"I went to find her last time to borrow some money... ah no, I mean to chat with her, but I couldn't even get through the door. I was stopped by a wooden sign!"
"It said something about being in seclusion and not seeing anyone!"
"I've moved from there to Heimer's place for several days now and haven't gone back. Could it be that she still hasn't come out and realized I'm not living there anymore?"
"In the past, if I didn't go back for two days, she would have sent you guys all over the streets to find me!"
Hestia had a look of dissatisfaction.
After all.
As a long-time divine friend of Hephaestus.
She knew that although Hephaestus was famously obsessed with forging, she was very loyal to her friends and loved to worry about them.
Therefore, no matter how busy Hephaestus usually was, as long as she went there to throw a tantrum.
Hephaestus would always come out for a meeting and scold her a few times while she was at it.
This time, she couldn't even see a shadow of her, and it seemed like there was no reaction at all even though she had moved house.
This made Hestia feel a tiny bit lost.
"Well..."
Hearing Hestia's question.
Tsubaki's expression became a bit strange.
"As for Lady Hephaestus..."
"It's a long story. Her current state, how should I put it..."
"It's like she's possessed."
"Ever since that day when Lady Hephaestus and Lord Heimdall finished their private chat in the workshop and she told me to handle Lord Heimdall's matters properly."
"Lady Hephaestus turned around and locked herself in that exclusive forging room where she never lets us enter."
"Except for occasionally having people send in some top-quality materials, she sees no one. Even her meals are left at the door."
"When I went back last night, I also heard the sound of hammering coming from inside through the walls."
"Truly day and night!"
"I don't know what Lady Hephaestus is forging in there to be so obsessed!"
"Looking at this posture..."
"I suspect she hasn't even eaten much of the food sent over these past few days!"
"I don't know if she'll even make it to the Denatus in a few days."
...
However.
Despite this little interlude.
As for the Denatus.
It's just a gathering of the gods once every three months; it's fine even if she doesn't go.
At least that's what Tsubaki thought. She picked up her wine glass, took a large gulp of fruit wine, exhaled comfortably, and didn't dwell on it for long.
Instead, she looked around at the table full of meat and fish, and those crates of obviously expensive fruit wine.
Then she looked at the room full of girls who looked a bit tired but were extremely high-spirited.
She asked somewhat curiously.
"By the way."
"This setup tonight."
"Are you eating so well tonight to celebrate something?"
"Although I know you've made quite a stir in the Dungeon these past few days, it shouldn't be this extravagant, right?"
"Just the cost of this meal alone is probably enough for an ordinary Adventurer to eat for a long time."
"Hehe."
Hearing this question.
Hanasaka Warabi, who was battling a large piece of meat on the bone, was the first who couldn't help herself. She looked up triumphantly, sauce on her face, and puffed out her chest.
That "ask me quickly, praise me quickly" expression couldn't be hidden at all.
"Of course, it's to celebrate our level up!"
"Level up?"
Tsubaki's movements paused, not quite reacting.
"What level up?"
"Lv.2!"
Hanasaka Warabi grinned, showing her pearly white canine teeth, and pointed at herself proudly, then at Rin and the others next to her.
"Just now, Lord Heimdall updated the status for all of us!"
"Me! Rin! Mary! Satori! Tsukuyo!"
"We are all already Lv.2 now!"
"Even the Kyoujin, that guy's status has increased by a huge margin!"
"..."
"..."
The air suddenly went quiet.
The originally noisy living room seemed to have been pressed with a mute button at this instant.
The smile on Tsubaki's face froze.
Her single eye slowly widened, and her pupils contracted sharply, as if she had heard some kind of fairy tale.
Even Ryu, who had been silently eating in the corner and trying to minimize her presence, suddenly looked up at this moment.
Those sky-blue eyes were filled with unbelievable shock, and the fork in her hand fell onto the plate with a "clang."
"What... did you say?"
"Lv... 2?"
"All of you?"
"That's right!"
"The real deal!"
"Is there a problem?"
Hanasaka Warabi was very satisfied with Tsubaki's shocked reaction and nodded heavily.
But.
"Is there a problem?!"
"There's a huge problem, okay!"
"How many days has it been since you became Adventurers?!"
Tsubaki felt like her brain was a bit overwhelmed.
"Let me think..."
"You just arrived in Orario... at most, it's only been two or three days, right?"
"The first time you went into the Dungeon... was that time I led you."
"At that time, you had just received your Falna and were definitely Lv.1 rookies."
"And then..."
Tsubaki suddenly turned to look at Heimer, her eyes filled with horror.
"Three days?"
"Or two days?"
"How is this possible?!"
Even though she was well-traveled and a Lv.5 First Class Adventurer, Tsubaki felt her worldview being shaken at this moment.
In the history of Orario.
This was a record that had never existed before!
Ais Wallenstein, known as the Sword Princess and the genius girl of the Loki Familia, took about a year to go from Lv.1 to Lv.2, right?
One year!
That was already hailed by everyone as a genius who broke historical records!
Praised by countless people and a favorite topic of the gods.
But now.
Now, right before her eyes.
This group of delicate-looking young girls.
Two days?
Three days?
They were actually all Lv.2?!
What kind of concept was this?
This was practically taking the word 'common sense,' rubbing it against the ground repeatedly, and then stomping on it with ten thousand feet!
Moreover, although she did have a premonition that this group of little monsters would level up quickly when she was leading the team in the Dungeon earlier.
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