DanMachi: Cheat? What's a Cheat?

Chapter 41 – Deception

It's been a week since that incident...

the one that changed my life from 'pretty decent' to 'permanently on high alert.'

•••

When I first came to, all I felt was total confusion.

I was lying on the small bed in the corner of the church room I'd gotten familiar with.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the small window, creating golden light patterns on the wooden floor.

"Why am I here?" I mumbled while trying to sit up.

My body felt weird.

Not hurt, but there was this stiff feeling like I'd slept way too long.

What confused me most was that I couldn't remember how I got here.

The last thing I remembered... narrow alley, little kid, missing money, then...

"KAEN-KUN!"

Goddess Hestia's voice broke through my thoughts. She came running from the kitchen with teary eyes, her black hair that's usually neat looking a bit messy.

"Thank goodness! You're finally awake!" She immediately hugged me tight, too tight until I could barely breathe.

"Goddess... can't breathe..." I whispered.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" She let go but her hands stayed on my shoulders, her eyes checking my face carefully.

Being stared at like that made me a little embarrassed.

"How do you feel? Does anything hurt? Dizzy? Nauseous?"

"I'm... fine, I think. But..." I scratched my head that was still a bit dizzy.

"Why am I here? I don't remember coming home."

I spoke while looking at Goddess Hestia and yeah, I saw Goddess Hestia's expression change to a mix of worry and anger.

"You don't remember?" she asked while sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I found you passed out in front of the church door yesterday afternoon. Your face was covered in blood, your clothes were dirty and bloody, but weirdly there weren't any wounds on your body."

"Blood?" I touched my face reflexively.

"But I don't feel any pain at all."

"That's what made me worried!" Goddess Hestia stood up and started pacing restlessly.

"That much blood but no wounds? Then you passed out at the door with no memory? What really happened in the dungeon?"

My mind tried to remember what actually happened.

Narrow alley.

Thief kid.

Green shadow moving fast.

Incredible pain.

Ryuu Lion.

But how do I explain this to Goddess Hestia without making her panic or worse, getting into trouble with a Level 4 adventurer?

"I..." I paused for a moment, looking for the right words.

"There was a big commotion in the dungeon. Several groups of adventurers were fighting each other over monsters. The situation was chaos."

"A commotion?" Goddess Hestia's eyes widened.

"You got involved in a fight?"

"No, no!" I raised my hands in a calming gesture.

"I just got caught in the crossfire. You know I never look for trouble, Goddess. Maybe I got hit by a thrown weapon or caught by a stray attack. That's why my face was bloody but there weren't any serious wounds."

Goddess Hestia stared at me with an expression I couldn't read.

There was doubt in her eyes, but also very deep worry.

"You're sure that's all?" she asked quietly while sitting back down, this time closer.

Our faces were only a few inches apart, Goddess Hestia staring at me so intensely.

"You're not lying to me, are you, Kaen?"

Her tone was gentle but there was something in it that made me feel guilty.

Not just a goddess's worry for her family member.

There was something more... personal.

"Why would I lie?" I answered while trying to smile.

"Besides, look, I'm fine, right? Maybe I was just exhausted so I passed out."

Goddess Hestia stayed quiet for a long time, her eyes not leaving my face.

There was an intensity in her gaze that made me uncomfortable, like she was trying to read every expression, every blink, every change in tone.

As a goddess, Hestia could probably smell my lies. Her stare was too deep to avoid.

Seeing that I was stubbornly staying quiet.

Goddess Hestia finally gave up.

"Alright," she said finally, but her voice still sounded unsure.

"What's important is you're awake and not seriously hurt. But promise me, if there's a problem, tell me right away. Whatever it is."

"Of course, Goddess."

"And..." she bit her lower lip, a gesture I always did when nervous.

"If someone's bothering you or... hurting you, tell me. I don't care who they are or how strong they are. No one's allowed to hurt my family."

There was a small fire in her eyes when she said that last sentence.

Not explosive anger, but calm and dangerous determination.

For a moment, I saw a glimpse of the figure who was once one of the most influential goddesses in Tenkai.

"Goddess..." I whispered, touched by her worry.

"Ah!" she suddenly stood up with a red face.

"I-I didn't say anything weird, did I? I mean, of course I'm worried! You're my only family member! If something happened to you, who would... uh... feed me..."

Her reason sounded made up, but I didn't comment.

"Oh right!" she suddenly remembered something.

"You must be hungry. Wait here, I'll make something."

She rushed to the kitchen, leaving me with increasingly complicated thoughts.

Not getting money yesterday means I have to work harder today.

Looks like I was unconscious for a whole day.

But what bothered me more was Goddess Hestia's reaction earlier.

There was something in the way she looked at me, the way she spoke, that made me feel... no, maybe I'm just misunderstanding.

If she knew I just "interacted" with a Level 4 adventurer because of a stupid misunderstanding, her reaction might be way more extreme.

That day I communicated normally with Goddess Hestia.

The following days passed as usual.

I'd wake up early, have a simple breakfast with Goddess Hestia, go to the dungeon, meet Uncle Eldrin.

Meet Gob, hunt monsters, come home with decent results, occasionally buy bread at the usual place.

My life looked so routine. Like I'd forgotten about the theft incident.

The normal routine of a beginner adventurer.

But something had changed in me. Something you couldn't see from the outside.