"Half a year… Lv.6, and he's only 'barely' keeping pace?"
Who was that supposed to be mocking?
Hearing this, half of Zeus and Hera's faces went stiff.
Even in the "Heroic Age" they had led, not a single Familia member had ever reached Lv.6 within half a year.
And this Level 6 who had grown in just six months wasn't some ordinary adventurer—he could hide his true strength and had even killed a proper Lv.7 spirit guardian.
"This kid's growth rate is far too bizarre."
Zeus had been trying to estimate Bell's strength all this time. He had guessed Bell might have reached Lv.6, but seeing it confirmed with his own eyes still left him speechless.
"He probably has some kind of special skill that accelerates growth. Otherwise reaching a level capable of threatening Lv.7 in half a year is simply too fast."
Hera also felt this speed was completely abnormal. If she were in Orario right now, she would absolutely dig out the secret behind this child's accelerated growth. Otherwise she wouldn't feel at ease letting him develop at such a reckless pace.
After all, growing too quickly often comes with many side effects.
For an adventurer, maintaining a steady rate of growth is usually best. Advancing too fast can make the body unable to keep up, making it harder to fully wield the power gained.
Put simply, excessive growth can destabilize one's foundation.
So Hera was genuinely worried about Bell's extreme growth rate. She didn't know whether he might already be facing this kind of instability.
"Zeus, next time you write back, make sure you tell them not to let Bell chase after growth that's too fast."
"I know."
Zeus naturally worried about this as well. In the battle just now, Bell showed almost no signs of instability—though that was because he didn't use his full strength.
Instability caused by rapid growth is hard to notice when someone isn't fighting at full power. But once they do, those issues tend to surface immediately.
"…But those goddesses really do have ties with Hestia."
"Have the gods in Orario gone blind? How can they not see such an obvious connection?" Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Freya, and Artemis—aside from the inconspicuous Hestia, the other four goddesses had overwhelming presence in Orario.
And yet their connection to Hestia Familia, or rather to Bell—could the gods really not see it?
Zeus wondered if their eyes were painted on. Something this obvious, and they remained clueless, even letting those goddesses put on such a convincing act.
Hera, however, had noticed a few things. She even spoke up on behalf of those fools in Orario.
"Zeus, maybe it's not that those useless idiots don't want to see the connection. Maybe it's because the others hid it too well."
"Do you remember how Bell got home?"
Pointed out like that, Zeus couldn't help recalling what had happened earlier.
"He passed through some kind of spatial tunnel."
"So, do you really think the place Bell entered just now was Orario? Since when does a clan's territory require a spatial tunnel to access?"
Zeus finally reacted. A normal Familia home certainly didn't require that kind of entrance.
And the surroundings of Hestia Familia's territory were clearly unnatural, as if wrapped inside a massive barrier that had completely reshaped the space within.
"A barrier?"
"That doesn't seem right either."
Calling it a barrier didn't quite fit. Zeus felt it wasn't one at all—the environment inside didn't resemble anything that should exist within a barrier.
After resting for a bit in his personal workshop, Bell began sorting through everything he'd obtained this time.
"It's a pity I didn't take Dionysus-sama's divine core."
A Divine Core was extremely valuable. Every god only had one, containing a single irreplaceable portion of their divine power—making it incredibly rare.
The last core had been used to replenish Artemis's depleted divinity. Without that divine power supporting her, Artemis probably wouldn't have made it through.
Divine cores were the kind of thing that became priceless at the most critical moments.
Which was why the Divine Core from Thanatos had to be stored carefully, reserved for emergencies.
"Even though Dionysus-sama's core went to Filvis, I still got what mattered." Bell wouldn't forget the "Deadly Sins."
The "Wrath" carried by Dionysus-sama was one of the Seven Deadly Sins—there was no way Bell would simply let something like that slip through his fingers.
"All that's left now is Loki's 'Sloth.'"
Oddly, Bell wasn't in a rush about the final one.
He also needed to sort things out with Freya. Yeah… his attitude toward Freya needed some adjustment.
At the very least, he needed to treat her the same way he treated Hestia and Hephaestus.
'Honestly, does an ordinary guy like me really have that kind of charm? How did I end up attracting so many goddesses?'
Bell reflected on himself for a moment. It felt like the only time he'd lost control was with Hephaestus—back then he had been a complete fledgling, practically guided along by her.
The thought made Bell sink into mild despair.
'You… why did you go your entire previous life without interacting with women?'
'If you had, you'd know how to handle something like this.'
But in his previous life, the closest he ever got to that was being a scumbag.
As for dealing with goddesses, his past-life experience offered him nothing.
The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.
Why did facing goddesses feel even more stressful than dealing with Evilus?
"…Hm?"
"Back already?"
Feeling the spatial ripple inside the house, Bell knew someone had returned.
By sensing where exactly the shift had occurred, he instantly knew who it was.
"Freya came back first?"
"Oh, right—she lives at the top of Babel."
Bell slapped his forehead as it clicked.
Hestia, Hephaestus, and Artemis all had to return through the passage inside Hephaestus's room. Freya, on the other hand, didn't need to take that route, so of course she'd get home faster.
Bell quickly straightened himself up and hurried from his workshop down to the first floor.
Just as he arrived, Freya was coming down from the second floor.
Seeing her dressed in a relatively modest white gown, Bell greeted her with a warm smile.
"Welcome home, Freya."
"Mhm. I'm back, dear."