Hero Chapter 44: Hestia's Shock! Fastest to break to Second Level? (Patreon)

Soma Familia

Wearing a suit and tie with bartender-style glasses, Zanis Lustra listened to Drake’s report, shadows pooling in his gaze.

“So you’re saying Lili joined someone else’s party and you ‘couldn’t find an opening’?”

“You can’t just go as the Soma Familia and talk to that party? Do I really have to teach you something that simple?”

He stopped himself short of saying you useless lot.

If it were any other supporter, he wouldn’t care—bleed them dry, let them save enough to buy out and leave. It wouldn’t affect his plan.

But Lili was different.

Her transformation magic was too useful to him. Crushing her hope, turning her back into a supporter controlled by god-wine—

That was exactly the outcome Zanis wanted—so that he could use that ability.

“Go into the Dungeon and use your transformation to lure monsters.”

“In the party Lili joined, there’s a Level 2. If there were an easier way, we’d have dragged her back already.”

Freed from the god of wine and with Keyaru’s careful memory rewrite, Drake no longer grovelled—but to avoid tipping his hand, he kept his face tight and anxious, spinning a story while watching the captain’s expression.

“Captain Zanis,” he said, thumping his chest, “give us one more chance. If we can’t bring Lili back, we won’t return to the Familia!”

After years of ruling the Soma Familia by wine alone, Zanis didn’t doubt him; he knew his people too well. A smile crept onto that shadowed face.

“If you fail to bring Lili back… then your wine ration is cut to zero for the foreseeable future.”

So Keyaru hadn’t lied—Zanis really did control the Familia with wine. Drake kept his face dutiful, cursing inside.

If Lili hadn’t freed him, he’d still be treated like a dog.

He plastered on a toadying smile. “Lord Zanis, we’ll complete the assignment no matter what.”

The plan was working. There wouldn’t be other teams harassing Keyaru and Lili for a while. When this was over, he might even snag the vice-captain slot, right?

Drake let himself daydream.

…

The fastest way to shore up ranged options was magic—but grimoires were expensive, and spell-slot limits were a pain.

So: off the table.

The simplest path was to learn bow work.

Low barrier to entry, and war-god Takemikazuchi—the best free “wool” to shear—could teach it.

With repairs finished and his next technique focus set, Keyaru said goodbye to Eina and didn’t linger at Babel—no point worrying Hestia by coming home late.

Dinner was the usual from their “regular,” packed to go—calorie bomb set meal.

“Archery it is… Perfect for evenings.”

Time-management mode: Dungeon by day, new weapon drills by night. That was his limit.

Back down the abandoned South Main, he reached the church steps and saw a figure crouched there:

A girl in a white dress, hugging her knees—her very generous chest serving as a chin rest. Bare feet on the clean stone, toes teasing the moss.

Hearing his steps, Hestia raised her head, eyes full of hope as the familiar figure walked back in the moonlight.

“Keyaru! You’re finally back!”

“The Guild held me up a bit today.”

When the small goddess looped her arms around his neck and hung off him, the fatigue of the whole Dungeon day melted away. Hard not to hum—like a husband home from work to warm lights and a cute loli wife waiting with dinner.

Peak “middle-of-the-manga” fantasy, right here.

Well—minus the cooking. But on the bright side, she was very legal and very loli in every sense.

“Don’t push yourself,” she said. She knew he hadn’t lied, but couldn’t help reminding him. Seeing the dinner box in his hand—thinking how hard he worked because he’d joined her Familia—her heart swelled, mostly with tenderness. “If it’s dangerous, running isn’t shameful!”

“Of course. Only if we live do we have a future.”

His stomach cut the moment short with a loud protest. Raising the dinner, he said seriously, “Let’s eat first—then I’ll need your help updating my status.”

“Okay!”

Fed and ready to fulfill her divine duty, Hestia was already set up. She glanced at the boy lying bare-chested on the bed—muscles now clearly defined—and had to drag her eyes away.

Then she got to work.

…

Keyaru

Lv 1

Strength: F378 → E448
Endurance: F319 → E454
Dexterity: F350 → E439
Agility: F331 → E421
Magic: F375 → D501

Development Abilities: None

Magic: Heal

Skills: Imitation, Transformation, Corruption, Looting

…

Compared with the last two days, today’s gains were huge—roughly +100 across the board.

There were no other children to compare to, but Hestia found she wasn’t even that surprised anymore.

“Big jump today. At this pace, Keyaru, your next task is collecting a great feat and cleanly breaking through to the next Level.”

Then it hit her.

He hadn’t even been an adventurer that long, and already they were talking about this. At this rate—barring surprises—wouldn’t he break Orario’s fastest-ever record?

She couldn’t imagine the shockwaves if he pulled it off.

“But… I don’t think you need to rush. Slow and steady matters most.”

She went to hand him the parchment—and a line in the skill box finally caught her eye.

Skills:

Looting: Steals the target’s overall stats. Can surpass the S cap, reaching SS–SSS ratings.

“???”