Chapter 43: Rozz's Strange Dream, the Helpless Supporter Girl (Please Keep Reading) (Patreon)

All right~

Since you're not planning on exploring the Dungeon for the next couple of days, just get some good rest. If anything comes up, you can always find me at the weapon shop.

Good night~

After updating Rozz's stats and going over the recent goings-on, Hestia had no intention of lingering in the communal dormitory — she still had to go back and pack her things.

All she could think was: once she moved in to live together with him, anyone with their eyes on Rozz would have to step aside. She refused to believe anyone could steal away a member of her own Familia!

Okay.

After Rozz saw the young goddess off from the communal dormitory, he returned to his own room. Thanks to the intimate Cuddling with Hestia, the exhaustion from his intense Dungeon exploration eased at last.

So, what should he do next?

...This is boring!

Good news: he'd transmigrated into the world of DanMachi, where he could become an Adventurer and keep growing stronger — and even the gods he met turned out to be cute, petite beauties.

Bad news: forget about playing Galgames — he didn't even have any material to rub one out to.

Since he had no plans to explore tomorrow, turning in this early meant Rozz couldn't think of anything else to do with his time.

It wasn't like he could just take up part-time work to save for a grimoire, could he? Just counting the zeroes after the price tag would probably take forever. Thinking of this, his eyes drifted to the book on his desk.

...

It was the "Adventurer's Exploration Guide" that Miss Syr from the Hostess of Fertility had given him out of goodwill. He genuinely couldn't read the script of this other world, but no matter how he looked at it, this was a gift given with good intentions — surely more useful than letting it prop up a wobbly table leg.

Rozz picked up the "Adventurer's Exploration Guide." He leaned back on the wooden bed and flipped through it idly, though whether it was the exhaustion from today's exploring or some allergy to reading, who could say.

Soon, Rozz drifted off into a deep sleep. Maybe it was his fierce longing to stop being a porter and cannon fodder forever, but for once, he had a dream.

In the dream, it seemed as though Hestia was asking him what magic he'd want to learn, given the chance.

"If..."

"If it were possible, I'd want... a magic that copies all other magic!"

That was the answer Rozz gave.

...

Pleasure Street.

At dusk, the Soma Familia's compound buzzed with noise — but that liveliness only ever showed up when Zanis was handing out the divine wine quotas.

Adventurers crowded around on every side. Lili just found it all deafening. She stood in a corner of the tavern, trying to make herself as invisible as possible.

There was no way around it... Even as a bottom-rung Supporter, she was forced to attend by vice-captain Zanis. She'd thought about skipping it — but if she did that, by the next day some Adventurer would come looking to make trouble for her.

...

"When is this Familia ever going to fall apart?"

The Supporter girl looked up, her eyes fixed on the man by the bar — a middle-aged Adventurer in a white suit, surrounded by a crowd of admirers.

Soma Familia's vice-captain, Zanis. Level 2.

His strength put him in a class of his own within the Familia, leagues ahead of everyone else. He looked gentle and refined on the surface, but in his eyes, Lili could clearly sense the condescending contempt he held for everyone around him.

...

The root of all the Familia's chaos. His methods were truly outrageous — using the divine wine, he controlled every Adventurer in the Familia through the distribution of quotas, all to help himself hoard wealth.

Zanis then handed over the money he made to Soma to buy materials, cementing his position within the Familia through this arrangement.

Everything she'd been through — none of it was unrelated to the beast in gentleman's clothing standing before her. Thinking of this, Lili's fists clenched on their own.

"Once you've saved up five million valis, you'll be allowed to leave the Familia."

That was the promise Zanis had given her.

Before she met Rozz, that promise of freedom from the Familia had been the only thing keeping the girl going, the only reason she hadn't simply given up. But over this past while, Lili had suddenly come to see a lot of things clearly — all the bullying she'd endured, there was no way it could have happened without Zanis's covert approval.

So then — Zanis's real goal was to keep her from ever saving enough, using every trick available to make sure she rotted away forever in the mire that was the Soma Familia!

"What am I supposed to do?"

...

The girl felt lost inside. Especially once she realized that even saving enough money would amount to nothing, she might as well spend it on something else instead.

She watched the crowd receiving their divine wine. Lili had no intention of lingering at the Familia's compound. While everyone's attention was fixed on the divine wine, she slipped quietly away.

As the Familia's vice-captain, Zanis naturally paid no mind to a bottom-rung Supporter like Lili.

Looking at the mound of valis piled up before him, a smile spread across the middle-aged man's face without his realizing it. His gaze swept over the members gathered there. "Today's divine wine distribution is finished."

"If you feel your quota wasn't enough,"

"then work harder in your Dungeon exploring from now on. And if that doesn't cut it... well, there are other ways to scrounge up some cash."

As he said this, Zanis didn't forget to hold up an example. He looked at the young Adventurer standing beside him. "Ganu, how'd you do this week?"

"I've got two bottles of divine wine!!"

Right after that, the crowd below erupted in wild delight.

As the Familia's vice-captain, Zanis raised his cup — though what filled it was plain water. Even though he controlled the entire distribution of divine wine, he never touched the stuff himself.

"Everyone... keep up the good work!"

...

"Ohh-ho-ho-ho-ho."

...

Just a bunch of useless fools, as expected!

The Familia members' reactions matched Zanis's expectations perfectly, which only made the contempt in his eyes burn brighter. Anyone who let themselves be controlled by divine wine was clearly weak-willed — what could Adventurers like that ever hope to accomplish?

They were only good enough to serve as stepping stones for his own bright future, Zanis thought to himself, before draining the water from his cup.

The middle-aged man's gaze swept over the crowd, but he couldn't find one of the Familia's most devoted core members — Nwankwo. Zanis's brow furrowed slightly.

Given that guy's usual habits, he'd use every means possible to make money and buy divine wine from him — a good chunk of his weekly income had always come from Nwankwo.

Zanis frowned slightly, his expression souring.

"That guy..."

"Don't tell me he blew all his money on women again."

Well, that was fine too. The middle-aged man made up his mind: he'd find a chance to lean on Nwankwo later and make him work twice as hard to earn money for him.

As for the Lili who'd just left, Zanis didn't give her a second thought. He figured she'd left because Nwankwo had taken all her money again.

After all, as the lowest of the low Supporters, surely her leaving couldn't have anything to do with Nwankwo's absence at tonight's divine wine distribution — that useless piece of trash?

Even as this thought crossed his mind, Zanis found it laughably absurd. All he hoped for now was that Nwankwo would soon make Lili face reality and break her into complete obedience.

Once that happened... he'd finally be able to use the "Cinder Ella" magic that Lili possessed to strike up a real partnership with that organization on Daedalus Street!!

...

[Author's Note: PS: Today's regular update — 4000/4000 words done. Next comes the spectacular bonus-chapter round. Please follow along~ please leave comments~ please vote with your monthly tickets~ please give recommendation tickets, meow!]