Walking out of the bushes while holding his stomach, Charlie hurriedly washed his hands by the lake.
"The last time I had to relieve myself in the forest was when I was on duty as an intelligence officer stationed in Papua, disguised as a captive of the Free Papua Movement."
In the anime Danmachi, there are scenes of characters bathing as fan service, but they never show defecation or urination scenes.
The real world and anime are very different. Charlie suddenly experienced diarrhea and was on the brink of desperation, leaving him with no choice but to relieve himself in the bushes.
"This is why I don't like the medieval era. Anime only depicts the good parts of living in this time, but they forget about the poor sanitation and the unsanitary behavior of medieval people."
Thinking about this, Charlie felt a headache coming on.
"Never mind, I'll think about this later."
After washing his hands, he returned home.
"Let's make breakfast for Goddess Hera."
Opening the door to another room slightly, Charlie saw that Hera was still sound asleep. After that, he went to the kitchen, and upon seeing the leftover ingredients, he was surprised to find rice.
"Interesting. It seems the Far East imports rice worldwide."
Since the setting of Danmachi is medieval Europe, he thought wheat was the staple food. It turns out he was wrong; rice is quite popular in this world.
The Far East is a country surrounded by water and has four distinct seasons. It is a large Familia-type country ruled by the Royal Court, with Amaterasu as the chief deity.
In short, the Far East is a country that interprets Japan in the real world, in terms of geography, culture, traditions, and so on.
"With these ingredients, I can make nasi goreng."
After thinking it over, Charlie chose a dish that was easy and quick to prepare. Then, he started cooking.
He admitted that cooking was challenging because he wasn't used to using primitive equipment.
There was no gas stove or electric stove; instead, he had to use firewood and a clay stove. Controlling the flame was quite challenging for him.
Charlie also didn't recognize the spices in the kitchen, so he had to taste them to compare with the ones he knew.
Usually, he could make nasi goreng in less than 30 minutes, but now it took him about an hour to cook because of the small issues he encountered.
"Done. This reminds me of the first time I learned to cook. Dinda even kicked me out of the kitchen for burning fried eggs."
"…"
Unconsciously thinking about his wife, Charlie looked gloomy.
Whatever he did, every action would always remind him of Dinda.
"Sigh... Let's wake up Goddess Hera."
Serving the nasi goreng on the dining table, Charlie went to the bedroom and knocked on the door.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Goddess Hera, I made breakfast from my hometown. Please wake up, or it will get cold and won't taste good."
"Mhm... Who is it...?"
A sleepy voice came from inside the room.
"I am your Familia member, Charlie Avalon."
In her dazed state after just waking up, Charlie considered Hera's behavior normal.
"Charlie...? Ah, I remember. Alright, wait for me at the dining table."
"Understood."
Sitting on a chair at the dining table, Charlie waited patiently.
Ten minutes later, Hera came in, still wearing her sleepwear, and then sat in the main chair.
"It smells good. This is the first time I've seen food like this, what is it called?"
"Nasi goreng. It's popular in my country because it's easy to make, cheap, and filling."
"So, this is food from another world. Let me try it."
Taking a spoon, Hera ate nasi goreng for the first time.
"How does it taste, Goddess Hera?"
Charlie wanted to hear the opinion of a goddess who had lived for hundreds of millions of years.
"Not bad." Commented Hera briefly.
She had tasted the best foods and drinks in Heaven, made directly by gods specializing in the culinary aspect.
For example, wine made by the God Soma and food cooked by the God Ukemochi.
Food in the lower world couldn't compare to food in Heaven; they were like comparing the sky and the earth.
"Glad to hear that."
Not disappointed by the lack of expected praise, Charlie also started eating.
They ate without speaking, as it was basic etiquette.
After finishing, Charlie gathered the dirty dishes on the table and took them to the kitchen to wash them.
After washing the dishes, he saw Hera sitting on the sofa.
"Goddess Hera, I would like to update my status."
"It's only been a day since you received Falna; there shouldn't be any change in your status."
"This morning while swimming in the lake, I was attacked by an Aqua Serpent. I was lucky enough to defeat it."
Knowing it was useless to lie in front of the gods, Charlie told the truth. Besides, he had no need to lie to his chief deity.
"Even though the Aqua Serpent in Lake Lolog isn't as strong as those in the Dungeon, it's not something a Level 1 adventurer can defeat. Forget it, you are an Otherworlder, plus you awakened two Skills and one Magic, so you can't be judged by normal standards."
Familia Hera was once the strongest Familia in Orario. Of course, Hera's insight was far more profound than that of the main god of small and medium Familia.
Normally, it would take a Level 3 adventurer or five Level 1 adventurers to kill an Aqua Serpent.
Looking at Charlie as if seeing a rough diamond that hadn't been polished, Hera was pleased to have a strong child with the potential to become a hero.
"Take off your shirt."
"Yes."
Removing his shirt without any shame, Charlie showed his back to Hera.
Hera took a needle from her clothing, pricked her finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto Charlie's back.
*FWOOSH*
The Sacred Text on Charlie's back moved erratically. Under Hera's control, his status was successfully updated.
"Just defeating one monster, and you gained a lot of Excelia? That makes sense. After all, you're only Level 1."
A slight surprise appeared in her eyes. Hera copied the status onto a parchment and translated it into a language understandable by lower world beings.
"This Is it."
"Thank you very much for fulfilling my selfish request, Goddess Hera."
Charlie eagerly looked at the parchment's contents.
______
Charlie Avalon
Level 1
Strength: I0 → I (98)
Endurance: I0 →I (99)
Dexterity: I0 → I (83)
Agility: I0 → I (80)
Magic Power: I0 → H (120)
Magic:
-[Spirit Art]
Skill:
-[The Chosen Savior]
-[Prodigy Swordsman]
______
"Just one battle and you earned 480 points. That's an astonishing number. Normally, an adventurer needs a week to accumulate that many points in the Dungeon."
"One of The Chosen Savior's abilities is to provide growth speed. It's stronger than I imagined."
Seeing no excitement on Charlie's face, Hera guessed he didn't understand the significance of the points he had gained.
"Then I need to kill more monsters to level up as quickly as possible."
For some reason, Charlie felt he would undergo significant changes when he reached Level 2.
"Your obsession with becoming stronger is good. But you can't keep fighting with your bare hands, right?"
Hera's question made Charlie realize.
The Aqua Serpent battle wasn't something he had initiated. If he had the chance to escape, he would have chosen to run without hesitation.
His previous victory could be considered luck.
Charlie wasn't a reckless person who fought without a plan and only relied on determination like a shounen manga protagonist. On the contrary, he had extraordinary mental fortitude. If not, the revenge in his previous life wouldn't have succeeded.