Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 644 Please guide me, my divine being!

After parting ways with Bell, Broly walked alone on the bustling streets filled with all sorts of passersby, wondering how to determine whether there was a target for his pursuit recognized by the Crystal Palace in this lively labyrinth city.

[If there were an adventurers' guild, I should definitely spend money to post quests to gather all the women in the city so I can meet them. Although there might be some mistakes, it would be much more efficient that way.]

The only problem is that he doesn't have much money right now. The caravan exchanged all the dragons they killed a couple of days ago for the world's currency. But because they were wild creatures that bred naturally, the dragons weren't high-level. The magic crystals and dragon teeth they dropped were of lower quality than those produced in the dungeon. So, he only had a mere 550,000 Fali.

"Hello, could I have a potato ball?"

"Okay, sir. What flavor would you like?"

"Give me one of every flavor."

"I have eight flavors here. If you want eight servings of fries, I'll give you two thousand fries."

Broly stopped in front of a potato ball stand and bought a family bucket of potato ball flavors.

Judging from the selling price, the 550,000 fali was probably only enough for a few days of his food expenses.

"Ah woo~"

The soft, red bean paste-flavored potato balls are actually quite delicious.

Broly thought to himself as he chewed on the hot potato ball in his hand.

[If I had known there would be a space pirate attack on Lyca Star, I wouldn't have sold off the Asura Kingdom's gold coins and a bunch of gems so cheaply.]

People in this world wear gold and silver, and even their coins are made of gold, silver, and copper. Those things must have value in this world.

However, since there are monsters to hunt in this world, Broly isn't too worried about whether he can make money.

It's simply that there are no items in the Crystal Palace that can be directly exchanged for money, so you can't directly recharge the universal currency of the new world through in-game purchases.

"Hey, you over there eating fries, how about becoming one of my kin?"

As Broly was eating potato balls and observing the women passing by, a woman whose aura was much stronger than that of an ordinary person came over and started chatting with him.

The words spoken revealed the other party's identity: a deity who had come down to the mortal realm to enjoy human entertainment.

More accurately, she is a goddess, very beautiful, but Crystal Palace did not react at all, clearly she is not the target of the romance.

Gods possess a unique perspective; they can easily see through the nature of mortals, or rather, the color of their souls.

Among the diverse crowd on the bustling street, they suddenly encountered a soul entity that looked like a heavy, shadowy block. The other party did not exude any divine aura, nor could they detect any attempt to conceal anything, which inevitably aroused the curiosity of the passersby and the gods.

The gods of this world recruit followers very casually. They may only need a reason that interests them or that they find pleasing to the eye to make these extraordinary beings extend their goodwill and reach out to mortals.

Of course, for the mortals who are extended an olive branch, the goodwill of the gods may also be an irresistible malice.

“I may become someone else’s kin, but you are clearly not the one I want to meet.”

According to Bell's explanation, becoming a god's kin is equivalent to becoming a god's family member. And in Broly's mind, the only one who can become a family member is his wife. Therefore, gods who are not recognized as his targets by the Crystal Palace cannot recruit Broly, who came to this other world to find his target, to become their own kin.

"Don't say that. I don't know if you're a dwarf or a beastman, but my clan isn't one of the top-ranked clans in Orario. However, we do have our own clan base and three Lv.2 adventurer members."

You must be here in Orario as an adventurer. Newcomers can be more secure if they join a well-established clan.

Of course, you might be thinking of joining a top-ranked clan, but the chief deities of top-ranked clans are not easy to meet, and even if you do, they usually won't accept someone who actively requests to join their clan..."

Just as the unknown female mythologist finished speaking, a group of goddesses who had just finished bathing in the public bathhouse and were about to go shopping walked over from the street corner. They saw their companion flirting with a mortal and cast curious glances at him. They soon noticed the abnormality on Broly's body as well.

. . . .

While Broly was being harassed by a group of random goddesses, Hestia, the goddess of the hearth who descended to earth half a year ago, was experiencing the forty-first time personally recruiting children she deemed worthy of her without a family affiliation, after being driven out of her stronghold by her divine friend (Hephaestus) more than two months ago. However, the children she recruited politely declined her request to become the first member of the Hestia Familia that she was preparing to establish.

Just when she was feeling dejected, she happened to run into Loki, the flat-chested goddess who had always been at odds with her, who was showing off his entire clan in the bustling streets.

"Oh my, isn't this little one? I heard that Hephaestus couldn't stand you being a shut-in and kicked you out of the stronghold."

What, you don't have a single child by your side? Could it be that you haven't found a child yet who's willing to become a member of your family and raise this shut-in goddess?

The sarcastic remark was uttered by Loki, who had red hair and a single ponytail, and Hestia's face turned bright red.

"Ha, how could I not find one? It's just that I have high standards for choosing children; I'd rather have none than something bad."

Hestia, a young goddess with a broad mind but a loli-like appearance, was arguing loudly.

"Well, I need to take the kids to celebrate, so I won't waste any more time with you here. Anyway, you shut-in, just try your best not to be forced to leave Orario because you can't survive, otherwise, I'll have less to watch for entertainment~"

After saying that, Loki left with his kin.

"What is this? Just because you descended to the mortal realm earlier than me and recruited some good children as your family, you've become so arrogant!"

"Heh heh heh, sooner or later, I'll be able to recruit children countless times better than yours as my Hestia's kin!"

The loli goddess sticks out her tongue and makes faces behind her, revealing a mind as mature as her appearance suggests, even though she has lived in the heavens for hundreds of millions of years as a deity.

After Loki's Familia and the others left, Hestia's initial momentum quickly faded. She had made grand pronouncements, but having already failed multiple times in recruiting children as her own, she knew how difficult it would be to actually achieve this.

Without a clan base, without funds for clan development, and even without a future development plan, a clan with no resources or resources like this would face an incredibly difficult task to start in Orario, a labyrinthine city teeming with divine clans.

The only thing she could offer was the divine favor bestowed upon the children who joined her clan, but every god received such favors.

The children who come to Orario want to become adventurers, but after becoming adventurers, they also have to risk their lives to fight monsters in the dungeons. Why don't they choose to join a powerful familia with more strength, more funds, and a more solid foundation?

Perhaps I should lower my standards when choosing a child?

Hestia thought that although every god has the ability to bestow favors upon mortals, the gods do not bestow favors upon everyone.

Therefore, for those who cannot obtain the help of a family member, the divine grace bestowed by a deity is still very precious.

If she were willing to lower her standards for her clan members, she could probably quickly gather a clan of varying quality.

But is doing this really a good idea?

As soon as the idea came to mind, Hestia gave a negative answer.

If a child's character is incompatible with that of a deity, conflict is almost inevitable.

Rather than letting unpleasant things happen in the future, it's better to eliminate the possibility of such things happening from the beginning.

Hestia rallied her spirits and decided to continue searching for a child of suitable character.

I would rather have none than have bad ones. Even if I am in dire straits, I will not recruit children whose character is incompatible with mine.

Of course, this might be the reason why Hephaestus, the god who often says "this is the last time you'll help me," but who always reluctantly chooses to continue helping me after each request, is there to support me and give me confidence!
Hmm, I don't get along with that child; he has a bad character...

As Hestia walked, she observed the people passing by, searching for children who could become her own kin.

She soon arrived at the stall selling French fries. The smell of the French fries reminded her of her own job, where she accidentally burned down the French fries shop because she didn't know how to start a fire. This left her with a large debt, but thankfully no one was injured that time.

Thinking this, Hestia bought a serving of plain fries and then noticed a crowd gathering ahead, or rather, a group of gods. [Hey, that child, what's with that heavy, shadowy soul?]

Hestia stared wide-eyed, her mysterious, azure-blue pupils fixed on the boy's retreating figure, as if trying to see through his true nature.

[Loneliness, weakness, emptiness, and insecurity, like a child with nowhere to go, yet also contradictory, content, resilient, and possessing considerable self-confidence...]

Hestia was troubled by the boy's soul; the boy seemed to be a contradictory entity.

Perhaps that child has a split personality?

Hestia guessed that, judging from the soul's condition, he was a suitable child.

The premise is that the other person is not surrounded by so many other goddesses.

Knowing that the Hestia Familia was still in its infancy and had no chance against the established goddess Families in Orario, the young goddess did not go forward to humiliate herself.

The first fairy girl to reject her, who looked at her as if she were a piece of waste paper, was someone she didn't want to experience again.

It is noble for a god to have self-awareness. To pursue a child who seems to have great potential when one lacks the ability is like a toad wanting to eat swan meat among mortals.

"Ah, where is the child who is right for me?"

Hestia silently turned around. At the moment, she didn't really want to meet other gods in the heavens, because whether she met a god she was on good terms with or a god she didn't get along with, it would only make her feel embarrassed.

"Hey, isn't that Hestia?"

Among the gods, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, with her keen eyesight, spotted Hestia.

"Hestia, I heard she was looking for children to form a familia, why did she leave?"

Nearby, a goddess overheard this and, watching Hestia's departing figure, became somewhat curious.

Simply because there is a child in front of them who looks very nice.

"Hestia?"

Broly followed the gaze of the goddesses around him and turned to look behind him.

[New target discovered: Hestia, current happiness level 0]

The next moment, a notification message from Crystal Palace appeared.

"Um?!"

Broly suddenly felt that maintaining politeness was a very necessary thing.

If you had just felt annoyed and gotten rid of those goddesses who were bothering you, you might never have met a new target.

"My goddesses, thank you for your appreciation, but I wish to become a member of Hestia's kin. I wonder if you could tell me about Hestia?"

Broly pointed to the departing loli goddess's back and began to probe for information from the older sister-like goddesses in front of him.

"what?!"

The surrounding goddesses were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected that the boy who had piqued their interest and invited them to join his familia, after politely declining their invitations, would instead want to become a member of Hestia's familia.

"Little Broly, so you actually like Hestia's type?"

"I can't say I like her yet, but I'm sure she's the goddess I want to meet right now."

Broly gave an honest answer.

"Giving you information about Hestia and letting you handle the situation is no problem, but how will you repay us?"

Demeter asked with a smile. She and Hestia had a fairly good relationship, and since the boy was interested in becoming Hestia's kin, she wouldn't mind going along with it.

However, she preferred to tease children, and the boy in front of her was quite young, making him perfect for teasing.

It's worth mentioning that eight years ago, this goddess, along with another goddess friend (Hephaestus), teased the young swordswoman who had only recently joined Loki's Familia.

Even now, this incident is occasionally brought up, like when talking about a famous person and saying something like, "I played the little bird of theirs when I was a kid."

Perhaps, the boy will become a famous adventurer in the future, just like Finn Timna, the leader of the Loki Familia and the hero of the Tontatta.

"If you can tell me about the goddess Hestia, I will owe you a favor. As long as it's within my power and not too unreasonable, I can grant your wishes."

Broly's solemn promise surprised the goddesses around him. It was rare, but also quite interesting, for a boy who wasn't even an adventurer to say he would grant their wishes.

The goddesses, including Demeter, chimed in, thoroughly exposing Hestia: "While we believe Hestia, given her current situation, wouldn't refuse your offer to become her familia, if she does reject you, or if you feel burdened by her and can't survive in Orario, you can come to us."

"We look forward to your growth and await the day when your promises to us will bear abundant fruit."

This must be a blessing from the goddess of agriculture.

Broly waved goodbye to the group of kind-hearted goddesses and, following the goddess's aura that he had secretly memorized, chased after Hestia in the direction she was.

Broly soon arrived at a small alley, while Hestia once again experienced the failure of trying to recruit someone into her kin.

It is common knowledge that in Orario—no, in the Nether, there exist gods so utterly useless that they defy human comprehension. It is a widely held view that one should not be deceived by their sweet talk.

Hestia was exhausted because she didn't even have anything to share about the faction's vision (the future of the clan). She was treated the same way as the gods, who were generally regarded as useless and only good at deceiving mortals with sweet words. It was difficult for her to gain faith, or rather, trust.

Hestia once again deeply realized how difficult it was for a great god to live in the mortal realm after losing the use of his divine power. He would probably have to go to Hephaestus for help again tonight, since he was almost out of money.

The loli goddess sat on a wooden crate in the alley, swinging her legs. She felt lost about her future life as a god in Orario. Just then, a voice came from the side: "My dear god, are you looking for someone to become your familia? I'm also planning to join a familia. May I join your familia?"

Hestia felt she was hallucinating, but when she saw the boy she had met on the street earlier, who was very popular with a group of goddesses, standing beside her in the alley, she realized she shouldn't be hallucinating after having auditory hallucinations.

"Are you telling the truth? Oh, no, why would a popular child like you want to join my familia?"

Happiness came so suddenly that Hestia could hardly believe it and instinctively asked the other person why they wanted to join her kin.

"If I told you that this was a fateful encounter, would you believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you."

"So, my goddess, am I worthy of your attention?"

Broly gestured to the loli goddess on the box, inviting her to dance.

Hestia seemed somewhat dazed and placed her hand in the boy's.

"My name is Broly."

Hestia.

"Please guide me, my divine being."

(End of this chapter)