Upgrades Chapter 6 (Patreon)

You know... Taking in her form I realized something. This girl looked to be homeless or something honestly, and if she was clean of Soma's wine influence then it made sense she didn't have much contact with her Familia.

"I decided," I said suddenly as finished looting the gear and money off the corpses of the other pallums and what maybe have been an undeveloped dwarf or maybe a pallum with particularly thick facial stubble.

The girl flinched at me looking at her but regardless I continued. "I am not going to kill you, after you surrendered but..." I drew off and seeing me draw off she inhaled in relief and nodded and before I could continue my warning that went along the lines of. 'If I see you again you won't walk away.'

But before I could continue she spoke. "I understand... Pallums and thus myself are well used to being at the bottom rung of society, I will obey if you share a living expense with me if I act as your supporter and bedwarmer." She whispered with a flush coming to her cheeks.

I just stared at the blond like she was absolutely fucking crazy... 'Did I land in the hentai version of Danmachi?' I couldn't help but think before I froze as certain whispers among the people of Orario came to mind and then I remembered when I was talking to Tsubaki. She was so dismissive of Loki and Freya's Familia.

I heard people on the street mentioning the Hera and Zeus Familia in passing, but I never paid attention because I thought they were irrelevant with them having been disbanded for years. But now it seems that wasn't the case, and her offering made more sense as before Finne Dieme and the quintuple Pallum brothers of Freya's Familia became powerful famous heroes. Pallums were thought of as less than trash with how they had zero racial bonus's like the other races did.

Literally, the Pallums were the red-headed stepchild of the mortal races as no gods claimed them, nor blessed them over the countless millennia before the gods came down. There was a reason Finn was called the 'Light of the Pallum race'

So... Do I accept the downtrodden Pallum supporter who may get used like a cock sock?

Wordlessly I handed over a healing potion I had previously fused to her. "Drink," I said with a sigh. "If you are going to carry my burden... Actually, if you are going to be plucking the monster stones for me, you are going to need to be able to move and my name is Jake Barris of the Hephaestus Familia." I said dully as I realized I actually didn't need her much at all when I had my fusion inventory.

'I can't even make her into a Lydia packmule... But an auto looter will be nice.' I thought sardonically as she took the glowing healing potion with her eyes widening as she was well aware the potion was a higher tier one than little level one adventurers should have. "Drink," I stated sternly and she shivered and within a moment she drank the vial of red glowing potion while I patted her head while we both stiffened. Her for me being affectionate at all... And me because her fair was dirty from probably living on the streets.

"So what's your name anyway," I asked as her stomach bruises healed up, with the boot print visibly fading away.

Her admittedly nice green eyes stared up at me she responded unsurely. "Uhh, my name is Tina... No last name due to being an orphan." She said simply and my lips twitched at that tidbit before I pushed the thought down as I spoke again.

"I see... Well, in any case, you can have this spear, goblins, and kobolds unless they are in a large group won't be too much of an issue." I said with some confidence, as I was honestly right. Goblins weren't even five feet tall, with rail-thin arms and Kobolds were only a bit taller and faster but they had wolf heads that could bite pretty hard.

But still, the only two types of monsters on the first level were rather easily dealt with so long as you were prepared and most importantly didn't let them control your movements or land a lucky blow to your neck or head. Thankfully with the plated chainmail I was wearing, I had a good defense against such things.

Not even a minute as the two of us walked deeper into the first floor, we came across a small trio of goblins that were eating and tearing apart the corpse of a small body and I heard Tiny behind me sigh at the sight while I silently took out the oversized heavy crossbow I reloaded earlier and with a loud thunking noise the bolt got shot outwards and the bolt made a sudden wet crunching noise as I heard it ram into spine of the goblin I aimed at.

Then as the other two goblins whirled around and rushed at us I took out my Leviathan Axe and threw it into another goblin and then used the Goblin Slayer spear and rammed its wide pointed spear end through the last goblin's chest audibly crushing its ribs as the spear's blade broke them as it tore through the goblins lungs and heart before that goblin poofed into smoke as I had broken the goblins finger tailed sized monster stone making me internally curse as nothing was left behind.

"Well, that's annoying," I muttered as I absent-mindedly stabbed the anti-goblin spear through the still-breathing form of the goblin, and using the spear I pinned the struggling and screaming goblin into the ground to let the spear drink the goblin's blood.

Seeing the goblin visibly sink in on itself and become an emaciated corpse I could feel my body absorbing the vitality the spear shared with me and although it was a disgusting and scary sight I heard Tina approach me as she held up the single monster stone she got from the other goblin I killed with the Leviathan Axe. "Is that a cursed weapon or a skill of yours?" She questioned before freezing and looking at me fear as she herself realized she overstepped.

For a moment I considered telling her to mind her own business or getting mean or even explaining but I just shrugged and said flatly. "Something like that..." And she hurriedly nodded obviously relieved hearing me not give her any trouble for her overextension, and as I held the spear by its rougher fur-like handle I could feel it vibrate as though to tell me it was drinking and it truly was.

As when Tiny cut open the corpse of the goblin, there wasn't a single drop of blood that seeped from the wound cut into its stomach for her to reach into its chest cavity to pull out the monster stone. If anything Tina looked happy she didn't have to wipe any blood or remains off her leather gloves so I took that as a plus.

After killing a dozen more goblins and a couple of kobolds and I decided to ask Tina some questions. As who better than a street rat would know of Orario? "So, beyond your racism for the people that don't call the cupboard under the stairs a mansion, how is the Orario, and where do you live." I asked jokingly and I honestly thought she would get mad a bit but instead she tilted her head to the side as she spoke in confusion.

"Uhh, I live in an apartment in the alleys of the Daedalus... Actually, the apartment was the house part of an outhouse that was stolen and moved there so thankfully my apartment has good ventilation." She said with a smile and I literally just looked at her in dumbfounded silence.

I raised a finger to say something along the lines of an outhouse was no house at all... But actually, I had seen some actual outhouses that were the size of a decent bathroom and this was Danmachi or a fantasy land where modern conveniences like powered stuff was for the middle class and up. So with a decent haul of a dozen corpses stuffed into my fusion space along with some other materials I decided it was time to head on back home.

"So..." I drawled getting Tina's attention as I led her back to the steps that led back up to Orario. "Yeah, I am taking you home, and getting you cleaned up before I do... Any of what you offered." I said with a wry smile and she flushed at the realization that I was going to take her up on her previous offer.