Homeless Again or Maybe Not..

I stared down at the two pretty women, who looked back at me as if I were some kind of freak. Not that I wasn't, but the whole situation was pretty funny.

Tsubaki, ever as calm as usual, eased the tension a little. Underestimating her was never a good idea—she was a level 5 blacksmith and adventurer who had fought her way to the top of the food chain.

"This place is my property, and you broke into it. This church is no place for a stray to just break in and settle. Now get out before we hand you over to the guild."

Tsubaki remained silent, not attempting to calm down her goddess. It was pointless; no matter what she tried, Hephaestus wouldn't be appeased. She was a good goddess, but today, for some reason, she was angrier than I'd ever seen her, especially over something like this.

Yes, I had broken into her property, but it wasn't like it wasn't abandoned. I'd even made the place look cleaner and more alive. Most likely, Hephaestus had a rough day at work, and now she was taking her frustration out on me.

"Fine, fine. No need to throw me behind bars. I even cleaned your church and fixed the floor, so I did you a favor."

She stomped her foot on the ground and yelled, "Get out, NOW!"

Tsubaki seemed to pity me, getting yelled at and homeless, but it wasn't like she could do much.

This would have been humiliating if I could feel humiliation. Remaining silent, I nodded and packed my things to leave.

As I stepped outside with my stuff, a rough hand stopped me. It was Tsubaki, one of her red eyes peeking into mine.

"Are you an adventurer, or just a stray?" Her simple question radiated friendliness, and her tone carried a hint of comfort.

"I don't have a specific profession, but you could say that. Your goddess is really mad, though, so I doubt she'd be pleased if you tried helping me..."

Tsubaki just shook her head and placed a hand on my shoulder. She was taller than me, and I could see her chest at eye level.

A grin spread across her face, but then Hephaestus emerged from a hidden room and came outside the church where we stood.

"Maybe you should go find another Familia if you want a place to rest safely. This place is my property, and you aren't allowed to live here."

Hephaestus stood outside, arms crossed, her red eye staring at me with anger and disappointment.

I'd had enough. I gave Hephaestus a stare that could kill, ignoring their reactions as I turned my back and swiftly moved through the streets.

Leaving the ruined section of Orario, I found myself at Babel Tower, crowded as always, though not as much as in the morning. I sat down on a wooden bench to come up with a new plan. First, I needed to make myself a new home.

With my creation ability—my "minecrafter" skill—I could manage it. I just needed to figure out how to use it and see if it had any limits.

My plan was to make a small home on the 18th floor, hidden away so no prying eyes would find it. I envisioned a hobbit-like home inside the floor's walls, concealed by green bushes, with only a door and window visible. Once the house was finished, I'd start grinding for excelia or exploring.

Ideally, I should be at least level 4 before facing the Ishtar Familia, but I believed I could either mortally wound or kill Toad even at level 3. Or I could just steal Haruhime and ask Azathoth to remove her falna.

Hermes could help me with Haruhime if I asked him. He wouldn't refuse me, but there'd be a risk of him being charmed, just like in that one episode of Danmachi.

'Man, all this thinking is tiring...'

Obviously, I couldn't get tired, but I acted as if I could. The best course of action was to first build a home and then decide on my next steps. With that settled, I stood up from the bench and headed toward the dungeon entrance.

Many adventurers were slowly making their way up and down the stairs, which meant it would take longer than I liked to descend. Then I remembered—I could fly. If I could fly, I could jump from extreme heights.

As I looked left and right a couple of times, others gave me sideways glances. Then, I jumped. Just as I did, I heard gasps and shouts.

"FOOLISH NEWBIE!!"

"HE JUST COMMITTED SUICIDE, CALL THE GUILD!!"

"Someone will pick up his corpse later—there are plenty of people down there."

The voices soon faded as I descended, levitating just before I hit the ground and landing gracefully. I wasn't sure if I could survive the impact, but now wasn't the time to test it.

No one saw me levitate, which was good. Adventurers were the scum of the earth, and they'd no doubt try to kill me if they thought I had one of Perseus's magic items. I didn't, but the only explanation for my flight would be a magic item like that.

Moving quickly through the floors, I encountered a few monsters but nothing significant, as the dungeon was crowded with adventurers today.

Eventually, I arrived at the infamous Wall of Grief. By now, I'd killed a few monsters, but not many, since the dungeon was so busy.

Passing through a transparent wall, I heard a small, indescribable sound, the only noise on this floor, as its main guardian was currently inactive.

In the distance, I saw a small group of seven adventurers resting. I ignored them and made my way toward the slide that would take me down to Rivira.

But before I could approach it, I noticed the same group of adventurers walking toward the 16th floor.

'Just when I thought there might be a fight, turns out they're just normal adventurers. What a drag!'

I had secretly hoped for a battle, but it seemed like today wasn't the day. With a sigh, I jumped down the slide and rushed toward the safe floor.