Reaching the old Abandoned church, my legs aching from today's dungeon run, I sighed tiredly as I looked at the evening sky, orange-tinted and the sun casting long shadows.
I would sleep like a baby tonight, no doubt.
But that was still a few hours away. For now, I wanted to take a bath to clean myself and get into some comfortable clothing, then rest my body.
"Haa…"
With a tired sigh, I entered the church proper, my legs taking me automatically to the stone door that led to the basement area, my and Hestia's residence.
I was expecting it to be empty since Hestia generally came later than I did, but much to my surprise, I heard her voice calling from down below as I opened the stone door.
"Ethan? Are you back?"
"Yeah, I am."
My lips automatically curved up, a smile forming at hearing Hestia's words. I was dead tired and wanted to rest for a while until Hestia came back, but I was also glad to see Hestia was home early.
She would no doubt want to hear how my day went. She wouldn't be satisfied until she heard the entirety of it. And I could already imagine her happy face once she hears how much I made. Not because she was money hungry, but she certainly understood our rather humble financial situation and any bonus earnings were a cause for celebrations in our eyes.
"Welcome back!"
"Hey, Hestia. You're back home early?"
I asked, plopping my rear on the sofa with another tired sigh and immediately beginning to take off the armor and boots, starting with the latter.
'Aah~ Feels good to be barefoot.'
I let my feet stay barefoot, the cold stone floor feeling nice to touch. Meanwhile, I got rid of the rest of my adventurer attire.
Hestia didn't immediately ask me to share how my day went, instead climbing down from the bed and fetching a glass of cold water. She was considerate like that.
"Thanks."
I smiled at the gesture. It was much appreciated after hours of running around in the dungeon.
I drank it all down in big gulps and leaked a sigh of relief. That felt nice.
"More?"
"Nah, I think I want to get cleaned up first. Then I'll tell you how my day went."
"Mmhm! Sure!"
She nodded easily, her head bobbing up and down and her ponytails flowing from her motion. It was such a cute action. Something she probably didn't even notice, but something I enjoyed seeing.
I was already feeling some of my tiredness melt away.
I quickly took a bath, cleaning up my clothes as well as they'd gotten a bit dirty. Then I put them upstairs to dry up while I came back, wearing a casual attire and plopped beside Hestia on the bed, closing my eyes for a moment to just… relax and let my body's aches and tiredness melt away.
"You seem really tired. You didn't push yourself too much, did you?"
Hestia's question made me open my eyes and look to my side where the tiny goddess was also laying on her side, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and worry clear on her adorable face.
I smiled, shaking my head.
"No, just tired from all the walking and running inside the dungeon. It's hard to find monsters on the first floor since it's so crowded. And since I'm still pretty much a regular human without any supernatural power boost, I end up struggling more, I guess."
My words made her look guilty, which caused me to feel guilty. I shouldn't have said that. I was too tired and my brain to mouth filter was not working.
"It's not your fault, Hestia."
I turned to her, bringing my hand to cup her smaller ones.
"It's my skill that is causing all the issues. And I'm slowly but surely filling up my container to unlock whatever restrictions I've got that's holding my growth. Today was really fruitful in that regard, actually. I managed to kill 17 goblins, on my own, you see…"
And without further prompting, I narrated my day's adventure to her as we stayed on the bed. I kept her hand in mine and somewhere along the story, we had intertwined our hands as she used her free one to run circles on the back of my palm.
…
After almost half an hour, and a short Falna update later, I lay there with Hestia, feeling somewhat rested. I was actually feeling drowsy, but I was also feeling a bit hungry.
"Hestia?"
"Hmm?"
The goddess replied from top of me.
Somewhere down the line, she had climbed on top of me, initially to get my Falna updated on my back, but after I turned back, she ended up on top of me again.
This… had become a somewhat normal action for both of us, to be honest.
In the past 3 months, living with Hestia, I had grown close to her. She had a very likable and caring personality, and it was hard not to find her charming. She had her days where she acted somewhat petulant and whimsical, like a child. But then, there were days when I could glimpse at the possibly several millennia old Goddess that had limited herself to be on the level of a regular mortal and was living here among the mortals. Those rare few shows of wisdom, the frequent care and adoration she showed, and the small joys and laughter we shared…
… Could anyone blame me if I felt attractive towards Hestia?
As a hot-blooded man in his 20s, living along with a beautiful—no, downright gorgeous beauty like Hestia, I had found myself feeling things for her. And it didn't help that she was generous with her affection and did intimate things like what we were doing. This was basically cuddling.
My hands on her back caressed here as I took in the nice floral smell of her hair. Her supernaturally warm body plush against my own body, with only the clothes separated us, I felt myself wanting to just stay like this forever and not move.
And yet, I had to.
It had gotten darker, almost nighttime outside, not that I could tell from our basement. And I knew that if I didn't move, I would end up falling asleep like this. Not to mention Hestia couldn't get her usual snacks since she took an early leave to greet me at home.
Besides, I was not really in mood for potato croquettes, I wanted to eat something tasty tonight.
"Would you like to go out tonight? For dinner?"
I asked in a casual tone, but my mind did pick up on how it sounded.
"Really?! Should we?"
Hestia lifted her head to stare at me from my chest, looking excited and happy at the idea. And in the process, I got a titillating view of her… assets from up close. If my gaze briefly drifted to stare at the valleys no man shall traverse, I don't point it out. If Hestia noticed my stare, she doesn't point it out either. The moment passes as my gaze lands at her adorable face.
I smiled as I nodded.
"Yeah, I think we should celebrate today's successful run. I have to save for head gear and a shield, but I was already saving for that, and we can afford to splurge a little."
"Oh! Well, if it won't affect you, then I'm fine with it! Let's enjoy dinner in a nice restaurant."
I nodded, then I thought of something and spoke.
"Also, I have been thinking."
"Hm?"
Hestia tilted her head cutely and I found myself briefly distracted. But I got back on track.
"… I think I wanna make the dungeon runs twice a week thing. Doing the dungeon run alone today gave me some much-needed confidence and experience on how to handle monsters of the First floor on my own. I think I can try to do it alone now. But since I also have a job at Miach's which I don't want to leave suddenly, I think twice a week, with a three-day gap for rest and normal work, would be good as a start. I know I have other ways to fill in that container that is holding my excelia back, but doing dungeon runs seem to give me exponentially more as compared to regular work and training."
Hestia nodded, understanding me.
"That does sound like a good idea. Are you sure you will be able to manage, though? You already have a job and also train for hours daily. I don't want you to overexert yourself or get hurt in the process."
Her somber words brought my cheer down as well.
Well, what could I do? My damn skill was designed so that the more I suffered, the better the gains would be. The routine I had suggested, in addition to the daily training I did that I didn't bring up earlier, would mean I would be exerting myself quite a bit. Honestly, it was unthinkable for my old self back on Earth, to put so much effort for some future gains. Not to say I was excessively lazy, but I certainly was no shounen protagonist levels of hardworking and diligent guy.
And yet, I was slowly walking down that path because the stakes were real and I was in a world where dangers lurked in the shadows.
Once again, my mind went to the question I had been asking for a while.
'Where is Bell Cranel? Does he even exist? Or did my mere existence butterfly his existence in this world?'
No, in the first place, my sudden arrival here happened only mere months ago and while I was still not sure about the timeline, Bell's arrival in Orario should have absolutely zero hinderances due to my actions, mainly because I simply hadn't made any big waves, or well, any waves at all, in my opinion.
I was living a very quiet and regular life; even my adventuring was below average and didn't raise any heads. The less said about my job, the better, since it shouldn't have any impact at all on Bell.
What did change was me being part of the Hestia familia and Hestia getting her job as a saleswoman early. It was highly probable that Bell Cranel may be already in Orario, but never met Hestia since ever since I joined, Hestia had been rather content in keeping all her focus on me and never bringing up her desires for more familia members, even if I thought she still had that desire inside her.
'What if Hestia won't meet Bell at all due to me changing things? Should I go look for him? But how the hell would I find a 14 year old white haired boy in this city? He could be anywhere and I have no assurances the 'plot' would make it so he's nearby and within reach. In the first place, does 'plot' even exist? This world is too real for it to be a mere anime story. Damn.'
"Ethan?"
I blinked, my attention back to the blue eyes of Hestia which looked at me with worry.
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no. Just… thinking about something unrelated. As for my new routine, I think I'll manage. There's a reason why I'm not pushing for daily dungeon runs, after all. I think twice a week is doable. Plus, I am exercising for my own good. I need to be in my best shape if I'm going to go dungeon diving."
My smile managed to uplift her mood as well and she nodded, relenting her worries and instead focusing on the dinner.
She was excited and we discussed where we should eat.
I for one had a place I had wanted to check out for some time now. Maybe I could finally afford to dine there.
"I know a place."
I said with a smile, putting aside Bell's case for later, when I wasn't so close to my protective and caring goddess. There was no point in making her worry over this. This was something that would either sort itself out somehow, or I'll have to put some effort into trying to search for a rabbit boy for my Familia. Either way, it was going to be relegated to the Future Me. He can deal with it. I had a goddess to dine and… well, maybe wine too, assuming they serve that type of alcohol in that establishment.
-x-
We got ready and left the church, locking the broken gate (for what little protection it offered. Not that we had much to steal from anyway) and headed to the city proper, joining the mail road and walking towards the center where the Tower of Babel was visible in all its glory.
I looked around, taking in the still somewhat surprising and exotic site of Orario's nightlife, peoples and adventurers roaming the main street. Some cafes and open bar restaurants had people enjoying their time. Street vendors dotted the sides with a wide variety of stalls. It wasn't surprising to find a weapons shop right next to a food vendor right next to a fancy boutique. Orario seemed to have anything and everything available for perusal and purchase, you only needed the Valis for it.
Not that I was looking to purchase anything right now.
With Hestia by my side, we made our way to a certain pub that was very popular and well known in Orario and one that had been featured heavily in Danmachi.
Hostess of Fertility.
The large wooden sign read on a large and well-light building with wide, open doors. From the outside, I could already tell the place was packed with people. People of all sorts. Most of them looked like adventurers, but there were those who looked to be regular people. Though I couldn't be sure if they weren't adventurers in regular clothing. Not all adventurers were easy to distinguish. I for one was very much passable as a common person despite being an adventurer. But then again, I was barely one all things considered.
We walked inside and were greeted by a passing waitress.
"Welcome to Hostess of Fertility!"
She had short bob-cut light brown hair that was parted on the sides from the front. She wore a white headband and a green dress with white apron, same as every other waitress here.
"Hi. Seat for two, please."
"Please follow me."
She replied with a professional cheer and took us inside, to the right where the tables were arranged in a regular restaurant fashion. I glanced at the circular tables in the center which were all occupied by various groups. None seemed familiar.
In fact, I couldn't see anyone I could recognize here, outside of the staff of course, who were all known characters from the show. Not saying I recognized them all. For instance, the waitress who was bringing us to our table was one I couldn't remember the name of. The ones I did remember were Mama Mia, the owner, and then Syr, Ryuu Lion, Anya and Chloe. Actually, I think there were only like 5 waitresses, so she might be the last one of the 5 and the only one whose name I couldn't recall.
"Here, please take a seat and I'll get your order."
We did. The seat was the second one from the window. I sat facing the inside while Hestia took the seat in front of me, facing the window.
The waitress recited the menu (apparently, there was no physical menu) and after some light discussion, we decided to go with Noodles and Roasted Meat. For drinks, I didn't want anything, but Hestia got herself a "Mia's famous fruit liquor."
I wasn't one for drinks to be honest, so I decided not to drink tonight, even if this was a celebration of sorts.
Instead, after Hestia's prompting that I too should get myself something to drink alongside, I settled on a simple Fruit juice the pub offered.
The waitress parroted our order for confirmation before leaving with a short 'Your order will be done soon.'
I took the time to look at the large woman who had previously captured my attention among the first things as soon as I had entered. But it was only now I decided to properly look at her, not wanting to stare back then since I was well within her sight and I wanted to avoid any unnecessary attention from the admittedly scary looking woman.
She looked like she could break my spine without effort and that was a very weird visual to have. Even if it was true.
Mama Mia, the Pub Owner, was a Level 6 and a former captain of the Freya Familia. I only knew a little about her history and that she had made some sort of deal to retire and open this pub. Not wanting to catch her attention, as high level adventurers had a sort of sixth sense when someone was looking at them. They could tell.
My gaze roamed around to other waitresses. I found Ryuu serving a few tables away with a stoic demeanor. Syr was here too, her silver hair and bubbly personality seemingly charming the customers. The two Catgirls were also here. One brown haired and one dark haired. Anya and Chloe, if I remember right. I only paid each of them a token glance and did not stare for long to not get their attention.
"It sure is lively here!"
Hestia's comment brought my attention back to her and I smiled.
"It is. I see this pub frequently going through this road. It seems to be really popular. So, I thought we should give it a try. The regular place we go to is nice, but…"
The restaurant we normally went to when none of us wanted to cook or wanted to celebrate was okay for our price range. It was cheap and served decent food. But there was something about this place that that one lacked.
"… this place is much livelier."
Hestia finished and I nodded in agreement. That. The ambience was very different from our usual haunt, definitely better by comparison.
"Let's see how the food is."
"Mmhm! I think it'll be tasty."
"Chloe! Clean that table! The customers are done eating."
"On it, Mama Mia!"
"Order for Large Ribcage and Vegetable Stew!"
The powerful voice of the Pub's proprietor drew my attention briefly before I suddenly jerked towards the side hall which led to the inner areas.
'Huh? Was that…?'
I mentally shook my head at the thought.
'Can't be. Not here.'
Hestia and I then talked about things and our day to day life and chores while our food was prepared. The place was crowded and loud, especially the owner, but somehow I didn't mind it much. I was a fairly quiet person and preferred piece and quiet, but occasionally this type of ambience was nice too.
Soon, our food arrived.
"Noodles and Roasted Meat."
I went to nod at the waitress, but then halted in shock as I registered the appearance of the person.
I blinked, my mouth opening to say something, but my brain wasn't braining for that instant.
What were the odds of this? How? Why? Is this for real?
"Um… is-is something wrong, sir?"
The young girl(?) timidly asked, having kept our dinner on the table and now looking at me with nervousness.
"Ah? Uh, no. No. Nothing. Thanks for the food. We, uh, also ordered drinks…"
"Oh! I'll get them immediately!"
And with that the girl(?) left. I stared at her retreating back for a moment before Hestia's voice brought me out of the fugue.
"Ethan?"
"Huh? Yeah?"
"What's wrong? You were staring at that girl."
"Ah, uh, nothing. I just… I thought I had seen her somewhere. Was probably mistaken."
I was understandably shocked and confused. Because I had just been served by a very familiar looking white haired and red-eyed, almost albino-looking, young girl(?) who seemed to be in her mid teens. Or at least, she appeared to be a girl, with a bob cut and slightly unruly hair, wearing the same outfit as the rest of the maids, but a memory of the Danmachi triggered seeing her where Bell Cranel had to wear this same attire and serve as a waitress for some time to pay back for something. Or was it from some fanfiction? I wasn't sure. But that girl(?), even if her squeaky voice and innocent appearance could fool anyone into believing that she was a young girl, but in reality, that was likely Bell Cranel, the Main Protagonist of Danmachi, who had somehow ended up working as a waitress in the Hostess of Fertility.
…
What the actual fuck?
I tried to focus on the rather tasty food and Hestia talking about stuff from her work and appreciating the food, but my attention was on the white-haired, possibly Bell Cranel.
'How do I know for sure? Can I ask his, uh, her(?) name? Or would that be odd? I don't want to cause any rukkus and risk getting kicked out by Mia. Maybe it's just someone who shares Bell's albino features and is of similar age? I mean, it's not like Bell is the only person with white hair in this city, right?... Yeah what are the odds of that? This is literally an anime world. If anything, those coincidences more often than not mean something and it's more likely than not that that's Bell Cranel, in a female waitress outfit.'
I ate in relative silence, trying my best to respond to Hestia's energetic chatter while my focus was fixed mainly on the backroom, where Maybe Bell had disappeared into. Soon enough, he returned and headed back to the open kitchen counter to pick up two filled glasses.
I tried to be subtle, not to stare too much, but I think I barely passed in my efforts. Soon, Maybe Bell brought us our drinks.
"Um, here's your drinks! Enjoy your food!"
"Thanks. Uh, excuse me?"
I spoke as Bell was going back to serve others.
"Eh? Yes?"
"Ah, sorry if I'm being rude, but may I ask your name, miss?"
"Ah, um, B-Bell. My name is Bell."
I nodded.
"Right. Sorry for holding you up."
I diverted my attention back to the food, hoping that wasn't too out of line. My mind, however, was now reeling from this revelation.
So, it was Bell Cranel. There's no way it's not him. He literally said it. I mean, it could still be a coincidence, but come on! There's no way that's not the freaking protagonist of the show cross dressing as a waitress. I'll have to be dumb not to put the pieces together even after all the given hints.
I slumped back on my seat, unsure what this change meant and if it was a good or bad thing.
"Is something wrong, Ethan? You look distracted."
I blinked at Hestia's question, then replied, somewhat lamely.
"Ah, I think I'm more tired than I thought. Let's finish dinner and head back home. I am probably going to sleep like a baby tonight."
"Hehe. I see. And why did you ask that waitress her name? Do you know her after all?"
"Ah, no. I don't think I know her. But she looks really close to a boy I once knew."
"But she's a girl."
She pointed out.
I nodded.
"Yeah, that's true. I just asked to be sure."
"Oh, okay!"
I brought my fruit drink to my mouth to give it a taste and calm my mind.
"Hmm, for a moment I thought you were interested in that girl."
Hestia's sudden comment made me sputter, almost spilling my drink.
"Wha—No. No! What made you think that? She's a child, Hestia!"
Hestia tilted her head in curiosity.
"Eh? But I think she's over 13. So, she's an adult, even if a young one."
"Hestia. I am not into young girls."
And especially not into young girls who were actually a boy cross dressing as a girl!
For fuck's sake! What brought this up?
Hestia's giggles and the subsequent smirk made me cool down and feel embarrassed, looking around to see a few patrons looking at us briefly before they went back to their business.
I sighed, not wanting to comment further. I was not in the right mood to tackle such sudden comments. Not when I had to think on the consequences of the changes I had been made aware of.
This was proving to be a very tiring day.
-x-