Thanks to the help of the old carriage driver, it has been a month since I first set foot in Orario, and now I am...
"Oh my~ This young one has such a kind heart."
"Hey Kai! You look scrawny, but you're good at physical labor!"
"Hey kid! Before we start work, why don't you sing that song from the bar the other day again!"
"Ah, Kai! Since you're here for dinner, can you take a look at this table? It's been making strange noises since yesterday."
Using the alias Kai, I was diligently saving money while working various odd jobs around Orario.
'With 8,600 valis saved from working hard for a month... Can I really become an adventurer with this?'
.
.
.
It was two days after I arrived in Orario.
After parting ways with the old carriage driver, I found a cheap inn while looking around Orario. That was good, but...
"Staying here again tonight? It's 150 valis per night."
"Here you go..."
Now, the money was starting to run out.
'Ugh... The money the old carriage driver gave me is almost gone too...'
With only 550 valis left, even if I stretched it by eating as little as possible, I could only last about three days. I had to earn money somehow.
'If I only eat one meal a day, it costs about 50 valis, and lodging is 150 valis per day, so that's at least 200 valis per day...'
While looking for ways to earn money, I spotted a notice...
"Help wanted ad..."
So, I had no choice but to work as a day laborer and temporary replacement at shops to save money.
.
.
.
"Well, thanks to that, I've built up basic knowledge of this place and made more acquaintances, so it's not all bad, right?"
Thanks to the connections made while working, I found cheaper inns and restaurants with better quality food at similar prices to what I used to eat, which helped in many ways.
"Now then, before becoming an adventurer, I need to meet a god and get a Falna engraved, but..."
Based on my investigations while staying here, the gods in this place can be simply described as follows.
'I have to find a sane one among these crazy gods...'
These crazy gods cause all sorts of accidents every day. Whenever I went to work, the old men would talk about which god caused what accident, and it never stopped.
'If only it were a manga I knew well, but I only saw the beginning and forgot about it...'
So, I told the place I was working that I was taking a break to join a Familia and asked if there were any recommended Familias.
"What?! You want to become an adventurer?!!"
"It's a dangerous job that risks your life... But we can't stop a young man's dream..."
"Well... if you fail to join, come back here."
The boss and the other laborers gathered around me, offering advice filled with encouragement, support, and concern.
"By the way, Miach Familia... Wasn't that the god who shared potions with the protagonist in the beginning?"
After carefully considering the information I gathered and the opinions of those around me, I decided on the Miach Familia.
"Hmm... I think the name was 'Blue Pharmacy'... Ah, there it is."
Thanks to the map the men had drawn for me, I arrived at the Miach Familia's home.
'Ding~'
"Excuse me... Is this the Miach Familia?"
"...Huh?"
"Ah, come on in."
Inside the shop, a female Chienthrope and a man so handsome he emanated a mysterious aura were sitting at the counter.
"Um... I came to apply to join the Familia."
"...What?"
When I mentioned joining, the god smiled and approached me.
"Let's, let's sit down and talk first!"
Caught off guard by the unexpected response, I was stunned for a moment but quickly composed myself and sat facing the god to introduce myself.
"First, my name is Kai."
"..."
The moment I said my name, the god's expression sharpened for an instant, and I finally remembered one fact.
'Come to think of it, I heard that gods here react sensitively to lies?'
"Ah! I have a real name, but people here can't pronounce it well, so I'm using an alias."
"Ahh, so that's how it is~"
After I added the explanation, the god relaxed his expression and started smiling again.
'...As expected, a god is a god, huh?'
I was momentarily intimidated by the immense power hidden behind that kind-looking smile.
"I've been in Orario for about a month now. Since I didn't know when I'd become an adventurer, I earned money by doing whatever work I could within my abilities."
"Oh, you're a rare, diligent child. But our Familia isn't an exploration-type; we focus on medicine and healing. Is that okay?"
"I heard that even if it's not an exploration-type Familia, they don't completely avoid the Dungeon..."
"..."
The god smiled as I introduced myself, but the female Chienthrope sitting next to him kept glaring at me as if she were uncomfortable.
"Um... Did I do something wrong?"
"Even though you're just going to leave soon anyway..."
"...Huh?"
As I stood there flustered by her words, Miach scolded her.
"Enough, Naza!!"
"You know it too, Miach-sama! As soon as the Familia fell into debt, everyone abandoned us like worn-out shoes!!"
"That is..."
"It's obvious that this guy will leave once he finds out we're in debt!"
It seemed there was a story in this Familia that I didn't know about.
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.
.
"I'm sorry... She's usually a good kid, but she's been through a series of bad things recently..."
The argument ended with Naza leaving for another room.
"By the way, what do you mean by debt?"
"Well, the truth is..."
According to Miach-sama, Naza had been seriously burned by a monster's magic attack in the Dungeon. She collapsed, unable to move, and had her limbs eaten alive. After she was rescued, Miach’s devoted nursing saved her life and healed her wounds, but her right arm—eaten down to the bone—could not be restored. To help her, Miach went into massive debt to commission the 'Silver Arm - Airgetlam' from Dian Cecht, a rival in the medical faction.
"Don't tell me the debt is..."
"...Yes, it's the cost of the prosthetic arm I asked Dian Cecht to make."
The Silver Arm became Naza's new right arm, but the cost left Miach with a massive debt. The Miach Familia, once a mid-tier Familia of considerable size and talent, lost all its members except Naza to other Familias as soon as the debt was revealed. Now, only the god and Naza remained.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you..."
I could have found this out if I had investigated more, but in my haste to join a Familia, I had inadvertently touched on their painful memories.
"No... It's my fault for coming without knowing anything."
"Let's consider the application as if it never happened... Please, find a better god than me..."
As the god stood up to leave, I saw the many emotions hidden behind his smile.
'Guilt, regret, sadness, self-reproach, and... worry'
Realizing he was genuinely worried about someone he had
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