"Um?"
"Wouldn't it be good if you were the only one to take care of the family?"
For no particular reason, Hestia suddenly said that.
Thinking about it, Yuri smiled and replied:
"If you can help mediate conflicts within the family in the future, Hestia, you'll be helping a lot."
"Of course I can do that," Hestia said, having no idea what the scoundrel meant. "I'm the goddess of this family and also the 'mother' to some extent. Of course I'll do what you said."
"Hmm... so why are you asking about these things all of a sudden?"
"Why..."
Hestia looked at Yuri sadly.
"Although you are very strong, it must have been very difficult for you to advance to Level 2 in just a few days. I'm sure it must have been hard to achieve such a great feat to move forward."
"But I can't help you with anything, so I..."
Yuri could feel the other person's depressed mood.
"In that case, there is something you can help me with."
Yuri thought of the dagger that Bell had to grow as its owner grew.
"If you can persuade Hephaestus to create a weapon with growth potential, it could be very useful for me."
"No problem!"
Speaking of Hephaestus, Hestia immediately took a solemn oath!
As she adjusted her clothes, she pulled Yuri along and said:
"According to my understanding of Hephaestus, if we ask her for help, she surely won't refuse. But... the cost will probably be very high."
"The cost is not a problem. We can make money quickly."
The possibility of gaining a weapon that increased in power, forged by the goddess herself, left Yuri excited.
Then...
——
When the door opened, before Hephaestus could question them, Hestia and Yuri approached her in a very intimate hug, one on either side, and looked at her with puppy eyes.
"Hephaestus~~~"
"Hephaestus..."
The goddess who was suddenly embraced was immediately confused.
But since she had long been used to her best friend's sweet voice, she knew that Hestia was definitely not plotting anything good.
However, when Yuri's body temperature and breathing suddenly approached, Hephaestus, who had been listening to Hestia's moans until recently, couldn't stand it anymore.
"O-What do you both want now?"
The current Hephaestus no longer had the heroic and cold attitude from before. Her face turned red as Yuri and Hestia held her in their arms, making it difficult for her to resist, and she only managed to let out a lovely squeal.
"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask Hephaestus for help forging a growth weapon for Yuri," Hestia said quietly, with a serious face.
"Forge?"
Hephaestus, of course, decided to refuse, but...
"Please, Hephaestus," Yuri whispered in her ear.
The boy's warm breath lingered intentionally or not, making Hephaestus feel as if her ears were about to turn red.
Although there are only a few famous virgin goddesses in heaven, in fact, because of her right eye hidden under the eye patch, all the gods in heaven either laughed or were afraid when they saw her appearance.
Faced with such a surprise attack, Hephaestus, who struggled hard to resist, felt her legs tense.
"No, not yet..." The goddess's voice of regret came intermittently.
"I guarantee there will be high-quality materials you've never seen before."
Yuri directly took some materials out of his inventory.
Sure enough, after seeing the materials Yuri presented, Hephaestus hesitated.
"It's really a strange material... I've never seen it before."
"So, can I ask for your help?"
As he spoke, Yuri approached again and, intentionally or not, his right hand was already supporting her waist.
"Please, Hephaestus~~" Hestia continued to help from the side.
Finally, feeling she would be too embarrassed if it continued like this, she quickly agreed.
"Well... okay! Okay! I promise you!"
The forge goddess broke free from their embrace and quickly fled back to her room.
"Curse you two!"
Hephaestus said this with resentment, then took Yuri's items and closed the door firmly, refusing to open it again.
In the living room, Yuri and Hestia smiled at each other.
...
Having fulfilled his goal and obtained the weapon forged by Hephaestus, Yuri left Hephaestus's house content.
He looked at the dark sky, thought for a moment, and decided to head toward the adventurers' guild.
Now he had been promoted to adventurer Level 2. Earning a title was one thing, but he also wanted to surprise Eina.
——
Yuri entered Northwest Street and headed toward the pantheon.
Although it was night, and the guild was about to close, there were still many adventurers at the adventurers' guild handling various matters.
Some came to buy dungeon maps, others to check out the latest news, notices, and the rewards offered by several familias for specific items or monsters.
After working all day, Eina finally had some free time after a busy period and turned to talk to her friend, Misha.
"Adventurers are really hardworking. It's very dangerous to come back from the dungeon so late. I wonder how Yuri is doing."
"Are you worried about that boy, Eina? He came to ask for the mid-level map, which makes people worry that he might really go there."
Misha supported her head with one hand and said provocatively, "Eina, you better hurry. That boy seems to be interested in you."
"MISHA~~"
Teased by her best friend, Eina flushed slightly and showed her anger.
At the same time, amid the lively atmosphere of the adventurers' guild, the young man they were talking about walked through the crowd and approached the counter.
"Good evening, looks like you two are having quite the conversation."
Yuri's appearance made Eina feel relieved. Apparently, the young man was not injured and had returned safely.
(I hope he didn't do anything reckless.)
"Good evening, boy. Did you come to look for Eina?" Misha next to her offered help with a smile.
"Of course. Eina is a serious and responsible advisor. If she doesn't see me, she'll probably worry about me."
Yuri answered with a smile, which made Misha quickly nod:
"Exactly! Let me tell you a secret: Eina was just worried about you a moment ago." The pink-haired girl said proudly, like a matchmaker: "This opportunity is very precious; you must enjoy it quickly!"
"Yes! Thanks for your guidance, Misha-senpai."
Yuri thanked her, and their tacit understanding made Eina's ears turn red.
"Yuri! Misha!"
Her shyness was charming, and Yuri saw it. He kept smiling and said seriously:
"By the way, besides that, I have something else to say..."
"What's the matter?" Misha asked curiously.
"I've just been promoted to Level 2."
"EHHHHH?!!! You reached Level 2!"
In an instant, Misha's loud voice spread throughout the guild headquarters.
Such a shout attracted the attention of most of the adventurers present.
Level 1 adventurers are at the average level of most adventurers, and there is a big difference between them and Level 2 adventurers.
Only by reaching Level 2 can someone truly become a respected adventurer and receive something desired by all:
A title granted by the gods to adventurers above Level 2. The title is decided by a majority vote after discussion in the Assembly of the Gods. Each time the level is updated, there's a chance to change the nickname or maintain the status quo.
It can be said that Level 1 is the reality of most adventurers' lives.
The birth of each Level 2 adventurer represents the emergence of a powerful person with a reputation and notable skills.
Many people were curious about which familia this person belonged to. He seemed to be only 18 or 19 years old, yet had already reached Level 2.
What they didn't know was that the two advisors were completely stunned at that moment.
They knew when Yuri joined a familia and when he became an adventurer.
The whole period lasted only seven or eight days!
You know, the person who was promoted the fastest to Level 2 in Orario was Ais, known as a genius, and even that took a whole year!
Misha quickly grabbed the registration form and asked Yuri to update his level and arrival record. After seeing that the landing floor was the 17th floor, Misha was confused again.
Eina also swallowed hard.
Only then did she realize that when Yuri asked for the intermediate-level map, he wasn't being arrogant or reckless, nor was he taking unnecessary risks by venturing into the mid-levels and facing monsters there.
The boy's real intention was to enter the eighteenth floor and fight Goliath!
Was he using some kind of cheat?
Yuri filled out the information as usual and took the opportunity to leave.
Immediately, many adventurers ran to the counter to ask about his familia.
When they discovered that he was the captain of the Hestia Familia, many people began arguing about which powerful familia that was. However, after a while, they realized it was actually a newly created familia.
Many people were completely confused. When did someone like this arrive in Orario?
All of them immediately rushed to seek information in the guild, hoping the guild would announce the basic information and promotion time of this new adventurer.
When the two advisors reported to the class monitor about the subject, and then to the Guild President, it was only then that Yuri's portrait, along with the Hestia Familia information and his promotion time, appeared.
The news caused a commotion.
Soon after, the reputation of the strongest newbie spread across Orario like a storm.
It took a total of seven days from family registration to the Level 2 advance.
...
Ishtar Familia.
Listening to the words of her women, who seemed to be in heat as they looked at Yuri's portrait, the goddess Ishtar finally showed an interested look.
"If a young man with so much talent agrees to join my familia, won't he be able to become a powerful adventurer?"
When Ishtar thought about it, she immediately issued an order:
"Send the Amazons to find him and tell him that if he wants to join my familia, I can agree to any request he makes. If he helps me destroy the Freya Familia in the future, I can even sleep with him."
(End of Chapter)