Evening, at the Hestia Familia's base.
"Thanks to Bell, we met a blacksmith from Hephaestus Familia, so we managed to sell them for a high price."
The sale of the materials during the day went smoothly. Just as Welf said, Tsubaki did not hesitate to buy the materials Welf brought at a high price. As the strongest blacksmith in Hephaestus Familia apart from the main god, she was not short on money.
Tsubaki was not a good merchant, but she was a pure blacksmith, and naturally, she would not refuse good materials.
"That's great, Bell! You've also found a good teammate."
Hestia, holding her drink, patted Bell's shoulder: "But it's such a shame, we made a lot of Valis, but Takatsuki isn't here."
It's common to celebrate after making money in Orario.
But for most adventurers, making money means they've already returned.
However, Takatsuki's special situation meant that the money was earned, but he hadn't come back yet.
"Once Takatsuki returns, let's go to the Hostess of Fertility and celebrate properly."
Hestia slammed her cup onto the table and said: "Although I feel like the food there isn't as delicious as what Mei makes, if we have to cook and clean up ourselves for a celebration, it doesn't really count as a celebration."
"Oh, right, Fu Hua, Miach told me earlier that your medicine is almost ready. Get ready to go for treatment tomorrow, since we've also received the money from selling the materials."
Hestia raised her wine glass, suddenly remembering something she wanted to say.
"I understand, but what about the Loki Familia?"
The agreed-upon material delivery wasn't a one-time thing; it had to be done every noon. Although the next few days wouldn't be as much as today, it would still be quite troublesome without Fu Hua's help.
"It's fine, it's fine. Your treatment is the most important thing. Tomorrow, let Mei and the others go help."
"That's right, Class Monitor, just focus on your treatment. Besides, you still have me here."
Kiana mumbled with her mouth full of fried chicken.
It's precisely because of you that I'm not at ease.
However, Mei also indicated that she, Kiana, and Bronya would be fine.
Fu Hua looked at Kiana, who lacked self-awareness, then looked at Mei, who was clearly much more reliable than Kiana, and nodded to Hestia: "I understand."
"And Bell, do you really not need to borrow some Valis? The girl you care about is still in the Entertainment District, isn't she?"
It was no longer a secret that Bell had awakened a unique skill because of a girl from the Entertainment District; Fu Hua had even accompanied him there once.
Fu Hua, dressed in men's clothing, went to the Entertainment District and wasn't even recognized, even being "invited" by Aisha.
However, after confirming that the girl Bell "liked" was not someone who deceived others' feelings, Fu Hua informed Hestia, and Hestia decided not to interfere with the matter at all.
After all, if the god interfered too much with the Familia's personal feelings, it would only be counterproductive.
"No need, god. I will find a way to gather Haruhime's ransom. This is something I promised her."
Bell remembered the moved expression on Haruhime's face when he told her he would redeem her, and his resolve became even stronger.
"Sister Aisha has booked the place in my name; now I just need to save enough money."
Hestia didn't quite understand Bell's stubbornness, but she still nodded: "If you think it's good, then it's fine. If you need help, don't bear it alone."
"That's right, Bell, don't worry. Although I don't understand anything about heroes or anything like that! But if it's about defeating enemies, we Kaslana won't be afraid of anyone!"
Kiana, whose mouth was full of food but still didn't forget to make her presence known, had just finished speaking when Bronya stuffed another piece of fried chicken into her mouth: "Idiot Kiana, you can't beat anyone."
Kiana quickly swallowed the food in her mouth: "Who said that! Bronya, you can't even beat me!"
"But Kiana, you always get zeroed by Bronya when playing games."
"Hmm…"
Dinner ended in "laughter and joy," and at the same time, at the top floor of Babel Tower.
"Ah… Hestia, how fortunate."
Orario's most beautiful goddess stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. Her gaze seemed to pierce through layers of clouds, then through the night and walls, directly seeing the Hestia Familia's base.
"But the current color isn't dazzling enough. Perhaps we need to add more fuel."
Freya narrowed her eyes, looking at the dark night sky. Behind her, Ottar, the loyal pig-man strongman, spoke: "Do you need me to go capture them?"
"Ottar, you still don't understand."
Freya turned around, slowly sat on the sofa behind her, and lay down on her side.
"The current light, though beautiful, is not enough. I want to see an even more beautiful light."
Slightly glancing at Ottar, who remained silent beside her, Freya softly said: "Can I leave it to you, Ottar~?"
"As you wish, my goddess."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
In the morning in Orario, many adventurers gathered at the entrance of the Dungeon. Some were looking for teammates to explore the Dungeon together, while others were already waiting for their agreed-upon teammates.
Bell, who had always fought alone, met his supporter from the Pallum race here.
The beginning of his acquaintance with Liliruca started here.
However, the two had already been adventuring together for a few days, and with Welf joining midway, the three formed a temporary team to explore the Dungeon together.
"Welf!"
When Bell arrived at the Dungeon entrance, the red-haired young man, Welf Crozzo, was already waiting there.
"Oh, Bell."
Welf, who was carrying a greatsword and facing Babel Tower, turned around when he heard Bell's voice. He looked at Bell, who had a sword at his waist and a large saber on his back, and said: "You're still carrying that, even though I've never seen you use it."
"This, ah, was also given to me by Big Takatsuki. Senior Fu Hua said this type of weapon is more suitable for dealing with large enemies, so I usually don't need to use it, but I practice with it often."
Bell took down the executioner's blade with one hand, swung it in the air, and then reattached it to the straps on his back.
"I see. It's good that you know what you're doing."
Welf nodded: "But speaking of which, why isn't Lili here yet? Isn't she usually the first to arrive?"
"I don't know. Did she run into some trouble?"
The two waited at the entrance for another half an hour before seeing a petite girl in a cloak walk over.
"Sorry, Bell, Welf, Lili is late."
Bell saw Lili running over, panting, and asked with some concern: "Lili, are you okay? Did something happen?"
Lili shook her head: "I'm fine, Bell, it was just some matters within Lili's Familia, and they've been resolved."
"I see."
Bell nodded, and Welf then spoke up: "Since everyone's here, let's go."