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The inside of the Guild was massive.
It looked like a giant bank mixed with a busy tavern.
Adventurers of all shapes and sizes were walking around, carrying weapons and wearing heavy armor.
Elias and Dee walked right up to the exchange counter.
"Hello,"
Elias smiled at the Guild worker behind the desk.
"We would like to trade these in, please."
Elias started emptying his pockets.
He placed handful after handful of glowing purple magic stones onto the wooden desk.
*Clatter, clack, clink!*
A huge pile of magic stones quickly formed on the counter.
The Guild worker's eyes went completely wide.
Even the tough adventurers standing nearby stopped talking and stared.
Usually, beginners only managed to get two or three stones on their first day because they were too scared or too tired.
But Elias and Dee didn't even have a single scratch on them, and they had brought back dozens of stones from the forest.
"Wh-Where did you get all of these?!"
The worker gasped, looking at Elias's casual clothes.
"You don't even have a sword!"
"We just took a nice walk in the forest outside the city,"
Elias answered simply, scratching the back of his head.
"Are these enough to buy a good dinner?"
"Y-Yes, more than enough!"
The worker stuttered.
He quickly counted the stones and handed Elias a heavy pouch filled with gold and silver coins called Valis.
Elias tossed the pouch in his hand.
He smiled down at Dee.
"Looks like we are eating like kings tonight,"
Elias chuckled.
"Now we just need to officially register as adventurers,"
Dee reminded him happily.
They walked over to the registration counter.
But as they waited in line, Dee gently tugged on Elias's sleeve and pointed across the large room.
Standing near a notice board was a beautiful half-elf girl with glasses.
She was wearing a neat Guild uniform.
Standing in front of her was a young, nervous-looking boy with bright white hair and red eyes.
"Look over there, Eli,"
Dee whispered, leaning close to him.
"Do you see that boy with the white hair?"
Elias looked at the boy.
He looked very weak and completely inexperienced, but he had a bright, determined look in his eyes.
"I see him,"
Elias nodded.
"Who is he? Does he have a special power?"
"Not exactly,"
Dee smiled, her dark eyes shining.
"His name is Bell Cranel. In the story of this world, he is the main character. The hero."
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"He doesn't look very strong,"
Elias noted honestly.
"He isn't strong right now,"
Dee explained softly.
"He is just a normal, weak boy. But he has an incredibly pure heart. He wants to get stronger so he can stand next to the girl he loves, and so he can protect his new family. He pushes himself past his limits every single day."
Elias's eyes softened.
He immediately understood that feeling.
Protecting the people you love was the exact same reason Elias fought so hard in his own world.
"I like him already,"
Elias smiled warmly.
"He has a good reason to fight."
Dee giggled and wrapped her arms around Elias's waist.
"To become official adventurers, we need to join a Familia,"
Dee told him.
"A Familia is a group led by one of the gods. The gods give their members a special blessing called a Falna, which helps them grow stronger."
"So, which god are we going to choose?"
Elias asked.
"Well, Loki and Freya have the biggest, strongest groups,"
Dee said playfully.
"But that is too boring! We want a real adventure. I say we join the Hestia Familia."
"Hestia?"
Elias asked.
"Who is she?"
"She is a very kind, sweet goddess,"
Dee explained.
"But she is completely broke. She is super poor, she lives in a tiny broken church, and she only has one single member in her whole family now."
Dee pointed right at the white-haired boy.
"Bell Cranel,"
Elias guessed.
"Exactly!"
Dee cheered.
"They have nothing right now. They are starting from the absolute bottom. If we join them, it will be the perfect beginner experience! We can help them grow, and we can go on fun adventures with the main hero!"
Elias looked at the boy named Bell, who was bowing politely to the half-elf guild worker.
Then Elias looked down at the pouch of money in his hand.
He smiled brightly.
"A poor goddess and a hardworking kid,"
Elias agreed completely.
"That sounds like a great family to join. Let's go find this Goddess Hestia and ask her to take us in."
Dee grabbed Elias's hand and happily led him out of the busy Guild.
"I know exactly where to find her!"
Dee smiled brightly, pulling him through the winding, crowded streets of Orario.
Meanwhile, far away from the loud city center, Goddess Hestia was sitting alone inside a broken, dusty old church.
She was sitting on a ruined sofa, swinging her legs and humming a happy little song.
"My Bell-kun is working so hard today,"
Hestia giggled to herself, completely relaxed.
"I cannot wait for him to come home. We are going to have a nice, warm potato snack together!"
But suddenly, the happy smile on Hestia's face completely vanished.
The air inside the old church turned freezing cold.
Her breath hitched in her throat.
As a goddess, Hestia was completely immortal.
If a monster or an evil person killed her in this world, her physical body would just break, and her soul would safely return to Heaven.
Gods did not fear death because, to them, true death did not exist.
But right now, her divine soul was screaming in pure, absolute terror.
She felt a heavy, ancient presence approaching her door.
Her godly instincts told her exactly what it was.
It was the end of all things. It was true, absolute death.
If this entity touched her, she would not go back to Heaven. She would be erased forever.
The heavy wooden doors of the church slowly creaked open.
Elias and Dee walked inside.
Before Elias could even say hello, Hestia instantly dropped from the sofa and slammed her knees onto the hard floor.
She bowed so low that her forehead pressed tightly against the dusty ground.
Her small body was shaking violently.
"Please!"
Hestia cried out, her voice trembling with absolute fear.
"Please forgive me! I don't know what I did wrong, but please don't kill me!"
Dee stopped walking.
Her happy smile disappeared, replaced by a deep, genuine pout.
She looked down at her own hands and sighed sadly.
"Aw, man,"
Dee mumbled, her shoulders dropping.
She looked up at Elias with big, sad eyes.
"Eli, I really tried my absolute best to hide my power,"
Dee complained softly, sounding like a disappointed child.
"I locked it all deep inside. But she is a real goddess, so her soul felt me the second we got close. My disguise totally failed."
Elias couldn't help but smile. He gently patted Dee's pale head to comfort her.
"It is okay, Dee,"
Elias chuckled warmly.
"You are just too special to hide. You can't blame her for being a little scared."
Elias looked down at the shaking goddess on the floor.
He crouched down so he was closer to her level.
"Hello, Goddess Hestia,"
Elias said in a calm, gentle voice.
"We are not here to hurt you."
Hestia slowly lifted her head.
Her bright blue eyes were full of tears.
She looked at Elias, and then she nervously peeked at the pale girl in the black dress.
"Y-You are not?"
Hestia stuttered, wiping her eyes.
"But... she is Death! If she gets mad and kills me, I won't go back to Heaven. I will just disappear completely! I don't want to die! I just found my Bell-kun!"
Dee stepped forward.
She knelt down next to Elias and gave Hestia a sweet, apologetic smile.
"I promise I will not hurt you, Hestia,"
Dee said softly.
"I am so sorry I scared you. I am on a very special date with my boyfriend right now. I am not here to do my job."
Hestia blinked in pure confusion.
Her divine mind struggled to process the words.
"A... a date?"
Hestia asked, completely dumbfounded.
"Death is on a date?"
"Yes!"
Dee smiled happily, wrapping her arms around Elias's arm.
"And we actually came all this way just to find you. We want to ask you a big favor."
Hestia slowly sat up on her knees, still keeping a safe distance.
The freezing terror was slowly fading away, but she was still very nervous.
"A favor?"
Hestia asked, swallowing hard.
"What kind of favor could someone like you possibly need from a poor, broke goddess like me?"
Elias reached into his pocket and pulled out the heavy pouch of money they had just earned at the Guild.
He placed it gently on the floor in front of her.
"We want to become adventurers,"
Elias smiled warmly at her.
"And we want to join the Hestia Familia."