that my only will to live is gradually disappearing… That is life, I suppose; it continues, with or without you, only giving you a passing glance before it resumes again… Gods, I've become philosophical in my new existence; it must be all the alcohol… and brooding.
Well, that's enough of a pity party for this entry; gods know there are enough in all my previous entries. So, let's get back to honoring my mother.
What's there to say? It's the same as it is every year. I went back to our cabin in the woods, which is getting worse and worse every time I come back; I nearly collapsed the whole house when I walked in this year. I laid a bouquet of her favorite flowers, Larkspurs, the flowers my father first gifted to her when they started courting. My mother never mentioned my father much, as she grew distant and sad each time he was brought up. Most of what I know is that my mother and father truly loved each other, as she would say snippets of their past with such adoration that it was hard not to notice her admiration and love for the man. Sadly, those snippets were so few and far between that I barely remember them anymore. I can only vividly remember that she often compared my father to the Larkspurs, as they are both beautiful, inspiring, and dangerous! Sadly, because of that amount of love for the man, she lost a part of herself and, more importantly, a piece of her soul when he was taken away from her.
In the early stages of my mother's passing, I would have given anything to hear more about her and father's history, as I too felt like I had lost a piece of my soul, but as I said earlier, with time comes forgetfulness and lack of caring after so many attempts. I had tried so many times to decipher, decode, and learn the language of the Gods, but I came back empty-handed after every effort. Gods be damned, why did they both choose to write in that blasted language? It's not like this grimoire was going to anybody but me! I have yet to find a single person who is even remotely knowledgeable on the subject in five years; even with all the gods descending, no one knows or wants to spill anything! Even the occasional roaming god won't do a blasted thing, even to the extent that getting them sloshed won't pry the fucking information out of their damned mouths!
At this point, if someone were to give me my answers, I wouldn't want them anymore. All these years of constant failure have worn me down to that extent… I don't even know what I am living for at this point…
Another pity party, yay… What is that, the second one-in-one entry? Will we hit the record!? Doubt it; nothing beats my earlier entries. I mean, the fifth week was-
She is finally here; I've been writing longer than I thought while still not writing everything I wanted to say, as it usually goes. Maybe I'll continue where I left off in the following days…
-Present Time
'Gods, I pity you, Siora… Having nobody in your life to guide, support, or take even the smallest care of you sounds impossible to me. I don't know how you have gone as long as you have without your mother. Even with all my pity for you, I am still impressed that you have continued to live, even if it's the bare minimum…'
Before I can continue to think more about my family's past and Siora's pain, the sight of the Adventurer's Guild reals my mind to the present while leaving my previous thoughts to the backdrop of my mind.
The building is grandiose in its design, giving a sense of importance and professionalism that the anime could never capture. The whole building is massive, taking up nearly four building spaces from left to right, not to mention the more than likely larger space in the back. The front of the building is made from similar building materials to those around it, what looks to be plaster, stones, bricks, and steel. The building style is an odd combination of Greek and Victorian. The building is boxed in shape, especially around the entrance, with symmetrical boxed outcroppings lining the entrance. Different colored banners adorn the access to the Guild, flags that I do not recognize if I am being honest. Small etchings are also apparent above the door frame, etchings of what I assume to be Gods, pantheons, or something similar. It is hard to tell from this distance, but as I said, Orario equals Gods, so it is not too hard to guess what they mean.
Aside from the design, the building is alive in activity as countless adventurers walk in and out almost constantly. I bet this place is a madhouse when adventurers come to exchange their drops from the dungeon before nightfall. Note to myself, come before or after that time. Different sections of the vast building are just as busy, as different groupings of people are making their way in and out of their designated spots. Traders and shopkeepers with empty carts go through one area, their wagons loaded with monster items and cores as they leave. Each wagon has a small entourage of adventurers to safeguard the travel, most of them being Ganesha from the looks of their attire. Another section of the building, farthest from the adventurer's entrance, looks like a museum/visitors center as civilians and visitors go through with their families and friends.
'Hmm, I wonder if they sell merchandise of the Guild or if they sell specific adventurers and guilds… I will have to take a look, maybe when I start to make a name for myself!'
I chuckle at the thought, but that is enough gazing, reflecting, and thinking of myself as a possible action figure; it is time to make my way inside!
As I get closer and closer to the entrance, my heart starts to beat faster and faster as I get closer, and by the time I get to the massive doors, I swear I'm on the verge of a slight panic attack, either from excitement, fear, or a combination of the two! Luckily, a group of adventurers in front of me and behind force me to continue walking. After going through the entrance, I quickly sidestep to the nearest wall, letting the group behind me continue.
Even though my heartbeat is nearly deafening, I can still hear the quiet laughter of the group that just passed and the whisper of "Civi."
My cheeks flush in embarrassment as I try to take a few breaths to calm my nerves. 'Gods, I'm a grown man; this shouldn't be this hard! It's probably because of this prepubescent body! That's right, it's got to be! I need to calm down and take a breath!' As I try to calm myself, I quickly look around the building to get my bearings and my next step forward.
The inside of the building is divided into three levels, all visible from the ground floor as the impressive foyer goes all the way to the large skylight in the middle of the building, providing most of the light for the installation.
The second and third floors have a long guard rail encompassing the entire floor edge, allowing the occupant to look down to the ground floor and the bustle on the first floor. As I look up, I can see a few adventurers and guild employees leaning on the rail as they talk or take small breaks from their day. One adventurer makes eye contact and gives me a small wave and smile before returning to his chat with a guild employee. It calms my nerves a bit, but with the constant pounding of my heart, I continue to look around in hopes of calming my nerves enough to push through.
A large, bifurcated staircase that leads to the second and third floors splits the first floor into the exchange area and the advisor and consultant counters. The exchange area is as it looks: multiple tenders and stations exchanging drops and information from the dungeon into Valis. The other side, which I will need to go to, holds the guild employees advising and directing new and veteran adventurers alike, like with Eina and Bell. It is also where those who want to become new adventurers start.
I try to make a plan of attack, seeing which counter to go to, how long it would take me to wait in line, and how many people I would have to go through, but it all goes up in flames at a sudden weight on my left shoulder, as well as a deep baritone voice talking down to me.
"Kid, the visitor center is a few doors down. Are you lost? Where are your parents?"
I look up to my left to see a thin man in a guild employee uniform frowning down at me. He has brown eyes behind small circular glasses on his nose and brown hair that goes to the middle of his face, with most of the hair framing his face in a mane, with a few strands sweeping the sides of his forehead. The most noticeable characteristics, though, are the drooping dog ears and a brown Labrador-like tail; a Chienthrope then.
I scowl at the words directed at me and shrug off his hand from my shoulder, wheeling around to face him directly. While the man is far from tall, he still towers over my ten-year-old stature as I am forced to look up to the perturbed man.
"For your information, I am far from lost. I am exactly where I need to be, and that is right here… sir."
While it slightly pains me to add the honorifics, I can't shoot myself in the foot before I even begin. Don't want to get on the wrong side of the Guild before I can even become an adventurer!
The man squints his eyes at me through his circular lenses, looking me up and down in some kind of examination. Nothing seems to catch his attention with his eyes, so the man takes a few sniffs in my direction, smelling for something he couldn't see.
"Kid, you reek of fear, and any Demi-Human in the building probably heard your heart beating like a drum even in all this commotion. I mean, I can't even tell if you are lying judging by the near-constant beating of that performance in there." He pokes my chest with his index finger before continuing in his nearly monotone voice.
"You are also severely underage, so I highly doubt you are in the right place. Are you waiting for your parents or family to finish exchanging their drops, or did you lose a bet?"
I scowl at his response, and my fear disappears as anger starts to bubble at the man's words, but I am able to hold the irritation back... Just barely.
"Sir… I did not lose any bet, I am not lost, and I am not waiting on my family! I am here to- "
Before I can continue, he interrupts me with a loud sigh, as if my words are exhausting to hear, before he continues in his monotonous tone.
"You looking for handouts then? I would advise you to beg by a tavern or something; they usually get the best results."
My brain short circuits at his response, any fear completely wiped away at his idea of my character. I can barely respond to his claim, as the proper words cannot form in my head. The only thing I can think of, which is practically an automatic response, is.
"Excuse me?"
Anger, true, hot, and belligerent anger is welling inside of me as the man completely ignores me, again, as he continues his spiel, not noticing, smelling, or even hearing the anger take hold of my body as I swell in indignation with each word.
"You should also try dirtying up those clothes of yours. While they look a bit big on you, they don't portray poverty, or at least not devastating poverty."
"Also, get a sign that usually helps, too. I might have some spare Vali's to give you; just get out of here, and I won't report it."
The man puts a hand in one of his front pockets, pulls out a fifty Vali coin, and forces it into my hand. He struggles a bit as my hand is gripped in anger, but with some force, he is able to get the coin into my hand.
"Good, now why don't you-"
The man is cut off by me throwing the coin straight into his face, hitting his forehead, and at the distance we are, it hits hard as his head rears back in slight force and pain.
"Go fuck yourself, you glasses-wearing shit stain! I am not a fucking beggar, you paper-pushing bitch! I don't want your fucking money! I am here to sign up as an adventurer! Do you need me to fucking spell it out for you because you don't seem to get the concept! Now get me someone in-charge so I don't have to deal with your patronizing bullshit or monotone voice, FUCK YOU!"
I yell my tirade, my voice raised as much as possible, and with my child-like voice, it is a very high-pitched tone that if I wasn't in self-righteous anger, I would have noticed all the demi-humans covering their ears in pain. At the last part of my tirade, my voice reaches one more octave higher as my voice cracks out the previous fuck you.
The building is in complete silence, with the only sounds coming from my panting breath and the grumbling and muttering from the man who is furiously holding his head in pain. Oddly enough, Every face looks at me with expressions of shock, amusement, annoyance, pain, and a few with respect.
'Well, there goes any chance of me not getting off on the wrong foot, but honestly fuck this dude! Maybe I can get someone that isn't a complete asshole, maybe someone like Eina!'
Thinking this, I look towards the exchange booths, ignoring any adventurers looking at me, hoping to catch a guild employee's eyes. To my shock, every guild employee looks at me with terror, some even trying to hide in their booths, as they barely lean out to see. I do a quick circle of the room, trying to find any other employee, but every time I see the black suit of a guild employee, they scamper away or are partially hidden from view. The only thing they all have in common is the fear in their faces and eyes. The thing is, it's not fear of me as I track their eyesight but of the man clutching his head in pain.
'Oh gods, what did I do! Fuck me, who did I just mess with!'
Before I have time to try and think of an apology or even think about what I can do, the guild employee I might have attacked finally recovers, and as we make eye contact, I know I've fucked up.
"Everybody, out! The Guild is closed for the next thirty minutes; if you aren't out in the next minute, you will be banned for the next week! Out! Staff, go on break, now!"
The man doesn't even have to yell as his collected voice travels through the whole building, and as he finishes, adventurers and guild staff rush out of the building quickly. I try to run, spinning a quick one-eighty for the door, but the man's hand grips my shoulders before I can even step toward the exit.
"Everyone but you, pup."
His grip doesn't hurt, but I know I'm trapped as he practically has a vice-like grip on me.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck!'
I try and look towards anybody to save me, but the room is practically deserted at this point, and the stragglers actively avoid me as they rush out, trying to make it before the time limit. Just as the thirty-second timer goes off in my head, the whole building is vacant except for the two of us, the massive front doors shutting us in.
'This is it, I'm either dead, or my dream is dead… I'm dead, and I'm just waiting for the bullet… Shit, is this karma for not liking Old Yeller! The dogs are getting their revenge! Did Steve reincarnate Old Yeller!'
Sweat is starting to form on my head as I begin to panic visibly and mentally at what will happen, enough panic that I'm not thinking straight in the slightest; my thoughts are a zigzag circle if anything!
"My office now." The man practically growls, and seeing as he is a Chienthrope, he probably did as he pushes/guides me towards the flight of stairs.
I move robotically, not paying attention as my mind freaks out and thinks of other dog-related thoughts and how absolutely screwed I am. We walk up the stairs, and in no time, we reach a hallway with many doors. Each door has a small plaque with a name and title, showing that these rooms are specific to the employee. Must be the offices and or the meeting rooms for the employees. We continued to go through the hall, passing the many doors strewed through the gallery; the end of the hallway comes into focus, and at the end is a reasonably extravagant door that seems to have gold leaf on the designs around the door. A large plaque hangs on the left side of the door, but we are still too far for me to make sense of whose room it is.
'Please don't be his door, please don't be his door!'
We continued to get closer and closer to the door, my panic rising with each step closer to it. Before my heart bursts, we stop two doors from the elegant door, a small sigh of relief escaping before we turn to the left, and the man opens his door. Before he can 'guide' me into his office, I make out the name on the elegant door,
{Royman Mardeel}
Guild Head
If I remember correctly, that was the old, slightly large elf man who didn't like Eina. I then look towards the door we are going through.
{Rehmer Holt}
Guild Section Head
'Yep, I fucked up.'
I think as I walk into the Guild Section Head's office, the door slamming behind me.
It's been five minutes since I've entered Rehmer Holt's office, and it has been a mix of anticipation, fear, and agitation. After entering his office, Rehmer sat me in a chair facing a large mahogany desk littered with papers, pens, paperweights, and other assorted items. The man then brushed everything to the side, grabbed some papers from one of his drawers in the desk, and started writing vigorously since. The man hadn't even looked at me the entire time; the only distinction he knew I was still here was his ears standing up whenever I squirmed in my seat or my clothes rustling as I looked around the room. Each time I saw his ears twitch, I immediately returned to my posture as I once again watched him write until his ears were no longer prone and tried again a minute later.
'This is insufferable; what is the man even writing about?! I can't make out anything from this side! If he is going to ban me from the Guild, just get it over with! The suspense is killing me!'
Five more minutes pass by, and I've ignored Rehmer's ears perking up as I take in his office, not caring at this point as I've got time to spare at this point, and looking at the office is a passable distraction from the thoughts going on in my head.
'Didn't know writing a ban would take this long…'
Saddened by the thought, I continue to notice the details of the room.
The room isn't large, but it isn't small as it holds everything Rehmer might need. The large mahogany desk is the focal point of the room, with his chair, the one I am sitting on, and another chair, a copy of my own, to my left. I can't make out much detail on Rehmer's chair, but judging by the amount of paperwork the man does by the mess on the desk before entering, he probably has a comfortable chair. My chair is decently comfortable, but probably not longer than a small meeting, as I can tell that my body is getting restless and uncomfortable… or maybe that's the impending doom settling in. The rest of the room holds a multitude of wooden filing cabinets, bookcases holding books, knickknacks, legers, and other things that look to be centered around his work. Shelves also litter the walls with similar items to the bookshelves, but frames of pictures and awards are also present, but I'm unable to make them out clearly from my position. A small futon is also pushed to a side of the room, probably used for long nights or just a break between work. Lastly are some potted plants and a small free-stand closet holding guild uniforms and casual clothes. All in all, a very Spartan room.
Just as I am finished doing my once over and teetering towards flat out leaving as my emotions are going haywire at this point, Rehmer finishes writing his papers with a small flourish of his hand and pushes the papers towards me without so much as a word.
Surprised at the sudden change in atmosphere, I look at the paper and back to Rehmer in confusion and slight apprehension.
"Do I really need to sign the paper that has me being banned from the Guild? Like, I know I made a scene and all, but that's just cruel! You also deserved it!"
My voice cracks at the end, either from the idea of actually being banned from the Guild or from puberty… both probably. But it's not fair; I just got to the gods be damned city; I can't already have reached a stopping point!
"Read the paper before you start crying, kid; I don't want any tear stains on my desk."
As if my life had no matter, Rehmer leans in his chair, a few papers in his hands as he looks them over, not even caring about me anymore.
'Fuck this guy!"
I yank the paper from the desk as if taking the paper quickly will do… something in this situation: turn the page over and read, reread, and reread a third time to be sure.
{Formal Adventurer Sign-Up Sheet}
Adventurers Name-[X]
Familia-[X]
Age-[X]
The paper goes on for some time as it is a full-fledged application letter with over forty questions. The paper looks super similar to something you would have to write for a resume or job, with a few questions concerning the DanMachi universe to spice it up, but I could care less about that since I am very much not getting banned.
My mouth opens and closes a few times as I try to say words, but they are unable to come out.
"Kid, you've got ten minutes to complete the paperwork, or I might actually have to ban you. Let me enjoy this break."
My eyes are wide at his remark as I look frantically for a pen, words still escaping me as I see one on the desk. I grab it frantically as I start to fill out everything I can. As I reach the tenth question, I can finally say something as my mind focuses on the paper.
"Why the sudden change of heart? I could have sworn you were going to ban me?"
"Meh," he slightly shrugs as he looks over the papers before continuing, "Sometimes you've got to put on a show for those watching. You don't become someone in charge by not being a bit feared and respected."
"While you are were and are a little shit, I was being pretty disrespectful to you and should have at least taken you somewhat seriously; I might have avoided this." He points to his head where the circle mark from the Vali is still very prominent.
"This is me being slightly apologetic, as apologetic as someone letting a child into a death trap... Kid, I hope you know what you are doing because if you don't, I might rip up that page when you finish it."
"Who knows what will happen in the dungeon?" I shrug, continuing to fill out the questions. "But life isn't worth living if you don't take a few risks, right? I just might become your favorite adventure if given enough time and effort!"
I near the bottom of the application, everything was fairly easy to understand and fill out.
"Gods, I don't know if I want to see that happen or not… I don't take many adventures anymore, not with my position, but I'm giving you this chance to surprise me; don't mess it up."
I finish the last question and present it to Rehmer. He grabs it and looks to the only blank question on the form, not even caring about the rest of the form.
"Jeez, kid, you were this ballsy, and you don't even have a familia? You know I can't approve this until you do, right?"
Rehmer raises one of his eyebrows as he looks at me, and while I am able to not redden in embarrassment, I still squirm a bit under his gaze.
"You know, I'm not as stupid as you think I am!"
My prepubescent voice rises, making my annoyance almost comical as I try to talk somewhat seriously.
"I know I can't, but I wanted to complete all the paperwork and forms so it would be a seamless transition. I also had the money ready, so why not just get it all done and over with?"
Rehmer's eyebrow goes down as he gives a slight nod of acknowledgment to my answer, but before that acknowledgment sticks, I explain the real reason why.
"I also may need directions to find the God I am looking for…"
A large sigh escapes Rehmer as he shakes his head before he places my application on the table and starts to stand.
"Gods, you are hopeless, and now I'm stuck with you… and here I thought my Tuesday would be a normal one. At least it sounds like you have someone in mind."
He walks over to his large wooden filing cabinet on the side of the room and opens one of the many drawers as he looks at me.
"Who do you need to find?"
It took more than ten minutes to find the god I was looking for, to Rehmer's annoyance, but with the address in hand, a few thousand Vali's lighter, I was finally making my way to my first real end goal, or at least an end goal that will steamroll me into the rest of my life.
The god's address was reasonably far from the guilds, about twenty minutes by foot, with an extra ten minutes of asking directions and getting a little lost on the way. As I walked, I noticed that the buildings were getting more weathered and older than the ones in the rest of the city. The buildings were also very different, as each building held the architecture of only one culture rather than the other buildings' chaos. This district clearly showed the age of the city, as well as the first creations of the city.
After a few minutes of walking the district and gazing at all the different shops, houses, and buildings, I finally reached the address on the paper.
The building of choice was a somewhat large building with a small foundation of stones that reached a few feet up, while the rest was made from some dark wood. A porch wrapped around the front of the building was being held up with grey wooden pillars, while a few chairs and tables littered the porch, with large windows near them giving a view of the inside. The building had three floors with creeping ivy scaling the sides, multiple sloped roofs, and a large chimney. The building was a mix of homey and grand at the same time, and the name of the building nearly spoke for itself.
'Moonlit Bookstore and Restoration'
My heartbeat quickened as I took the entire building in, and with each step closer to the building, it was a little harder to breathe.
'This is it; she is in here!'
As I reached the large, dark wooden door, my palms started sweating, and I could barely grasp the brass door handle as I twisted the nob and opened the door, a small chime broadcasting my arrival.
The building's interior was absolutely covered in books, as all bookstores should be, as all the walls in the room were bookshelves full of books, with only a small hallway and the outside windows being the only things without them. A few display cases also held absolutely massive and beautiful books, each with a hefty price tag near them. In the center of the room was a large circular counter with a small register, a few pieces of paper and pens, and stacks of different-shaped books. While there was more to the room, my attention immediately went to the only other living thing besides the few plants littering the building: a large white owl with two large ears. My original nervousness and anticipation washed away as I looked at the beautiful owl while the owl looked back at me.
"You aren't the person I'm looking for… I think... But you are a beauty to behold."
The owl cocks its head at my words and gives me a small hoot when I call it beautiful.
I let out a small chuckle as I approached the counter, slowly not to spook the bird. Surprisingly, the owl doesn't flinch as I approach the shop counter.
"Is anyone here, or is it just you? Do you write all these?"
I gesture to the books, and even more surprisingly, the owl negatively shakes its head. While very much surprised, I roll with it; it is DanMachi, after all.
"Well, it looks like you aren't just a pretty face but smart too."
The owl hops around the counter with the compliment, sending out a few hoots here and there as it goes around in a circle. I openly laugh at the owl's reaction, having never seen such an expressive bird before. I take a risk and reach out my hand to see if it will allow me to pet it. While it's not a dog, it seems smart enough to know what I'm trying to do.
The owl is on the other side of the counter when I reach out, stopping its hopping to cock its head at me as if it's wondering what I am doing.
"What do you think I'm doing? I want to pet you. I promise my pets are just as nice as my compliments."
The owl lets out a low hoot that resonates the room before it cocks its head back and starts hopping back to me. It reaches a few inches before my hand and stands up to its full height, and with the counter barely reaching my chin, the owl looms over me as it looks at me with its large yellow eyes.
'Fuck, this owl is actually huge, or at least I am tiny! This might have been a bad idea, but I can't back down now, right? Most animals can sense fear, right? But can an owl!?'
The owl looks down at me for a few seconds as it gazes at my eyes and back at my hand. Before I can think about returning my hand, the owl moves forward and nudges into my hand. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and start to scratch and pet the snowy owl.
A feminine, ethereal voice suddenly speaks out, causing me to stiffen in surprise at the proximity of the words.
"You know, he doesn't let most people pet him, but you just aren't anybody, are you child?"
I look away from the owl towards the place where the voice resonated, and standing in the small hallway leading to the rest of the building stands the god I was looking for.
She sends me a small smile as we make eye contact, my violet eyes looking into her midnight-black ones.
"Hello, Asura."
I return the smile wholeheartedly as I finally see the goddess I saw on my first day in this universe and the one I have read about for the last couple of days.
"Hello, Nyx..."
I am not proud of this chapter; it has been months between sections, so if it seems sporadic, that is why! Like it, hate it, or anything in between, let me know, and see you in a year or so when I publish the next chapter of my other story and return to this one… That's hopefully a joke, but you never know… Fuck me.
