A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ Hephaestus’s offer would have tempted any adventurer.
For an entire Familia trying to grow, it was almost impossible to ignore.
No shortage of supplies.
No lack of weapons.
No struggle for a foundation.
“Hestia.” “She’s lazy.
She holes up at home.
She isn’t exactly reliable when something needs to be done.” “Her personality as a goddess is obvious enough.
She throws little tantrums, and she has a habit of forcing her own strange logic onto people.” “As for her type, she isn’t that different from other gods.
She has a thing for handsome, boyish men.
Someone like me isn’t her type.” Nolan counted off every trait Hestia had that should have been a disadvantage for him.
In many people’s eyes, Hestia was useless.
And honestly, she really could be.
If you did not have that boyish charm, congratulations.
You were not her type.
Hestia felt as if several swords had gone straight through her heart.
Hearing her flaws spoken out loud was almost enough to make her want to vanish on the spot.
“She has plenty of flaws.” “But at least she can give an ordinary person like me sincere warmth and acceptance.” That last sentence was the truth.
After that, Nolan did not try to soften it.
“If I might be trapped in this world forever, and I didn’t have this ability…” “Would you take in someone like me?
Someone ordinary, with no special power at all, and let me join your Familia?” It was a blunt question.
If he did not have the World Gate, would a god invite him without hesitation?
Plenty of people imagined that if they crossed into the world of DanMachi, they would join the Loki Familia.
Even if that failed, they would aim for the Ganesha Familia, the Hephaestus Familia, or some other established power.
Almost no one would choose Hestia.
Reality was not that kind.
If you were ordinary in your old world, arriving in this one might hand you an extraordinary advantage, but it would not erase the fact that you had lived an ordinary life before.
Nolan was an adult.
He did not think of himself as a one-in-a-million genius, much less one in ten million.
He was just someone who had grown up normally.
Without that advantage, would a major Familia that had already built itself into a serious organization really accept an ordinary person like him?
“No.” Hephaestus answered honestly.
She would not take in Nolan if he had no talent and was nothing more than an ordinary man.
Once she said it out loud, Hephaestus understood why this otherworlder had chosen Hestia so directly, without even considering her.
That was the difference.
She could not burden the children of her Familia by taking in someone with no talent.
That would be irresponsible.
“Then if Hestia had already built up her Familia, would you still choose her?” Hephaestus still did not want to lose.
At the very least, she could change the shape of the question.
“I would.” Nolan nodded.
“If she could accept someone ordinary like me, then joining her Familia would at least give me the bare minimum chance to stay alive.” “After surviving, I could think about everything else.” Hephaestus considered his answer.
If he were an otherworlder with no power at all, Hestia really might take him in.
For someone trying to survive, that kind of acceptance would be more than enough.
It was a difficult answer to attack.
Sometimes, a god’s kindness and sincerity really were a finishing move.
“I really lost to you.” Hephaestus understood that she had lost completely.
She could not treat him with Hestia’s kind of warmth.
At most, she could face him calmly and speak to him as an elder.
She understood that this otherworlder had most likely come from a peaceful society, not a world shaped by war.
“Uuu…” Hestia was already crying hard enough to shake.
This otherworlder was being too good to her.
“We’ll make the contract right now.” Just thinking about taking in such a wonderful child made her feel as if she might wake up laughing from a dream.
“Wait.” Nolan was not the kind of person who liked hiding things.
If he was going to join Hestia’s Familia, there were some things he would say clearly.
“Hestia.” “If you make a contract with me, you might lose the chance to take in a god-made hero from this world.
Are you willing to accept that price?” Nolan chose to explain that first.
If he joined her, he would probably have to work with this goddess in the future.
Some truths would be impossible to keep from her forever, and she might eventually think her way to the real answer.
If he was going to be sincere, he would not hide behind half-truths.
Since they had come this far, she deserved to know where he came from and why he knew her.
“A god-made hero.” Hephaestus had not expected that term.
But she knew what it meant.
She had not expected to hear those words again.
God-made heroes belonged to ages so old that most people barely remembered them.
“In my world, the events of this world spread through novels, manga, and anime.
Think of them as stories carried by a different kind of bard.” “In that story, you are an important heroine.” “Your true first child in your Familia is a god-made hero.” The topic was direct.
Hestia, who had been overflowing with excitement a moment ago, froze under the sudden information.
But she caught the most important part.
“Heroine.” “You said I’m a heroine.” “Ohohoho.
I never thought I, Hestia, would get to be a heroine.” Hestia liked that idea very much.
Heh.
A heroine.
It was her first time being one.
Usually, she was only a supporting character in stories.
“Uh.” Nolan had not expected Hestia’s thoughts to veer in that direction.
Still, he had to clarify.
“Let me say this first.” “You’re the first heroine to appear, but in the ranking…” Nolan began counting on his fingers.
The moment he did, the bright smile on Hestia’s face stiffened.
What did he mean by the first heroine to appear?
Why did he need to count positions now?
After silently checking the number in his head, Nolan gave her the answer.
“On the heroine list, you’re roughly ninth.” Boom.
Hestia felt as if she had taken a crushing blow.
What did he mean, first to appear but ranked ninth?
What kind of nonsense was that?
“Hahahahaha.” Hephaestus, who had been depressed a moment earlier, finally lost control and burst out laughing.
She had not expected anything like this.
The first child of Hestia’s Familia being a god-made hero did sound like a proper legend.
But her dear friend being the first heroine to appear and still ranking ninth?
That was enough to make even a goddess laugh.
“Hestia, you’re ninth?
That’s too good.” Hephaestus laughed without restraint.
She felt as if she had gained a joke that would last her entire life.
Heh.
The ninth heroine.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.