Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 748 The God of Poverty's Blessing: May you live a life of poverty and destitution in the future~

"dong dong dong~"

The orphanage's somewhat dilapidated wooden door was knocked on, and the creaking and rattling made one worry that it might suddenly fall down.

"They're here..."

A clear female voice came from behind the door, and soon a girl with a few freckles on her face opened the dilapidated wooden door.

"My esteemed deity, may I ask who you are...?"

The gods in this world are easy to identify, especially when they don't intend to hide their divine identities. At close range, they give mortals a faint sense of majesty—the effect of divine power exists no matter how approachable or how absurdly they are dressed. So, when she saw a busty loli with a hint of majesty standing at the door, looking up at her, the orphanage girl, who was usually rather inconspicuous, asked her some questions nervously.

“I am Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. I have come here today to offer the children of this place a little of the God’s love.”

Hestia stated her purpose directly, and the girl who grew up in the orphanage saw behind her a cart of ingredients being pulled by a scantily clad Amazonian girl.

"Ah, I'll go and inform the matron in the courtyard right away."

The orphanage girl ran back, and a short while later, several women wearing patched nun's robes came out.

The eldest one in the middle, upon seeing the fully loaded carts outside, brightened his cloudy eyes and began to give instructions to the freckled girl beside him.

"Rosanne, go and call those boys over. Tell them to remove the wooden threshold at the door and have the other children line up. We are about to welcome the arrival of our divine being!"

The girl named Rosanne ran back quickly. While the middle-aged woman, who claimed to be the director of the orphanage, was politely talking to Hestia, several boys who looked to be just teenagers came out from inside with the freckled girl.

After they came out, their eyes all turned to the food on the large cart, especially the chunks of meat full of fat.

"Stop standing there, get to work."

Urged on by the orphanage director, the boy, now a teenager, reacted quickly and deftly pulled out the wooden threshold at the orphanage entrance.

Then, they brought over two thick wooden sticks that had been whittled on one side and placed them on the steps outside, turning the original steps at the entrance of the orphanage into a temporary ramp. After that, the group walked to the back of the large cart.

"We'll help you push."

"Oh, no need, I can manage on my own."

Tiona waved her hand and easily pulled the fully loaded flatbed cart into the orphanage.

"Welcome, Lady Hestia! Thank you for your kindness, Lady Hestia!"

A group of ragged children gathered in the courtyard, and as if they had been trained, they shouted loudly towards the Loli Goddess after Hestia entered the courtyard. Although their voices were not in unison, they were full of momentum.

Hestia blinked, feeling grateful for the first time, while the orphanage director, who was somewhat bewildered by the goddess's expression, explained the situation.

“We will have the children express their gratitude and welcome to any deity who comes to the orphanage to do charity work.”

"Oh, no need to be so polite."

Hestia scratched her head, wondering if she had brought too little food, having only brought a cartload.

"It's so noisy so early in the morning, can't they let this old woman get any sleep?!"

However, just as Hestia was feeling a little embarrassed by the crowd's expressions of gratitude, an unusual voice rang out from the side.

Hestia looked over instinctively and saw an old woman with long, disheveled white hair, dressed in tattered rags.

The other person's appearance perfectly embodies what poverty looks like.

"Eh, Penea?!"

Hestia called out the other person's name.

"Oh my, I thought it would be some familiar faces, but it turns out to be Hestia, who only came down to the mortal realm half a year ago!"

"What's wrong? Are you trying to extend your 'hearth fire' into this cesspool-like place like Daedalus Street?"

The old woman-like deity asked with a smile, her face bearing an enigmatic grin.

"Ah, you're making it sound like this is your territory and I'm the intruder?"

Hestia instinctively responded.

"What a coincidence, this really is my territory, Daedalus Street, the slums of Orario, a street filled with poor people. Besides me, the god of poverty, what other god would be willing to live in such a cesspool for a long time?"

It sounded like a proud introduction, but Penea's words were full of disparagement for the place, which left Hestia somewhat stunned.

Just as she was wondering how to respond, three little rascals ran out from among the orphanage children who had finished the welcoming ceremony.

"Brother Bell..."

"Sister Anna..."

Three children surrounded Belle and Anna, calling out to them affectionately. One of the little boys even asked them a question in his childish voice.

"Did you come here to treat us to French fries?"

"It's not just potato balls, there are many other delicious things, and we have to thank Lady Hestia for that."

As Bell explained, he reached out and patted the child's head.

"This is?"

Peneya looked at Bell and asked Hestia.

"My child."

The loli goddess gave a concise answer.

"He's a very clean-looking child. Did you come here because of him?"

"Pretty much. Bell promised to treat the kids here to something to eat, and I agreed."

"Not only did you agree, you also had a sudden burst of kindness, really. A benevolent god like you with such high empathy is just giving me a headache. You actually brought so many things that could make the children here happy and just barged in here without permission."

Peneya spoke in a somewhat rambling manner, much like a mother-in-law complaining about her daughter-in-law.

"This deity doesn't seem to be very welcoming to us..."

"Lefia said softly."

“The god of poverty, Penea, is in charge of the divine power of poverty, and poverty can be associated with being destitute and having nothing.”

The children in the orphanage are those who fit the description of poverty, and your plan to distribute food to these children is essentially making the concept of poverty disappear from these children in a short period of time.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal that Lord Penea, who governs poverty, doesn't particularly welcome you as donors.

The white witch whispered an explanation to the elven girl beside her.

"Oh no, how could this happen?!"

Lefia exclaimed, but quickly covered her mouth and cautiously looked towards the old woman-like deity, seemingly worried that the deity would discover that she was speaking ill of the gods.

"So, you're going to stop me from distributing food to the children here?"

Hestia asked with a stern face. The White Witch and the Elf Girl's conversation wasn't loud, but she could still hear it.

"Ha, Hestia, what you're saying is interesting. I can't use my divine power, I have no children willing to follow me, and I'm just an old woman. What can I do to stop the most powerful familia god in Orario right now? What do you want to do?"

"Uh……"

The overly direct words left Hestia somewhat stunned.

"So, why are you stepping forward?"

"What's wrong? Can't a poor god who has nothing complain to a rich god like you? Remember to save some food for me when you distribute food to the children here (orphanage) later."

"I am one of those who need your divine mercy and help. No one yearns for poverty, nor does anyone want to embrace it. I've been in the mortal realm for so many years, yet I don't have a single child or family member. It's truly a bitter experience."

Hestia: "..." The other party's somewhat aggressive demeanor made her subconsciously think that they were there to cause trouble, but she didn't expect them to be there to beg for food.

For a moment, the Loli Goddess was both amused and exasperated, but then she thought, if she hadn't met Broly, would she still be a poor god who needed Hephaestus's help?

"No problem, Penea, don't worry. Although we weren't very close back in the Celestial Realm, I'll make sure you have plenty of food today!"

"That's really reliable. I hope your family will one day experience a life of poverty and destitution."

"Hey, I gave you food, and you curse my clan?"

"I am the God of Poverty, this is a genuine blessing."

Children in the lower realms only radiate a kind of dazzling light in their souls when they are poor (have nothing), a light that they do not possess when they are rich.

Just like when monsters ravaged the land, those who did their best to survive, their hearts, free of excess flesh, were so beautiful.

The brilliance of heroes back then was different from the decadent brilliance of today, which is filled with too many complex thoughts and desires. That was a truly beautiful era…

[A wonderful era, a time when monsters roamed?]

While the crowd fell silent because of the God of Poverty's bizarre blessing, the sword maiden stepped forward and asserted firmly, "The days when monsters ravaged the land were definitely not a good time."

Her sharply raised eyebrows didn't seem like a strong tone from Ais; the girl looked somewhat angry.

"Weeping, grief, sorrow, too many people lost their loved ones; it was an unfortunate era."

The God of Poverty probably didn't expect his nagging to be refuted. His cloudy old eyes widened slightly, and as the clouds drifted by and blocked the sunlight, they met the gaze of the stubborn swordswoman who was looking this way.

Just as the clouds overhead were blown away by the wind and the sun shone down again, the old woman's face regained its smile: "This is probably the difference in values ​​between gods and humans..."

But isn't it interesting?

“Loki’s swordswoman, I will not refute your views on that era, but I will not change my own views on that era either.”

The God of Poverty looked at the swordswoman who dared to directly refute him with loving eyes, but her soul was shining brightly at this moment.

Ais felt stifled. Just as she was about to correct the god she was meeting for the first time for his incorrect statement, the God of Poverty waved his hand and reminded her, "Aren't you here to distribute food? Look at these little ones who have lost their parents but can still laugh, play, and joke around. They are poor, yet they are longing for the charity of you, the rich!"

Ais: "..."

The orphanage's kitchen was borrowed, and Hestia and the others, who brought their own ingredients, began preparing lunch for the hundreds of children in the orphanage.

The clattering sound continued, the sound of the swordswoman chopping onions, but it was much louder than the sound of her chopping onions last night.

Clearly, she wasn't in a good mood; in fact, she was rather upset.

Broly could vaguely understand why she was in a bad mood. As a person from the dark ages of this world a thousand years ago, in an era that made her feel unhappy, it was natural for her to feel very uncomfortable now that a strange god was praising her.

However, Broly didn't know how to comfort the swordswoman. After thinking for a while, he came out of the kitchen and went straight to the God of Poverty who was lying on a wicker chair in the yard, basking in the sun.

"Hestia's other child, what do you want?"

A boy with a profound soul and incredibly rich personality, rumored to have brought Hestia incredible luck by quickly building up a familia. Even Penea couldn't ignore such a child, though she looked at Broly with some confusion, wondering why the boy had come to her alone.

"Miss Ais is troubled by your words."

Broly said it directly.

"Huh?"

Peneya let out a soft "Eh," but a look of realization quickly appeared in her eyes.

"Do you like that child?"

Having spent centuries in the lower realms, Penea had seen far too many different children.

She knew exactly what the situation was like just by thinking about it.

"Ah."

Broly did not deny it.

"So, you came here so I could apologize to her?"

Peneya asked the question.

“An apology?” Broly thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “No, I don’t think Miss Ais needs your apology. What she needs is to change your idea that having nothing is good.”

"Oh ho, so how are you planning to change my mind, you little rascal?"

"I plan to convince you first with my own experience."

Broly said seriously.

"Hey, how do you convince me with your own experience?"

Peneya was somewhat curious.

“I was once in a situation where I had almost nothing, just like you said, but now I have a lot. Although I don’t know what kind of heroic glory you are talking about, I am confident that my own glory is more dazzling than the glory you described. What do you think, Lord Penea?”

Broly asked, clenching his little fist as he did so. If Plan A, which he had planned to use to persuade the god in front of him to change his mind, failed, he wouldn't mind using Plan B.

Upon hearing this, Penia looked at him intently, and after a while, the old woman-like deity showed a somewhat helpless smile on her face.

"Oh dear, you weren't lying. If that's the case, I really have nothing to say. Little one, you've successfully convinced me."

"Huh?"

"What, you've got what you wanted, aren't you happy?"

"No, I'm just a little confused that you were so easily convinced by me."

"It's just that facts speak louder than words; your soul is indeed more beautiful than any other soul I've ever seen."

Well, while I do wish for others to be poor, I am not some strange deity who finds satisfaction in others' poverty.

Poverty is merely the initial state I hope others will be in, and those who are in such a state will have a clearer understanding of their true inner thoughts, thus pursuing them relentlessly.

"The dazzling light that emanated from the children of the lower realm during my pursuit—that's what I'm seeking to see."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Of course, otherwise, why would I specifically shelter an orphanage on Daedalus Street? It's because the children here have nothing, and when they grow up, they will strive relentlessly to establish themselves. Although they are not adventurers, nor so-called heroes, that kind of attitude gives me great comfort. It's the kind of scenery I love to see most in this era of the lower realms..."

"And what about Miss Ais?"

"I'll go tell the swordswoman from the Loki family later that you've convinced me to change my mind."

Peneya said with a smile.

"Well, thank you very much, Lady Penea. I'll go back to the kitchen to help now."

Broly thanked the deity who resembled an old woman.

"Go ahead, I'm waiting for handouts."

Peneya waved her hand, but after the boy left, a puzzled expression appeared on her face.

So, I wasn't pursuing misfortune itself after all?
But it seems like someone kept telling me that what I was pursuing was "unhappy poverty" itself...

Who exactly is it?

The god of poverty racked his brains, but still couldn't remember.

Ultimately, she could only conclude that she had stayed in the mortal realm for too long and might have developed Alzheimer's disease, a condition typically found in mortal children.

(End of this chapter)