บท 13: Secret Room

"As witnessed by Goddess Hera, I'm poor. I can't even afford equipment, let alone food."

Except for the clothes on his back, Charlie had nothing.

"Take this, use it to buy new clothes. You're a member of Hera Familia, not a beggar."

Hera casually tossed a pouch filled with money onto the table.

"There's a hundred thousand valis in there; buy yourself some decent clothes. As for equipment, let's discuss that after you've finished buying new clothes."

"Thank you, Goddess Hera."

Charlie took the money from the table without hesitation. There was no point in trying to act cool when you're poor.

After that, he headed outside. His destination was the commercial street.

Yesterday, he had gone around and memorized all the important places. After all, Menel City wasn't a large city.

"So, this is valis..."

Examining the coin in his hand, Charlie put it back in his pocket.

Valis is the standard currency in the world of Danmachi. With the money he had, he could only afford cheap equipment, but his goal was just to buy casual clothing.

Choosing a random clothing store, he was greeted by a female clerk who served him with enthusiasm.

If there were cell phones in this world, the clerk would probably ask for his contact number.

This is the privilege of good-looking people; they receive better treatment than those with ordinary or even unattractive appearances.

"I'll buy this one. Can I wear it right away?"

"Of course, please go ahead."

Taking the shirt and pants to the fitting room, Charlie put on the new clothes he had chosen.

"Sigh... I have to admit, no matter what clothes a handsome person wears, they still look good."

In the fitting room, there was a mirror for customers to check themselves.

His favorite color was white, so Charlie chose a plain white long-sleeved shirt and white pants. The all-white outfit, paired with his naturally white hair, gave him a pure and sacred look.

"It feels like cosplay, but there's no discomfort at all."

Touching his smooth and soft hair, it was hard to believe that the man in the mirror was a real-life version of an anime character.

"Don't keep Goddess Hera waiting."

Picking up his old clothes from the floor, Charlie paid the bill.

The clothes were made of ordinary cotton, not monster materials, so they weren't expensive, costing only thirty thousand valis.

Next, Charlie went to a shoe store and bought a pair of leather shoes for three thousand valis.

Perhaps due to his frugal habits from his previous life, he didn't spend the rest of the money Hera had given him.

"This feels uncomfortable... Maybe this is how celebrities feel when walking on the street."

On his way home, Charlie could feel the gazes from the people around him, especially from young women.

"Hey, handsome~, want to sleep with me? I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

An Amazoness woman blocked Charlie's path, shamelessly inviting him to sleep with her.

"..."

Charlie was speechless; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

The Amazoness race is a warrior humanoid species that can be mistaken for normal attractive human women with tan skin. However, Amazonesses are unique in that their physiology is far superior to that of humans, and they are an all-female race with no males. Therefore, they need to mate with males from other races. However, they won't mate with ordinary males, but rather with the strongest males, particularly those who defeat them in battle and possess other desirable traits besides strength.

Many of them also work as sex workers, sleeping with anyone.

There was no doubt that the Amazoness in front of Charlie was of the latter type.

"Sorry, I'm busy right now, maybe another time."

With an apologetic smile on his handsome face, Charlie walked past her quickly.

"What a pity, he's the most handsome guy I've met in this city."

Though disappointed at being turned down, the Amazoness woman didn't insist and only sighed in disappointment.

Ignoring the small Familia like Njord Familia, Poseidon Familia was very powerful and maintained order in Menel City, preventing adventurers from bullying ordinary people.

On the other hand, Charlie was relieved that she didn't follow him.

"Are all Amazonesses this open-minded? Willing to accept anyone's seed as long as they're handsome? No, I shouldn't generalize that all Amazonesses are promiscuous just because of one person. Not all Amazonesses will sleep with just any man."

Though many women admired Charlie's (Karasuki Rio) good looks, they were more conservative compared to the Amazoness. They only looked at him shyly without taking the initiative to start a conversation.

Finally, he arrived home. This time, he didn't knock on the door and went straight inside.

"I'm back, Goddess Hera."

In front of the true goddess, Charlie didn't dare show any disrespect.

Compared to the gods, he was just an insignificant ant.

"Oh, you look much better than before."

Looking him up and down, Hera gave him a compliment. Even among the members of Hera Familia in the past, the young man in front of her was the most handsome.

"Thank you for the compliment. It's all thanks to the money you gave me, Goddess Hera."

"Stop talking so formally; you can speak more casually with me."

"I'll try."

"Mm."

Hera stood up from the sofa and gave an order.

"Move the sofa to the side."

"Alright."

Without questioning why, Charlie obeyed and easily moved the three-seater sofa to the side near the wall. He watched as Hera pulled the carpet aside, then slid the wooden floor to the left, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

It turned out there was a secret passage!

"Lock the doors and windows, then follow me."

After saying that, Hera descended the stairs first.

Charlie followed her instructions, then hurried to catch up.

Soon, they arrived in the basement.

"What is this..."

When Hera lit the candles on the wall, the flame's light illuminated the room, revealing the appearance of the basement.

The room was filled with equipment that had gathered dust from being stored for a long time.

Swords, magic staffs, spears, battle axes, shields, arrows, and various other weapons.

There were also armor pieces that looked strong and majestic.

"These are leftover equipment from the main members of Hera Familia in the past. Even though Hera Familia has declined and isn't as great as it once was, our resources are still better than a B-rank Familia."

Seeing Charlie's astonished reaction, Hera's lips curled into a satisfied smile. She had deliberately not mentioned this when inviting him to join the Familia; it could be considered a test to see if the young man was willing to join a Familia that seemingly had nothing.

It's worth noting that Familias are also divided into seven ranks, starting from the lowest, F, E, D, C, B, A, and the highest, S.

In its prime, Hera Familia held an S rank, reigning as one of the Twin Kings of Orario alongside Zeus Familia, and other S-ranked Familias like Freya, Loki, Kali, Ganesha, Sobek, Osiris, Baldr, and Set.

Although the main members of Hera Familia were wiped out by the One Eyed Black Dragon, not all resources were lost.

The weakened Hera Familia and Zeus Familia were exiled from Orario by Loki Familia and Freya Familia.

With the help of the remaining Familia members, Hera had her children secretly move the remaining resources to Menel City.

'I thought joining Hera Familia had no benefits, but I was wrong. Like the Chinese proverb, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse.' Charlie thought to himself.