YAY! It's the first chapter of the new volume!
Continuing from where we left off, we'll see the initial development of the Familia and a bit more.
As I said, this start is mostly focused on world build and character development, so it will take a while until we go back to ACTION although the Mc will get stronger and train, it wouldn't be as dramatic as previous arcs.
We'll see.
As always, make sure to enjoy and join my Discord.
And if you are bored, why not read my other works?
COUGH COUGH Zero Fate isn't dropped...
And lastly, if you want to support me further, you can always hop by P@treon.
At least, until I get a contract, opening the gift option here on Webnovel, is the only way.
PS: I have no intention of making this premium, and if I do, it may be after I actually end this story.
Its pure speculation as of now.
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/COCKOOOO DOOOOOOOOO!/
"!"
'Silver suddenly jumped from his bed as he heard the terrible sound of a rooster in the distance.'
"I swear… These freaking creatures are fucking everywhere… It doesn't help these little monsters know how to fly… Are they coming after me?"
'Silver looked at the window, but only saw the golden rays of the sun and the blue sky.'
"Sigh... I slept too little… Hm?"
'While Silver stretched, he looked around his room and found out something rather rare, he was alone, something that he hasn't experienced for quite a while thanks to Hestia's somnambulism…'
"It seems she did not sneak up on my room this time…" Silver said in a low tone
'He seemed calm, but was that, perhaps… Disappointment in his voice?'
'Every time, she would always find a way to crawl into his bed, rare were the days where he would wake up without a small girl clinging onto him like a koala.'
'Hestia's room is actually close to his room, in fact, the room he was currently in was Apollo's old room while Hestia is staying in the room meant for the Captain of the Familia.'
'Higher positions have their own privileges, that's something engraved in the mind of everyone and no one would think it's strange for the captain to have their own room.'
'And it wasn't uncommon to see an entire Familia would gather money in order to buy equipment and gear for the higher-ups.'
'Of course, all within the realm of reason, the strong are respected but as long as they respect others as well.'
'But of course, there are always odd Familias like Apollo's where the Captain treats everyone like trash, but such Familias aren't common since they usually keep themselves working with oppression...'
"Time to work..."
'Silver started to remove his clothes as he got ready to take a morning bath.'
"It's rather strange that the Captain of the Familia is in the room meant for the head while the head is in the room meant for the Captain… " Silver mumbled himself as he looked around
Hestia said that she didn't want to remain in this room since it was once used by that guy, even if the room had been heavily refurbished.
I don't really care much since everything in the room changed, but I respect her choice.
'Smiling, he got up from his bed and went to take a bath. He was still a bit tired since he stayed up during the night to help a few of the girls move, but that was his job as the Captain, he was ready to suffer a little.'
'Even more, since it's only going to be for a little while.'
'There was a lot to do today since he had to put them on the schedule, once that was done, they could train on their own while he could focus on going to the Dungeon and exploring.'
…
'A few minutes later the people started to wake up and meet each other in the hallways of the Manor, most were still rather lost since the place was quite big, but they soon found themselves within a large room with a long table.'
'The table was very big, enough for a few dozen to eat at the same time, but not enough for everyone to eat together, but since it would be pretty hard for everyone to be here at the same time, the table was good enough for now.'
'And in case it did happen, there were a few couches and tables around the room as well.'
/Sniff…/
"What is this good smell?" Said one of the girls as she made her way to the room
"Food?"
'She wasn't alone, being followed by a rather young girl that was carrying a thicc book in her hands.'
'As they made their way to the room they followed the smell and saw Silver working nonstop in the kitchen using his abilities to cook multiple plates flawlessly at the same time.'
'He noticed their presence and said:'
"Good morning, Iris, Phevia, would it be too much to ask for your help in setting the table?"
"..."
"..."
'The two girls looked at their captain with wide eyes, they almost didn't recognize him.'
'He was now wearing his casual clothes being much more relaxed than before, he surprisingly knew how to cook and it seemed he was quite good at it as well! And to top it off, he even remembered their names?!'
'The two girls even blushed a little, they were normal girls after all, far from the future high-level adventurers they would one day become.'
'Before this, they were only normal girls, being either from outside of Orario, or civilians, never had they lived with a boy like this, apart from their own parents if they even had them…'
'With these thoughts in their minds, they started to help by setting up the table, Silver on the other hand smiled, his plan had been a motherfucking success.'
…
'Time passed and the reactions of the others were no different, most of the girls blushed, and a few even tapped his back and praised him, Silver had succeeded in gaining access to their hearts… At least, to most of them.'
'But he believed that over time, he would find out a way…'
'Even Cassandra and Daphne were surprised, this was an unfamiliar sight and experience, they were never cared for to this extent even when they were in the Apollo Familia.'
'It didn't feel the same when Apollo ordered his cooks to make something for them, Silver food was rather simple, but it was well done, and most importantly, he did it by cutting his already short sleep.'
'Yet he had a smile on his face, he wasn't forcing himself…'
…
"Phew… If I do this every day I might end up increasing my dexterity…"
Would that work?... Hum…
'Silver got out of the kitchen, and he noticed that the girls were actually waiting for him. He felt quite touched, but instead of showing that, he joked around before convincing them to eat before it got too cold.'
'Before he sat to eat though, he went back to the stairs to wake up a Goddess that once again, missed her schedule… How could she miss such an important day?'
…
"Wake up Hestia… It's already 9… Almost halfway to 10." Said Silver as he gently shook Hestia
'But she did not budge in the slight, nor did she make any sound, he knew what was happening, she was pretending.'
"Hestia, today is an important day, everyone is already eating, how could you miss such a chance to grow closer to everyone?"
/Tremble…/
'Hestia trembled on the bed, clearly distressed.'
"..."
I feel like a dad recently… I have to take care of so many kids…
'Silver bent over and gently kissed Hestia, making her open her eyes wide.'
"Mmm…"
'She tried to protest a little but her resistance was only for show, she did not want that to end anyway. And after half a minute like that, Silver stopped.'
'He looked at her sparkling blue eyes and said:'
"Good morning my lazy goddess, time to work…"
"You ruined the mood." She said as she got up from the bed and left towards the bathroom with a pouting expression
'Silver gazed at her as she closed the door and smiled, another job well done…'
…
/Around an hour later…/
'All of the girls could be seen running around a makeshift dirt track Silver made with his Plasmids, some seemed better than others but they were overall, terrible.'
'But they seemed rather determined.'
'Silver ran together with them, staying at the forefront and giving them encouraging words, he had a few weights on his arms and legs, and even a small backpack. All in order to give them even more motivation.'
'Or at least this was his objective...'
'If he can do it with weights, what about me who has none?! Was what most thought.'
'Silver was aiming at that, but to be honest, he was just a pervert who wanted to train even during this situation.'
'Hestia on the other hand could be seen sitting under an umbrella gazing at everything like a queen, she didn't really want to be there like this, since she felt she was being a bit too much, but Silver asked her for that.'
'On her left and right were Daphne and Cassandra who were currently just gazing at everyone as they ran.'
'If someone fell and got hurt, Daphne would rush in and bring them to Cassandra where she would heal and help them recover before sending the back to run.'
'This was also part of their training…'
…
/A few minutes earlier/
"What do you mean?" Asked Daphne
'Silver looked at Daphne and said:'
"As I said, you won't be joining in on their training this time."
"Why? Wasn't it all about…"
"Yes, I know and remember very well what I said, however, on the whole, you staying here will help much more than being there."
"We also don't have the necessary equipment for this, after all, as a Level 2 adventurer, running a few laps around a dirt trail won't really do much for you, will it? Especially since you were a frontliner."
'Daphne couldn't really retort to that, so she kept silent.'
"Don't worry, you'll soon have your time to shine and show them your splendor, I have everything planned." He said as he smiled
"Humph… Splendor…"
'Daphne shook her head.'
'Silver looked at Cassandra and said:'
"You are a bit different from her, although you won't be training with them, I need you to help them so no one gets excessively hurt or tired."
'Silver told them his small idea and they nodded.'
"I'm sure you already heard this before and are very well aware of what I am saying, but I wouldn't feel calm if I didn't mention this at least once."
"However, this is only the beginning, although you're not technically a mage, your method of training is not in any way different from one, from what you showed me a few minutes ago, you have two rather interesting Magics."
"Both of them can be trained following the wizard's normal methods, and that is pretty much everything I need you to do, if you wish, you can join them in their future training, but until then, try to focus more on what you excel at."
'Cassandra nodded as she held her staff.'
"I am not asking you to master something like concurrent chanting from the get-go, but I would like you to treat it as a goal, and be it distant or not, that doesn't matter."
"Don't undervalue yourself and try your best, the least you will have by being around me is a target to practice your healing magic." He said with a smile
"Uhum, I will try my best C-Captain." Replied Cassandra with a very rare gentle smile
"..."
That was dangerous.
'Cassandra's smile was simple yet so gentle that even Silver's heart skipped a beat for a second there.'
(I don't remember where but in the novel her smile was so impactful that even Bell had a few infidel thoughts when he saw it, even though his love for Ais was fucking solid)
"Hey hey! What about me?!" Asked Hestia as she jumped around Silver
"You'll have quite a difficult yet simple job…"
'Hestia looked at Silver with hopeful eyes, waiting for his answer.'
"You just need to look good."
"..."
"..."
"..."
'The three looked at Silver with blank expressions.'
'Hestia was already used to his stupid way of talking so she didn't wait for even a minute before she said:'
"Explain."
"I already told you this before…"
'But Hestia pouted cutely. Making silver roll his eyes and pat her head.'
"They need someone that can act as their guiding light, hum, that wasn't a good interpretation of it. Pretty much, they need someone who can be there for them when they are down, that is what you need to be."
"What sort of figure do you wish to become, be it a motherly figure, a sister figure, a bossy figure… Whatever it is, that is your job to figure out. Tell me, what do you think you are right now?"
"..."
'What I am and what I want to be?'
"I'm asking you to be their spiritual pillar-like we discussed a few weeks ago, I can be that pillar, but I can't be there for them all the time."
"The same goes for you, but different from me, you will probably be more easily available to hear them out than me."
'Hestia thought for a long while before she nodded.'
"We'll figure it out eventually." She said with a smile
'Silver agreed with her. Yet, he still said:'
"But at the end of the day, the most important thing is to feel good about what you are doing and not to force yourself to become something you aren't, even if that means causing conflict, if that happens, I am here to clear everything up for you."
'Hestia had a big smile on her face.'
"You'll always be here to clean up after me right?"
"I would prefer it if you didn't cause any trouble to begin with…"
'The happy and relaxed atmosphere was new and intriguing to both Cassandra and Daphne, but it wasn't something they hated, in fact, they loved it.'
'And Daphne just like Cassandra, smiled as she felt this place was slowly becoming something she always desired, a home.'
…
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Notes
A bit meh, but hey, it's the start.
Not much to say, throw me your questions and suggestions.
And as always, I will go eat something and I'll be back to read it all at a later time peace!