Familia Myth: Journey to Hero Chapter 42 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Familia Myth: Journey to Hero! It’s time to sell the old Apollo Familia Home and make some money! Will it be enough to get the Hestia Familia out of debt? There’s still a lot of items that were won as well since ALL of Apollo’s holdings were won by Hestia. Surely, they can finally pay off their debt and start making all of their money for themselves. But with such notoriety and the War Game still fresh in everyone’s minds, a flood of people will be knocking on the Hearth Household’s door wanting to join the rising star Familia of Orario. Things are going to be busy for a while!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 42 – Rising Star and the Attention it Brings

Hestia was humming a light and happy tune as she looked over a few documents at her desk. She hadn’t really needed her office too much when it had been just her, Bell, and Lili as a small Familia, but now, with their triumph over the Apollo Familia, things within Orario had started to shift noticeably. The first and foremost for Hestia was the sale of the old Apollo Familia home, which involved the documents that she was currently looking through. Offers had been made on the large estate manor already given its great location and sheer size.

“130,000,000 Valis offer from the Dellingr Familia… 132,000,000 Valis offer from the Serket Familia… 132,500,000 Valis offer from the Ratri Familia… And a 133,000,000 Valis offer from the Modi Familia.” Hestia said to herself with a smile as she looked at all of the offers that had already come in. She wasn’t particularly close with any of these Deities, so she wasn’t leaning towards any one particular offer because of friendship. “At the moment, the Modi Familia is offering the most, but if I wait for another day or two, I might be able to get a higher offer.”

Selling off the old Apollo Familia home was the Hestia Familia’s ticket out of debt and the higher the price they sold for, the better off they’d be. But there was another matter that was building up as well aside from the offers of purchase that had already come in. A large stack of requests to join the Hestia Familia form well over a hundred people.

“I haven’t been able to go through these much yet.” Hestia said as she picked up the top paper and looked it over. She’d definitely need to do interviews with so many wanting to join her Familia, the lack of space within their home for this many people was already an issue. “But this person isn’t even an Adventurer?” Her blue eyes reached the bottom of the application. “We’re not a mercantile Familia, nor are we a request-taking Familia like Hermes Familia… We need Adventurers, not people that just want to join to say they’re part of my Familia.”

Given the fact that these applications had been overflowing their letterbox the last day or two, Hestia supposed that some of them would be like this. That made interviews and screening all the more important for accepting any new members. As she settled in to start going through the applications, already moving the first one she read into the ‘No’ pile, Hestia still couldn’t help but be happy at how her life had turned around from just a few months ago…even with all of this new work she had to do.

-Hostess of Fertility-

“Argonaut!” Tiona nearly flew at Bell as soon as she spotted her lover.

Bell beamed as he caught Tiona in his arms and spun her around once. “Tiona!” He greeted her just as warmly as he pulled her into a hug.

“Hehe!” Tiona’s sunshine smile graced Bell before she leaned in to kiss him.

Bell’s arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her flush against him and he deepened the kiss slightly.

“Hah…” Tiona pulled away from Bell’s lips with a happy grin, her eyes practically sparkling. “Love you, Bell~” She said as she snuggled into his chest.

“Love you too, Tiona.” Bell said softly into her ear.

Their cuddles were broken up by Tione after a long moment, the older twin wanting her own time with Bell.

“Boo~” Tiona pouted at her sister as she had to separate from Bell.

“Hush! You had your time!” Tione said as she narrowed her eyes at her sister.

Her mood instantly improved when Bell gently turned her chin, making her face him, before he captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Tione’s arms wrapped around Bell’s shoulders as she pressed herself against him, practically melting into Bell’s arms that had wrapped around her waist.

“Better?” Bell asked playfully once their lip separated.

“Better.” Tione agreed with a sweet smile, snuggling into Bell more. “Love you.”

Bell kissed Tione’s cheek. “Love you too.”

Once Tione decided to pull away, notably just slightly longer than how long Tiona had cuddled with Bell, much to the younger sister’s minor annoyance and Tione’s slightly smug smile, Ais and Bell looked at each other. Ais’s cheeks were pink after watching Tiona and Tione’s enthusiastic greetings with Bell. Seeing that Ais was still processing the loving greetings that Tione and Tiona had given him, Bell smiled gently and stepped forward a single step.

“Bell…” Ais greeted him, her cheeks darkening slightly.

“Ais.” Bell returned her greeting and offered her a hug.

Ais didn’t recall moving, but she was suddenly in Bell’s arms, her own wrapped around his shoulders, and their lips had met in a warm and loving kiss. Feeling Bell’s arms take hold of her waist and pull her flush against him might’ve made Ais get flustered, since they were in public, but there were no thoughts other than Bell in her head at the moment.

When the two broke their lip lock, golden eyes met rubellite and the couple just gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. Emotions of warmth, affection, love, acceptance, happiness, desire, and more passed between the two before they gently rested their foreheads against each other.

“I love you, Ais.” Bell said softly, his words unheard by anyone beyond their group.

Ais felt her heart thump within her chest and warmth filled her body. “I love you too, Bell.” She said quietly, her golden eyes nearly shining as she looked into Bell’s rubellite gaze.

Everyone let the two have their adorable moment together as Ais continued to open up more and more to Bell. The fact that she was showing her emotions like this in public was a very large step for her personally, coming from the shy and quiet woman that she’d been and now able to show her love for Bell physically without hesitation, regardless of where they were.

“If you’d all follow me to your table.” Ryu said with a tiny smile on her lips, her cheeks slightly red after the love-filled greeting that Ais, Tione, and Tiona had given Bell right in the entryway of the Hostess of Fertility. Her own sensibilities would make such public displays of affection almost impossible, but it still made her heart beat powerfully to see such love and know that she and Bell undoubtedly looked the same when they were together like that.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Welf said with a chuckle, having grown a bit used to Bell’s multi-partner relationship.

Mikoto, her cheeks bright red, nodded her head in agreement, unable to speak at the moment.

At one of the large round tables off to the side of the Hostess of Fertility’s dining floor, the seven Adventurers sat down together. Ryu took all of their drink orders and prepared to go fetch them, only for Syr to pluck the order pad from Ryu’s hands with a bright grin on her face.

“Bell… Mama Mia says you can borrow Ryu since you’ve brought such a large group during our slow time.” Syr said with a giggle as she pushed Ryu over to Bell, sitting her friend in the chair on Bell’s left side.

“Huh?” Ryu blinked at the sudden change of situation.

Bell smiled and waved to Mama Mia behind the bar. “Thank you, Mama Mia!”

Mama Mia waved it off with a laugh. “Just keep spending your cash!”

Syr’s cute giggle as she wrote down Ryu’s drink order -already knowing what her friend liked- and practically skipped off to the kitchen to get everyone’s drinks was enough to snap Ryu from her stunned state. Which only made her blush adorably as she sat next to Bell. Her blush only spread further when Bell took her hand into his beneath the table, the redness now reached the tips of her Elven ears.

Once Syr returned with everyone’s drinks Tiona quickly picked up hers and held it aloft. “Congratulations on Leveling Up to Level 3, Bell!”

Everyone else raised their glasses as well, even Ryu who had nothing but a warm and proud smile for her boyfriend’s incredible accomplishment. “Congratulations, Bell!”

Bell couldn’t help but smile brightly at all of them as he raised his own drink in thanks. “Thank you, everyone!” They all took a long drink before setting their cups down.

“Congratulations, Bell.” Syr smiled at Bell. “What would you like to eat for your celebration?”

“Let’s see…” Bell quickly looked over the menu to find something fitting the celebration that he was sharing with his friends and girlfriends.

A short while later, the small party was still ongoing, filled with conversation, cheer, and even laughter among everyone at the table. Even Ryu had been brought into the revelry more than she expected, now leaning into Bell and accepting a one-armed hug.

“Mmm!” Ryu’s blue eyes widened as Bell captured her lips unexpectedly. Her entire face turned red, the heat traveling all the way up her Elven ears, and her hands gripped the fabric of Bell’s shirt. She didn’t recall when her eyes closed, but Ryu leaned into the kiss, pouring her love for Bell into it.

“Love you, Ryu.” Bell said when he pulled away from Ryu’s lips, the quiet whisper making Ryu’s heart flutter.

“Love you, Bell.” Ryu returned his feelings with her own before burying her face into his chest when she noticed everyone at the table looking at them. She couldn’t bring herself to meet anyone’s eyes after such a public display of affection.

Bell only held Ryu close, offering her all of the love, support, and affection that he could to help her calm down. When he felt Ryu snuggling into his chest, Bell couldn’t help but smile fondly as he gently ran his hand up and down her back.

“Bell, don’t embarrass Miss Ryu.” Lili playfully chided her lover with a cute laugh.

“It’s cute though.” Tione teased Ryu, who was still hiding her face in Bell’s chest.

Ais gently tugged on the sleeve of Bell’s jacket, making him look at her. “Be nice…” She said, knowing how difficult it could be to display affection in front of others.

“I will.” Bell smiled at Ais warmly, getting a bright and beautiful smile in return from Ais.

The celebration for Bell’s Level Up at the Hostess of Fertility lasted until the dinner crowd began to come into the tavern. The money for all of the food and drinks was given to Syr and Mama Mia. Ryu, still having to work, parted with the group at the front door.

“I’ll see you soon, Ryu.” Bell promised his girlfriend softly with a warm smile.

“Yes,” Ryu’s cheeks were pink as she smiled at Bell. “For our d-date…” She couldn’t help but stumble over the word as her heart fluttered.

Bell leaned in and lightly kissed Ryu’s cheek for looking so cute. “Yes.”

Ryu’s blush darkened and she took a half-step back from Bell, her hand cupping her cheek. “Bell…” She had the cutest little pout on her face.

“Alright, I’m going, I’m going…” Bell chuckled as he left the Hostess of Fertility and stepped out onto West Main Street.

“That was fun!” Tiona cheered brightly, her hands above her head.

Welf laughed at Tiona’s exuberance. “It was! Good food, good booze, and good friends! That’s the best way to celebrate!”

Mikoto agreed with a small smile of her own. “It was quite enjoyable. I might’ve drunk a bit more than I planned to.” She admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

“Nonsense!” Lili declared with a laugh. Having quite a heavy tolerance to booze, both from her time in Soma Familia and her Abnormal Resistance Developmental Ability.

As the group split up to head back to their own Familia, Bell made sure to hug and kiss Tione, Tiona, and Ais before they separated. All three women had bright smiles on their faces as they walked down the street a few moments later, a bit of a spring in their steps. Bell, also feeling like he was walking on a cloud, took Lili’s hand in his as their group walked back home.

-Hearth Household ~ Evening-

The stacks of papers on Hestia’s desk was something new for Bell as he sat across the desk from his Goddess. Even just a short time ago, there had never been much paperwork for the Hestia Familia since it had only been Hestia, Bell, and Lili. But now, with their Familia rising up the unofficial ranks of Orario, many people were not only taking notice…the entire city was being FORCED to take notice.

“Hah…” Hestia sighed as she sipped on the tea that Bell had brought her. “I’ve managed to go through quite a bit of these applications today. I expected more than a few, but this much interest is more than our Familia can currently handle.”

Bell looked at the three stacks of papers on Hestia’s desk, noticing that one was much taller than the other two. “That’s a lot of applications in the ‘No’ pile.” He felt a bit of sadness at that, knowing how hard that it could be to find a Familia to take you in.

Hestia knew why Bell looked at the largest pile with some sadness. “I know how you feel, Bell. But Familias all have their own roles and specialties. If we take in members that don’t want to be Adventurers and explore the Dungeon, then we’d only be harming them in the long run.” She gave Bell a gentle smile. “We have to examine the character and personality of each applicant to make sure they’ll fit within our Familia as well.”

“You’re right, I know.” Bell said after a long moment to consider what the Familia needed, rather than his own feelings of wanting to offer a place to all of the applicants.

“Would it make you feel a bit better to know that most of these rejected applications are from people that don’t want to be Adventurers, but want to be part of our Familia to start their own endeavors under our name thanks to our rising notoriety.” Hestia asked Bell as she patted the top of the largest stack. ‘He doesn’t need to know that a good number of these are just from Amazons that want to join the Familia to get close to him.’

Bell blinked at learning why most of the ‘No’ pile had been rejected. “They don’t want to be Adventurers? But we’re an Exploration Familia.” Their type of Familia almost exclusively made all of their money from dungeon crawling. If they had more and more mouths to feed but none of them were bringing in money from the Dungeon, then it would end up a huge loss for the Hestia Familia.

Hestia nodded as she picked up her teacup and sipped from it again. “That’s what I thought as well. I was surprised at the sheer number of applicants that made it clear they didn’t want to go into the Dungeon.” She set her teacup down and smiled at the smallest stack of papers. “However, we did get a few applications that I approved of.”

“I’m glad for that much.” Bell smiled as well, looking at the small stack of applications. “How many is that?”

“Two for our Familia and three for Miach’s.” Hestia said with a little smile. “We owe them for their support in the War Game and the fact that they let us keep all of the potions they prepared of us even though we didn’t need all of them.”

Bell blinked once, then twice. “You’re recruiting for Lord Miach’s Familia too?”

Hestia giggled at the look on Bell’s face. “Why wouldn’t I help out Miach with his own recruitment? These three…” She picked up three of the applications and put them down on Bell’s side of the desk so he could read them. “All mention that they have medicinal experience, but no combat experience. One’s an herbalist, another was an apprentice pharmacist before coming to Orario, and the third one is a nurse and the fiancé of the pharmacist.”

“I see.” Bell read over the three applications. All three not only had no combat experience, but had made clear that they didn’t want to explore the Dungeon any more than they had to. “They would fit well with a Medicinal Familia like Lord Miach’s.”

“I’ll keep the two that’re coming to our Familia a secret until they join.” Hestia said with a giggle as she took the remining two applications and put them in the drawer of her desk.

Bell gave Hestia an amused smile. “Alright, keep your secrets then.”

“Hehehe!” Hestia giggled at Bell’s smile. “I will.”

“How is the sale of the Apollo Familia home going?” Bell asked, knowing that it was the biggest matter that their Familia needed to take care of right now.

Hestia could only smile as she pulled out the offers to buy the property that she’d already received. “It’s going well! We have really good offers, enough to pay off our debt entirely!”

Bell’s eyes widened at the numbers he saw on the papers. “H-Hestia! This is amazing!”

“Right?” Hestia had a proud smile on her face. “I can’t wait to pay off the entire remaining debt to Hephaestus all at once!” She was practically glowing with pride and happiness.

-Guild Real Estate Office ~ Two Days Later-

“Sign here, and here…” Martin Weiler, the senior manager, pointed to the two lines that needed Hestia’s signature on the paperwork. His fluffy dog-like tail was wagging unseen behind his chair. Handling this large sale was another good mark on his impeccable record with the Guild. ‘I’ll be a shoo-in for the position of Department Head whenever the old man retires.’

Hestia signed in the two indicated places. “Done and done.” She smiled at Martin and then turned to look at the Deity she had sold Apollo’s old home to. “Nice doing business with you, Modi.”

Modi, the Norse God of Courage, Wrath, and Patron Deity of Berserkers, was a stalwart God with dark reddish-brown hair and a thick beard of the same color. He had a muscular build and dressed in comfortable clothes of cotton and leather, completely filling the chair he sat in. Despite his rather imposing size and strength, his dark eyes were filled with mirth.

“Good to do business with ya, Hestia.” Modi said with a chuckle. “My Familia has been getting bigger ever since our main Party all reached Level 3 about a year ago. We need a bigger home and what better one than Apollo’s old place? Plenty of space and land to make use of and right off West Main Street, making for a great location!” He chortled a bit as he leaned a little closer to Hestia. “No offense to you or your family, but I never really liked Apollo much. He was always a…”

“Self-absorbed, arrogant, entitled brat?” Hestia described Apollo as she saw her nephew.

“I was gonna say jackass, but that fits too!” Modi laughed, slapping the armrest of the chair he was sitting in.

Martin smiled at the good mood the two Deities were in. “All that’s left is for Lady Hestia to receive her money, Lord Modi.”

Modi nodded and held out his hand to Hestia to shake. “I’ll have some of my ‘children’ bring it over shortly, we’ve got it all packed up in large wooden crates at our current home.”

Hestia accepted the hand shake, her smaller hand nearly disappearing into Modi’s much larger grip. “I’ll look forward to their delivery.”

As the liaison between the two Deities, Martin would hold onto the paperwork until Hestia confirmed that payment had been made. After the money for the sale had been received, then the deed to the old Apollo Familia home would be handed over to Modi and his Familia could start moving in.

‘135,000,000 Valis!’ Hestia cheered in her mind as she looked at her copy of the sales documents while heading out of the Guild. It had originally been 133,000,000 Valis, but the Ratri Familia had increased their offer to 134,000,000 Valis yesterday, so the Modi Familia had increased their offer to secure the large manor for themselves. “I can’t wait to see Hephaestus’s face!” She giggled to herself as she headed towards her home.

-Hearth Household – Back Garden-

“Hup!” Bell thrust his wooden training spear at Mikoto, only for the swordswoman to deflect his attack and open his guard with her bokken.

“Got ya!” Welf swung his wooden greatsword towards Bell’s stomach.

Bell kicked the ground, skipping backwards multiple meters, avoiding Welf’s swing and Mikoto’s follow up strike. He spun his spear to knock Lili’s knife away as the Prum had snuck up from his blind spot for a sneak attack.

“You could keep your focus, Bell-dono.” Mikoto had already closed the distance and brought her bokken down on Bell.

Bell tried to bring his spear up to block, only for the end to be weighed down unexpectedly. A quick glance showed that the disarmed Lili had grabbed onto the wooden training spear to prevent Bell from using his weapon. With his increased strength form his Level Up, Bell jerked his spear powerfully, lifting Lili off the ground entirely and swinging her into Mikoto which sent both women crashing to the ground.

Welf had managed to close the distance now and brought his greatsword down on Bell who was off-balance from his desperate tactic.

“Grk!” Bell twisted and managed to put his spear shaft between himself and Welf’s training sword. But his lack of balance betrayed him and he was knocked to one knee from the strength and weight of the impact. “I’m still not fully used to my new Level.” He managed to force Welf backwards with his greater strength and get back to his feet, but he immediately noticed that he was once more trapped in a triangle formation by Lili, Welf, and Mikoto.

“We’ll help you get back in sync with your body, Bell.” Lili promised with a teasing grin, her training knife back in her hand.

“It’s important that you get used to your Level Up quickly so that we can return to the Dungeon, Bell-dono.” Mikoto said without losing her focus, her purple eyes focused entirely on Bell, looking for any opening available.

Welf hefted his trainings sword with laugh, “What’re friends and Familia for, right?”

Bell faked a laugh. “Lucky me.” He readied his training spear again and the sparring resumed.

Once he felt good with his spear again, then he’d switch to his dual-wielded knives and get used to them again. The rapid Level Ups he’d had made the normal de-sync between mind and body, which was normal for a Level Up, a bit more pronounced…especially given his unique ability to surpass the normal limits of the Falna. Going into the Dungeon while out of sync like this would only invite problems, so it was absolutely necessary that Bell got himself back in peak condition.

-Next Day ~ Morning-

Bell, Welf, Lili, and Mikoto all blinked as Hestia allowed two people into their home.

“Miss Cassandra? Miss Daphne?” Bell spoke as he recognized the two women.

“What’re two former Apollo Familia members doing here?” Welf asked, having fought Daphne during the War Game and taken on Daphne and Cassandra both when Apollo Familia had attacked the Hestia Familia to provoke them into a War Game.

Hestia beamed as she gestured to the two women. “Let me introduce you to our newest Familia members!”

“EH?!” Lili, Bell, and Welf exclaimed.

Mikoto blinked at their reactions. “Is that bad? Their not our enemies anymore.” She didn’t think Cassandra and Daphne seemed like bad people.

“Well… We just thought…” Cassandra mumbled before becoming too quiet to be heard.

Daphne sighed a little but gave Cassandra a small smile. “We’re here to join a real Familia, by our own choice. Not be chased from land to land by Lord Apollo until we had no choice but to join.”

Cassandra nodded, emboldened by Daphne’s words, she smiled slightly and gave a small wave to the current members of the Hestia Familia. “Let’s get along…please.”

“Despite that they were forced to be in Apollo Familia, I know these two are good people and will be a great benefit to our Familia.” Hestia said calmly to assure her ‘children’, bringing smiles to Daphne and Cassandra at the approval of their character.

Bell stood up from the couch and walked over to Casandra and Daphne. He met Daphne’s yellow eyes and then turned to look into Cassandra’s light green eyes. After a moment (which made both Daphne and Cassandra slightly nervous) Bell smiled at both of them. “Welcome to Hestia Familia, Miss Cassandra, Miss Daphne.”

Casandra visibly lost tension in her shoulders. She gave a little smile to Bell for his acceptance.

Daphne’s reaction was more minute, but no less a relief for her. Bell, as the Captain of Hestia Familia, held a lot of sway within the Familia. If he had argued against their acceptance, Lady Hestia could very well have reconsidered letting them join.

“Lili will follow Hestia and Bell’s decision.” Lili said as she walked to Bell’s side and smiled up at Daphne and Cassandra.

“I don’t really mind, I suppose.” Welf spoke up as he stood up from the couch. “Not like I’m that much of a senior member, after all.”

Mikoto smiled as the tension in the room had vanished. “As we’re all new members, I hope that we’ll get along, Cassandra-dono, Daphne-dono.” She stood up and then bowed properly.

As introductions began among the group and the two women, Hestia could only smile happily at the acceptance of Daphne and Cassandra. Just from their applications alone, Hestia knew that both women would be great additions to their Familia.

A bit later, in Hestia’s office, Daphne and Cassandra sat with their backs exposed to their new Goddess, ready to receive Hestia’s Falna.

“Ready, Cassandra?” Hestia decided to do the shy woman first.

“Yes, Lady Hestia.” Cassandra, her long hair gathered over her left shoulder, said as she glanced over her shoulder at Hestia.

A drop of Hestia’s blood fell upon Cassandra’s back, the familiar blue-white glow appearing a second later. Hestia began to draw the hieroglyphs necessary for her Blessing upon Cassandra’s skin. A place for the woman’s name, her Level, Basic Abilities, Skills, Magic, and Developmental Abilities. Once she drew her Falna’s emblem, she pushed a scrap of her divinity into the lines and hieroglyphs making them glow and then sharpen to look like the work of a master tattoo artist.

‘Let’s see what Cassandra has…’ Hestia thought to herself as she watched the Basic Abilities, Skills, Magic, and Developmental Ability that Cassandra had already acquired from her time in the Apollo Familia fill themselves in. ‘Wait… What’s this?’ There was something in Cassandra’s Skill section…but it wasn’t like any Skill that she’d ever seen before. ‘I can’t decipher it into hieroglyphs?’ Hestia blinked at the oddity…it was clearly there, but without being able to understand it and write it into hieroglyphs, she couldn’t figure out what this strange Skill did.

This seemed like something else entirely. Something not seen normally within the Falna.

Hestia’s heart almost stopped and an invisible weight fell into her stomach.

‘Something not normal to the Falna… Something that is within, but that I can’t interact with…’ Hestia thought as she managed to keep her composure as much as possible. ‘Like Bell’s Miracle…is this something divine?’ She took a deep breath, trying to remain quiet and not draw the attention of Daphne or Cassandra. ‘No… I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But if this is something divine, then it was either granted by a Miracle, or it’s something that Cassandra had naturally…’ Hestia shook her head once at that. ‘Cassandra isn’t a Demi-Goddess; this can’t be something that she was born with.’ Hestia hadn’t met a Demi-God before, but there would definitely be a trace of ‘difference’ between one and a normal mortal, something that a Deity would be able to pick up on. ‘While Cassandra is old enough to have potentially been fathered or mothered by one of the Level 8 Adventurers from Zeus Familia or Hera Familia… There’s no way that such news could’ve been hidden from Orario back then.’ The birth of a Demi-God hadn’t been seen in centuries and news of such things always found its way around the world.

“Lady Hestia?” Cassandra asked, looking over her shoulder at her new Goddess. “Is something wrong?”

Hestia smiled at Cassandra. “No, no… Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment while looking at your Magic.”

Cassandra blushed cutely. “Oh…th-thank you.” It was nice to know that her Magic had managed to surprise Hestia.

Deciding to keep this abnormality to herself for now, until she could ask Hephaestus about it, Hestia finished up the blessing and then placed a blank paper over the new Falna. With a twirl of her finger, she copied the Status over. “Here you are, Cassandra.”

“Thank you, Lady Hestia.” Cassandra took the paper and looked at her first Status as a member of Hestia Familia.

-Status-

Cassandra Ilion

Level 2

Strength – H 101

Defense – H 189

Dexterity – G 248

Agility – F 341

Magic – D 588

-Magic-

Soullight

Healing Magic – Incantation: ‘Heavenly light, once rejected. Merciful arms that save my shallow self. Rescue my miserable companions in place of my words that cannot reach them. Oh sunlight, may you beat back ruin.’

(Heals injuries and restores stamina within a given area. Area of effect increases based on the amount of Mind used.)

-Skills-

-

-Developmental Ability-

Treatment – I

-Status-

“This is what I remember from my update before the War Game.” Cassandra confirmed as she looked over the paper.

“Bell will want to help you train up your stats more, so I hope you’re ready to get stronger.” Hestia smiled with a soft laugh as she gently hugged Cassandra from behind. “Welcome to my Familia, Cassandra.”

Cassandra smiled at the familial affection from Hestia, feeling the warmth of Family and Home filling her heart. “Thank you, Lady Hestia. I’m glad to be here.”

Hestia released Cassandra form her hug and locked up her Falna securely, making it disappear from Cassandra’s back. Then she headed over to Daphne while Cassandra put the top of her dress back on. “Are you ready, Daphne?”

“Of course, Lady Hestia.” Daphne said with a strength and confidence that made Hestia smile.

Doing the same as she’d done with Cassandra, Hestia placed a single drop of her blood onto Daphne’s back. Once the blue-white light appeared, Hestia started to write in the hieroglyphs for her Blessing. Finishing the areas designated for the Name, Level, Basic Abilities, Magic, Skills, and Developmental Abilities… Hestia drew her Falna’s emblem before a tiny fragment of her divinity was placed within. The rough lines snapped into perfection, all clean and sharp, easily able to be read by those that could read the hieroglyphs. Not that Hestia would ever let that happen.

“Just one more second.” Hestia said as she placed a blank paper onto Daphne’s back and copied the Status over to it. “Here you are, Daphne.”

Thank you, Lady Hestia.” Daphne said politely as she looked at her Status as a member of the Hestia Familia.

-Status-

Daphne Lauros

Level 2

Strength – D 505

Defense – E 478

Dexterity – B 707

Agility – C 698

Magic – F 370

-Magic-

Raumure

Protection Magic – Incantation: ‘Follow blindly the sun in the sky. Blossom, armor of laurel, so that all will flee from thee.’

(Raises the user’s Defense and largely raises their Agility. Its effectiveness depends on the user’s Magic stat.)

-Skills-

Elios Passion – Slightly raises the user’s Agility. If being chased, it allows the user to temporarily obtain the Development Ability: Escape.

Laurus Wreath – Heavily increases the user’s Defense if exhausted or dying. The user is able to select where to activate the effect and it modifies their skin to a rough, tree bark-like state.

-Developmental Ability-

Abnormal Resistance – I

-Status-

Daphne nodded her head after reading through the Status. “Yeah, this is what I had on the update before the War Game. Haven’t been into the Dungeon to gain any more Excelia since then.”

“Welcome to my Familia, Daphne.” Hestia gently hugged Daphne from behind.

‘Warm… Kind… So different from Apollo.’ Daphne thought to herself as she allowed Hestia to hug her, feeling he contentment of Family and Home seeped into her form from her new Goddess’s familial affection.

“Glad to be here, Lady Hestia.” Daphne replied as she enjoyed the soft hug for a little longer before Hestia released her. Once her Falna was securely locked up, Daphne put the top of her dress back on.

Hestia made sure to make a quick note to herself to talk with Hephaestus about Cassandra’s abnormal -potentially divine- Skill. Daphne and Cassandra burned their Status Updates with the candle on Hestia’s desk before tossing the ashes into a metal trashcan next to the desk.

“Now! It’s time to celebrate you two joining the Familia!” Hestia declared as she playfully pulled the two along, leaving the office behind and heading out into the back. “Bell! Lili! Welf! Mikoto! Let’s start cooking!”

Cassandra looked at Daphne in confusion, but only got an equally confused look back.

Neither of the two could’ve known that they were about to taste food cooked by a Goddess of the Hearth; food that would not only fill their bellies, but satisfy their hearts and souls as well.

-Valka’s Crimson Chamber (Hephaestus Familia Home) ~ Next Morning-

“What’s all this?” Hephaestus had to ask as Hestia had brought in wooden crates with help from Hephaestus’s ‘children’.

“Hehe!” Hestia’s smug smile initially made Hephaestus wary. “I’ve come to pay off my debt!” She opened the lid of the nearest crate to reveal stacks of Valis coins all neatly packed into the box.

Hephaestus blinked in surprise for a moment before shaking her head. “Well… I didn’t expect you to pay me back so quickly.” She chuckled as she stepped around her desk and looked at the various crates, finding all of them filled with Valis coins in the same neatly stacked manner. “I’ll have to have this all tallied up, but it certainly looks like you have enough to pay off your debt.” Hephaestus said before giving her aunt a softer look. “You really have changed, Hestia.”

Hestia smiled warmly at her niece. “Thank you, Hephaestus.” She hugged her niece and smiled even more when the hug was returned.

“Care for a drink to celebrate?” Hephaestus offered as she headed over to her desk to write a note to have a few of her senior Familia members come to her office to help with the accounting of Hestia’s payment.

“Actually… I have something to ask you about, Hephaestus.” Hestia said, the hesitance catching Hephaestus’s attention immediately. “One of my new Familia members has a strange Skill…or sort of Skill…it’s really weird.”

Hephaestus sighed and pulled out a bottle of good liquor. “When it involves your Familia, this is becoming a trend.” She sat down and motioned for Hestia to pull up a chair.

Hestia pouted at Hephaestus. “Hey! It’s not like I’m trying to do this, you know?”

Once the Hephaestus Familia members entered the office to take the crates and do the accounting, the door was closed and locked behind them as the two Goddesses began to talk.

“So… What is it this time?” Hephaestus questioned.

“My new ‘child’, Cassandra, has a Skill that I can’t translate into hieroglyphs at all. I can’t figure out what it does because I can’t translate it, but it’s sitting in the Skill section of her Falna like it’s a normal Skill even though it can’t be seen or shown on a status sheet or the Falna itself.”

Hephaestus stared at Hestia for a long moment before opening the liquor bottle and drinking straight from it.

‘She’s going to give me grey hairs at this rate…’ The Goddess of the Forge thought to herself as she set the liquor bottle down.

-End Chapter-

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Hephaestus can’t catch a break with Hestia’s Familia! Lol

But Hestia paid off her debt! Woohoo!

Now that Hestia Familia is free of debt, all of the money they make from now on is theirs! Yes!

Daphne and Cassandra joined the Hestia Familia this time! Take THAT Canon!

But with Cassandra’s strange and indecipherable Skill (called Five Dimension Troia in Canon, though Miach just gave it that name to call it something), Hestia is going to have to figure out how to handle this new situation.

Hestia sends three people over to Miach Familia to help start the rebuilding of her friend’s Familia! Such a good friend she is!

Bell celebrates his Level Up with his lovers at the Hostess after celebrating with his Familia. All of the warm and fluffy!

Bulli Ryu, the most adorable Best Elf! So easy to bulli! Is cute!

Now that the last few things from the War Game have been wrapped up, it’s time to head back into the Dungeon! This time with a bigger Party than before! Floor Eighteen and Rivira is the current goal for Hestia Familia!

What’s the next incident to come up for Hestia Familia?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!