Chapter 27 - What Happened To Bell?
"Ugh..."
Early in the morning, Hestia stirred from her sweet dream. She slowly opened her eyes; it was clear she wasn't ready to get up.
She wanted to keep lying in bed, not moving an inch.
The problem was, the other person in the room couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey! Do you know what time it is?"
Hephaestus looked at Hestia with slightly raised eyebrows. It hadn't been long since this idiot formed her Familia, yet here she was, slipping back into her lazy habits. Hephaestus wondered if working with Hestia had been a mistake—like bringing trouble into her home.
"Don't be like that," Hestia pouted, burying her face in the quilt. She clearly didn't want to get up. She had her reasons, of course.
"I didn't realize how tough life outside could be until I had to stay out for a few days. The beds were hard, the quilts smelled, and the basement of the church was so musty."
She sounded just like a pampered rich kid who'd suddenly experienced life at the bottom.
Hephaestus could even hear the unspoken desire to slack off in her words, and that was enough to trigger her frustration.
Hephaestus reached into the quilt, grabbed Hestia's face, and yanked her up, causing Hestia to yelp, "Ow, ow!"
"What are you whining about? Who do you think caused this situation? You just lounge around my house, never going out into Orario to find some talented Familia members!"
"Do you think every goddess is like you? If Freya and Loki were like this, they wouldn't be ruling Orario like they are!" Hephaestus said, her voice filled with annoyance.
She was beyond frustrated with Hestia's lazy attitude.
All gods could be lazy at times; even Hephaestus herself wasn't an exception. But laziness should be earned—something you indulge in after putting in the effort. Hestia, though, didn't do anything. She just lazed around all day.
That wasn't laziness. That was outright loafing.
When the gods descended from Heaven to the Lower World, nearly all of them took things seriously—whether it was recruiting Familia members or showing off their abilities to attract talented children. That's what the gods did.
Hephaestus found the entire process far more enjoyable than staying in Heaven. She loved it.
That's why she found Hestia's behavior so infuriating. She was doing absolutely nothing.
Of course, Hestia did eventually recruit an adventurer into her Familia, but Hephaestus had long given up expecting anything from her.
If it weren't for the fact that Bell was such a diamond in the rough, Hephaestus might've kicked Hestia back up to Heaven by now.
"Ugh..."
Hestia, rubbing her sore face, knew she was in the wrong. She couldn't argue against Hephaestus, who was, unfortunately, telling the truth. But as she thought of her adorable Bell, a smile crept across her face.
"If I hadn't been lounging around, I wouldn't have run into Bell! So, being lazy isn't so bad!"
Her smug comeback made the veins on Hephaestus's forehead twitch. She wanted to crack open Hestia's head and see if it was filled with anything but air.
"You're actually proud of that? You didn't find him by skill! You were just a blind cat who happened to bump into a golden mouse!"
"You seriously think you're talented? If you had any sense, the Guild would've helped you recruit a bunch of adventurers by now!"
In Orario, there were no gods who couldn't find Familia members—only adventurers who couldn't find a god to follow.
Hephaestus knew, without a doubt, that if Hestia had asked the Guild for help, they would've set her up with some rookie adventurers in no time.
Sure, they might not be top-tier at first, but watching them grow is what makes it fun for the gods.
But no, Hestia had completely messed up the usual approach that every god followed, and her situation was only getting worse.
While meeting Bell had been a miraculous stroke of luck, Hephaestus saw it as nothing more than Hestia stumbling upon some good fortune by pure chance.
"Hmph!" Hestia puffed out her chest proudly.
"But I have Bell! He's worth more than any of those worthless adventurers!"
"Wait, you're not seriously thinking you won't need any more Familia members, are you?" Hephaestus asked, growing genuinely concerned. No matter how talented Bell was, no Familia could thrive with just one member.
Hestia's words were making Hephaestus worry that she had no intention of recruiting anyone else.
"Of course," Hestia said, nodding confidently.
After meeting Bell, she wasn't that interested in finding more members.
She believed that once Bell grew, her Familia would rival those of Freya and Loki. But until then, she had no plans to recruit anyone else.
"Bell can definitely surpass Loki's Finn and Freya's Ottar in the future. But until then, I don't plan on adding anyone else to the Familia unless Bell agrees."
"You... sigh."
Hephaestus wanted to argue but stopped when she saw the determined look in Hestia's eyes. Instead, she let out a long sigh.
There were goddesses who truly loved their Familia members.
In Orario, many goddesses had deep attachments to their children, and some even fell in love. However, the problem was that most relationships between them and mortals ended in tragedy.
Still, despite knowing this, they continued to act on their feelings. What they craved wasn't a predictable future but one full of surprises and new encounters.
Even if they ended up getting hurt, the experience was worth it for them.
Clearly, Hestia was one of those goddesses.
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"Bell~"
After getting up early and washing up, Hestia, wearing her usual dress, walked barefoot to Bell's room with light steps.
When she entered, she was shocked.
She expected Bell, who had slept all day, to be up early. But to her surprise, he was still lying in bed.
"Hestia, stop pacing around," came a voice from behind.
It was Hephaestus, who had followed her in. She glanced around the room, equally surprised.
"Hasn't Bell been asleep for a whole day? Why isn't he up yet?"
Hephaestus took a closer look at Bell, her eyes widening.
"Why has Bell's life force increased so much all of a sudden? And it's still rising?"
Life force represented a mortal's vitality. Normally, it increases gradually based on race and age. For kids, it grows slowly. But what Hephaestus saw was way beyond normal—Bell's life force had multiplied several times over.
She was sure his life force was normal just yesterday.
How could such a drastic change happen overnight? It was alarming.
Hestia noticed something strange too—Bell's body was subtly spasming. The movements weren't big, but they were constant.
Her expression turned to worry. She quickly looked at Hephaestus.
"Hephaestus, what's wrong with Bell? Why is he like this?"
"I'm wondering the same thing," Hephaestus replied, snapping out of her shock.
She approached Bell. His muscle spasms were now obvious. Normally, you'd call a healer, but this didn't seem like a typical condition.
Hephaestus examined him carefully. His body was tense, and even in sleep, his face was twisted in pain.
Whenever he was touched, it seemed to cause more discomfort. Hephaestus realized what this meant.
"Bell's body is undergoing some kind of transformation. Judging by his expression, he's in significant pain, but he's tough. He must have endured it silently."
She wasn't a medical expert, but she knew enough to recognize the signs.
Many gods, even without medical knowledge, could pick up on basic conditions like this. Still, she couldn't provide the detailed insight a healer could.
Muscle spasms could be caused by many things, often linked to severe physical stress or pain—much more than simple cramps.
Pain. Intense, excruciating pain.
That kind of pain could easily cause this reaction.
The severity depended on a person's physique. Those with stronger bodies could endure more, but Bell, who had only received Falna a few days ago, wasn't that resilient yet.
Even so, the pain he must be experiencing was anything but mild.
'If he were just an ordinary Level 1 adventurer, he would've been dead by now,' she thought.
Hephaestus kept this to herself, knowing that saying it aloud would panic Hestia.
The fewer people knew about this strange phenomenon, the better. It was best to handle it quietly between them.
"Hestia, focus on his life force. Something major is happening to him."
"Life force?" Hestia concentrated on Bell. Almost immediately, she noticed it.
"How is that possible?" she exclaimed. "Bell's life force was stable yesterday. How could it have changed so much in just one day?"
Her concern deepened.
Hephaestus shared her worry.
Bell's condition had changed drastically, all within one night.
She couldn't shake the feeling that Bell was either incredibly special or had some unusual ability.
Then, a thought crossed her mind.
"Could Bell be connected to the Evilus?"
It seemed plausible. The Evilus was known for raising exceptionally strong children, but their goal was chaos and destruction—the opposite of what the gods aimed for with their Familias.
Even though it made sense, Hephaestus didn't truly believe Bell was a pawn of the Evilus.
They wouldn't throw away such a promising child. Given how cautious they usually were, she leaned more toward the idea that Bell was simply an anomaly—a rare exception.
As for the changes happening to him, she felt it might be related to his skills or magic.
"This is more than just ordinary growth," she thought. "But whatever it is, we'll have to wait and see how this transformation unfolds."
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