Bell Cranel's exploits caused an enormous sensation throughout Orario.
Nobody would have imagined that in the same period, the same era, separated by only a few months, this world would produce a second Monster Rookie who reached Lv.2 at an unbelievable speed.
People who never thought a spectacle could go too far had already put the names Leo Eligos and Bell Cranel side by side for comparison, and some troublemakers had even given the two of them a nickname: "the World's Fastest Twin Stars."
In the original work, Bell Cranel had been called "the World's Fastest Rabbit" because of his astonishing growth speed. Now, although the time he took to reach Lv.2 was a bit faster than in the original work, it was still slower than Leo's, so the nickname "the World's Fastest Rabbit" naturally didn't stick.
Of course, to everyone else, the growth speed of both Leo and Bell Cranel was too unbelievable, so calling the two of them "the World's Fastest Twin Stars" was perfectly reasonable.
Thanks to this, Hestia Familia was now enormously famous, drawing more attention than some of the great Familias.
Unfortunately, this wasn't entirely a good thing.
Back then, it was precisely this attention that had drawn countless eyes to Leo. There were people and gods staking out the area outside the Familia's home base every day, meaning to make contact with him, win him over, even poach him out from under Loki and lure him away to their own Familia.
Not all of those people and gods were upstanding either. Many gods would even become extremely fanatical and use any means available for the sake of the so-called "unknown."
Leo hadn't suffered anything on account of it, because his home had a patron deity who protected her own, and behind him stood a Familia strong enough to block every bit of malice. Even if those formidable warriors of Freya Familia had come out, they couldn't have done anything to him.
But Bell Cranel had no such backing.
If I can't poach from Loki, surely I can poach from the poor-god shorty?
There were quite a few gods holding that thought. A great many, in fact.
Leo could tell with a moment's thought that the days ahead were probably going to be rough for Bell Cranel and Hestia Familia.
But he also knew this would at the same time become a trial for Bell Cranel and make him grow faster.
At the very least, this original protagonist, who should have become "the World's Fastest Rabbit," would absolutely be in no danger of losing his life.
There was nothing to be done about it. Behind him was a terrifying goddess watching over him.
That goddess might sit back and let him suffer hardship, since that wasn't a bad thing and might even make Bell Cranel stronger and his soul more dazzling. But if Bell Cranel ever ran into true mortal danger, that goddess would most likely blow up on the spot, and she would shield Bell Cranel even if it meant making an enemy of the whole lower world.
For now, though, Bell Cranel's affairs had nothing to do with Loki Familia, and even less to do with Leo.
So Leo simply noted this original protagonist's entrance and then put the matter out of his mind.
He had his own things to do, and Loki Familia was in no mood to pay attention to a newbie adventurer who was a "genius" like their own Monster Rookie.
They were in their busiest stretch right now, needing to prepare for the next expedition and also to investigate certain hidden matters behind the scenes. Even Loki was out and gone every day, no telling doing what, so run off her feet she hardly even drank, which was a first for the ages.
Even so, Loki Familia went on doing its own work at its own pace, in good order.
And so the day of the expedition drew closer and closer.
The day before the expedition was to begin, Loki, who had finally turned up at home again, called Leo over.
"Your custom weapon's here. If you want it, get over here right now."
When the member who'd been sent to fetch him relayed Loki's words exactly as spoken, Leo's eyes lit up.
He put down the work in his hands without hesitation and headed for the God's Chamber on the top floor of the Central Tower as fast as he could.
"I'm here, Loki."
After a brief greeting, Leo pushed the door open and stepped into the God's Chamber, unable to wait any longer.
"Heheh, knew you'd come running, kid."
Loki was sitting on the bed looking travel-worn, cross-legged at that, without a shred of dignity, a bottle of liquor in her hand. She took big gulps from it and let out a long, deeply satisfied sigh.
"Yeah... a drink after a hard day's work is the best thing there is!"
...What are you, some office worker uncle?
Also, that's a bottle you're drinking, not a drink.
Leo held back the urge to comment and swallowed the words that had nearly come out.
"Where'd you go, anyway? Investigating that god I told you about?"
Leo could only change the subject and bring that up.
"You mean Dionysus?" Loki set the bottle down and narrowed her eyes. "Weren't you the one who said just keep an eye on him from the shadows, better not go making contact and spook him? So I haven't made any big moves yet, all right?"
"Question is, are you really sure there's something off about Dionysus?" Loki said, dubious. "Sure, the guy's secretive, and he keeps a tighter lid on information leaks than the other Familias, but with the size of Dionysus Familia, he couldn't pull off anything worth mentioning, could he?"
Dionysus Familia, like Hermes Familia, was the sort of Familia that took the control of its own information seriously, to the point that it felt like they took it a bit too seriously.
In terms of strength this Familia counted as middle tier within the Labyrinth City of Orario. It had several upper-class adventurers recognized as Lv.2, roughly on par with the strength Hermes Familia showed on the surface, but perhaps because they had never established any brilliant record in the Dungeon, the adventurers in this Familia were basically all of the inconspicuous type. In other words, they weren't famous.
Dionysus himself, though, was quite conspicuous among the gods, since he was handsome, mild in temperament, generous with his money, and especially good at pleasing people, so he was very popular with women. Quite a few male gods regarded him as a thorn in their side because of it and called him a pretty boy every chance they got.
Honestly, Loki's impression of Dionysus had been about the same before this. She'd taken him for a pretty boy who liked to chase girls, and at most thought the man was a little sly, hiding his own Familia's information that deep while constantly showing up all over the place to dig up information on other Familias. Utterly crafty, in other words. But to put it another way, that was as far as Dionysus went with her, and she couldn't imagine there being anything about him worth watching.
So ever since the day Leo said to pay special attention to this god, Loki had been holding on to her doubts.
Except...
"Sounds like that patron deity of Hestia Familia's been getting a fair bit of attention lately. You're pretty close with her, right?"
Leo answered with a question instead, and Loki's face fell.
"Huh? Who? Who's close with that poor-god shorty?" Loki's reaction was enormous, like a nerve had been struck, her voice climbing as she hollered. "I'd love nothing better than to rip that little-girl goddess's chest right off, and you're telling me I'm close with her? What jerk started that rumor?"
"Is that so?" Leo said without batting an eye. "Anyway, what I heard was that every time you run into that goddess, things get pretty heated between you."
"You mean that literally, right?" Loki said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Well, that part's true. The two of us run into each other and we're definitely throwing hands. Heated or not doesn't matter, the point is one look at her and I'm burning up!"
Thinking about that poor-god shorty made Loki plenty angry too.
She knew Hestia had come down to the lower world not long ago, and she'd also heard the goddess had freeloaded off her friend Hephaestus for a while, living off her as a parasite, until the Goddess of the Forge couldn't stand it anymore and threw her out, forcing her to found a Familia just to make a living. She was scraping by in the most miserable way.
Never mind having only one member in the Familia, even her base was the basement of an abandoned church. The whole Familia was flat broke and starving, and if they weren't at least dressed like human beings, they could probably have renamed the Familia the Beggars' Guild.
Loki and Hestia had known each other back in Heaven, but you couldn't call their relationship bad, exactly. You could only call it fire and water.
The reason was actually simple...
Loki was striking and dashing, tall and slender, and her looks did full justice to the name of goddess, but her front was unusually disappointing. One look and you'd know her house had to be rich or noble, otherwise there'd be no explaining a chest as flat as an airfield...
Hestia, on the other hand, was short, and unusually childish and shabby besides, yet the presence of one particular part of her was abnormally strong, so magnificent that even most of the full-figured older-sister-type goddesses could only marvel at it...
The two of them were complete opposites, in figure and in personality alike.
With things like that, how could their relationship be any good?
Of course, there was no deep grudge between them either. They just found each other insufferable, or in modern terms, they were used to loving and warring with each other. Run into each other and if they didn't squabble a few rounds, neither could sleep peacefully that night.
Thanks to that, once Loki learned that little shorty had come to the lower world and was scraping by so pitifully, she hadn't missed many chances to mock her, in private or in public.
Who'd have thought the woman would get such dumb luck that the one and only Familia member she took in turned out to be a growth stock.
"The World's Fastest Twin Stars"?
Her own proudest child, and now he was ranked alongside that shorty's kid?
What right did she have?!
"Hey, no, we were talking about Dionysus, so what are you bringing that shorty up for?" Loki's eyes on Leo turned wary, then downright dangerous, and she said darkly, "Don't tell me you got drawn in by that shorty's indecent figure and you're planning to jump ship?"
A chill ran down Leo's neck, and he had the distinct feeling that one wrong word would get him pounced on by a jealousy-inflamed goddess who'd bite his throat out.
"Let me warn you, kid, I've been turning a blind eye to you getting so close with Ais-tan real reluctantly, and if you dare love her and leave her, I really will curse you."
Loki said this in a low voice, and from the look on her face, anyone could tell she meant it.
"Where'd you get that from?" Leo's mouth twitched, and he said, at a loss, "How could I possibly jump ship? Never mind Ais being here, the captain and Riveria are my teachers in close combat and in Magic respectively, and on top of that my friends and companions are all in this Familia, and you protect me the way you do. Even if I were the most ungrateful wretch alive, I still wouldn't be thinking about jumping ship, would I?"
The children of the lower world couldn't lie in front of a god, because they'd be seen through immediately.
So whether Leo's words were true or false, Loki could tell with a single look all the same.
Seeing that this was no lie, Loki's expression cleared right up, though she still asked, a bit puzzled.
"Then why'd you bring that shorty up?"
Leo paused, then said this.
"I hear that goddess and Dionysus have had a close relationship since their days in Heaven. Neighbors, apparently." Leo looked at Loki and said, very seriously, "My suggestion is that you go ask that archenemy of yours what kind of god Dionysus was back in Heaven."
"By then, you should more or less understand why I'm telling you to keep an eye on that god."
At those words, Loki's brow furrowed hard enough to crush a fly.
"Go ask that shorty for information?"
She looked thoroughly unwilling.
But from Leo's manner, Loki could tell this was an important matter.
So unwilling as she was, Loki pulled a long face and agreed anyway.
"Fine, if you're going to put it like that, kid, I'll go pay that shorty a visit. Eh, I'll just treat it as a chance to have some fun at her expense."
...Just don't end up the one being made fun of. Seriously.
Leo opened his mouth, then in the end didn't say it.
It wasn't that he was worried Loki would lose an argument to the goddess Hestia. It was more like... in this, Loki was at an inherent disadvantage!
You compare Familia size with her, she compares figures with you...
You compare how excellent your children are, she compares figures with you...
You compare wealth, she compares figures with you...
You compare renown, and she still compares figures with you...
And the end result is, if you don't crack, who will?
The defeat wasn't the fighter's fault!
Leo very much wanted to talk Loki out of it, but thinking about the relationship between Loki and the goddess Hestia, he figured that even if he did, Loki absolutely wouldn't take it to heart.
This goddess was certainly confident in herself and didn't think she could lose to some poor-god shorty, but, well... the one left with blood and tears is usually still you, Loki.
Still, Loki and Hestia loved and warred with each other. They squabbled whenever they met, but as for actually being hostile toward each other, that wasn't really the case.
At the very least, compared to a certain lust-struck goddess she couldn't stand, Loki definitely liked this Poverty Goddess better.
At that thought, Leo didn't try to dissuade her.
Let her do as she liked. It was nothing more than cracking a little, and as long as the goal was achieved, that was fine.
"Didn't you say my custom weapon arrived? Where is it?"
Leo got to the point and looked around the God's Chamber.
He soon noticed something, and his gaze stopped there and didn't move again.
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