Chapter 34 - Hephaestus's Teasing
As long as Bell kept a low profile, no one would suspect him of causing these troubles.
Blending into the crowd, he quickly left the dungeon, glancing back at the cursing adventurers.
Otherwise, he felt that every adventurer in Orario would be ready to kill him anytime, anywhere.
Next time he entered the dungeon, he needed to restrain himself a bit.
Actually, Bell had figured out that as long as he didn't want to fight the monsters, the dungeon wouldn't bother him. Just like when he decided to stop fighting, and the dungeon returned to normal.
Although this meant fewer opportunities, at least he could avoid suspicion.
And...
The spawn rate of monsters on the upper floors wasn't high, but it was a whole different story in the middle and lower floors. The middle floors were the first real danger adventurers needed to overcome, especially with the high monster spawn rates there.
So for Bell, he needed to hold back...
But it was useless.
Disturbing the dungeon wasn't good for him; it could even harm him. On one hand, he'd face a bunch of troubles, and he might also give Evilus some chances.
Bell hadn't forgotten about those Evilus guys; they were total lunatics when it came to causing chaos.
At the dungeon entrance, the crowd began to split, people heading in different directions. Bell glanced around; some were going to the Guild, others to the taverns or the Pleasure Quarter.
He looked around and quietly headed to Hephaestus's shop.
After following the crowd for a bit, Bell, keeping a low profile, walked into the shop.
A girl working there came to greet him in formal attire.
"Welcome... Bell!"
The girl was, of course, Hestia herself.
Because of their debt, Hestia had no choice but to ask Hephaestus to help her find a job.
Even though Bell's earnings were top-notch, Hestia wanted to lighten his load, so she worked at Hephaestus's shop to pay off her debts, just as Hephaestus suggested.
"Hestia-sama."
Seeing Hestia in good spirits, Bell smiled slightly.
He knew that Hestia was working with Hephaestus. Given the current partnership between the Hestia Familia and the Hephaestus Familia, having Hestia here was the safest move.
After flipping the Temporarily Closed sign on the door, Hestia dragged Bell into the store.
"Bell, did something happen in the dungeon?" she asked.
Bell felt a bit embarrassed; Hestia wasn't clueless. Coming out of the dungeon so early—something must've happened.
"Something did happen. It involves me, so I can't stay in the dungeon too long today," he admitted.
"That serious?"
Hestia couldn't imagine what had happened, but she didn't push further and led Bell to meet Hephaestus first.
Anyway, he'd have to explain it to Hephaestus again.
---
Hephaestus was relaxing in her office, sipping tea.
She was looking over recent orders from the Loki Familia.
She wasn't too surprised. After each expedition, only the Loki Familia updated their weapons this often, and it was always a big order.
"Looks like the Loki Familia ran into some trouble down there. Requesting this means they encountered a monster that destroys weapons."
"But why didn't such a monster show up before?"
There are many kinds of monsters in the dungeon that haven't been discovered yet, but with the current exploration, there shouldn't be unknown monsters. Unless it's a special variant created by the dungeon.
"A new species? Specifically targeting adventurers' weapons and gear?"
"If that's the case, no wonder Loki placed an order so soon after reaching the deeper floors."
Among all the forging Familias in Orario, only the Goibniu Familia and Hephaestus Familia could forge strong weapons.
From what Hephaestus knew, the Goibniu Familia was swamped with unfinished orders, so they couldn't take on Loki's requests right now. Naturally, the order came to her.
BANG!!
The office door slammed open, and Hephaestus instinctively covered her face. She was used to this scene these days.
That idiot Hestia would barge in whenever something happened.
Didn't she know how to knock?
Smoothing her frown, Hephaestus looked up and saw Bell being pulled by Hestia.
'Huh? Bell came back early today?' she thought.
This made Hephaestus a bit worried.
"What's going on?" she asked.
This question wasn't aimed at Hestia.
"Hephaestus-sama, it's... There was a Monster Party on the entire floor," Bell said.
"What!?"
Bell's answer left Hephaestus shocked.
'Monster Party? What happened to Ouranos's prayers? Is the dungeon getting out of control?'
"What exactly happened?"
A Monster Party is no small matter.
In the past, there have been Monster Parties and other phenomena in the dungeon, but the closest one was more than ten years ago, right?
Hephaestus remembered that day quite clearly—it was when the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia fought against the Black Dragon.
"Bell, what on earth did you encounter?"
"Hephaestus-sama, actually, if you really think about it... maybe it's because of me."
Bell scratched his face in embarrassment.
"What!?"
Hestia's reaction was even bigger than Hephaestus's.
She was Bell's goddess and was more surprised than any other would be in such a situation.
"Bell, how did you get involved in such trouble? You don't have this ability either. Is it Evilus? Bell, have you been in contact with those lunatics?"
A series of questions from Hestia made Bell a little helpless.
Hephaestus looked at the agitated Hestia speechlessly.
"Honestly, if Evilus could still cause Monster Parties in the dungeon, they would have flattened Orario a few years ago. Do they still need to hide behind the scenes all the time?"
"Hestia, do you think those guys have that kind of strength? They barely dare to play tricks on certain floors. If you think they can trouble the entire dungeon, you're overestimating them."
"That makes sense."
Hestia nodded sheepishly, realizing she might have been mistaken.
But after confirming it wasn't those guys, Hestia looked back at Bell.
"Bell, how do you say you caused it?"
"I think it might be because of my 'Luck.'"
The answer left Hestia and Hephaestus a little baffled.
Luck!? How could it be related to an entire Monster Party?
Hephaestus was silent for a moment, then thought of something. She looked up at Bell, feeling a bit silly.
"Bell, have you guessed why?"
"Yes."
"So, it was really caused by too much Luck?"
"I think... maybe so."
The expression on Bell's face was filled with helplessness.
It was all because his Luck EX, causing serious problems in the entire dungeon, even leading to a Monster Party throughout it.
Hephaestus couldn't describe her feelings in words.
Leaning against the back of her chair, she was truly speechless. How could Bell's skill have such a big impact?
"You're such an anomaly. Bell, if other adventurers knew about you, I don't think you'd need to worry about hiding anymore."
Hephaestus had a slight smirk as she spoke.
This goddess had always seemed like a very reliable woman to Bell; why did he now feel that this mature woman was a little naughty?
"Hephaestus, please don't make such jokes. If my situation really gets exposed, wouldn't everyone in Orario cut me into pieces?"
"Oh, that's true. Once your circumstances are revealed, the one who'd try to snatch you would definitely be that woman. But even if she wants to keep you away from those brainless guys, it's won't be an easy task."
Now Hephaestus imagined letting Freya know about Bell.
With that woman's character, seeing such a rare boy as Bell, she definitely wouldn't be able to control her desires.
"Suddenly, I thought of releasing info about 'my' Bell's existence."
Of course, this was just Hephaestus having a bit of fun.
She couldn't actually do this—for Hestia's sake and hers too.
Otherwise, Hestia would be completely devastated and she would be too.
'Maybe, you wouldn't find me disgusting.'
Hephaestus, sighed softly, hiding her sadness deep in her heart.
Hestia, who had been out of the conversation the whole time, jumped in. She hugged Bell tightly.
"I won't let Freya take Bell away!"
Bell, enveloped in her embrace, felt a sense of softness that most people could never experience. He quickly tried to reassure her.
"Hestia-sama, I've been very careful when I go out. The probability of being targeted is not very high. And in such a large dungeon, who would think that a Monster Party was caused by an adventurer?"
"I'm just a rookie who's only been on the first floor of the dungeon. As long as someone special doesn't pay any attention to me... Besides, what Hephaestus said just now was just a joke."
Hestia calmed down upon hearing these words.
When she turned to look at Hephaestus, she saw a teasing smile on her face.
This made Hestia realize she'd been deceived—and by Hephaestus, no less.
"Ugh! Hephaestus, you lied to me again!"
An angry Hestia puffed out her cheeks, her eyes filled with grievance.
The worst thing she could hear now was that someone was going to take her Bell away in future, and Hephaestus still teased her.
While Hephaestus just wanted to laugh when she saw it.
"Who told you to react so slowly? You idiot, you don't even know why the dungeon is experiencing a Monster Party, do you?"
There was a rare embarrassment on Hestia's face. In truth, she didn't really understand what Hephaestus and Bell were talking about.
It felt like they were speaking in riddles, and she was the outsider who couldn't solve them.
But thinking about the tacit understanding between Hephaestus and Bell made her feel a bit foolish. This always made Hestia feel excluded.
"Hmph! I just don't know. Also, why do you both have such a tacit understanding?"
"Why do you two seem to know each other so well?"
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Everythings going in good direction...
It seems I have to speed up things with Hephaestus.
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[IMG of Hephaestus]
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