DanMachi: Cheat? What's a Cheat?

Chapter 29 – Goddess Hestia

After hunting on floor 2 for several hours, we decided to go deeper.

Now we're on floor 4.

"Wait, you mean we retreat?" I asked when I saw a group of dungeon lizards ahead.

The goblin nodded hard and made "danger" gestures.

"But we could win if we work together, right?"

He shook his head hard and made gestures showing "we'll die."

"You sure? I feel like we could—"

Smack!

The goblin hit me harder than usual, then forcibly pulled me back.

"Okay, okay! I get it! We're retreating!" while quickly putting on an obedient expression.

Turns out his decision was right. After hiding for a few minutes, a group of veteran adventurers came and struggled hard to defeat those dungeon lizards.

"You really are more experienced," I said while rubbing my still-aching head.

The goblin nodded with satisfaction, then made gestures showing "listen to your experienced teacher."

"Yeah, yeah. But your punch was too hard earlier."

He made gestures showing "emergency situation requires emergency measures."

"You're really good at making excuses," I muttered quietly, not wanting Gob to hear and hit me again.

Some time passed since we were on floor 4.

The funniest part was when we faced a monster bigger than usual.

"Whoa, that's a big lizard," I muttered while looking at the giant lizard in front of us.

The goblin nodded, then made complex strategy gestures.

"So you're distraction, I attack from behind?"

He shook his head and made gestures showing the opposite.

"I'm distraction, you attack from behind?"

He nodded.

"But I'm slower than you. What if I can't run away?"

The goblin made gestures showing "trust me."

"Alright, I trust you."

I moved forward with sword in hand, shouting as loud as I could to draw that stupid lizard's attention.

"HEY, UGLY LIZARD! LOOK OVER HERE!"

That stupid lizard immediately turned and chased me at a terrifying speed.

"GOB! HURRY!" I screamed while running with all my strength.

But when I looked back, that goblin was nowhere to be seen.

"WHERE IS HE?!" I screamed in panic.

That stupid lizard was getting closer, its long tongue almost touching my back.

"DAMN GOB! YOU LEFT ME—"

Slash!

Suddenly that stupid lizard stopped chasing and collapsed to the floor, turning to ash.

The goblin appeared from above. Turns out he'd already climbed the wall and attacked from above.

"Oh," I muttered while holding my chest that was still pounding hard.

Shit, I almost died.

"So that was your strategy," I said casually, as if I wasn't terrified.

The goblin came down from above that stupid lizard and made gestures showing "good teamwork."

"Good teamwork?! I almost died from a heart attack!" I protested.

He made gestures showing "but we won."

"Yeah, but—"

Smack!

He hit me again.

Ow, that hurt.

"Why'd you hit me again?!"

The goblin made gestures showing "don't complain when we already won."

"You really... seriously..." I really couldn't say anything.

After spending hours hunting monsters from floor 2 to floor 4, we managed to collect quite a lot of magic stones.

As agreed, we split the hunting results into two equal parts.

The goblin took his share and immediately started absorbing the magic stones one by one.

The process looked like someone eating candy - the magic stones just disappeared when they touched his hands.

"Pretty cool ability you got there," I commented while putting my share in my bag.

"Time to go home. Looks like it's almost 6 AM."

I don't have a watch, but I could guess.

"Soon other adventurers will come."

The goblin nodded with satisfaction, then made gestures showing "see you again."

"See you too," I replied while waving.

I quickly turned around, moving away from that goblin.

Gob nodded and gave a "see you" signal. He already understood my daily schedule and never tried to follow me to the surface.

When I arrived at the dungeon entrance around 6 AM, I heard a huge commotion.

A group of beginner adventurers were gathered with angry and frustrated expressions.

"This is the third day!" shouted a brown-haired adventurer with swollen eyes.

"For three days we've been coming at 4 AM, but floor 1's still empty!"

"We even tried coming at 3 AM yesterday!" another added. "Still no monsters!"

"Someone must be coming even earlier! Who's coming at 2 AM?!"

I broke out in cold sweat.

2 AM? I come at 1 AM, buddy.

"We gotta report this to the guild!" shouted their group leader.

"This isn't fair! How are we supposed to live if it keeps going like this?"

"Agreed! Let's protest at the guild!"

"Demand justice for beginner adventurers!"

They marched toward the guild with high fighting spirit.

I followed from behind with an extraordinary feeling.

I scolded myself for enjoying watching other people's suffering.

It's still early.

However, at the guild, the situation was very chaotic.

Beginner adventurers packed the lobby with their demands.

I saw Eina-san running back and forth with stacks of documents, trying to handle the complaints that kept coming.

"We demand an explanation!" shouted an adventurer.

"Why is floor 1 always empty?"

"We've conducted an investigation," answered one of the guild staff patiently.

"No anomalies detected on floor 1. Monsters respawn normally."

"But why is it always empty when we come?"

"Maybe there are other adventurers who come earlier?"

"Who comes at 1 AM?! That's crazy!"

I almost choked hearing that question.

Hey, I'm not crazy.

I'm just... very motivated.

"Excuse me," I slipped toward the exchange counter while avoiding the angry crowd.

"I wanna sell magic stones."

The exchange employee received me with a tired smile.

"Wow, floor 2 magic stones. Good quality. Total 10,240 valis."

I don't have floor 4 magic stones because Gob took them.

"Thank you," I said while receiving the money.

But when I turned around, I saw Eina-san staring at me with a suspicious expression.

She didn't say anything, but her look seemed to say "you're the one who always comes early in the morning, right?"

I grinned awkwardly and quickly left the guild before she could ask anything.

Outside the guild, I stopped for a moment to think about this situation.

The beginner adventurers were really suffering because of what I did.

They couldn't get income because I always came earlier.

"Maybe... maybe I should leave some monsters for them," I muttered while walking home.

"If not, there'll be a real riot."

Good idea.

Starting tomorrow, I'll let some goblins live on floor 1. Just enough to give other adventurers a chance to earn income.

But still, I won't reduce my training intensity.

I'll just be more selective in choosing targets.

Feeling good about myself for leaving some monsters, I sighed.

When I reached the old church that serves as Hestia Familia's headquarters, I was already very tired.

Three days with only 3-4 hours of sleep per night really drained my energy.

Plus being in the dungeon where I'm always in an alert state.

I feel like if I keep this up I'll suffer.

How do I know this? Because of my ability.

I discovered that my skill, besides being able to sense external danger, can also sense internal danger.

I opened the door slowly, hoping I could just take an afternoon nap.

"I'm home..." I said weakly.

"Welcome back, Kaen-kun!" Hestia-sama's cheerful voice greeted me from inside.

"You look really tired. What happened?"

I saw that small goddess come out of the kitchen with a slightly messy apron.

Making me feel guilty. Since I started leaving at midnight, Goddess Hestia's been worrying about me so much she can't sleep.

Her face showed genuine concern.

"Just... intensive training," I answered while smiling tiredly.

"Sorry if I look like a walking corpse."

"Don't overdo it with training," she scolded while approaching.

"I don't want my precious child getting sick from pushing himself too hard."

Hearing the words "precious child," my heart felt warm.

At least there's someone who cares about me in this world.

"I've prepared food," Goddess Hestia continued.

"You must be hungry after coming from the dungeon."

For these three days, Goddess Hestia's been insisting on getting me to eat breakfast she made.

"Thank you, Goddess," I said while taking off my shoes.

"I'm really lucky to have a goddess like you."

She blushed slightly hearing my praise. "Do-don't exaggerate! This is obviously a god's duty to take care of their children!"

I smiled seeing her cute reaction. Even though my days in the dungeon are full of challenges and dangers, coming home and being welcomed by Hestia-sama always makes me feel... at home.

"By the way, Goddess Hestia," I said while sitting at the dining table.

"What did you do today?"

"I... I was trying to cook something special," she answered while scratching her cheek.

"But seems like I still need lots of practice."

I laughed softly. "Whatever you cook will definitely be delicious. Because it's made with love."

"Kaen-kun!" her face got even redder. "Don't say embarrassing things!"

Seeing Goddess Hestia embarrassed, I laughed internally. Goddess Hestia is an innocent goddess.

So for the past week I've been teasing her with lines she's never heard before.

No wonder she's embarrassed.

While laughing, I felt a peace I hadn't felt in a long time.

Maybe life is hard, but with a friend like Gob and family like Goddess Hestia...

Seems like I can get through anything.

Usually after breakfast I'd go to the dungeon again.

However, I'm tired. Better to rest today.

I also feel like I never spend time with Goddess Hestia since I became an adventurer.