When Gude left the Guild, night had already fallen. Along both sides of the street, magic-stone lamps glowed with a soft, steady light.
He tossed the pouch of valis in his hand a couple of times—today's afternoon earnings—then tucked it away and stepped into the city's bustling main road.
The smell of alcohol and rough laughter hit him head-on, mixed with the perfume of voluptuous Amazonian warriors. Elves, beastfolk, dwarves, and adventurers of every temperament flowed past in a ceaseless stream—some roaring with laughter, others arguing bitterly, voices rising and falling like waves.
The lively, chaotic atmosphere swallowed him whole.
But Gude had no interest in sightseeing right now.
Hunger guided him with unnerving precision. Following the drifting scent of food, he tracked it straight to the source.
"The Hostess of Fertility."
A tavern packed to the brim with business.
Gude strode inside. The servers were rushing back and forth nonstop, clearly too busy to spare attention for a newcomer.
He didn't mind. He headed to the counter, where a burly woman slammed down two barrel-sized wooden mugs—each as big as his head—with a heavy bang.
"Oh! Kid, want a mug of sparkling ale?"
Her voice was deep and boisterous, packed with presence. Even with her aura restrained, she still felt like a mountain—weighty, immovable.
She was the tavern's owner: Mia Grand.
And not just a shopkeeper. She was a Level 6, a first-class adventurer—one of Orario's acknowledged powerhouses. Rumor had it that making her angry was more terrifying than fighting a floor boss in the deeper levels.
More importantly, there were multiple Level 4 second-class adventurers among the staff.
That was exactly why Gude had chosen to eat here.
With monsters sitting in the shop, order was guaranteed—and he wouldn't get shaken down by lowlifes who preyed on the weak.
"Please pack two of today's recommended dishes for me. And a large bottle of apple juice. If you can make it quick, I'd really appreciate it—I'm pretty hungry. Thanks."
Gude spoke plainly. He'd been using Observation Haki intermittently throughout combat, and it had accelerated both physical and mental drain. The hunger clawing at him now wasn't ordinary.
He'd also noticed the specials on the way in: grilled meat steak and stir-fried chicken with mixed vegetables—the kind of food where you could feel the meat fibers tear when you bit down.
That was exactly what he needed.
Mia stared at his sunken stomach, then swept her gaze around the room.
Peak hours had every server fully occupied. One clumsy cat-person waitress had even shattered a plate in the rush, making the chaos worse. There was clearly no spare hand to pull into the kitchen.
Mia had been born in a poor mining district. She'd grown up knowing hunger firsthand, and it had carved itself deep into her. Even now, when she saw someone hungry, she remembered her own past—so she couldn't just ignore it.
So there was only one thing to do.
"Mm. Most folks' dishes are basically out. If you're starving, sit there and wait a minute."
She turned and walked into the back kitchen. Through the transparent service window, Gude could see her thick arms swinging an oversized spatula with casual ease. Every motion—oil blazing, heat roaring, ingredients hitting the pan—radiated such brute force it made his scalp tighten.
Observation Haki was too sensitive.
And he couldn't help wondering:
What the hell was that spatula made of?
Which smith had forged it?
How was it surviving a Level 6 using it like a weapon?
"——!"
Mid-thought, a sensation stabbed down on him from nowhere—a rude, invasive scrutiny that felt like it pierced flesh and stared straight at his naked soul.
Gude broke into a cold sweat.
Even Observation Haki—sharp enough to track monsters in pitch-black shadows—couldn't locate the source of the gaze.
Whoever it was, they were either overwhelmingly strong… or wielded some higher mystery.
Fortunately, the gaze vanished as quickly as it had arrived. At the very last moment, Observation Haki caught a flicker of emotion—something like surprise.
"Are you alright, Mister Adventurer? You look a bit unwell."
A gentle voice drifted in from beside him.
Gude turned his head and saw a young waitress approaching, carrying two packed meal boxes.
Syr Flova.
The name surfaced instantly in his mind.
At a glance she looked like an ordinary human girl—pure eyes, delicate features, perfectly put together. For convenience at work, her long, pale-gray hair was gathered into a bun at the back of her head.
Her first impression was that of a warm, neighborly girl next door.
But Gude knew her true nature.
She was Freya—or rather, a fragment of Freya, the goddess of love and beauty.
Freya was an impulsive goddess. Depending on circumstances, if she desired someone strongly enough, she could commit acts of madness that shook the world—within a certain boundary.
Still, it wasn't easy to push a goddess into throwing away her pride to that extent.
Because of her divine authority, she was especially sensitive to the "scent" of souls. That earlier scrutiny… it had almost certainly been her doing.
He'd expected Freya might notice him if he came here, but the reality was faster—and far more overbearing—than he'd imagined.
First time in the tavern, and he was already being inspected.
Did she do this to every customer—abusing the fact that her "divine sight" was hard to detect, quietly scanning souls without restraint?
Given Freya's personality, it honestly sounded plausible.
Still, at this point in time, she should have been interested in pure souls. Gude didn't consider himself part of that category, so he doubted she'd fixate on him too much.
"It's nothing. Just overexertion—I'm tired."
He raised a hand to stop Syr from moving as if to support him. Then he pulled 3,000 valis from his pouch and paid without hesitation, taking the two packed specials from her hands.
They were heavy. The lidded wooden boxes hid the contents, but he had a strong suspicion the owner had quietly increased the portion without increasing the price.
No wonder the locals called her "Mama Mia."
That kind of wordless care fit the nickname perfectly.
I'm coming back here to eat again.
Gude had just stood up, ready to return to his Familia home base and share Mama Mia's still-hot food with Hestia—
When Syr shifted her steps with uncanny timing, "coincidentally" blocking his path. She clasped her hands behind her back and blinked her clear, watery eyes.
"Um, Mister Adventurer… it's my first time seeing you dine here. You're a new adventurer, aren't you?"
She didn't hide her interest. Her curiosity was expressed with perfect, calibrated charm.
If Gude were an ordinary teenage boy, he'd probably already been smashed by the force of her cuteness—too flustered to speak, letting her lead him by the nose.
But after being violated by that earlier inspection…
He wasn't feeling charitable.
What he thought was:
You arrogant, rude goddess-in-disguise. You just rummaged through my soul—how can you immediately act like nothing happened and perform "pure and innocent" for the victim?
He kept his expression neutral—polite, the face you wore for strangers.
"That's right. But please step aside. As you can see, I'm heading back to my Familia's base."
He lifted the packed boxes slightly as a clear signal: I'm not continuing this conversation.
Then he slipped around Syr and walked out quickly.
Behind him, Syr stared at his back, momentarily frozen—whatever thoughts were stirring behind her eyes, she didn't show.
It wasn't that Gude was immune to beautiful girls.
It was that he knew Syr's nature: she looked gentle at first glance, but she was sly, and she enjoyed teasing people she took a liking to.
That wasn't compatible with his current state.
And more importantly—
He was really hungry.
At a moment like this, goddess or not, he only wanted to get home, tear into meat with big bites, gulp down fruit juice, and enjoy a proper dinner like a living creature.
That was the real priority.
He picked up his pace. Soon he left the main streets behind and entered a half-collapsed, abandoned church.
Moonlight spilled through the broken roof and scattered across the floor. Behind the pulpit, the goddess statue had been damaged so badly its identity couldn't be recognized. Far from the noisy avenues, quiet soaked into everything beneath that pale, ghostly light.
This was the base of the Hestia Familia.
More precisely—an hidden underground room beneath this ruined church.
Following memory, Gude opened the concealed door and descended the steps into a windowless room where moonlight leaked in through cracks overhead.
The entire space was maybe twenty square meters. A bed and a long sofa—salvaged, but still usable—occupied half of it.
He set the packed boxes on a small tea table that had also been scavenged. But someone had already placed something there: fried potato balls wrapped in coarse paper.
Hestia had probably brought them back from her part-time job.
In the cramped kitchen to the side, hearing the noise, Hestia hurried out in slippers.
"Yo, Gude! Welcome back!"
She planted her hands on her hips and flashed an energetic smile. Her chest bounced with the motion, and the blue ribbon tied beneath her bust stretched taut—then relaxed again.
It seemed she'd been riding the joy of having her very first official Familia member all day long, from noon until now.
"I'm home, Hestia."
Gude smiled back. "Come eat."
Hestia looked him up and down first, confirming there were no injuries, then nodded with visible relief.
This kid really is steady, she thought.
And he'd awakened a rare skill—Observation Haki. She'd never heard of it and couldn't make heads or tails of it at first, but from Gude's explanation she could at least confirm it was a perception-enhancing ability.
A cautious personality paired with a sensory skill—no wonder he'd adapted quickly even as a newcomer, and no wonder he could afford food with this kind of portion.
"Alright, alright—let me see what delicious stuff we've got tonight!"
Hestia sat across from him, rubbed her hands together at the packed boxes, and grinned like someone receiving offerings.
As the Familia's goddess, Hestia had a beauty worthy of divinity. Every motion carried vitality—her fair skin looked elastic and full of life.
Her long black hair was tied into twin-tails that swayed like ribbons with each movement. She only reached about the upper part of Gude's waist in height.
A goddess who looked like a twelve-year-old girl—yet possessed curves that would make even grown women gasp.
Gude remembered: when he'd told her he wanted to join a Familia to obtain a status and register as an adventurer—
This childlike goddess had immediately turned serious and asked him two questions.
Summed up, they were:
First: Why do you want to become an adventurer—what is your purpose?
Second: Do you understand the dangers of being an adventurer?
At the time, she'd looked ready to kick him out of the Familia—her only follower—if his answers didn't satisfy her.
But no matter how he examined her questions, what he saw underneath was simple: concern.
So his answer had been clear:
—I want to keep improving myself, and leave my mark on this world.
That answer had clearly surprised her. But it also made her realize that Gude wasn't some hot-blooded idiot—he had a concrete goal and wouldn't lose his way.
So she'd finally relaxed, letting out a breath as if she'd nearly lost something precious.
"Wah~! This smell, this portion—there's no way I'm wrong! This is absolutely Mama Mia's cooking!"
The moment Hestia opened the boxes, she recognized the handiwork. Her shock didn't need narration—it spilled out of her face.
But then her expression shifted. Her smile faded into guilt, and her voice dropped.
"Mama Mia's food isn't cheap… I'm sorry, Gude. It's my fault. I'm such a useless goddess—just a burden on you…"
With Hestia's wage, buying these dishes would mean working a hundred hours. And even if adventuring was high income, it was always paired with high risk.
"There's nothing to apologize for," Gude said sincerely. "If I hadn't become your follower and received your blessing, I couldn't have become an adventurer at all. I wouldn't have today's gains."
That part was genuine.
Even though Gude had a system—one that could update his stats and let him grow without a god's engraving—
Without the identity of being a member of Hestia Familia, and the "endorsement" of a divine blessing as the pass needed to register as an adventurer, he'd be a nobody with no papers.
He wouldn't even make it past the Dungeon guards' checks—let alone access all the conveniences the Guild provided.
"So don't dwell on it, Hestia. You're the Familia's goddess. You should be more composed and confident—both with people and with problems. That's better for our Familia's future.
"We're just starting out, but I'll promise you this: one day, our Familia will be famous across the entire continent. If the Familia's goddess lacks authority, internal management won't go well."
Gude spoke earnestly as he poured apple juice into their cups—cups that were, admittedly, the same ones they used for brushing their teeth.
Hestia looked like a girl, but as a goddess she'd existed for ages beyond counting. She didn't take everything too heavily. Hearing him say it like that, she stopped overthinking—it was true that being overly sentimental could create awkwardness.
So she shook off the gloom, laughed brightly, and raised her juice.
"Well said! That's the spirit! For the Hestia Familia—soon to be famous across the continent—cheers!"
…
Two hours after dinner, Gude had finished bathing. He took off his upper clothes and exposed his back to Hestia.
Updating an adventurer's ability values meant the Familia's goddess used divine blood as a medium, turning accumulated combat experience and growth into quantified data—then engraving it with sacred letters, converting it into real strength.
Even though Gude could update his values on his own, he still had to go through the motions.
He had no intention of exposing the existence of his "system" in this world.
"Update… update…"
"…Ehhhh—!? What is this!? In a single afternoon, every stat except magic jumped by more than thirty points on average!? 'The One Who Sinks into Improvement'!? A huge boost to growth rate!?"
"This is ridiculous, Gude! This is seriously ridiculous! You might actually have the potential to become a first-class adventurer!?"
Hestia was a total rookie as a Familia goddess, and she hadn't personally experienced the differences in growth between adventurers—but her friend Hephaistos had mentioned average growth rates to her before.
A normal adventurer—even in Rank I—gaining seven or eight points in a day was already pretty good.
So how many times faster was Gude growing!?
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Gude said. "But no matter how good a skill is, if the person can't use it properly, even a rare skill can end up wasted. And I'm still only Lv.1. It's too early to celebrate."
He'd already dressed and was lying down on the long sofa. The bed, naturally, belonged to Hestia.
But Hestia was still staring hard at the ability report sheet she'd copied down. Gude's words barely registered—she gave him absentminded responses without taking her eyes off the numbers.
It looked like her excitement would last a while.
Gude didn't press it. He simply let his gaze drift around the room.
The cramped space had no real ventilation. The air was damp and heavy, carrying a faint moldy smell. There were almost no proper furnishings. Bare walls, bare survival—poverty clung to everything.
It only hardened Gude's resolve to change it all.
His eyes eventually settled on Hestia sitting on the bed.
Even in conditions this awful, nothing could dull her brightness. She was still cheerful, still lively, as if the environment couldn't touch her.
At dinner, she'd even told him that for the Familia to live better, tomorrow she'd take on an extra three hours of work at a place Hephaistos had introduced her to.
Thirty valis an hour—so little that she couldn't even buy a fried potato ball with cream.
Compared to Orario's cost of living, that income was a drop in the ocean for a Familia.
And yet she could still puff out her chest, eyes shining, and tell him: "Leave it to me."
With that kind of spirit, Gude couldn't bring himself to say something like, I'll handle everything—just stay home and wait for good news.
Her goodness sat there in that tiny room—almost painfully out of place.
Maybe to gods, who lived too long and grew bored of everything, even poverty was a novel experience.
And if things truly became unbearable, they could always release their divinity and return to the heavens—back to a near-omnipotent life.
With that safety net, gods didn't feel the same pressure about survival.
But to Gude—
That wouldn't do.
Just wait. It won't be long.
I'll change all of this—completely.
…
-------
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