The sun was about to set in Orario, its orange light shining through the windows.
"That's it for today..." Eina closed the book. Akira felt tired, like he was back in school.
"Thank you for today. I feel a little more confident about going to the dungeon now." Akira thanked her. Now he knew the monsters' habits, drops, and weaknesses for floors 1 to 12.
"But you can't go into the dungeon until you can draw all the maps for the upper floors," Eina warned him.
"I understand." Akira nodded.
"But it's a surprise — after just one time in the dungeon you've completely changed." Eina looked at him, happy with his growth. She felt that he had become more real.
"Well, seeing such high-level adventurers fight really opened my eyes." Akira smiled wryly. Of course, he couldn't say he had transmigrated.
"That's true. I'm sure if you fight carefully, you might reach their level." Eina pumped her fist in encouragement.
Although he disagreed with her philosophy, he didn't want to argue, so he could only nod along.
"As for your debt, usually the Guild takes 75% of the income you earn from the dungeon. But I'm sure I can request to lower the percentage for you."
"That would be very helpful. Thank you, Eina-san." Akira was very grateful.
"No need for thanks. It's my job as a Guild advisor."
"Still, thanks for your care." Akira packed his notes and waved her goodbye. He was in a hurry — he had to buy dinner for Hestia.
Seeing him run off, Eina waved back. She felt good after helping an adventurer. Now her next task was convincing Royman to lower the Guild's cut from Akira's loot.
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Akira walked through the Orario market, looking for ingredients for dinner. He decided to make some curry rice tonight. He also picked up a few magic cooking tools — in the morning wood was fine, but the convenience of magic tools was too good to pass up.
Reaching the rundown church, he decided to store the food in his inventory. Then, setting up a temporary kitchen on the road in front of church, he started cooking. Not knowing the goddess's taste, he kept the spice mild.
Leaving the curry to simmer on the stove, he took out a rocking chair and a candle for light. Pulling out a manga, Akira sat down to read.
In this abandoned place, away from the hustle and bustle of Orario, under the stars, breathing in the fresh air, Akira felt this world wasn't bad at all.
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Hestia was hopping along as she walked, happy that this was the first day she'd returned without any incident.
Seeing him sitting where she had left him, Hestia ran straight toward him. She leapt into his arms, tilting the chair all the way back and sending them both crashing down.
"Hestia-sama, what happened?" Akira rubbed her head as she snuggled against his chest.
"Nothing, I'm just happy." Hestia answered.
After she had her fill, she got off him, and Akira started plating the food.
She noticed the book Akira had been reading earlier. The cover was colorful — an armored man holding a pan and spatula, standing inside a castle, with an elf, a dwarf, and a pallum behind him. She couldn't read the foreign language, so she flipped through it, only to find pictures mixed with words in a confusing order. She couldn't make out the story, but she could tell one thing: it was about cooking.
"Akira-kun, what is this?" Hestia lifted the manga.
"That's a storybook from my world. I was thinking of publishing it to make some money." Akira placed two plates of curry rice on the table. Taking a seat, he continued, "I'll translate it, and after that, could Hestia-sama read it first? Just to make sure nothing touches on taboos."
"Of course. I'll make sure it doesn't cause any problems." Hestia was excited to read stories from another world. "What's it about?"
"It's about rescuing a maiden from a dungeon made by an evil wizard. But the main focus is on cooking the monsters in the dungeon." Akira clapped his hands together and said, "Itadakimasu."
Afterward, they started eating.
"Akira-kun, you haven't updated your status once. After dinner, I'll update it," Hestia said.
"No need for now, Hestia-sama. I want to get comfortable handling weapons in this body first. After that, I'll accept the update." Akira replied while refilling her plate as she asked for more.
"Although I don't understand the reason, I'll choose to believe in you, Akira-kun." Hestia said while digging in.
The next few days passed quickly. In the morning he exercised and practiced with his weapons. In the afternoon he studied the dungeon with Eina. At night, he shared home-cooked dinners under the stars, or sometimes at the Hostess of Fertility, where most of the customers already knew his face.
Sometimes he asked around Orario about publishing his manga. Paper was expensive and there was no printing press in sight, so Akira knew he would need external help.
After all this preparation, the day finally came when he would re-enter the dungeon.
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(A/N: It has been so long that I wrote something by myself that I feel I forgot how to write. Any advice to improve would be a huge help)
You can Support me on p@treon: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
I mainly translate other fanfics on there.