Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (15 page)

Adventurers and their supporters need the Guild for many things like paperwork, the Exchange, etc. I’m in here a few times a day, everyone else at least once a day, I’m sure. Out of all the Main Streets, West Main has by far the most adventurers.

Therefore, there’s a lot of competition for shops and bars to get a spot on this street. Adventurers need supplies and a good place to relax, and they have money. This street is lined with weapon shops, armor shops, item stores, and lots of bars. The places off of Main Street are a little shady, but you never know what you’ll find in one of them. There are a few hotels here and there as well.

Adventurers are going in and out of shops all over the place. I’ve got some time to kill, let’s see what’s around. The goddess isn’t home, so no rush.

“Hm? Oh, if it isn’t Bell?”

“Ah! It’s nice to see you again!”

A person walking toward me on the stone road called out.

Tall with a strong chin and a high nose, the young man has the look of royalty. His presence feels different from a human or demi-human, even in a plain gray robe.

His absolute perfection sets him apart from everyone else on the street. Anyone can tell immediately he’s a god. He’s the only god I know personally—other than Hestia, of course. His name is Miaha. I’d better bow and say hello properly.

“Hello, Miaha. Are you out shopping?”

“Yeah, picking up a few things for dinner myself today. What are you up to?”

“I’m just looking around… I don’t have any money, so I’m window-shopping.”

“Ha-hamm, I can relate. Everyone in a small
Familia
has to work hard, even the god.”

He smiles at me from above two large paper bags, one in each hand. His smile is very soothing; he’s an all-around cheerful god. Add in his ocean-blue hair, and he’s an attractive man. I have to admit it.

The gods all look different—some very young, while some look almost middle-aged—but one thing they all have in common is an absolutely perfect face. A lot of us are jealous of them because of it; include me, just a little.

His wide smile is infectious, just like Hestia’s. Wait! Maybe he knows something about her.

“Can I ask you a question, Miaha? Do you know where Hestia is right now? She went to a friend’s party two days ago, and she still hasn’t come home.”

“Hestia… hmmm. No, I’m sorry. I haven’t seen her, either. I don’t think I can be of much help.”

“It’s okay. Please don’t worry about it.”

A god apologized… to me? And he lowered his head! No no no. Head down, now!

“Two days ago… That’s most likely Ganesha’s Celebration. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the event myself. If I had, I might have more to tell.”

“Miaha, were you not invited to attend?”

“Ah, no. I got an invitation. But my
Familia
is struggling for money at the moment. I can’t leave them at this stressful time, it wouldn’t be right. I was hard at work creating a new compound. No time to go to a drinking party anyway.”

I’ll be frank when I say his
Familia
is a lot like mine, struggling to make ends meet.

That’s half the reason I know Miaha—we are both in bottom-of-the-barrel
Familias.

“Bell, I’d like you to have these. It’s a sample of what I was working on the other night.”

“Are you sure?!”

Transferring both bags to one arm, he casually reaches into the fold of his robe and takes out two small test tubes filled with a dark blue liquid and hands them to me like it was nothing. I take them almost as a reflex.

The syrupy potion slowly swishes around in the vial. Looks like deep ocean molasses.

“Miaha, are you sure this is okay?”

“What’s wrong with giving a neighbor a cup of sugar? It’s no problem.”

He ignores my bewilderment and lets out a hearty laugh.

He pats my shoulder with his free hand and steps to the side.

“Well, I hope to be seeing you at my
Familia
’s shop again real soon, Bell.”

He waves one more time before turning around and continuing on his way.

Did that really just happen? I’m so happy! There he goes, into the crowd. I bow one more time as a send-off.

These potions recover physical strength. I’m sure they’ll come in handy. Now where to put them…? Ah! My leg holster would be good. There we go.

Miaha’s
Familia
makes items like this. Their store is very small, but they are a very specialized group.

I don’t know too much about what goes on behind the scenes, but I know that each
Familia
in this business has its own recipe. They constantly look for new ways to get an edge on the competition. I like
Miaha Familia
’s potions. I go there when I have enough money to pick one up.

His
Familia
is a good example, but there are many
Familias
doing the same thing with other items and weapons.

Some
Familias
produce items, and some are filled with smiths who make armor and weapons. I even heard about one that brings in fresh fish from the ocean. At first, I thought that
Familias
were just groups of adventurers, but that’s not always the case.

Gods need to make a living. How they do it is completely up to them.

The god chooses exactly what their
Familia
is going to do. That decision in turn affects the market they go into. “Gekai’s food is
delicious, so I’ll open a restaurant!” Kind of like that. They could even start their own country. They can do almost anything.

But competition among members within a
Familia
and from other
Familias
is also very strong. Fights tend to break out. Without some strong adventurers to keep the peace, a
Familia
can fall apart. It might not even get off the ground.
Familias
need strong leaders, and adventurers fill that role pretty well.

Becoming an adventurer was perfect for me because it’s a good way to make money. Okay, okay, I had a few more romantic reasons for wanting to be one, too. But I’m not trained to do anything else.

Here I am, walking to the left down Main Street, thinking about how I’d look working in one of these shops… Ha-ha, don’t think so.

“……”

Getting close to the good weapon shops now. There are some really strong-looking adventurers around today. Ah! There it is!

The weapons shop in front of me is twice the size of its neighbors.

Not only that, it’s painted to look like an inferno. It’s impossible to miss this place.

There is a strange-looking sign above some really thick doors. “Hφαιστος”

I can’t read those characters, but I know their meaning. It’s the logo used by a world-famous
Familia
of smiths.

I don’t think anyone’s watching me… Let’s have a look-see at their display window.

One sheet of clear glass is between me and all sorts of sharp, shiny objects. Oh yeah, they make weapons, good ones. That one’s got an emerald green blade! Those twin swords look awesome! The reach on that buster sword… it’s huge! There’s even a rapier inlaid with gold plating!

Ohhhhh, there it is!

This display is genius. The tip of the dagger’s white blade is thrust into the center of a treasure chest–like box. Magic stone lamps light it up from the top down. It’s like that dagger itself is the treasure, and I just found it. Its finely honed edge looks just as potent as the
claw it was forged from. Not only is the blade a thing of beauty, it’s just as powerful as the longer blades on display.

That’s a lot of zeros on the price tag…

I would look so awesome with this…

Kind of sad to admit, but I’ve been coming by this window on my way home for a while now. Just to look at this work of art.

It’s a top-class weapon used by the average adventurer.

I know, I’m a dirt-poor adventurer using a weapon purchased with money borrowed from the Guild, but I want to touch that one. Just once, just to see how it feels.

… I want it bad.

I’m sure other adventurers would laugh and say, “Yeah, in your dreams!” if I told them I want this dagger.

If I keep trying to catch up to Ms. Wallenstein, maybe the day I can hold this amazing weapon will come.

With that dagger in my hand, I’d be unstoppable. Slash this way, cut that way, monsters dropping like flies.

I’ve been staring into the glass for so long, I’m surprised it hasn’t started melting…

“How long do you plan on doing that?”

“……”

While Bell was drooling over a weapon on display on the first floor of the weapons shop, a very irritated red-haired goddess was sitting behind a desk on the third floor above him.

Hephaistos, dressed in her
Familia
’s uniform, had had enough. Her frustration poured into every syllable of her words.

The source of her annoyance was on the other side of her desk, a goddess on her hands and knees with her face pressed onto the floor. It was none other than Hestia.

They were on the third floor of
Hephaistos Familia
’s main store located on Northwest Main.

The store was the base of operations for her
Familia
’s world-famous brand. The third floor was devoted to management and currently packed with tension.

“You realize I’m very busy?”

“……”

“You may be very quiet, but I can’t concentrate on paperwork with you there. Don’t you get it?”

“……”

“Hestia?”

“……”

“… haa…”

Hephaistos could only sigh at the lump of a goddess on the floor, at her friend who had not moved from that position.

For an entire day.

That’s how long Hestia had kept her head down, plastered to the floorboards.

On the night of the Celebration, Hestia had asked her to have her
Familia
make a weapon for one of her members. Hephaistos dismissed it immediately.

Even though she didn’t brag about it, the smiths of
Hephaistos Familia
were known as the best in the business. She had a reputation to uphold. Run-of-the-mill adventurers and
Familias
didn’t have the resources to buy her weapons.

To have her smiths make a weapon just for a friend was out of the question. To request her smiths’ sweat and blood to produce anything under those terms would be an abuse of power. Completely taboo.

Hephaistos had told Hestia many times, and as directly as possible, to come back with some money if she wanted to make a custom order.

However, Hestia hadn’t given up and kept on asking. Every time she asked, her head bowed lower and lower. She’d been persistent since the start of the Celebration, and Hephaistos was at her limit.

Hestia showed no signs of giving up, or of even raising her head.

Hephaistos had told her to do whatever she wanted and gone back to her
Familia’
s home base. She’d been planning to ignore Hestia until she gave up. Hestia was bound to get hungry and go home at some point.

That was two days ago.

Hestia was still pleading.

Why is she doing this…?

Hephaistos looked down on her with a questioning eye.

She couldn’t understand what drove Hestia to keep that pose, even while Hephaistos was trying to sleep. It was quite a shock when she woke up. She nearly fell out of her bed.

She’d asked for many things before, but something was different this time.

Hestia’s strong will, her obsession, was shining through.

“Just what is that pose? You’ve been doing it since yesterday.”

“…
Dogeza
.”

“Do-ge-za?”

“Také told me this pose has the power to make people forgive whatever you have done and grant any request.”

“Také…?”

“Takemikazuchi…”

“Aaa…,” said Hephaistos as the face of the god in question floated into her mind. She knew that if Hestia was taking his advice, this could be a real pain.

I can’t take this anymore…
Hephaistos sighed. She couldn’t focus on her paperwork. So, she set her feather pen on the side of her desk and piled up the papers that still needed her signature.

The sun cast long, golden shadows across the room. Night was almost upon them.

Hephaistos glanced outside before straightening her always perfect posture. Taking a deep breath, she cast her gaze onto the back of Hestia’s head.

“… Hestia, tell me. Why are you going this far?”

Her finger lightly scratched her eye patch as she posed her question.

“… Because I want to help him!”

Hestia didn’t look up, only raised her voice loud enough to be clearly understood.

“He’s changing, and quickly. He—Bell has a goal, and he’s chosen the hardest path to follow. It’s a dangerous path, that’s why I want to help! I want to give him the strength he needs! A weapon that will clear a path for him!”

Hestia kept talking with her face to the floor, never looking up.

A god asking another god for help. Hestia had to reveal her true intentions. It was impossible to hide anything from a god. She bared her entire being in an attempt to persuade Hephaistos to change her mind.

“He is always helping me! I feel like I am living off his hard work! I’m his goddess, but I haven’t done anything godlike for him!”

Hestia’s whole body tensed as she squeezed out her next words:

“… I hate being useless…”

Her voice was weak, but it was enough to reach Hephaistos’s ears.

At that moment, the truth in Hestia’s words convinced her to act.

“… All right. A weapon shall be made for this… boy.”

Hestia’s eyes shot open as her head popped up. Hephaistos shrugged.

“If I didn’t say yes, you’d never move.”

“… Yes. Thank you, Hephaistos!”

Hestia tried to jump to her feet, but after spending a day facedown on the floor, her limbs weren’t ready. She fell back to her knees, an innocent smile on her face. Hephaistos sighed again, but this time it was lighthearted.

She knew she was being too nice to her, but Hephaistos saw a change in Hestia. She felt no animosity helping her like this.

At least Hestia wasn’t shut up in a room in her shop anymore. Thinking of the difference between those days and now made her smile despite herself.

“But let me say this: You will pay back every single val, understood? I don’t care if it takes one hundred years, you will repay me.”

That didn’t mean she was going to give the weapon to her for free.

Even though Hestia was taking advantage of her own resources to get what she wanted, the world-famous
Hephaistos Familia
was taking action. Hestia had to work for it.

However, Hestia had shown resolve. Hephaistos nodded to herself as she stood up from her chair, walked over to the still-kneeling Hestia, and softly poked her nose.

“I know, I know. I can do it if I try. And I’ll prove to you that my feelings for Bell are the real thing!”

“Ha-ha, I’m looking forward to it.”

Hephaistos was only half listening to Hestia’s bold words as she walked over to a shelf at the other side of the room. Mostly used for decoration, the shelf held a line of brand-new short hammers of varying colors.

“What does he use?”

“Umm… He uses a knife…”

Hephaistos muttered, “Is that right,” under her breath as she picked up a vermilion hammer from the display shelf.

The hammer had no useless decorations or markings—it was designed to be used, not seen. Hephaistos slid the tool into a pouch strapped around her waist.

Next, she walked farther down the shelf to a clear crystal case and opened the lid. The case contained a mix of assorted metals and alloys. She selected one that sparkled a light silver hue, mythril.

Lighter and stronger than iron, mythril was also far more malleable and easier to work with.

It was the best metal for a female blacksmith’s thin arms, with no special abilities, to shape.

“H-Hephaistos? Are you going to make it yourself?”

“Yes, of course. That should be obvious. This has nothing to do with my
Familia
. It’s a private request between us. I can’t let them get involved.”

This was the main store of her
Familia’
s business, but it was equipped with a rather small forge and workshop on the first floor. Hephaistos was planning to go there to make the weapon herself.

She shot Hestia a look with her good eye as if to say, “You have a problem with that?”

Hestia shook her head and arms, indicating, “Not one.” Her face beamed with youthful energy.