Hachiman opened his eyes slowly. The first light of dawn tinged the sky with soft shades of gray and pink, visible through the cracks in the hovel walls. He felt sore, as always, but the deep exhaustion of the previous days had lessened somewhat with the night's sleep. His first thought was about the 30,000 Valis he earned yesterday. An amount that seemed almost unreal, a direct result of the armor Hephaestus had given him.
'Thirty thousand in one day...' he reflected, a small ironic smile appearing. 'Considering it took me a week to make 26k before that... maybe I can afford not to rush to the Dungeon as soon as the sun rises today.' The idea of a morning's rest, of not having to face monsters immediately, was tempting. 'Yeah. I'll relax a bit. I'll go to the Dungeon this afternoon.'
With the decision made, he became aware of the familiar presence beside him. Aqua was clinging to him again, her soft breath on his neck. 'It really has become routine,' he thought with a resigned sigh that was part exasperation, part... acceptance? It was strangely comforting in a way he wouldn't admit.
"Hey. Wake up," he nudged her gently. He needed the status update to see the actual result of the day's hunt on the sixth floor.
Aqua mumbled and opened her eyes. "Already? It's still early..."
"I need the update," Hachiman said simply.
With a few yawns and complaints about being woken up, Aqua finally sat up and performed the procedure. The blue light shone briefly on Hachiman's back as he turned towards her.
"Done," she said, seeming more interested in going back to sleep.
Hachiman picked up his makeshift mirror and checked the numbers, mentally comparing them to the previous morning's.
Hikigaya Hachiman Level: 1 (Initial Status of the Day: Str:H-148, End:H-165, Dex:H-130, Agi:H-142, Mag:G-255)
Strength: H-178 (Gain of +30) Endurance: H-193 (Gain of +28) Dexterity: H-158 (Gain of +28) Agility: H-170 (Gain of +28) Magic: G-305 (Gain of +50)
Magic:
[Unlimited Blade Works] (Hidden) Skill:
[A Loner's Protection] (Hidden) Development Ability:
[Blacksmith: I]
He frowned, recalculating the gains. 'Magic increased by 50 points, expected with the use of reinforcement and projection. But the others... 30 + 28 + 28 + 28 = 114 points. In total, I gained about 164 points in a single day?' He was genuinely surprised. It was more than double the daily average of the previous week. 'Fighting stronger monsters on the sixth floor obviously gives more excelia. But this jump... It must have been the Skill. With the armor protecting me, I was less focused on panic and more on the need to protect myself to win, to continue. I pushed 'A Loner's Protection' to the max, focusing purely on ensuring my own survival against those War Shadows. The intensity of the intention must have multiplied the gains.' It was a theory, but it made sense.
"So?" asked Aqua, noticing his thoughtful expression. "Was it good?"
"It was... very good," Hachiman admitted. "Better than I expected." He stood up. "Since I'm not going to the Dungeon this morning, let's take a walk."
"A walk?" Aqua seemed surprised, but excited at the prospect of not being locked up in the hovel. "Yay! Where are we going?"
"Just... walking around," Hachiman replied.
And so they did. They went out into the streets of Orario, which were beginning to come alive with the start of the day. The air was fresh, and Hachiman allowed himself to relax a little, observing the city's routine without the immediate pressure of having to dive into the dangerous underground. Aqua chattered beside him about everything and nothing, from the quality of sleep on the new mattress to her grandiose plans for when they were rich (plans that mainly involved pudding and statues of herself). Hachiman listened with half an ear, offering occasional cynical comments that she usually ignored. It was a surprisingly normal, almost peaceful interaction.
After about an hour of aimless walking, as they passed through a square with several food stalls beginning to set up their morning operations, Hachiman spotted two figures that made him stop for a moment.
One was a small girl, almost childlike in stature, despite a surprisingly developed bust that seemed slightly disproportionate to her body. Her black hair was tied in two side pigtails that bounced as she gestured animatedly. She wore a simple white dress with a blue ribbon. Briefly talking with her was a boy who looked about Hachiman's age, perhaps slightly younger, with snow-white hair and innocent red eyes. He wore a very simple chest protector over basic clothes and had a dagger at his waist. 'Hestia. And Bell Cranel,' Hachiman recognized immediately. The Goddess and her sole Familia member at the time, the protagonist of this story. It seemed Hestia had her eye on a stall selling some kind of fried pastry.
Before Hachiman could decide whether to ignore them or just observe from a distance, Aqua, following Hestia's gaze, spotted the pastries at the stall.
"Ooh! What's that? Looks tasty!" exclaimed Aqua, already pulling Hachiman by the sleeve towards the stall. "Let's try it, Hachiman! You said yesterday was good, you can pay!"
In the time it took Aqua to drag a resigned Hachiman to the stall, Bell had already bid Hestia farewell with a wave and gone on his way, probably towards the Dungeon or the Guild. Hestia remained near the stall, still deciding which pastry she wanted.
"Excuse me! We want two of these!" Aqua announced to the vendor, pointing at the most filled-looking pastries. It was then that her gaze fell upon Hestia, who turned upon hearing her voice. The eyes of the two goddesses met. There was a moment of mutual recognition of each other's divine nature.
Aqua's characteristic competitive smile instantly appeared. "Well, well, if it isn't a fellow goddess! Lost around here?" she began, already puffing out her chest. "Let me introduce my amazing follower, Hachiman! He just returned from the Dungeon yesterday after defeating countless terrible monsters! Alone!"
Hestia raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed and immediately switching into defensive/competitive mode. "Oh, really? How... nice," she replied with a falsely sweet tone. "But I doubt he compares to my Bell-kun! He may look new, but he's growing at an astonishing speed! Soon he'll be the greatest hero in Orario, you'll see!"
"Hah! Your Bell-kun? My Hachiman is much smarter and more calculating! He survived a whole week alone before even having decent armor!" Aqua retorted.
"Intelligence isn't everything!" Hestia boasted, stepping closer to Aqua, her face red with competitive fervor. "My Bell-kun's potential is infinite! And he's growing faster than any adventurer Orario has ever seen! His stats are skyrocketing!"
"My Hachiman also has incredible abilities you wouldn't even dream of!" Aqua shot back, unaware that his abilities were, in fact, secret. "And he's much more mature than your little boy!"
'Oh, no...' Hachiman groaned internally as the two goddesses, completely forgetting the pastries and their surroundings, engaged in an increasingly loud and childish argument about which of them had the better child/follower. Nearby adventurers and citizens began to watch with curiosity and amusement at the scene of the two small goddesses arguing fervently.
Exasperated and feeling his embarrassment grow, Hachiman intervened. "Enough! Both of you!" He grabbed Aqua by the arm before the argument could escalate into something physical (which didn't seem impossible, given the nature of the two). "Let's go, Aqua. Now."
"But Hachiman! I wasn't finished explaining to this shorty how incredible you are!" Aqua protested, being dragged away.
"And I wasn't finished talking about my Bell-kun!" Hestia shouted at their backs, looking equally frustrated.
Hachiman just kept walking, pulling Aqua with him and ignoring the curious stares. 'Goddesses... why do they have to be like this?' He sighed. His relaxing morning had been officially interrupted by divine rivalry.
He continued to stroll with Aqua (who was still grumbling about Hestia and Bell) through the streets for a while longer, making sure they were far from the square and the other goddess. When the sun finally reached its zenith, marking midday, he decided the rest was over.
"Okay, let's head back," he said. "I need to get ready."
The Dungeon awaited him. And despite the bizarre morning encounter, he was eager to test his limits again, now with an even better status than the previous afternoon.