Time seemed to pass faster after the "great revelation." Bell Cranel, the protagonist of all this shit, or at least a fem version of him, had just joined the Loki Familia as a mere level 1 adventurer. Something Luki clearly hadn't expected, but he didn't let it show, so as not to cause more trouble.
Even so, the conversation remained relatively civilized, with subtle jokes here and there, until inevitably, the food was gone and it was time to leave.
— Come on, Luki-kun. Let's find a place before it gets completely dark — Hestia said, returning to her serious tone as she adjusted her clothes while standing up.
— Just a minute… paYIng for the fOOd. — He said, grabbing a pouch of money as he walked toward the counter.
— Okay, I'll wait for you outside! — Hestia left the establishment.
Meanwhile, with Luki:
— One more jug of drink… the total comes to 1,700 Valis. — said Lyu, calculating the bill.
— Here. — Luki reached into the pouch and pulled out a few coins.
— Thank you very much, please come again.
With nothing else to do, Luki turned to leave, but before he could take another step, someone called out loudly:
— Hey! The cute elf over there.
Even though he hadn't realized someone was calling for him, he instinctively turned around and saw Miss Mia leaning against the broken counter, staring at him intensely.
Not knowing what was going on, Luki looked around before pointing at himself, silently asking if she was talking to him.
— Yes, you. Come here. — Mama Mia said, gesturing with her hand for him to approach.
Hesitant, he walked closer, only to receive a strong slap on the back.
— Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! — he complained in pain while trying to reach the sore spot.
— Haha! You're pretty weak for an adventurer, you need more fiber in those muscles if you want to survive down there. But I can see why the girls like you so much. — Mama Mia said, folding her arms with a grin.
— What Was tHat fOr? — Luki asked, slightly irritated at the sudden slap that hurt more than he wanted to admit.
— I heard from one of my girls that you're homeless right now. — Mama Mia said, nodding her head to the side.
Curious, Luki followed the gesture and noticed that a certain waitress, Syr Flo, was hiding by an archway, spying on him.
Luki waved at her.
Realizing she had been caught, she blushed and vanished down the hallway.
— Uh… yes, hOUse kinDa broken.
— What you said, boy?
— Mama Mia, I don't know if you've noticed, but he's still very young and doesn't understand our language very well. — said Lyu, clarifying things.
— Is that so? How strange… well, I've never met an elf who wasn't a little off anyway, so that's not saying much. — she said, looking upward as if remembering old times.
— Anyway, I've got a proposal. — she said, staring at Luki.
— Uhm… "proposal"?
— I don't care if you'll understand me or not because I'll only say this once. Business is picking up, and I'm thinking of hiring another waitress. I'd definitely attract more customers if I had a goddess as one. So, I'll let you and your goddess live here for free, as long as she works for me. Got it?
Luki stared back at her with an even more confused expression than Ais Wallenstein's, steam practically coming out of his ears.
— Goddess… waitress… we… live… here… got it. — He said with a broken accent.
— That's it! Now go convince my new employee!
PAH!!! — Mama Mia slapped him on the back again, even harder.
— Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! — Luki groaned in pain as he stumbled away.
Mama Mia snorted and crossed her arms.
— Hmph, strange kid. Is that the one you're interested in?
— I'm not interested in him. I just met him. — said Lyu, with her usual neutral tone, though she slightly averted her gaze.
— Really? Funny, I could've sworn I saw you sneaking glances at him every time he passed by…
Lyu was about to reply when a sharp voice echoed from the hallway:
— What?! Lyu-san likes Luki-sama too?!
It was Syr Flo, cheeks puffed and eyes wide.
— Huh? What do you mean "too" likes Luki-sama? — said Anya Fromel, popping up out of nowhere behind Syr, her tail swishing playfully. — Nya~, looks like there's some competition here!
— Competition? — joined Chloe Rollo, leaning against the doorway with a sly look. — I didn't know our little mystery boy was causing such a stir. This is getting interesting…
— Everyone, stop it…! — Syr covered her face, visibly flustered. — I just thought he needed help with a place to stay!
— J-just that, huh? — said Runoa Faust, appearing with a tray of dishes, shooting her a subtle side glance. — We saw how giddy you got when he smiled at you before, Syr…
— I WAS NOT GIDDY!
Everyone laughed, even Lyu allowed herself a micro-smile before sighing discreetly.
— Please, get back to work before I lose my patience with this circus. — Mama Mia said, stomping her foot, though the smile on her face made it clear she was amused by the chaos.
…
A few hours later.
Luki, now tired and a little sweaty from going back and forth rescuing belongings from his ruined home, dropped the last two bags of clothes onto the floor of the room he now shared with his goddess — and without ceremony, collapsed onto the bed in the corner.
For a few minutes, he lay there, motionless. Panting, sweaty, drowsy, his eyes fixed on nothing, as if staring into the void beyond the wall.
He turned onto his side, fists half-clenched near his face.
'What a day, huh…' he thought, staring at the plaster as if waiting for it to answer.
'Last night, an earthquake simply destroyed the only place I could call home. It wasn't much. But it was mine. Ours. That's… depressing.'
He rolled over again, now on his stomach, one arm dangling off the bed and the other covering his head.
'Life doesn't pull punches. And this morning, we were already out on the streets, me and my goddess, trying to secure a new roof before nightfall. Sleeping in a condemned structure that could collapse while we snored was too risky.'
He frowned slightly, thinking deeply.
'But here's the thing… that earthquake. It was too strange. I've got this nagging feeling that something's off, but I can't put my finger on it. That didn't seem like a normal event — or rather, a canonical one. And that could mean a lot of things…'
He let out a long sigh, the kind that carries more mental exhaustion than physical.
'But you know what? I'm too tired to overthink this. Let the gods deal with it. I'll just focus on my life, that's all that matters.'
Then an image flashed in his mind. A face. A name.
The girl they had met earlier that very day. Bell Cranel. The " Little Rookie," not yet a legend, but who had just joined the Loki Familia as a level 1 adventurer.
He blinked slowly, and a realization settled in, heavy and undeniable:
'Disregarding all that discrepancy, she just joined a Familia. That means…'
— I was in the past all this time... — he said aloud, with a long, resigned sigh. — Wonderful…
His expression relaxed, as if an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He raised one leg, resting his ankle over the knee of the other, arms folded under his head. His mouth moved slightly, chewing at the inside of his cheeks.
'Seriously though… this isn't all bad. Actually, it's great news.'
'Being related to the protagonist is both a blessing and a curse, the current Hestia Familia doesn't have the capacity to handle someone like Bell in it. But if he is from the Loki Familia, Freya will have to be even more careful with her advances and Bell will grow even faster with the 'support' of the two greatest powers in the city.'
'In a way, I should be grateful that she didn't follow canon, now I don't have to worry about half the shit that's going to happen in this world, at the same time I feel sorry for Loki, she seemed nice.'
Offering a small prayer to the tomboy goddess, Luki sat on the bed and began to think deeply while running his hands through his hair
He started counting on his fingers, lowering one with each thought.
— If that's the case… then I must be about one month before the first episode.
'One month, huh? It's not much but at least I know exactly what part of time I am in.'
One would think that, having knowledge of the canonical events, Luki as a transmigrated could start planning preemptively and steal the protagonist's opportunities. So in the near future, he would basically replace him as the protagonist, end up with a big harem with all the most beautiful girls in the work and as a bonus, be the strongest person in the world.
But there is just one error in this thinking that compromises the entire plan, the level of protagonism of the original protagonist.
Bell is probably one of the least protagonistic protagonists in all of otaku culture.
In terms of 'special origin', he is the last descendant of the two greatest families of Orario from the past, Zeus and Hera, as well as being the nephew of the most powerful woman in the world, apart from all the gods. But is this really as important as they say? Being descended from two powerful families literally means nothing in this world.
This so-called 'special bloodline' literally, in the crudest sense of the word, means nothing, nada, zero, 何もない, ничего. He doesn't have a special constitution, special eyes, legendary equipment, or some secret protector watching over him. Nor does he have good looks, because cute is not a compliment for a man.
In terms of 'opportunities falling from the sky into his lap', there are even fewer.
Like, the living weapon Hephastus forged wasn't because he was the protagonist, but because Hestia and Hephastus were longtime friends, now that he's no longer in the Hestia Famili, that's unthinkable. Now, whether Luki will be able to get a weapon like that for himself is also a matter of chance, it all depends on the goodwill of a goddess.
His allies? Nothing impressive. Lili, who had the greatest potential of all, was reduced to a beast of burden. Welf Crozzo isn't the only person in the world who knows how to make magic swords. Ryuu Lion, for all her reputation as Gale Wind, is just another strong adventurer — her magic is powerful, yes, but far from game-changing in the grand scale of Orario. Mikoto Yamato's only notable contribution is her gravity magic, a tool that always seems to fall short when truly needed.
Haruhime, though undoubtedly the most special among them, finds herself in a difficult position. She's not a warrior, and her coveted level-up magic ends up being too limited. Ultimately, becoming strong in this world is simply a matter of time and effort—not something that depends solely on talent or magical shortcuts. Still, in critical moments, her ability can completely change the course of a battle. It may not be an everyday card, but used at the right time, it becomes irreplaceable.
Finally, his only special characteristics, Liaris Freese and Argonaut, are something exclusive to him and cannot be taken, therefore, useless to Luki.
These two skills are more of a writing resource than actually important, as sources indicate that Danmachi is planned to end within a year of the story. The author needed a special engine to keep Bell anchored to the world's events without being overwhelmed, although what he does most is get hit.
— Now that I think about it, it's true, I'm screwed. The world is going to end in a year and it's impossible for me to change anything without a rapid growth ability like Bell's.
'The best option is to organize our things, warn our friends, and get out of Orario. The world is very big, the Orario Dungeon is just the biggest of all, not the only one.'
He let out a long sigh, rubbing his face as if trying to push the heavy thoughts away. For now, at least, there was nothing else he could do.
— Luki! The bath's free! — Hestia shouted from the other side of the house.
— Okay!!!
Grateful for the distraction, Luki grabbed a fresh change of clothes from his bags, left the room, and closed the door behind him.