"So it's another case of one day equaling someone else's whole year…"
Faced with a jump that absurd, Tsubaki couldn't help rubbing her throbbing temples hard.
Even with her eyes closed, those numbers still felt poisonous, echoing madly inside her head.
It couldn't be helped.
After all, as an old veteran who had spent years clawing her way through this circle, Tsubaki liked to think she had seen every kind of storm there was.
Geniuses, monsters, children blessed by the gods.
She had seen plenty of them in the Hephaestus Familia's forge and in the deep floors of the Dungeon.
But this?
This kind of sight?
She had truly never seen anything like it.
Tsubaki lifted her head and looked at the black-haired girl again, the one who still wore an utterly expressionless face, without even the slightest ripple in her eyes.
Amou.
Then she looked at Haimer, who was calmly folding up the parchment as though he had only just finished some trivial task.
"Haah…"
Tsubaki let out a long breath.
Haimer hadn't explained anything, but Tsubaki wasn't stupid.
Growth this ridiculous, this blatantly cheat-like, could only be explained by an extremely rare skill that massively altered growth efficiency.
If she was supposed to believe that girl didn't have a skill hanging off her somewhere, she'd rather get beaten to death first.
"Keep it safe."
"This is your new beginning."
With that, Haimer folded the parchment and handed it to Amou.
"Yes, my lord."
Amou took the parchment. Her face still showed little change, but a faint light flickered in those dark eyes of hers.
For her, those numbers were the most direct proof that she was truly alive in this new world.
…
"All right."
"Next."
Haimer didn't waste any time.
There were still several more people lined up behind her.
His voice rang out again.
"Rin."
The moment he called her name,
"Yes!"
Rin, who had been nervously clutching the hem of her clothes this whole time, gave a little shiver.
Then she took a deep breath, as though trying to encourage herself, tightened her grip once more on her clothes, and hurried over to Haimer.
When she passed by Amou, she couldn't help sneaking a glance at the parchment in Amou's hand.
She hadn't seen the exact numbers.
But judging from the way Tsubaki had completely lost her composure, Amou's gain had to be enormous.
Thinking of that, the pressure was huge…
Rin bit her lip, then turned around and knelt down.
The clothing slid down her back.
What it revealed was a back that was still youthful, but already beginning to show the beautiful lines of a growing girl.
"Relax."
Haimer's voice came from behind her.
Then the drop of divine blood, faintly glowing gold, fell from his fingertip.
Tap
The blood landed.
The familiar sacred script lit up again.
This time, however, Tsubaki, sitting to the side as a witness, had already started praying in her heart.
Her heart might have been forged by countless shocks over the years, but even it had limits.
If another monster appeared with numbers jumping by the hundreds like it was the most natural thing in the world, then she really wasn't going to sleep tonight.
She might even start seriously doubting all the effort she had put into her own life for the past few years.
Fortunately, this time, the red glow gradually stabilized.
"Mm."
Haimer nodded slightly.
He picked up the parchment.
Pressed it down.
Erased the skill column.
The entire process flowed smoothly and naturally.
And at last, when the imprinted parchment was turned over and pushed to the center of the table,
"…"
Tsubaki immediately leaned over.
There weren't any numbers this time that made her heart stop on the spot.
But, when she saw what was written there.
"Uh…"
The next second, her eyelid still twitched uncontrollably.
Because these numbers didn't exactly let her relax either.
[Name: Rin]
[Level: Lv.1]
[Strength: I-0 → H-102]
[Endurance: I-0 → H-105]
[Dexterity: I-0 → I-88]
[Agility: I-0 → I-92]
[Magic: I-0 → I-0]
...
A long silence followed.
Then Tsubaki finally drew in a deep breath.
"Compared to the first two utterly unreasonable monsters, this one at least looks a little more normal."
"But…"
"it's still the first day."
"And both Strength and Endurance broke a hundred."
She pointed at the sheet.
"In any Familia, even in huge ones like the Loki Familia or the Freya Familia, a rookie like this would absolutely be treated as a core seed worth raising."
She paused slightly, as though recalling something.
"I remember the Guild has records."
"That Sword Princess from the Loki Familia…"
"when she was just starting out, the first time she updated her status…"
"I think her numbers were around this level too."
"In other words…"
"This girl has the kind of potential to compete from the same starting line as the Sword Princess."
As she said that, Tsubaki couldn't help shaking her head.
"Well, that settles it."
"That legend about the Sword Princess holding the fastest rookie record for ranking up, now suddenly has a competitor."
"And not just one."
"A whole nest of them."
Hearing Tsubaki's evaluation, Rin, who had been quietly feeling a little uneasy because she hadn't exploded like Amou or Tsukuyo, suddenly lit up.
"R-Really?!"
"I can compare to that Sword Princess person too?"
Rin leaned in to look at her own numbers, her little face flushed with excitement.
With her competitive personality, even if she couldn't compare to the two monsters in her Familia who had already been the kind of people others looked up to even back in their old world, hearing that she was being compared to one of Orario's top prodigies was enough to settle the anxious knot in her heart.
In fact, it even made her secretly a little happy.
"Of course."
Haimer handed the parchment to Rin, looking quite pleased.
"Miss Tsubaki is a first-class adventurer. You can trust her eye completely."
Then he reached out and lightly ruffled Rin's hair.
"You did well."
"For a front-liner, getting Strength and Endurance this far on the first day already proves you worked hard."
"These numbers are the best proof of your courage."
"R-Really?!"
The moment she heard Haimer praise her, Rin immediately looked up.
Those eyes of hers lit up at once, and two rosy patches bloomed across her cheeks.
"R-Really?"
"My lord, did I… did I really do that well?"
"Of course."
Haimer smiled and nodded.
"You really did."
"And not just because of the numbers."
"More importantly, Rin didn't let down the trust I placed in her."
"Mm…"
At that answer, the tension vanished from Rin's face all at once, replaced by a bright, glowing happiness.
She looked so lightheaded she seemed almost ready to float.
…
After that, the rest went much faster.
One girl after another stepped forward.
Mary.
Satori.
Warabi.
Each one came up in turn.
And as each parchment was pushed to the center of the table, even though there were no more heart-stopping monsters like Tsukuyo or Amou, every single result sheet was still beautiful.
[Mary]
[Dexterity: H-162.]
As a rapier-using assassin-type swordswoman, she had displayed astonishing talent in precise strikes against weak points.
Those repeated, accurate thrusts had translated directly into a rapid rise in Dexterity.
[Satori]
[Agility: H-145.]
This girl, who usually looked drowsy and half-lazy with her eyes narrowed, turned into something ghostlike in battle. Her eerie speed and impossible-to-predict assassination style had actually put her Agility even higher than Rin's.
And then there was,
[Warabi]
[Strength: H-128.]
Her one-day growth in Strength had also broken past the hundred mark.
Looking at the sheets spread across the table, Tsubaki felt that although her heart had calmed down a little, the shock still hadn't really faded.
Because the truth was, after just one day, every single one of them had managed to drag at least one main stat into the edge of the H range, while the rest hovered around the high I range.
"Honestly…"
Tsubaki clicked her tongue and swept her gaze over the girls, all of whom were staring at her with shining eyes, clearly waiting for more praise.
"they're all excellent seedlings."
At that thought, Tsubaki turned and looked at Haimer, who sat at the head of the table.
Her eyes were full of emotion.
"Lord Haimer."
"Your luck really is something else."
"To pick up this many treasures in one go…"
"I'm afraid you'll be laughing in your sleep from now on."
"That's only natural."
Haimer accepted the compliment without even pretending modesty.
Then he stood up and looked warmly over everyone present.
"Just as Miss Tsubaki said, every single one of you performed beyond my expectations."
"But today is only a beginning."
"I believe that if you keep this up, then it won't take long before the summit of Orario will have a place reserved for each of you."
"But."
His tone shifted.
"Don't become careless and haughty because of that."
"Data is only data."
"In a place like the Dungeon, life and death are often decided in a single instant."
"No matter how high your Strength or Agility may be, if you lose that sense of caution, if you lose that reverence, then you're just a corpse with slightly higher numbers."
"That's something I want all of you to remember well."
"Yes!!"
The girls answered in one bright, unified voice.
"Good."
Haimer nodded in satisfaction.
Then the seriousness faded from his face, replaced by a gentler smile.
"Now then."
"That's enough for serious talk."
"You've all had a long day."
"So now, go upstairs and choose your rooms."
"Pick whichever one you want, after discussing it among yourselves."
"The bedding and pillows are all new, so get a proper night's sleep."
"As for tomorrow's arrangements, we'll talk about them tomorrow."
The moment those words landed, the girls, who had still been basking in the afterglow of praise, instantly exploded into excitement.
"Waaah!!!"
"I want the south-facing room!"
"I want the one with the big window!"
"I want the room that looks directly out onto the laurel tree in the courtyard!"
"I want that one too!"
"Wait! I'm coming too!"
"I want the room next to Tsukuyo's!"
And just like that, the girls erupted into cheers and charged toward the stairs to the second floor.
They were so lively.
"They really do have energy."
Tsubaki sat by the table, idly turning her empty teacup in her hands as she watched their backs disappear, and couldn't help muttering,
"It's nice being young."
"This almost reminds me of when I first started following Lady Hephaestus."
Haimer smiled faintly but didn't reply.
Instead, he turned to the black-haired girl still quietly standing by his side.
Amou.
As the strongest among them, and also the most solitary by temperament, Amou clearly had no intention of joining the scramble upstairs.
She simply stood there.
"What?"
"Aren't you going up to take a look?"
"If you wait too long, all the good spots will be taken."
Haimer's tone was teasing.
"It doesn't matter."
Amou shook her head slightly, her long black hair swaying with the motion.
"As long as there's a place to sleep, that's enough."
"I'm not picky."
"Go on."
"You're not planning to sleep in the hallway, are you?"
"There's still tomorrow."
"Get some proper rest tonight."
At those faintly concerned words, the lines of Amou's always-icy face softened for the briefest instant.
She nodded.
"Yes, my lord."
Then, without any further hesitation, she turned and headed for the stairs.
Her pace was still unhurried as ever, but there was a rare lightness in her back.
…
Only after Amou's figure disappeared around the turn of the stairs did the hall finally fall quiet again.
The only sound left was the occasional playful noise drifting down from above.
"Hah…"
Haimer had just been about to sit back down and finish his tea when he suddenly felt a gentle tug at the leg of his pants.
"Hmm?"
He lowered his head.
There, on the carpet at his feet, was a fuzzy little bundle.
It was the cub, Kyoubou's child.
At the moment, the little thing was standing unsteadily on its hind legs, tugging at Haimer's pants with its front paws.
Its round little head was lifted high, and its shiny black eyes were gazing up at him pleadingly.
The moment it saw him look down,
"Awoo?"
Then it let out a little cry and clumsily raised one pudgy paw to point at its own back.
"Hmm?"
"Wuh! Wuh-wuh!"
Seeing that Haimer was finally paying attention, the little bear got even more excited. It made urgent little sounds, twisting its chubby backside with all its might and proudly presenting its back to him.
That posture was so obvious it practically said:
Look! Look! I want that too! I want that glowing thing too!
"…"
Even Tsubaki, sitting nearby, blanked out for a second before understanding.
Then she stared.
"This little guy…"
"Don't tell me it actually understood the ritual just now, and wants you to update its status too, Lord Haimer?"
Hearing that, Haimer could only give a slightly helpless smile.
He bent down, scooped up the little fellow, who was about the size of a gas canister, and settled it on his lap.
"You little thing…"
He rubbed its round bear ears between his fingers.
"Your fur hasn't even fully grown in yet, and you're already thinking about becoming an adventurer?"
"Awoo!"
The cub, apparently understanding the teasing in Haimer's tone, barked once in protest and pressed even harder into his chest.
In its eyes was a yearning so human it didn't belong to any ordinary beast.
It was the instinctive desire for strength.
And the anxious wish to keep up with everyone else.
Haimer stroked the fluffy little head. Then his gaze moved beyond it to the large black bear lying in the corner of the hall.
Kyoubou.
Even though it hadn't come over like its cub had, those little bean-sized eyes of its had been staring over this way the whole time.
The moment it noticed Haimer's gaze falling on it,
"Rrrgh…"
Kyoubou let out a low, hesitant sound. It lifted its huge head slightly, then lowered it again in uncertainty.
That careful, almost timid desire was no less intense than its child's.
…
Come to think of it, these two bears weren't natives of this world.
They weren't like the monsters of the Dungeon, creatures without reason that turned to ash upon death.
They had crossed over from World S-14 along with the others.
They had flesh and blood.
And more than that, they possessed a kind of intelligence and spirit no less vivid than a human's.
In that case…
Haimer rubbed his chin, his fingers moving absently through the cub's thick back fur.
A bold idea suddenly rose in his mind.
By the rules of this world, the Falna.
It was the blessing gods granted to the people of the Lower World.
A power of growth, and an extraordinarily efficient one at that.
But as far as he knew, there was no rule explicitly stating that it couldn't be given to animals.
Haimer narrowed his eyes and looked from the cub's eager expression to Kyoubou's watchful gaze.
"Miss Tsubaki."
"Mm?"
Tsubaki, who had been grinning at the sight of the cub, blinked.
"In the history of the Lower World, has there ever been a case of a god granting Falna to an animal?"
"This?"
The question made Tsubaki pause.
She blinked once with that single eye, thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
"Well…"
"As far as I know, I don't think there has."
She waved a hand.
"Sure, gods are bored enough to do all kinds of ridiculous nonsense."
"For example, over in the Ganesha Familia, they tame plenty of monsters for the Monsterphilia."
"But granting Falna to animals…"
"Putting aside whether any god was ever bored enough to try it before, the first problem would be potential."
"The Falna's whole purpose is to draw out our potential."
"Ordinary beasts simply don't have enough of it to attract a god's attention."
"But…"
"If it's Kyoubou…"
"To be honest…"
"I'm not sure anymore."
At that point, Tsubaki hesitated.
Her eyes drifted to Kyoubou.
She remembered the way it had looked in the Dungeon that day, those humanlike eyes, that sense of timing in battle, the fact that it could understand simple commands.
Her voice became uncertain.
"Because this big guy really is sharp as hell."
Hearing Tsubaki's ambiguous answer, Haimer fell into thought.
"If there's no rule saying it can't be done, then that basically means it can."
He raised the cub up in front of him and looked into those shining little eyes.
"Then I may as well try it."
"If I carve Falna onto them, maybe I really can make a never-before-seen bear adventurer."
If Kyoubou truly received Falna…
A massive armored bear adventurer.
The image alone was ridiculously appealing.
Tsubaki stared at the eager light now filling Haimer's face and looked almost disbelieving.
"Lord Haimer…"
"You're serious?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Haimer smiled faintly, and for the first time Tsubaki saw something in those deep black eyes that felt unfamiliar.
It wasn't mortal impulse.
And it wasn't the mischievous curiosity of someone acting on a passing whim.
It was something purer.
As if he were standing above the clouds, looking down over the entire board, watching all the established rules in place, and then lightly extending a hand to nudge one piece toward a territory no one had ever explored before.
"Miss Tsubaki."
"When gods abandoned the eternal glory of Heaven, sealed away their omnipotent divinity, and threw themselves into the Lower World one after another like dumplings into a boiling pot"
"What do you think they did it for?"
"It wasn't to come here and play the role of obedient little darlings, following one rule after another."
"What we came for was precisely this unknown."
"Unknown possibilities. Unknown outcomes. And those perfect surprises that can make hearts race again, even in beings long since numbed by everything."
"If a new child has gained reason, and carries the desire to grow stronger…"
"If there is a light within its soul that shines no less brightly than any human's…"
"then why should it not be allowed to become an adventurer?"
"Just because it happens to wear fur instead of skin?"
"Or because, no god has ever done it before?"
"If the only reason to deny a living being's chance to rise is because there's no precedent, then that would be unbearably dull."
…
After hearing all of that, Tsubaki opened her mouth as though she wanted to rebut him.
She wanted to talk about Guild rules, public opinion, all the trouble something like this could cause.
But when the words reached her throat, they simply wouldn't come out.
Because she realized, she had been convinced.
That was right.
Gods were beings who acted as they pleased, with amusement as their highest principle.
Breaking convention?
That was the privilege of gods.
Creating miracles?
That was their instinct.
If a god had to hesitate and second-guess themselves even when it came to granting power to a creature that genuinely wanted to grow stronger, then that godhood would be downright suffocating.
"You really…"
Tsubaki let out a helpless laugh and rubbed the ache beginning at her brow.
"Lord Haimer, your twisted logic really does come in layers."
"But the worst part is…"
"I actually think you make sense."
"If Lady Hephaestus were here listening to you right now, I bet she'd be clapping for you."
"Because…"
"Lady Hephaestus hates stagnation more than anyone."
"All right, then."
Tsubaki let out a long breath. The conflict on her face gradually melted into acceptance, and beyond that, there was even a hint of excitement.
"Since you, as a god, have decided to break this boundary, then what else can I even say?"
"I'll stay here and watch."
"I'll watch how you carve a bold new stroke into the history of Orario, no, into the history of the entire Lower World."
…
"Still…"
"Lord Haimer."
"Even if it spoils the mood, there are some things I have to say first."
She might have been moved by his talk of "unknown possibilities," but Tsubaki had still lived in Orario for decades.
The brief spark of excitement faded from her face, and what replaced it was deep concern.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she continued.
"You really would be making history."
"Granting Falna to beasts and letting beasts become adventurers."
"It sounds romantic, Iinnovative, groundbreaking."
"But, have you thought about what happens if you open that door?"
"If these two bears really do receive Falna and really do display serious combat ability, then this won't stay hidden."
"Orario may be huge, but there's no such thing as a wall that keeps every draft out forever."
"When that happens, what do you think the other gods will think?"
"What do you think the other Familias will do?"
"Those more aggressive, more warlike Familias."
"The instant they realize this might be a shortcut to obtaining strong military power quickly and cheaply, they'll go mad."
"They'll pour into the forests, into the wilds, maybe even into the Dungeon."
"They'll hunt savage beasts in droves."
"And then, without caring about anything else, they'll force Falna onto them and try to build beast armies that obey only them."
At that point, an edge of cold entered Tsubaki's voice.
"And then what about the weak Familias?"
"The ones already barely surviving in the cracks?"
"If they watch everyone else start an arms race, then out of fear, out of self-preservation, they'll have no choice but to follow."
"Even if they have no ability to tame beasts. Even if they can barely feed themselves."
"If they don't want to be swallowed whole, if they don't want to be eliminated, then they'll still be forced to go hunting."
"But beasts are still beasts."
"The reason Kyoubou is as intelligent as it is now is because it's a one-in-ten-thousand exception."
"But what about every other beast?"
"If they lose control…"
"If these beasts, empowered by Falna, go berserk…"
"then the consequences-"
She didn't finish the sentence.
At that point,
the Ganesha Familia, tasked with keeping order in the city, would probably end up coughing blood from overwork.
"Chaos?"
Haimer kept idly playing with the cub's wet nose with one finger.
"I don't quite see it that way."
"But if things get chaotic, that only means the world still has vitality."
"And besides, Miss Tsubaki, do you really think the world behind the curtain is all that bright already?"
…
That single sentence pierced right through the paper-thin veil.
Tsubaki opened her mouth, and every argument she had lined up instantly died in her throat.
Bright?
What a joke.
As an old hand who had spent years in Orario, she had seen more darkness than most.
Familias sabotaging one another in the Dungeon over resources.
Human trafficking born of private greed.
And the remnants of Evilus still hidden in the filthiest gutters.
Compared to all that, granting Falna to two bears really didn't sound like the greatest sin in the world.
…
That left Tsubaki with nothing more to say.
Worrying in advance over a "chaos" that hadn't even happened yet was starting to sound a little too much like borrowing trouble.
If the sky really collapsed, someone taller would be the one left holding it up.
Why should a smith like her be stressing herself over it?
Once she thought that through,
"All right, all right."
Tsubaki leaned back cleanly and planted both hands behind her. The look of concern vanished at once, and she became the same bold, easygoing big sister as before.
"Since Lord Haimer has already thought it through that far, then I don't need to keep worrying."
"But."
"If this really works later, then how is the Guild supposed to fill out the registration forms?"
"Will they have to add an entirely new race category for black bears?"
"Then that's the Guild's problem."
"Rules are dead. People are alive."
"If even a piece of paper can't fit the truth, that only means the paper's too small."
…
"In that case, I'll leave you to it and head upstairs to find those little monsters, Lord Haimer."
"Mm. Go ahead."
That was the end of the idle talk.
Haimer lowered his head and looked at the little fellow in his lap, still staring up at him with desperate expectation.
Now that Haimer's full attention had returned to it, the little cub's dark beadlike eyes seemed to shine brighter than ever.
"Awoo! Awoo!"
It stretched out its neck with all its might, waving its front paws frantically in the air and crying out urgently.
It was so excited that its short little tail had turned into a spinning propeller behind it, its whole body wriggling restlessly on Haimer's lap.
"All right, all right."
"Stop squirming."
"If you keep that up, you'll fall."
Haimer laughed and pinned the restless little thing in place.
"If you want to grow stronger that badly, then I'll give you the chance."
"But… let me say the ugly part first."
"Once this is carved onto you, you won't just be a bear anymore."
"You'll have to train with those big sisters of yours. Fight with them. And maybe even face monsters dozens of times larger than you."
"Are you scared?"
"AWOO!!!"
The cub threw back its head and let out a young, but surprisingly loud roar.
Scared?
That word didn't exist anywhere in a bear's life dictionary.
"Good."
"Now that's spirit."
Haimer nodded in satisfaction.
Then he stopped wasting words.
He simply turned the cub belly-down across his lap and raised his hand.
Another drop of divine blood gathered at his fingertip.
"Since this is your first time…"
"let me see what kind of possibility is hidden in the depths of your soul."
Pat
The divine blood fell, seeping through the thick layer of fur.
The next second,
Hummm
The familiar holy radiance of sacred script appeared.
Only this time, unlike with the girls, it did not spread neatly across the entire back.
The little fellow was simply too small.
The sacred characters had to crowd together in dense clusters.
And yet, when those characters finally settled into place, and the panel appeared, even Haimer paused.
"Hm?"
[Name: Little Bear]
[Race: Bear]
[Level: Lv.1]
[Ability Values:]
[Strength: I-0]
[Endurance: I-0]
[Dexterity: I-0]
[Agility: I-0]
[Magic: I-0]
[Development Abilities: None]
[Magic: None]
[Skill:]
『Little Aspiration』
『Precocious growth』
The deeper the longing for growth, the faster ability values increase.
The effect depends on the purity of that longing.
Aspiration?
Wasn't that basically the White Rabbit's cheat?
The wording was a little different, but the effect felt very much the same.
"This is getting more and more interesting."
The curve of Haimer's mouth deepened slightly.
A little bear with a skill like this,
if properly nurtured,
if given a goal lofty enough, bright enough, and worthy enough to chase, then its growth speed might very well leave everyone speechless.
"Awoo?"
Noticing the shift in Haimer's mood, the cub looked up and cried in a puzzled little tone.
"All right."
Haimer reached out and gave its fluffy, chubby backside a light smack.
Smack
Crisp
"Awoo?!"
The cub gave a full-body jolt and stared at Haimer in bewilderment, having no idea what had just happened.
"Now that the little one's done…"
"the big one naturally can't be left out."
"Your mother's next."
With that, Haimer stepped over to Kyoubou.
Kyoubou had already laid itself down in advance.
Haimer pricked his fingertip once more with the divine needle.
Drip
The blood fell, passing through the heavy layers of black fur and landing squarely in the center of Kyoubou's back.
Hummm
[Name: Kyoubou]
[Race: Black Bear]
[Level: Lv.1]
[Ability Values:]
[Strength: I0]
[Endurance: I0]
[Dexterity: I0]
[Agility: I0]
[Magic: I0]
[Development Abilities: None]
[Magic: None]
[Skills:]
『Linked Fang』
『Thick Fat』
Skills: 『Linked Fang』
When attacking in coordination with a bonded partner, both parties receive a large bonus to Strength and Agility.
If attacking the same target, additional damage is dealt.
Skills: 『Thick Fat』
Greatly increases resistance to physical strikes.
Provides especially strong reduction against blunt-force and impact damage.
Endurance growth receives a high correction bonus.
"Not bad at all."
"With the two of you around…"
"it looks like I really can start looking forward to it."
"A true adventurer party made up entirely of bears."
Haimer laughed softly and rubbed Kyoubou's head.
"Rrrgh…"
As if understanding his meaning, Kyoubou lowered its head clumsily and rubbed it affectionately against Haimer's palm.
"All right. Everyone else is already upstairs."
"We should go take a look too."
Having said that, Haimer didn't linger.
He turned and headed for the stairs leading to the second floor.
Kyoubou and the cub immediately came trotting after him.
…
And so, with one man and two bears heading upstairs together, the hall on the first floor gradually returned to silence.
Only the magical wall lamps cast their soft glow quietly over the room.
And in the middle of that peaceful stillness,
…
behind the locked frosted glass door,
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"
"Now this is the kind of life a goddess should be living in the Lower World~"
Inside the bathroom, Hestia had finally climbed out of that absurdly large stone bath, thoroughly satisfied.
She hummed some unidentifiable tune to herself.
At the moment, every inch of her skin had been soaked until it turned soft pink, like a freshly steamed bun.
Those iconic black twin-tails of hers hung damp down her back.
She grabbed the thick, soft bath towel from the rack and wiped herself down carelessly.
Then she put her robe back on, picked up the blue ribbon she had tossed aside earlier, and expertly looped it beneath her chest again.
Snap
With one crisp sound, that breathtaking pair of curves was hoisted right back into its usual blue-ribbon form.
"Phew!"
Looking at herself in the bath mirror, Hestia nodded in satisfaction.
Then, with bare little feet pattering lightly against the floor, she made her way toward the frosted glass door.
With a confident motion, she pressed down,
Click
"…?"
At last, a deeply ominous thought slowly found its way into Hestia's head.
This door… hadn't it been locked from the outside?
…
A moment later,
Click
The crisp sound of the latch finally releasing rang out.
Haimer grasped the handle and pulled gently outward.
Thump
The moment the door opened, a blue-and-white figure fell out with it and slapped flat onto the floor.
…
Haimer lowered his head.
There lay Hestia, sprawled across the carpet in a starfish shape, her round face still flushed red from the steam.
…
"Sorry about that."
Haimer let out a helpless sigh.
Then he bent down.
Sliding one hand beneath Hestia's knees and the other beneath her arms, he lifted the warm little goddess up with a bit of effort.
She was soft.
And surprisingly heavy.
"Mm…"
Feeling the change in position, Hestia shifted slightly in his arms, found a comfortable angle, smacked her lips twice, and settled right back down.
Haimer shook his head, carrying this large-scale troublemaker upstairs.
By then, the hallway on the second floor had already fallen quiet.
The girls, after going wild for a whole day, had all chosen rooms and gone to sleep.
Haimer didn't fuss over the choice.
He simply pushed open the nearest empty room by the stairs, walked inside, and gently set the little goddess down on the soft bed.
"Phew…"
He tucked her in properly, pulling the blanket over her and settling the corners.
When Hestia gave a deeply content sigh, rolled over, and continued sleeping without a care in the world
"Good night."
Haimer said it softly.
Then he turned off the light and gently closed the door to Hestia's room behind him.
Only then did the mansion, now finally with its first true inhabitants, fall completely silent.
Above it all, a cold moon hung high above the spire of Babel, quietly watching over everything.
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