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[Chapter Size: 1739 Words]
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Seeing the goddess wearing a red dress with a halter neckline and a golden belt and sitting there with elegance and grace as if she were a princess of some kingdom, I admired her beauty.
" Ahem."
The goddess made a coughing sound as if asking what are you doing staring at me?
" Sorry, goddess, your were so beautiful, I was admiring you. " Snapping out from my daze, I spoke my thought's praising her, which added a little red color to her cheeks.
" Hahaha, no problem, you can praise me as much as you want, I'm sure you've never seen a beautiful goddess like me. "
" And remember, my name is Ereshkigal, the most beautiful goddess in the entire world."
Instead of acting shy or getting angry, Ereshkigal stood up, put her hands on her hips and introduced herself with a beaming smile on her face and sang praises about herself.
She then gestured me to sit opposite her.
" Nice to meet you Goddess Ereshkigal, my name is Light. I think you already know the reason I'm here, I'll say it once more. "
" I want to join your Familia! "
I stood up and bowed towards her while speaking about wanting to join her Familia.
" Are you sure you want to join my Familia ? And you may not know, I have no one in my Familia, I'm a Goddess who has just recently descended to Gekai! "
The smile on her face faded, now she was trying to make a serious face.
But Ereshkigal's face looked a little funny here, maybe because she was trying to make a serious face?
Looking at her face, I felt that instead of a serious face, it was more like the stare of a child who had her candy stolen.
Trying to stifle my laughter, I focused on what she was saying.
" Do you still want to join ? Also I don't have anything to support you with. You can take your time and let me know. "
As Ereshkigal finished speaking, she hesitated a little at first, but then puffed her chest and even spread her empty palms upwards as if emphasizing the same.
" I still want to join your Familia. "
Trying not to look at her chest, I turned my head to look at her face and immediately replied to her without even a moment's delay, a sincere look on my face.
I even wanted to shout out loud that those were the exact condition's I was looking for in a Familia to join, and also had asked my guild advisor Rose to keep an eye out.
Joining a well developed Familia would mean I have to adapt to their routine's, their timing's , their training's and there was a greater chance that I could not move solo in the dungeon and instead have to join the group I was asked to.
I was just one of the members in a Larger Familia. I also had to not so anything that would tarnish the reputation of the said Familia.
Joining a small Familia would mean I would not be able to get any resources. I could go solo, but like most other small familia's, everyone would tend to stick together while going to the dungeon.
In some rare cases, the other members of the Familia would even become jealous the moment I showed any talent or stood out for any reason.
But being the lone member in a Familia, sure, it did not bring me any resources or help I needed at the beginning. Instead I was free to spend my time and dive in the dungeon for any length of time as and when I wished.
" Sure, you can join. "
Ereshkigal stared my face for a few seconds, as if trying to see my true thoughts, and finally a few tense moments later agreed while giving out a small smile.
...
" Light-san, can you introduce about yourself a little, like what were you doing till now ? "
" What do you want to become ?"
" Do you have any dreams you want to achieve ? "
" How about your family ? "
The goddess who had just felt so elegant and mature a few moments earlier was now like a non-stop chatterbox.
I felt like my admiration was wasted...
" An introduction about myself huh.., okay then! "
"As you already know my name is Light. I was born in Orario, my parents were adventurers of a small familia. I also had a big sister who is four years older than me. "
" Sadly my parents passed away before I even turned 8, from then on, my sister took care of me. The familia which my parents were part of left Orario because most of their members had ended up dead. "
" I made my goal to become a merchant and never become an adventurer as adventurers never know when or where they'll end up dead. "
" I studied by looking at the shops in Orario and also learnt some tricks under a few of my father's friends who were merchants. "
" I learnt under them till I was 15 years old. When I reached 15, I tried to set up a small fruit stall, but was not able to get a shop permit from the guild. "
" My sister suggested that instead of me lounging or fooling around, who not try getting admitted in one of the merchant schools in Altena. "
" After looking around, I finally found a merchant who was about to leave on a trip to Altena and see if he could get me in any merchant school over there. "
" The result he brought a half year later was a success, he was able to get me admitted in a merchant school. I had to go attend the school half a year later. "
" I immediately told my big sister about it, she grumbled about it for a while that she did not think I would succeed, but still sent me off to Altena. "
" Two and half months there, just as I was settling down, I received news that Orario was almost destroyed, the center of the world had almost fallen. "
" Without even wasting a second more than necessary, I left Altena and was back on my way to Orario. "
" Standing in front of the broken gates of Orario and looking at the bodies and pieces of flesh everywhere, I couldn't even blink my eyes. "
" All my thoughts were filled with one thing, my sister could be there, my sister could be there. "
" Next I don't remember what happened properly, but I had found my sister and we were hugging each other in our home. "
" Anyway, I decided that I never wanted to feel like what I felt standing in front of the broken gates of Orario. "
" What could I as a merchant have done if something had happened to my sister ? Could I save her without any strength even if someone threatens her right in front of me? "
" I did not even stand a chance against an unarmed Level 1 adventurer. "
" It was true that being a merchant could save my life, but what about the lives of my loved ones ? Sure, I could hire a few adventurers to safeguard me, but what guarantee did I have that they would not extort me for my money ? "
" I decided that I would become an adventurer, that decision was a month ago, and I joined a guild class about basic training and stuff. "
" Ahh, sorry, Kami-sama, I went off on a tangent, you must be bored. "
[ A / N : Kami-sama also means Goddess but in a more respectful way. ]
Seeing the goddess looking at me with a critical look in her eyes, I put a full stop to my monologue thinking that she was not interested and maybe bored.
" No, no, Light-san, I'm not bored, I just felt like I understood you some more, and don't worry, I'll do my best in helping you become stronger. "
She said while giving a big smile.
" Thank you, Kami- sama."
" Okay then, Light-kun, let's go and register in the guild. "
Saying that, Ereshkigal pressed a bell on the table, asked the waiter who came in to bring the bill.
...
" Here, Light-san, the bill. "
I tilted my head, an imaginary question mark popping up on my head.
I looked towards the goddess with the expression, ' you're really asking me to pay ? '
" Yes, of course, I just descended to the Gekai a few days back, and even my resting place is provided by the guild. Where will I even get the money to pay the bill ? "
Ereshkigal gave a sagely nod and then looked at me like I was a fool.
" Hah, I'll pay it, here. "
Taking the bill from the waiter and looking at the total amount I almost had a stroke.
The bill was 10,000 Valis.
I looked up from the bill to our table, four pieces of cake, some biscuits and a cup of chocolate milk and a cup of coffee.
By the way, that cup of chocolate milk was mine and not Ereshkigal's.
I then looked back to the bill, and at the items individual cost. The total come to 6,000 Valis.
Going down and seeing the 4,000 Valis written against the Peaceful and Cozy Atmosphere, I almost lost my strength.
Turning to look at the waiter next to me and the goddess sitting opposite me still eating her cake, I entertained the thought of just running away, but suppressed it and took out ten 1000 Valis coins from my pocket and put it on the tray in front of me.
...
" Kami-sama, what would you have done in case you rejected me from joining your Familia, how would you have paid the bill ? You didn't have any money no ? "
As we left the restaurant and were was walking towards the guild with the goddess next to me, I got a random thought and immediately fired the question at her.
Upon hearing my question, Ereshkigal turned her head towards the front and sped up her steps as if running away without speaking anything.
' Why do I feel like I was scammed ? ' Another random thought popped into my head seeing Ereshkigal walk away.
Shaking my head, I chased after her asking her to slow down and wondering how was she faster then me.
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Alternate Chapter Title : J̶o̶i̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ Creating a Familia [2]
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[ A / N : I tried adding some background about Light and why he wants to become an adventurer. ]