"Hmph!"
Today was supposed to be her first date with Bell, something she'd worked hard to make happen. But just her luck—she ended up running into that person, and her rare good mood was completely ruined.
With a fork in hand, she popped a piece of fish into her mouth. The delicious flavor of the fried fish helped Hestia temporarily forget her irritation.
She glanced back at Loki, who was sitting with her own Familia at a nearby table. With a snort, she turned away.
"That damn woman had to show up and ruin my mood."
"Goddess-sama, weren't you having fun talking with Loki?"
"Hardly. We've been at odds since forever."
Bell's words made Hestia puff out her cheeks. Her rivalry with Loki dated back so long it was hard to even trace when it began.
"Of all the days to run into her..."
If she'd known Loki would be coming to this tavern too, Hestia definitely wouldn't have dragged Bell here today.
"Today's the day Loki's Familia returned from their expedition. They're probably celebrating."
"I heard Loki's Familia is the most proactive when it comes to exploring unknown floors. I bet this expedition brought back a lot."
"...Well, probably."
Hestia didn't really disagree. Given how aggressively Loki's Familia pursued the unknown layers of the Dungeon, their return likely meant significant achievements.
"Even if I don't get along with Loki, her kids really are talented. Every single one of them is among the top Adventurers in Orario."
It was a fact Hestia couldn't deny. Being part of Orario's 'twin kings' held real weight.
If her children weren't that exceptional, Loki's Familia wouldn't always be pushing to conquer uncharted floors.
"Loki's Familia is so focused on floor conquest, yet Freya... Even though her Familia is stronger and more suited to Dungeon exploration, she doesn't seem all that interested."
The other member of Orario's twin kings also had plenty of outstanding adventurers. But Hestia hadn't heard much about Freya showing any particular drive to conquer new floors.
Loki's group, on the other hand, would dive into the Dungeon every few days, often without any prompts from the Guild. They just launched expeditions on their own.
"I suppose that goddess has her own areas of interest."
Bell said this casually, but he knew full well what the Goddess of Beauty was truly interested in.
Compared to Dungeon exploration, she was far more drawn to adventurers with brilliant souls.
'If it weren't for her specific preferences, I wouldn't have needed to be so cautious since arriving in Orario.'
'But now that more areas of the city are open, I can at least go out and get to know Orario better.'
This date with his goddess unexpectedly served as a test to see if the Goddess of Beauty had taken notice of him.
Now that Bell was sure she wasn't targeting him, he could finally move with a bit more freedom.
He couldn't exactly roam around without any care, but at least it was better than before—when even taking a step outside felt risky.
Bell also understood he couldn't stay cooped up at the Hestia Familia headquarters forever. Sometimes, he had to go out and gather intel—especially floor intel.
The Guild didn't provide information beyond the tenth floor for free. Most of the deeper levels' data required time and money to obtain.
Only with accurate knowledge of each floor could he make the necessary preparations.
Bell had always believed that thorough preparation could greatly reduce the risks he faced.
"Goddess-sama, will our Familia have to deal with that kind of problem too in the future?"
"Hmm... Probably not."
Hestia shook her head, dismissing the idea outright.
"Conquering floors isn't something that can be done easily. Normally, it takes multiple Familia members working together to ensure everyone's safety."
"The Guild doesn't just throw Familias into the Dungeon to die. Usually, only Familias evaluated at rank D are required to go on mandatory expeditions."
"For smaller Familias, they won't even be considered for D rank. Most of their members need to be at least Lv.2 before the Guild even gives them a basic rating. Our Familia doesn't even have a rank yet."
The implication was obvious—Hestia Familia, with just one member, wasn't going to be considered rank D any time soon. Not unless she recruited more people—and they had to be high-level Adventurers at that.
Unfortunately, Hestia didn't think she'd be able to attract many top-tier recruits.
More importantly, she didn't want anyone else besides Bell.
Right now, she and Bell living together was just right. Adding more members would only bring unnecessary complications.
Besides, the most important point was that Bell didn't want companions in the first place.
Hestia had heard before that Bell didn't trust other Adventurers, so the chance of him teaming up with others was close to zero.
Considering that, Hestia had long since given up on expanding her Familia.
This way, Bell would also have more room to grow at his own pace.
And knowing Bell's exact [Status], Hestia wasn't worried about whether he could grow quickly—she was more concerned he'd grow too fast.
"Bell-kun, we don't need to worry about expeditions. Our Familia will never be ranked that high."
"I understand."
Thanks to Hestia's explanation, Bell now had a rough idea of how Familia rankings worked.
After all, he wasn't some lore expert—he'd only skimmed Danmachi in the past. And as a legitimate victim of gacha addiction, there were plenty of details he'd already forgotten.
Bell also understood that his growth wasn't the issue. The real challenge was making it from Lv.2 to Lv.3 smoothly.
The next great feat—the one to take him from Lv.3 to Lv.4—was clear in his mind.
He had already decided that the floor boss on the 18th floor would be the one.
That boss, set at Lv.4, was the perfect opponent to accomplish the feat he needed to break past Lv.3.
But before that, he needed to do some more pulls. Ideally, he'd draw some critical Craft Essences—otherwise, soloing the floor boss would be next to impossible.
And speaking of Gacha, he really didn't want to think too hard about the state of his wallet.
Being 200 million in debt was no joke. Especially when he had to both repay it and save money on the side.
After all, both summoning and Craft Essence enhancement were ridiculously expensive.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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