"Who told you to pick a fight so early in the morning?"
Hestia looked annoyed, her chubby cheeks puffing out.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with your ties to Evilus. If you act in Genkai, you take responsibility for it. If relationships get ssed up, it's all because of your own actions."
"But making stay here with you? That's on you~!"
She might as well have said, 'I don't want to waste my ti with you.' Her reluctance couldn't be clearer.
Loki's face darkened, but when it ca to Hestia, there wasn't much she could do.
After all, she knew better than anyone that the others might be pawns of Evilus—but not this little runt.
"Hephaestus hasn't gone back. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
That almost made Loki blurt out, 'What's your rush, you freeloader?'
Hearing that, Hestia nearly flared up, her nose twitching with anger.
Did she really think Hestia wouldn't catch the hidden barb? Did she take her for an idiot?
Yet instead of exploding, Hestia forced down her temper with a sweet smile.
"Hmph, I'm not the sa as before. My child is very good at making money."
That drew the gods' attention imdiately.
The words "good at making money" made them all think of the rune stones that had recently beco popular in Orario.
Everyone could tell there was sothing unusual about them. They carried traces of Authority, yet what they exercised was still the power of Magic.
Perhaps it was the awakening of so very special ability?
As for that child's origin, everyone had already investigated, and all fingers pointed to Hestia. Now, hearing her claim her child was raking in wealth, the answer seed obvious.
But children with this kind of magical power usually didn't excel in direct combat. Otherwise, with Hestia's personality, she would have shown them off long ago.
Still, Dionysus gave Hestia a longer look, a faint unease stirring in him.
'She's kept this hidden all this ti. Why bring it up now?'
It seed to him Hestia was deliberately concealing sothing, though this wasn't the mont to call her out.
"A child that's been kept hidden—why bring them out now? Wouldn't it be better to keep them out of sight?"
"Hmph! My child needs to grow too."
"...I see."
Loki's expression said it all—"No wonder." Hestia's child had stayed hidden for so long. They wouldn't just appear without a reason.
So that's it—leveling up.
Dionysus understood.
For a growing adventurer, leveling up was a necessary step. Only through it could they gain greater strength.
Of course, the process was an enormous challenge for most. Otherwise, more than half of Orario's adventurers wouldn't still be stuck at Lv.1.
The other gods began to look more understanding as well.
They still cared about Hestia's child. Even if the child wasn't exceptionally gifted, to already be thinking of leveling up after just half a year as an adventurer smacked of impatience.
In Orario, an adventurer's talent and potential were judged in part by how quickly they reached Lv.2. The shorter the ti, the greater the talent.
But that was only true for the truly gifted.
Most adventurers with ambition could et the conditions to reach Lv.2 quickly—especially those supported by large Familia. But doing so inevitably ate away at their potential. Advancing too early was nothing more than vanity, a bid to claim the title of Orario's "earliest upgrade."
The "Strongest" of Freya Familia and the "Sword Princess" of Loki Familia both undoubtedly had the ability to push any single stat past 500 points. Yet it still took them more than a year to reach Lv.2. Why?
Because it ca down to how they managed their own talent, gifts, and latent potential.
Adventurers who only chase after quick leveling usually don't have much of a future.
But for adventurers with production skills, that's another matter entirely.
For them, leveling up is often done to gain a suitable Developnt Ability. This is especially common among artisan Familia such as the Goibniu Familia and the Hephaestus Familia.
For a craftsman, leveling up to acquire "Blacksmith" as a Developnt Ability is practically routine.
So if Hestia's child was rushing to level up this soon, it was most likely to secure "Mystery" as their Developnt Ability.
Just the ntion of rune stones imdiately calls "Mystery" to mind.
If Hestia's child was already producing rune stones of that quality, and if they truly managed to obtain "Mystery," then the standard of rune stone crafting might be raised even further.
That was sothing the gods could not simply ignore.
"Hestia, are you sure your child's growth is on track?"
"If there's a problem, I can help!"
One after another, the gods, all seeing the profit to be made, began trying to cozy up to her.
If they lent a hand now, they might later get their hands on even higher-grade rune stones. It was a deal with nothing but upside.
...
"...Your intentions couldn't be more obvious. I'd never trust my child in your hands."
Hestia rolled her eyes, not taking their so-called offers of help seriously in the slightest.
"Besides, so of you might even be those rats. If sothing happened to my child, who would take responsibility?"
That silenced the gods.
Claiming there were no Evilus deities among them? Even they wouldn't believe that themselves.
Those vermin were definitely hiding in their ranks—why else would Loki be restricting their actions?
The Evilus gods hidden within the assembly all rolled their eyes together.
'Do we look that stupid?'
Rune stones were a resource you could buy with money, one that could even narrow the gap between weak and strong to so degree. With resources that easy to acquire, they had no need for underhanded thods.
And with tensions with the Guild now flaring, the last thing they wanted was to lose the advantage rune stones provided at such a critical mont.
The faster Hestia's child grew, the better it was for them.
So, they would never target a child with weak combat power but exceptional production ability.
Not unless they were left with no way at all to get rune stones.
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