Just playing around with 1st person.
—————————————————
—Bell POV—
"Ngh…"
As I sat up from my bed, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and let out a quiet yawn.
Morning already…? The faint light creeping from the stairs told me it was still early, but not early enough to go back to sleep.
I quickly head upstairs.
The moment I reached the first floor, I spotted Goddess Hestia near the table, clearly in the middle of whatever had made all that noise.
She was the first god I met in Orario—small, loud, and somehow full of energy no matter the time of day.
At my master's decision, she became my patron goddess, and I joined her familia.
At first, I didn't understand the reason why he chose her. She had no real standing in Orario, no power or influence to speak of.
He told me it was because she was the goddess of home and hearth.
That made her the safest choice. Compared to other gods, she was far less likely to drag someone like me into trouble.
And that's what I currently needed less of.
After spending time with her, I could see what he meant.
She was kind and genuinely caring—overly energetic, a little childish at times, but sincere in a way that was hard to fake.
She's surprisingly simple as well and easy to get along with.
Right now, she was slipping on a pair of shoes she'd taken from the chest my master had left behind, the same one filled with clothes.
Ever since a few days ago—when she discovered that some of them somehow fit her perfectly—she'd been rummaging through it more and more, pulling out new outfits and even wearing them to work.
She'd also decided to keep working at Lady Hephaestus's shop, even after my master gave her enough money to clear her debt.
Working there had been the whole reason she took the job in the first place… yet now, she stayed anyway.
Gods. Just like my master said—they're unpredictable.
"Oh, hey Bell!"
As she finished slipping on her shoes, Lady Hestia looked up and greeted me.
"Good morning, Goddess," I replied.
"Heading to the Dungeon by yourself again today?"
"Yes. Master's still meditating, so he won't be coming with me."
I glanced over to Kaelis.
He sat cross-legged on a single bean bag, posture straight and unmoving, like the room had been built around him rather than the other way around.
Various items lay spread out across the table in front of him—metal fragments, tools, things I didn't recognize—each placed with quiet intention.
He hadn't reacted to our conversation at all, as if the world nearby simply didn't matter while his mind was elsewhere.
Seeing him like that still felt strange sometimes.
In the five years I'd known Master, I'd seen him meditating almost every night when he wasn't buried in books.
He could sit like that for hours, completely still, as if time just passed him by.
Nothing had ever gone wrong because of it, though.
So I guessed it really was safe—at least for him.
Hestia followed my gaze and frowned a little.
"…Are you sure there's nothing wrong with him? He's not hiding anything from me, right?" she asked, lowering her voice in worry.
Unlike me, she only began seeing this side of master two days ago so it's natural for her to be worried at the unusual behavior.
I shook my head. "No, Goddess. That's just how he is. He's been like that for as long as I've known him."
"…Always?" She looked back at him, the worry still there.
"Yeah. He either meditates or studies almost every night. I've… never actually seen him sleep."
"…That's not normal," she muttered.
I know.
But master isn't exactly the normal type.
"I asked him once," I added. "He just said he doesn't need sleep."
It should be fine to tell her that, right? It's not like anyone could actually use that kind of information for anything.
Lady Hestia kept staring at Master for a few seconds, arms folded, clearly not satisfied with the answer I'd given her—again.
In the end, though, she sighed.
Shaking her head, she straightened up and forced a smile back onto her face.
"Well, don't push yourself too hard today, okay? And be careful."
"I will," I said quickly.
She nodded, stepped past me, and headed for the door.
Just before leaving, she glanced back one last time—at both of us—then slipped outside, closing the door behind her.
The church grew quiet again.
I stood there for a moment, then turned and walked over to the storage chest near the wall.
Crouching down, I opened it and pulled out my adventurer gear.
It wasn't anything flashy—just a black compression shirt and leggings Master had made for me a while back.
Simple, flexible, and comfortable. Stuff meant to move in, not show off.
Off to the side, hanging neatly on a rack, was a set of light silver armor.
Lady Hestia and I bought it from one of Hephaestus's shops in Babel.
The armor was extremely light, as if the forger cut corners to save money but it felt sturdy enough to matter.
Engraved faintly along the inside was its name:
Pyonkichi Mk-11.
I could guess the forger was the one who named it and I have to say, they're bad at it.
But even if it sounds ridiculous, it was surprisingly cheap, priced for less than 10,00 valis.
When Master and I came back from the blacksmith district empty-handed, we told Goddess Hestia about the prices.
She laughed awkwardly and said we'd picked the worst possible place to look for affordable gear.
"Of course it's expensive," she'd said. "That whole area's basically run by old man Goibinu. If you want something more reasonable, you should check out the shops where I work."
Compared to the prices in the blacksmith district, I almost thought it wasn't made of steel or iron at all—it was that cheap.
Apparently, it had been forged by a level-one blacksmith in her familia.
Only level-two and above were allowed to use the familia's insignia for better pricing.
Still… even with that in mind, it felt almost too cheap.
Well, it's mine now.
It was a simple chest piece—light, but good.
No decorations, no flash. Just practical armor that looked like it would do its job and not fall apart on me.
I grabbed my clothes and started getting dressed, going over the routine Master had told me to.
Check your gear. Tighten the straps. Don't rush—rushing gets you killed.
Even when he wasn't speaking to me, his voice was always in my head.
I'm still nervous.
Today's only my second day diving the dungeon alone.
It feels… weird. Traveling by myself, without Master Kaelis by my side.
I've never really done anything completely on my own until now.
Since I was born, I'd always been with Grandpa, and once Master Kaelis came into the picture, it was him too—up until just two days ago.
I'm still scared of the Dungeon—probably always will be—but now there's a bit of excitement mixed in.
Yesterday's dive went well, so I'm hoping today will be just as good.
My body feels… different. Lighter than ever. Stronger. Ever since that first dive, it's hard not to notice the change.
Everything is different now. I've got to get used to it.
Chapter 73 end.