Bell caught a faint fruity scent with his nose—pleasant and refreshing. It was his own creation, after all, and worked wonders for both body and hair.
This time, he wasn't feeling so shy. He walked over to the bed, sat down, and rested his head right on Hephaestus's lap.
"Ah... I'm so tired."
Hephaestus looked down at him with an amused smile, and even Hestia—who would usually get jealous—was grinning as she watched.
"Hehe~ I didn't expect Bell to have a side like this."
"Even I get tired, you know. I used to be able to hold it in... but now I don't want to anymore."
Bell wasn't the least bit embarrassed by Hestia's teasing laugh. All he wanted now was to rest beside Hephaestus and Hestia.
Hephaestus couldn't hold back a soft smile and gently poked his baby-like face with her slender fingers.
"It's fine not to hold it in. This is your home too—you can let go of all that pressure you've been carrying. Still, you used to be so stoic and quiet. Who would've thought you'd change so much once you opened up?"
Bell looked a little sheepish.
"Honestly, I used to have a bit of social anxiety. Part of the reason I didn't trust people was just that I wasn't good at socializing. I didn't like talking to strangers."
"Then why did you act so mature in front of Hestia?"
"Uh... that's because when I first met Hestia, I thought she seemed kind of unreliable."
"Huh?!"
The moment she heard the word "unreliable," Hestia's smile vanished. She leapt onto Bell's back, puffed up in anger, and started hammering him with her tiny fists.
"Bell-kun! You're my child! What part of me is unreliable?!"
Bell wasn't fazed at all by her fists. In fact, he almost let out a relaxed hum.
"Well, it's because back when I first arrived in Orario, I overheard you and Hephaestus talking outside her shop."
Hestia froze on the spot. Her angry face flushed with embarrassment. She remembered it now—back when she was still freeloading at Hephaestus's place. That memory instantly sapped all the energy from her complaints.
"T-That was a special case!"
"I know it was. But still, my first impression of you was... not very reliable."
Bell's honest explanation did help Hestia's mood improve a bit, though she continued to mutter under her breath.
"I had just descended back then, that shouldn't count..."
"If I had descended a few decades earlier, I wouldn't be any worse than Loki!"
Hephaestus rolled her eyes at the comment.
"You're just a shut-in goddess, and you're comparing yourself to Loki?"
"When Loki first descended from Tenkai, she didn't have a Familia either. Finn, Riveria, and Gareth—those members of her Familia now? She recruited them all while traveling around. So tell me, with your homebody nature and your love for reading, how exactly are you better than Loki?"
Hestia puffed up angrily, wanting to refute it—but couldn't.
She had to admit, compared to venturing outside, she really did prefer staying home reading. Going out was exhausting, and full of risks. The last thing she wanted was to return to Tenkai right after coming down.
"You just got lucky meeting someone like Bell—an anomaly. Otherwise, if you were hoping for such a comfortable life, you'd still be mooching meals at my place."
Hestia puffed her cheeks out in frustration, but she knew Hephaestus wasn't wrong. If it weren't for her stroke of luck in meeting Bell-kun, who knew how long it would've taken for her to live this well?
"Alright, alright, let's update Bell's status and see how much he's grown these past few days."
"Okay!"
Perking up at the mention of a status update, Hestia sprang into action.
She got off Bell's back and walked to the dresser, pulling a needle from the drawer. After gently pricking her fingertip, she drew a drop of crimson. Bell had already taken off his shirt, and Hestia let the blood fall onto his back—revealing the sealed Falna inscription.
[Name: Bell Cranel
Level: 3
Development Abilities:
· Stealth: E
· Cognition: I-H
Basic Stats:
· Strength: I0 → D520
· Endurance: I0 → D560
· Dexterity: I0 → C637
· Agility: I0 → B705
· Magic: I0 → S978
Magic:
"Four-Dimensional Space": Storage
"Control of Space":
· Quick-Cast
· Lightning Manipulation
Skills:
"Personal Training": Early Bloomer
"Heaven's Luck": High Luck
"The Poor Man's Desire": Accumulate Power]
"His Development Abilities have leveled up, and those stats rose so fast!"
Hestia had expected Bell's growth to slow down after hitting Level 3—but somehow, his progress didn't just continue, it accelerated.
Hephaestus had thought the same thing, but the speed of his growth was still astonishing.
"It really is fast. And none of Bell's skills have added any restrictions either. Looks like 'Personal Training' didn't set a cap—which is definitely good news for us."
"Yeah..."
Hestia had always worried that one of Bell's skills might impose some kind of limit. After all, "Early Bloomer" sounded vague, but the word "early" implied a finite window. She'd been afraid that window might close soon.
But if the definition could stretch—if that "early" stage was broader—then Bell would have more time to grow. And for someone whose goal was to reach Level 10, that was undeniably good news.
Of course, Bell himself didn't believe his skills had time or phase limits—but saying that aloud wouldn't sit well. The skill was simply too rare in Orario.
"At this pace, he might even max out his Level 3 stats before the expedition starts."
Hephaestus figured that if they kept this up, Bell could push his Level 3 status to the limit before the mission began. And if so, he'd be ready to seek out the Excelia needed for ascension—he'd be ready for Level 4.
His growth rate was downright terrifying.
"I think so too."
Bell fully agreed with Hephaestus. That was exactly what he was aiming for.
"If I can max out my status before the expedition, maybe I can find a way to earn the Excelia I need for Level 5 ahead of schedule."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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