A Goddess's Jealousy

A ray of golden sun shone through the patchy roof, illuminating the dusty interior of the faction building. Today, that would be no more. Bane's eyes forced themselves open. All he wanted to do was sleep, but his body was on a clock. Sunshine—time to get up.

However, unlike many times before, he didn't have to get up and head to the dungeon today. He was excited for today for a few reasons. He could finally see what Eir's daily life was like; he always left for the dungeon before she awoke. Speaking of her, she lay next to him on the hard floor of the faction building. Gazing at her closed eyes and the slight smile on her face, he thought one thing: We need beds. He had mentioned it the night before as they fell asleep. The ground was incredibly unforgiving, and even now, Bane's back ached and creaked as he sat up.

He turned his neck to each side and pushed on his chin, causing multiple pops that traveled from his neck downward. He stretched his back, causing the rest of his vertebrae to pop in sequence as he extended outward.

With no plans of going to the dungeon, Bane just sat with his head against the wall, taking in the sounds of the slums. Mostly silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional chirp of a bird or a human voice from outside.

What to do? Bane thought, looking around the faction building. It was the first time in years that he truly had nothing to do. Before becoming an adventurer, he had always worried about his next meal or finding places to live out of sight. But now, those problems had been solved. He could protect himself and had the funds to buy basically any meal he chose. He had never had the ability to pick up leisure hobbies or things that would make him happy. He thought about some possibilities, but nothing jumped out.

Reading? No, too boring. Exercising? No, I already do that every day. He frowned, contemplating what to do in his leisure time. Soon, his quiet time would be over.

Unknowingly, as Bane thought, his vision naturally fell onto the only notable thing in the room: Eir. While his gaze wandered, he mostly kept eye contact with her. Her eyes opened, but Bane was lost in his thoughts and continued staring at Eir.

"Good morning, Bane. Is there something on me?" Eir asked, her face flushed and frozen.

"Oh, sorry," Bane said, quickly averting his eyes. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Eir inquired.

"What do you do in your free time?" Bane answered her question with one of his own.

Eir tilted her head, unsure what had prompted that, but she answered him nonetheless. "When you request that I do something, I will do that. Then, when I am done, I usually either wander the streets or return here to read." Bane nodded slowly. It seemed mundane, but since she had been alive for thousands of years, it probably didn't affect her.

"I see. I just… I feel like all I have is the dungeon. I don't do anything else." This was a problem only a few had in Gren. Many adventurers had quotas, which meant they couldn't have leisure time like this. Meanwhile, the rest of the workers were practically married to their jobs, being worked to the bone. He realized his complaint was incredibly privileged and got ready to take it back before Eir interrupted.

"That is totally understandable. You want to become the strongest, but a life where that is the only thing you strive for is hard and lonely. It reminds me of the story of Thorfin and the other early adventurers. Empedite was similar to you—he committed his entire life to becoming the strongest. You could argue he succeeded, but he was not happy in the slightest, choosing to end his life prematurely." Eir uttered the tale dramatically, though in reality, it was just a silly kid's story.

"I see. So, what should I do? I feel like every moment I am not in the dungeon is wasted." Even though talking about his feelings embarrassed him, after last night, not much else could make him look weaker.

"Just do what you want to do."

"But I don't know what that may be." Eir's suggestion was good, but someone who had never known luxury or leisure couldn't just know what to do in this situation.

"I can't speak for you, but there is no rush. You may not know what to do, but it's not a race." It was common advice, but something that stuck with him.

"You're right. There is no rush," Bane said, putting himself at ease. Eir stood and brushed off her skin-tight pants and shirt before stretching with a quiet moan.

"Do you want to come with me?" Eir asked, getting ready to go meet with the slum workers. Bane nodded.

"Yes, I'll come along," Bane answered. Anything to get my mind off that.

"Then let's go!" Eir's mood had starkly improved thanks to last night. She was less afraid of showing happiness and excitement. She rushed out of the back room, and Bane slowly got up and followed her, a smile forming on his face.

The two of them took a familiar path through the slums to the group's usual hangout. After a five-minute walk, they saw each other.

"We have the money," Eir told the group, directing her attention to the leader. The tanned young man nodded happily as she handed them only ten thousand Shill. Bane tilted his head but kept silent as the group retreated and started gathering supplies.

Eir happily turned and started back until she saw Bane motionless, looking at her.

"What?" she asked, unknowingly. Then she realized: The cost! She had told him ten thousand more than what she really needed.

"Why did you only give them ten thousand?" Bane asked. Eir fiddled with her hands as her face flushed.

"Um…" she hummed, trying to come up with a good excuse, but none came. "Okay, I'll be honest… I lied." Bane was taken aback by the revelation.

"I thought gods couldn't lie?" It was a common myth that gods couldn't lie—foolish for one to believe. Gods could be adulterous, scheming; they were basically just humans with some ability or power. Of course, they could lie.

"That's not true, Bane. But trust me, it was for a good cause…" Bane looked at her skeptically but nodded.

"Okay, what?"

"A bed," Eir shared. The reason for the extra was a bed.

"I thought you'd want a bed. After you asked about repair costs, I also got the price of a small bed and added it in. I'm sorry." Eir's voice lowered, and so too did her head.

"No, thank you. After a few days on the concrete floor, a bed would be heaven. At least when I was living in the slums alone, some straw could work wonders." Bane thanked her for that consideration, and the two of them made their way back. When they arrived, a figure was standing before the empty doorframe.

The young woman, with clear white skin and even whiter hair, stood on the stone steps and looked around jitterily. Bane approached her from behind and greeted her.

"Hey, Winter."

"Eek!" At Bane's greeting, Winter jumped and turned. Relief instantly washed over her as she saw Bane, but when she looked further behind him, she was instantly scared once more. Eir stared bullets into Winter.

"H-Hey, Bane," Winter faltered when returning his greeting, giving a nervous smile.

"Did you wait long?" Bane asked. He assumed she would come later in the day; it was still early morning in the adventurer city.

"No, I just got here, but I thought I had the wrong place," she answered, looking back concerned at the missing door.

"Well, that's good," Bane said, stopping and looking back at Eir. Her face immediately changed to one of joy. As soon as Bane looked back at Winter, Eir's intense stare returned.

"Winter, this is Eir, my goddess," Bane said, gesturing to the black-haired goddess behind him. "Goddess, this is Winter, the guild clerk I talk to." He gestured to the white-haired young woman in front of him. Bane noted the stark difference in hair color.

Visually, they are opposites… Bane wanted to make more comparisons but knew so little about the two of them. That made him a little sad.

"Come in until the builders get here. Then we can go into town," Bane said to Winter as he motioned her inside first. Bane quickly overtook her and led the three of them into the back room. All the while, Eir looked at Bane as if she had been betrayed in some way.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be here, Bane?" Winter asked, sensing Eir's gaze on her back.

"Of course you are. What makes you think that you aren't?"

"Yeah, of course, you're welcome here, Winter," Eir chimed in, straining some words to make them obviously sarcastic. But Bane was oblivious to it all. Eir was clearly not a fan of Winter.

"I-I don't know. It just feels like there's something that wants me out of this building," Winter said, avoiding Eir's gaze at all costs.

Why am I acting like this? Eir thought. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn't stop. She didn't admit it, but this feeling—it was jealousy.