Chapter 4: listening is not impossible~
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The spacious field of vision encompassed the simple white cloth walls of the tent and the elegant figure of the blue-haired goddess sitting quietly beside him.
At that moment, fragments of Izzy's memories before he fainted began to resurface, especially the radiant blue light that overlapped with the image of the goddess before him.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
Back then... he was saved by the goddess Artemis? And now, he'd been brought back to her camp?
Although "picked up and taken home" might not be the most appropriate way to describe it, there wasn't much wrong with the sentiment either.
Izzy knew the goddess sitting before him. In fact, he knew her quite well, even though they had never met.
More than ten years ago, during a meteor shower in a remote village, Izzy had been reborn into this world as an infant, retaining the memories of his past life.
Before his reincarnation, Izzy had been an ordinary person with no particularly outstanding traits—unless having the same name as a popular character in a well-known game counted. His hobbies had been limited to watching anime and reading light novels.
Thanks to this, when Izzy was a child and heard stories about labyrinths, gods, and adventurers from a traveling bard, he quickly realized where he had ended up.
This world could only be Orario—the land of underground labyrinths, gods descended to earth, and adventurers seeking glory.
From that day forward, Izzy had dreamed of becoming an adventurer and experiencing the vibrant world he had loved so much.
Sixteen years had since passed, and the boy who had longed for Orario since childhood had finally persuaded his parents to let him embark on this journey.
At sixteen, he was considered an adult in this world, old enough to be independent. Moreover, his parents had always been reassured by his responsible nature, which made them confident he could take care of himself.
But the journey to Orario wasn't without its dangers. It wasn't long before Izzy found himself exchanging "gifts" with a pack of gray wolves—an encounter that quickly turned into a life-or-death chase.
And now, as fate would have it, he had been rescued by a goddess and brought to her camp, where he found himself… alone with Artemis?
To be honest, this wasn't just Izzy's fantasy.
It was his reality.
Sure, the goddess appeared lost in her own thoughts for now, but that didn't change the fact that they were alone together.
Not for long, though. As Izzy cautiously sat up, Artemis snapped out of her daze and noticed he was awake.
"Hmm? You're awake. How are you feeling? Do you feel unwell?"
Her soft, melodic voice carried a calm yet concerned tone. A faint smile graced her lips, but perhaps realizing the situation, she quickly tempered it.
"Thank you. I don't feel unwell, and I appreciate your help," Izzy replied sincerely.
Well, aside from the dull ache in his forehead...
Izzy wasn't too bothered by the pain—it was, after all, the area where he had been injured. His main concern was whether it would leave a scar. He cared quite a bit about maintaining his handsome appearance.
"You're welcome," Artemis replied with a nod. "But you should be more careful next time. It's very dangerous for ordinary people to venture into the forest alone. Where is your home? If it's along our path, we can escort you back."
Her tone was serious, her words well-meaning.
Izzy, however, froze at her suggestion.
Home?
He had spent the last three or four months traveling far from home, all for the sole purpose of reaching Orario. He wasn't about to turn back now—not when his dream was so close.
After all, he hadn't traveled this far just to give up. He had come to find a god, sign a contract, and become… well, not a monkey spirit, but an adventurer.
"You're actually going to send me back?"
For a moment, Izzy didn't know what to say. His brain had automatically dismissed the possibility that the goddess's camp might be along the way.
"What's wrong? Did I say something inappropriate?"
Noticing Izzy's reaction, Artemis tilted her head slightly, her emerald eyes filled with curiosity and concern.
"No, it's not your fault," Yize replied after a brief pause. "It's just… I left home because I wanted to become an adventurer, and now I'm heading to—"
"The labyrinth city of Orario?"
Before he could finish, the goddess had already guessed his destination.
"At the westernmost edge of the continent lies the center of the world, blessed by the gods…"
The phrase was nearly a cliché, heard countless times in bardic tales and adventure stories. While it held a grain of truth, reality was far harsher.
Many aspiring adventurers arrived in Orario only to find themselves stuck, unable to take their first steps without Falna.
But still… Artemis studied the boy before her more closely, her gaze thoughtful.
Are teenagers still so captivated by the idealized tales in books?
Probably.
"Um… Goddess, I think you might have misunderstood something," Izzy interjected, noticing her expression.
"Misunderstood?"
"Well, the way you were looking at me just now… it felt, uh, subtle."
"Ahem. You must be imagining things."
"..."
Izzy sighed inwardly. He was confident he hadn't imagined it, but what could he do? If a goddess denied something outright, there wasn't much room to argue.
"You're heading to Orario…" Artemis murmured, lifting a slender finger to rest against her chin in thought.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she turned her gaze back to Izzy. This time, her emerald eyes glimmered faintly, though her expression remained composed.
"Should I call this a coincidence, or just plain luck? My familia recently completed a dragon-hunting commission, and we're on our way back to Orario for repairs."
Izzy blinked, stunned. A small part of him already guessed where this was leading.
As expected, Artemis continued, "If you're willing to follow my instructions, I can take you with us."
"Really? Thank you so much, Goddess!"
Izzy straightened up, his face lighting up with excitement.
Traveling with a powerful familia would not only reduce the dangers of the journey but also solve one of his biggest problems: he didn't know the way!
To be fair, according to his father, Izzy's village wasn't as far from Orario as he had initially thought. Many bards had said that, if one followed a merchant caravan, it typically took about two months to reach the labyrinth city.
Yet somehow, Izzy had managed to nearly double that time.
He had begun his journey with a caravan, but about two weeks into the trip, a sudden monster attack had separated him from the group.
Since then, he had been traveling alone, stopping and starting intermittently.
Perhaps he had an uncanny grudge against forest-dwelling monsters, as he seemed to encounter them almost every time he passed through wooded areas. Goblins, earth spirits, stone golems—Izzy had faced them all.
Before even setting foot in Orario's dungeon, he had already experienced a fair share of fights.
His guiding principle had been simple: if he couldn't win, he'd run. But running blindly often meant losing his sense of direction entirely.
Looking back, his journey had been nothing short of chaotic.
'Ah… Just recounting it brings tears to my eyes!'