After leaving the Dungeon, Cid returned to Orario and stopped by the library to buy a book.
Hestia loved reading, and aside from the usual necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, the only thing she ever asked of him as captain of her familia was to set aside enough money each month to buy her one new book.
Lately, it seemed she had also started trying to write one herself.
Cid was honestly a little curious about what kind of story a goddess would come up with.
There was another reason he did not have much money on hand, aside from basic living expenses.
Strictly speaking, he should not have been poor at all, considering how often he had accompanied the Loki Familia on their expeditions.
But if he had too much money, he would have no reasonable excuse to keep delaying the visible rise in his level.
As things stood, his staffsmanship was still "only so-so" on paper, and he did not carry nearly enough potions around with him. Given that, a slower pace of growth looked perfectly natural.
To maintain that appearance, Cid had sent most of the money he earned from those expeditions to the Astraea Familia.
The cost of the grimoire, along with the money Astraea had fronted for all those potions, had not been small.
Astraea had not refused the transfers, because her familia really was painfully short on money.
And with Cid's personality, settling a debt like that did not mean old bonds of affection ceased to exist.
Besides, Riveria had very much approved of that reason for spending his money. Even if it slowed his development, she still supported it.
After all, who would not be pleased to see someone repay the help they had once received?
"Too bad. I can only use that excuse up until now."
Wrapping up the book, Cid began thinking about what his next good excuse for burning through money should be.
The debt to Astraea's side had now been fully repaid, so he could not continue using it.
Still, he felt it would not be hard to come up with a new reason.
At present, he was no longer going on those lucrative expeditions with the Loki Familia, so he was not earning that much to begin with.
And for a typical Level 3 adventurer, unless they belonged to some huge familia, being short on money was perfectly normal.
Even so, just to avoid the risk of accidentally becoming too well-off, Cid felt he should prepare another plausible explanation in advance.
Before long, he had one.
Hestia's current base was still the temporary shelter they had used during the Great Feud.
Because it was clean enough and because their finances were still tight, they had never bothered moving out.
"This feels like the perfect excuse to spend money. If I've got cash, then obviously I need to move to a better home."
While he was thinking that over, Cid sensed three people standing nearby.
Or more accurately, two people and one goddess. They were talking.
The goddess, of course, was Hestia.
As for the other two—
Cid's expression turned strange. For a moment, he wondered whether he had finally been found out.
They had become something like comrades by now, and he had never gone out of his way to disguise himself from her.
Still, he had not expected her to come all the way here.
A few adventurers nearby recognized her and hurriedly fled.
They were probably running to report it to the Guild. After all, the Great Feud was still fresh in everyone's memory, and so was that immense holy bell tower.
"This feels familiar."
Cid could not help sighing as he headed toward his door.
The last time, it had also been near here that Erebus and Alfia had blocked his way home.
This time, they had skipped the middle step and camped out at his doorstep.
"Cid, over here!"
Hestia waved to him energetically.
Though the familiar before him was undeniably dangerous, Hestia believed she would not do anything reckless.
"Young man, long time no see. Even if it's understandable, your pace of growth has been a little too slow lately."
Alfia looked at Cid with all the authority of a senior.
"Uh… thank you for the advice."
Cid put on a show of nervousness, though inwardly he found the whole thing very strange.
Had she really not recognized him?
"This child is yours to look after from now on. She doesn't have much talent, so just make sure she survives."
Alfia remained as aloof as ever. Without even bothering to elaborate, she pushed Bell forward toward Cid, then turned to leave.
"C-Captain, my name is Bell Cranel. I-I'll be in your care from now—"
The moment she was separated from Alfia and lost that absolute pillar of support, Bell became so nervous she nearly bit her tongue.
"All right. I'll be looking after you too."
Cid had to fight very hard not to laugh.
If Alfia truly had failed to recognize him, then this scene had become unintentionally hilarious.
Once his identity was exposed later, he was absolutely going to hold this over her head.
Still… a second member of the Hestia Familia, huh?
Cid gave Bell a long, thoughtful look.
Her talent was average at best. Alfia could see that, and so could he.
If Bell trained normally, then even if she worked hard her entire life, she would probably only ever reach Level 2.
And yet, Cid could sense something very pure in her heart, and within her body lay a strangely unusual power.
If it awakened one day, it might shock everyone.
It was simply that Alfia could not bring herself to push the girl too hard, so she had not discovered Bell's true potential.
Would this child get in the way of his grand plans to stay poor?
No way.
She was just one little girl. How could she possibly stop the great dragon of strategic self-impoverishment?
This was a guaranteed win. How could he lose with an advantage like this?
"Welcome to the familia. From now on, we're a family, Bell."
Hestia pulled both Cid and Bell into the house, grinning from ear to ear.
Cid had finally paid off all his debts, and the familia now had a second member.
Ignoring all inconvenient details, the Hestia Familia was surely on the path to crushing the Freya Familia and trampling the Loki Familia into the dirt to become the strongest familia in Orario.
Taking the book from Cid, Hestia immediately tugged him into a private little room.
If all went as expected, today was the day Cid would finally rank up to Level 3.
This would be the first time he leveled up under her care, and she had been waiting for it for ages.
Left outside for the moment, Bell stared at the closed door in confusion.
What were they doing in there?
The idea of love between gods and mortals suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"Eh?!"
In Bell's heart, both her captain and Lord Shadow were already extraordinary heroes.
Her grandfather had always said that heroes were supposed to seek encounters in the Dungeon and build harems in Orario.
Lord Shadow had his Shadow Garden, full of incredible older sisters.
Captain Cid was incredible too—he was even bold enough to make a move on a goddess.
Heroes built harems in Orario, therefore anyone building a harem in Orario was a hero.
To Bell, that was perfectly logical.
Inside the room, Cid removed his shirt, and Hestia slipped off her gloves.
"My Cid keeps getting more handsome. Let me hug you first!"
"…Lady Hestia, Bell's still outside."
Feeling the pressure against his back, Cid took it in stride.
Hestia was always direct and enthusiastic when it came to showing affection.
On some nights, there was even a surprise goddess in his bed.
And if she was careless with her posture, that led to a full-blown chest-assassination incident.
Compared to that, this was nothing.
Reluctantly, Hestia let him go and pricked her finger with a needle.
A drop of divine blood fell onto Cid's back, and his status was updated with new values.
Hestia glanced over it twice, then broke into a delighted round of applause.
"Congratulations, Cid—you're Level 3 now!"
....
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