A week had passed since I joined the Miach Familia.
"Kai... I'm hearing a weird noise from the counter. Could you check it out?"
"Yes, Senpai."
Naza, who had looked at me like someone who would just slack off and leave on the day I first joined, must have noticed that I genuinely wanted to help Miach-sama; after seeing me work sincerely for a week without even receiving a Falna, she eventually started treating me like an obedient junior.
'...Is this really okay?'
Even though they had become a small Familia due to debt, since they were originally mid-sized, the facilities themselves were quite good.
"This is the room where you'll be living from now on."
As soon as I mentioned staying at an inn, they offered me a room behind the Familia home.
"Is it really okay to give this to me just like that?"
"It was originally a room used by another child, but... they transferred to another Familia. No one's using it now, so don't worry."
"Ah... I see."
While waiting for Miach-sama and Naza, who had gone out to buy ingredients, I was baking cookies for them and repairing the creaky furniture in the shop when a god with an appearance that defined "mature coolness" and a woman with silver-white hair entered.
"Hey Miach! Pay up!!"
"Haa..."
It seemed that god was probably Dian Cecht, who made Naza's prosthetic arm.
"Miach-sama has stepped out briefly to buy ingredients. If you could come back later or wait at that table over there, I would appreciate it."
When I spoke in a business-like tone, Dian Cecht cleared his throat once and went to sit at the table I pointed to.
"...Ahem! It looks like Miach knew I was coming and cleared out in advance."
"..."
After confirming that the two had sat down, I stopped what I was doing and started brewing guest tea from the cupboard.
"...Huh? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen your face before. What are you doing here?"
Dian Cecht, who was sitting at the table and bouncing his leg, stared at me intently and began questioning me.
"...I'm Kai. I joined recently."
"...Huh?"
"It's not my real name; it's an alias. People here have trouble pronouncing my original name."
"I see... wait, no! You joined this failing Familia?!"
"...Dian Cecht-sama, it's rude to speak like that."
"Ah, yeah, sorry... no!"
After that, Dian Cecht kept asking me questions, and I answered as sincerely as possible while doing my work.
"Here is some black tea and some cookies I baked myself."
"Hmph! Could something made in a poor shop like this actually taste good...?"
When I first saw him, I thought he was a god with a certain aura, but after talking to him, he turned out to be a god who ruined that aura himself.
"...The aroma is nice. The cookies are just sweet enough to go well with the black tea."
"Ah, thank you."
In truth, I was short on money and had used very little sugar, but there was no need to say that. I simply put on a customer-service smile, gave a short thank you, and went back to fixing the creaky counter.
"Ahem!"
"...What's the matter?"
"...My cup is empty."
"Ah, here you go."
As I worked, I repeatedly refilled the teacups for Dian Cecht and Amid, who kept asking for more, until Miach and Naza finally returned with their hands full of ingredients.
"Sorry for taking so long. They said they were selling the leftover ingredients cheaply."
"Kai, I smell something delicious. Did you bake cookies this time?"
To the two who greeted me with smiles, I waved lightly and pointed to the table where Dian Cecht and Amid were sitting.
"We have guests."
"...Oh no."
"Tsk..."
Upon seeing the two, Miach-sama's smile vanished, and Naza openly clicked her tongue, her reaction as cold as expected.
"Long time no see, Miach-sama. And you too, Naza."
The silver-haired woman reacted as if she were used to their response. Dian Cecht, on the other hand, smiled confidently, approached Miach, and held out his hand to demand money.
"I came to get the money, Miach."
"...Isn't there still a few days left until the promised month?"
"Is that so? I don't really know; I've been forgetting time a lot lately."
At first, I was puzzled to see Miach-sama's smile disappear, but I immediately understood why when I heard the clear greed and arrogance in the other god's voice.
"Just a little... give me a little more time."
"Don't you remember last time when you postponed like that and only paid after a week had passed?"
Even I, watching from the side, was starting to feel bad; I could only imagine how Miach-sama felt hearing such words to his face.
"This time, I'll definitely pay on the promised date... just wait a little longer."
For a long while, Miach-sama bowed his head and pleaded with Dian Cecht, who, seeing Miach-sama's pathetic state, didn't let his smile fade, perhaps feeling superior.
"Ha! If you're going to beg that much, I'll take the money next time."
After about ten minutes, looking satisfied, Dian Cecht picked up the last cookie from the plate and left the shop.
"...Excuse me."
Amid stared blankly for a moment at the last cookie as it disappeared into Dian Cecht's mouth, then hurriedly followed him, her face as expressionless as when she had first entered.
"...I showed you an unsightly sight."
Once Dian Cecht left, Miach-sama bowed his head slightly to me—I had been quietly watching from the counter—and began to apologize.
"Please don't apologize. You bowed your head for Naza-nee, not for anyone else. There's no way that's unsightly."
"...I'm glad you say that."
"Even Miach-sama, who is unnecessarily kind yet dense to the affection of others, knows how to make such an expression?"
"Kai... if you tease a god, you'll be punished later."
Fortunately, thanks to the half-serious joke, Miach-sama's mood seemed to lighten somewhat...
"...Not noona, but nee?"
"Ah..."
It seemed the other half wasn't okay.
.
.
.
I quickly escaped after handing the remaining cookies to Naza—who had insisted she wouldn't let me go until I called her 'noona'—and hurried toward the room where Miach-sama was.
"Miach-sama."
"It's you, Kai. What brings you to the mixing room when you had no interest in potion-making?"
It seemed he was still a bit piqued by my joke.
"I want to go to the dungeon soon. I'd like you to inscribe my Falna."
"Come to think of it, the promised week has already passed."
"Yes."
"Well, a promise is a promise, so I'll inscribe your Falna."
Following Miach-sama's instructions, I took off my shirt and lay face down.
"For the name, could you use Kai instead of my real name?"
"I'd appreciate it if you did."
"By
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