Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"What...what are you saying?!"

"I think his life is probably over too..."

"Yes, since there's no hope of getting together, I might as well do it myself... *sigh*."

"You bastards...!"

No creature is more capricious than God.

Kengo Rai, who had been so pleased with himself, was furious and gritted his teeth.

"Alright, I'll be the one to send this little guy on his final journey! [Future Galaxy]!"

"Little Life, you are indeed a good girl. Blame your god, [Last Heroine]."

"Hey, that's enough! Stop it! My life... I raised it from the bottom of my heart!"

"【Lava】."

"That's awesome!"

"Stop bullying him."

Since its inception, this moment has been the most exciting of all the Gods' Assembly.

Hestia and Hephaestus offered their opinions several times, but no one paid them any attention.

"Then, my title... shall be [Shadowless]."

"No objection."

"Wa ...

Seeing her straightforward friend sobbing with his head in his hands, Hestia could only feel sympathy. She secretly decided that she must treat him to a drink that night.

Even after the male god (man) with the reputation of being a war god shed his blood and tears, the victims continued to appear one after another.

The hellish scene lasted for a while, and the stories of the smaller and medium-sized [familias] were almost finished. Next, the high-ranking [familias] of the city took the stage.

Following the Hephaestus Familia are the Ganesha Familia and the Ishtar Familia; the names of the members of these renowned Familias are listed one by one.

"...Freya, it seems none of your kids have leveled up this term. Are you too free? Coming to an event like this for no reason is quite unlike the famous Freya, isn't it?"

"Yes. Just like back in the heavens, boredom is like poison; it can kill us. That's why I couldn't resist coming here, Ishtar."

Any god who has ever participated in the Council of Gods has the right to participate in the council in the future.

If no members of the [Family] have [leveled up], attending the meeting is actually not very meaningful, but many gods are too idle to bother with it. Those gods who took the lead in giving people nicknames are the best examples.

When Ishtar, the "Goddess of Beauty," subtly made sarcastic remarks, Freya, who was also a goddess of beauty, smiled calmly at her.

"Oh, really? Speaking of boredom, your kids over there must have a lot of free time. I heard some of them stay in the middle level, fighting with the Minotaur every day? Do all kids (parents) resemble gods?"

"Hehe, maybe so."

"Oh, right, I heard a Minotaur has escaped to the upper levels... Freya, could it be that you're behind this? If so, I wonder what the guild will say?"

"Speaking of which, listen to me, Ishtar. I heard that my retinue (children) were playing happily with the Minotaur when they were suddenly attacked by a group of masked Amazons. As a result, the Minotaur lost control and escaped in the chaos... Honestly, don't you think those people were incredibly ill-mannered? I really want to see what their gods (parents) are like..."

"...!"

Ishtar, with her wheat-colored skin covered in provocative and sexy clothing, had a severely distorted expression; as for Freya, she chuckled softly and closed her eyes, as if to say that the topic was over.

The truth behind this event, which adventurers are now discussing heatedly in the streets and alleys, will now be forever lost to history. At least, that's what the gods present believe.

The surrounding gods chuckled as they watched the two goddesses of unparalleled beauty converse.

(She said she was from the Amazons, so it's Ishtar causing trouble for Freya again?)

(Who knows? But it's probably pretty close. After all, Ishtar has been seeing Freya as a thorn in her side for a long time.)

(And Freya ignored it, right? ...But it seems a bit pointless for beauties like them to compete for attention.)

(Go tell Ishtar.)

Hestia whispered to Hephaestus while keeping her eyes on Freya.

Because the Minotaur incident affected Bell, it also had a direct connection to Hestia… However, neither Freya nor Ishtar could be entirely trusted, so she refrained from pressing further. Hestia disliked suspecting others without evidence.

Although the smiling goddess in her field of vision bothered her greatly, she decided to stop speculating.

"Alright, alright, that's enough of the entertainment. Let's get back to the main topic—. The next adventurer is... hee hee, everyone's favorite, my Ais!"

"Fiora is here!"

"The little princess is still as beautiful and charming as ever."

"She's already at level 6..."

The appearance of the name Ais Wallenstein reignited the atmosphere of the naming ceremony, which had almost gone off-topic.

The gods opened the documents and saw a portrait drawn on parchment. A young girl, with an expression like that of a delicate doll, was facing directly forward.

The aliases given to people in the lower realms can be changed each time they "level up." In other words, even if someone is given a ridiculous name, as long as they think of a way before the next assembly of gods, they have a chance to wash away the stain, just as the name suggests.

"Will the title 'Ais's Little Sister' remain unchanged?"

"yes."

"If we're going to change it, how about [Sword Saint]?"

"Huh—?"

"This is quite different from the impression Ais gives off."

"However, the final candidate, needless to say, is of course [our wives]."

That's right!

"Do you want to die?"

"We were wrong!"

Another way to avoid being given a shameful title is to expand the power of your [Family].

In short, all you need to do is make the other gods think, "They won't dare to mess with that [familia]." Because no god would knowingly act as a suicide squad knowing they might face retaliation.

Under Loki's fierce glare, those gods who had been so smug immediately pressed their foreheads to the table and solemnly apologized.

"Honestly, they don't even know their own limitations. Okay, whatever, let's continue... Hmm, only one left."

Hestia took a deep breath.

There's only one sheet of information left. Because this adventurer was added in a last-minute update just before the Gathering of Gods, there's only the most basic relevant information.

They belong to the Hestia Familia, which was relatively unknown not long ago.

It's Bell.

"You really leveled up to Lv.2, that kid over there..."

Hephaestus narrowed her eyes upon seeing the guild seal acknowledging the upgrade on the parchment.

Hestia listened absentmindedly to her best friend's murmurs, her gaze sweeping around her.

Everywhere I looked, there were smiling faces. Those smiles were like those of someone who had just finished a lavish full-course meal and was about to be served a long-awaited dessert—they looked both greedy and sleazy.

Hestia told herself that this was the first and last crucial moment.

Since I've already said that to Bell, even though I haven't prepared any effective countermeasures, I can only tell myself, "We'll rely on our love and courage...!" I mustered my courage—but then, in the next moment...

Loki quietly stood up from his seat.

"...Loki?"

"Explain yourself before deciding on an alias, you little dwarf."

Ignoring the reactions around her, she spoke with a sharp tongue, contrary to her usual behavior, and quickly opened her narrow eyes.

"How did our 'favor' elevate to a higher level in just a month and a half?"

bump!

Loki slammed his hand heavily on Bell's file on the table, glaring aggressively at the dumbfounded Hestia.

"It took my Ais a whole year to level up for the first time, a full year! And this kid only took a month? You're talking nonsense."

Eight years ago.

The memory of that eight-year-old girl who reached Lv.2 at an abnormally rapid pace remains vivid to this day. Moreover, that little girl was a human, whose physical abilities and intelligence were far inferior to those of other races.

This great achievement, equivalent to the fastest speed ever to reach Level 2, shocked not only Orario but the entire world.

"Our 'favor' is not this kind of thing. If we could completely change every child's character in about a month, how easy would that be? It's precisely because it's impossible that everyone is working so hard."

"God's grace" is not an impromptu power, Loki said.

[Ability Value] is merely an opportunity. It uncovers potential that the individual might never have had the chance to discover in their entire life and concretizes it into a definite ability.

Abilities, skills, magic. These are all hidden weapons within a person, or "aptitude." It is transformed, evolved, or decayed and changed through various accumulated experiences—"experience points." Like a seed buried in the soil, it will bloom into different flowers depending on the environment.

Therefore, what God provides is merely a catalyst.

"God's grace" is not an all-powerful force from the outside. If you are not afraid of being misunderstood, you can call it the ultimate key to self-realization.

"Hey, shorty, explain yourself."

"..."

Under Loki's threat, Hestia secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

This is bad, this is really bad, she thought:

Once Bell's skill [Unwavering Desire] is revealed, the scene will immediately resemble a festival—in fact, it's precisely because she fears things will turn out that she hasn't let Bell know about [Unwavering Desire] engraved in her [Ability Values] on her back—and given her record for the fastest speed, perhaps all the gods present will be vying to see Bell.

Perhaps she should say that she had an obligation to keep it a secret. But doing so would be tantamount to admitting that Bell did indeed have something going on. The best way was to find an excuse to get Loki to accept it, but she couldn't think of one on the spot.

Hestia couldn't help but imagine herself trapped in the antlion hell, waving her arms in an attempt to break free.

"Speechless? You didn't use the power of God (us), did you?"

"How could I possibly do that!"

"Then tell us. If you haven't done anything wrong, what's there to be afraid to say?"

“Ugh…”

Hestia is suspected by Loki of using the forbidden "Arcanum" to "modify" Bell's body. She loudly refutes the accusation, but Loki cleverly tricks her into revealing information, forcing her to answer.

Hephaestus, sitting beside her, seemed unable to speak up for her either, looking quite troubled.

Now, all eyes at the round table were fixed on Hestia. Seeing the gods' keen interest and unwillingness to miss a single word, she was already drenched in sweat.

Everything seemed to have come to an end, just as Hestia was about to give up hope, in the next instant.

"Oh, what's the big deal?"

A beautiful soprano voice filled the surroundings.

“…Huh?”

"What did you say?"

All eyes that had been focused on Hestia immediately turned to the God of Voice.

Freya, who had settled deeply into her chair, remained unmoved and continued nonchalantly:

"Since Hestia says there's no violation, there's no need to force her to say anything, right? We agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of other Familias, especially the members' stats, which are the biggest taboo."

She brushed a strand of silver hair behind her ear.

Freya, in a tone that sounded like she was merely stating facts and not particularly interested, stopped Loki from pursuing the matter further.

"...Only a month? Do you even understand the significance of this number, you infatuated goddess?"

"Heh, why are you so stubborn, Loki? I find your attitude more puzzling... Could it be jealousy? Because Hestia's child has surpassed your record as the apple of your eye?"

"No, that's not true at all."

Despite Loki's displeased tone, Freya maintained her smile even after asking "Really?"

Loki, glaring at her, was about to speak, but stopped at the last moment. She saw Freya's smile and knew she would be tricked into revealing information, just like Hestia had been, and then have nothing to say.

After clicking his tongue, Loki stared at his old friend with a look of suspicion.

"Indeed, just hearing the numbers makes one doubt their own hearing... But didn't this child overturn the differences in levels and miraculously defeat the Minotaur?"

"..."