Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"…God, God! I'm going to take a shower!"

"what!"

Sweating profusely, Bell grabbed his change of clothes and rushed into the shower. His swift movements left Hestia frozen in place, her lips quickly trembling as her spirits plummeted.

A part of Hestia felt uneasy that Bell was hiding something from her.

Hestia was very fond of Bell and was very fortunate to have him as her familiar.

The boy revered the goddess (Hestia) as a deity from the bottom of his heart, but he also treated her like family, showing her tenderness and affection.

Bell's clumsy and unreliable demeanor aroused Hestia's protective instincts, making her want to look after him. At the same time, when she realized this, she found herself already relying on him.

In this lower realm, where joy and sorrow coexist, he always did his best to help Hestia.

Hestia loved Bell's innocent smile that could melt anything.

"I told you to speak, and you still won't budge, Bell..."

Perhaps that's why she couldn't tolerate Bell lying to her.

Is that the arrogance unique to a god who is angry that things are not going his way, or is it the opposite of feeling lonely about his family who has almost become his spiritual support?

Regardless, Hestia felt extremely unhappy and resentful.

(Okay, if that's what you're planning to do...)

Hestia's eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous glint. She glared at the shower stall Bell went into, muttered "Just you wait," and headed towards the cramped kitchenette in the house.

Without saying a word, she silently began to cook.

"Ah, gods..."

"You must be tired today, Belle? I'll take care of it, you just wait."

When Bell changed his clothes and stepped out of the shower, Hestia gave him a sweet smile. Bell wanted to say something, but seeing the goddess's smiling face, as if she had already forgotten what had just happened, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Faced with the rabbit (prey) who had let her guard down, Hestia sharpened her knife with a beautiful smile.

"Come on, Bell, let's update the [ability stats] today too."

"Oh, okay."

After eating and resting for a while, Hestia naturally made the suggestion.

The clueless, naive white rabbit obediently did as she said.

The dagger hidden in the smile has been sharpened to a fine point.

Bell Craney

Lv.1

力量：I49→I58　耐久：I5　灵巧：I66→I72　敏捷：I98→I107　魔力：I0

〖magic〗

【】

〖Skill〗

【】

Bell lay on the bed, with Hestia sitting on his waist, looking down at his [ability stats].

The ability categories remain the same, with "Endurance" and "Agility" showing extreme growth. Hestia was somewhat surprised that the basic ability of "Agility" could reach H in such a short period of time, but she still finished the remaining tasks in one go.

(And what's next...)

After updating the [ability stats], I paused for a moment.

Hestia's eyes flashed with ferocity as she revealed her true nature and pounced on the rabbit (Bell) in front of her.

With a "thud," she fell from her seated position onto the boy's back.

"!"

"—Alright, Belle. You can't escape now, can you?"

Accompanied by mysterious and eerie sound effects, Hestia poked her face out from beside Bell's neck.

She lowered her voice as she breathed into the boy's ear, and began to interrogate him.

As if an electric current had passed through him, Bell's body jolted violently, and his face turned bright red in an instant.

"God, god, deity! What are you doing?!"

"Interrogation, huh? Because it seems like you're hiding something from me, hmm?"

Bell jumped when he heard the words "kept it from me," but Hestia's soft body pressed against his back immediately made him feel ashamed again.

"You know that, Belle, you can't lie to God, okay?"

"W-What are you saying...?"

"Oh—, you're trying to cheat, aren't you?"

Hestia narrowed her eyes quickly.

Bell blushed and turned her head slightly, looking at the God's approaching expression, her heart filled with endless worry.

Then, in the next instant.

Hestia wrapped her arms around Bell's neck, tightened her grip, and hugged him tightly without any hesitation.

"Wow! Gods, gods—!"

"Confess now! Confess, Bell! Confess now and I might spare your life!"

"I...I...I don't know! I...I didn't hide anything from the gods!"

"Still being stubborn...!"

"Eeee ...

Hestia's full breasts pressed tightly against Bell's back, making a constant squeaking sound as something was being crushed between them.

Whenever the overwhelming thing attacks while constantly changing shape, Belle, who is naked from the waist up, screams in agony, her entire body covered in red.

Hestia, her eyebrows raised, tightened the strangulation, pressing her body against the neck more forcefully.

That night, the cries emanating from the abandoned church never ceased.

●

"Seriously, that Bell kid...!"

the next day.

Bell still wouldn't budge, which upset Hestia. When she came back from work, she still had a long face and didn't try to hide it at all.

She sat on the sofa at headquarters, roughly flipping through the pages of the book she was reading.

(Judging from his appearance, it seems less like he's fascinated by exploring the dungeon and more like he wants money... Could it be that he was seduced by a strange woman in the dungeon and became a volcano slave...?) (Zhu Yue: Volcano slave = a lackey...)

Recalling Bell's obsession with the dungeon, she couldn't help but entertain a vicious thought that she would never normally consider. She knew perfectly well that her familiar wasn't that foolish, yet, fueled by her rage, she mentally belittled him.

Then go ahead and go bankrupt yourself! The image of Belle, smirking and being deceived by the obviously wicked Amazonian woman, flashed through her mind. "How boring!" she immediately thought, getting angry at her own imagination.

"Um……?"

The "clattering" sound of footsteps descending the stone steps echoed into the basement headquarters.

"You're back so early today," Hestia thought, assuming it was Bell returning. She pouted and looked up from her book.

She waited for the headquarters door to open, but instead heard a clear "knock knock" sound.

"Excuse me, Hestia."

"Huh... Mich?"

Hestia was wrong; the visitor was a tall, divine being, even taller than Bell.

The god-like Mihe, with his long, dark blue hair and tattered gray robe, smiled and nodded at Hestia, whose eyes were wide open.

"I heard you established a [Family], so I came to say hello. Sorry I'm late."

"What? You actually went to all this trouble?"

Hestia met Mih when she came to Orario from the Celestial Realm, and because of their similar circumstances, they became good friends. Seeing one of her divine friends who had taken such good care of her while she was still getting used to city life, Hestia smiled and went to greet her.

"Haha, it's nothing. I'm quite cunning; I want you to become our customers. Don't be shy."

"Haha, you really know how to calculate carefully."

The Mih Family's main business is selling elixirs. Because of their low profile, they often have to go out and solicit customers, and today is no exception, Mih said with a hearty laugh.

Hestia was amused. "Then let's get down to business," he said, handing her a test tube filled with a blue elixir.

"Consider this a promotional and congratulatory gift. Please accept it as a blessing for our business to remain stable."

"Yes, I'm sorry. You've really helped us a lot."

"Let's change the subject, Hestia, have you informed the guild about the formation of your [Family] yet?"

As Hestia gratefully accepted the elixir, Mih asked her this question.

Huh? She tilted her head, and the gentle, handsome man explained:

"Whether or not they venture into the dungeon, any [Family] that settles in the Labyrinth City (here) must report to the guild when forming a faction. They also need to register their faction."

The guilds are nominally the governing bodies of the dungeons, but since they control the labyrinth (center) of the labyrinth city, they are essentially the rulers of this place. In a broader sense, managing the dungeons is directly related to the peace of the city, and Orario has also benefited from the enormous profits generated by the labyrinths to reach its current prosperity. From "ancient times" to the present day, the guilds have skillfully controlled the dungeons, making them the true administrators of the city.

The rules set by this organization, which also oversees urban operations, must be followed even by members of the [Family].

"Oh, so that means the [Family] has to live like adventurers. But then again, it's only natural that they let us live in the city."

"That's how it is. This is one of the wonders of the 'lower realm'."

"After all, there aren't many opportunities to deal with these kinds of trivial matters in the celestial realm."

The two celestial beings shared the same idea and nodded repeatedly.

"So, what are you planning to do? Judging from your expression, you haven't gone yet, right? Do you want me to go with you?"

"Is it okay? To be honest, I feel more at ease with you by my side..."

"To be honest, I have nothing to do right now, and I'm feeling really empty. Rather than being bored out of my mind, I might as well take care of my closest friends; that would be quite enjoyable."

"What a good example God has set for us!"

"Haha, people often say that."

Hestia and Mih, exuding the leisurely air unique to gods, left the hidden room of the church.

"Is it enough to fill these out?"

"Okay. And don't forget to sign your name with sacred script."

In the spacious guild headquarters hall.

Adventurers from different factions went about their business nearby. Hestia checked with Mihe while filling out the information on the faction registration parchment. She stood on a stepping stone provided to compensate for her height, which prevented her from reaching the window, and filled out the form with a quill pen.

Night was approaching, and the thin glow of the evening sun shone into the room through the windows. As many adventurers returned from the dungeon at this time, the guild headquarters was packed with humans and demi-humans.

There were small groups of dwarves laughing and joking as they walked out of the money exchange; an orc male whose sweet words were ruthlessly rejected by a charming waitress; elves and dwarves arguing excitedly; and so on. The hall, built of white marble, presented a variety of scenes, with a constant stream of noisy voices.

The few gods here—Hestia and Mihe—occasionally glanced with pleasure at these adventurers.

"Mich. What is the rank of this [Family]?"

"It's about the organizational ability of the [Family] as defined by the guild... To put it bluntly, it's about the difference in quality. It's said that they will be graded based on factors such as the size of the faction and the content of their activities, but basically, you can think of it as a kind of combat power indicator."

This evaluation, like the various categories of [Ability Values], is divided into ten stages from S to I, essentially representing the [Family]'s status in Orario. A higher rank indicates greater recognition of actual achievements and increased trust from guilds and other organizations. Of course, this also includes the level of respect shown to the member.

Some gods who still treat their "Family" as a game go crazy trying every possible way to raise this level, and they enjoy it from the bottom of their hearts.

"Business-related [families] will receive praise as long as they achieve corresponding results. Furthermore, the higher their level, the more trust they will gain from others, and the more customers they will naturally attract."

"By the way, what's your opinion of Mihe?"

"Hahaha, H-la."

Having just been established and lacking funds and scale, the Hestia Familia is naturally at the lowest level, I.

All [Families] are subject to taxation, but the higher the level, the higher the tax amount.

"I ask you, Hestia, what kind of people are the children in your [Family]?"