I feel at ease when I'm with you

A rather slow chap, in fact, I could even say it's a side chapter...

It's more of an interchapter, bringing back some issues so you all can remember and develop the world, while also hinting at some possible encounters of the future that some of you want so Goddamn much...

For those that are eager for more fighting, don't worry as more fights will come soon since as I said before, we're nearing the end of this Volume.

About 20 to 30 chapters away from that sheesh.

And we'll see what that Volume Title was all about!

See ya! I gotta eat...

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/The next day…/

/Chirp!... Chirp!.../

'With a tired gaze, Silver opened his eyes, being slightly blinded by the radiance of the sun.'

"Goddamn wild roosters..."

Hum?

'He felt a weight on his chest as he opened his eyes, not heavy at all, barely enough to make him feel anything, it would take a lot to make him uncomfortable.'

'This weight was soft... And even a bit warm.'

'It was a nice feeling, one he felt many times before...'

"..."

What a mess...

'It was his Goddess Hestia, sleeping with her face glued to his chest.'

'But her legs were locked to his body, preventing him from moving at all... And she was currently nibbling at his clothes, likely having a dream of eating something.'

'She had a habit of moving and talking during sleeping, it was cute most of the time, but there was one time in the past she bit his fingers and he woke up with his eyes red...'

"Sigh."

'He put his hand on her head and thought:'

I don't mind spending a few more minutes like this.

...

/Around half an hour later and a quick shower.../

'Hestia was now up, sitting on the bed as Silver brushed her long hair that was still slightly wet after her bath.'

'It had a faint fragrance of flowers, a smell Hestia loved very much as it was her most prized shampoo.'

'This brand was recommended to her by Silver long ago when they still lived in the old Church, he gave it to her as a present and she seemed to like it, so much so she uses it every day.'

'Long hair isn't easy to take care of, be it Mortal hair or Divine hair.'

"Will you be going to the Dungeon again?"

"Not now, first, I have some things to do." Silver replied as he got distracted

"Can I ask what?... Ouch! Don't pull so much!" Hestia complained as her head twitched

"Sorry, I'm barely even using any strength here…"

If my Dexterity wasn't so high, this wouldn't even be possible...

"But yes you can." Silver said as he cleared his throat

Today is one of those busy days...

"Sooo?"

'Silver thought for a moment, before saying:'

"First, I'll be visiting Miach."

"That's rare, it's been a while since I talked with him." Hestia said as she thought deeply

'She turned her head to face him, askingL'

"What are you going there for?"

"#!!"

"Please, don't turn so suddenly... I lost track of where I was."

"Oops..."

'He rolled his eyes, gently grabbing her hair as he continued to brush it.'

"Some time ago, I left Miach with a small project for an alchemical product, and last time I went there, he told me it would be ready by today, so I'll be going there to see how everything went."

"I didn't know you visited them so frequently…"

I really have to pay more attention to what's happening...

"We do have a contract after all, so I go there every once in a while for commissions related to herb gathering and material acquisition." He said with a small smile

"It's good money that I can make without much effort, and it also helps in improving our relationship with them, especially when you consider I'm stronger than their Captain, so I can get rarer materials without much trouble."

Materials they would have had to buy from the market or commission to someone else...

But both options end up being pricier than simply commissioning me.

"They pay me quite well for it, in fact, I do the same with the Hephaestus Familia, however in their case, they rarely have any sort of Commission for me since they have so many suppliers."

"So I rarely go there with that in mind."

In fact, it's been a while since I visited Hephaestus herself... There isn't much to talk about in the first place, but I guess it would be fine to visit Hestia at her work to see if I can meet her.

I could also use my Halberd as an excuse, but she would notice it in an instant... Oh well, a reason will appear one day.

'Hestia was impressed.'

"Ohh, I never considered that before…"

"Hey, you can go a bit faster, if you take too long to brush my hair it won't get in shape." She said as she looked at Silver

'Silver closed his eyes, feeling defeated.'

"I'm trying…"

This would've been faster if she had allowed me to use my abilities...

But for some reason, she thinks it's bad for her hair if I use them!

'Silver shook his head.'

"Anyway..."

"Perhaps I should've helped you understand this more, the papers I gave you last time don't really talk about this…"

"Besides, they're boring aren't they?" He asked with a small smile

'Hestia was caught off guard as she froze...'

"Ah? No! I…"

'Silver patted her head gently, trying not to mess up her hair.'

"Don't lie, such a minor thing won't really upset me, I know very well how boring those papers are because I myself felt bored when I wrote them."

The very reason I pushed the position of Vice Captain to Daphne...

Ah! Cough... I mean, she was just perfect for the position...

'Hestia scratched her checks in embarrassment as she replied with a bit of guilt:'

"Sorry… I tried to read them but…"

I fell asleep midway through, I don't even remember what I read...

Daphne helps from time to time, but I truly know very little.

Now that I think about it, I don't do much apart from lazing around and updating my children's status, do I?...

"Don't feel sorry, this isn't something to be ashamed of…"

This was a big change, and I never expected her to adapt quickly, and in a sense, I imagine she'll stay like this for a long time... Gods are very hard to change after all.

"Why don't we go over everything in a simple way?" Silver said as he hugged her

"Of course!" She said with a flushed smile

'Silver cleared his throat as he shared with her his simplified explanation:'

"In short, what I wanted from this contract was for the members of our Familia to visit the Miach Familia on a regular basis to get commissions, with the intent of them doing so every day before going to the Dungeon…"

"But reality is harsh... Everyone is still on the Upper floors, so they can't really complete any commission even if they wanted to…"

Most medicinal herbs are within the Middle floors after all.

"The only ones who could complete them right now are Cassandra and Daphne, but they don't have the time to descend to the Middle Floors."

And by themselves, it would be quite the work to go there alone, even if they are backed by the other Veteran Level 1's.

Speaking of them, I overheard their conversation one of these days, and they seemed to be extremely comfortable with their new home, they can feel 'free' here.

They can go to the Dungeon whenever they want, they don't have any annoying superiors, and those below them are quite likable.

Cassandra and Daphne will often go to the Dungeon, not only to make money but also to increase their Statuses…

Hopefully, soon enough we'll have multiple parties that can come and go to the Middle floors whenever they wish.

"You see, it would be bad if there wasn't anyone to take their missions. It's not like this is required in the contract or anything, as the amount we have to do is very little."

"But the thing is, these commissions are just as important to us as it is for them, as they themselves have their own commissions to complete, like making a specific potion or medicine, and those need materials that if they don't get those through us, then they'll have to buy it off the market."

"And that oftentimes takes a load on a Familia's pockets."

"So I visit them every once in a while to grab plenty of commissions at once, this is enough to keep our end of the contract, get some money, and help them continue their business since competition is fierce."

They can commission other people, but there is simply too much competition...

Albeit, this will probably reduce over time as the Dian Cecht Familia is gobbling up the entire business, and within a few years, the Dian Cecht's Pharmacies will be the way to go for all First Class adventurers while the low-value business will be left for the rest.

Putting Miach in a similar position to what they should've been... If I hadn't intervened.

Although... This will only happen if they do manage to last long enough.

Miach is too kind for his own sake and will often gift Potions worth tens of thousands to people like candy... Not really a sustainable form of business when they are already competing with someone else.

/Cough.../

'Silver continued:'

"That is only for the commissions, of course, we still buy potions in droves and other medicinal products, so they are profiting even if we didn't do any commission."

The contract was very equal in the first place, you may think they gain a lot since we can only buy from them out of the other pharmacies, but in truth, we gain quite the discount, and with the commissions, money tends to fly both ways.

"This is pretty much it for Miach, you can always visit him to ask him exactly what is going on between our Familias or Daphne."

"Considering his personality, Miach wouldn't mind sitting for hours talking."

'Silver approached her ears and said in a low tone:'

"But I would recommend otherwise as Miach is more focused on making potions than he is on his own surroundings, so it would be better to ask his Captain, Naaza."

"..."

"Wait a bit, this is a tad too much information for me to process at once." Hestia said as she massaged her temples

'She raised her fingers and started to go over everything again, and after she was done, she said:'

"What about Hephi?"

'Silver's expression soured, so he said seriously:'

"Hephaestus is actually a similar deal, but in their case, they are losing more than they gain, it isn't an equal relationship, and in a sense, if it wasn't for Hephaestus keeping most of the information of our deal hidden, most people on her Familia wouldn't see us in a good light."

Some problems will likely arise in the future due to this...

But who cares about a random smith making a fuss? They can talk all they want, but the moment they raise their hand, things change.

Albeit if that were to happen, Hephaestus would likely give them a beating first... Her Captain more likely, since Hephaestus has a rather soft personality.

"What?!" Hestia exclaimed, appealed

I can't believe I'm doing this to her... Especially after everything she did for me...

The month has already ended, and it's time for me to go back to work!

"You were there when she gave us this massive 300 million Valis debt, and you were there when I suggested this deal, don't you remember?"

"Urg… Don't even speak about it, my head spins every time I hear that number." Hestia said with a frown

'He smiled, replying with a smug smile:'

"Well, would you feel better if I were to tell you that I already accumulated a Sixth of that?"

'Hestia turned to face him in the blink of an eye, disbelief spread on her face.'

"You did?! Just how much money do you make?"

/Thud.../

'He knocked on her head lightly with a helpless expression.'

"I'll say how much money I make if you stop moving so much... I'm almost done."

"Let's see, I did at least half a dozen commissions every day and hunted in the Middle floors for close to a month...'

"So overall, this amount is actually low, slightly below the average of what a First Class party would make if they were to do the same things I did."

This is if we dismiss the money I stole from Ishtar, if I managed to liquidate everything, I would have more than enough to pay her off and much more.

And also the massive amount of materials that keep accumulating in my subspace, I normally don't sell everything at once, and albeit I'm increasing the amount I sell at the Guild every day, it's still lower than the amount I acquire.

The only reason why I don't dump this in the black market is that they pay less than the Guild, even after the taxes.

If I sell everything to a good merchant, however, I would probably double what I have, going from a Sixth to a Third immediately.

'Hearing his words, Hestia's eyes rolled.'

"You talk as if that wasn't a big deal..."

A Level 3 is talking about being slightly less efficient than a party of First Class adventurers...

"Cough!... I mean... Just as I make a lot of money, I also spend it on many sources…"

"A big part of everything I make actually goes to buying more potions…"

I spend a lot of Mind every day, not only in the Dungeon but also on normal training.

And this will remain for as long as I am an adventurer because the process of spending a lot of Mind at once is great for improving the Magic Stat...

Even though it gives me constant headaches, but at this point in time, I've gotten used to it.

"It may seem as obvious, but my Halberd needs maintenance, and I can only ask Hephaestus for it since only another God would be able to work on it."

I sharpen it every time I come back from the Dungeon together with basic maintenance, but the time to give it a proper overall is approaching...

Not because something is wrong with it, but only as a form of checkup.

"And also due to the exclusivity contract."

Normally, my Halberd would be able to last longer since it's technically alive but... I use it a bit too much.

Much more than Hephaestus imagined when she made this.

"She always asks for quite the amount as well, it's quite heavy in my pockets…"

She isn't merciful in regards to this, perhaps she is regretting asking for only 300 Million and has decided to ask the rest through this.

"Another part goes for the Familia, since we don't really have money in our reserves, I've been having to do as our vault." He said with a small chuckle

"Even now?!" Hestia asked with a pale face

"Well... I did invest a lot already... But that's just how it goes, a Familia is an abyss of money, everyone will always need better equipment and items."

"Everyone is pretty equipped, and they make quite a decent amount of money..."

"But it's still true that they use a fair share of it to buy supplies and fix their equipment in the Hephaestus Familia's workshops."

"Take the Loki Familia as an example, they always change their equipment before every Dungeon dive, and 60% of their earnings go towards maintenance."

Depending on what happens, a knife can become useless after one Dungeon dive, a shield may have to be replaced, a chest plate may have to be reforged…

All of it costs money, and it adds up pretty quickly.

"I can safely say I lost close to 30% of my total revenue to taxes, I would have a lot more if I actively sold my items to merchants instead of the Guild, but I never had the time to procure buyers for them." Silver said in a deep tone

I hate taxes. Especially the Guild with their minimum price policy.

That is why literally almost all adventurers above Levels 3 and 4 will choose to sell their items to merchants, the only times when the Guild becomes an option is to bigger Familias, they gain quite the benefits...

"I never knew that you had so many things to consider…" Hestia said in a slightly depressed tone

He told me a few of these things once, but I never really put them together and understood the bigger picture…

'Seeing her expression, Silver hugged her again and said:'

"Don't worry for me, this is all pretty manageable, it may seem overwhelming when I put it all at once like this, but I rarely have to deal with more than 3 of the things I mentioned here in the same day."

"Soon enough we'll pay this debt, and most of our worries will go away." He said as he pulled her head to his chest

'Hestia felt as if she was going to melt away…'

"Uhum…"

"As for your hair…" Silver said out of nowhere

"I'm trying here okay, it's hard to brush your long hair while using little strength and being fast…"

One of the downsides of becoming stronger, menial activities become harder.

If I get upset and grab a fork too strongly it'll bend over and snap before I even realize it.

"... Sigh." Hestia exhaled

"Is something wrong?" Silver asked

"No…"

But the mood just died.

'Hestia rolled her eyes, but she smiled, she was used to it, she liked it, this was the man she loved, that cared for her.'

'So she stayed put and waited for him to brush her hair, pointing out his mistakes as he struggled with her glossy long hair…'

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