"Do you like it?"
"If you don't, I can go exchange it."
Inside the Abandoned Underground Church, Hestia watched Kitahara as he donned his new gear, her voice full of concern.
"Ah, I love it. Thank you, Hestia."
Kitahara looked down at the equipment. It was simple. A chest guard, arm guards, and knee pads. Aside from those, a single Short Blade hung at his waist.
The set was basic, yet he could feel the quality. It was sturdy. For a rookie Adventurer, this was top-tier equipment.
At the very least, if he were struck by the same Monsters he had slain before, this armor would negate the damage entirely.
"I'm glad you like it," Hestia said, a satisfied smile blooming on her face.
"Now, come and eat."
She beckoned him over. On their way back to the Abandoned Church, they had picked up dinner. Two portions of fried noodles sat waiting.
"Yeah."
Kitahara nodded. He stripped off the gear and sat beside her. They began to eat, the steam from the noodles rising between them.
Between bites, Kitahara asked about the current state of Orario. He had gathered some information from the merchant caravan, but they were outsiders. Their knowledge was superficial at best.
Hestia had been in the Lower World for several months now. Even if she was a shut-in, she knew the local landscape.
He needed to know if this Orario matched the one in his memories. Or if there was some different Regional (NAR) he hadn't accounted for.
His intuition was right. Hestia might have been a homebody, but she understood the general atmosphere of the city perfectly.
The situation in Orario was exactly as he remembered. There were no discrepancies.
Kitahara nodded slowly, processing the information.
Once dinner was finished, they prepared for rest. The Abandoned Church was small, but it did have a washroom. Hestia had set it up herself.
It was a bit awkward, though. The only thing separating the bath from the rest of the room was a thin cloth curtain. If someone was bathing, a person standing outside could see a faint, hazy silhouette of the figure within.
Because of this, Kitahara was banished to the surface while Hestia bathed.
When it was his turn, Hestia voluntarily headed up to the surface to enjoy the night breeze.
They finished their business and turned off the lights. Hestia took the bed. Kitahara made do with the sofa.
He didn't mind. It wasn't as if they could share a bed on their first day together. That was impossible. He wasn't that much of a pervert.
The night passed in silence.
The next morning, Kitahara woke early. Hestia was already up.
"Kitahara, be careful out there."
They stood in the plaza before Babel. Hestia gave him a small, encouraging smile.
"I will. I'm heading out, Hestia."
He nodded, gave her a brief wave, and turned toward the entrance beneath the tower.
Even though they had formed a Familia, they hadn't gone to the Guild to register yet. It was just like how Hestia had handled things in the original story.
Kitahara found it strange, but he didn't press her for details.
Hestia had explained it briefly. A Familia didn't need to register for the first half-month of its existence. However, if they remained unregistered after that, the Guild would impose heavy penalties.
Every Familia Faction in Orario had to pay taxes to the Guild. This was the law.
Even the two giants, the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia, followed these rules.
The Guild ignored new groups for the first fifteen days. After that, any unregistered Familia was viewed as a tax Runner.
At that point, the Guild had every right to expel the Familia from Orario. They would be banned from the city's growth and resources.
For an Adventurer, that was a death sentence for their career.
Orario was the ultimate platform for growth. Being kicked out was a massive loss. Without the Dungeon, a Familia could not thrive.
There was no other place in the world like this. No other "leveling holy land" existed in the outside world. If the Adventurer couldn't grow, the Familia would wither away.
"Kitahara... don't push yourself too hard," Hestia whispered.
She watched his figure disappear into the spiral staircase, her hands pressed against her chest.
On the other side, Kitahara merged with the flow of the crowd. He followed the mass of Adventurers down the long, winding stairs.
Soon, he stepped into the Dungeon.
The entrance was a massive corridor with a ceiling that seemed to reach for the heavens. Only after passing through this hall did one truly enter the floors where Monsters were born.
Kitahara moved quickly. He passed through the corridor and entered the first floor.
The path branched out in every direction. Dozens of tunnels led into the dark. The Adventurers ahead of him chose their paths without hesitation, plunging into the depths.
Kitahara didn't dawdle. He picked a tunnel and stepped inside.
The light died instantly. Visibility dropped several levels, leaving the world in a dim, oppressive haze.
It didn't bother him. Back in his village, he had often hunted Monsters in the mountains at night. He was used to the dark.
There were no other Adventurers in this specific passage. He walked alone, his footsteps muffled, waiting for the Dungeon to strike.
The Dungeon didn't keep him waiting long.
After only two minutes of walking, the first wave arrived.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls. The stone bulged and burst. Small, green forms clawed their way out of the rock.
Goblins.
They snarled at him, their high-pitched screeches echoing off the walls. Without warning, the pack lunged.
Kitahara smiled. He drew the Short Blade from his waist and stepped forward to meet them.
*Shring!*
"Yaaaaaa!"
A scream tore through the tunnel. The first Goblin dissolved into ash under his blade.
In that moment, a voice rang out in his mind.
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด!! ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐...]
The Abandoned Underground Church was exactly as the name suggested.
Dust motes danced in the dim light filtering through the cracks in the ceiling. It smelled of damp stone and forgotten prayers. Kitahara stepped over a pile of debris, his boots crunching on the grit.
"It is... a bit rustic, isn't it?" Hestia asked.
Her voice echoed off the cold, stone walls. She fidgeted with her ribbons, looking everywhere but at him. The goddess seemed smaller here, dwarfed by the shadows of the ruin.
"It is perfect," Kitahara replied.
He wasn't lying. For a man with nothing, a roof over his head was a luxury he hadn't expected so soon.
Hestia's eyes widened, shimmering with a mix of relief and joy. She hadn't expected this strange youth to accept such a dilapidated home so easily. Most would have turned tail and run back to the surface.
"Really? You do not think it is too small? Or too dirty?"
Kitahara shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips.
"It has character."
'And it is free,' he added privately. 'In a city like Orario, privacy is worth more than gold.'
He felt a familiar hum in the back of his mind. The interface flickered into existence, visible only to him.
[๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ: ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ]
[๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ: ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ]
[๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: ๐ญ]
[๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต: ๐ฌ / ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ฌ / ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐: ๐ฌ / ๐๐ด๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐: ๐ฌ / ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ: ๐ฌ]
A clean slate. A fresh start in a world of gods and monsters. He looked at the goddess standing before him. She was small, energetic, and currently vibrating with excitement.
"Then it is settled! From today on, this is the headquarters of the Hestia Familia!"
She pumped a fist into the air, her enthusiasm lighting up the gloomy basement. Kitahara looked toward the direction of the Dungeon. The Great Labyrinth lay beneath the city, a maw waiting to swallow the weak.
He would not be swallowed.
'First, I need a weapon,' he thought. 'A Short Blade, perhaps.'
The journey was just beginning. He could feel the weight of the Falna on his back, a burning promise of power yet to be realized.
"Kitahara? Are you listening?"
Hestia was leaning in close, her face inches from his. He could see the flecks of blue in her eyes.
"I am listening, Goddess."
"Good! Because we have a lot of work to do if we want to make this place livable."
He looked at the cobwebs and the shattered pews. It would take more than a few days to clean this mess. But for the first time since arriving in the Lower World, he felt like he belonged.
The shadows of the Abandoned Church didn't feel cold anymore. They felt like a beginning. He would climb the tower of Babel. He would face the Freya Familia if he had to.
But for now, he just needed to find a broom.