The expansive view showed the unique white cloth walls of a tent, and the dignified, quietly seated blue-haired goddess beside him.
At this moment, Asta’s memories from before he fainted began to resurface in his mind, especially the dazzling blue at the end coinciding with the goddess’s figure before him.
Suddenly, Asta had a flash of insight and understood the reason for everything.
At that time…
he was saved by the goddess Artemis?
And now he was taken home?
Although using “taken home” might not be entirely appropriate, well…
it didn’t seem wrong either?
Asta knew the goddess before him, and even understood her very well, even though he and she had never met before this.
During a meteor shower more than ten years ago, in a remote village town on the continent, Asta transmigrated to this world, growing up as a newborn infant while retaining memories of his previous life.
Before his transmigration, Asta, aside from sharing a name with a popular character from a famous game, had nothing particularly outstanding about him; his rare hobbies included watching anime and light novels to pass the time.
Thanks to this, when Asta heard stories of Dungeons, gods, and Adventurers from a bard in his childhood, he quickly realized where he had transmigrated.
A world with the Dungeon Orario, gods descending to become mortals, and Adventurers, what else could it be but DanMachi (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon)?
It was from then on that Asta hoped he could become an Adventurer and experience this colorful world.
Now, sixteen years had passed, and Asta, who had yearned for Orario since childhood, finally convinced his parents to let him leave home and travel to Orario.
After all, in this world, sixteen-year-olds could be considered adults, having the capital to be independent.
Furthermore, Asta had almost never caused his parents any worry since childhood, so they were somewhat relieved about his long journey, trusting that he could take good care of himself.
Then, things fast-forwarded to Asta’s “courtesy exchange” with the gray wolves, being chased by a pack of gray wolves, being picked up by a goddess and staying alone with her?
Honestly, the current situation was not Asta’s wishful thinking.
It was indeed…
he was alone with Artemis.
Although the Goddess seemed to be lost in her own thoughts~
However, it didn’t last too long.
As Asta carefully got up, Artemis also snapped out of her state and noticed the awakened Asta.
“Hm?
You’re awake.
How are you?
Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
Her beautiful voice softly emerged, and the customary inquiry to an injured person brought a smile to her lips.
Then, perhaps noticing the different situation, the goddess quickly composed herself.
“Thank you, but there’s no discomfort anywhere.
Thank you for saving me.”
Except for his forehead still throbbing faintly…
Asta understood his forehead; it was the injured spot, the place that hurt the most.
He only hoped it wouldn’t leave a scar after healing; he cared a lot about his handsome face.
“You’re welcome.
Remember to be more careful next time, and don’t go deeper into the forest.
It’s very dangerous for ordinary people to enter the forest alone.
Where is your home?
If it’s on the way, perhaps we can take you home.”
Unaware of Asta’s rich inner monologue, Artemis sternly warned him and then made a suggestion.
“Uh…”
Hearing this, Asta was dumbfounded.
I traveled all this way from home, walking for almost three or four months, just to go to Orario to find a god, sign a contract, and become a magical girl—no, an Adventurer.
And you want to send me back?
(Automatically filtered out the ‘if it’s on the way’ premise in his mind).
For a moment, Asta didn’t know what to say.
“What’s wrong?
Did I say something wrong?”
Taking in Asta’s reaction, Artemis asked with some confusion.
“No, it’s not your problem, it’s mine…
I left home because I wanted to become an Adventurer.
The place I want to go now is…”
“Maze City Orario?”
Before he could finish speaking, the goddess had already guessed his destination.
“At the very end of the western continent, there lies the center of the world, possessing Falna from the gods…”
Such words were almost overused in Adventure story chronicles.
While the facts were indeed true, reality was often much crueler than stories.
Many newcomers, drawn by its fame but lacking Falna, would basically get stuck at the very first step towards their dream.
But then again…
Suddenly, the goddess scrutinized Asta, and she nodded in her heart for no apparent reason.
Is this age of a young man indeed still an age where he would be attracted by the beautiful stories in books?
Probably~
“Um…
Goddess, I feel like you might have misunderstood something?”
Noticing Artemis’s gaze just now, Asta tentatively spoke, wanting to correct her.
“Hm?
Did I?”
“I think so.
Your gaze just now was quite subtle.”
“Cough cough, it must be your imagination, right?”
“…”
Although Asta was confident he wasn’t mistaken, if the goddess said so, what could he do?
“You want to go to Orario, huh…” Temporarily ignoring Asta in front of her, Artemis pondered, tapping her chin with a slender, jade-like finger.
After a while, the goddess refocused her gaze on Asta, but her eyes seemed a bit strange.
“Should I say it’s a coincidence of timing, or simply that you’re very lucky?
My Familia has just completed a dragon hunting quest, and now is precisely the time for us to return to Orario for rest and recuperation…”
Blinking, Asta couldn’t help but be a little stunned; he seemed to guess what the next words would be.
Indeed, just as Asta had anticipated, the Goddess parted her lips slightly: “If you can follow instructions, it’s not impossible for us to take you along as well.”
“Rea…
Really?
Thank you so much, Goddess!”
Immediately, Asta excitedly propped himself up and leaned forward, his face showing delight.
Not to mention that having a powerful Familia accompany him would significantly reduce many dangers along the way.
The most crucial point was that Asta didn’t know the way!
In all fairness, from his father’s description, Asta’s small village, though remote, was not as far from Orario as he had imagined.
Many bards who had traveled to Orario and settled in villages and towns had stated that if one followed merchant caravans, it would generally only take two months to reach Orario from the village.
However, Asta had almost doubled this two-month journey!
Initially, he had also paid farli to travel with merchant caravans, but half a month after setting off, a sudden monster attack caused Asta to get separated from the caravan.
What followed was three months of him walking and stopping alone.
Perhaps he had a grudge with the monsters in the forest; every time he entered or even passed by a forest, Asta would inevitably encounter monsters: Goblins, Kobolds, Stone Golems, and so on.
He hadn’t even reached the Dungeon yet, and Asta had already encountered all these monsters.
Adhering to the principle of running away if he couldn’t win, he often found himself running and running until he had no idea where he was.
Sigh…
It’s all tears just talking about it!