Divine Script.
Truth be told, learning it wasn't all that difficult—especially for Alice. With just a basic introduction to get her started, she could figure out the meaning behind each character entirely on her own.
So, while Alice was studying the Sacred Script, Hestia couldn't stop gushing about what a genius she was. At the same time, a faint sadness crept in at the thought that she might not be able to freeload off Alice for much longer.
In Hestia's initial calculations, even a genius like Alice would need at least a month or two to learn the Divine Script.
But after actually teaching her, Hestia did a quick recalibration. At the rate Alice was learning, she'd probably master the entire system in under a month.
A single month… I wonder if my Bell can even gain enough strength to protect himself in that time.
Here in Orario, the fastest record for going from Level 1 to Level 2 was held by the Sword Princess of the Loki Familia, Ais Wallenstein, who managed it in one year.
But her Bell… well, he was just a simple boy for now. He hadn't shown any particularly amazing talent.
A mere month? He'd be lucky to even learn how to hold his own in a fight.
So now Hestia was racking her brain, trying to figure out how to secure a long-term meal ticket with Alice.
Judging by Alice's attitude toward learning, she seemed like a kid who genuinely enjoyed pursuing knowledge. But Hestia wasn't like Hephaestus, who could teach smithing, or anything like that.
She could, in theory, introduce Alice to some gods she knew and have them teach her their divine crafts.
Hephaestus forging, Miach's potion-making, Takemikazuchi's martial arts…
Hestia believed she was on good terms with all of them. If she really asked, they'd probably agree.
But Alice wasn't a child of her Familia. Using her connections to get Alice learning opportunities with other gods, just to secure a long-term meal ticket for herself…
It just didn't feel worth the effort.
Might as well have Bell go learn martial arts from Takemikazuchi directly.
'Asking Takemikazuchi to train Bell… that might be doable. But what could I even offer in return? I'm completely broke.'
In Alice's study, Hestia sat beside her, quietly lost in thought.
Although Hestia was supposed to be teaching Divine Script, Alice's learning style was more self-directed. It might not be as fast as having a dedicated teacher, but given Alice's intelligence, it wasn't slow either—and figuring things out on her own left a deeper impression.
"Hestia, what does this mean?" Every now and then, Alice would look up from her intense studying to ask a question.
"Hm? Which one? Let me see." Hearing Alice, Hestia leaned in with a smile.
Alice didn't carry the sweet, floral scent most girls did. In fact, to the average person, her smell might not even be considered pleasant.
It was the scent of cloth, mixed with the earth, and even a hint of forest dampness.
It wasn't sweet, but it was refreshing, even soothing.
Being this close to Alice, Hestia almost felt like she wasn't next to a cute girl, or even a human at all. It was more like…she was nestled against a quiet, deep forest.
Taking a deep breath, Hestia felt completely at ease. She looked at the character Alice was pointing to in the book.
"Ah, this part? It means this…" Hestia carefully explained.
Once she finished, Hestia stretched lazily and noticed Hourai floating over with a tea cup. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she turned to Alice.
"Alice dear, would you like to learn some skills from other gods?" Hestia's face wore a sly smile.
"Hm?" Alice looked at Hestia, puzzled. "Skills from other gods?"
"That's right!" Hestia crossed her arms and nodded. "I might look a little down on my luck now, but I know plenty of gods. I can introduce you."
"Like who?" Alice raised an eyebrow.
She was fairly interested in divine skills.
"For example, there's Miach, who makes potions. If you want to learn alchemy, I can introduce you."
"And there's Takemikazuchi, who's great with martial arts, and Hephaestus, the goddess of forging. I'm on good terms with all of them. If you're interested, I can be your go-between and make introductions."
Hestia wasn't sure whether these gods' skills would actually be useful to Alice.
But to secure that long-term meal ticket, she decided to give it a shot. As for why she had been hesitant earlier but was bringing it up now—well, this was just a suggestion, an offer to introduce Alice to other gods.
If Alice wanted to learn their skills, she'd have to earn their approval herself. Hestia wouldn't need to beg anyone.
After all, just getting to know other gods in Orario was pretty easy.
You could run into plenty of them just walking down the street, and striking up a conversation wasn't hard.
But that was just casual acquaintance. While gods generally adored children of the lower world, they naturally cherished their own Familia members more. There was always a distinction between close and distant.
Through Hestia's connections, though, Alice would be starting off on much better footing.
So just by making the introductions, Hestia's long-term meal ticket would be secured. And if Alice actually learned something useful, she'd owe Hestia a favor. Then Hestia could easily ask Alice to help train Bell a little.
It was a pretty sweet deal, all things considered.
Right now, Alice wasn't part of any Familia and didn't know any gods. She even needed Hestia's help to learn the Sacred Script.
So this was Hestia's chance.
Listening to Hestia's proposal, Alice frowned slightly, thinking it over seriously.
To be honest, before Hestia brought it up, Alice hadn't given much thought to skills like potion-making or forging.
But now that Hestia mentioned it, Alice was reminded of the other knowledge stored in her [Knowledge Repository]—besides just puppet crafting.
She fell deep into thought.
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