The Protagonist System

Hestia looked both proud and nervous as she led me through the streets of Orario. The various types of people it contained was pretty eclectic. Humans, elves, part-animals like catgirls, dwarves, halflings (called prums for some reason), and a bunch of other beings, were scattered all over the place... and all of them were staring at me.

The best part? I recognized at least five of the people checking me out as the ones that kicked me out of their Familia compounds for not being strong enough or rich enough to join. They hadn't even gone to their gods or goddesses to have me vetted and just chose to be assholes and denied me entry.

Boy, oh boy, was I going to show them.

Hestia's hand touched my arm and I looked down at her to see her worried face. She had noticed all of the attention I was drawing, too.

I gave her my best crooked smile. “Keep your knees together, Goddess Hestia.”

“Wh-what?” Hestia asked and then let out a loud, “EEEK!”, when I scooped her up and sat her on my left shoulder.

I held her steady with my left arm clamped over her shins, which just so happened to keep her knees locked together, and I grinned up at her shocked face. “How's the view up there?”

The shock on her face faded and was replaced by a matching grin. Her head was ten feet above the ground and she loved it. “I can see everything!”

I laughed and patted her calf as I kept walking. “Let me know if you see anything interesting.”

Hestia dug a hand into my shoulder-length hair and held on. “I will, Bell.”

I let her continue to guide us as we stopped at several stalls for a bit of food. It wasn't much, considering there was two of us; but, I wasn't going to let either of us suffer starvation for long. I would be going to the Guild in the morning to register and then I would search out the best scraps of equipment to grab and repair.

With the limited shopping done with what little money Hestia had, she led me through the city again to near the outskirts. We ended up in a kind of cul-de-sac, a street that ended with no exit except back the way we came, and there was an old rundown church there that was basically ruins. There were no front doors and the place was falling apart with most of the roof missing.

The oddest thing was that it had a life-size statue of Hestia above the main doors and it was crumbling to pieces. Half of the face was missing and there were holes all over it, like Swiss cheese. A feeling of sadness seemed to fill the air around the building.

“You can put me down now.” Hestia said, her earlier enthusiasm fading.

“No.” I said and she looked down at me with wide eyes. “I like feeling how happy you are up there.”

Hestia gave me a pointed look. “Are you sure it's my happiness you're feeling and not my butt?”

I gave her a tooth-bearing grin. “Did you just tell me that happiness is inside your panties?”

Hestia looked startled for a second and then laughed as she shook her head. “I can't fit through the open doors while sitting on your shoulder.”

“Good point.” I said and carefully lifted her down, because she held the bag of food we bought. I followed her inside the building and we walked past the mostly okay pews to the altar. We walked around that and entered a small storage room behind it.

Hestia gave me a knowing look, as if she was conveying a great secret, and pulled on the mostly empty rack of shelves on the back wall. It opened up to reveal a stairway going down. She waved ahead and shut the wall behind us, then she motioned for me to follow her. We went down the stairs and it was like a small apartment. It had a large square room with a bed and two couches, a bathroom, and a tiny kitchen.

“A friend of mine set this up for me when... well... I had a falling out with the friend I was staying with.” Hestia said, sadly.

I walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder for support. I also cast the truth spell that Grayfia had taught me. I was surprised that it was only 9 magic points and resolved to spam the hell out of it.

“It was my own fault, really. I was arrogant and selfish. I was getting bored and wanted to start my Familia, so I pushed things too far and she kicked me out for being an ungrateful brat.” Hestia said and then seemed startled that she had said so much.

“That can happen between friends.” I said, wisely. “If you want, I can go to her and apologize on your behalf, then set up a meeting where you can do it yourself in person.”

Hestia blinked her eyes several times before she gave me a questioning look.

“Sometimes it's easier to work through others at first to fix a problem.” I said and slid my hand around her shoulders to give her a one-arm hug. “I don't mind being an errand boy for my Goddess.”

“That's...” Hestia took a breath and let it out. “Thank you for the offer, Bell. I'll think about it.”

“Then sit right down and do that while I make us a great homemade stew that should last us a few days.” I said and took the bag of food from her.

“But...” Hestia started to say.

“Your happiness? What about it?” I interrupted her, then I laughed at her pouting face. “I got this, so trust me.”

Hestia nodded and plopped down onto one of the couches to watch me.

I wasn't going to show off, though. I knew I had to downplay what I could do, so I kept it to the bare minimum of magic use. I increased the size of the stew pot to make it huge and just that small thing earned a squawk of surprise from her. I held in my chuckle at the simplest things doing that and started to bring the water to a boil on the stove.

I chopped up some of the ingredients and added them when appropriate, then took the small amount of meat we had and tossed it into the oven in a pan with a bit of water. I used some magic to cook it faster, just so we weren't waiting all day for it to finish.

I added a few things to the pot to thicken the broth and let it boil. I created a mechanical timer and turned the dial to set it for half an hour, then walked over to the other couch and sat down across from Hestia.

“How did you do that?” Hestia asked.

“Basic magic.” I said with a smirk.

“That was only 'I' ranked magic?” Hestia asked, unsure.

“Yep, and so is this.” I said and held a hand up to form a single long-stem red rose. It only cost 3 points. I leaned across the space and handed it to her. “Thank you very much for adopting me into your Familia, Mother Goddess.”

Hestia's epic blush returned as she accepted the flower and she buried her nose into it to take a huge breath in through her nose. “You are quite welcome, Bell. My... my child.”

I smiled and leaned back against the couch. “I've been here in the big city for about two weeks. How long have you been here?”

“A few years. I honestly lost track a while ago.” Hestia said and took another long sniff of the rose.

I nodded, because I knew that long-lived races always seemed to lose track of time. The only thing they seem to measure were significant events, like wars and bringing new family members into the world.

We sat there in silence for a while, because I wasn't dumb enough to ask her what she did for fun around here. I knew that my definition and hers would be completely different. She lived in a medieval society with swords and magic, while I usually lived in a world with multiple types of media entertainment.

The timer dinged and I walked over to pull out the meat from the oven, stirred the large stew pot, and then used a cutting board to chop up the meat. I also cheated a little by increasing the chunks in size, because they only cost half-a-point of magic each.

I added them to the stew pot and looked at the drippings from the meat. “I can't decide if I should save this for later to make gravy or add it for flavor to the stew.”

“We're not always going to have the money for meat.” Hestia said, a bit sadly. “You should save it and we can dribble it over the potato treats I can get from work tomorrow.”

“I know we splurged today and I'll get that money back tomorrow, I promise.” I said and Hestia looked over at me. “I'm registering at the guild tomorrow.”

Hestia's eyes widened. “You're going into the dungeon to hunt for magic crystals?”

“After I dig up some cheap equipment.” I said and stirred the pot.

“Bell, even as strong as you are, you can't go in there without any protection.” Hestia said. “Solo adventurers don't last long, because sometimes the monsters swarm.”

I nodded in understanding. “Don't worry, I'll figure something out. You can count on me.”

“Bell...” Hestia started and sighed. “We just started our Familia and I can't put all the pressure on you like that. What kind of a goddess does that make me?”

I chuckled and turned the stove down to lightly simmer the stew to keep it hot. “Put the pressure on me? I'm taking it from you and you're going to like it.” I said and pulled two bowls out of the cupboard and enlarged them, then filled them with the stew. I carried a bowl over to Hestia and conjured a nice fluffy towel to put on her lap.

Hestia stared at me with her mouth open at the casualness I had done it with. I put the bowl on her lap and went back to the kitchen to pull out the small loaf of bread we bought. I broke it in half and gave one to her, dropped the other half into my bowl, and sat on the other couch with my own fluffy towel on my lap.

I clapped my hands together in prayer and bowed to her. “Thank you Goddess Hestia for the food. Amen.”

Hestia caught her breath as she glowed slightly. Apparently, genuine prayers of thanks gave her a rush. “But... but... you made the food!” She gasped.

“Goddess only helps those that help themselves.” I said, wisely. “Your money bought the ingredients and you helped choose what to buy. We have enough food to last for several days because of your smarts. If that's not you providing for the Familia, then none of what the other gods and goddesses do counts.”

Hestia blushed and ducked her head as she mumbled something that I couldn't make out. She used a spoon to scoop up a piece of meat and broth from the bowl and blew on it, then she tasted it. Her entire body stiffened up and her eyes locked onto mine. The disbelief was clear on her face.

“Normal Ability Mastery.” I said as an explanation and tried some of the stew myself. Holy hell, it was gourmet delicious! I could probably open a stall in the market and make a fortune... as long as no one else with a restaurant tried to kill me for breaking into their business and stealing their customers.

Hestia gave a full body shiver and took another spoonful, only to freeze up again. Her gaze became glare as she chewed and then she dipped the bread into her soup like I was and she let out a satisfied sound as she sucked up the broth and ate the bread.

We ate in silence for about ten minutes and emptied the bowls and finished off the bread. We sat back and stared at each other for a full thirty seconds before I lifted my bowl and pointed to the large pot.

“YES, PLEASE!” Hestia yelled and threw her bowl at me.

I laughed and easily caught it, went to the stove to refill both bowls, and came back to give her a second helping. I sat beside her this time and she leaned against me slightly as she took her time and ate the stew. I did as well and the second bowl was just as good as the first.

“Bell, that was... that was...” Hestia paused and looked at me.

“I can do better.” I said with a straight face.

Hestia raised her eyebrows at me and then laughed.

“Go ahead and get a shower while I clean up. Tomorrow's going to be a good day, I can feel it.” I said and stood as I took her empty bowl that she had licked clean.

Hestia picked up the towel and felt how fluffy it was. “So that's what this was for? A shower?”

“And to protect those beautiful and heavenly thighs of yours.” I said and she blushed. “I'll shower after you do, so pass out your clothing and I'll clean them.”

Hestia nodded and went into the bathroom while I walked over to the small kitchen. While she was busy, I cleaned up, washed the dishes, and stripped off my clothes to leave them on the couch. I didn't really need a shower after using a cleaning spell; but, appearances were everything.

I watched a nervous Hestia leave the bathroom with the large towel wrapped tightly around her. She was so short that the towel covered more than her short white dress did and she blushed as she passed me her clothes. I checked and it was everything she normally wore. The white frayed dress, the frayed gloves, the various ribbons, and her panties.

“You don't have to be embarrassed, Hestia.” I said with a soft voice and very lightly touched her panties. I cast clean and repair on them and they glowed slightly. “There you go. All clean.” I said and handed them to her.

Hestia stood there with her mouth open and stared at her panties that looked brand new.

“I do have a question about your dress and gloves, though.” I said and held up the ends of the gloves. “Is the frayed look on purpose, like a fashion choice to make it look like icicles, or is the dress too damaged and frayed to be sewn back together?”

Hestia blushed from embarrassment and turned away. “It's my only dress. I can't afford to replace it and...”

I chose to spend a full 99 points when I cast the repair spell on the dress, even though the spell shouldn't have let me alter the cost. The dress reformed to become an elegantly cut cocktail dress that any woman would pay through the nose for. The frays around the neck and back had previously been interwoven lace attachments with tiny bows holding it together.

I waited a few moments and did both gloves at the same time and spent the same amount of magic. They reformed to be copies of the dress with interwoven lace and little bows at the ends of the gloves. I cast a normal repair on the ribbons as a whole, because there was almost nothing to them, then did both of the small bells that hung on her pigtail ribbons.

“Goddess Hestia? I've done what I could and I hope this makes you happy.” I said.

Hestia turned back to look at me, only to gasp and stare at what I had in my hands. “That... you...”

“I let the magic guide me to fix what was needed.” I said and handed her the bundles of cloth. “After we get some money tomorrow, we can go shopping and we'll buy you some other clothes, like nightclothes, and you only have to wear the dress when you leave home.”

“M-money? How?” Hestia asked.

“I'll find some cheap things like scrap weapons and repair them, then sell them for two or three times what I paid for them.” I said.

Hestia looked unsure. “Bell, isn't that... kind of dishonest?”

I shook my head. “I'll be getting it for cheap or even for free. Stuff that nobody wants or can't use. I'll see what I can do with it to fix it or alter it, then take it somewhere else to sell it.”

“You won't be selling it right back from where you bought it?”

“No, because they would recognize it and my secret would be out.” I said and then thought about it. “Maybe I could do some harvesting in the dungeon, too. I'm sure there are lots of poor or broken weapons that I can repair and bring back to sell.”

Hestia nodded. “That sounds more like an honest living than scavenging garbage and selling it at a marked up price.”

“Have you seen how much they charge for basic equipment at the market? It's a huge rip-off for new adventurers.” I said and she kind of shrugged. “I bet the Guild charges a high price for basic equipment that people have to pay off before they can get the higher payouts for crystals.”

“I wouldn't know. You're my first child.” Hestia said and looked a little sad.

I stepped close and cupped the side of her face with my hand. “Hey, don't make that face. It's not your fault that no one could see how valuable being a part of a new Familia is.”

“What... what do you mean?” Hestia asked.

“We all have to start somewhere, even the most powerful Familias started right where we are right now. With the first member being blessed.” I said and smiled as my thumb stroked her cheek. “So, let's make this the best damn Familia the world has ever seen!”

Hestia beamed a smile at me and nodded. I let her face go and went to the bathroom to quickly shower and returned to lay down on the couch that was designated as mine. I conjured a blanket for myself and tucked it up to my neck before I drifted off to sleep.