Chapter 9 - Roommate

Waking up for breakfast, I came down into a crazy situation. Apparently saving that kid and healing his mother last night caused all sorts of commotion in Orario. There were rumors that an Unknown Being had taken up residence in the Dungeon, or that the Dungeon was fed up with children being sacrificed to it so it made an entity to save the children. The I knew about both rumors was thanks to the chatter at breakfast.

'Jeez...I told the kid to stay home, not that my home was in the Dungeon...', I thought, 'It's like playing telephone in elementary school all over again!'

"Mael, did you hear the news!!", Bella shouted as we took a seat, "A Hero showed up to save a boy our age in the Dungeon!!"

Giving her smile, I really didn't consider myself a Hero. I may have saved the boy, but I also condemned those three Adventurers to a painful death. It wasn't like I regretted my decision, it was just killing people wasn't really a Heroic thing to do...but it was well deserved in this case. Still though, maybe I was just a different sort of Hero.

"No I didn't hear, but that sounds really cool.", I chuckled, "So what are we going to do today?"

"I don't know...", Lily meekly said, "What sounds good?"

"How about we explore the area outside the walls?", I suggested, "We can go exploring, and play with other children!"

"Yeah!", Bella immediately agreed with a twinkle in her eyes, "Let's go play with other kids!!"

Getting so excited that she forgot to chew, Bella tried swallowing a whole pancake and choked on it immediately. Helping her spit it out, she thanked me with a bright red face and properly ate her meal without further issue. While we were busy eating, Hermes was watching us closely.

"Lydia...did Mael leave his room last night?", Hermes asked in a low voice, 'A new entity shows up in the Dungeon the same night Zeus and company come into town. It's pretty suspicious in my opinion, did Mael go into the Dungeon alone?'

"No, he was sound asleep all night.", Lydia replied having watched the guest rooms closely, "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering.", Hermes said with a playful smile, 'Knowing that boy, he would have likely saved that boy and gotten angry on his behalf. That said, if he was here all night it couldn't have been him. I will need to investigate things further...if he somehow slipped past Lydia at his current age, he is going to be Orario's next powerhouse for sure.'

Finishing our breakfast, the three of us ran out to explore. Wearing her hood up, Lily wanted to make sure her Familia wouldn't spot her out of fear for her life. After skipping out on going home last night, she had concerns the Familia would be out looking for her...to get their protection money. Assuring her nothing bad would happen to her with me around, I told her to just enjoy herself and have fun.

Slipping outside the city without any problems, the three of us joined up with other children and played tag till midday. Around lunchtime kids returned home leaving us alone, and without anything to do. Since the two girls were getting hungry, we went into the Market District to grab a bite to eat. Hitting up a few food carts with different meats, we found a place to sit and ate our food.

"Yummy!!", Bella said eating her chicken kabob, "It's so good!!"

"Agreed!!", Lily laughed eating her pork Kabob.

I had gone with Steak on Stake which was pretty decent. The quality of the meat wasn't all that good, but they did season it well enough. Keeping an eye on our surroundings to be safe, I noticed a few Soma Familia members entered the marketplace. Casting a spell on us that would minimize the chances of us getting spotted, I continued eating like nothing was wrong. As the team drew closer though, Lily spotted them once they were within twenty feet of us.

"Oh no...", she gulped getting ready to bolt.

"It's ok.", I assured her.

Trusting me, Lily continued to eat in a nervous manner. Glancing around the area, I saw two people from the Astraea Familia patrolling nearby which made the situation a bit better. Watching the Soma members carefully, they walked by without seeing us much to Lily's relief. Just as I thought peace would return, Aqua showed up out of the blue.

"You!!", she shouted grabbing my shirt, "Freya smacked me around last night because of you. She didn't tell you about the toads!!"

"I never said she did...", I sighed with frustration, "You ran off before I could tell you that."

Puffing her cheeks out she started hurling insults at me in response. Honestly I found it hilarious she thought shouting at me would change what happened to her. After seeing her in the trash can the night before, she really only had herself to blame for what happened.

'I think I will need to adjust her attitude in a few years. She is far too mouthy in my book, she needs to learn to take responsibility for her actions...', I thought as an idea popped into my head, 'Having a Goddess I can easily manage would make my activities easier in the future. That said...I am not joining her Familia, I don't want the stigma of being an Axis Cult member on me. Women don't like psychotic men for the most part.'

"Are you listening to me!?", Aqua shouted shaking me violently.

"Will you be quiet?", I asked applying pressure to her wrist.

"Ouch!! Ouch!! Ouch!!", Aqua cried, "You are gonna break it!!"

"You going to stop shaking me?", I inquired.

"Yes, I am sorry!!", she pleaded with her big cow eyes.

Letting her go, she released me and shook her wrist with a pained expression. Telling me that hurting a Goddess was punishable by death, I told her trying to kill a child would revoke her Goddess status.

"Wait really!?", Aqua gasped.

"Would you want to worship a deity that harmed children?", I pointed out.

Realizing that only a few people would, she immediately apologized profusely to me. Judging by the way she was acting, she was having issues keeping her Familia together. Given the fact that she regularly went around entertaining people for alcohol...it was a surprise she had one to begin with. Taking a seat next to me, she stared at the food we were eating.

"Haven't you eaten?", Bella asked her.

"No...I haven't eaten today.", Aqua replied as her stomach growled loudly.

Looking at me with expectant eyes, it seemed Bella thought I would buy Aqua a meal. Sighing I bought Aqua a few kabobs so I didn't ruin Bella's mental image of myself. Tearing up as she took them from me, Aqua ate the food with an appreciative smile. Patting me on the back, it seemed like I had won her favor with a few pieces of meat.

"You aren't so bad after all.", Aqua said with a grin, "Wanna join my Familia?"

"Not in this life or any life.", I quickly said, "You realize what sort of reputation your Familia has?"

"...yeah...I do.", she admitted, "If we got someone like you, that might change though!"

Looking at her like she was an idiot, she puffed her cheeks out like a chipmunk.

"Your Familia is ranked below deities that don't even have one...", I jabbed, "I didn't even think that you could possibly get that low! Your Familia doesn't do anything except drink and rack up debt. What are you going to do when that debt comes due?"

"Eh...hehe...", Aqua laughed nervously.

"Or is it already due?", I asked with a sigh.

"If you join my Familia...I can be your girlfriend!", she pleaded.

"I am three...you wanna be a pedophile?", I inquired.

"You should be grateful that a beautiful Goddess like myself would partner with you.", Aqua boasted.

Telling her to ask me when I was older, she nodded her head with a smile. Her mood brightened significantly after that. Peeking into her mind, she was thinking about all the money she would get from me just by flirting. Sighing mentally, I would make her earn every valis she took from me because there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Returning my attention to the Soma Familia members that had passed us by, they seemed to have vacated the area in a hurry. Luckily for us Aqua was known around Orario for causing a scene everywhere she went so no one really wanted to be around her when she was having a fit, and they just tended to ignore her. Finishing our meal, the three of us were going to head home when Aqua grabbed my shoulder again.

"Do you think you could maybe ask Hermes to let me stay at his place?", she asked trying to act as cute as possible.

"What's wrong with your place?", Lily responded in annoyance, "You have a nice home in the city, don't you?"

"Hehe...not anymore.", she laughed dryly, "It got repossessed to cover my Familia's debts. They also took my crate I used last night too..."

'Who the hell owns a crate for a house!? When the heck did you become Squidward!?', I thought, "I can ask, but I can't make any promises. Also, you sure you want to stay under the same roof as Zeus and Hermes?"

"I don't have much of an option.", she admitted, "I am down to just one Familia member now. Most of them abandoned me when Freya...when I let Freya beat me up."

Looking at her, we shook our heads as her stupid pride stopped her from admitting she fucked up. Understanding her situation better now, I figured she had pissed off her deity friends when she didn't pay back the money she owed. Telling her to follow us, we went back to the Traveler's Inn to see Hermes. As soon as she walked in the front door, Hermes' face paled with fear.

"Aqua!? You need to go! Freya is still really angry at you.", Hermes shouted, "She sent out a message to everyone to ban you from places for an entire month!"

"What did you tell Goddess Freya anyways?", Lily asked.

"I called her an Old Hag, a Bimbo, and said she pads her breasts.", Aqua stated with a huff, "Thinks she is better than me because she has larger breasts!"

"Yeah...I am surprised you didn't get sent back to Heaven.", Zeus gulped, "I wouldn't have said that to her...she can be vicious when you insult her looks to that degree."

"Zeus...I think that's most women.", Hermes remarked.

"Well I thought she told people about my aversion to toads, but...she didn't.", Aqua said glancing at me, "I lost my home so I need a place to stay. I don't even have a crate to sleep in!"

"You aren't staying here.", Hermes refused, "I don't need to upset Freya over you. I barely got three hundred valis from the sale of your place."

"Come on, you gotta let me stay!! I don't have anywhere else to go!", Aqua sobbed falling to the floor as she grabbed his legs, "A beautiful woman like me will get abused on the streets. Ruffians will do unspeakable things to me!"

Listening to them argue back and forth, it was really out of my hands now. She pissed off Freya because she jumped the gun, and now she was paying for it. Honestly...I am not surprised her Familia abandoned her as Freya would likely have made them disappear. The fact Aqua still has one member is a generous gesture from her.

'Honestly don't even blame Freya on this one.' I thought going upstairs, 'Aqua really needs to choose her words more carefully.'

Lily and Bella ran off to do their own thing while I read some books in my room. After a while it got quiet downstairs so I assumed Aqua had left. Heading down to get a drink of water, I found Aqua scrubbing dishes in the kitchen. Evidently Aqua was allowed to stay and work off her remaining debt to Hermes as a maid. Leaving it at that, I went back upstairs to continue reading in peace.

---That Evening---

Laying down after dinner to wait for everyone to go to bed, Hermes paid me a visit as people turned in for the night. Pushing Aqua into the room, he said she would bunk with me from now on. Asking why she couldn't bunk with Bella and Lily, he said I brought her here so she was my problem to deal with. Before I could argue with him, he left the room.

'Damn you!', I cursed mentally, 'Now I have to worry about her catching me!'

"Hehe, you are happy to share a room with me aren't you?", Aqua laughed with a smirk, "A young boy like you must be excited to share a bed with a woman. Unfortunately for you, you will need to be at least fourteen before I will even consider anything with you."

Crawling into bed behind me, she passed out within a few minutes. Glancing back at her, she was drooling and talking about drinking sake in her sleep. Poking her cheek to see if she would wake up, she didn't even flinch when I did. Casting a spell on her to make sure she stayed asleep, I waited patiently for everyone to go to bed.

---Next Morning---

Returning from another night of training in the Labyrinth, I slipped into my bed to sleep like usual. Latching on to me, Aqua mumbled that I was really warm for some reason. Using me like a heating pad, she pulled me into her embrace with a smile on her face.

'There are worse ways to spend a night.', I thought, 'At least she smells good.'

Since she was attractive, I let it go for now and went to sleep.