"This place is…"

"Amazing? Fantastic? Beautiful?"

"A dump…"

Erland ignored the guttural growl of the female Chienthrope beside him and instead took in his surroundings— well, to the furthest extent he could in his current stare.

And that more so revolved around two things— the air and atmosphere.

Just some criteria to name a few: Was it easy to breathe? Did the sun shine clearly or was it obstructed? Is the smell any worse than you'd find on a street market? Was the ground smoothed out or bumpy? Did a lot of insects or critters inhabit the area?

In just its first impression, the area where his Familia's patron god had led him failed to meet his standards.

It was a location the sun didn't shine. A location that felt almost damp and wet just by standing in it. The floor meanwhile was a mixture of pavement and bare dirt, as if someone had attempted to create a path in the past but just gave up halfway.

The air was thick, whether it was because of how unmaintained the area was or because of the hateful glare the only other Familia member was sending toward him, Erland couldn't be bothered to decide. All that mattered was that it made him uncomfortable.

And as for the infestation criteria…

Well, the numerous gray glowing specs that shone in the otherwise blank and black canvas that was his vision was all Erland needed to see before answering that question.

"Now tell me, was this place a dump before or after you guys lost all your money and members?"

"H-hahaha…" The friendly god with long sea-colored hair only laughed wryly at the jab, not knowing where to answer seriously or take it as a joke.

"The Blue Pharmacy… a place so disheveled that even a blind person could tell… I'll make sure to add that to our motto…"

Naaza on the other hand took the opportunity to inch closer to the blind boy, her drowsiness washed away by a momentary flash of grief.

"It's my fault…" She muttered beneath her breath, thinking Erland wouldn't be able to hear it with how softly it was said.

"...." Her god on the other hand kept a pained smile on his face, already aware that any attempts to comfort or correct her would only make her feel more guilty.

"Well, all that matters is what we do to fix it," Erland said, pretending not to notice the glances she and her god had sent his way.

"I mean, with your establishment in this state it won't matter what kind of miracles you concoct and sale if no one is even able to find the damn place."

Erland held out his hands in front of him, motioning each one to make an L shape by extending both his thumbs and index fingers, formulating a frame with them as he put one hand over the other.

"In fact, this just makes things a whole lot better. One day, when we're sitting on our fat stacks of cash in our marble castles, drowning in applications of adventurers who want us to take them in, we'll think back to these simpler times, living in some two-story wooden shack hidden within the dark alleys in a place where the sun doesn't even shine."

"...." Miach looked at the young boy with gratitude in his eyes, Naaza on the other hand stood complacent with a complex expression on her face.

'Though I say that, this is quite tough…' Erland remarked inwardly.

Before him stood a dilapidated 2-story wooden building that looked just shy of falling apart Unpainted, unmaintained, and practically an eye-sore as it stood in a ring of oppressive stone towers that took the form of buildings that each loomed over it making it difficult for light to pass.

Even after hearing its condition, he was quite surprised some richer neighbor or even a manager of the city didn't outright decide to buy the plot of land and destroy the eye sore, as land within the walls of Orario was already quite sparse.

Though that doubt was kind of swept away as Miach answered his question about how his neighbors felt about his business.

"Neighbors?" The kind god remarked. "Mm, no one is really living in these buildings surrounding us. Even when I and my Familia moved into the area they were already abandoned."

Something about how Miach dismissed the irregularity of the situation wanted to make Erland investigate it himself but for now, he was elated at the discovery.

"We need to buy them out then." He said resolutely.

"Huh?" Both god and captain of the Miach Familia let out a confused gasp at that.

"We need to demolish them, and open up this area more until at least the shop is exposed to the sun," Erland said calmly. "As I said, customers aren't going to come here even if you have some good product. Sure, if it's something really amazing they'll jump through hoops just to get it, but I'm guessing if you had something like that you guys wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place."

"So what…? Your plan to get us rich is to just beauty up the place a little…?" Naaza interjected with furrowed brows. "And how exactly do you expect us to afford such renovations in the first place….?"

"Well, that's just the beginning," Erland said, spinning on his heel to meet the face of the young Chienthrope behind him. "Besides, you gotta spend money to make money, right?" A smirk crossed his lips as he said those words.

"Renovations, huh…?" From the side, Miach contemplated the situation in his head. Naaza had always been busy creating elixirs, procuring ingredients, and selling them herself. There was a time when he had tried to maintain the appearance of the store, but those plans quickly went out the window the moment he got a job just to sustain their livelihood. Recently, he just hadn't had the time.

"Erland, you wouldn't bring this up if you didn't have an idea how to accomplish it, right?" Miach gave Erland a smile of good faith, a trusting expression on his face as he stood aside the boy.

"...." Naaza looked at the scene unsure of what to say. Sure, it'd be good and all, if the Blue Pharmacy looked at least somewhat attractive to attract new customers, but wanting a situation to change and actually doing something to change it, are completely different.

First of all, she couldn't understand the sudden faith her patron god had for the stranger.

"So, do you have a plan…?"

"Not really!" The blind boy said confidently.

She couldn't help but feel like the boy's existence was some kind of punishment for her.

"But, not really doesn't mean not at all!" He donned another smirk, pointing a finger in the air excitedly. "We'll just go with the plan we already made up. I'll go to the dungeons, make some money for us, and then you'll make some kind of new amazing potion and we'll start building from there!"

"I… I'll make what?" Naaza's ears perked up, her uncharacteristically wide-open eyes looking at the boy hoping that she had misheard whatever he said.

"It'll be fine, we'll get there when we get there~!" Erland said, patting the stun-locked Chienthrope on the shoulder before moving ahead of her and into the establishment alone.

"H-hahaha, I guess I'll go with him so he doesn't knock anything over…" Miach followed Erland into the store, a wry smile on his face as he slipped past her in fear of her dark expression.

"...." The Chienthrope left alone wondered where exactly she should dump the accumulated anger and stress over meeting just this one person.

______________________________________________________________________________

"Knock knock~!" Erland said, ignoring the fact that he had entered without actually even knocking on the door itself. Though with the owner and only employee behind him, he knew there wasn't anyone to announce his presence to.

'So this is what a potion shop smells like, huh…? It's so nice…'

Erland took his time appreciating the only thing he could, the aroma and scent of the myriad of elixirs the shop had brewed made of the finest (cheapest) materials that could be found.

Glass tubes of all sorts of colors lined the shelves like a kaleidoscope, and from the wooden beams of the ceiling hung a chandelier made of wrought iron. A fine red carpet lined the floor leading all the way up to the wooden counter. Where behind it sat a fireplace made of stone.

What the establishment lacked in elegance on the outside, was made up for with the homely feeling it provided indoors.

"It's a nice place you guys got here," Erland said, not even needing to turn around to notice the two figures behind him.

"While I'm curious as to how you come to such conclusions considering your condition, I believe it'd be best for everyone if we conduct the ceremony right away." Miach approached the boy with an apologetic smile, patting him on the shoulder before leading him to the stairs in fear he'd face difficulty trying to go up them.

Erland meanwhile did nothing to interfere with the kind god's guidance, as he had to admit going upstairs was kind of a pain for him.

"...."

Left behind by the two, Naaza stared at them ascending the steps before shaking her head. Her expression became clouded as she leaned over the counter she had been working over for countless hours. Her mind was hesitant about following the two as the captain of the Familia or staying behind to avoid an awkward situation.

But ultimately, she stood still, awaiting her god with the hope in her heart that everything would go well.

*𝘾𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆*

Each step the two took up the stairs resounded in a powerful creak, the wooden floorboards beneath their feet seemed almost on the verge of cracking when put up against their combined weight.

But more straining than that was the oppressive shift in atmosphere when transcending from the first floor to the second.

It was as if the moment he stepped foot onto the second floor that a cold eerieness enwrapped Erland's senses.

It was dark, with a long narrow hallway that extended down the length of the whole building. With empty rooms adorning each side that were either completely bare or whose doors carried the names of what Erland presumed to be former members of the Familia.

Even Miach's own aura had slightly dimmed as the two took their somber steps to the other side of the hall, to Miach's room.

A forced smile crossed Miach's lips as he held the door open for Erland.

"Here come on in. Sorry if it doesn't seem like much, but to be honest, I wasn't really sure if you'd actually join our Familia."

"...."

For a moment an awkward silence engulfed the room. With one present party having nothing to say, and the other seeming hesitant to say anything at all.

It was a simple room devoid of any extravagance that one would expect from someone bearing the identity of godhood. There were no gold-lined curtains, no carpets of exotic beasts, no haughty self-portraits, just a bed, a desk, and two tables.

"You're not going to ask where everyone else went…?" Miach finally uttered.

Hearing that Erland sighed with a light smile on his face. "I already got the basic rundown from Miss Eina." He said unabashedly.

"I see… even then you're still willing to join the Familia of someone as selfish as I?" This time Miach's expression became unclear as it was hidden behind his sea-blue hair.

"Hahaha! On the contrary hearing you and your Familia's story only made me want to join even more!" Erland slapped his knee in an expression of glee.

"So I take it you pity us…?" Miach said with his aura not the slightest of someone who aggressively meant his words.

"Hmm…? I guess you wouldn't be totally wrong in saying that…" Erland sighed before stretching his arms upward. "But more than that I think it all stemmed from some sort of admiration." He exhaled, satisfied with the cracking of his bones.

"Admiration?" The god's eyes glimmered in curiosity.

"While most would choose to prioritize the many over the few, you did the opposite. And because of that you lost many a thing, some might even argue everything." Erland leaned his chin on the top of his cane, holding it between his legs.

"You're a god," He said decisively. "No doubt you've lived to see a lot more than someone like me who's only been in this world for 16 years." A look of melancholy passed Erland's face.

"You surely knew the costs of such a decision, and yet you went ahead with it anyways. That decisiveness… Well, it'd be better if you told me in your words. So, tell me, what was going through your mind when you gave up all your Familia's wealth?"

Erland extended an open hand to Miach with a slight smile, urging the latter to begin talking.

"Me…? What I was thinking huh… To be honest I sometimes ask myself the same question… Ah! Not saying I regret my decision or something like that!" Miach hurriedly waved his hands in the air.

"Mm… I think… I think it was because I didn't see a reason not to… Moral was low at the time, all of our greatest fighters died on that excursion, and all we had left was Naaza, who was both incapacitated and traumatized."

Miach scathed his cheek with his index finger with a wry smile on his face.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that our dissolution was inevitable… I realized that the moment I received news of the whole thing. At that point making a decision wasn't even a matter worth hesitating about."

"One of our greatest members, one who had sacrificed so much for the sake of her Familia already was suffering. If some money was all it took to ease her burdens even a little bit… to repay what she's done for us… then the answer seemed pretty clear to me."

"Ah, but take those words with a grain of salt!" Miach said candidly. "As a god, even the concept of currency in this mortal society is a little out of my peripheral… Because of that reason, I understand why the rest of our members left us… After all, who would want to be a part of a Familia whose god throws around its member's money without asking… Hahaha…"

"Ding! That's what I'm talking about!" Erland interjected excitedly, startling the sea-hair-colored god into jumping up in his seat.

"Humility! Decisiveness! And a caring attitude! Why wouldn't I want that in a patron god? You would've done the same for anyone else in your Familia who suffered such a debilitating incident, right?"

"Wha- Uhm, I guess…?"

"No, no, no— I'm mistaken there!" Erland held his left thumb up to his chin. "You would've done anything to help someone so long as they showed weakness in front of you, right?"

"...."

Sitting back down tiredly Erland leaned his cane up against his shoulder. "Hm, such a personality is troubling, no doubt…"

At that the god felt a bit ashamed, an embarrassed smile taking his face.

"But, all that matters is what we do to fix it, right?" Erland cracked a familiar grin.

He got up from his seat and stood in front of the silhouette of the only other being in the room.

"So put your faith in this card of mine~! You ain't got nothin' to lose, right?"

"...." Miach stared at the boy in front of him with a stunned look, all before a relieved smile of his own lifted his lips. "Then I'll do just that."

______________________________________________________________________________

"Alright, just lay down on the table and hold still. Don't worry, the process won't hurt at all!"

Erland did what was instructed and laid on the table after making his torso bare.

"You know… at first I didn't think there'd be any pain at all… But for some reason you assuring me only makes me feel nervous…"

"Ahahaha." At that, the 'kind' god only laughed plainly.

Miach laid his eyes on his newest recruit yet, his hands following the contour of the boy's back as he planted his palm firmly on the small of it.

The scars, the scratches, the bruises, he took them all in before withdrawing a pointed needle from his robe.

"You ain't gonna stab me, right…?" He absorbed the uncharacteristic fear the boy had shown. A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes shone on his face.

"Of course, not~!" And he truly meant it.

Miach took the needle and pricked the end of his index finger, holding it over the boy's back as a drop of blood dripped out before falling from his finger.

And then, it collided with flesh—

A bright light encompassed the room, but Miach didn't panic. For he knew this was the ceremony he had conducted many times before.

"...." He stared at the holographic status in front of him with a shocked expression, the confusion on his face plainly visible.

Breaking himself out of his stupor, he hurriedly grabbed the piece of parchment that was laid out on the table next to him before laying it out flatly on the boy's back.

Pressing down on it firmly as he inscribed the contents of the status onto it.

And when all was said and done, he looked at it as if to confirm something—

______________________________________________________________________________

Name: Erland Ackerman

Level: One

Strength: I - 10

Endurance: I - 10

Dexterity: I - 10

Agility: I - 10

Magic: I - 10

Magic: ( )

Skills: Observation Haki - Allows the user to sense the presence of others, even if they are concealed from view or too far to see naturally.

Armament Haki - Allows the user to use their spirit life force to create an essence of an invisible armor around themselves.

______________________________________________________________________________

'Two skills… Ones I never heard of either… Rare skills…?' A worried look crossed Miach's face before anything.

"What's wrong, Miach-sama?" Seeing the procedure was over Erland already adorned his top again, taking languid steps toward the god whose reaction— or lack thereof, startled him a bit.

"Hm, ah, take a look!" In his momentary disbelief, he sort of forgets an important aspect of Erland.

Though he got the hint the moment the teen in front of him waved his hand in front of his gray eyes.

"Oh yeah! Sorry!" The god said embarrassedly.

Hearing the god's next words, Erland's brows furrow a bit.

"It's about your Status… You have two skills here that are quite… particular…"

---------- 「Author's Corner」----------

Today's chapter was... the worst I've written so far. If you saw my post on chapter 2 on Sunday you'd see I was struggling quite a bit. Though today I just trashed everything I managed to write yesterday and rewrote from scratch. So yeah... I technically wasted a few hours but this turned out a lot better. Even if I think it's still not that good...

Anyways, let me know what you think. Got any opinions, suggestions, or overall just shit you wanna say, go ahead! It's not like I could stop you!