011: Hestia: Let's Form a Familia Together for Life! (Patreon)

His "Stamina" stat dropped to 3.

Hestia found it hard to imagine just how much effort Rozz had put into today's Dungeon exploration, start to finish.

Mm. It looked far more exhausting than his training session with Takemikazuchi!

If it were her... if she'd worked this hard, she probably wouldn't even have the strength left to talk, let alone greet him warmly.

As for the exploration feedback from the "Hero Cloud-Raising Plan"... In Hestia's eyes, none of that mattered as much as Rozz's condition right now. "Um... Rozz, can you still make it back to the communal dormitory?"

"If you can't..."

"I'm fine."

Rozz checked in with his body. The exhaustion was undeniable, but not bad enough that he needed someone to support him.

He rolled his shoulders, and a wave of muscle soreness washed over him at once.

"Then let's head back first!"

Physical contact hadn't restored his Stamina stat.

She guessed it was because Rozz's exhaustion right now was especially severe — maybe a lap pillow could actually help ease it.

The girl goddess took his hand on her own initiative. "Once we've rested a bit, let's go eat!"

"Okay."

Rozz naturally had no objections. According to the rules of this DanMachi world, stat growth wasn't updated in real time — it needed a god's help.

So just how much had his stats risen through today's Dungeon exploration?

The two of them walked side by side along Adventurer Street.

Compared to daytime, the evening street was livelier still — Adventurers who'd finished exploring gathered in small groups at the taverns to celebrate.

Hestia believed conversation was the bridge to a deeper bond.

The girl goddess tilted her head up, a smile spreading across her somewhat childlike face. "Rozz, did anything... interesting happen today?"

"..."

"Well... Lady Hestia, while I was exploring the Dungeon today, I actually ran into a pretty interesting Supporter."

He thought of the little girl who'd called herself "Lili."

Rozz did find it rather interesting. "If she hadn't warned me, I probably would've wasted a lot of time."

"A Supporter?"

The girl's brow furrowed slightly. The profession was common enough in Orario, but most Adventurers wouldn't hire a random stranger off the street.

After all—a proper Familia always had its own Supporters. Anyone reduced to soliciting work outside came from... a rather rough Familia.

Most importantly, some extreme Supporters would even secretly pocket magic stones or dropped items right after an Adventurer's exploration ended, without them noticing, just to pad their own earnings.

"That's right."

"At the time I figured... I didn't have much money on me, so I didn't hire her. But she still gave me some pointers back on the starting floor."

"You did the right thing."

"You've only just become an Adventurer, so there's a lot you're not familiar with yet — it's easy to get targeted by Supporters. Just stay careful from now on."

"I will."

Rozz nodded lightly. Honestly, that "Lili" today hadn't left a particularly bad impression on him — she'd even warned him about something.

But it never hurt to stay cautious.

Soon, they made it back to the communal dormitory. Hestia pushed the door open with practiced ease and gestured for Rozz to take off his shirt and lie face-down on the bed.

That was simply how updating his stats worked.

"Here we go~"

The girl goddess sat on the edge of the bed, pricked her finger with a silver needle, squeezed out a drop of crimson divine blood, and let it fall onto the Falna panel on Rozz's back.

In that instant—a soft white glow kept surfacing as his current stats overwrote the old ones. Hestia then picked up the parchment to take an imprint.

But—when the girl goddess lowered her eyes and caught sight of the numbers on the parchment, her hands tightened around it without her meaning to.

Rozz

Level: Lv1

Strength: I0→H103

Endurance: I0→I83

Dexterity: I0→H112

Agility: I0→I93

Magic: I0→I0

"This..."

"This really can't be right, can it?"

Hestia stared at the numbers etched onto the parchment, and in a daze she rubbed at her eyes, worried it might just be a hallucination from exhaustion.

But when her gaze swept over it again—her head buzzed. Even though Rozz was her first follower, that didn't mean she knew nothing at all.

She still had the basics down.

For a rookie Adventurer's very first Dungeon dive, an average stat increase of twenty to thirty points already counted as a solid result.

But someone like Rozz... Even counting everything generously — his training with Takemikazuchi included, alongside the Dungeon exploration — only two days had passed in total.

And his average stats had jumped all the way to H rank!

"..."

Had she really stumbled onto a treasure?

Hestia recalled the future-potential hint the "Hero Cloud-Raising Plan" panel had shown her — one that would rank among the best even across all of Orario.

Completing the Daily Quest of exploration seemed to raise his potential.

The girl suddenly looked up, staring at the translucent screen of light hovering above Rozz's head. Detailed information appeared before her eyes at once.

[Character: Rozz]

Strength Potential: C+

Endurance Potential: C

Dexterity Potential: C+

Agility Potential: C

Mana Potential: D

Through today's Dungeon exploration, aside from his Mana potential, every other aspect of Rozz's aptitude had risen by roughly one rank on average.

As for the plus sign behind some of them—it probably meant that stat could reach a relatively high standard within C rank.

'So...'

'As long as I keep completing Daily Quests and keep nurturing Rozz like this, every one of his potentials could reach S rank.'

'Maybe even higher than that?!'

Hestia's eyes stayed fixed blankly on the translucent screen, and deep down, an unprecedented, audacious idea began to take shape.

It was only a guess. But that alone was enough to set her blood racing.

"Lady Hestia?"

Noticing the girl goddess staring blankly at him, even Rozz's brow furrowed slightly. "Is there... something wrong with my stats?"

"Or is it that I'm just not cut out to be an Adventurer..."

"..."

Hearing Rozz's self-doubt, Hestia snapped back to herself and quickly shook her head, feeling like her follower was being far too modest.

Of course, some of that was surely because of her — his goddess.

Because, just from the "Hero Cloud-Raising Plan," the girl goddess could already picture the bright future ahead of Rozz — other gods fighting to groom him as their prized talent.

When she spoke, her tone was resolute:

"Rozz."

"If you weren't in my Familia... you'd definitely grow faster. I want you to have confidence in your talent."

"I will."

But when he noticed the trace of self-reproach in Hestia's eyes, Rozz thought back on these past two days together, on how thoroughly she'd looked after him, and he suddenly felt it was necessary to say something.

He stopped lying face-down on the wooden bed.

"Um..."

"I think... there's something wrong with what you just said, Lady Hestia. If I weren't in your Familia, I doubt I'd have met..."

"...a goddess as kind and beautiful as you."

"!!"

As a goddess, Hestia could sense the truth behind his words — especially once she felt they came entirely from Rozz's heart.

Her fair cheeks felt like they were heating up, her heartbeat quickening.

"Then it's settled, Rozz. Be in my... my Familia for the rest of your life. No, wait — through your next reincarnation, and the one after that too."

"Having you... is my good fortune as a goddess too!!"

[Author's Note: Please drop some recommendation votes or monthly votes, nya, or even just a chapter comment would be great~ Pretty please, dear readers, nya~]