Hestia led Cid away from the abandoned church, discussing where they were supposed to scrape by next.
Cid didn't let Hestia wander freely this time—he really didn't want to suffer through getting lost again.
Not long after, two familiar figures walked toward them, clearly having spotted Cid as well.
The moment he saw who it was, Cid instinctively turned to run.
"Cid! Why do you always try to escape whenever you see us?!"
The speaker was a young girl with short, pale-blue hair. She seized Cid in one motion, not letting him get away.
Her name was Adi Varma—Cid's same-age, opposite-sex childhood friend.
And she was also a member of the Ganesha Familia.
"Cid, are you guys okay? Don't tell me you just came out of that area—there's a Dark Faction base over there!"
The woman beside her had short, deep-blue hair and a sharp, valiant presence.
She was the captain of the Ganesha Familia, Shakti Varma, Level 4—known as 'Elephant God's Staff.'
"I know. But it was the goddess who brought me there. I didn't notice at the time…"
The Ganesha Familia and the Astrea Familia were on excellent terms, so of course Cid knew these sisters.
If anything, the two sisters who represented the Ganesha Familia were exactly the people Cid most wanted to avoid.
Because the moment they saw him, they would definitely drag him off to do good deeds.
No pay, no reward—and worst of all, acting with them was incredibly attention-grabbing.
That kind of life was not mob-character life at all!
Over time, "run the moment you see them" had become muscle memory for Cid.
"A goddess? How rude of me! Captain of the Ganesha Familia, Shakti, greets you!"
Shakti hurriedly bowed to Hestia.
"It's fine, it's fine. That's your little sister?"
Hestia shot an unfriendly look at Adi.
Was this girl being a little too bold? She was still clinging to him!
Don't bully her Familia member right in front of her!
"Cid, you really went to the abandoned church? You weren't hurt, right?"
Adi didn't notice Hestia's mood at all. She kept hold of Cid, her face full of worry.
She was already around Level 3 now—at her age, that was a genuinely impressive talent, comparable to Alise and the others.
And she was close with Ryuu and the rest, which naturally meant she'd always been familiar with Cid too.
Aside from not understanding why Cid always avoided her, their relationship was quite good.
But when a relationship was too close, people got careless.
Like now: Adi was worried about Cid's safety, so she started checking him over with her hands.
"Don't, Adi! Stop groping me—I'm not Ryuu!"
Cid had seen it before: Adi's enthusiasm was on the same level as Alise's.
Whenever the two of them were both present, Ryuu was always the first victim.
"Stand still and let me check!"
Adi didn't listen at all.
How could she feel at ease if she didn't check him thoroughly?
If Cid got hurt and didn't say anything, how was she supposed to explain that to Ryuu and the others later?
"Cid, you're really popular, huh."
Hestia's cheeks puffed out again.
Cid was clearly her Familia member—so why was he always tangled up with other women?
And this girl too—Hestia was standing right here watching, so show some restraint!
Only then did Adi finally notice Hestia.
"This is the goddess, right? Ryuu mentioned you were changing Familias—Goddess, what's your name? I'm Adi Varma!"
Just seeing Hestia's flawless beauty, Adi immediately guessed she was a goddess.
But… Cid's new goddess looked kind of short.
Adi couldn't help comparing Hestia to herself.
"My name is Hestia. You're a polite girl, but your eyes are very impolite!"
Hestia got so mad she tried to rise on tiptoe—then gave up.
If you had to jump and you still only reached someone's knees, it was better not to compete on height.
"Cid, you little—"
On the other side, Shakti's gaze was also unfriendly—but it was aimed at Cid.
She didn't care whether her sister was the one acting first.
Either way, it was Cid's fault.
If this kept going, would her cutest little sister get snatched away?
But this wasn't the time for that.
Other members of the Ganesha Familia were already moving into position. The assault was about to begin.
"Everyone's in place. We're going in. Cid, take this goddess and leave, now."
After Shakti spoke, Adi immediately moved with her as well.
When it came to missions, both women were equally serious.
Seeing them about to charge in, Cid quickly stepped forward to stop them.
"Don't go in. The person inside is really strong."
"Only one person? Our information said the Dark Faction would be gathering at that abandoned church—there should be many of them. You're saying there's someone strong inside? How strong, exactly?"
Shakti frowned. She wasn't about to retreat at the critical moment.
She wasn't just an adventurer—she was also one of Orario's keepers of order.
There was no such thing as backing down.
"How strong? A normal Level 5 isn't that strong. Why don't you bring Ottar?"
Cid wasn't entirely sure either.
If he didn't fight, it was hard to judge an opponent's true strength just by appearance.
And the woman's physical condition was terrible. With a curse at that level, Cid would've found it completely plausible if she dropped dead the very next second.
But if she could still fight, then Ottar definitely wouldn't be enough.
"Ottar? You mean Level 6? The Dark Faction has a Level 6?!"
Adi cried out in shock. The other Ganesha Familia members were startled and afraid as well.
There was only one Level 6 in Orario right now!
"She might not be Dark Faction… but her strength is definitely Level 6."
In truth, what Cid really wanted to say was: Even if Ottar comes, it's useless—he'll die here too.
The reason he suggested Ottar was simply because he had no particular relationship with the Freya Familia.
If Ottar walked into danger, Cid wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Besides, it was a convenient way to scare these sisters into backing off.
The Ganesha Familia and Astrea Familia were close. Cid couldn't just watch them die.
Meanwhile, Hestia finally processed what was being said.
"Wait. That lonely girl from earlier… is Level 6?"
Gods had the ability to tell whether a human was lying.
But being able to judge how strong a human was wasn't something every god could do.
A goddess like Astrea, skilled in martial arts, might be able to read someone's physical quality.
And a rare few gods had special ways of seeing—like Freya of one of the two great Familias.
Other than that, most gods picking a Familia was barely different from drawing random gacha.
Hestia truly hadn't been able to tell what Alfia's strength was.
"Cid… you realized it early on? Was that why you acted like that—because you were protecting me?"
Hestia looked at Cid, deeply moved.
If that was the case, then Cid hadn't been entranced by that woman at all—he'd been afraid.
And yet he'd still perfectly played the role of a shy young boy, without letting the other party suspect anything.
This child had conquered his fear of death just to protect her, bringing her back to safety.
Compared to feeling guilty for stepping on him earlier, Hestia felt far more touched.
She could be sure the other party wouldn't attack… but Cid couldn't possibly have known that.
After sensing how terrifying the opponent was, he still remained calm and faced her head-on—
That was the resolve to die.
Humans in the Lower World weren't immortal.
And yet this child was willing to protect her with his limited life.
What a good child.
Hestia decided that from now on, she would treat Cid even better.
After today, Cid wasn't just her first Familia member.
He was family.
"Honestly… I didn't think that far."
Cid had no idea how to explain himself.
Was there any chance he could say: As Shadow, I'm invincible, so I never even considered being afraid?
Yeah—no way he could say that out loud.
"Don't be modest. This information is extremely important—and bringing a goddess back safely is a major achievement."
Shakti patted Cid on the shoulder, looking at him with newfound respect.
Sure, this kid had guts the size of a mountain—he'd even dared to set his sights on her cutest little sister.
But this sense of responsibility was still worthy of praise.
"Yeah! Cid, back then your mind probably went blank, right? It's normal when you face someone on that level—that's not cowardice."
Adi looked at Cid with admiration.
She didn't know whether she herself could remain fearless like Cid—like the heroes in the old heroic tales—if she ever faced something like that.
"…."
Cid gave up on explaining.
And gave up on thinking.
At times like this… smiling was all you needed.
....
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