"How many coins do we have left, Bell?"
"…We have… twelve large and three small coins."
Bell counted the last of the money in his pouch, then looked up. "What's wrong?"
Kaelis thought for a moment before answering honestly.
"To be completely real with you… I have no idea if that makes us rich or dirt poor."
From the books he'd read and from Deus's explanations, Kaelis remembered the basic conversion: one large coin was worth 8,000 valis, and one small coin was 2,000.
Doing the math, that meant they had 102,000 valis total. Not bad—definitely enough for food and a room at a normal inn.
But this was Orario.
Prices here should be inflated. What counted as a fortune in the countryside could easily turn into pocket change the moment you stepped inside the city walls.
So even if 100,000 valis sounded impressive anywhere else… here, it might barely count as spending money.
Bell stiffened for a moment.
"So… what are we going to do then, Master?"
Kaelis didn't deliberate. "First, we find an inn. We don't know when we'll actually end up joining a familia, and we should scope out the city before rushing into anything."
"But what if we run out of money before that happens?"
Kaelis shrugged. "We raid the Dungeon. Fast, simple. We'll be fine."
"But the Guild lady said—"
"Yes, yes, 'don't go in without a familia,'" Kaelis mimicked dramatically. "Relax. If things get desperate, we'll just have you stand in the plaza and look adorable. People will throw money at you out of pity."
"M-Master, that's worse!"
"I'm joking, I'm joking." Kaelis waved him off with a lazy flick of his hand.
"She said it's not advisable to enter without being in a familia, not that it's forbidden. I'm strong enough to handle a quick dive, so relax. We won't starve."
Bell still wasn't convinced.
There were many things he knew about his master, and one of them was that Kaelis's jokes usually hid a grain of terrifying truth.
The fact that Kaelis could say such things with a straight face definitely didn't help.
"Master… jokes like that aren't funny you know."
"It got you thinking, didn't it?" Kaelis replied.
"It got me terrified."
"Same difference."
Bell puffed his cheeks. "Master…"
He truly resembled a rodent.
Kaelis simply waved his hand. "Relax. Worst-case scenario? I clear a single floor and we'll have enough valis to last weeks. Simple."
"That still sounds dangerous."
"For you? Yes. For me? Not really."
Bell frowned but didn't argue. Kaelis had a habit of stating things so casually that Bell couldn't tell if they were supposed to be comforting or alarming.
They continued walking down the busy street, weaving through adventurers hauling bags of monster cores and merchants shouting prices from behind stalls.
Bell tugged at his pouch again. "I still think we should save as much as possible…"
"Agreed."
"And maybe get cheaper food—"
"Disagreed."
"But—"
"Bell," Kaelis said, "if you think I'm going to eat cardboard bread on day one, you're not thinking straight. We save on everything except food and sleep."
"That seems… oddly specific."
"Because hungry people make stupid decisions, and tired people make even dumber ones."
Bell blinked. "That makes sense."
"Thank you."
A brief silence passed as they walked. Bell was starting to calm down—until Kaelis abruptly said:
"Also, we're being followed."
"W-What!?" Bell almost turned to look.
"Don't turn around. You'll make it awkward."
Bell tried walking normally but he failed spectacularly. "Master, are you sure?"
"Well… the same person has been trailing us since we left the guild and has nearly crashed into two fruit stalls because they weren't paying attention."
Bell swallowed. "That sounds… bad."
"Not really. Their footsteps are light and uncoordinated. Not an assassin. Probably just indecisive."
Bell whispered, "Should we run?"
Kaelis slowed down. "Bell. If we run, they'll chase us."
"That sounds even worse!"
Kaelis sighed. "Fine. I'll handle it."
He stopped walking.
Bell stopped too, confused—until he noticed Kaelis turning around.
"You can come out now," Kaelis said, voice calm but direct. "You've been following us for ten minutes. If you wanted to stab me, you missed roughly… well, ten minutes of opportunities."
Bell stared wide-eyed as someone scrambled out from behind a vendor's stall, clearly startled at being caught.
A petite young woman who looked around 140cm in height with black twin pigtails stepped forward, nervously fidgeting with her fingers.
She wore a simple white dress, blue ribbons wrapping around her arms and under her pair of enormous boobs.
This can't be a child right?
And although she tried to look confident, she failed completely as they could see her shaking in her…bare feet?
"H-Hi…" she said awkwardly. "S-Sorry for… um… following you. I didn't know how to approach, so I just… kept walking behind you…"
Kaelis raised an eyebrow. "You could've said hello."
"I—I panicked!"
Bell blinked at her. "…Um, miss? Who are you?"
The girl inhaled sharply, straightened her back, and—despite her small stature—forced a proud pose.
"I am the great and beautiful goddess Hestia!"
Bell's eyes widened.
Kaelis stared for a moment before slowly nodding.
"…Okay," he said. "And why were you stalking us?"
"N-Not stalking!" she cried quickly. "I just—! I saw you two at the guild and—and well—!"
She fidgeted harder.
"I… might have been trying to recruit you."
"Both of us?" Kaelis asked.
Hestia nodded.
"Sure." Kaelis agreed immediately.
"Eh—Master!? For real!?"
Kaelis accepting something that important instantly was… not normal. Anyone else would've at least thought about it for a minute.
"Yep. I'm sure," Kaelis replied without hesitation.
If there was any familia Bell could join that was actually safe, Hestia's was at the top of the list.
From Kaelis's memories of his first world, Hestia wasn't just the goddess of the hearth—she was also the chillest deity in the entire Greek pantheon.
A little lazy, a little dramatic, but harmless. Warm, protective, and absolutely not the type to endanger her own children.
Kaelis had originally planned to scout familias based on what he knew of each god's personality… but that plan was rough.
Most gods were unpredictable, and the ones he trusted were extremely few.
So when the safest option in the city basically fell into his hands on its own?
He wasn't about to let it slip away.
Hestia froze.
Like… actually froze.
Her eyes went wide, then wider, then impossibly wider as the meaning sank in.
"Really?" she squealed.
"Really," Kaelis repeated.
Bell looked between them, stunned.
Hestia, meanwhile—exploded.
"FINALLY!!!" she yelled, both fists shooting into the air. "I DID IT! I GOT A FAMILIA MEMBER! I'M NOT A LONELY FAILURE AFTER ALL!"
Several people turned to stare.
Hestia didn't care. She was overjoyed at this moment.
"I—I have two people! Two! T-W-O!!" She spun in a circle. "Take THAT, world! Hestia is officially BACK IN BUSINESS!"
"Alright, calm down before you faint," Kaelis said.
"I WON'T—okay I might—BUT STILL!!"
She grabbed their hands—Bell's gently, Kaelis's with surprising force for someone so tiny—and started pulling them down the street.
"Come on! I'll take you to my home! It's perfect—well, almost perfect—actually not perfect at all but it's MINE!"
Bell stumbled after her. "W-Wait! We're going right now!?"
"Yes! Registration! Formalities! You need your Falna! Ohhh this is happening—THIS IS HAPPENING! I can't believe this is happening!!"
Kaelis allowed himself to be dragged.
Bell glanced up at him. "Master… are you sure this is okay?"
"Best option we're going to get," Kaelis said quietly.
Bell trusted him wholeheartedly.
So he followed.
…
A few streets later…
"…Master?"
"I see it," Kaelis muttered.
Ahead of them stood a small abandoned-looking church.
The roof partly damaged, side walls cracked, a boarded window, overgrown vegetation curling up the stone.
The whole beholding looked tired.
Hestia stopped in front of the door, beaming proudly like she was presenting a mansion.
"Ta-daaa!! Home sweet home!!"
Kaelis stared, his eyes twitching.
"…This is it?" he asked, voice perfectly flat.
Hestia puffed her cheeks. "Hey! Don't make that face! It's not that bad!"
Bell looked at the crumbling edge of the roof.
"It's… unique," he muttered weakly.
Hestia brightened. "Exactly! Unique! Atmosphere! Character!"
A piece of the roof tile slid off and hit the ground breaking.
Bell: "…"
Kaelis exhaled through his nose. "It has character, alright."
Hestia ignored it and pushed open the door with both hands.
"Come in, come in! Welcome to the Hestia Familia headquarters!"
Chapter 56 end.