Chapter 10: 10 – Is it wrong to abuse Zenkais?

The next morning, I saw Hestia off at the front gate.

"Bye, Bell!" Hestia waved at me, a small bag under her arm. "I'll see you later!"

I waved at her and said, "Have a good day at work! And you have the lunch I made you, right?"

"Mmhm!" Hestia beamed and said, "How could I forget my Bell's homemade sandwiches?" She pulled out a carefully wrapped packaged to show me. "See?"

"Good." I nodded and said, "Don't stuff yourself with those potato-"

"Jagamarukuns!"

"...Jagamarukuns now, alright?"

"I won't! Bye!" Hestia waved again and then walked off with a slight spring in her step.

"...Someone's in a good mood." I smiled watching her leave and shook my head. "Well, it's good that she's happy."

A cute girl like that shouldn't be frowning or lonely, so seeing her happy made me happy.

But now...

"Let's see..." I stared at the ruined church and placed a hand on my chin to think.

My two main priorities were to improve my combat abilities and to find out what my abilities actually did.

After that, I had a secondary objective of making some more income.

Of course, since I could just go to the Dungeon for that second objective, it could be put off for later.

...Though I *really* wanted to go check out the casinos and try card counting. Still, bad idea while I was still so scrawny. I didn't have to worry about getting robbed now, but still.

That left my main objectives.

Improving combat abilities and finding out what my abilities actually did.

"Should I play around with my inventory ability a bit more...?"

Right now, that was the only working thing I had. And it was a unique thing too, judging from what I knew about magic around here... Which wasn't very much, but-

"Oh yeah." I picked up a rock and idly began playing with it, tossing it back and forth from my inventory. "I could go chat with Eina too... Always good to get more info. Especially since I seem to be able to just convert knowledge to experience now."

I didn't forget about how my body naturally moved when fighting the goblins and kobolds. Considering that I definitely didn't know how to do that before, either as Bell or 'myself', it had to be from my abilities.

And since it wasn't energy manipulation, that left compilation.

...Which gave me more questions, but that could be tested later.

I had a bit of leeway now with our funds, but it wasn't endless leeway. If I wasn't careful, it'd be just enough rope to hang myself... drag Hestia in as well.

And I couldn't have that. Then-

A sudden sharp pain in my right hand. Like something smacked it really hard.

"Ow! The hell- Hm?"

I blinked and saw the rock I was messing with rolling onto the ground nearby. I also saw a red mark in my right hand. Like something had smacked it really hard.

But it couldn't have been the rock. Even if I threw it all the way up, it couldn't have gathered enough speed to sting that much-

"Wait."

I stared at the rock... and then it hit me.

My inventory stored momentum and velocity.

My inventory STORED MOMENTUM AND VELOCITY!

That meant that I could loop it! Like in Portal, if the distance that an object fell was short enough and if there wasn't any momentum lost from friction, the energy could just keep on stacking and the object could get faster and faster.

Or something. I didn't know the details, but I knew I was onto something. So...

I picked up the rock again. This time, I tossed it in the air and 'caught it' with my inventory.

And since I could freely release anything from my inventory as long as it was within my physical reach...

I stared at the space in front of me and imagined it. The rock dropping and then falling back into my inventory.

Thankfully, since it was an automatic process, I didn't have to worry about timing. Which was good, since I was pretty sure I'd have missed after it started becoming a white line.

After letting it loop for a few minutes, I stopped.

When I did...

"...Scary."

The rock was in my inventory. But it didn't look like an ordinary rock before. Was it because I'd looped it so much? Instead of being a single gray rock, it looked like a gray smear in the box. And when I cautiously tapped it to direct where to release it, all I got in the 'preview' state was a bright white line. A line that had a boatload of energy, according to what I could sense off of it.

Was this what it felt like carrying a loaded gun?

I carefully put the rock back in my inventory and decided to forget about it for now. It'd be a useful trump card in case, but I definitely didn't want to get reliant on something like that.

Though if people decided to start coming after us, I made a mental note to let Orario know what it was like to be put under heavy artillery fire at practically light speed.

And railguns. Definitely railguns.

I shook my head and stared at my arms. "...Well. I definitely need to do some weightlifting. The problem is, that's going to take a long time to show any results."

Not only that, but I kind of lacked equipment... No. There were some boulders lying around, so I could always use those.

But that still had the problem of me needing time to heal-

...Heal?

I blinked, suddenly remembering the potions Miach gave me.

...It was a crazy idea, but... Since the human body adapted to training only after being broken down and healed up...

xxx

Pain. Incredible pain. Almost unbearable pain.

But I grit my teeth and pushed through it.

"Grrragh!" I lifted the heavy boulder over my head for the hundredth time and then stored it in my inventory just before I dropped it on my head. After that, I pulled out a cup of extremely diluted healing potion and downed it.

Almost immediately, I felt a cool sensation spread throughout my body, pushing back against the burn from my workout.

But I didn't stop there. Muscles didn't grow from thin air, so I pulled out a bowl of the soup that I prepped beforehand with the essential nutrients... or what I hoped were the essential nutrients and downed it.

I waited until my muscles stopped hurting and then stood up, glancing at my body.

It was working. My skinny twig arms were filling out with muscles. It was slow-going, but it was definitely noticeable. And even if it wasn't, the fact that I'd upgraded from a small brick to basically a giant boulder that could kill me if I dropped it wrong showed that I was getting stronger even without gaining too much muscle.

I shook my arms to get out the weird tingles that came after the healing and then made some notes. "...I wonder why nobody else did this?"

Was it because they weren't aware of how muscles worked? How the human body adapted? Or was it because people were overly reliant on the Falna to increase strength?

"...Eh. Not that it matters."

What did was that it worked for me.

Not only that, but I'd only used a single potion from the stock that Miach gave me.

I glanced at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. "Tia should be back soon, right?"

I didn't have a clock, but since she worked a normal job, she should be back fairly soon.

"Mm... In that case..." I glanced down at my bare torso.

Unlike before, my body was starting to show clear definition. It was still a bit too scrawny for my liking, but at the least I had muscle.

...I also seemed to be a bit taller now, judging from the fact that my pants legs seemed a few inches too short.

Either way, the workout regime was working.

"That should be enough muscle... so next up... let's work on my cardio."

Stamina was needed for sprints. Ideally, the best thing to build that would be, well, sprinting. But running around Orario wasn't the smartest of ideas and neither was doing that in the Dungeon. Both would draw unwanted attention.

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So the next best thing...

"Urgh... I guess burpies it is." I sighed and then started dropped to the ground.

...This had better be worth it...

xxx

"Urgh." Hestia frowned and stared at her sandwiches. "...Bell won't be too mad, right?"

It was closing time now. Today had been a busy day for some reason, and Hestia managed to make a few thousand valis from selling her Jagamarukuns... but that meant that she had been constantly having to fry, sell, and pass out the Jagamarukuns.

Which meant she didn't have time to eat her lunch.

Hestia sighed and carefully unwrapped her food.

The valis from the day's transactions were carefully tucked away into her bag, and she already closed up her stall, so there was nothing to worry about there.

But...

She looked up at the darkening sky and said, "I hope Bell doesn't mind."

It was only a few hours from dusk. She had been out far longer than she anticipated.

"Hah... what a useless goddess I am..." Hestia mumbled and then picked up a sandwich.

It wasn't too fancy. Bread, lettuce, tomatoes, some ham and cheese. Homemade mayonaisse... A fairly cheap meal she could probably get from a nearby cafe.

But it was also made by her Bell, so she didn't dare to skimp out on it.

"Stupid customers, bringing me so much business."

Hestia grumbled and then took a bite of her sandwich. And when she did, she froze in shock.

A burst of flavor. Fresh and crisp, salty but slightly sweet... An invigorating and scrumptious meal that betrayed its humble origins.

Against her will, Hestia let out a small moan.

People passing by looked at her funny, but she didn't care. Instead, she was angry. "I had to wait this long...!"

She quickly took a few more bites, savoring the taste as she did.

Was this the result of Bell's love for her? Her love for Bell? Or was he just that good of a cook? Either way, Hestia couldn't help but have her mood lifted as she ate.

And then a cocky tomboyish voice called out to her and brought that mood right back down.

"Whoa, Runt. You seem to be in a good mood today. Business doing well?"

Hestia paused in the middle of a bite and then lowered her sandwich, glaring at the speaker.

A woman with red hair, kept in a short ponytail. Eyes that were mostly closed, with a foxy charm around them. She was wearing a purple crop top with black sleeves and short shorts, paired with black leggings and purple shoes. As if to compensate for the 'wall' of her chest, the woman bared her midriff and thighs for all the world to see.

Hestia huffed and said, "So what if it was, Loki? At least I'm making an honest living rather than sitting around lusting after my children all the time."

"Tch." Loki clicked her tongue and said, "And here I was trying to compliment you. As childish as ever, I see."

"Says the tomboy who started a conversation that wasn't wanted."

"Sure, sure. Whatever makes you happy, Runt." Loki plopped into the bench beside Hestia.

Hestia immediately scowled and scooted all the way to the other side of the bench.

"What?" Loki cracked an eye open and said, "Can't I visit an old friend at her work?"

"Like we're friends to begin with, you cutting board!"

"Cutting-?!" Loki took a deep breath and then shook her head. "Whatever. I'll let it slide since I'm in a good mood."

Hestia took a bite of her sandwich and then said, "Uh huh. What, did that half-elf finally give into your lewd nature?"

"I wish! Lefi's too uptight about it still." Loki sighed. "If only she'd be as nice about it as Tione and Tiona..."

"...Right. Are you drunk? You sound drunk."

"Pft." Loki scoffed and said, "As if. The only thing I'm drunk on is my love for Ais!"

"..." Hestia finished her sandwich and picked up the other one.

Loki frowned and opened her eyes. "...What? You not even going to reply to that?"

"Why should I bother? You're going to tell me anyway, aren't you?"

"...Huh." Loki frowned and said, "You're weird. You're weird today."

"And you aren't?"

Loki laughed. "That's true... I heard from Take that you got your first child. Seems like that's made you grow up a bit, huh? Maybe I should call you-" She suddenly cut off and then opened her eyes, staring at Hestia.

Hestia blinked and stared back. "What?"

"...No. It's just my imagination." Loki started muttering and said, "There's no way that runt could have grown."

"...If you're just going to bother me, could you leave? I'm trying to enjoy the meal my Bell gave me."

"Your Bell?" Loki's eyes widened again and said, "Could it be that the infamous virgin goddess finally found herself a man?!"

Hestia rolled her eyes and then stood up. "I'm leaving."

Loki stood up as well and said, "I'm joking, I'm joking!"

Hestia kept walking.

Loki didn't follow her. Instead, she hollered from the bench and said, "Fine! Be that way! It's not like I was worried about you or anything, you brat!"

Hestia huffed. "Just what is with that crazy goddess today...?"

It was rare for her to see Loki around ever since Hestia came down from Heaven. The only time before then was when Hestia got kicked out. At that time, Loki had come to gloat and mockingly left after buying a Jagamarukun.

"...Whatever." Hestia kept eating her sandwich, smiling as she bit into it again. "I wonder how my Bell is doing?"

xxx

Loki stared at Hestia's vanishing form and then sighed. "Looks like the Runt's doing well for herself."

She had been worried there for a bit. While the two didn't get along very well since their time in Heaven, it would have annoyed Loki if Hestia didn't manage to find a child for herself.

After all, it was only fun to gloat when they were on somewhat level playing grounds.

"Still... That Runt's got some spunk after all."

From what she heard, Hestia had gone through fifty rejections before managing to find someone.

Loki was curious about who that person was that accepted being with Hestia... And she was tempted to make sure that it wasn't someone trying to trick Hestia and take advantage of the goddess of hearth's kindness.

But it seemed like things were going well. And since that kid of hers was considerate enough to even cook for Hestia, there weren't any problems.

Although...

"Dammit. I want a homecooked loveydovey meal from Ais too!"

A young male voice called out from behind Loki and said, "That can be arranged, Loki. Though, I think you should wait for that until you want to head back to Heaven."

Loki grinned and turned around. "I suppose you've got a point, Finn."

A young man with golden hair and blue eyes. No, what looked to be a young boy due to his short stature. Even so, the maturity in his gaze revealed his age. Adjusting his yellow vest over his purple shirt and trousers, he glanced at Loki and said, "The others were looking for you. We still have to go over our plans for the expedition."

"...Hah." Loki sighed. "Don't remind me. Mommy Riveria's probably upset, isn't she?"

"Obviously. She was getting ready to blast you with ice magic if you snuck away to drink."

"Good thing I didn't decide to swing by Mama Mia's place then!"

Finn sighed. "Come on, Loki. Let's not make the others more mad than they already are."

"Hai~!"

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