A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ Hestia went crimson.
“Nolan, how am I ranked ninth?” She refused to believe it.
Why would she be ninth?
That made no sense.
She had the looks.
She had the drive.
How could she be ranked that low?
“Because the first heroine isn’t you.” “In the main story timeline, the first heroine is Ais Wallenstein of the Loki Familia.” “In another timeline, the first heroine position belongs to Ryuu Lion of the Astraea Familia.” “If we’re only counting goddesses who receive genuine affection near the front…” “You rank third.” “First is Freya.” “Second is Artemis, the moon goddess.” “Only then do you come in third.” The moment he said that, Hephaestus laughed even harder.
“Hahaha.” She was going to die laughing.
She had lost an otherworlder, but the drama alone had made up for it.
This was far too entertaining.
“And even that position only barely happens with Hephaestus and Miach giving a lot of patient advice.” Nolan folded his arms and delivered the answer.
“Oh?
So I helped with that too.
That does sound like me.” Hephaestus had not expected to be involved, but after thinking about it, a romance between a person and a god was exactly the kind of thing she would help with, especially when it involved an old friend.
Miach was also one of Hestia’s divine friends.
With everyone talking things through, of course they would try to guide her through that problem.
Even with that help, she only reached ninth.
A dangerously fragile victory.
“Uuu…
why am I so pitiful?” Hestia felt herself going numb.
She was the first heroine to appear, and she still could not hold the first heroine position.
For a goddess, that was humiliating.
“You must be lying to me.” Hestia refused to give up.
As the first heroine, how could she lose in a place like this?
Wasn’t that basically calling her the losing girl?
“You get a god-made hero.
What more do you want?” “If you can’t keep the heroine position, then you can’t keep it.” Hephaestus could only try to console her friend.
Finding a hero like that was already a massive win.
Wanting to keep the number one heroine spot on top of that was getting greedy.
And greed that went too far was never a good thing.
“That’s enough.” “Now you need to answer Nolan’s question.
If you choose him, you really might lose your chance at that hero.” Hephaestus nudged Hestia with her elbow, making her face the choice properly.
She understood what such a hero meant.
That person was most likely a hero cultivated by a certain chief god.
If he had come to Orario, he probably had a designated destination.
His origin had to involve someone she knew.
A name flashed through Hephaestus’s mind.
If anyone had the time to raise a true hero, it would be that old man, or that old woman.
A designated destination meant his contact with Hestia should have been part of a reasonable path, or perhaps someone had guided him there on purpose.
If Hestia made a contract with this otherworlder, she truly might lose that hero.
“Uu.” Hestia looked torn.
She did not know why she felt that hero had something to do with her, but there was already an otherworlder standing in front of her, one who had come to her of his own accord and possessed a special ability.
“This is so hard.” Then Hestia thought of something.
“Um, can I ask whether that god-made hero is already in the city?” She wanted to know if the person who sounded so much like a god-made hero was already in Orario.
“He is.” “Right now, he’s probably going around to different Familias and taking their entrance tests.” Nolan calculated the timing.
Given that Hestia was still freeloading here, Bell Cranel, the original protagonist, was most likely trying to join a Familia at exactly this point.
“Ah.” Hestia heard that the hero was already taking trials with other Familias.
In other words, he was here, and she might be the last one in line.
“Then I’ll choose you.” After thinking it through, Hestia said what she had decided.
A god-made hero naturally stirred a god’s heart.
But the person in front of her was not a hero.
He had come looking for her himself.
If she took special information from this otherworlder and then chose the hero instead, even she would feel too sly.
It was a choice between two.
If she chose the otherworlder, she could not choose the god-made hero.
If she chose that hero, Hestia would not be able to live with herself.
“You don’t want him?” “That’s Argo’s reincarnation, the hero you’ve always cared about.” Nolan still understood her character.
Argo’s reincarnation.
In every life, a goddess would watch over him.
Many goddesses had their eyes on that hero’s reincarnation, and Hestia was one of them.
One reason she had come down to the Lower World was because she had sensed that Argo’s soul had been reborn.
“Uu.” “Don’t say any more.” “If you keep talking, I won’t be able to hold out.” Hestia was already painfully tempted.
This was the legendary Argo.
One of the reasons she had descended was to wait for him.
“Quick, quick, quick.
Let’s make the contract.” Hestia really could not endure that temptation much longer.
She had to drag Nolan into the contract as fast as possible, or her resolve might start wavering.
After hearing that the hero was Argo’s reincarnation, Hephaestus was also moved.
“Nolan, what’s the god-made hero’s real name?” Hephaestus had a new idea.
She could not get this otherworlder.
But if that hero was still available, she would not be polite about taking him.
After all, he was taking Familia entrance tests.
That meant he was a newcomer.
With a little guidance, she could bring that hero into her Familia in no time.
For her Familia’s growth, that would be a tremendous boost.
Nolan was about to tell her.
“No.” Hestia bristled first.
“Information this important has to be paid for.” She might not get the hero, but she had to sell the information for a good price.
News about a god-made hero, especially one who was the reincarnation of the legendary Argo, was absolutely worth money.
“Hey, hey, Hestia.
That’s a little much.” Hephaestus thought Hestia was being petty when she saw her bristle.
Then she realized what was really happening.
“Ah.
I see.
You just started building a Familia, so you need starting funds.” “Fine.
As long as the information is true, I’ll pay.” Hephaestus understood that if she did not spend some money to buy this information, her friend would definitely refuse to give it up.
Developing a Familia required money.
There was no avoiding that part.
Hestia quietly let out a breath of relief.
“Then, Nolan, let’s make the contract.”
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.