Chapter 24: The Monster-Like Talent That Amazes Takemikazuchi! (Patreon)

"Trash exists to be squeezed for every ounce of value it holds."

That was a truth Enwan Kovo lived by — especially when the one being exploited was some bottom-rung Supporter, orphaned and utterly alone in the world. Truth be told, he didn't think he'd done anything wrong; even without his bullying, some other Familia's Adventurer would have come after her eventually. If anything, Lili should be grateful to him.

And now that she'd stumbled onto such a well-off Adventurer, she'd better make herself useful — by stealing that weapon. Better yet, squeeze every last drop out of the guy! Just that Adventurer's Shortsword from the Hephaestus Familia could fetch four or five hundred thousand valis on the black market alone, more than two months' worth of his own exploration income if he went without food or drink the entire time.

"Divine wine..."

Really. Enwan Kovo could hardly wait to taste it. But the moment his eyes landed on the worthless girl he so despised, the middle-aged Beastman Adventurer still managed a gentle smile as he asked her, "How's it going?"

"..."

"I'm working on earning his trust... He only has the one weapon, so I'll only get a chance when he's back in Orario."

The Supporter girl kept her head down, as meek as ever. Her voice came out timid. "Right now... he's not comfortable enough yet to leave it in my keeping."

"..."

At least the worthless thing was making herself useful. Enwan Kovo felt a measure of satisfaction — it meant his bullying of Lili hadn't gone to waste. His voice stayed cold, as though he were addressing garbage.

"How much longer?"

"Maybe... five or six days. He seems wary of Adventurers, so there's no rushing it."

Mostly because she hadn't had the chance to get her story straight with Rozz beforehand. Lili could only fall back on experience, testing where Enwan Kovo's limits lay — because that was exactly how Zanis, vice-captain of the Soma Familia, operated: extorting money from his own Familia every seven days under the pretense of handing out divine wine.

"You'd better hurry it up!"

Impatience churned inside Enwan Kovo, but he didn't reject the timeline Lili had given. If he handled it himself, it would obviously go faster. But even a fool could see it — for a rookie Adventurer to own such a fine weapon, there had to be some connection behind it. That much was certain.

And even if things came to light, he still had Lili to throw under the bus. He'd come out ahead either way — money in his pocket, and his own Adventurer life untouched.

"...I... I'll try my best."

The Supporter girl's voice trembled as she answered. She lifted her head, about to excuse herself, when she saw Enwan Kovo wave her off with disgust.

As if she'd been granted a royal pardon, Lili grabbed the straps of her Supporter pack with both hands and spun around to leave — but a sudden question stopped her cold.

"Wait!"

"..."

"What's that guy's name?"

"Daniel..."

—

So... now that today's Dungeon run was over, what was he supposed to do with the rest of his time? It felt like the feeling of working overtime every single day, then suddenly getting off on time and not knowing what to do with yourself. Rozz knew that feeling well.

Worse, Orario had none of modern society's entertainment — otherwise he could've at least scrolled through videos or played a game to kill time. On top of that, he hadn't seen that familiar, beautiful young goddess come to meet him. Hestia was probably busy with something of her own.

Well, in that case—

"Guess I'll go exchange today's haul for valis first."

Thanks to the drops from the Dungeon's new War Shadow monsters, his earnings had roughly doubled compared to yesterday.

[8,848 valis]

Combined with what he'd already earned, Rozz now had a tidy sum saved up. At the very least, weaning himself off Goddess Mommy's support would be a lot easier from here.

He returned to the empty communal dormitory room, washed up quickly, and changed into clean, fresh clothes. Then he left the dormitory again, heading up the street toward North Street.

[Fried Potato Ball Stall]

As an Adventurer, his schedule was fairly loose. As long as Takemikazuchi was free, he could basically drop by and ask for pointers on advanced combat techniques. There was still trouble left unresolved, after all — fighting monsters wasn't something he needed to worry about anymore, so the next stage of training should focus on fighting other Adventurers.

Noticing Rozz's arrival, Takemikazuchi — the God of Martial Arts, rarely so at leisure — felt a flicker of surprise. The reason was simple: shouldn't the Adventurer be out exploring right now?

"Hm?"

"Weren't you off exploring the Dungeon?"

"I was."

Rozz nodded seriously. He didn't bother hiding his progress. "I made it to the sixth floor today. Fighting the War Shadows burns through stamina fast, so to be safe, I came back to Orario early."

"?"

If he remembered right, the War Shadow was a monster the Adventurer Guild had officially designated as "impossible for rookies to beat." And every floor, in fact, carried its own minimum stat requirement for exploration.

Takemikazuchi fell silent for a moment. If he remembered correctly, this kid had come to him for basic combat training just three days ago. Which meant... Rozz had gone from a complete rookie to meeting the G-to-F stat requirements for floors five through seven, capable of beating the Newbie Killer, the War Shadow.

In three damn days?

"..."

As a god, Takemikazuchi could tell truth from lies, and as he looked at the black-haired young man standing before the fried potato ball stall, his face written over with sincerity, he knew: it wasn't a lie. And Rozz didn't carry himself like someone bragging — he'd only mentioned it because he'd been asked, tossing it off casually.

"Honestly," he said, "the Vessel you carry is beyond anything I imagined. Hestia... she really did recruit herself a promising one."

A pang of envy struck him, unbidden. But the thought of poaching Rozz never once crossed his mind — whatever else could be said, that goddess was his friend.

"Congratulations. Looks like you're settling into Adventurer life quickly. I hope you keep up that effort and keep pushing forward."

"Thank you, Lord Takemikazuchi."

Was he actually a genius? The thought surfaced suddenly in Rozz's mind, but he didn't forget the real reason he'd come. "Actually, there's something..."

"Go ahead."

"I'd like to learn some advanced techniques from you, Lord Takemikazuchi — for fighting other Adventurers. Could we keep this between us, without Lady Hestia knowing?"

He didn't explain the full reason. He was just worried that word might reach Hestia through Takemikazuchi and make the goddess worry.

"Sure. I'm free the day after tomorrow — come find me at the Boarding Longhouse, and I'll teach you what you need."

"Thank you."

"Lady Hestia seems to really like fried potato balls. What flavor does she usually get? Now that I can actually afford it, I'd like to bring some back for her."

"Black pepper."

He had to admit it. Hearing that, Takemikazuchi looked at the boy in front of him — one who never wanted to worry Hestia, who kept the goddess in his thoughts at every turn — and felt a genuine pang of envy.

—

[Author's Note: Autumn's turning cold — take care of yourselves, dear readers. The author's brewing a cup of cold medicine and getting back to writing, meow~]