Northwest District.
Lin Dong led Lili, one behind the other, into the abandoned church.
"Captain Lin Dong… you actually live here?" Lili glanced around, confused.
The walls were cracked. The podium and floor were coated in thick dust.
At night, without light, the place felt like a haunted ruin.
"This isn't where I live."
Lin Dong lifted a trapdoor. A torch-lit stairway descended.
"..."
That doesn't feel much better.
Lili remembered Lin Dong's earlier words: I'm a bit short on money.
She'd assumed it was just an excuse.
Now it seemed… it might have been true.
What normal person lived in a place like this?
Even Lili stayed at inns when she earned money.
"I can afford an inn," Lin Dong said casually, "but I'm saving for a grimoire. I save wherever I can."
"A grimoire?!" Lili's eyes blew wide.
She knew what those cost.
To buy one through normal means, you'd need deep-floor income—meaning deep-floor power.
"Captain Lin Dong… are you Level 4?"
"No."
"Level 5?!"
Lili yelped.
Deep floors demanded at least Level 4. If not 4, then surely 5.
"Wait—why has Lili never heard your name? Are you hiding your level and not registering with the Guild?"
"No. You misunderstand."
Lin Dong raised a finger. "I'm not Level 4 or 5. I'm Level 1—like you."
"..."
Then why are you saving for a grimoire?!
A Level 1 shouldn't even dream of a grimoire, okay?!
"…No. If you're Level 1, then weren't you lying earlier?"
Lili suddenly realized.
"You mean what?"
"Helping Lili leave Soma Familia!"
Her respect vanished. Her voice rose.
She felt cheated.
Lin Dong had appeared behind her like a ghost, acted like a monster, and now claimed he was Level 1.
Could a Level 1 really help her?
"Of course we can!"
A third voice cut in.
A door at the end opened. Hestia came out in white pajamas.
"Lin Dong is really strong. Soma Familia is nothing!"
"Goddess, that's blind trust."
Lili felt her presence shrink in front of a goddess who was dozens of times "above" her.
But her future was on the line—she forced herself not to retreat.
"As a goddess, you should know every level-up is a qualitative leap."
"Soma Familia has Level 2s. Do you really think Level 1 Captain Lin Dong can beat Level 2 adventurers?"
"Yes."
"Do you hear yourself?! Soma Familia's Level 2s aren't fresh rookies! Their status has already been trained up!"
"So what?"
"You're… impossible!"
Lili was furious.
How could a god be this unreasonable?
She'd explained it so clearly, and the goddess still played dumb.
"The one who understands nothing is you!"
Hestia put her hands on her hips, chest lifted—the "front armor" created waves of pressure.
"Lin Dong has beaten a Level 2 head-on!"
"Handling Soma Familia is as easy for him as eating and drinking!"
"…Eh?"
Lili was stunned.
Her brain produced a ridiculous illusion: Hestia's tiny body grew into a hundred-meter giant. Two mountain-sized peaks blotted out the sky and pressed down with divine pressure.
Lili stumbled back and looked to Lin Dong—who had somehow produced a box of potato balls and was eating them.
"C—Captain Lin Dong… is what she said true?"
"Fifty-fifty. Some true, some false."
"..."
Lili nodded automatically. "Right… even if you can beat Level 2, taking on a whole Familia is too hard."
Actually I meant: I never beat Level 2.
Lin Dong chose not to correct her.
He still needed her to work for him. If he said too much and killed motivation, it'd be counterproductive.
"Come inside."
He led both of them into the basement room.
He'd been running all day for plans and power—visiting people, making arrangements, and even farming monsters.
Now he was exhausted and starving.
"What do you want to eat?"
"I want the secret mini-burgers!" Hestia raised her hand immediately.
"For Lili… anything is fine," Lili said, watching Lin Dong.
Even with restored confidence, seeing him cooking at the stove made her doubt again.
Could this guy really help her?
"It'll be fine," Hestia said gently, as if reading her thoughts, and patted Lili's head.
"I heard about Soma Familia."
"You've suffered a lot living there."
"But don't worry. We'll get you out. You'll be free soon."
"…Please don't pat Lili's head."
Lili brushed her hand away.
Gods could lie.
Like humans, gods had good and bad.
But in all the gods Lili had seen, Hestia felt different.
Like fire—standing there was enough to light a corner of darkness in Lili's heart.
"Hestia-sama… can I ask a slightly personal question?"
"Ask."
"How did you meet Captain Lin Dong?"
"…We were kind of in the same situation."
Hestia recalled the first time they met.
After Hephaestus kicked her out, she'd been working at a potato ball stand.
That was when Lin Dong appeared.
"He told me he'd had an accident and lost all his money. He asked if I could spare him some potato balls to fill his stomach, and he'd repay me later."
"So you gave him potato balls for free?"
"No."
"…?"
"I wanted to help, but the stand wasn't mine—I couldn't decide to give food away," Hestia smiled awkwardly.
"Then what happened?"
"Then I invited Lin Dong to join my Familia. And to celebrate the founding of Hestia Familia, I asked the owner to give us some potato balls."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
A lie.
As a famous virgin goddess, Hestia's standards for children were high. That was why she'd never formed a Familia before.
She invited Lin Dong because she sensed he was "lost."
Behind his calm exterior, she had felt deep loneliness and confusion—like a child wandering a strange city.
Then I can't ignore him.
Hestia's domain was flame—the light that guarded a home. A guardian fire.
So she reached out.
But she didn't need to share that "small detail" with Lili.
Hestia poured the last potato ball into her palm and offered it to the pallum girl.
"Eat one. It's really good."
"Then Lili won't refuse."
Lili took it and bit down.
A rich, fragrant burst exploded across her tongue.
"…So good!"
Her eyes widened.
"Right?! It's a recipe Lin Dong improved and gave to the owner as thanks."
Hestia looked proud.
With that recipe, the stand's business had been booming. The owner was even planning a second location.
"Food's ready. Come eat."
Lin Dong called from the stove.
"Let's go," Hestia said, reaching out her right hand to Lili.
"Prepare yourself—Lin Dong's cooking is dangerous. Don't bite your tongue."
"Lili isn't that dumb."
Lili took Hestia's hand.
Maybe…
Days like this weren't so bad.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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