by Fujino Omori
That price was too big of a monster to slay. Hestia’s life savings were nothing but a helpless goblin at the feet of a dragon.
“Wait, isn’t this…”
Looking back over her shoulder at the redbrick building, Hestia realized it belonged to one of her friends.
Masters of the Forge, Hephaistos Familia. She had lived with them from after her arrival on Gekai up until very recently.
Being a brand name known around the world, the fact that she couldn’t afford a Hephaistos weapon should have been obvious. She took one last look at the billboard before taking off at a light sprint. Know your place, Bell, she said to herself, feeling defeated.
Robbed of her chance to show her godly prowess, Hestia sighed yet again as she made her way down the stone-paved path toward home, bathed in the last crimson light from the setting sun.
…My hair ties are in pretty bad shape.
Catching a glimpse of herself in another shop’s show window on Northwest Main, Hestia stopped to take a closer look.
The two bands that kept her shiny, jet-black hair up in a set of twin ponytails practically had one foot in the grave. Frayed and falling apart, they could break at any moment.
The only thing these hair ties were doing for her now was to make her look less dignified. Running her fingers over them, she looked at her reflection in the glass. Suddenly, the mannequins behind the glass caught her attention.
Each of the statues was wearing a dress as well as all sorts of protective accessories like amulets. Among the shop’s standing advertisements was a statue with very cute hair ties.
“…”
She stared at the blue bands on the mannequin’s head, mesmerized for a few moments. She jerked her shoulders before vigorously shaking her head side to side. A goddess can’t waste money, she practically screamed at herself, despite how much she wanted them.
Swish. She flicked her chin away from the shop window to get her eyes off of it. She took another quick glance from the corner of her eye before forcefully turning her shoulders away.
Making up her mind to live with the ones she had for now, Hestia wrapped her fingers around her hair bands and turned off West Main into a side street.
“…”
A pair of ruby-red eyes whose owner had yet to make his way home happened to catch a glimpse of what had just occurred. Hestia, however, didn’t notice.
It had now been a week since the founding of Hestia Familia.
Hestia looked at the boy in front of her, a worried look in her eyes.
“S-sorry I’m late…”
Bell walked through the door to their home trailing a cloud of dust, armor and clothes so dirty that Hestia could almost hear the fabric cough.
The clock on the wall showed that it was already past nine at night.
“…Bell, aren’t you working a little too hard recently?”
“N-no, I don’t think so?”
Bell grimaced as Hestia’s expression grew more and more concerned. “I’m fine,” he said to reassure her.
Bell had come home in this state every night for the past few days.
He’d get up really early, spend all day crawling the Dungeon, and come home late at night. The dirt and damage on his clothes and armor showed just how hard he was working; his body was faring no better.
Of course, Bell might have been a little too excited when he became an adventurer, but there was something different about him recently.
“Goddess, here. This is the money I earned in the Dungeon today.”
“Ah-haaa…”
Ka-ching. The coins inside a linen sack rattled as he handed it to her.
Every night, Bell always gave Hestia some of his profits from crawling the Dungeon to help support the Familia. It went without saying that he took most of it for himself, to pay for items and equipment repairs as well as to have a little pocket money.
Hestia undid the strap and took a look inside the bag. A quick glance told her there were at least 500 vals inside. Assuming that Bell took around 1,000 vals for himself to prepare for his next trip into the Dungeon, he had been making a lot more money than he used to. Hestia could tell just how much effort Bell was putting into his early-morning to late-evening excursions into the Dungeon.
In that case, the boy had to have a reason to want to make a lot of money as soon as possible.
“…Hey, Bell.”
“Ah, yes?”
“Are you hiding something from me?”
A very exhausted Bell had just grabbed a change of clothes and was headed toward the shower room when Hestia stopped him to ask her question.
Whether it was her divine intuition or just a feeling as a goddess that Bell was trying to keep a secret, she didn’t know. But she knew something was up.
Bell froze on the spot, something that Hestia saw as a very suspicious reaction.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha…wh-what are you talking about, Goddess? Of course I’m not.”
“…”
Hestia lowered her eyelids at Bell’s fake and forced laugh.
Ignoring Bell’s words that she wouldn’t have believed anyway, Hestia locked eyes with him. Tell me now, she mouthed at him, her aura on fire.
“…G-Goddess, I’m going to take a shower now, okay?!”
“Gah!”
Bell practically dove into the shower room, clothes in his hand and a nervous sweat running down his cheek. Hestia was surprised by the boy’s speed for a moment, but anger built within her the moment the door closed behind him.
There was a part of Hestia that couldn’t stand the fact that Bell was hiding something from her.
Over the past week, Hestia had come to like the boy and was glad that she had brought him into her Familia, made him a member of her family.
In return, the boy treated her like the goddess she was—and yet she could feel the warmth of the more personal bond with him.
Hestia couldn’t help but want to protect the naïve Bell. But at the same time she felt drawn to him, almost safe in his presence.
In this world of Gekai that was extremely harsh on her, Bell was the one who did everything he could to help Hestia.
She loved his smile. It always seemed to melt all of her worries away whenever she saw him.
“I tell you to spill it, and yet you refuse to crack, Bell…”
That could be the reason why she couldn’t allow Bell to have any secrets from her.
This feeling eating her from the inside could be the arrogance of a god who’d found something beyond their control or a feeling of betrayal of trust and loneliness as a family member.
Whichever one it was, it was putting Hestia in an extremely foul mood that was getting worse by the moment.
All right, then, if that’s the game you want to play…
A threatening light sparkled in her eyes. She glared at the door to the shower room and muttered, “Just you wait,” before turning on her heel and walking toward the kitchen.
She silently set to work preparing dinner.
“Um, Goddess…”
“You’re tired today, right, Bell? I’ll cook tonight; you go relax on the sofa.”
Hestia flashed a smile at Bell, who had changed into clean clothes after taking a shower. Bell looked like he wanted to say something, but the goddess’s smile sent a wave of relief through him. She must’ve forgotten about their earlier conversation.
Shing, shing. Seeing that her prey had let his guard down, Hestia smiled again at the “rabbit” while sharpening a knife out of Bell’s line of sight.
“So, Bell. Shall we update your Status tonight?”
“Um, sure.”
After finishing dinner, Hestia made a casual suggestion.
The white rabbit didn’t protest and did exactly as he was told.
The knife behind the smile was already razor-sharp.
Bell Cranell
Level I
Strength: I 49 -> I 58 Defense: I 5 Utility: I 66 -> I 72 Agility: I 98 -> H 107 Magic: I 0
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nbsp; Magic
( )
Skill
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Bell lay on his stomach on the bed as Hestia sat on his lower back and looked at the boy’s new Status.
As usual, Defense and Agility were at the opposite ends of the spectrum. While genuinely surprised that his Agility was already H after only one week, Hestia finished the process as quickly as she could.
—Now then.
A moment’s pause after the Status update was complete.
Hestia’s true nature suddenly emerged as her eyes sparkled ominously before she sprang the trap on the “rabbit” beneath her.
Flop. She had been sitting on his lower back when she suddenly fell on top of him.
“?!”
“—You’re not getting away this time, Bell.
“No……” came a very ominous sound from Hestia’s lips as she put her head right above Bell’s shoulder.
Her voice was low, her mouth close enough to Bell’s ears that he could hear her breathing. The questioning had begun.
Bell’s body jolted as if he’d just been struck by lightning, his face turning bright red.
“G-G-Goddess?! What are you doing?!”
“An interrogation. Because you seem to be hiding something from me, eh?”
Bell’s body shook again the moment he heard the words “hiding something.” He could feel the goddess’s soft body pinning him down as his body jerked from side to side.
“Did you know, Bell? No one can lie to a god!”
“Wh-what are you talking about…?”
“Ohooo. Trying to claim innocence, are you?”
Hestia’s eyes narrowed.
His face a full-blown red, Bell looked at Hestia’s expression from the corner of his eye. If he wasn’t scared before, he was terrified now.
A moment later.
Hestia wrapped both of her arms around Bell’s neck and squeeeeeezed as hard as she could.
“Dahh?! G-Goddess—?!”
“Now scream—scream it out, Bell!! And you still might be forgiven!”
“I DON’T KNOOWWWWWW!! I-I-I-I’M NOT HIDING ANYTHING FROM YOU, GODDESS!”
“Very stubborn…!”
“GHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!”
Hestia’s sizeable chest had made contact with Bell’s back. He could feel the soft pressure of something and heard an accompanying squish.
The shirtless Bell felt every inch of those somethings as they pressed up against him. Completely overwhelmed by the feeling of skin on skin, the boy shrieked repeatedly as his entire body blushed red under pressure.
Hestia pulled the boy up with her arms, making sure that he felt every inch of her as she pressed down.
Screams never stopped coming from the floors of the old church that night.
“I can hardly believe that Bell…!”
The next day.
Bell never cracked. Hestia had been in a particularly foul mood because of that all day. Even after coming home from her part-time job, she made no effort to hide the displeasure on her face.
Sitting on the sofa and reading a book, Hestia turned the pages with a lot more force than necessary.
Seriously, it’s almost like he’s daydreaming about money now instead of adventures in the Dungeon…There’s no way he’s being seduced by some strange woman, and she’s making him buy gifts for her…
Bell’s sudden devotion to crawling the Dungeon spurred on thoughts that normally wouldn’t have come into her mind. Hestia knew that her own family wasn’t that foolish, but her frustration only added fuel to the fire.
Then just destroy everything! She pictured Bell being lured into the lap of some Amazon woman, the two of them getting touchy-feely with each other before suddenly shaking her head. I don’t wanna see that, she angrily quipped at herself.
“Eh…?”
Clop-clop, the sound of shoes on the stone steps outside the door echoed through the room.
Now he’s too early, she said to herself as she waited for Bell to come through the door. She forced her eyes off her book and stared impatiently at the entrance.
The door should open at any moment. Knock-knock to dry thumps came from outside the door.
“I’ve come to pay you a visit, Hestia.”
“Huh……Miach?”
Someone a lot taller than Hestia was expecting made his way through the entrance.
Long hair the color of the ocean and a gray robe worse for wear, the god Miach was greeted by a wide-eyed Hestia.
“Word is you’ve created a Familia. I know I’m a little late, but I thought I should at least stop by and say congratulations.”
“What, you came all the way out here just for that?”
Despite only recently meeting him after descending from Tenkai, Miach had a lot in common with Hestia, especially in terms of their Familias. Since Miach had helped out Hestia a few times, the two of them had become casual friends. Miach took a step inside the room under the church as Hestia’s face changed into a warm smile.
“Ha-ha-ha, there is no such thing as wasted time when there’s a chance to get a new regular for my Familia. Think nothing of it.”
“Hee-hee, nothing gets past you.”
Miach Familia produced and sold healing items, like potions. Since his Familia was not very well known, Miach went to great lengths to reach new customers. After explaining that today was no different, he shared a laugh with Hestia.
“That being said…” he continued as he took a vial of blue liquid from his robe and handed it to the beaming Hestia.
“Think of this as a sample and as a gift to ensure that our Familias stay on good terms. Please accept it.”
“Ah, thanks! This helps a lot!”
“Sorry to change the subject, Hestia, but have you registered your Familia with the Guild?”
Miach asked her as Hestia reached out to accept the vial.
Huh? Hestia tilted her head, a look of confusion in her eyes. The male god took it as his cue to explain.
“Whether members of a Familia go into the Dungeon or not, as long as the group resides in Orario, they must inform the Guild. That’s what the registration is for.”
In name, the Guild was only in charge of overseeing the Dungeon. However, since the Dungeon was at the center of Orario’s economy, the Guild was in a position of considerable power within the city. Efficient and fair management had resulted in a peaceful city and considerable growth using the resources provided by the Dungeon. The Guild had presided over the Dungeon since the Old Age, acting as a caretaker of the city as well.
The Guild controlled everything that happened in the city, and Familias were required to be a part of the system.
“Oh, so Familias have to register just like adventurers do, huh? Well, they let us live here, so it’s only natural.”
“That’s exactly right. Just another one of the charms of Gekai.”
“All these complicated things had no place in Tenkai, eh?”
Yup, yup. The two deities nodded in agreement.
“So then, what to do? Since it looks like you haven’t registered yet, shall I go with you?”
“Are you sure? Actually, it would help me out a lot…”
“To tell the truth, I have nothing to do after this. So rather than being lonely during my free time, it would be better to help out a friend in need.”
“You’re the spitting image of what a god should be.”
“Ha-ha-ha, I get that a lot.”
The two of them left the hidden room under the church, emitting the passivity unique to the gods.
“I should fill all of these in, right?”
“Indeed. Don’t forget to sign your name using hieroglyphs.”
They were standing in the wide lobby of Guild Headquarters.
Hestia filled in the Guild registration paperwork as well as she could on her own and asked Miach for help when she had a question, as adventurers from many different Familias went about their business around them. A feathered quil
l in her hand, she had to stand on a stool to help her lean over the counter to write.
Light from the evening sun came in through the ceiling windows, casting the white lobby in an orange hue. Considering it was around the time that many adventurers left the Dungeon, many races of human and demi-human were making their way into and out of the Guild at this hour.
A party of smiling prums made their way out of the Exchange; a few animal men were making passes at the cute Guild receptionists across the way; an elf and a dwarf were engaged in a deep philosophical discussion. There was so much to see in the wide, white marble lobby of the Guild.
The only gods in the room, Hestia and Miach watched all of the adventurers with great interest.
“Miach, what is this thing here, Familia Rank?”
“A measure of a Familia’s influence as determined by the Guild…It’s a grade. While the content of a Familia’s activities is taken into account, the most important factor is combat potential and overall strength.”
Each Familia in Orario was given a ranking from S to I, the same scale that was used to rank an adventurer’s basic abilities in a Status. The higher the rank, the more trust and respect was given to that Familia by the Guild and other organizations. Of course, fear as well.
The gods who treated everything on Gekai as a game did everything they could to raise the rank of their Familias and enjoyed every minute of it.
“A mercantile Familia’s rank increases when they make an impact. A high rank means that customers can trust their products, and more adventurers choose to do business with them.”
“By the way, what’s your Familia’s rank, Miach?”
“Ha-ha-ha, it’s H.”
It went without saying that the newly formed and dirt-poor Hestia Familia would be assigned the lowest rank, I.
Familias were subject to the taxes of the city; the higher their rank, the more they paid.
“If you don’t mind my asking, Hestia, what does the child in your Familia look like?”
“Well, that question was out of nowhere.”
“What? The two of us are hopefully going to be working together for a long time, so I would like to know the child you have chosen to be your first member.”
“…A human boy with red eyes and white hair. His name is Bell Cranell.”
“Red eyes and white hair, huh…Oh, could that be him over there?”