Chapter 90: I Know This One, Rozz Still Needs a New Record to Prove Himself! (Patreon)

Could the dream training actually have been the right call?

Truth be told, after facing several Minotaurs at once—especially that unannounced "Forced Stop" Skill the monsters kept triggering—Rozz really felt that last night's nightmare-difficulty trial had transformed his practical combat ability across the board.

Countless forced challenges. Beating a Lv4 Adventurer was out of the question, but there was at least room to improve. He wasn't going to stay stuck to the sole of Ryuu's boot forever.

Maybe it was the sheer number of Remakes. It felt as though his body could instinctively anticipate the opponent's next move. He couldn't work out the logic behind this ability, either.

"Not bad."

With that, today's exploration was over.

Standing in Orario's Central Park, Rozz knew his own battle wasn't over yet. He turned to the Supporter girl beside him.

"That's it for today's exploration," he said lightly.

"Okay."

"Anyway, I'm not into alcohol or anything. The Gods' Banquet is purely a free meal, so we can definitely explore the Dungeon as usual tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to Lili, Rozz's next goals were simple: go back to the Familia Home, wash up quickly, and change into the formal outfit that had been tailored for the banquet.

The meeting point was the "Hephaestus" weapon shop.

[Evening]

He met up with his own goddess Hestia and with Hephaestus without a hitch. Hephaestus was wearing the same outfit as ever: a white shirt with work trousers.

Hestia, on the other hand, had changed into a blue off-shoulder gown. The cut was fairly close-fitting, and even without the blue ribbon cinching her in, her figure was as graceful as ever.

Her silky black hair was tied up in twin tails.

The moment she noticed Rozz arrive, and saw how composed, sharp and dashing her beloved boy looked, she moved so naturally.

Hestia took his arm, her eyes brimming with affection. "See? I told you that outfit would look great on you."

"It's a rare chance to attend the Gods' Banquet. I can't embarrass Lady Hestia."

Remembering the unique experience from that morning, Rozz found it genuinely hard to treat Hestia as "Mom" the way he usually did, not with the softness pressed against his arm.

He decisively redirected his attention. Looking at Hephaestus, he greeted her first. "Good evening, Lady Hephaestus."

"Mm."

Especially now.

Seeing her best friend clinging to Rozz's arm, Hephaestus felt it was a bit of an eyesore, though she didn't show it openly.

Nothing to be done…

Who had made Hestia Rozz's patron goddess?!

She looked at the carriage that had come specially to pick them up and said decisively, "Let's go. Apollo Familia's Home is actually just over on Southwest Street."

"We'll get there quickly."

"Okay."

[Apollo Familia]

Rozz had at least heard of the god known as Apollo, but he knew very little about this world's sun god.

Riding in the luxurious carriage, the group followed Adventurer Street onward and soon reached the opulent estate near Central Park that Rozz passed all the time.

How to describe it?

Grand.

Everything about the architecture breathed ancient Greece, which fit perfectly with Apollo's status as one of the Olympian chief gods.

Compared with his own Familia Home, there was really nothing to compare.

Living under the same roof as Hestia—on that point alone, Rozz felt he beat the treatment of every other Familia. What could be better than a future where you build your Familia with your own hands, and what was more worth looking forward to?

Standing before the estate, he looked at the Apollo Familia's Home. Because the Gods' Banquet was being held there, it was brilliantly lit and decorated with real elegance.

"This is the place."

Hephaestus said it softly.

The scale of tonight's event didn't surprise her. Knowing Apollo's personality, he could hardly resist showing off here.

More than the banquet itself, the red-haired goddess was worried about Rozz. She could see the Hero Cloud-Raising Panel, and Hestia might get the chance to see it too.

She had to keep other gods from meddling.

What's more—after Hestia reported Rozz's Adventurer level to the Guild, word of it had already spread among quite a few of Orario's gods.

Being prepared was always better.

Hephaestus took out a gilded invitation and smiled at Rozz and Hestia. "Let's go in, shall we?"

"Hmph."

Unlike her best friend, Hestia's thinking was very simple. She hadn't worried about any of that. She had come purely to declare Rozz as hers before the gods' assembly.

And to settle the matter of his Alias.

They made their way into the main banquet hall. A good number of gods had already gathered, and many of them were familiar friends.

Demeter and the others.

Compared with the male gods, the ones Hestia knew in Heaven were mostly goddesses. She looked up at Rozz beside her.

"The banquet hasn't started yet," she said brightly.

"Let me introduce you to Demeter. We were really close in Heaven~ Even though hers is a production Familia, it's rated a C-rank faction."

"…"

[Demeter]

Following Hestia's gaze, Rozz saw the goddess he'd met at Orario's city gate on the day of his training. If he had to describe them, the two had completely different styles.

His own goddess leaned athletic, and Hephaestus leaned businesslike.

Hmm…

Just standing there, Demeter gave off a natural gentleness and warmth that made it very easy to file her under "mom"-type goddesses.

—

"Hey~"

"Have you heard the rumors at the Adventurer Guild lately? Apparently some rookie Adventurer broke the record set by the Sword Princess, Ais."

"Yes, yes, I heard!"

"And the key thing is how short the time was. According to the Guild staff, the rookie pushed that world record to a point where it can't be broken."

"…"

The goddesses around her chattered away.

As the leader of a production Familia, Demeter found it hard to join in. Her Familia had hardly any Adventurers.

More than the "super rookie who broke a world record," what she was really curious about was the new Adventurer she'd met at Orario's gate the other day, the one with the "Hero Cloud-Raising Plan" title floating over his head.

"What a shame…"

"I haven't seen that child at all these past two days."

Demeter's heart was full of regret.

Until—

A familiar voice called out not far away. She turned and saw her old friend from Heaven, Hestia, walking toward her.

When did she come to Orario?

Demeter was just about to greet her when she saw him, the black-haired boy whose absence had left her so regretful.

"This character can open the Hero Cloud-Raising Plan."

That translucent screen was extremely conspicuous.

And what made it even harder to ignore was that her good friend from Heaven, Hestia, was at this very moment gently holding Rozz's arm.

So this child is Hestia's Familia member?!

"Hestia…"

Demeter's gentle, motherly face lit with a smile full of natural, housewifely warmth. "How did you end up in Orario?"

"Heaven was just so boring, that's all."

After greeting the other goddesses, Hestia puffed out her chest and introduced Rozz with open pride. "Tonight I brought Rozz to the Gods' Banquet."

"Take a good look at my treasure, everyone!!"

"…"

[Rozz]

Looking at Rozz again, Demeter pushed down her astonishment and didn't blurt out anything about the translucent screen.

Instead, she was more curious about her friend. "Hestia, when did you get here?"

"About a month ago."

The goddess didn't hide anything. "I'd only just arrived in Orario, so I wasn't thinking about building a Familia, and I felt too shy to come find you all."

"This is the child I recruited a little over two weeks ago!"

"…"

As Hestia introduced him, Rozz didn't forget his manners. He greeted the curious, appraising goddesses one after another.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Demeter was looking at him strangely.

And it was just as he'd guessed. Between what Hestia had let slip and that translucent screen, even the timeline lined up perfectly!!

The rookie Adventurer who broke the world record had done it in half a month. If Rozz hadn't had "Hero Cloud-Raising Plan" over his head…

Demeter would probably have written it off as coincidence. After all, Orario had plenty of Adventurers. But the existence of that translucent screen made her utterly certain of her own conclusion.

What kind of decent Adventurer has a box floating over their head?

"Hello there~"

Demeter smiled warmly and greeted him first. "Mr. Rozz, I believe we met the other day?"

"Yes."

Demeter actually remembered him.

Even Rozz hadn't expected that. Then again, black hair and yellow skin, an Eastern face, really was rare among Orario's countless Adventurers.

He nodded earnestly.

"That day I was training outside Orario's outer city. When I came back to the Labyrinth City, I must have passed you in the gate area, Lady Demeter."

"I just never imagined you and Lady Hestia were friends."

"Of course we are!"

Hestia didn't even wait for Demeter to answer. She planted her hands on her hips and replied with pride. "I knew a lot of gods back in Heaven."

"Demeter and Hephaestus are both my good friends!"

"…"

Looking at the translucent screen of the Hero Cloud-Raising Plan, Demeter nodded earnestly. She reached out with both hands and gently squished the boy's cheeks, her voice soft. "I'm good friends with your goddess, you know."

"So…"

"Mr. Rozz, whenever you have free time, come visit me at the Demeter Familia and play!"

—

Rozz hated wearing formal clothes for a reason. Formal clothes meant a special occasion, which meant tedious socializing.

Orario was no different. Since he was with Hestia, he'd inevitably become the center of the goddesses' attention.

The good news: the considerate big sister, Hephaestus, seemed to see that he wasn't suited to this kind of social atmosphere and explained the situation to Hestia.

He finally managed to slip away.

"…"

"It's a banquet thrown by gods. The food shouldn't be bad, right?"

He steered clear of the gods.

Rozz made his way to the edge of the Apollo Familia's banquet hall. The tables ahead were crowded with the Adventurer Familia members who had come along with their gods.

Dealing with gods meant weighing every single word. At least with Adventurers he didn't have to stay on guard the whole time, and he could eat to his heart's content.

He held a white porcelain plate, and as he drew closer he heard their conversation.

If there was anything strange about it, it was that what these unfamiliar Adventurers were discussing gave Rozz an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

"So…"

"Have you heard the gods mention that rookie Adventurer who broke the world record? Who knows where they dug up that monster."

Leading the discussion was a short-haired, sharp-looking Beastman Adventurer. He gripped a steak in one hand, and his words came out a little slurred around the food.

As for gossip, it was an instinct every Adventurer shared.

Once someone brought up the hottest topic of the moment, the previously subdued dinner mood gradually warmed up.

"Of course I've heard!"

"It's just that the news hasn't fully spread yet. Apparently it took only half a month. I doubt any Adventurer will ever break that record."

"What's so special about that…"

In contrast with the friendly mood, a middle-aged Adventurer with a scar across his face picked up the topic with a distinctly sardonic edge.

He leaned back in his chair and drained his glass of champagne.

"I'd bet it's a stunt cooked up by one of the big Familias. The Level Up standard isn't even high. All you need is a D rating in your Stats."

"Then you just ride along with a party to mooch a Great Feat, and that's it."

"If you ask me, that kind of thing is meaningless. Better to build up more Stats at your current level. That's far more solid for the long run."

"…"

"Better than ending up as a Familia's decorative mascot, right?"

"…"

Under the middle-aged Adventurer's steering, the once-friendly conversation fell back into Silence. The Adventurer who had opened the topic wore an awkward look, and, emboldened by the liquor, kept explaining.

"I do know a bit of inside information. A while back I was drinking with the Soma Familia's new vice-captain, and he told me."

"That Zanis guy was killed by a fresh rookie who'd only just become an Adventurer."

"That Adventurer had only been in Orario a few days. Apparently he's a member of Hestia's Familia, and his name was Rozz, I think."

"If it really is him, there'll definitely be more news soon!"

"Zanis?"

The middle-aged Adventurer snorted, contempt written all over his face. "If I remember right, isn't that guy a total paper Lv2?"

"…"

Back before he transmigrated, if he'd run into a keyboard warrior badmouthing him to his face like this, Rozz would've wanted to start a flame war right then and there. But with a slight adjustment of mindset…

Hmm.

Hearing other Adventurers' opinions of himself was actually kind of interesting.

Noticing that the mood at the table was starting to spark with tension, he looked over at the Beastman Adventurer who had brought him up and offered a neutral opinion first.

"It's actually pretty simple."

Rozz shrugged, his tone casual. "There's a world record for reaching Lv2. As long as he keeps setting brand-new world records…"

"Wouldn't that prove himself?"

"That's true."

"If the Rozz you just mentioned broke the Sword Princess Ais's record on his own talent, without relying on his Familia's strength, then we'll definitely be hearing about him from now on!"

The middle-aged Adventurer raised his glass and nodded toward the unfamiliar black-haired boy who had spoken up for him. "You're a lot more level-headed than this lot."

"Just, it feels like I haven't seen you before."

"What should I call you?"

"Thanks."

Rozz didn't mind. He raised his glass of juice with a relaxed smile. "I'm probably the rookie you were all just talking about."

"You can call me Rozz."

[Author's Note: PS: This chapter counts as the 3rd's update, meow~ I got into the right state rather late, so the update came a little later than usual (ǒ_ǒ)]