Get up!
Summer went and autumn came. Several months had passed in succession, and unknowingly, it was gradually approaching winter.
Calculating the time, it had been almost a year since he transmigrated to this world.
It was late autumn of last year, when the forest leaves were bleak, that he arrived in this world and joined the Goddess Astrea's Familia. Inexplicably, that felt like something from a long, long time ago.
"Mmm..."
Sleeping in was indeed the second most comfortable thing in life.
In the dim room, the heavy bedding and the scent of charcoal emanating from the heater gave one a toasty, warm feeling.
While Isagi was still groggy and his thoughts hadn't yet focused, he saw the charming, beautiful face of Goddess Demeter gazing fixedly at him from the bedside.
"?"
The unique, cloying scent of peaches on the beautiful woman, accompanied by the hot warmth, simply washed over him.
"Isagi, it's time to get up."
"Mom has already made breakfast; it's right on the table in the living room."
"This is the 'Mom Wake-Up Service' Isagi reserved himself yesterday. If you don't get up soon, Mom is going to—"
The beautiful woman's face feigned an angry expression, but it wasn't scary at all. On the contrary, that sticky, sweet tone, along with those slightly hazy eyes that looked as if she were drunk, always gave one the illusion that something good was about to happen.
No, it wasn't an illusion.
After Demeter finished speaking, she stood up.
The Goddess was wearing a dusty-grey cotton nightgown. That clothing, which looked like something a daily farm woman would wear, didn't detract from her beauty at all. Conversely, precisely because it was so ordinary, it combined perfectly with the mature, sweet aura radiating from the beautiful woman.
Inexplicably, Isagi felt that Demeter seemed even more plump—or rather, "well-rounded"—than she was in the summer.
He wondered if it was because winter was approaching. The Goddess, who didn't need to busy herself in the fields and just stayed home every day, was also accumulating energy for "overwintering."
Come to think of it, whether it was morning, noon, or night these past few days, there was no shortage of rich meat and fish.
Isagi only just realized that the Agriculture Goddess who presided over "Fertility" and "Motherly Love" seemed to be quite the carnivore...
"..."
Hmm.
His groggy thoughts were swept away by the Goddess's appearance, and only then did Isagi remember that he was currently "vacationing and resting" at Demeter's place.
It was Astrea who suggested it.
Adventuring in the Dungeon to increase [Ability Scores] was certainly important, but one also had to strike a balance between work and rest.
And since Isagi was accustomed to conducting daily training with the girls when not in the Dungeon, they usually went to the woods outside the city or even further away—Lefiya's magic power was getting greater and greater, so training in the city was very troublesome and prone to causing terrible destruction.
Naturally, simply living at Goddess Demeter's place became a very good choice.
The beautiful woman also welcomed him and the girls to disturb her with open arms.
Even, after the autumn harvest season passed, the Goddess with no fields to tend to gave off a pitiful vibe of a "lonely housewife."
She didn't know what to do at home every day, just spacing out there. It was only when he and the girls arrived that the Lord Goddess, acting as a mother, recovered some of her spirit.
It was just...
Isagi didn't know how to describe it, but the longer he lived here, the more he felt that Demeter's "Mom Power" was truly maxed out.
There were delicious, hot meals ready to enjoy in the kitchen anytime, anywhere;
Pastries, drinks, fruits—whatever kind of "little snacks" one wanted, she had them all;
One didn't need to do anything every day, just lying down was enough;
Even when his back ached from lying down too much, Demeter could use her exquisite massage techniques to help his body eliminate pain and fatigue, even giving one a warm, sticky feeling that made one want to sleep.
It was simply too much!
Manicures, haircuts, ear cleaning, and the like—he didn't need to do any of it himself.
Even bathing...
Isagi had already enjoyed the Lord Goddess's back-scrubbing service.
You don't say, you really don't say.
It wasn't bad.
It was precisely because of this that he felt he couldn't stay at the beautiful woman's place too long!
He would turn into a useless person!
So, after lazing around for a whole day yesterday, Isagi decided he couldn't continue to be this depraved.
Get up!
This time he actually sat up directly.
It was just that, for some reason, Demeter by the bedside seemed to have a tiny bit of resentment and dissatisfaction about this. It was as if if he really wanted to stay in bed, she would... Not only that! The Lord Goddess's gaze kept drifting around a certain place on his body, always making one feel a bit of danger—
During breakfast.
Isagi learned that the other girls had gone out early today.
Ryuu-senpai went to the Dungeon alone.
Every so often, she would go to Rivira on the 18th Floor to visit the companions buried there back then. Ryuu never spoke of it, but everyone knew, and they all maintained a tacit understanding about it.
As for Lefiya, she ran off to the Loki Familia with Tiona to learn a chanting technique called "[Heart of the Great Tree]". It was said to be one of the inheritances of the Elf race since ancient times.
Even Alicia had barely groped out a little bit of this technique thanks to the Familia's Vice-Captain, that Royal Highness of the Elven race, Riveria.
After Lefiya heard about it, she showed considerable enthusiasm for it.
Lately, whether there was something to do or not, she would run off to the Loki Familia with Tiona to study—regarding this, Loki seemed to welcome it as well. It was said she even proactively called Riveria over to teach Lefiya.
Something about it being a return gift for always mooching off his special Dungeon.
Speaking of which.
The Loki Familia had also returned from the Port City Melen long ago.
The investigation had yielded results. Sure enough, his premonition back then was correct. The man-eating flower monsters that appeared in the Port City Melen were due to cooperation between the Njord Familia and the Dark Familia.
The specific inside story seemed a bit complex.
The reason lay in the fact that, as the deity of seafarers and sailors, the Familia run by the God Njord always had a tradition of going out to sea to fish. Half the catch was supplied to the city, and half was sold all over the world.
However.
There were more monsters in the sea than on land.
Because a thousand years ago, although a "Lid" was added to the Dungeon, aside from the entrance and exit beneath Babel, there was another entrance and exit. It led straight from the "Great Waterfall" area on the 27th Floor to Lake Roguna where the Port City Melen was located.
And that place was only plugged up many years ago after the Zeus and Hera Familias, along with the [School District], joined forces to subjugate the [Overlord of the Sea · Leviathan], using its spine to craft a special item to block it.
This led to a situation where there were far more aquatic monsters running out of the Dungeon than there were on land.
More importantly.
Monsters on land had been hunted by ancient heroes and later adventurers from start to finish. But the problem was, no one managed the monsters in the sea—although led by the Poseidon Familia and other Sea Gods, they had been clearing water monsters in oceans all over the world.
But that was too much like a drop in the bucket. This even led to the current situation where the coastal waters of Port City Melen were full of aquatic monsters.
They would not only attack ships and fishermen but, more importantly, they would devour ordinary fish, causing many marine fish to near extinction.
Yet monsters "could not" be eaten.
Although theoretically speaking, the meat on monsters was also meat, people had a natural psychological resistance to it. It was like some kind of "underlying code"; there was an innate disgust.
Whether adventurers or ordinary people, even in a last resort situation, eating monsters was a choice they would avoid if at all possible.
And such destruction of the marine ecology was unacceptable to a Sea God and god of fishermen and sailors like Njord.
And just rightly so.
Those special man-eating flower monsters used the "Magic Stones" inside monsters as nutrients. So, if placed in the water, they would hunt aquatic monsters on their own and wouldn't harm ordinary fish. Instead, they became something like "scavengers."
It was precisely because of this that Njord joined forces with the Dark Familia, helping to place those special man-eating flowers in Port City Melen and cultivate them.
After understanding the sequence of events, Loki reportedly discussed it with the Guild for a long time.
Finally, they decided to let the God Njord atone for his crimes through service.
After learning from his mouth that the Dark Familia's "Secret Passage" was in the city's sewers, they didn't impose any punishment on him.
Recently, Isagi heard Tiona say that including Ais, her sister Tione was also drilling into the city sewers every day whether there was something to do or not; she was tickled to death by it.
Because that guy was currently still in the Astrea Familia, so she didn't need to go at all.
Regarding this.
Isagi only expressed a certain degree of attention.
Ryuu-senpai's great vengeance had already been exacted. As for striking at the Dark Familia remnants in the city, it certainly wasn't his business alone. Now that the Loki Familia was investigating, it was just right, saving him a lot of effort.
Including on the other side, the Freya Familia's expedition to the Deep Floors was also about to begin.
Perhaps because it was the first large-scale expedition mobilizing the entire Familia, the admirers of the Goddess of Beauty prepared for an especially long time.
It was said that it was because they learned the lessons from last time—monster blood that could corrode First-Class Armaments, highly toxic poisons that were difficult to cure, special female-form monsters that could chant magic, and so on...
The Freya Familia requested Goibniu and Hephaestus to craft a large amount of weaponry with the [Indestructible] attribute;
They also sought out the [Battlefield Saint] Miss Airmid of the Dian Cecht Familia to customize special antidotes;
The money and time spent preparing these things were simply countless. It was only because the Freya Familia was wealthy and imposing...
Outside the window.
Layers of dark clouds from late autumn and early winter gathered. Presumably, there would be a not-so-peaceful winter coming.
Isagi finished breakfast.
Together with Goddess Astrea, who had also just gotten up, freshened up, and eaten, he left Demeter's farm and arrived outside the nearby forest.
Having been decadent all day yesterday, today naturally meant starting the daily practice!
Isagi's current goal was, of course, to defeat the [Golden Miracle].
After months of adventuring, his [Ability Scores] had seen substantial growth, and his [Excelia] was already sufficient. He was just one step away from leveling up.
It was a matter of these few days.
So logically speaking, challenging the [Golden Miracle] after leveling up would be the better choice.
Because even if all [Ability Scores] returned to "0" after leveling up, as long as he adapted to his body, his strength would receive a leap in growth.
But Isagi felt it wasn't necessary.
Because judging from the experience of challenging the [Golden Miracle] hundreds and thousands of times over these past few months, whether he had something to do or not...
Only one step away!
Whether he could defeat the [Golden Miracle] had never been a gap in numerical values, but in technique!!
"I'm counting on you, Lady Goddess."
"..."
The chilly autumn wind was bleak.
The forest leaves that were still lush and green a few months ago had almost all disappeared without a trace by now.
Only bare tree trunks remained standing.
Most of the green grass had also turned withered and yellow, presenting a certain dim color along with the always grey and gloomy sky.
Goddess Astrea had also put on thick clothes.
Unlike the form-fitting blue and white dress from before, she wore quite casual dark riding breeches and long boots, as well as a beige high-collared thin sweater and a brownish-grey leather jacket.
That long brown hair was tied up behind her head into a bun, looking simply full of housewifely charm.
He didn't know if it was his illusion.
The Goddess of Justice without a skirt seemed to have legs that were much more slender and fit.
Could it be.
That those riding boots had internal lifts?!
That wasn't the point! The point was, in accordance with his request, Goddess Astrea was currently holding two longswords in her hands!!
Just exactly like the [Golden Miracle].
That's right, Isagi was having the Lord Goddess learn the BOSS's appearance to practice with him!
You don't say.
With the Lord Goddess's skills, just by listening to his description, she could replicate that Golden Cock Knight's moves to about seventy or eighty percent accuracy. And after his careful and serious "tuning" during this period...
It was no longer just having a few traces of its shadow; it could be said to be extremely similar!
Of course, Astrea felt somewhat "weird" about this.
Mainly—
What exactly does this child take a Goddess for?!
Who makes their own Goddess learn the appearance of a monster to fight with them? It's a wonder he could think of it!!
But...
Thinking of how hard the children worked adventuring in the Dungeon to develop and expand the Familia, while she had nothing to do at home every day...
That feeling of indebtedness made it impossible for Astrea to refuse Isagi's request.
Mm, it couldn't be helped.
Anyway, it wasn't anything excessive. Especially after understanding Isagi's training goal, the Goddess of Justice only felt it was inconceivable.
What is meant by:
[Only defend against the weapon in the right hand, and simultaneously, dodge all attacks coming from the left hand]?
Is this something that can be done?!
With dual swords dancing, those blades interweaving as swiftly as a storm—how could one possibly distinguish which sword strike came from the right hand and which came from the left?
Astrea shook her head, then skillfully applied conspicuous dark blue paint to the longsword in her left hand.
Next.
Whether on the long blade in the youth's hand or anywhere on his body, not a single trace of blue could appear.
Even the Goddess, whose swordsmanship had long since reached perfection, only felt that Isagi was simply indulging in wild fantasy.
But.
Why couldn't it be done?
[If it were me, I could do it!]
The Lord Goddess simply didn't understand anything at all. As long as it was something that could be thought of, then it could be done!!
____
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