"Lady Hestia, you found a god to train me in combat?"
"That's right."
Hestia nodded with a soft smile, finally tasting that genuine pride that comes from helping a child of her Familia. She clapped lightly.
"Learning more combat technique will help a lot once you start exploring the Dungeon."
"And—!"
"He's a god who's incredible at the martial arts. Really incredible."
She didn't need to say it twice. The moment she mentioned a god "who's great at fighting," Keyaru knew who it was.
The war god Takemikazuchi.
A deity who shows up more than a few times in the anime—most memorable for his permanent bitter-gourd scowl. He and Hestia are close, and at this point in the story he should be working a part-time shift at the fried-potato stall to make ends meet—also famous for being broke.
But for different reasons.
Hestia's poverty comes from her easygoing, food-loving laziness. Takemikazuchi's comes from covering an orphanage's expenses.
Keyaru's impression of him wasn't bad. Put simply, any god who's close with Hestia is unlikely to be on the wrong side.
"Thank you, Lady Hestia. I won't miss this chance."
He meant it. With some basic martial skills, he'd at least be able to keep himself alive against upper-floor monsters.
No reason to refuse.
It did mean the plot was drifting off the rails a bit—there was no "Bell trains under Takemikazuchi" arc in the original. Butterfly effect from his sudden arrival?
Either way, once he became an adventurer and started preparing to enter the Dungeon, Hestia had been doing everything she could. A soft, considerate, loli-faced goddess who keeps thinking ahead for him was… hard to turn down.
He glanced at her flawless profile. "As long as I can get into the Dungeon smoothly, the Familia's finances will improve too."
To Hestia, doing what she could for a child was only natural. She never thought of giving in order to receive—but that didn't stop her from feeling happy when she heard him say it.
"It'll be tonight. I'll take you over."
Keyaru blinked. "That soon?"
"Well, gods… are usually very busy!" Hestia said with uncharacteristic gravity.
She couldn't exactly tell him Takemikazuchi was only free at night because he had a day job.
—
Near dusk.
Night settled over Orario. On the brightly lit, straight avenue, adventurers fresh from the Dungeon stretched as far as the eye could see.
Before tracking down Takemikazuchi, Hestia grabbed a simple dinner with Keyaru.
Fried potato balls.
A little black pepper and salt—calorie bombs that did the trick for an empty stomach.
"The taste…"
Hard to rate. After the flavor overload of modern life, you can't expect too much in a medieval-flavored fantasy world. But he had no choice; Hestia was the one paying. Once in a while was fine, but if he ate this kind of plain, all-carb meal every day, he'd be malnourished.
Passing The Hostess of Fertility only hardened his resolve. He didn't need a power-fantasy script, but at least let him scrape by decently.
"Once I earn a little… first order of business: better food."
They walked down West Main, turned into a side street, and after about five minutes arrived at a group dorm that looked like cheap rentals.
The flat yard out front was well kept, no junk piles, and the dim room lights gave just enough illumination to see.
Keyaru scanned the surroundings, then fixed on a man in far-eastern garb and wooden geta walking out from the dorm entrance.
Takemikazuchi.
Faces reflect the heart, as they say—and his fit.
Spotting Hestia ahead, he lifted a hand in greeting; the friendliness came through in his voice. "Hestia—this your child?"
"That's right. I might have to… trouble you."
"No trouble at all." Takemikazuchi shook his head and gave Keyaru a measuring look. "Keyaru, your patron mentioned you. You want to hone your martial skills?"
"Yes, Lord Takemikazuchi."
Calling beings whose ages start in the millions "Lord" didn't bother Keyaru in the least. Besides, he'd be learning technique from Takemikazuchi; like a patient with a doctor, hiding symptoms would be the worst mistake.
He lifted his head, frank:
"I've never done… any of this. Where should I start?"
Takemikazuchi thought a moment. Teaching someone a martial art from zero—setting age aside—takes a long time.
He smiled gently. "It depends on your goal. If the goal is the Dungeon, focus on live combat. Learn your weapon first, then adapt to the situation."
"That's the simpler, quicker path."
He didn't rush Keyaru, waiting patiently at his side. "Decide on the goal first. After that, it's all effort."
…
What weapon should he use?
He really hadn't thought about it. He couldn't copy the legendary Redo of Healer—this world definitely didn't have divine gear like the 'Georgius' armor anyway.
As for "Heal," even if he developed spin-off uses, it should stay as his trump card.
After a brief think, he answered, "I want to learn practical swordsmanship."
"Why?"
"Because it looks cool."
"…An admirably simple reason." Takemikazuchi chuckled. Looked at another way, it was a pure answer.
As a war god, teaching combat was easy for him. "Wait here—I'll grab a wooden practice sword."
With things on track, Hestia didn't linger. She wanted to watch Keyaru's growth firsthand, but she had errands of her own.
"I'll go take care of something, okay?" After a quick word with Takemikazuchi, she turned to Keyaru, eyes full of hope. "Do your best!"
"I will, Lady Hestia."
With weapons and armor ready and intel in hand, the next step was the crucial part—practical training. If "Heal" couldn't branch into anything else, he'd still have technique to rely on.
Takemikazuchi didn't keep him waiting. He returned soon with two wooden swords. His demeanor shifted from gentle to grave as he tossed one to Keyaru.
Calmly, he said,
"Now—use any method you can think of to attack me with that weapon."