The Protagonist System

When I woke up in the morning, the blanket was bundled up at my feet and Hestia was on her back and was sprawled across me with her arms out to the sides and one leg hung off of the couch. I wasn't sure how she had managed to do that while asleep and still kept my arms wrapped around her.

I checked the invisible clock in my head and it was just past dawn again. I wondered if I was going to wake up every morning at the crack of dawn and it didn't bother me. If anything, I could get a huge head start on everyone else when I started dungeon diving. I just had a few things to do first... like cuddling an adorable Goddess that was using me like a comfortable bed.

That's what I did for about an hour and a half and then I moved around just enough to inadvertently wake up the sleeping goddess from her slumber. Hestia let out a groan sound, almost like she was protesting having to wake up, and rolled over on top of me.

Normally, I might have ignored that, except her nipples hardened and dug into my chest as her thigh rubbed my morning wood. It was quite the turn on, I had to admit, because she had done it so naturally that I couldn't tell if she was still asleep or not. That took talent that I didn't think a virgin goddess should have had.

In order to test that, I eased my hold on her and lightly ran my fingertips along her back and brushed the top of her ass. She stilled slightly and then relaxed, so I knew she was playing me a little. I wasn't going to let her get away with that, so I slid my hand down to hold the cheek of her perky ass. I gave it a good squeeze and Hestia let out a little moan.

“You know we can't go too much further than this.” I whispered.

Hestia's thigh rubbed me again. “I... I know, but...”

“The term 'flirting with danger' definitely applies here.” I told her.

“I...” Hestia stopped talking and sighed as she pulled her leg back. “You're right. I'm sorry.”

“I'm not.” I said and she lifted her head from my chest to give me wide eyes. “I am currently cuddling in bed with a beautiful Goddess and I have her very firm and perky happiness in my hand.”

Hestia giggled. “You are never letting that joke die, are you?”

“Never ever.” I said and moved my hands to her hips, which was the safest place for them to touch.

Hestia shook her head and very carefully sat up on me. She knew our crotches were almost perfectly lined up and neither of us wanted her to make a mistake that she would regret for the rest of her life. She looked down at my face and I let her see the desire I felt for her. When my eyes went to her breasts, she didn't try to cover them up or stopped me from looking.

“Absolutely heavenly.” I commented and looked back at her face.

Hestia blushed and bit her lip.

“And now you're also adorable.” I said and removed my hands from her hips to let her go.

“Everyone I know makes fun of them.” Hestia admitted and climbed off of me.

“That's because Envy is a green eyed monster eating them up inside and they wish they had half of the bounty you carry so well.” I said and sat up.

“H-how can you say that?” Hestia asked and turned away from me.

“Because of the nickname they gave you. Only hate-filled envious people would ever call you that, either behind your back or to your face.” I stood up and hugged her from behind.

“B-Bell.” Hestia whispered.

“No, I won't tell you where I heard it, because it doesn't matter. All you need to know is that your breasts, as perfect as they are, do not define you as a person.” I said and bent down to kiss her cheek. “Otherwise, you would be running Ishtar's prostitute empire instead of her.”

Hestia stiffened for a few seconds, then she started giggling, then laughing.

“That's right. If you were her height, just over a foot taller, your breasts would be twice the mass of hers and she would be shamed into submission.”

Hestia laughed and laughed. “I would be... toppling over... all day!”

“You would never be off your back, they would be so heavy.” I joked and she kept laughing.

I led her over to her clothes cabinet and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. With all the groceries we had bought, there was a huge choice of what to make. I went with eggs and sausages and quickly cooked them up.

Hestia walked over to me and she wore a very nice blue dress that was slinkier than her white one and was both longer and had sleeves. It covered her up well and she was wearing a tube top under it to keep her breasts secured and more hidden. There would be no popping nipples for anyone else to see today.

“Bell, thank you for what you said.” Hestia said as she accepted a plate of food. “This smells great.”

I handed her a towel as well and we sat on opposite couches to eat. “I'll see about making or finding a table for us today when I'm out.”

Hestia looked around the square room and back at me, clearly asking me where we would put it.

“I need room to work on my armor and things, so I'm going to the Guild to ask where I can get a pick, a shovel, and an axe for chopping wood or just strong pillars of wood.” I explained.

“Can't you just...” Hestia waved her hand and then pointed at the towel on her lap.

I shook my head. “I've got a pretty good feeling for what I can create and the size and complexity. Anything too detailed or too large will cause magical backlash.” I said and nodded at her boots. “A tall wooden pillar or ceiling brace would be a lot more than 99 points to create from nothing. It will be easier for me to get the wood first and reinforce it with magic instead.”

“The tools, too?” Hestia asked.

“I might get away with creating a basic hammer, assuming the metal isn't too costly or rare. I also don't want to make it too weak to use effectively.” I shrugged. “I'll play with my magic later and find out what I can and can't do at the lowest level. For now, I'll price the tools I need and then worry about it.”

Hestia nodded and we finished off breakfast. I took the dishes to the sink and dropped them off to wash later. She gave me an expectant look and I chuckled as I opened my arms for her. I caught her when she jumped and settled her into a proper princess carry and carried her up the stairs. She opened and closed the secret door for us and we left the ruined church behind.

I ran full out and soon dropped off a giggling Hestia in front of the shop with plenty of time to spare for her shift. She tried to hand me what little money she had left and I had already taken out what little I had and tried to give it to her as well. Our hands met a bit forcefully and the money jangled together. We exchanged amused looks and then laughed.

“I'll sell one of my mechanical timers or something to the Guild for some quick cash, so get yourself a nice lunch. Please.” I said.

Hestia sighed and accepted all of the money and put it into her own little money pouch. “I feel like I'm taking food from your mouth, Bell.”

I shook my head as I knelt on a knee to look at her, eye to eye. “My Goddess Hestia, we are just starting out. We don't have much, that's true. That is not going to be true for long. I promise.”

Hestia looked into my eyes and nodded as she gained a determined look. “You're right, Bell. We're working hard to make our Familia better. We will be better. We will be strong. We will be powerful. We will eat whatever we want!”

I chuckled and nodded. “Go inside and make everyone be in awe of your magnificence, my Goddess.”

“I will.” Hestia said and beamed a smile at me, turned around, and entered the shop with her head held high and a hop in her step.

I stood and watched as she started her shift, smiled at how happy she was, and walked towards the Guild Hall. I was sure they were open, since adventurers didn't really have a set time that they worked. That thought made me wonder if the guild workers had to work extra-long shifts to maintain everything for all of the adventurers in the city.

I reached the building and entered it, only to pause and glanced around to see if Eina was there. I saw her brown hair and pointed ears sitting at her desk behind the counter. A pink-haired human girl was manning the counter today.

“Hi, there.” I said and the girl perked up when I approached the counter. “I need some advice, so can you ask if Eina is busy?”

“Just a second and I'll check.” The pink-haired girl said and turned around to lean against the counter as she cupped her hands around her mouth. “HEY, EINA! YOUR SEXY CLIENT IS HERE LOOKING FOR YOU!”

All of the workers jumped at the yell and the few adventurers in the hall started laughing. Eina looked thoroughly embarrassed as she stood and walked over to the counter, which was the pink-haired girl's intention.

I wasn't going to let that stand, not with so many witnesses around. I stepped close to her and bent over into a deep bow as I took her hand to kiss it. “Lady Tulle, I sincerely apologize for bothering you at work so early this morning. Please ignore the actions of the riff-raff that are beneath your attention.”

That made all of the workers gasp, especially the pink-haired girl, and Eina's blush of embarrassment increased.

“May I request a short amount of your time?” I asked. “I have some questions that I hope you can answer or tell me where to go to get the answers I need.”

Eina nodded and held my hand as she led me over to one of the small private areas. “Bell...”

“I know what I said was a bit too much to counter Pinky's yell to get your attention.” I interrupted her before she could tell me the same thing. “That was kind of the point.”

Eina looked conflicted and then chuckled. “I did like the look on her face when you said I should ignore her.” She said and waved for me to sit.

I smiled and sat across from her at the small table. “She might think twice about trying to embarrass you in the future.”

“I can only hope.” Eina said and her amusement faded as she put a serious look on her face. “What questions do you have for me to advise you on?”

I did my spiel about needing digging tools and wooden supports for walls and ceilings, because I wanted to dig out a room for a basement without collapsing the structure above, and maybe wood cutting tools to gather the wood myself outside the city.

Eina listened to what I wanted to do and she nodded when I was done. “We do have some lesser blacksmiths that make tools like that, only...” She sighed. “You know that the local economy is geared towards adventurers?”

I nodded. “That means the scale of prices are higher because they have to compete for customers.”

“Yes, and picks, shovels, and axes can be used in the dungeons.” Eina said.

I opened my mouth to ask about what normal people buy and realized she meant that everyone paid the higher price if they wanted the same tools. “Well, damn. They're much bigger than a basic dagger.”

Eina reached across the table and patted my hand. “I can recommend a good place for you to check the prices on your own.”

I nodded and she wrote the address down and the directions to hand to me. “Thank you for the help.”

Eina smiled at me. “You could thank me by bringing me more stew later.”

I chuckled. “We're down to a third of a pot and it's still delicious, so I need to make something else to replace it soon.”

Eina gave me a questioning look. “What do you have in mind?”

“I recently made a huge amount of spaghetti and meatballs from scratch for the Loki Familia and they loved it.” I said and her eyes widened so far that her glasses slid off of her face and onto her lap. “Then again, the smell of simmering sauce might keep my stomach growling. Maybe I'll do up a nice pot roast and slice it into thin pieces to make a bunch of sandwiches?”

Eina's mouth watered and she had to clamp her lips shut to hide it.

“Whatever I make, I'll be sure to bring some of it here for you to try.” I promised.

“Thank you, Bell.” Eina said and licked her lips, then she gave me another questioning look. “I promised myself yesterday that the next time I saw you, I would ask if you had anything else weird or odd to sell.”

I created a mechanical timer and took it out of my pants pocket to show her. “This is a mechanical timer that I use when I'm cooking to keep track of things. It has a bunch of settings that go from a single minute up to one hour.”

I only had to wind it slightly to show that it didn't take any power source to use and explained that it was a coiled spring inside and it counted down the hour perfectly. I set it for a minute, the first click, and a minute later it clicked and rang the little bell inside.

Eina seemed to have frozen as she stared at the thing. I honestly didn't think it was that interesting; but, I wasn't an experienced Guild employee that dealt with adventurers every day bringing in all kinds of things for them to deal with.

“Twenty.” Eina whispered as she managed to slip her glasses back on. “I'll give you twenty for it.”

That was really low, even for a novelty item. I sighed in resignation and nodded, because she had bought those three thermos from me without knowing what she could do with them.

Eina held a hand out for the timer and I gave it to her. She stood and gave me a very pointed look, then she held her hand out again. I stood as I took the offered hand and she didn't shake it. She pulled on it instead and led me out of the small private space and over to the exchange area. She had a harsh whispered talk to the guy working behind the desk.

The guy almost glared at me and Eina hissed a whispered word again and pointed below the desk. The guy sighed and nodded, Eina signed the paperwork for the payout, and put the timer into a velvet-lined wooden box that she had gotten from somewhere. I hadn't seen where, because I was a little distracted.

Instead of the 20 valis I thought she offered, the guy behind the counter piled more and more valis onto the top of the desk. More and more was piled and my eyes almost hurt at how much was there.

“There you go, sir.” The guy said, his voice strained. “It's all there.”

I just stared at it and didn't speak.

“It really is all there, Bell. All 20,000 valis.” Eina said.

I almost choked on my spit. When she had said twenty, I never once thought she meant thousand!

“Let me help you put it in your pouch.” Eina said and she did exactly that.

By the time we were done, even though the pouch had the expansion enchantment, it bulged.

“Sign here.” Eina said and I signed the receipt. “If you have another one of them, you are not allowed to give it away or sell it to anyone else. The guild owns it now.”

I nodded several times, easily agreeing with that. “I have one for personal use, that's it.”

Eina nodded and led me over to the guild's front door. “Be careful out there, Bell. If people knew how much you had on you...”

“I won't tell anyone.” I promised and I noticed something. She looked nervous. I didn't want her thinking about how much she had just spent of the Guild's money, so I turned to face her. Her eyes met mine and her nervousness was replaced by surprise.

“W-wait...” Eina whispered as I put my arms around her.

I ignored her weak protest and kissed her passionately. There were several surprised sounds from all across the Guild Hall and I ignored them as well. I had to kiss the woman that had given me enough money to do what I wanted without having to worry about the cost.

“Thank you very much, Eina.” I whispered when I broke the kiss.

Eina's face was bright red and she looked shell-shocked.

I let her out of the embrace I had her in and took her hand. I bent over it and kissed it. “You have been extremely helpful to me today, Lady Tulle. Much more than I ever expected.” I let her hand go and stood up. “I hope you have a great day.”

“Y-y-you, too.” Eina said.

I nodded and left the Guild Hall to go to that tool maker and decided that wood might not be the best choice to use for walls underground. Stone blocks would be much easier to get and use and could be stacked to make pillars to hold up the ceiling. All I would need are a few wood beams for braces. I smiled as I took out the paper with the directions on it and started to run.