I spent the next few days grinding between the dungeon floors.
Not much happened, though there was quite an uproar when I reported my level up. I was now the record holder for the fastest advancement from Level 1 to Level 2.
To be honest, Hestia wanted to keep the news under wraps for a while, but I told her it didn't matter.
In the end, it spread anyway.
The fastest level up in Orario.
Yeah, that kind of thing didn't stay hidden.
Hestia stood beside me through it all, her chest puffed up with pride whenever someone brought it up, clearly happy that her familia had accomplished something this big. But I could tell there was something else beneath that smile.
The bigger familias reacted exactly how I expected.
The Loki Familia, for the most part, ignored me. At least on the surface. They had their own goals, their own ambitions that stretched far deeper into the Dungeon than anything I was dealing with right now. Someone like me, even with a ridiculous record, wasn't enough to divert their attention.
Still, not all of them were completely indifferent.
I caught glimpses now and then.
And they weren't the only ones.
The smaller familias were far less subtle.
Some approached me directly, offering invitations wrapped in polite smiles, their words carefully chosen but their intentions obvious. Recruitment. They saw potential and wanted to claim it before anyone else could.
Others were more… cautious.
Of course, I rejected them all.
Every single offer, no matter how tempting they tried to make it sound, no matter how much they dressed it up with promises of resources, protection, or faster growth, I turned them down without hesitation.
That alone made Hestia let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She tried to hide it at first, puffing up her cheeks and acting like it didn't matter, like she had never doubted me for even a second. But I caught it, the way her shoulders loosened, the way the tension she had been carrying these past few days slowly faded, as if a weight had finally been lifted off her chest.
It was subtle.
But it was there.
I could tell she had been worried.
Worried that I might actually consider it. That I might look at what those bigger familias could offer and decide it was the better choice. Better equipment, better support, better opportunities to grow. From a logical standpoint, it would have made sense.
She never said it out loud.
She didn't need to.
Every time someone approached me, her gaze would linger just a little longer than usual. Every time I paused to listen, even for a moment, her fingers would tighten slightly at her sides, like she was bracing herself for something she didn't want to hear.
Hestia had always been easy to read like that.
And honestly, that made it even simpler for me.
Because the answer had never changed.
There was no reason for me to leave.
Not when everything I needed was already here.
I was pulled from my thoughts when Hestia spoke.
We were having breakfast, the two of us sitting across from each other inside the abandoned church.
"What about this girl?" she asked.
I paused, my hand stopping midway as I glanced up at her.
The past few days, ever since the news of my level up spread, people had been flocking to join our familia.
It happened faster than I expected.
At first, it was just a few. Adventurers testing their luck, throwing out polite requests, hoping to secure a place before others caught on. But once word really got around, it turned into a steady stream. Some came with confidence, some with desperation, and others with carefully rehearsed smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes.
Of course, Hestia, being who she was, wanted to accept them right away.
I had to stop her.
Why?
Because not all of them came with good intentions.
Some were genuine. I could tell that much. Adventurers looking for a place to belong, or simply drawn in by the sudden rise of a familia that had been nothing more than an afterthought just days ago.
But others?
They were harder to read at a glance, and that alone made them dangerous.
Spies sent by other familias, trying to uncover the reason behind my growth. Opportunists looking to latch onto something rising, only to abandon it the moment something better appeared. And then there were those who hid their intentions even deeper, the kind of people who didn't approach unless they already had a plan.
Letting people like that in so easily would be a mistake.
A big one.
But that wasn't the only reason.
I wasn't planning to stay.
Not in this world.
When the cube recharges, I would be leaving. That had always been the plan. This world, this city, even the Dungeon itself, none of it was meant to be permanent for me.
But Hestia…
She was different.
If I was going to leave, then I needed to make sure she would be fine without me. More than fine. I wanted her to live comfortably, without worry, without struggling the way she had before.
And the only way to guarantee that…
Was to build the familia into something untouchable.
The strongest in Orario.
A place no one would dare look down on, no one would dare threaten.
That meant I couldn't just accept anyone who came knocking. Every member had to be worth it. Loyal, capable, and, most importantly, someone who wouldn't become a liability once I was gone.
Hestia didn't argue much when I prevented her.
But I could tell it bothered her.
Turning people away wasn't in her nature, especially when some of them looked genuinely hopeful. Still, she trusted my judgment, even if she didn't like it.
And now…
I looked back at her across the table, her gaze fixed on me, clearly waiting.
"What about this girl?" she repeated.
I lowered my gaze to the form in front of me.
It was a Guild application.
I picked up the paper, my eyes scanning over the details.
A new applicant.
And, apparently, one Hestia wanted me to seriously consider.
"Who is she?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hestia said quickly.
I stared at her.
She avoided my gaze almost immediately, her posture stiffening just a little too much to be natural, fingers fidgeting against the edge of the table as if that would somehow make her look less suspicious.
Right.
"Fine," she huffed after a moment, puffing her cheeks slightly. "She helped me earlier. She's new to town, and we met by accident. Then, by chance, she said she was looking for a familia."
I didn't say anything right away.
I just kept looking at her.
"…What?"
I sighed.
"Didn't it cross your mind that she might be a spy?"
"Eh?" Hestia blinked, clearly caught off guard. "How would she be a spy?"
"She meets you by chance, helps you, gains your trust, and just so happens to be looking for a familia."
Hestia opened her mouth, then hesitated, her gaze dropping to the form in her hands.
"…But she didn't seem like that,"
To be honest, I had already made up my mind.
I wanted to reject her immediately.
But then I looked at Hestia.
And just like that…
I couldn't bring myself to say no.
I let out a quiet breath.
"…Fine," I muttered.
Hestia looked up instantly.
"I'll meet her first, and after that, I'll decide."
For a brief second, she just stared at me.
Then her expression brightened, the earlier tension melting away so quickly it was almost ridiculous.
"Really?"
I shook my head slightly, a faint, almost helpless sigh escaping me.
Yeah.
I was definitely weak to that look.
Then, as if remembering something, Hestia suddenly perked up.
"Oh, speaking of that…"
Before I could react, she reached to the side and dropped another pile of applications onto the table with a soft thud.
I stared at it.
Then at her.
"…Hestia."
She smiled, a little too brightly.
"Tell you what," she said, clasping her hands together, clearly pleased with herself. "Let's just do it all at once."
I looked down at the stack.
Then I looked back at her, already knowing exactly where this was going.
"…You were planning this from the start, weren't you?"
"Whaaat? No," she said, dragging the word out as she looked away, which only made it more obvious.
I let out a slow breath, rubbing my temple.
"…Fine," I said at last.
Hestia's eyes lit up instantly.
"But we do this my way."
She nodded rapidly, not even bothering to ask what that meant.
At this point, she was just happy I agreed.
I glanced at the pile again.
Yeah.
This was going to be a long day.
=====
"Name?" I asked.
We were seated in the middle of the abandoned church, a worn table set between us and the applicant across from me. Hestia sat right beside me, back straight, hands neatly placed on her lap as she tried to maintain an air of authority befitting a goddess.
It would have worked.
If not for the way her eyes kept drifting toward the line.
And yeah…
There was a lot of them.
A long line stretched from the front of the church all the way to the entrance, and from the looks of it, it didn't seem like it was ending anytime soon. More people kept arriving, some curious, others hopeful, all waiting for their turn.
I could practically feel the excitement radiating off Hestia.
Every now and then, she would lean slightly forward, as if eager to speak, only to stop herself and sit back again, trying to let me handle things the way we agreed.
I let out a quiet breath, keeping my expression neutral as I looked at the man sitting across from us.
This was going to take a while.
The man sitting across from them straightened slightly, clearly trying to compose himself under my gaze.
"H-Harold, sir. Harold Finn," he answered, his voice betraying a hint of nerves.
"Experience?"
The interview continued.
I listened. I asked questions. I watched.
Then I dismissed him.
"Next."
One after another, they came and went.
Different faces. Different stories.
Same result.
Unfortunately… most of them were spies.
And honestly, how could they not be?
Right now, the Hestia Familia had exactly one member.
Me.
And I had just reached Level 2.
Sure, I broke the record. Sure, it was impressive. But in the grand scheme of Orario, a single Level 2 wasn't nearly enough to make a familia worth joining. Not when there were established familias with multiple high-level adventurers, better resources, and actual stability.
There was no real reason for so many people to suddenly show interest in us.
Not unless they had something else in mind.
Which meant most of them weren't here to join.
They were here to watch.
To gather information. To figure me out. To report back.
Some were obvious.
Others tried to act casual, but their eyes gave them away, constantly drifting, taking in the church, measuring, memorizing.
Those ones weren't even trying to hide it.
And for the ones who were actually good…
Thankfully, I could read minds.
Yeah, not exactly ethical, but at this point, I really didn't care. They came here with hidden intentions. I was just making sure none of them slipped through.
"Next."
Another one stepped forward.
"And your reason for joining?"
"To support the familia and grow stronger," she answered smoothly, her smile practiced.
I held her gaze for a moment.
"…Rejected."
Her smile faltered.
Hours passed.
The stack of applications slowly shrank, but the line outside barely seemed to move.
Beside me, Hestia shifted in her seat, her earlier excitement long gone, replaced with quiet exhaustion and growing disbelief.
"…This many?" she muttered under her breath.
I didn't respond.
"Next," I said, already reaching for the next form.
"Name?" I asked, not even looking up this time, my attention still on the paper in front of me.
"Ais Wallenstein."
My hand stopped.
That… got my attention.
Slowly, I looked up.
Blonde hair. Golden eyes. Calm, almost indifferent expression.
Yeah.
There was no mistaking her.
=====
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