Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 645 God's Grace, Broly's Strange Panel!
"Please give me more advice."

After subconsciously replying with that sentence, Hestia suddenly realized what had happened.

No, no, no, how can you fully understand a child's true character just by looking at their soul?

He can't just choose the first child to join the clan so casually. He probably doesn't know my specific situation, which is why he said that.

But once they learn that I, their divine being, am a god without any moral compass or understanding of the true situation I face, the child before me might just leave me...

Hestia didn't want to see hope only to receive a despairing answer, so she pulled her hand away from the boy's.

“Broly…”

The girl, who looked like a young girl but had a full bosom, addressed the boy in this way.

“I, Hestia, am not such a casual god. You must go through my interview and inquiry before you can join my kin.”

[Idiot, idiot, idiot! Won't talking like that scare away the child who finally came to your door? You're just a useless god, why are you putting on airs...?]

After being repeatedly rejected when she invited others, Hestia regretted her decision as soon as she put on her divine airs. She worried that she might scare away the child who had finally come to her door and was probably the only one of her kind.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please feel free to ask any questions you may have."

However, Hestia's worries were clearly unnecessary. Broly simply put on a serious expression, looking as if he was taking it very seriously, and prepared himself for her interview questions.

"First of all, why do you want to join my familia?"

"Hey, Your Majesty, didn't I already answer that question? I said it was an encounter arranged by fate, and you believed it, didn't you?"

Broly looked at her with some doubt, his questioning gaze seeming to ask her if she had divine amnesia.

"Woo..."

Hestia was speechless.

Ah, the shock just now was so great that she forgot.

"Alright then, let me put it another way, Broly. You know what kind of responsibility it means to become a member of a god's kin, right?"

“I know that once a person becomes a member of a god’s kin, they have to take on the responsibility of supporting that god, including but not limited to satisfying some of their god’s perverse tastes and demands.”

Broly nodded.

In fact, he has plenty of experience in this regard.

After all, back when he first went to the world of Konosuba, he had supported his goddess master.

"Do you know that my Hestia Familia currently has no base, no extra funds for its development, no members other than myself, the god, and no clear goals for its future development?"

Seeing the boy's confident answer, Hestia subconsciously asked him the same question that the first fairy girl who refused her invitation had asked about her familia, as if she wanted to show the boy the unbearable side of her familia, which was still in its initial stage.

Well, in terms of her actions, this goddess doesn't seem to be recruiting members; rather, she seems to be turning away boys who come to her and ask to join her.

“Lady Hestia, I know all this. I heard it from another goddess.”

Broly's answer surprised Hestia.

"Ah, since you already know, then why..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the boy in front of her.

“There is no base to build, no funds to earn, no clear goals for future development, and no other members of the Familia. As long as Lady Hestia is here, your Familia will be extremely attractive to me. And what attracts me is not anything else, but you, Lady Hestia, the god yourself.”

In Orario, or even throughout the world, there is a saying: It is very difficult for mortals to lie to the gods.

The reason for this is that gods can easily see the souls of mortals, and when mortals lie, their souls will instinctively waver. When they cannot deceive or conceal their souls' instinctive reactions, gods can easily detect mortals' lies. Even the act of gods lying to each other is itself a very difficult thing.

Therefore, the boy in front of me, whose soul did not waver in the slightest when he said the above words, must have been telling the truth—it was I who attracted him!

Ah~

This left Hestia, one of the three famous virgin goddesses of the heavens, somewhat at a loss, feeling as if she had been struck in the heart by Cupid's arrow.

His heart started beating faster in his chest, and his whole body felt warm, especially his face, as if he were standing in front of Hephaestus's furnace, being roasted by the heat of the fire.

"So, you mean you like me?!"

Hestia asked the question.

"I'm sorry, we're not familiar enough yet, and I can't say I like you, but I have a natural attraction to you. I want to meet you, get to know you, develop a deeper relationship with you, build the closest bond, like you, and make you like me too."

Broly's answer surprised Hestia, but the fact that his soul remained unshaken made Hestia feel that the boy's seriousness was a sign of not being glib, unlike some male gods who often deceived goddesses with sweet words.

"Lady Hestia, would you be willing to try to establish such a bond with me?"

With all doubts dispelled, Hestia's answer was obvious.

"I am willing."

The young girl-like deity took the boy's hand and held his palm against her chest, as if she were holding something precious.

. . . .

Meanwhile, as Broly successfully joined the Hestia Familia after passing the interview, on the other side...

“So expensive!”

The white-haired boy, Bell, was shocked by the astonishing price of 1200 fares per night after entering a seemingly decent hotel and inquiring about the room rates.

His total assets are only 20,000 Faris, and that's just for accommodation, not including food and drink. If you include food and drink, that amount of money is probably only enough for him to stay in Orario, the central city of the world, for about ten days.

"If you think it's too expensive, you can check out the cheaper hotels nearby."

The male staff member at the front desk, who was responsible for registering guests, looked at the boy's hesitant expression and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

The way he looked at Bell was as if he were looking at a country bumpkin, but whether it was out of contempt for country people or hostility towards the handsome and cute young man who had attracted the attention of his female colleague, only he himself knew.

"Oh, right, I can choose a less desirable hotel. Thank you, sir."

However, the naive and oblivious boy didn't realize the hotel clerk's taunts. He suddenly understood and thanked the clerk as he ran out of the nicely decorated hotel, only to leave the clerk completely bewildered.

It felt like bullying a child who knew nothing, filled with guilt, self-loathing, and the disdainful look of my crush.

As if by fate, young Bell arrived at a somewhat deserted street and entered a rather old wooden inn.

The reason we chose this place was because it didn't look that expensive, and it actually was, although 800 fares a night was still expensive compared to other ordinary cities. "Meals aren't included, do you want to stay?"

"Excuse me, is this the cheapest option?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged male shop owner, who was reading a newspaper, looked up and gazed at him as if he were looking at someone who had asked an idiotic question.

However, upon seeing that the person standing in front of the counter was just a young human boy, he withdrew his gaze from that of someone looking at an idiot and simply uttered a cold sentence: "If you want to stay for a week, it'll cost you 5000 Faris. Want to stay?"

"Please help me check in."

Bell dared not ask any more questions, because he had a feeling that if he did, he would be kicked out.

He quickly took out his money bag, took out a quarter of the money, and placed it on the counter.

"Your room is the first room on the left on the second floor."

After taking the money, the middle-aged shop owner tossed him a key with a wooden tag.

"If the key is lost, you'll need to pay 1000 fares for a lock replacement fee, understand?"

Bell nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would absolutely not lose it.

. . . .

This is where I live now!

Hestia brought Broly to her residence, a secret hidden room located deep in a nearly forgotten alley, in the basement of an abandoned church.

This place must have belonged to a goddess in the past, as can be seen from the partially destroyed goddess statue at the church entrance. However, the statue's face is mostly damaged, and Hestia cannot tell which goddess it is.

Now, this goddess must have lost the competition and returned to the celestial realm.

Of course, this is a more elegant way of putting it; in reality, he probably died in the mortal realm and is waiting to be resurrected in the heavenly realm.

In a sense, Hestia's current residence is similar to that of an ordinary person living in a cemetery.

However, after Hestia cleaned it up, the abandoned church's basement now looks quite nice.

"Broly, take off your clothes, I'm going to give you my favor."

This is a benefit that mortals who join the divine family usually receive.

"Do I need to take my pants off too?"

Broly quickly took off his shirt, looked at his pants, and asked the goddess.

"Ah, no need, I just need you to show your back."

Hestia quickly shook her head, but her gaze kept drifting towards the boy's well-defined upper body.

Broly's physique is quite perfect, with clear and distinct muscle lines that are not overly bulky but rather smoothly distributed throughout his upper body, making him look like a sculpted work of art, showcasing strength and beauty.

Hestia swallowed hard, her hand involuntarily reaching out to stroke the clearly defined muscle lines of her petite body.

"Isn't it just the back that's needed?"

Broly looked at Hestia in confusion. The goddess was talking about his back, but her hand was touching his front.

"Ah, I'm just checking your physical condition. If you're not in good condition, I can't inscribe the sacred text."

Hestia found an excuse for her infatuation by having Broly sit on the bed with her back to her, while she sat behind him.

The silver needle pierced the loli goddess's finger, and the tip of the finger, from which a bead of blood rose, touched the center of the boy's back. Hestia's divine power, using blood as a medium and the sacred script used by the gods as runes, began to inscribe the "God's Grace" called "Ability Value" on Broly's back.

Broly

Level: Lv.1
Strength: i0
Durability: i0
Dexterity: i0
Agile: i0
Magic: i0
"magic":【】,【】,【】……

"Skill":【】,【】,【】……

Hmm, a seemingly normal ability panel, and almost everyone who has just received God's grace starts with a blank panel like this... Just kidding, the five basic abilities are indeed normal, but what's with the series of empty slots after magic and skills? And those ellipses, do they mean there's more to come?
"My Lord God, are you alright?"

Broly sensed that the power behind him had dissipated, but Hestia made no further move, so he couldn't help but ask.

"It's all good, but your stats panel seems a bit strange."

Hestia frowned, wondering if the empty slots meant that the boys in her clan were capable of mastering multiple spells and skills.

"what happened?"

Broly asked curiously, since he didn't have eyes in the back of his head and couldn't see his own back.

"It's nothing, it should be a good thing."

Hestia felt that this must be related to Broly's excessively heavy soul.

She reached out and touched Broly's back, and the ability panel with the unique flame mark of the Goddess of the Hearth gradually disappeared.

"Next, I'm going to explain the ability values ​​to you. There are ten levels of ability values: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I, which represent the level of ability."

Only five basic abilities that reflect basic ability values ​​will have a linkage effect of increasing ability level as proficiency increases. 0-99 is i, 100-199 is h, and so on from i to s.

Proficiency, on the other hand, only increases when you overuse that skill area. To draw an analogy, it's like weightlifting. You could only lift 100 pounds originally, but after persistent physical training, you suddenly lift 101 pounds, and your proficiency will increase accordingly.

At the same time, you can also gain experience points to improve your skill proficiency by defeating monsters in dungeons and fighting with others.

However, experience points can only be gained when the opponent's strength is equal to or greater than one's own, thus causing a significant increase in their value.

In other words, no matter how many monsters or people weaker than oneself are fought, the results cannot be converted into ability points.

The grace of God is roughly like this: it cannot grant instant enlightenment, but it records all of a person's experiences and transforms them into experience points, which are then used to enhance the recipient's various abilities—in other words, their strength.

"I see."

Bro nodded.

"However, Your Majesty, if I am already very strong and cannot find an opponent, wouldn't I be unable to improve my so-called ability value?"

But he was curious about this and asked about it.

(End of this chapter)