Chapter 8: Reject the Infantile Aesthetic, Starting from You and Him! (Patreon)

Adventurers exploring the Dungeon... gear is definitely the most crucial part. The weapons you rent from Adventurer equipment shops... I just don't trust the quality.

So... I can't afford anything decent either.

Which means I have no choice but to come to you~ And I'm not asking for much, really. I just want to borrow some fairly basic Adventurer gear from you.

After all, you're my best and most reliable friend!

...

Honestly,

if she'd had any choice in the matter, Hephaestus really didn't want a lowly friend like Hestia, who only ever caused trouble.

When something good happened, Hestia never thought to include her.

But the moment she needed a favor, her attitude turned more eager than anyone else's!

The red-haired goddess's mouth quirked, and the jab slipped out before she could stop it: "Are you sure... this 'borrowing weapons' thing you're talking about is the kind you'll actually give back?"

Then what am I supposed to do...?

Hestia looked up.

Her childlike face twisted into an exaggerated look of misery, the kind that seemed one step from throwing a tantrum on the floor if refused again.

...Fine, I'll lend it to you.

Hephaestus rubbed her temples, her eyelid twitching nonstop, and after careful consideration, worked out a fitting rental arrangement.

In exchange, for as long as the weapons are on loan, you're going to work honestly at the weapon shop's branch.

Um...

As for wages, I'll deduct the rental fee and pay you the rest as usual. You can spend that money however you like — building up your Familia, for instance...

!

Wait, there was a deal that good?

Hestia was actually pretty open to the idea of working for a god — after all, Takemikazuchi, who was helping train Rozz's basic combat skills,

worked at a fried potato ball stand himself, to support his own Familia's finances.

Besides—

with Rozz off exploring the Dungeon, she had nothing to do in Orario anyway. If she could earn a bit of money and get a proper base set up for the Familia,

then things would finally start looking like a real Familia, wouldn't they?

No problem!

At least this one was headed in a good direction.

Hephaestus felt some relief, though mostly curiosity, as she looked at the friend standing before her. "Actually, I've been wondering,"

"Hestia... why are you so enthusiastic about Rozz?"

...

Truthfully, even Hestia herself had never thought the question through.

The goddess didn't answer right away, mulling it over seriously. "It's actually tied to why I started my Familia in the first place — I think of my members as my children."

"Of course..."

[Hero Cloud-Raising Plan]

Hestia still hadn't fully worked out whether the translucent panel floating above Rozz's head was something only she could see.

And it wasn't the kind of thing she could just ask about outright — all she could do was probe around it.

"Part of it's also because of Rozz — have you felt anything different about him, compared to other Adventurers?"

...

"No."

Hephaestus carefully pictured Rozz's face. If there was anything distinctive about him, it was probably that black hair — rare enough in Orario.

Like an Adventurer from the Far East.

Hephaestus shook her head slightly, but watching her friend visibly relax at the answer, she couldn't shake the sense that things weren't quite so simple...

"Don't tell me...?"

"No!"

The young goddess shook her head firmly, shutting the idea down, and changed the subject at once: "I just feel like Rozz and I click, that's all. Now — should I go pick out some gear for him?"

"...Sure."

That was a lie.

Even setting aside the fact that she was a goddess, after knowing Hestia this many years, Hephaestus could've spotted the lie with her eyes closed.

Since Hestia clearly had no intention of explaining herself,

Hephaestus didn't press the matter. Sooner or later, in the time they'd spend together going forward, she'd find out the real reason behind Hestia's eagerness.

"My life as an Adventurer is absolutely not going to be about getting kept by a pretty little..."

Though he did rather want to change his current situation.

But.

As Rozz looked over the full set of gear Hestia had prepared for him, it occurred to him that when your teeth aren't up to chewing the hard stuff, soft food will have to do — and honestly, being kept had its perks.

A Adventurer's Shortsword suited for cave combat, paired with a leather breastplate, armguards, and other protective gear.

Hm...

This Adventurer's Shortsword actually looked familiar — it was the very one he'd stopped to admire through a weapon shop window right after he'd transmigrated into the world of DanMachi.

Its price tag had read one million valis.

He'd been here two days now, long enough to get a rough sense of local prices — converted to RMB, that came out to at least fifty thousand.

This set of armor didn't look cheap either.

Um...

"As for the rest, I don't really know what else to say. I just hope that when you're exploring the Dungeon, Rozz, you'll be careful."

[Affection +3]

Gods couldn't enter the Dungeon.

Besides, Hestia had her own shift at the weapon shop branch today — and the money she earned through hard work could go toward improving Rozz's meals.

She looked at the handsome young man in front of her, now fully outfitted in his gear.

Just looking at him was a treat for the eyes. "If you run into a monster in the Dungeon you can't beat, just run — got it?"

"I'll be careful."

"Mm-hm~"

"I'll walk you to the Central Park. You're already registered as an Adventurer, so you can head straight into the Dungeon to start exploring."

[Daily Quest]

[Rozz, having grasped the basics of combat, has decided to head into the Dungeon to explore. Please lend him whatever help you reasonably can.]

Once an Adventurer began exploring the Dungeon, it meant they were gradually settling onto the right track.

Hestia felt a bit nervous too — after all, this was her very first follower — but it was something she'd have to get past no matter what.

A flower raised in a greenhouse could never withstand a real storm.

Looking out over the vast Central Park and the bustling crowd of Adventurers, the goddess knew in her heart that she could only walk with Rozz this far.

"Stay safe~"

"Do your best!"

...

Rozz watched Hestia's retreating figure until it vanished from view, and only then turned his attention to the Central Park before him.

There really were a lot of Adventurers in Orario, but he genuinely didn't know a single one of them.

The good news:

with such a massive crowd of Adventurers around, even without knowing the exact procedure, he could just follow their lead and start today's exploration.

"Well, since things have come this far,"

"time for my very first taste of Dungeon exploration!"

Carrying both anticipation and unease,

Rozz fell naturally into the line of Adventurers, moving forward in orderly fashion toward the towering Babel that pierced the sky ahead.

Then,

partway through the long wait in line, he felt a light tug at his sleeve and turned his head warily to look beside him.

And then...

there stood a girl wrapped in a grayish-brown cloak, even smaller than Hestia, tilting up a face that looked almost childlike.

How to put it?

Let's reject the Petite aesthetic — starting right now, with you.

If he had to put it into words, Rozz could sometimes catch, in Hestia, a certain radiance where childlike looks and a mature, motherly air coexisted.

But.

With the girl in front of him now, all he could see was childlike!

And that was exactly where the disconnect lay — a girl with the build of a little kid, carrying an absolutely enormous Supporter's backpack.

Noticing Rozz's gaze,

the Supporter girl tilted her head back, her eyes curving into crescents; when she smiled, the faint dimples on her cheeks looked especially sweet.

"Um..."

"Mister Adventurer, would you like to hire a Supporter?"