A deep, leaden exhaustion had settled into his bones, leaving his back and legs aching and his limbs feeling as hollow as carved wood.
Renn knew he was simply feeling the toll of pushing his body to the absolute limit.
Thinking back to how he’d kept himself running at full throttle the entire time they were in the Dungeon, he really did start to wonder whether he had a literal health bar ticking down inside him.
He left the central plaza with Hestia.
On the way back to the dormitory, he made sure to stop by the guild and exchange everything he’d gathered that day for valis.
Compared to yesterday.
[4,020 valis]
With all of his focus going into combat and Lili helping out, his exploration income had straight up doubled.
“Feels like…”
“My status should go up a lot today.”
In this world, how much a falna raised your stats depended on the adventurer’s aptitude and the effort they’d put into exploring.
Renn was genuinely looking forward to it.
It meant his life in Orario was finally settling into a rhythm, and it was heading somewhere good.
Except, before getting Hestia to update his status, he was so worn out he didn’t even have the strength to talk, and he just sat down on the edge of the bed.
…
[Character: Renn]
[Level: Lv1]
[Mood: 56↓100 (Clear-headed)]
[Energy: 1↓100 (Exhausted)]
[Health: 95↓100 (Excellent)]
[Two straight days of high-intensity exploration have left Renn worn out in body and mind.
He may need to properly relax before his health recovers.]
“…”
As someone with a job herself, Hestia understood exactly why his health had dropped.
Gods who came down to Orario had their divine power sealed away, after all.
Two days of working at the weapon branch shop had left her exhausted too.
Looking at the boy sitting on the edge of the bed, too tired to even share how his exploration had gone, she felt a pang of sympathy.
She even started wondering whether her goal of building up the Familia was what had him so worn down.
What was she supposed to do to help him relax and get his health back to where it had been?
Forget all of that!
She stood on her tiptoes and gave the exhausted Renn his daily hug, figuring some closeness would at least restore a bit of his energy.
Her cheeks turned slightly red, but her voice was as bright as ever.
“Renn, you worked so hard exploring today!”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
Renn thought that this was pretty much the otherworld life he’d wanted, even without the ups and downs of an anime or light novel story.
You could honestly call him a bottom-tier adventurer.
Compared to what Lili was going through, he came back from the Dungeon every day and got hugged by Hestia.
The gap between them really was huge.
Most importantly, he could feel his fatigue clearly easing up inside a beautiful girl’s arms.
Maybe it was just in his head.
Renn explained with a smile.
“I finished today’s goal without any trouble, made it safely to the 4th floor, and I even met someone in Orario who turned out to be pretty decent.”
“Mhm~”
Hestia, who every god teased by calling her the virgin goddess, had never been close to a man like this, not in heaven and not in all her time in Orario.
She’d never had that kind of contact with anyone.
Doing it with her own follower made her heart beat faster, though there wasn’t any part of her that wanted to pull away.
Then she looked at the Hero Raising Plan.
[Energy +20.]
Heheh~
So hugs really did have a recovery effect!
She was very satisfied, right up until she noticed the other line, the one about his affection going up.
Then the smile died on her face.
[Renn feels the kindness of his goddess, remembers the miserable situation of his supporter Lili, and feels fortunate to have met you.]
[Affection +3.]
You jerk…
Don’t go thinking about other girls while you’re being this close to me.
That’s a serious deduction!
[Affection Stage: 2]
[Currently unlocked features: Daily Quests, Renn’s Exploration Log.]
[Next affection stage: 30/50]
Then again…
Seeing the brand new feature the Hero Raising Plan had unlocked, Hestia found she wasn’t as angry as she’d expected to be.
At least somewhere in the back of his mind he was thinking about her!
[Renn’s Exploration Log]
This new feature.
She had no intention of digging into it right now, but she could roughly guess that it was something along the lines of a diary.
It would definitely be useful.
Maybe through the exploration log she could find out where he was lacking, so she could tailor her raising plan properly.
Hestia reached out with her slender white fingers and gently rubbed his temples, trying to ease some of the fatigue.
“If you’re really that tired…”
“I don’t think you have to explore the Dungeon this intensely.
We’ve got plenty of time together from here on.”
“Building up the Familia isn’t exactly urgent~”
“…”
Renn felt that kindness that belonged only to Hestia, but he shook his head.
His money problems still weren’t solved.
If he took a break now, there was a good chance Hestia would have to support him.
His tone was serious.
“Exploring the Dungeon does wear me out, but when I see myself getting stronger, it doesn’t feel so bad.”
“Besides, I have a reason I need to work hard.”
A reason he needs to work hard.
He means me, right?
The thought left Hestia delighted.
She remembered the ten thousand plus valis she still had saved up, and lifted her head.
She made a serious suggestion.
“Then…
how about we go eat at a restaurant?
I remember a place called the Hostess of Fertility, the food there is really good!”
“And when we get back, I’ll update your status for you~”
*
People don’t share the same joys and sorrows.
Adventurer Street in Orario was busy and crowded, but to Lili, the voices of all those adventurers were nothing but noise.
Just a little while ago, Enman Kowo, the man behind everything miserable in her life, had come to find her.
The beating she’d braced for never came.
Instead he’d put a choice in front of her.
Steal that adventurer dagger of Renn’s, the one made by the Hephaestus Familia, and dump it on the black market.
“…”
No matter how much she’d been bullied, Lili had never once considered stealing an adventurer’s most precious weapon, because it could easily get them killed.
She had a line she wouldn’t cross.
But Enman’s words kept echoing in her head, and she could still picture that greedy face of his.
If she wouldn’t do it herself, then he had no problem using his own methods to take that weapon of Renn’s.
It was a naked threat.
“So…”
A despair she’d never felt before welled up inside her.
“Any adventurer who gets close to me ends up suffering?”