There were two reasons this chap was delayed.
The first being that it was bugged and all "spaces" were changed for "
", so you can imagine how it felt to look at a wall of text 2.5K words long.
And the second one was that I got constipated, I feel a bit better but that hit me in the gut quite a bit.
Anyway, enjoy the chap, we continue with the post-Recruitment Arc chaps and we'll soon engage in the next one.
Peace.
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/Later that day…/
/Open… Blink…/
"Yawn… What time is it?..."
'Hestia slowly got up from her beauty nap, stretching her petite body as her hair flowed around her shoulders gently, sunlight streaking across the room like a golden waterfall...'
'An image straight out of fairy tales, the kind a painter would dream of immortalizing into a canvas, though unfortunately, there was none here.
/Jump/
'She got up from her bed with a little jump, feeling energetic, as if she hadn't slept like a damn log all afternoon long.'
'Red sunlight flowed into her room, indicating that the sun was setting, the day had come to an end, and from here on out, the night city would awaken.'
'Adventurers would return from the Dungeon and drink at the bars, the Chaotic Red Light district would open its doors, and the average worker would close down the doors of their shops and return home.'
"Is it already dusk? I slept quite a bit…" She said with a small smile as she opened the curtains of her room
Time passes so quickly yet so slowly...
'She looked at Orario through her window and the sun setting in the distance, the street that led into the distance, and the many people walking in it…'
"What a beautiful day."
Hum… I don't see anyone in the gardens.
'Hestia was used to always seeing someone in the gardens, being either the girls enjoying the beautiful flowers there or someone taking care of them.'
'It wasn't an easy task, and it was usually done by Haruhime, though every now and then she needed help from heavy machinery… Silver.'
'Silver wasn't in charge of taking care of any house chores, and everyone he did was out of his own desire to help, but he was there for the harder and more time-consuming ones.'
'Cleaning the roof? Leave it to him, he can make it rain.'
'Cleaning the outer walls? Simple, he can power wash it all down in a matter of minutes.'
'What about trimming hundreds of meters worth of rectangular bushes surrounding the entire Manor? No need, he can force the plants to grow back into the shape they were supposed to be in.'
'Silver could easily do all of that and in very little time, that was how they managed to maintain the Manor for six months with little personnel for so long.'
'Otherwise Silver would've managed to convince Hestia to hire maids, though unfortunately, he kind of screwed himself there by being too competent.'
'He may play around whenever he's around them, but no one ever said he wasn't hardworking nor serious.'
'Silver was always serious, he would never undermine a situation, and that was why Daphne trusted him with any official matters since she knew he had the capabilities to deal with it.'
'He was a silent worker that never asked for recognition unless he wanted to win a petty argument, mostly during arguments with Hestia… That was how he did things.'
'And she couldn't really help it, could she get angry at him if he raised the "I clean the entire Manor" Card?'
'That was why she only sighed most of the time he vanished in the Dungeon.'
'His excuses for his unhealthy lifestyle of bleeding and breaking daily in the Dungeon, she had to take them down, even if she wasn't willing to.'
'She promised him that she would support him, even if it pains her to do so.'
"Hum… I'm not tired anymore." She said with a sigh as she turned around, going to the bathroom
/Growl…/
"... And hungry." She said with a pitiful expression as she touched her belly
I think we used all of our food to prepare for today's ceremony, cooking something would take too long...
I have some money since my paycheck was just last week... Yeah!
I'll drag Silver to a restaurant and eat the most delicious of plates!
'Exuding happiness and with a plan on her mind, Hestia put on some good clothes and did her hair before leaving her room in search of her precious person to share with him her wonderful idea…'
'And she eventually found him, a slight glimpse through a window.'
"Hum?... Huh?... HUH?!"
'She had to look at it again to confirm what she was seeing.'
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" She exclaimed from the second floor of the Manor as she saw Silver and the others train
'There, she saw Silver "fight" against a girl alone, though in truth, he wasn't doing anything but staying in place while the girl tried to hit him with her fists.'
'The problem was…'
"Why... Why is he shirtless?!" She asked out loud as she placed her face against the glass, looking down at Silver with an intense glare
"Why does it always end like this?!"
Every time! Every time he goes to train with someone his shirt somehow falls off!
It rips, either by his hand or someone else's!
It burns, tears, falls off, or worse... He takes it out on his own!
He has training clothes, so why not wear them?!
He's doing it on purpose…
'She did have a point, since if Silver wanted, he could just pull another shirt from anywhere, or even make one, even if temporary.'
'There were dozens of ways he could cover himself also.'
'She already knew Silver was proud of his own body, but she could not tolerate such abnormal and "shameless" behavior!'
'Hestia could already see the faces of the newcomers as they looked at his chest… Her man!'
'Unacceptable.
'She may be unable to proclaim her claim out loud, but she could prevent them from enjoying the view... Something that was hers by right.'
'And most important of all, she would stop him from fooling around too much.'
'At least, that was how she saw things.'
/DASH!/
'Like a bolt of light, Hestia ran down the stairs, leaving dust behind as she rushed outside.'
…
/BAM BAM BAM!/
'Back in the training ground, Suu constantly hit Silver's chest with her knuckles, her fists becoming afterimages as she punched faster and faster like never before.'
"Huff!"
I... Can't keep this for long...
'Any other creature, be it monsters or man would already be dead by now, and even if there were stronger monsters that could last this long, they certainly wouldn't stand still and let her punch them to death or even reach this stage.'
'There were literally two fireballs around her hands, the strongest reaction her Skill had ever manifested, it symbolized the flaming vigor they had achieved, carrying on her will to punish her enemies.'
/BAM BAM BAM!/
'The clash of her fists against Silver's chest and thorax were so heavy they caused the very air to stir, releasing powerful impact waves akin to those of gunshots.'
"In... Incredible..." Someone said as they gulped heavily
"So that is a Level 2 adventurer..." A boy replied as he clenched his fists
"I-I don't think this is a normal situation..." Someone replied, understanding how unusual this situation was
'Regardless, everyone that witnessed this scene understood Suu wasn't to be messed with, her position now as solid as that of a rock…'
'Her fiery personality and power was now firmly engraved in their minds.'
'But so was Silver's, his simple yet overwhelming act of standing still already said everything they needed to know about him.'
'His personality, authority...'
'He was like a rock, unmovable… The difference of Levels.'
'First Class, this was what the peak of adventurers looked like.'
'Their Captain, the silver-eyed warrior of the Hestia Familia, the one that carries the flames of Revolution.'
'His determination and will to follow through with his actions were already known by all, a Familia having been the price for this knowledge to become widespread.'
'Or better put, three.'
'And mayhaps even more in the future.'
/BAM BAM BAM BAM!/
"Dammit!" Suu said out loud as she kept hitting him
How is he still standing? How can't I even move him?!
The ground should've given in long ago!!
'Certainly, even if Ottar were to be here, he would've been pushed back.'
'Because even if he is strong, the dirt beneath their foot isn't.'
'On a hardness scale, Ottar may be harder than even a Diamond, though comparing surface world materials may not be the best...'
'Since technically speaking, Ottar is likely as hard as Adamantite, given he has the physical strength to punch through such weapons.'
'The peak of all adventurers wasn't just a Title, after all, common dirt had no chance... Although this wasn't common dirt, this was their training grounds.'
'Still, the fact Silver wasn't moving nor leaving any marks on the ground was extremely odd.'
'No one would be able to understand or even feel the way Silver used his Magical Powers.'
'Even if he wished to explain what Plasmids were, he knew it would lead nowhere.'
And since he wanted to look imposing and cool to cement his authority, he chose to cheat a little and lock himself in place.'
'Of course, that wasn't contributing to his defense, his body was more than enough for that, but he couldn't have Suu push him around like a ragdoll.'
'So he stood still, like a mountain.'
/Bam!/
'With one last punch, Suu delivered a fast strike directly to his abdomen, but Silver didn't even flinch.'
'Her fastest and strongest fist, it would've killed a Level 3 monster, maybe even injured a Level 4 monster head-on... If her wrist managed to withstand the impact.'
'Never in her life would she be able to reach this speed again unless she leveled up, because she was certain… No, everyone was that there was no monster in the Dungeon within her Level range that could withstand the barrage she just delivered.'
'But there he was, uncaring, looking at her with his clear platinum eyes.'
'She could almost hear his words… "Are you done?"... He repeated them so many times...'
'For her, every time he said that was to see if she was okay... To see if she hadn't hurt herself.'
'But maybe he was just asking to see if she had shown him everything she was capable of because, in his eyes, everything she did was nothing but a slight tickle.'
'Like when she got hurt against the Minotaur, he lightly scolded her and praised her.'
'She didn't quite comprehend what he meant at first, but now, she understood how unimpressive her actions were, he might've even thought her to be impulsive and narrow-minded.'
'It made her feel terrible, and even a bit disappointed, she was nothing to him, perhaps even less than that.'
'He may show concern and care, but he had the right, his position was more than a stage above her, he was looking at her straight from Heaven.'
'A strong figure to look up to... This was exactly what she wanted, a strong opponent.'
'But what fun was there if the opponent didn't even register her presence?'
/Touch…/
'Silver patted her shoulder, giving her a nod.'
"That was a pretty strong punch, apart from a few individuals, I doubt there are any Level 2 adventurers that would've been able to receive it."
"Keep at it and you might even have the right to claim the Title of strongest Level 2 adventurer, so don't drop your head, raise it!"
Strongest if given the time to punch...
"..."
'Silver saw her complex expression and he exhaled slightly.'
"... One day, you'll make me flinch won't you?" He asked with a small smile as he raised his right hand to tap his own chest
"... Captain…" She mumbled in a low tone as she raised her head
"Hm? What did you say?"
Is she finally...?
"I… Will try my hardest, Captain." She replied as she looked at the side, too embarrassed to continue
'It was finally hitting to her that she spent close to ten minutes punching the chest of her Captain under the eyes of close to 200 individuals.'
'Even if her skin was thick, that was too much exposure for her.'
'And seeing that she wasn't being comfortable anymore, Silver raised his head to announce the defacto start of their training now that he managed to solidify his position and raise everyone's mood and confidence a little.'
'But when he was about to say so, he stopped, changing his gaze…'
/Step step step!/
"STOOOP RIGHHHT THHEERE!"
'A small Goddess ran like a truck on a dirt road!'
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Notes
I wanted to edit things a bit more, but my ass needs rest.
First time I ever had this, it must've been the rice I ate yesterday...
Urgh...
Peace...