After leaving the Guild, Bell felt a bit conflicted.
'The Hestia Familia, I wanted to join... it turns out even the goddess herself is slacking off. This is trouble. I thought I'd be able to join the Hestia Familia early on, but it turns out I came too early.'
Since he wasn't sure exactly when things would start, Bell hoped to arrive in Orario as early as possible. However, he had forgotten the problem that lay with Hestia herself.
If his guess was correct, Hestia was probably still freeloading at the home of the goddess Hephaestus.
'It looks like I need a plan if I want to join the Hestia Familia. If I just sit around and wait, Hestia will probably keep wasting time with Hephaestus. I don't have that much time to waste.'
Standing at the entrance of the Guild, Bell came up with an idea.
The situation didn't allow him to keep waiting, and he needed to take action immediately.
...
"Uwaaah waaah waaah!"
The sound of someone crying loudly could be heard from Hephaestus's shop.
The cries were so loud that even passersby outside the store couldn't help but stop in their tracks. No one knew what was happening inside, but it didn't sound like a small problem.
This was Hephaestus's equipment shop, and if someone cried or made a fuss, they were usually thrown out right away.
However, the crying continued, and now, even some complaints could be heard from inside.
"Hephaestus, why can't I find even a single Familia member? That guy has already found so many!"
The voice was filled with frustration, disappointment, and complaints, but the person seemed to be a goddess who was close to Hephaestus.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be here complaining.
The customers outside stopped for a moment and decided not to go in. It would be trouble if the issue inside somehow ended up involving them.
Moreover, it was obvious that the goddess making all the noise had only recently descended from the heavens and was venting her frustrations about not finding a familia.
After noticing this, Haeptheus sighed softly to herself.
Looking at the crying Hestia, she couldn't help but think, 'Does this idiot not realize that it's her own personality that's making it hard for her to find anyone to join her Familia?'
"Hestia, stop crying over not being able to find any Familia members here. Also, how exactly have you been going about recruiting them?"
Even the lower gods shouldn't have trouble finding people for their familia.
Hephaestus couldn't understand how this idiot in front of her, even if she was a bit of an idiot, could fail to recruit a single familia member.
Moreover, given her relationship with Hestia, if Hestia just went to the Guild and made a report, it wouldn't take long before someone would approach her.
"I ask them one by one."
After hearing that, Hephaestus slapped her forehead with her hand.
Through the eye that wasn't covered by her eye patch, Hephaestus saw Hestia's confused face, 'What's going on? Why are you covering your face?'
Just imagine her going up to adventurers one by one and asking, 'Would you like to join my Familia?'
'Ugh, is this person an idiot? Even if she's in a rush to find familia members, she doesn't have to go around asking each one by one!'
Hephaestus completely understood why no one was willing to join her familia.
Looking at Hestia's clueless and innocent expression, Hephaestus realized that all the adventurers in the city had probably started avoiding Hestia.
It seemed like no adventurer in this city wanted to become part of Hestia's Familia.
Besides, who ever heard of a god begging for followers?
Frustrated, Hephaestus directly pinched Hestia's cheek.
"Are you an idiot? Don't you know the simplest way for gods to recruit familia members is to go register at the Guild? And you're asking each one individually?"
"Hmm-hmm..."
Hephaestus sighed and released her grip.
Hestia, with tears in her eyes, wasn't crying because her face hurt but because of what Hephaestus had just said.
"So what should I do? I've already gone and asked them one by one..."
Hephaestus was speechless and covered her face. She realized she should have explained things to this idiot earlier.
"This is a mess. With how you've been acting, all the adventurers in Orario must have already decided to avoid you."
"Eh!? Then, what should I do?"
Hearing Hephaestus's words, Hestia truly panicked. This huge problem directly affected whether or not she could find Familia members.
If all the adventurers in Orario really started avoiding her, how was she supposed to recruit anyone?
In this situation, Hephaestus was also frustrated.
What could she do?
She was the one who wanted to know the answer.
Hestia's reckless actions clearly spread throughout Orario.
If any adventurers were interested in joining the Hestia Familia, they probably would have already come forward by now.
Instead, Hestia was just stuck at Hephaestus's shop, hanging around like a lost puppy.
"Sigh... I think you should just give up."
Even Hephaestus couldn't help but say, "There's no saving you, just wait and see what happens, bye."
At this point, Hephaestus didn't even want to encourage Hestia to keep trying anymore because she could tell that no matter what Hestia did, the outcome wouldn't change.
Unless, of course, a newcomer who hadn't heard of this Hestia's reputation showed up. Maybe then, they could be tricked into joining her Familia.
"Ding-ling!"
The bell on the door rang, catching both Hephaestus's and Hestia's attention.
A person wearing a trench coat walked into the shop with their face hidden beneath the hood of their coat.
However, the first words that came out of this person's mouth instantly lit up Hephaestus's eyes.
"Hello, Hephaestus-sama. My name is Bell Cranel, and I'm a new adventurer who just arrived in Orario."
'This person really showed up!?'
At that moment, this newcomer adventurer seemed like the last hope to save Hestia to Hephaestus.