Early the next morning.
In the former Apollo Familia mansion — now called Hearth Mansion — two young women appeared.
This familiar residence where they had lived for so long gave them a strange sense of both familiarity and unfamiliarity.
Looking around, while the exterior remained largely unchanged, the interior had been transformed. Most notably, Apollo's numerous perverse statues were gone, along with all his tasteless decorations.
"Well then, can someone explain what's going on? I hope you haven't kidnapped us just to cause more trouble for the Apollo Familia."
Daphne questioned Adam and the others.
Though these enemies had destroyed her Familia, she felt no anger or resentment — rather, a certain degree of gratitude.
However, that wasn't enough reason to forgive them for nearly blowing her up and kidnapping her and her friend without warning. She had been resting peacefully at an inn when she was suddenly knocked unconscious and brought here.
Cassandra trembled like a frightened rabbit, hiding behind her, too scared to speak.
Though they had been grateful for being rescued from their previous situation, if they had known this would happen, they should have left earlier.
Hearing Daphne's words, Adam noticed everyone looking at him, waiting for an explanation.
Earlier, the others had worried these two wouldn't agree, so they had suggested the bizarre idea of kidnapping them. Yet now somehow he had become the villain.
Well, might as well explain.
"Yes... then I'll get straight to the point." Adam paused for a moment, then extended his hand to the two, "Daphne, Cassandra, would you like to join our Familia?"
"Eh?" x2
Both women were surprised. They hadn't expected him to invite them to join his Familia.
They had been enemies just before — how had things suddenly turned to talk of becoming one big family?
Actually, these two were the most suitable candidates in Adam's mind.
Not only had they shown goodwill toward Bell and himself before, warning them about Apollo's perverted schemes, but Cassandra also possessed a special talent.
—The Woman Who Holds the Script! This was her title!
This timid girl, who relied on prophetic dreams, had accurately predicted the Apollo Familia's impending destruction and warned the Familia captain. Unfortunately, everyone thought her prophecy too absurd and dismissed her words.
Perhaps due to a curse, this timid girl's prophecies were never taken seriously.
But to everyone's surprise, in the end, her prophecy came true!
After the Apollo Familia disbanded, several Familias had inquired about Cassandra, hoping to recruit her rare talent. Adam shared their interest — how could he let such an ability slip away? Given that both women still had ties to the Apollo Familia mansion, inviting them to join seemed natural.
"You nearly killed Cassandra and me before, so why make such a strange offer now?"
"That's harsh. I sent you a message to leave, didn't I?"
Before the War Game, Adam had warned the two women to leave their Familia headquarters. Instead of fleeing, they'd hidden in the city sewers, where they were nearly crushed by collapsing walls.
Looking back, he could understand Daphne's hostility.
"How could we possibly leave?!" Daphne exclaimed, "That disgusting Hyakinthos would never allow it!"
"Ah... I hadn't considered that."
Of course — what commander would let their soldiers flee before battle?
"It doesn't matter." Daphne waved her hand dismissively, her anger fading.
"So, what's your answer?" Adam pressed, "Your abilities are exceptional. We'd be honored to have you both join our Familia."
"Hmm... Cassandra, what do you think?" Though tempted, Daphne turned to her friend.
"...I want to join."
The timid girl's soft words from behind Daphne brought smiles to everyone's faces.
In the Apollo Familia, Cassandra's talents had never been appreciated. Hearing that Adam valued her potential made this Familia feel like the right choice. Plus, she didn't want to leave the room she'd grown to love!
"Then... Lady Hestia?"
"Yes! I approve!"
Hestia's enthusiasm was no surprise. Adam had told her about the two women yesterday, and since they'd helped Bell before, she welcomed them into her Familia.
And so, through the Falna Conversion, the two women officially became members.
"Then the first recruitment is complete."
"First?"
"It's over already?!"
Both Daphne and Hestia stared in surprise.
Daphne wasn't foolish — she understood that the Hestia Familia was in a rapid development phase and recruiting new members was inevitable.
Moreover, with the powerful Adam in their ranks and their status as an emerging power in Orario, they wouldn't be bullied by other Familias. This was precisely why she felt inclined to join.
While Hestia knew this recruitment would be modest, she hadn't expected just two people.
This was difficult for her to accept. If they only recruited two new members at a time, how would they ever grow into one of Orario's top Familias?
How would they ever be able to challenge the Loki Familia or stand up to the Freya Familia?
"Choosing the Elite — didn't I tell you before? This is our Familia's guiding principle."
"Elite...?"
This new term confused everyone.
"That's right, Elite." Adam explained, "It means our Familia will maintain a small number of members, each with outstanding abilities. We'll develop to be like the Loki Familia, but with bonds as close as family."
This was the best solution he could devise in such a short time — a way to avoid expanding the Familia while preventing criticism.
For now, this was their only option. Recruiting selectively would ensure each member was a trusted companion, while maintaining elite standards would keep their Familia's strength competitive.
"Elite..."
"I'm just an ordinary blacksmith, I can't be considered elite."
"Neither can Lili."
But what Adam hadn't anticipated was how this term would make others doubt themselves.
They assumed being Elite meant being like him — capable of handling matters independently and defeating the Apollo Familia without breaking a sweat.
"Listen, being Elite isn't just about raw strength." Adam sighed, "Welf, your forging skills surpass other blacksmiths. Lili, your special magic and talents exceed other supporters. Bell, your growth rate outstrips other adventurers. Cassandra, your prophecies are incredibly rare. You are all Elite."
His words encouraged them to stand tall. Compared to other adventurers, everyone present truly possessed exceptional talents.
"What about me?" Daphne asked curiously, "I'm not strong, and I don't have any special abilities..."
"You and Cassandra are a package deal. Without you, that timid girl probably couldn't even take care of herself."
"Hey, are you saying I'm just a caretaker?!"
"More or less. Well, that's your talent too... an 'Elite' caretaker."
"Hey!"
"And you're very pretty too, is that any consolation?"
"Hey!!"
Thanks to Adam and Daphne's playful banter, the atmosphere lightened considerably. Though still somewhat uncertain, everyone began to recognize their own unique talents.
After all, this was recognition from the famous 『 Hero 』 of Orario!
And so, the recruitment of new members came to an end.
While everyone expected the Hestia Familia to begin a major recruitment drive — with applications and personal information already submitted — the Familia suddenly went quiet just as recruitment activities were supposed to begin in earnest.
This left the smaller Familias who had been secretly preparing alliances at a loss. They could only wait and watch as their alliance plans dissolved.
This development, just as Adam and the others had predicted, quietly defused an approaching storm.
Many shrewd tacticians and Gods praised the Hestia Familia's strategic retreat as a clever way to advance. They had expected that the impulsive young Goddess would seize this high-profile opportunity to rapidly expand her Familia.
After all, she had shown such pride at the Denatus, and had even forcibly recruited members from the Soma Familia. Such speculation was natural.
But to everyone's surprise, they made no further moves.
Loki shared these thoughts.
When Ais had expressed interest in meeting Adam earlier, Loki had purposefully delayed it.
Her plan was to use this recruitment period to have her Familia member properly challenge the 『 Hero 』 and check that short Goddess's momentum.
Loki knew Adam's strength, but she couldn't believe her champion would lose. After reaching Level 6 and training extensively, Ais shouldn't fear a mere Level 2 Adventurer.
However...
✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧
"Hey—! Shorty! Open up!"
Loki stood outside the mansion, shouting rudely.
The people meeting in the hall were startled, unsure why she had appeared.
Only Adam understood — seeing Ais, he knew she had come for their duel.
Everyone went to greet them.
"Oh, if it isn't Flat Loki."
"Huh—?! What did you say?!"
The two Gods immediately began quarreling, showing none of the dignity expected of High Gods.
Hestia, in particular, never missed a chance to mock Loki as "Flat".
This word never failed to provoke Loki's anger and frustration, but she could do nothing about it. After all, it was true — her chest was flat enough for planes to land.
"What are you doing here?" Hestia's tone was hostile, natural for mortal enemies.
Loki remained unruffled and, with fox-like narrowed eyes, asked, "Hey shorty, isn't your Familia going to recruit new members?"
"No, we have no such plans for now." Hestia replied cautiously, deliberately misleading Loki.
They had already finished their modest recruitment, but given the small number of new members, Hestia decided to keep it quiet.
Loki took the bait exactly as expected.
"Why aren't you recruiting new members? Don't you want to develop your Familia?" Loki asked with a honey-sweet voice, "Isn't this what you've always wanted? With this opportunity, you could become a top-tier Familia like mine."
This was clearly a trap.
Becoming a top Familia like Loki's required time, a solid foundation, and substantial reserves of both talented people and resources — not something a fledgling Familia could achieve overnight.
Loki was trying to bait Hestia into recklessly expanding her Familia.
But her attempt failed.
"Developing the Familia... we have no such intentions right now."
"Tch." Loki clicked her tongue in annoyance when she realized the shorter goddess hadn't fallen for her ploy.
Hestia's guard rose even higher as she asked, "So then, why are you really here?"
"It's Ais. My Ais wanted to come, so I tagged along," Loki said disdainfully. "If she hadn't insisted on coming, I wouldn't have bothered showing up."
"Then you can leave," Hestia replied sharply, not willing to humor her rival.
"What did you say?!"
"If you don't want to be here, then leave."
"You—!"
The two started arguing again. Their verbal sparring intensified until it devolved into a physical scuffle, leaving the onlookers to smile helplessly.
"Miss Ais..." Bell stared at the blonde girl with an infatuated expression.
She had been his inspiration since he began adventuring, and his benefactor who helped him grow stronger. The combination had caused the young adventurer to fall completely.
His lovestruck expression made Ais uncomfortable, but she proceeded to state her reason for visiting.
"Adam, I came specifically to see you."
"Ugh—!!!" Bell froze instantly, turning to stone, his expression blank.
He recovered the next moment when Ais continued: "I want to fulfill our previous agreement and have a duel with you."
"Sure, no problem." Adam agreed readily.
This was something he had promised before, and he had asked her to train Bell in combat as payment. There was no reason to decline.
Most importantly, he could tell Loki wanted to use this opportunity to cause trouble. He would need to end the battle swiftly and decisively.
✧✧✧
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