Probably, some of the things discussed in this chapter may be addressed in the next volume of danmachi that'll release next year, but we can't wait for that, can we?
I had to make some things, but I tried to make them believable, of course, as always, I'll be open to changes later.
Peace!
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/Several hours later…/
/Creak…/
"That was good, perhaps I should try some of those hot springs in the Dungeon... If I find any..."
'Silver opened the door of his bathroom, leaving with a towel hanging on his waist.'
'He had a relaxed expression, yawning slightly as his hand vanished as it entered a dark hole in the air, coming back with a small cup of juice.'
"A small nap would be perfect right now... But I have a lot to do."
"Sigh..."
I always have something to do these days...
No... Wasn't it always like that?
'He walked slowly to his wardrobe, opening it with a vacant gaze.'
"Hum… I won't be doing anything formal… But I guess it would be disrespectful to treat this too casually, especially since…"
I'll be meeting with a God I've never seen before.
Not like I've kept this formality that strictly, but at least this one time I'll try.
'Silver grabbed a nice pair of brown pants and a shirt, nothing fancy but it was good enough.'
'When you had a chiseled body, many styles just became that much better...'
'He checked the time on his pocket watch, about 10 minutes until their agreed time...'
"It's enough time." He said with a yawn
After I'm done with him, I'll look for a few merchants around Orario to sell my items.
Long were my days of selling to the Guild, enough of losing money to taxes.
Especially now that I'll start to venture into the Lower floors, and if I were to sell to the Guild, I would literally lose tens of Millions just from Tax every time.
No can do.
The only problem would be haggling with the merchants, since I'm a new customer, they'll probably try to press me down...
Albeit it would likely still be higher than the Guild.
"I could sell a portion to Miach but that is all..."
Hephaestus won't really buy my products at a high price, only if I sell her things that can only be found on the Lower floors and below.
Higher quality materials that are difficult to acquire.
"Hum..."
My progress has been much faster than I expected, who knows? At this speed, I might very well clear my debt within this year.
Perhaps then... I can ask her to make me something else?
...
"This should be all." Silver said as he looked around
'After checking everything, he walked outside, greeting the people on his way before leaving the Manor, entering an alley, and disappearing.'
'Silver had considered bringing Hestia with him despite what he was about to do since he wanted her to understand his choices and be there in case something bad happened...'
'But she went to Babel to work for Hephaestus…'
'She said that she wanted to do something, no matter how little it was.'
"I told her to try and help Haruhime in the Manor, but she's so stubborn…" He mumbled to himself as he kicked a small stone nearby
In truth, she simply doesn't want to work as a maid, nor would it be proper anyway.
Perhaps having her mind full of work while being near Hephaestus is for the best.
At least the other girls have some sense of responsibility, helping Haruhime clean and cook, even I help with my abilities.
'Silver looked around, thinking.'
Anyway, I'm here.
'He looked at the coffee shop with a small smile.'
No need to draw attention, I'll just...
'However, he didn't enter through the conventional ways, instead, he teleported inside the third floor, immediately noticing how empty it was.'
'There were only 2 people on this large floor, a couple of sitting on a table, the people he came here to meet.'
/Thud thud thud.../
'A relaxed blond man, and a long dark-haired lady that seemed too energetic as she kept using the table like a drum.'
"Is he coming?" She asked
'The man's expression didn't change, he kept inclined onto the chair, his hat on top of his face as he tried to rest...'
'He lifted his hat to speak, saying:'
"I told you 16 times already... We are early... He should be here on time."
"Instead, I told you there was no need to rush."
"But I was so eager to meet him!"
"... Sigh."
'Hermes seemed tired, but he just let the girl play and waste her unending childish energy as trying to stop her would be nothing but lost effort.'
'But his eyes darted to the side, taking a look at the man that slowly approached them.'
"Oh? He's here." Hermes said with a smile as he saw Silver
Finally! Freedom!
"Really?!" The girl exclaimed as she turned around to face Silver
"..."
As expected…
'Silver felt his heart stop for a moment, but the little guy went back to normal soon after.'
'The girl was extremely beautiful, no... He already knew that before she had even turned around.'
'The aura of a Goddess, and it didn't take much for him to think what type she was...'
'Her black hair flowing down onto her shoulder, and her golden eyes akin to the yellow sun, seemingly glowing in faint light…'
'She had a certain charismatic aura around her, glowing faintly, making people feel relaxed and… Happy, perhaps that was an illusion, one caused by her Divine presence.'
'Or perhaps because she was a God, or simply because she was that happy…'
"??..."
'She suddenly climbed onto her chair and jumped!'
'Her red dress flew in the wind elegantly as she made her way to Silver.'
"?!..."
'Time started to slow down as Silver pondered over what to do...'
'What should he do towards this flying goddess?'
"YAY!" She exclaimed as she fell on top of Silver
'In the end, he caught her in a princess carry.'
"..."
What's up with this girl?...
It's overwhelming… She's very light as well, albeit considerably heavier than Hestia...
Is it because of her height? She's rather tall.
'Silver grabbed the Goddess, but now, he was confused about what to do.'
"#!!"
"Kicho! Calm down!" Hermes said as he got up from his seat in a hurry, his hat almost falling
"How can I?! Hey hey! I've long been wanting to meet you!" She said, staring at Silver's eyes
"They do glow! Like the moon!"
"Is… Is that so?"
Does she know me?
I mean, it isn't strange... Hermes must've said who she was meeting and why, and that must've given her enough time to process that...
I'm also a bit famous, albeit most wouldn't recognize me at first, a few with exceptional memory can, there was indeed a period in the Guild where my profile drawing was hung on the Guild's walls so people could learn a bit more about who the record holder was...
Albeit I asked them to take it down not long after.
Besides, she being here means she's trustworthy, Hermes wouldn't risk involving such people with my personal matters, especially one I asked out of favor.
But wanting to meet me?... Did I ever meet her before by chance?
She's not the kind of person I would forget...
'She nodded quickly.'
"You're making him confused... Please... Explain to him what you mean..." Hermes said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead
I don't think anything bad would happen, he isn't that kind of guy, but if he gets a bit suspicious I may suffer slightly...
"Oh!"
"You saved several of my Children some time ago, and ever since the War game, I've been wanting to meet you!"
'Silver raised an eyebrow.'
So that was why, even now, the result of my actions in the past...
I knew not everything had been resolved, but I didn't expect there still be people that liked her and wanted to meet me.
People that I saved on a whim on the Upper floors... They do account for something.
There was a time when I meet some of the people I saved at a bar as I explored Orario, and they paid for a few drinks, it was good to see that they were doing fine.
Still...
"It's not like where I live is a secret, you could've just…"
'She placed her two hands on her cheeks, flushing.'
"KYA! I can't visit a boy's home just like that!"
"..."
"..."
'Silver looked at Hermes, and he looked at Silver with an apologetic smile.'
"I'm sorry for this man, she's just like that… Even in Heaven, she used to be a pain…"
She and Apollo used to live near each other, the latter trying to approach her several times but failing each time.
In the end, their... 'Exaggerated' personalities matched and they became friends, annoying many for as long as I can remember.
'The Goddess seemed really offended.'
"A PAIN?! You're the one too stuck up with your things, your eyes are sharper than your nails!" She said as she rolled her eyes
"S... Stuck up?..." Hermes muttered to himself
Am I really like that?
I'll ask Asfi later.
(Not a good idea)
'But she quickly focused her attention back on Silver.'
"Thank you for saving my children." She said with a nod in an oddly formal tone
'But the situation didn't look formal at all as she was still being carried like a princess.'
"Well… How about we first introduce ourselves?" Silver asked awkwardly
Although she's very beautiful, she acts more like an overly excited fangirl…
She's one of those girls... They can be either very nice people or very annoying.
This makes her feel younger than she actually looks, and that may be why I don't find her attractive.
Doesn't change the fact she's beautiful though… And soft…
"OH! How could I forget that? Te-he!" She said cutely
"..."
"..."
'Silver looked at Hermes with a dark expression while the latter just begged him to be patient…'
…
'After a little more empty conversation, the Goddess finally rested her foot onto the ground, saying:'
"Kichijoten!" She said as she raised her arms up high with her back towards the window
"..."
"..."
/Silence…/
"I… I see. A pleasure to meet you."
This girl… She's... Amusing.
Although it seems Hermes finds her extremely annoying.
/Cough!/
'Hermes coughed, continuing her talk:'
"Her name is Kichijoten, Goddess of Happiness and Beauty."
"As her appearance and name may suggest, she's from the far East in order to... Spread Happiness and make money."
"She arrived in Orario around… Mumph?!"
'Kichijoten suddenly blocked Hermes' mouth, saying:'
"Mo?! Don't you know that it's bad to say a lady's age?" She said with a pout
"I…"
I wasn't even going to say that… Are you worried that he may look at you as old?
You are old though! Several thousand years old!
That isn't even secretive information!
"Now that you say…" Silver mumbled as he looked at her
It does look very reminiscent of what I know…
Her clothes and manner of speaking, it's very formal, they resemble Take and his children.
Albeit in his case, Take's clothes are... Poor. Her's are more akin to royalty and fancy with a mix of gold and red, purple and blue.
I should've paid more attention.
'She was using a fancy red Kimono that was more like a dress as it went all the way to the ground, and despite it scraping against it, it wasn't dirty in the least.'
'Her Kimono was full of golden details, mixed with a bit of purple, red, and blue.'
'On top of her head were two golden pins on her hair that together, made her seem as if she was wearing a small tiara.'
"Cough… Well, apart from that, her Familia is rather small, but I don't think that matters…"
"I have 13 children, 9 Level 1s, 2 Level 2s, and 2 Level 3s! One is very close to Level 4!" She said proudly
"That's quite good." Silver agreed
This means I should've saved one of the Level 1s, perhaps their party?
"Don't agree with her!" Hermes exclaimed
…
/Later.../
'After a bit more useless talk, they sat down on the table again, Hermes now looked more tired than before.'
'But Silver was rather amused.'
"Let's start this before I go insane…" Hermes said
Did I make the wrong choice bringing her here?
'He raised his hand in Kicho's direction, asking:'
"Why don't you start explaining what a Charm is?"
"Hummmmm…" She said pensively
"Charm is… An intrinsic ability all Goddess of Beauty have." She said in a rare serious tone
"Even after we sealed our powers, this ability couldn't because it isn't entirely under our control as it's more of a side effect of our Arcanum."
"The same happened to many other Gods, you can't remove a God of Death's ability to see Souls, nor can you remove a God of Nature's ability to draw in animals and hasten crop growth."
"In a sense… It is possible to take off your clothes to enter a pool, but is it possible to take off an arm?"
"..."
"Or the question should be… Is it sensible?" She asked herself
"..."
'Hermes was mouth opened, he couldn't believe how serious she was being…'
"Alright, in that case, what are the scopes of it?" Silver asked slowly
From an interesting perspective, perhaps the Charm ability can be sealed, but not without some sort of harmful backlash.
Perhaps it's more harmful than neutral, hence, the Gods simply choose to keep it since they're in the mortal world for fun, and not to suffer.
In the end, this goes into the very nature of an Arcanum, and I know very well, if I were to ask what is an Arcanum, no one would be able to answer me.
"Don't know." She said plainly
"..."
"Each Goddess is different, their Charms can vary, their powers in different scales."
"Kicho… He's asking if there are restrictions or limits…"
"OHHHH! I made a mistake... Te-he..."
"Don't know." She said plainly once again
"..."
"..."
'Hermes looked at Silver, but seeing the later calm, he calmed as well.'
"For the same reason really, each Goddess is different from each other."
"So let me tackle this question through another perspective." Silver said with a small smile
"If someone was charmed…"
"Can you protect yourself against it? How can you free someone from a charm? And is it possible to realize you've been charmed?"
"For that, I may be of help." Hermes said with a smile
If it goes on like this, he'll learn nothing from this, and I'll feel bad.
I myself am very interested in knowing if he can actually resist it... And what he intends to do with the final result.
Just for my morbid curiosity.
"For your last question, I can say with certainty that it's almost impossible for a normal person to realize they've been charmed unless an extreme situation happens."
"Gods can somewhat feel that depending on the situation, but most wouldn't mind as they are... Simps." Hermes said after a lot of thought
"..."
'Silver remained silent.'
(N1)
"A goddess Charm isn't mind control, but more akin to a very powerful form of suggestion and coercion."
"To make someone abide by you as if you were the closest person to them... As if you were their everything and that was the norm of things."
"That seems like mind control to me." Silver retorted
"You don't quite understand, mind control is intrusive, Charm is... Natural, it is only natural for a mortal to follow God's will..."
"Sometimes, the Charmed can be very well aware that he/she were indeed charmed, but will still do what the Charmer wants."
"Similar to a Mind-controlled person who would do things completely against their will... They can still do, but the limit of such actions is relatively smaller."
"Since in a situation where they are put under extreme stress, the Charm could break on its own." Hermes said as he lifted his index finger
"Albeit several things could happen after that… And also, the chances of the charm breaking go down with time."
"The longer you are charmed, the lower the chances of the charm breaking."
"Of course, at any given time the Goddess could stop the charm or reinforce it."
"Another Goddess could outpower the charm, and cancel it afterward, freeing the person from their grasp…"
"Many things can happen." Hermes replied with a shrug
'Kicho nodded at his words before saying:'
"I don't think there are any ways to protect yourself from such a Charm unless you are an adventurer."
"Regardless of it all, being high Level is the only solution I can blurt out… Sorry." She said apologetically
"No, it's okay, this is plenty." Silver said with a smile
But not what I wanted…
This means I'll have to be extra careful.
"Alright, there's only one last thing I would like you to do for me." Silver said deeply
I considered this many times, but Hermes is sufficiently trustworthy.
So I'm willing to let myself…
"Alright! I've been waiting for this!" Hermes said with a small smile
'He took out several objects from a small bag, and put them all on the table behind Silver.'
"It's simple, take a good look at these items and memorize them."
"After that, Kicho will Charm you and tell you to forget about it, and after that, she'll ask what is on the table behind you."
"Normally, after she stops, you would remember what she did while you were charmed, but not in this case."
"We'll be able to measure how effective it was based on that. Are you okay with that?" Hermes asked
"... Yes."
My Level isn't particularly high, so I don't expect it to help much.
It may be enough for it, coupled with my mental fortitude to make me resist the natural charm of these Goddesses, but if they actively use it on me?
Let's see, this is only a test after all, but if I fail here…
I'll not be able to allow myself to even meet with Ishtar in the future.
"Is everyone ready then? If so…"
"Wait a…"
/Flash…/
'Kichijoten's golden eyes flashed, and Silver couldn't help but… Be drawn into them…'
'Would he be able to resist being Charmed?'
…
/At the same time in the entertainment district.../
'A naked Goddess could be seen updating the blessing of one of her children...'
"Hum... As expected..." Ishtar said with a pleased smile
The number of Level 4's under my command has just doubled.
'With a thin smile, she gazed outside towards a distant Tower...'
This time, I won't fail.
'She licked her lips in delight.'
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Notes
N1
Actually, Gods are similar to us, the readers.
They have terms and a way of speaking that's pretty similar to ours.
For example, they understand that the names they give to the children are wacky, cringe, and Chunibyo in a sense.
But the people of this world don't have a concept of 9th-grade syndrome...
So sometimes, they'll use terms that don't really make sense, but to Silver, he can somewhat understand what they mean.