Kazuya woke up with his hands full. Literally. They were squeezing something soft, warm, rising and falling slowly with breathing. He opened his eyes slowly, still half-groggy, and nearly had a heart attack.
It was Ervynia. On top of him. Completely. One leg tangled with his, her body pressed against his, her face inches from his, purple hair spilled across the pillow and his chest. And his hands... were right on her breasts. Medium-sized, firm, perfect breasts that he had been squeezing unconsciously in his sleep.
Kazuya froze. His heart raced. "Fuck... this isn't happening."
He pulled his hands away slowly, like he was defusing a bomb, and sat up in bed carefully. Ervynia didn't even stir. She was sleeping deeply, mouth slightly open, breathing steady. She hadn't noticed that he had spent the entire night with his hands on her breasts.
"Better if she never finds out," he thought, feeling his face burn. "If she finds out, I'm dead. Again."
He looked around. The inn room was simple but cozy: dark wooden walls, a small window letting in morning light, the smell of baking bread drifting up from downstairs. His clothes—pants, shirt, boots, leather gloves—were stored in his inventory, dirty with mud and blood from the fight against that adventurer. The basic sword he'd taken was there too, its blade chipped from the clash.
He was still wearing the gray hoodie he'd put on the night before to sleep. Comfortable, but he couldn't go down to breakfast like that. He'd look like a beggar among adventurers.
"I'm screwed if I go down looking like this. Better wake the useless goddess."
He leaned over to her, poked her shoulder.
"Ervynia. Hey. Wake up."
She mumbled something incoherent, rolled over, kept sleeping.
"Ervynia, fuck. Wake up already."
Another poke, harder this time. She opened one lilac eye, annoyed.
"What the fuck is this... it's too early, you idiot. Let me sleep."
"It's morning already. Do me a favor. Use that light purification magic of yours on my clothes."
She blinked, confused for a second, then understood. She huffed, sitting up in bed with messy hair.
"I'll do it, but don't think this is gonna become routine, okay? I'm only doing it because... hum... you protected me from that adventurer yesterday. Not that I needed it, obviously."
Kazuya smirked. "Sure, sure."
He mentally opened his inventory—that infinite box only he could see—and pulled out his clothes, tossing them in front of her. Dark jeans, black shirt, worn boots, gloves. All dirty.
Ervynia snapped her fingers lazily. A soft white light flowed from her hand, enveloping the clothes.
"Light."
In a second, everything was clean. No sweat smell, no blood stains. Perfect.
"Damn, thanks for real."
He got dressed quickly. The sword was still damaged—he'd need to take it to the blacksmith after breakfast. He glanced at Ervynia, who had already flopped back onto the bed.
"I'm going downstairs for breakfast. See you down there, yeah. Come down soon or it'll be gone."
She grumbled, covering her face with the pillow.
"Don't be an idiot. It's not gonna run out. Just... twelve more minutes. I'll be down soon."
Kazuya rolled his eyes and left the room, heading down the creaking wooden stairs. The inn was lively in the morning: adventurers drinking, laughing loudly, the smell of grilled meat and hot soup.
The innkeeper—a sturdy middle-aged human woman with an easy smile—already knew what he wanted.
"Meat with soup, kid?"
"Yes, please."
He sat at a corner table, looking out the window at the city waking up. The great city of the races, as they called it. Stone buildings, wide streets, flags of the seven guilds fluttering in the wind.
The food arrived fast: a deep plate with juicy chunks of meat, vegetables, and a steaming bowl of soup. Unusual for breakfast in his old world, but normal here. And it was delicious.
While eating, he thought about the night before. That strange light in the room—a mana stone of electricity illuminating everything.
"Noesis," he called mentally to the system. "Explain something to me. That mana stone that lit up the room yesterday... who came up with the idea of using an electricity magic stone to generate light?"
The system's calm voice answered in his head, as always.
"That device was created by a mage considered the most powerful and intelligent of his era. He discovered that mana stones could be used in various ways beyond direct magic. Each stone has a specific element: electricity, purification, earth, wind, fire, water... He simplified the extraction of mana essence and created lamps, heaters, even simple machines."
Kazuya chewed, impressed.
"Holy fuck, what a genius. But if the guy was that badass... why did he never complete the tower? If even a legendary mage couldn't do it, how the fuck am I supposed to?"
The system replied dryly:
"The elemental mage, as he was known, had no interest in the Tower of Heavens. He saw it as unnecessary. He never even set foot there. He preferred to research and improve the lives of the inhabitants with magic and mana stones."
Kazuya chuckled quietly.
"No way... a genius like that with zero ambition? One of those guys with insane power but does nothing with it. Whatever."
He finished the food, wiped his mouth. Ervynia finally came down, hair fixed, looking like she still wanted to kill someone.
The innkeeper set the same plate in front of her.
Ervynia looked at it with disgust.
"Me, a goddess, having to eat this mortal food? Outrageous..."
But she sat down and started eating. Fast. Clearly enjoying it way too much.
Kazuya thought, watching her: "Says that but devours everything. This woman is complicated as fuck. But... she might be useful someday."
He stood up.
"I'm gonna take a walk around the city. See what it's like, maybe stop by the guild to check if the guild master is back, and get your status checked this time."
Ervynia didn't even look at him, mouth full.
"Okay, do whatever. I'm also gonna check out some shops. See what these mortals have that's interesting."
"Just don't spend all our money."
She froze with the spoon in mid-air, eyes flashing.
"Our money? You mean my money. Don't order me around, you idiot. You're getting cocky just because you saved me from that weak adventurer."
Kazuya sighed.
"Ah, fuck... Fine. I'm going."
He left the inn, the sun beating down hard on the main street.
To be continued in Part 2...