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

Thank you for helping this girl find her lost item. After saying that, Miss Daphne turned her back to me.

Miss Cassandra smiled shyly at me and bowed again.

Then she immediately caught up with Miss Daphne, and they left the roadside.

"late……?"

What does that mean? Miss Daphne's words puzzled me.

In short, I want to finish my work first, go back to headquarters, and pick up the wooden crate on the ground.

As I pondered the conversation, I carried my things inside.

"Ah, Bell! Once that's done, let's pause the homework for a bit!"

"Eh? Is this okay?"

As I passed by the second-floor hall, the deity inside called out to me.

"The things we moved in aren't even unpacked yet?" I was halfway through my sentence when the deity interrupted me, beckoning me over with a smug look on his face.

"Phew, it's so messy without you! Take a look at this!!"

I walked over to the fairy by the window in the hall, and she took out a piece of paper and showed it to me.

I took the paper that was handed to me without any explanation and looked at its contents...

"...'The Hestia Familia is recruiting volunteers! Come on, kids!'"

The paper, written in Koine, outlined the details of a recruitment meeting for all volunteers. Besides the emblem of a flame and bell, it also included a detailed schedule and dates.

And the most important date... is today.

I looked up in astonishment, and the deity smiled smugly at me.

"I've already posted the same flyers on the notice board at the guild headquarters, and I've also asked the aunties to post them at our part-time jobs! It'll be time to write them down soon... Those of you who want to join our [Family] should be arriving by now!"

After saying that, the immortal turned his gaze to the window.

I rushed to the window and followed the immortal's gaze—

"No, no way...!?"

The front of the mansion, in front of a huge main gate made of iron railings.

A huge number of demi-humans of all races gathered there.

■

"Hey, it seems like we're going to check on the volunteers we've recruited next. Let's meet in the front yard."

As Ming was moving the mountain of wooden crates, Welf came down the aisle and called out to her.

She stopped and turned around. Welf seemed to notice something and gave a wry smile.

"You... went for a bath first thing in the morning?"

"Ah! Uh no, this is, that...!?"

The rising steam, the flushed skin barely concealed by a short shirt, and the beautiful, damp black hair all clearly indicated that she had just taken a shower. Her face turned bright red.

Although she quickly got out of the bathtub, she couldn't hide her dreadful behavior of succumbing to instinct and neglecting her duties. With her hair down, which she usually tied up, she shrank back like a child caught playing a prank, hiding behind the wooden box she was holding.

Seeing the girl's reaction, Welf's wry smile deepened.

"I won't tell Bell and the others. Come back later."

"I'll put this away and be there right away!"

Seeing that the older blacksmith had understood her feelings, she was both grateful and embarrassed, her face flushed as she exclaimed. She quickly left Welf's presence.

"Alas, I still have much to improve..."

She blushed with shame and reflected deeply on her actions.

He was in a hurry to move his things into the empty room, so he ran around, the wooden crates clattering and swaying.

"ah."

A piece of paper fell out of the swaying wooden box.

"Oh no," Ming said, putting the whole pile of wooden crates on the ground. She rushed to the papers that had floated lightly in the middle of the corridor and picked them up.

Then she touched it and found it was a piece of high-quality paper. She looked at it with a puzzled expression and saw what was written on it.

"This is……?"

■

"Is this... a dream...?"

The sight before me made me gag.

After the main gate was opened wide, a large number of demi-humans crowded the courtyard in front of the mansion, making it a bustling place.

Standing in front of the house, I was stunned by the crowd and stood there dumbfounded.

"It's reality, Bell! The children here have all chosen our [Family]!!"

While I was still in a daze, the deity opened his arms beside me, wanting me to see everything clearly.

Today, so many people have seen or heard the divine promotion of the [Hestia Familia] – no fewer than fifty volunteers have gathered at our headquarters.

"Because we won the war game, we became famous overnight. Especially in the eyes of new adventurers who have just arrived in Orario, we must be very attractive. I heard that the most popular faction (familia) right now is us."

Lily, who was standing in the opposite position from the deity, explained to me the reason why so many volunteers had gathered.

Through the "Divine Mirror," the entire city of Orario witnessed our total war against the Apollo Familia, a memory that remains vivid to this day. We defeated a faction of higher rank than ourselves, winning the war game and leaving an impact in that regard.

Lily added that merchants and travelers likely spread the news outside the city through word of mouth.

Standing next to Lily, whose eyes were narrowed, I found that my initially astonished expression gradually turned into one of delight.

"Finally, we can say goodbye to our small-scale [Familia]...!! Gods! We did it!?"

"Yes! Since the [Family] began its activities, three months of hard work have gone by... It sounds short, but it's been a long, long time!!"

Finally, my long-cherished wish has come true, and I can say goodbye to the lower-class factions. I am overjoyed, holding hands with the gods.

Although Lily couldn't help but smile wryly, we were just so happy.

In a hidden room in the church, the two of them would eat leftover potato balls in small bites every day, a scene that flashed through their minds like a revolving lantern—though they still ate the potato balls now.

All in all, I'm really happy.

In the past, no matter how many times the gods tried to persuade us, no one paid any attention. But now, so many people are gathering around our "clan".

I shook hands with the immortal, my eyes red as I gazed at the crowd.

Not only humans, but also elves, dwarves, orcs, Amazons, dwarves, and even half-humans (hybrid races) have come. From strong men who clearly aspire to be adventurers to women who have just arrived in the city dressed as travelers, people of all kinds of attire are chatting, laughing, or stealing glances at us.

Under the blue sky and sunshine, I felt that the scene before me looked dazzling.

"Ah... Miss Daphne!? Miss Cassandra is here too!?"

I glanced around at the crowd gathered in the front yard of headquarters and saw the two girls I had just spoken to. Miss Daphne, with her short hair and phoenix eyes that gave her a rather strong look, raised her hand to greet me, while Miss Cassandra, with her long hair and triangular eyes, nervously greeted me.

After the two walked to the front of the crowd together, Miss Daphne gave a wry smile.

"This girl said she wants to join your [Familia]..."

Seeing my barely concealed surprise, Miss Daphne placed her hand on the head of the girl beside her.

When I saw Miss Cassandra smile shyly at me, I immediately beamed with joy.

So that's what "see you later" meant!

I don't know why she decided to join our [Family], but I don't care, because I'm so happy!! I couldn't help but shout "Thank you!"

Hearing the great news that even experienced level 3 adventurers were willing to join the party, I was so excited I almost jumped for joy.

"There are so many people gathered here."

"Ah, Welf!"

As I watched Miss Daphne and the others return to the crowd, Welf came outside.

I excitedly explained the situation, and Welf, who was a head taller than me, gave me a wry smile in return.

"Are you so happy about the increase in group members?"

"Yes! That way, the [Family] will be more lively, and everyone will feel like one big family...!"

"Having more people doesn't necessarily have all the advantages; on the contrary, it can also create more obstacles."

"The same applies to organizations," Welf told me halfway through his sentence.

Welf had belonged to a high-ranking faction (the Hephaestus Familia) with many members, possessed diverse experience, and spoke with great persuasiveness. Seeing the smile before me, as if he were teaching a child, my excessive excitement subsided slightly.

That's true... As the size of the [Family] increases, there will also be many problems.

"No problem, Welf, don't worry. I'll interview them one by one now to see if they're suitable!"

"Wait... no, not everyone can join the group?"

After hearing what Welf said, the deity spoke these words from the side.

I thought everyone here could join the group, so this statement really shocked me.

"Just as gods have different preferences and things they govern, each [familia] also has unique rules and characteristics. Letting children with incompatible styles join will only cause them suffering, Belle?"

"this……"

"Besides, I am a god. I can tell what kind of people the children are just by looking at them face to face. And children can't lie to a god. Needless to say, I have to ask the wicked (bad kids) to go back if they disrupt the discipline of the [family].

I understand what the deity means; what she said must be true.

To put it bluntly, allowing violent thugs or criminals with a guilty conscience to join the clan would tarnish the clan's reputation, and I'm not very confident I could get along with such people. Of course, I think the goddess Hestia wouldn't judge a person based on their past experiences, but rather on their character.

Whether a person is a talent needed by their faction and whether they can gain the favor of the main god are crucial questions that determine whether they can join the [Family]. When I first arrived in Orario, I was also turned away by many factions, so I think I understand this very well. The main god does indeed often need to see the quality of those who want to join the Familia.

However, when actually facing these volunteers... I can't help but want everyone to join.

"...Besides, I must strictly prohibit children like Miss Supporter. There can't be any more 'cheating cats' (mistresses) flirting with Belle..."

"Lily heard you, Goddess Hestia."

Even as the fairy and Lily whispered in a low voice, I couldn't shake off my regret and couldn't help but scratch the back of my head.

"Well, all in all, it seems that... although there are demi-humans, since the leader of the [Familia] is Lord Bell, there seem to be more humans."

She was right.

Actually, it was because the gods named me, and because I was an old member of the clan who had not "converted," that's how I was chosen to be the leader of the clan.

To be honest, more than anything else, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to take on this great responsibility... but at this moment, I just felt ashamed.

It's said that among the various factions' joining preferences, there's a certain rule among "families" that adventurers are more likely to join if the leader is of the same race. Although I'm just a nominal leader, I'm genuinely happy that some people decided to join the guild because they saw me.

In addition to the large number of humans, as Lily mentioned, the Hestia Familia, being an exploration-oriented faction, also saw many people dressed as adventurers. Swords, spears, shields—from light to heavy armor, their various gear exuded a powerful presence. Among them were swordsmen reminiscent of mercenaries, who would surely be reliable if they joined as companions. There also seemed to be a few people carrying backpacks, appearing to be support personnel.

I couldn't tell whether they were transferees from other factions or unaffiliated people doing manual labor outside the city, but I could tell that many of them were interested in exploring the dungeon.

"Well, it's about time to start the interview!"

As I looked around at those who seemed more like adventurers than I did, the deity spoke up smugly.

She, Lily, Welff, and I walked together from the main entrance to the front.

All eyes were on us. The deity had made all the necessary preparations and was about to announce the start of the selection process for joining the group.

"H-Goddess Hestia—!?"

Just then, a shout came from inside.

The four of us turned around and saw Miss Ming rushing out of the house.

Bang! The door was pushed open with a loud crash, and she ran in panic.

"What's wrong, fate?"

"From, from, from the packed things...!!"

Seeing her face change drastically, the immortal tilted his head and saw that Miss Ming was trembling all over.

With an expression that suggested she had lost her composure, she stretched out her right hand, holding the paper, right in front of us and the volunteers.

"A promissory note for 200 million fares has fallen out—!?"