Guild Affairs

Having no other clothes bought in Orario, Haru chose to go back to the clothing store where he had been before so he could get new clothes. As he still had some savings, Haru preferred to spend them on clothes other than those he already possessed, to have a change when one was dirty. He could have worn the clothes he brought from the village, but Haru wanted to avoid attracting attention if it was not necessary.

So it was with these thoughts that Haru went into the shop as the employee was frightened for a moment to see him covered in blood. However, explained the situation, the latter sighed while advising Haru on spare clothes very similar to those he already possessed.

Having changed clothes, Haru also had in mind to take a quick bath before going to the Guild or Hephaestus. He was told by the employee that the smell of blood had attached to his body, which led Haru to thank her for having pointed it out as he paid for the clothes

---

"Y-You what!?"

Misha had a shocked look on her face. In front of her, there was Haru as he had quietly told her how he managed to kill the surprising amount of 82 goblins, 74 kobolds, and 11 dungeon lizards, and it was the first time he went to the Dungeon. However, he did not seem to have any particular injuries, which reassured her a little.

"It seems my concerns were groundless in the end..."

With a sigh, Misha calmed down quickly. She was not the kind of person to reveal other adventurers the affairs they did not need to know. So banishing with her eyes curious ones who had turned to look at them after her little surprise, Misha did not hesitate to ask Haru if he wanted to go and trade everything he had gained in the Exchange.

Accepting her offer, Haru was led by Misha to the headquarters, located a little further inside the Guild. Being able to see what seemed to be a counter, he already knew how it worked. Yet he had to listen to her explanation where she told him that one could put Magic stones or monsters drops inside a small aperture. In return, he would be given according to the value of the goods, the right amount of valis excluding fees since he was an official adventurer.

Nodding to her explanation, Haru thanked her before putting in the opening everything he had earned, both magic stones and drop. Another skill of the inventory was to materialize the objects that were inside it at a maximum of one foot away. Since the drops were not many, Haru pretended to take the pieces from the bag while laying them in the opening.

From what he remembered, to speak of any other power other than skills from this world or innate ones was impossible, for if he had made it a force of which he did not know nature or existence in itself, would probably have erased him. Or at least that was all Haru could speculate on, and instead of explaining or make excuses for his inventory, he chose to directly avoid using carelessly to make it clear he did not own this type of Magic.

Once finished, Haru closed the opening that in no time at all, reopened with only valis inside, and as he marveled at the speed of the change, he could notice that the amount of valis seemed to be higher than he expected.

But deciding to count the amount later, Haru put the Valis in his bag before returning to Misha. Asking if he had anything else to do with the Guild, Haru concluded it was better not to discuss his rise in parameters for the time being, since theoretically, his Goddess had not yet updated his status.

Chatting with Misha a little more informally than before, the latter saw how Haru set out for the entrance, leaving for the umpteenth time from her eyesight.

Wearing the same smile she silently wore every time Haru left, praying once again that he could come back, Misha was ready to return to her job as if nothing had happened, but something went wrong.

"Hee~ So that was the adventurer who could make the icy Misha smile more than once in such a brief time."

She quickly recognized the voice talking to her, and that was why her cheeks immediately changed tone, taking on a reddish complexion.

"Do not picture things weirdly, Eina! We do not have that sort of relationship at all..."

The strange speculations of her friend had embarrassed Misha a lot, as, from an outsider's point of view, their relationship seemed to point to something more. But Misha was not the type of person to fall in love with a person who today was alive, but tomorrow he might as well not come back.

She was sure this kind of relationship was not worth pursuing. No matter how strong an adventurer is, there will always be dangers from which one cannot escape, and even if Haru was visibly powerful, it did not mean he would be able to return to her always.

"You say that, but I have never seen your reaction change from this teasing since we met. Is it possible that such a strange coincidence has occurred now~."

Carrying her hand to her mouth to cover it, Eina was hiding a smile while Misha, almost incredulous to the words of the latter, could only sigh looking elsewhere.

She was not wrong. The atmosphere around Haru was different. He was strangely respectful, kind, and the conversation with him flowed so naturally, that led one to talk further with him, losing the sense of time.

What struck her the most, however, was that he had not tried to make it look like what he had done was unbelievable even once. Misha had omitted the details precisely because she feared that he could still begin to underestimate the Dungeon if she told him. But the number of monsters he had defeated was equivalent to what a whole party of 5 people managed to defeat in their first attempts, yet his parameters were not far from the people who faced these monsters.

He was the ideal man for her, she did not question this, but Misha wanted to place a line not to cross with him. As she had already thought, Haru was an adventurer, and since the fear of losing him would be far too much to bear, Misha did not want to have any relationship with adventurers, not even the strongest among those first class.

"The question only caught me by surprise, but that adventurer and I have nothing but a relationship an advisor should have with an adventurer. Your teasing will not work, because I am too used to teasing you!"

Seeing her crack a smile after the almost lost look she had taken on, Eina narrowed her eyes while her tantalizing smile became a bit kinder. She understood what her reasons were, and certainly could not ask her to change her mind, just because her choices made sense, although she was against it.

Before they could continue the conversation, however, Misha was interrupted by another adventurer who needed assistance.

Letting her go without saying anything else, Eina returned to her area with her gaze lost in thoughts as her smile slowly faded away.

'I hope you do not regret your choice, Misha. You seem to have found someone who can make you smile from the bottom of your heart.'

She could avoid listening to their conversations, but Eina could observe how her smile varied from her professional one. Sometimes she could see an amused smile or one who aimed to tease him. In short, Misha came out slightly from her professionalism when it came to Haru, and she had the opportunity to observe this for the whole week, which is why it was a certainty from her point of view that it was by no means a mere coincidence.

But these thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of adventurers who sought a conversation with her.

---

Having finished with the Guild, Haru had gone to Hephaestus' chambers to update his status, yet he was stopped right outside the door as he met a figure he did not want to meet so soon.

Turning for a second, the Goddess standing outside the door noticed him at the same time, and if Haru sighed, her eyebrows twitched before she looked elsewhere. Although she was still angry at Haru for what he had said, she could not deny his words were the truth, which was a problem for her as she wanted at least an apology, but before the two could even begin a conversation, Haru was the first to bow down.

"I apologize for my behavior earlier, Hestia-sama. Even if the situation was as I had guessed, it is not my place to scold Goddesses who have lived much more than me on how to live. Next time I will try not to get caught up in my emotions."

He knew he had to apologize for his behavior, and even though he initially thought the situation could not be worse, it was much better. If Hephaestus asked him to apologize to her, Hestia would not take it seriously, and she would end up thinking Haru was friendly. If he apologized before he could see Hephaestus, then the situation changed.

Seeing Haru apologizing respectfully, her eyes gazed back at him as if she wanted to understand if these actions of his were pure, and confirming he did not seem to be lying, she sighed.

Keeping her eyes down, she knew from the beginning that Haru did not seem hostile towards her, but toward her behavior, she had assumed towards Hephaestus, which meant that he was willing to protect his Goddess to this length. She was impressed, but Hestia could not let go just yet, so she decided at least to recommend something to him that would be useful for the future.

"... After a while of thinking about it, I think I have figured out why you behaved that way, but be careful, Haru Yamasomething-kun. It may have gone well for you because this Goddess has no interest in punishing human beings, but it does not mean that all other disrespected Gods will listen to your reasons. No matter how right you are, if your Goddess does not oppose another God directly, it is good never to raise your sword against them."

Hestia wanted to make sure Haru understood this point. Showing open hostility to a God was perhaps the worst thing a human could do. If the latter did not possess power capable of overwhelming a God or was not supported by any of the other Gods, then the disrespectful human would be crushed so quickly as not to understand what ended their life. So was the seriousness to insult a god casually.

At these words, Haru nodded. He understood that even if a God or Goddess had a distorted and wrong view of the world, manipulating others, trying to respond disrespectfully would cause Hephaestus problems. However, he knew that Hestia would not, which is why he decided to act in the first place.

With their conversation continuing for a while, Hestia found an opportunity to tell him that his words had made her decide to establish the Hestia Familia. Since she did not have a job yet, for the time being, she would remain here at Hephaestus chambers. Although the situation was not much different from before, Haru had a smile on his face.

The story was hard to change, but even if that was true, it did not mean the little details were the same. Seeing at least the willingness to look for a familia member and a job, Haru was sure that Hephaestus could rest a bit, making the weight on her shoulders lighter. From this, one could say his attempt to change things had worked, even if only partially.

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(Chapters may be late than usual from now on, but quality > quantity :)...join my discord.gg/y8VBZAp to support me!)

(No for real, in a few hours we'll finally have his meeting with Hephaestus lmao)