Chapter 206: The Boy Who Admired 'Heroes'!
After handling Ais's personal matter, Luke discussed weapon and equipment procurement with God Goibniu.
Since it involved the entire familia's needs, both quantity and variety were substantial, so their discussion took quite a long time.
...
"It's already noon, let's find somewhere to eat."
Having successfully 'harassed' the smiths, Tiona walked down the street and said to Luke and Ais beside her cheerfully:
"Loki said there's a party tonight, so why don't we just grab something light for lunch?"
"Mm... fine by me." Ais nodded.
What to eat didn't matter much to her; as adventurers, they'd eaten pretty much everything in the dungeon.
To replenish strength, they can even swallow any unpalatable things. Living this way for years, adventurers generally weren't picky about ordinary food.
Luke was the same in this regard, so he also nodded in agreement with Tiona's suggestion.
However, just as the three were about to find a place to fill their stomachs, he noticed a certain gaze.
'No malice, but this feeling... a god?'
Sensing the gaze fixed on him, Luke quickly surveyed his surroundings.
Then, without any effort, he found a certain black-haired twin-tailed goddess hiding around a corner.
...
"Hmm... just looking like this, I can't find anything wrong..."
Hestia was secretly watching the boy from the corner.
Ever since Bell returned yesterday, Hestia had been restless.
'Hero Admirer'
* Rapid growth
* Effect maintained based on admiration
* The deeper the admiration, the stronger the effect
For Hestia, Bell, who joined her familia, was her first and only recipient of Falna.
Compared to gods like Loki who had lived in the lower world for many years, Hestia knew very little.
She knew nothing of the advanced knowledge like what methods more easily increased ability values, or what rules governed the manifestation of magic and skills.
But even being this 'ignorant', Hestia knew Bell's growth last night was definitely something abnormal.
It wasn't just growth, but a 'leap'.
"Damn, should I try to strike up a conversation... but they're members of Loki Familia... Huh? Where did they go?"
Hestia had been lost in thought about Bell for a moment, and when she came back to her senses, Luke and his group had disappeared from her sight.
"Were you looking for me?"
The sudden voice from behind startled Hestia greatly.
She froze in place and turned around with extremely slow movements.
After discovering the goddess observing him was Hestia, Luke had exchanged words with Ais and Tiona.
After agreeing on a meeting place for later, Luke went directly behind Hestia.
Looking at the goddess with emotions written on her face before him, Luke immediately guessed why she was following him.
"You're Goddess Hestia, right? Loki mentions you often."
"Since you're following me like this, do you have something you need me to relay to Loki?"
This was merely pleasantry, of course.
Loki did mention Hestia often, but usually not in a positive light.
After all, for females, especially flat-chested ones like Loki, Hestia's magnificent pair of breasts were truly hate-inducing.
"Ah haha, hahaha, y-yes, I'm Hestia, um... that... p-please give Loki my regards."
Being caught stalking someone made Hestia extremely embarrassed.
She laughed dryly, seemingly hoping to use Luke's pleasantry as a way to save face.
However, Luke clearly wasn't planning to give her this opportunity.
With a slight smile, Luke said to the black-haired goddess: "If Bell knew his respected goddess was skilled at lying to others, wouldn't he be disappointed?"
Poof—!
These words pierced through Hestia's body like a sword.
However, Luke hadn't finished speaking.
"With Bell's personality, knowing that his beloved goddess lies to others would probably be quite a shock."
"Perhaps he might even become completely discouraged because of it?"
"Or maybe become disillusioned and choose to leave the familia to join another god's familia?"
Poof, poof, poof—!
"Ugh..."
These words turned into virtual swords stabbing into Hestia's heart one after another.
Looking at the ashen-faced goddess sprawled on the ground, Luke smiled and said to her:
"Now goddess Hestia, can you please tell why you were following me?"
...
"D-devil..."
Hestia glared at the boy angrily.
Having finally broken free from the desperate imagination of Bell leaving her familia, she immediately labeled Luke as a demon and devil.
Regardless, Hestia had no intention of telling Luke about Bell acquiring such a unique skill.
This wasn't revenge for his earlier behavior, but what Hestia had decided from the start.
Just like the choice Loki made when she first saw Luke and Ais's skills.
The only difference was, she wasn't just concealing it from others; Hestia was even hesitant about whether to tell Bell or not.
After all, having seen the skill's description, Hestia knew that while powerful, the skill effect Bell acquired might not be permanent.
Humans are changeable creatures, and skills that fluctuate with emotions cannot be considered reliable.
Maybe some minor incident could cause Bell's mindset to change, making the skill lose its effect.
Temporary confidence and temporary strength can lead to arrogance.
And relying on unreliable power would have severe consequences when it's lost.
Although Hestia believed Bell wasn't the type to rely on external things, worry was inevitable afterall.
When placing trust and worry on the scales of her heart, Hestia always found herself leaning toward the latter.
So, she concealed the skill, not just from others but even from Bell himself.
As for secretly following Luke today, that was because Hestia wanted to confirm what kind of person had brought about this change in Bell.
After all, this concerned the future of her only familia member, and she couldn't be careless.
If the person Bell admired was essentially villainous, then even if it meant losing this skill, Hestia would absolutely crush his admiration.
"You saved Bell in the dungeon yesterday, right? I came to thank you."
This time Hestia wasn't lying; she was truly grateful to Luke for saving Bell's life.
This reason was perfectly reasonable, and anyone else would not delve into it further.
Unfortunately, Luke already knew about the possibility of Bell acquiring a unique skill.
With this information inequality, Hestia's current attitude had essentially given him the answer.
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