A day since the battle ended, with good being victorious over the powers of evil. The city's adventurers, and citizens alike had performed a great deal of clean up. Some of the sights they witnessed, made them lose what little lunch they had been able to eat… yet they still continued pressing on, to gather the bodies they could and give them a proper burial, be that in the graveyard, or a funeral pyre, the souls of the dead were put to rest.
The gods still struggled to understand the issues mortals had when someone passed away, for, from their perspective, the soul would never truly die, and it was only the body that came and went. However, despite this clash of perspectives, they still did their best to understand it from the mortal's view…For those they'd had in their life, were no longer there.
Guild workers were out and about doing what they could to manage the situation on the ground. Royman was put on blast for his utter foolishness in not having Shurry go after Evilus instead. Though, the mortals who shouted out their anger, were quelled once they revealed that the dungeon would have broken had it not been for Shurry slaughtering his way through to a deeper floor. At first no one was satisfied with this, but once they created a level up portrait for him, saying his updated floor counter at 75… The public accepted the excuse… It was the truth, aside from Shurry's depth being further than that.
With more updates having taken place, one major issue to take care of, was the fact, Hathor familia was without any doubt, the strongest familia in the whole of the city. Freya and Loki familias were not given half as much respect as they'd been given prior to the hellish battle, and the majority of it they did get, was purely because not a damn soul would expect anybody to have defeated Erebus…
Hestia, the recently descended goddess, was taking a break from managing her new familia, conversing with her friends Astraea, and Hephaestus.
"Ugh! It's so much work! I have so many members in my familia now. I can't just laze around anymore."
"Pfft, you should have known about that when you started." Hephaestus giggled, elegantly sipping her tea.
"You know Hestia, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Astraea said, with a calm expression, looking at her reflection in the lightly dyed water… It was tea, but hardly of any degree of quality.
"Huh? Who's that?"
"I'm using him as my guard today while my girls help with the clean up… Well, all except for my Neze, she's probably having the time of her life right now."
"Yeah? Well, let's meet him."
Hephaestus got the hint and sighed.
"You're keeping secrets about that Al boy, aren't you?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. You'd only be burdened by it. And looking at those scraps in that box, it looks like you have quite a bit of work on your hands already."
"Yeah… You're right about that. He shattered them like they were nothing. They're supposed to, you know, not do that. But the power of Fenrir really isn't something that can be contained like that… I wonder, should I blame him for such an annoyance? Or should I thank him for giving me something to really light my forge?"
Hephaestus finished her tea, stood up, and then picked up her box. A single tear shed for the broken pieces she'd worked so hard on.
"Well, I'll be holed up for a while…"
"Have fun!"
"Hestia, would you mind coming to my home for a moment? It'll be safer to do what needs to be done, there."
"Oh? I'd love to! I bet it's a beautiful and inviting place!"
…
Goibniu familia home… Goibniu was working on something… When his familia's new captain, the previous having died during the fighting, walked in silently, with a look of wonder, and worry on his face.
"Everything alright?"
"Lord Goibniu, I'm still getting used to this…"
"Give it time, you'll grow into the position soon enough, that's why I chose you."
"Yes, I, uhm, have a report for you…"
"First, what do you think of it?"
"It's… Perfect."
"Hmm? Then something's wrong? Ah there it is. I guess I got distracted, and there…"
"Hmm?"
"Nothing is perfect. Even the gods have their faults. Just like now, I'd missed something. So, the report?"
"Yes, of the weapons we donated to the effort, and the resources we used… We have 2% of our sale ready stock, and 5% of our ores left that we can use. Our funds are… not in the greatest of shapes right now either."
"I see. Worry not, everything will level out in time, we will recover. Just help with the rebuilding project to the best you can. We need not worry about certain things for a while anyway. Some who were once cast out, are on their way here. And with them are coming a few interesting people. Give it some time and we'll see what happens."
"Are they coming back…?"
Goibniu didn't answer, instead he went back to his work… The ever dutiful god…
…
Astraea familia home, the Stardust Garden.
"Oh wow! This is a beautiful place! I love it!"
"It's truly a blessing to live here with my children, sharing meals, stories, and even baths… This whole place came from the funds they earned on their own efforts. They're amazing children…"
"So, this boy? Is he a member of your familia too?"
Hestia clearly didn't recognize him in the slightest, the sheer number of people she's met recently far exceeded her poor brain to handle.
"Lady Hestia. My real name is Bell Cranel, I somehow arrived here from a different time. We had a completely different battle there during this age. I wasn't there, but we didn't have half as many forces to deal with."
"Huh? Wow, you're not lying… But… How can you prove that you're really from the future? Oh, wait, he did say something about a boy from a different time."
The future Bell removed his armor, and shirt, to show his back to both goddesses.
"Hey, that's my crest, right?"
"If you don't believe it, go ahead and try to give him an update."
"Sure, yeah…"
Hestia's blood ichor fell, and… it updated the future Bell's status.
--------------------------
Bell Cranel
Hestia Familia
Level : 5 -> 6
STR : (E -> SSS -> I) : (477 -> 1319 -> 0)
VIT : (C -> SSS -> I : (698 -> 1451 -> 0)
DEX : (E -> SSS -> I) : (491 -> 1264 -> 0)
AGI : (C -> SSS -> I) : (689 -> 1321 -> 0)
MAG: (F -> SSS -> I) : (399 -> 1371 -> 0)
--------------------------
Skills : Liaris Freese, Argonaut, Ox Slayer, Vanadis Tevere, ???
"Wow! It worked, you really are a child of mine? That's so cool! I have a level 6 now!"
"Calm down Hestia. You should know good and well, there's no way that Chaos will allow him to continue living here forever. The moment he goes to sleep, is the moment he leaves this world behind."
"Awe, well then, I'm gonna get some of my own helpers, all leveled up! In the meantime, let me hear your story."
…