__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I'm so full!"
Hana Yurikawa rubbed her round belly with a satisfied grin.
"Ugh... I've never eaten this much before. But seriously, that roasted meat was way too delicious."
Miko Yotsuya leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling.
"If I move even a little, I swear all that food's just gonna shoot right back out of my stomach."
Yuki Suou sat ramrod straight in her seat, not daring to move at all.
"That's what you get for stuffing yourself and chugging soda like that. Just sit still and wait for it to settle."
Out of the four girls, only Mai Sakurajima managed to keep some self-control. She'd eaten more than usual too, enough to make her stomach ache a little, but nothing like Miko or Yuki's ridiculous state.
"Speaking of drinks, this is the perfect time for dessert and fruit to cut through the grease!"
Hana jumped up, grabbed a small cake and some fruit from the fridge, then turned back to the others.
"Anyone want some?"
"You can still eat?!" Yuki blurted out, stunned.
Hadn't Hana just put away nearly five kilos of meat? That was way more than those legendary bandits in Water Margin ever managed. And yet this girl could still go for dessert? What was her stomach made of, a black hole?!
"Girls have a separate stomach just for sweets, you know." Hana said matter-of-factly.
"I'm a girl too—don't try to trick me!"
"Don't listen to her nonsense," Miko waved it off. "It's actually one of Hana's awakened skills. The more she eats, the faster her life energy recovers. Her appetite and digestion scale with it too. Honestly, even the world's top eating champions wouldn't stand a chance against her."
She shook her head, then quickly covered her mouth—talking almost made her cough up the soup she'd forced down earlier.
"A skill like that actually exists?!" Yuki was floored.
And then Mai dropped the finishing blow.
"Plus, no matter how much she eats, she never gains weight."
"...What kind of god-tier ability is this?! Coach, sign me up too!"
Of course she was jealous. What girl wouldn't be? With that ability, you could eat whatever you wanted without ever worrying about calories. It was literally every girl's dream skill.
After letting them rest for about half an hour, Rosen finally gathered them back together. Thanks to the dragon meat, their stamina had recovered in record time—what should've taken all afternoon had only taken thirty minutes.
The question now was whether their stats had risen along with it.
"If you're rested, let's update your stats."
The moment he said the word, every girl—still sprawled on the couch or carpet—immediately perked up. This was the whole reason they'd gone through all that trouble, after all. Getting stronger was the only way they could stand beside their god in the future.
Take that mountain ogre from earlier for example. If they'd been stronger, Rosen wouldn't have needed to step in at all.
"Let's start with Miko."
None of them really cared about the order. Miko lifted her shirt without hesitation, revealing her still slightly rounded belly. She hadn't cared before, but when Rosen's eyes landed on that tiny bit of softness, she suddenly felt embarrassed.
Just like before, the holy spear pierced her abdomen, igniting the divine mark. Golden text floated into the air.
[Contractor: Yotsuya Miko]
Rank: Junior Divine Envoy
Strength: h142 → g222
Endurance: h112 → g265
Dexterity: h105 → g245
Agility: i78 → h178
Divine Power: g289 → e489
Skills: ...
...
[Contractor: Hana Yurikawa]
Rank: Junior Divine Envoy
Strength: i55 → h165
Endurance: i58 → h178
Dexterity: i24 → h134
Agility: i22 → h102
Divine Power: g275 → d575
Skills: ...
.....
[Contractor: Mai Sakurajima]
Rank: Junior Divine Envoy
Strength: i54 → g274
Endurance: i48 → g238
Dexterity: i79 → g249
Agility: i34 → g274
Divine Power: h151 → f371
When Rosen finished reviewing their results, even he was taken aback. Their stats had skyrocketed across the board.
On average, each attribute had jumped by about two hundred points. Hana's divine power alone had surged by three hundred. That kind of growth was absurd.
If they were in the world of DanMachi, whole familias would've waged war games just for a chance to recruit them as "prodigies."
But Rosen knew better. They weren't adventuring prodigies—what had happened was their latent potential had been unlocked through becoming his followers, and the deeper they went, the faster it would show.
The three girls stared at their updated stat projections, pure joy written across their faces. At this rate, they'd reach S-rank or higher in no time. The exhilaration wiped away all their fatigue—some of them were already itching to go again.
Finally, it was Yuki's turn. Watching the others' incredible growth left her both nervous and excited.
Her stats were soon etched onto the parchment.
[Contractor: Yuki Suou]
Rank: Junior Divine Envoy
Strength: i0 → h124
Endurance: i0 → h105
Dexterity: i0 → h101
Agility: i0 → h100
Divine Power: i0 → h198
Yuki frowned slightly at the numbers. Compared to the others, her growth looked modest.
But Rosen quickly reassured her.
"Don't be discouraged. An average increase of a hundred on your very first update is actually excellent. The other three only went up by a few dozen at first. Starting out this high means you're already ahead of the curve."
He remembered even the protagonist of DanMachi had stats no better than this after his first upgrade, and Hestia had still been amazed enough to call him Orario's fastest-growing adventurer. Before that, the record had been held by Loki Familia's Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein.
Of course, Rosen's system wasn't exactly the same as the blessing system from that world. But it still proved one thing: turning mortals into his followers was far more efficient.
And as his followers grew stronger, Rosen himself could feel his own power swelling in response.
"..."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________