The Protagonist System

25 Church Attendance

With Eina's recommendation in hand, the older man at the small shop looked delighted to help me out. He sold me a strong hammer, a large mining pick, and a wide shovel with a sharp point for 10,000 valis. He also guaranteed his work for a month and would fix or replace anything that was damaged or broken, even the wooden handles.

He also gave me a recommendation for stone bricks and pillar pieces from a small quarry shop near the outer wall of the city. I thanked him for that and tied the tools together and hung them over my shoulders.

After that, I ran through the city to the shop where I could get the stone blocks that I needed. Another 5,000 valis was spent on enough stone to cover the inside of a 20 by 20 basement room, with two stone pillars, and they provided the ceiling beams and supports for free and would deliver it.

I thanked the man and shook his hand, to his surprise, because his hands were covered in stone dust. I laughed at his reaction and told him my hands were going to be putting each and every one of those blocks into place. He smiled widely and looked pleased that I was doing the work with my own hands.

I rode the cart that a kind of lizard creature pulled. When I asked, the driver said the creature was bred and raised to be trained to haul carts, because they were so strong. The driver gave me a hand unloading the cart of all the things I bought and carried them inside to store in the cleared spot I had made beside the altar.

I gave him a hundred valis for the help and he looked shocked. I patted his shoulder and waved as he drove the empty cart away. The lizard creature didn't go any faster with the empty cart, which made sense. They were so used to hauling heavy loads that they always moved at the same speed.

I cast a magic detection spell and nothing showed up, neither people nor magic, so I went inside the ruined church and opened the secret door to the basement apartment. I dropped off the tools I had on my back on my couch and went back up the stairs to bring down a pile of blocks, the two pillars, and the ceiling beams.

I would need to dig a single person wide walkway first to make a path, then dig out two spots for the pillars and two walkways to the sides of the room to mount the ceiling beams. It was kind of cheating to put up the ceiling supports and wall braces for them before digging out the rest of the room, and I was okay with that. It would save me a lot of work later to already have them in place.

Just to make sure I was digging in the right place, I went upstairs and placed very small magical barriers all along the outer walls of the church. When I was back underground, a magic detection spell would give me the exact layout of the upstairs and I could build the new walls right under the old ones for the maximum support.

So, that's what I did for the next few hours. I put the mining pick and shovel to very good use as I cleared out what I needed to set up the pillars and braces, then installed the cross braces and ceiling beams to support the floor of the church above. It was an ingenious way to do such a huge job by myself and I tried to not gloat as I sat down to have some stew for lunch.

Damn, this is really good stew. I thought and ate two bowls before I went back to work. I needed to dig a path along the outer walls to build them up with stone bricks and once I had them all secured and in place, then I could dig out the rest of the room to empty it. I had no idea what I was going to do with all the dirt, though.

*

“EINA!” Rehmer exclaimed when he saw the half-day's payout total during lunch.

Eina hadn't flinched like everyone else had and brought the wooden box into her boss' office. She placed it on his desk and he gave her a piercing look. She opened the box when he didn't move to do it and the dog-man caught his breath.

Without saying a word, Eina showed him how it worked and then set it for a minute. When the little bell inside dinged exactly one minute later, Rehmer jerked slightly.

“I could kiss you!” Rehmer said and completely blew his normal stoic behavior out of the water.

“Her sexy client already did that!” Misha shouted through the closed door.

“We need to get this to our metalworks and builders division. If it really has inside what I heard...”

“It can be scaled up to become a self-powered starting device. If we add magic crystals to keep it powered after the self start...” Eina said, leadingly.

“We could revolutionize boat propulsion, modify the wind-powered grinding mills to double production, add it to a forge's air intake to consistently keep airflow and temperature regulated...” Rehmer muttered on and on with different ideas.

Eina smiled and listened as he kept coming up with new things to use it with.

“20,000 valis for this was a steal. A complete and utter steal.” Rehmer suddenly said and finally tore his gaze from the invaluable prize on his desk and looked at her. “If he asks you to marry him, I highly suggest that you do not refuse.”

Eina blushed and didn't nod, even if she was seriously considering it. That kiss had been mind-numbingly wonderful and she had to change both her damp underwear and her pants afterwards.

“I'm increasing your monthly pay and you can move into the empty corner apartment in the Guild lodgings for executives.” Rehmer said and Eina gasped. “Congratulations, Miss Tulle.”

“Th-thank you, sir.” Eina said and shook his offered hand.

“Now get back to work.” Rehmer said, his normal personality reasserting itself.

“Yes, sir. Right away.” Eina said and left the office a very happy woman.

*

Hestia came home in a great mood. She had another great day with tips and she bought more potato treats for her and Bell to eat. She stepped inside the rundown church and stared at the piles and piles of dirt and rocks against the walls. Her mind wondered if one of those giant earth moving creatures had broken into their home and wrecked everything.

“Welcome home, Hestia.” A male voice said from the storage room as something stepped out of it.

Hestia stared at a completely dirt-covered being that was barely recognizable as her Bell. “What did you do to our home?!?”

Bell chuckled and shovelled a huge shovelful of dirt and rocks onto the closest pile. “I'm just about done laying the stone floor.”

Hestia glared at him and motioned to all of the piles of dirt.

“I'll try to use some of it to repair the walls and things tomorrow.” Bell said and hung the shovel over his shoulder with a strap. “I couldn't put all this dirt outside because everyone would see that something is going on here at your church.”

Hestia took a deep breath and let it out. “How much longer are you going to be?”

“I've been at this all day, so I can take a break for a while.” Bell said and walked over to hug her.

“EEEK!” Hestia screamed before he could and ran around him and down the stairs.

Bell laughed and followed her. He had been tempted to shake himself like a dog to cover her in dust, and chose not to. He figured that the threat of trying to touch her while being so dirty, would be enough to send her running away and screaming. It had and it was pretty damn funny.

*

I laid there on my couch after a long day of hard work and admired what I did. Hestia had been stunned at the sheer size of the new room. She hadn't thought it was possible to do what I did by myself and the whole thing had fit under the church perfectly, which also made the church's foundations more secure.

Hestia had already made me move her large bed into the far corner of the 20 foot by 20 foot room to claim as her bedroom and we would be moving her clothing cabinet and other new things tomorrow. The funny part was that she wasn't using the bed and was currently snuggled up to my side. She was also in a deep sleep and well fed.

I had almost literally stuffed her with nearly half of the roast I had cooked and she immediately went into a food coma, something she claimed hadn't happened to her in many years. It gave me a good feeling to know that, because it meant things were going back to the way things should have been.

My eyes went over the solid walls formed into a single piece of stone with my magic. I smiled at the two pillars that divided the room, because it would be easy to make walls along the beams and add doors for privacy, which I would do tomorrow, and we would have our own spaces in our home.

It would use up a couple thousand valis to get the wood, since it was brought into the city and not grown and harvested inside. I almost laughed at how my spending habits had changed so quickly from scraping together enough to buy food for two people and now I was throwing around valis like it was free. I held in my amusement and closed my eyes to let sleep claim me.

I had another long day tomorrow of unpacking my ridiculously full backpack and checking out everything I had bought. With luck, I would have everything I would need to create enough armor to protect me as I entered the dungeon. I also needed to decide what weapon to use.

The night seemed to pass in moments and I opened my eyes. I checked the invisible clock in my head and it was just past dawn again. That was definitely a set pattern and I would use it ruthlessly in the future. Having hours of time long before anyone else was up every day, would give me a huge advantage over the other adventurers.

For now, I cuddled the Goddess pressed against my side and... I just noticed that her hand was down my boxer shorts and she had me in a loose grip. I couldn't feel any wetness, so there was no danger in that area. However, just her touching me like that might cause her to lose her innocence. It was the main reason I never offered to go down on her or massaged her breasts.

I very, very carefully lifted her arm and her hand slid out from inside my underwear. I let out a soft sigh of relief and placed her hand on my chest. I would need to set some ground rules for our interactions in terms that she would understand, like 'don't do that' and 'stop'. My stifled chuckle rumbled in my chest and Hestia stirred slightly and threw a leg over me.

I didn't take advantage of her position to rub my hand along her very nice thigh. It would have been easy to do and I was sure she knew that, because her breathing had just changed and wasn't as shallow. I didn't call her out on it and stayed where I was without changing my own breathing.

Hestia let out a breathy sigh. “You're not even going to try?”

I chuckled at her admitting she did it on purpose. “My Goddess Hestia, I would roll you over and ravage you in an instant if I was allowed. I'm not. You need your powers and I need you to keep your powers.”

“If we're talking about this anyway, I want to ask you something.” Hestia pulled her leg back and sat up to look down at me. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

I knew that was a loaded question. “That depends on what you want to know about.”

Hestia blushed and her hand started to slide down to my crotch.

I caught it before she grabbed it. “If you want to know if I've used it on someone else, I have.”

Hestia's blush didn't fade. “So, it's true? You really were in Loki's compound...”

“...with Tiona, yes. I was. I spent that whole morning doing her so hard that she could barely speak at the end.” I told her and her blush increased to epic proportions. “I also refused Loki's overly generous offer when she tried to recruit me. I told her I was already a part of another Familia and left.”

Hestia looked into my eyes. “You didn't tell her what one?”

“It was none of her business who I pledged to and telling her would have gained us nothing.” I said and Hestia's eyes widened at my reasoning. “Her Familia missed their chance when they rejected me last week and I told her that, too. She now knows she could have had my cooking skills at her disposal and all of her executives are pissed about it.”

Hestia's blush faded and she looked pleased.

“Did you try to rub it in her face that I'm your child?” I asked, curious.

“No, I... just heard rumors about... well...” Hesta stopped and her blush came back.

“I was pretty much kidnapped and told to ravage an amazonness. People were bound to talk.” I said and then softly laughed. “Tiona did destroy the front door of their mansion...”

Hestia listened as I told her about what happened with meeting Tiona in front of the shops and what happened at the compound as I cooked spaghetti and meatballs as an apology.

“They won't kick Bete out for that.” Hestia said and I nodded. “He will be on their garbage detail for a while. Weeks at least.”

I smirked at her and she giggled. “You figured out that I want to drop by there occasionally to make some food for Tiona and to rub it in Loki's face?”

Hestia nodded. “I approve, as long as you're not using our money and resources to do it.”

“Then I'll have some fun in their kitchen when they come back from their next trip.” I agreed and pointed to her clothing cabinet.

“We're awake and I'm off today.” Hestia said and climbed over me and stood up. “We might as well finish moving my things to my future room and we can go look for some wood for the walls.”

“Perhaps a nice table, too. I want to have a nice sit-down supper once a week or so, just so we're not spoiled by eating meals on the couch all the time.”

Hestia giggled. “I like using those fluffy towels on my lap.”

“I'll be sure to give you another one when I make breakfast.” I said and stood up. I had to adjust myself so that I wasn't poking out the cloth and Hestia watched me with a blush. “Innocence can mean a lot of things, like lack of knowledge and experience.”

Hestia sighed and looked up at my face, only to see my blank face. “I can't see it, can I?”

“Not on purpose, so no jumping into the bathroom and saying oops when I'm obviously naked in the shower.” I said and she let out a long and drawn out sigh as her shoulders slumped. “When did you plan to do it?”

“Tonight. I missed it last night because you were so dirty and I was hiding from you.” Hestia said.

I laughed and took her into a hug. “It's all right, My Goddess. We'll figure something out.”

Hestia hugged me back and let out a real sigh. “What if I want you to ravage me, too?”

I eased my hold on her and leaned back slightly to look down at her. “Hestia.” I said softly. “If I ever do take you to bed, I will be making sweet and passionate love to you, as you so richly deserve.”

Hestia's face and neck turned bright red.

“After we get the very important first time out of the way, then I'll fold you in half and make you into a blubbering mess as I impregnate you.” I said and her eyes widened, she made a little squawk sound, and fainted. I laughed and carried her across the living room and into the new room, put her on her bed, and brought her cabinet and the rest of her things over to her new room.