Sunlight poured down from a cloudless sky.
At the central courtyard of Hearth Manor, headquarters of the Hestia Familia...
Raven Eltharion lay back on the lush artificial grass.
Hands tucked behind his head, he gazed up at the pristine blue sky.
"This kind of environment… is just so peaceful."
"I wonder how Mikoto and Anya are doing right now."
He murmured to himself softly.
Just then, Daphne returned through the iron gate after grocery shopping.
At that moment, Lily was upstairs organizing her belongings in her newly assigned room.
The rooms of the goddess Hestia and the other Familia members were all on the third floor—the topmost level of the manor.
Starting from the center of the floor was Hestia's divine chamber.
Next to it was Raven's spacious room.
And beside his were the rooms of Cassandra, Anya, Mikoto, and Daphne.
Finally, Lily's room was assigned next to Daphne's.
Besides that…
There was even a smithy built in the backyard.
Though Welf hadn't joined them like in the original storyline...
Raven had the foresight to plan ahead—someday, when everyone was out on expeditions…
They'd need a friendly allied Familia to help guard the base.
The so-called friendly Familias referred to: Takemikazuchi Familia, Miach Familia, and Hephaestus Familia.
And thinking of the arrival of that half-dwarf, Tsubaki, Raven had a forge constructed just in case.
After all…
The Hestia Familia, having won the war game, now possessed a grand and legitimate headquarters.
Within Orario, they were now a full-fledged mid-tier Familia.
If the goddess and members were all out and left the base empty, it might attract thieves or hostile forces looking to steal assets or intelligence.
Their current situation was completely different from when they were just a fledgling group.
…
Nighttime.
After dinner, in the divine chamber on the third floor—
"All right then, Miss Supporter."
"Mm-hmm! Lily is ready!"
Hestia took out a small needle and gently pricked her fingertip.
Seated on a chair, Lily had already removed her top, revealing her small, slender back.
Raven stood nearby, watching quietly.
Hestia let her divine blood drip onto Lily's back.
From that single drop, glowing ripples spread outward.
The text on her back began to fade—its color and shape gradually disappearing.
Hestia then drew the symbol representing her own name, along with Lily's true name.
And finally, she engraved the seal to finalize the contract.
A radiant light bloomed.
The entire slab of Falna script transformed into the mark of the Hestia Familia.
At that moment—
Lily, the prum, officially became a member of Hestia's Familia.
"All done!"
Hestia's eyes sparkled with joy.
Her Familia had welcomed a new member.
"Thank you, Lady Hestia! And thank you too, Raven-sama!"
Dressed again, Lily couldn't contain her happiness as she threw herself into Raven's arms.
"Gyaaaaaaaaah!?"
"You shameless cat! Don't get so close to my Raven-kun!"
Hestia instantly exploded in rage.
She never imagined this newly joined member would be all over Raven right in front of her!
Then…
She puffed up her cheeks.
Instead of pulling Lily off, she dove into the hug herself.
Raven sighed inwardly.
With a helpless smile, he patted both their heads at once.
"By the way, Lily—"
"Let me give you a heads-up."
"Our Familia is about to challenge the strongest factions in the city to a war game."
"You should be mentally prepared."
Lily froze, stunned.
"Is it the Loki Familia? Or the Freya Familia?"
"Most likely both," Raven said calmly.
Lily gasped sharply.
"Feeling pressured already?"
Raven smirked.
"Lily just… just wants to know the reason for fighting them in the first place…"
She asked hesitantly.
Hestia huffed.
"What other reason? It's obvious—they want to steal my Raven-kun!"
"All right, all right."
"I'll take everyone down to the Deep Floors myself in a few days."
"Let's level you all up quickly."
At that moment—
A thoughtful gleam flashed through Raven's eyes.
He recalled the ancient ice dragon from his dreams.
That blue-haired girl… was likely a water spirit.
Looks like…
When time allowed, he'd have to visit San Flandre Grand Altar in person.
…
Moments later, in the main hall—
"Anya, how was your first time in the Dungeon?"
Raven looked over at another Lv.1 member of the Familia.
"It went okay~"
"With Mikoto-sama with me, I managed to defeat two goblins!"
Anya replied with a smile.
"That's pretty impressive."
Raven nodded approvingly.
For a delicate young woman like her to slay two goblins on her first day…
That was indeed remarkable.
According to Anya—
She used a longsword, wore no armor, and had only rented her weapon from the Guild.
"In that case—"
"Daphne, allocate 1 billion valis from the funds."
"I'm going to get Anya a top-tier equipment set."
"""O-O-One billion!?"""
Anya, Daphne, Lily, and Cassandra all exclaimed in shock.
"Yes,"
Raven replied without hesitation.
When you're rich, you can afford to be this extravagant.
With so few members in the Familia right now, he could spoil them all while it lasted.
Otherwise…
How could they fight a boss with nothing but basic gear?
In truth, Raven didn't expect his members to aim for something crazy like Lv.7.
But at the very least, he wanted everyone to reach first-class adventurer level.
The minimum goal: Lv.5.
And with his teleportation magic…
Dungeon exploration would be a breeze.
As for their stats…
Thanks to his cheats, Raven could boost everyone's Falna daily.
Which meant level-ups would come relatively fast.
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