Chapter 136: The Protagonist Has Yet to Arrive, But the Movie Prologue Begins!
"Hermes?"
"Hestia, you descended to the lower world?"
The newcomer was none other than Hestia.
A completely legal loli goddess.
And aside from her height, her body proportions were even more perfect than those of a mature beauty.
"Mm, I just came down."
Time held no meaning for the gods.
After all, the flow of time would not have any effect on them.
Because of that, although Hestia had already been in Orario for a while, from her perspective, she had indeed "just descended."
Hermes, however, looked at Hestia with some surprise.
In heaven, Hestia was definitely a famous "shut-in goddess."
She was the type who truly never stepped out of her home.
The reason she had only descended now was probably because she had stayed shut inside for too long and missed the previous wave of gods descending to the lower world.
"Hm? You are…"
At that moment, Hestia also noticed Ethan, whose neck was being hooked by Hermes's arm.
In an instant, memories from not long ago surfaced in her mind.
That child who had made her feel "accepted."
The one she had clung to while drunk and refused to let go of.
"You're Ethan Starfall?"
"That's me, Goddess Hestia."
Looking at Hestia, Ethan could not help feeling a little regretful.
Back then, if he had been able to meet Hestia, he probably would have chosen her without hesitation.
After all, among the gods who appeared in DanMachi, Hestia was definitely a special exception.
She cared about her Familia, especially her first Familia member, far beyond what anyone could imagine.
Most importantly, she was an ultimate legal loli goddess.
Who would not want to come home at night and have a goddess like this give them hugs?
Unfortunately, his luck had not been good.
When he first came to Orario, there had been no news of Hestia at all.
Maybe she had not descended yet.
Or maybe she had already descended, but was freeloading at Hephaestus's place.
Whatever the reason, he had not met her.
Perhaps that was what people called "having no fate."
Still, things were not bad for him now.
He had latched onto Freya's thigh and had even finally tasted the goddess.
That could be considered a complete success.
Because of that, Ethan's regret toward Hestia had been greatly reduced.
Upon meeting him again, Hestia subconsciously examined Ethan.
Then she discovered that the "desire" and "expectation" he had once felt toward her had disappeared.
This left Hestia very puzzled.
It had clearly been not long ago.
Back then, he had still "desired" her so strongly.
How had it vanished as soon as she turned around?
She had embarrassed herself while drunk because of this.
Now that things had become like this, did that not make her look like a clown?
"What's this, Hestia? Do you know this little brother Ethan?"
Hermes looked at the strange atmosphere between the person and the goddess and immediately revealed a nasty smile.
It was as if he had not noticed anything at all as he asked Hestia.
"We've met once."
The current Hestia had already sobered up.
After being scolded several times by Hephaestus, she had also calmed down.
Because of that, she did not act recklessly.
But now, Hermes's words sounded completely deliberate in Hestia's ears.
She still understood Hermes quite well.
She did not believe this guy knew nothing about her situation.
This rotten guy was definitely doing it on purpose.
Ethan, on the other hand, felt slightly relieved after hearing Hestia's answer.
The incident at the Hostess of Fertility had been fine because it was only a tavern.
But this place was different.
This was a public street, and the Guild was not far away.
If anything happened here, it would quickly spread throughout all of Orario.
"I see. What a pity. I originally thought that, for Hestia's sake, little brother Ethan might accept this commission. After all, it concerns Artemis."
"It concerns Artemis?"
Hearing the name "Artemis," Hestia immediately became curious.
Back in heaven, there were not many gods who had a good relationship with Hestia.
Artemis was one of them.
On top of that, both of them were "virgin goddesses," which made their relationship even closer.
When Ethan heard that name, his heart also trembled slightly.
In DanMachi, the plot involving Goddess Artemis was probably the movie plot.
But had the timeline already reached that point?
One had to know that in the current Orario, the protagonist Bell had not even appeared yet.
Hestia had also never had any Familia members.
The protagonist had not arrived, yet the plot had already begun?
Now that he thought about it, it was also strange.
Why had Bell still not appeared by now?
"Not long ago, Artemis went to the Elsos Ruins to investigate something. A message came back recently saying that there was an accident."
"An accident? Is Artemis all right?"
Hearing that there had been an accident, Hestia was immediately startled and hurriedly asked.
"Artemis herself is fine. However, her Familia was wiped out."
"What?!"
Artemis's entire Familia had been wiped out.
That meant total annihilation.
In Orario, although adventurers died every day, Ethan had never heard of an entire Familia being wiped out like that.
Listening to Hermes's words from the side, Ethan understood in his heart that this was most likely the movie plot.
The Artemis Familia had been annihilated.
Goddess Artemis had also encountered an accident and had been devoured by a monster.
If that monster obtained the power of a god, then in the end, it could very well lead to the destruction of the lower world.
Although Ethan did not know what Hermes meant by saying Artemis was "fine," this incident would become troublesome if it was not handled properly.
After all, the protagonist had yet to appear.
And now the movie plot had started right away.
Relying on the protagonist was basically not something he could even consider.
"According to the information that was sent back, the situation is not very optimistic. Recently, the number of monsters around the Elsos Ruins has been increasing, and they have already caused tremendous damage and influence in the surrounding area. If it is not handled properly…"
Hermes did not continue the rest.
However, the others understood.
If this was not handled well, it could become a disaster.
"So, God Hermes came to find me this time because you want me to handle this matter?"
"That's right."
Even while being stared at by Ethan, Hermes still acted casual and carefree.
"Why me? I'm only Lv.3. Aside from me, Orario has plenty of first-class adventurers. That includes Ottar from our Familia. He's basically Orario's ultimate weapon. Why not ask him?"
"Because you are a 'hero,' little brother Ethan. A 'miracle' that ordinary people can never reach will be born through your hands."
"I already said it before. I have no interest in being a hero."
"Sometimes, it is precisely because you don't want to become a hero that you end up becoming one."
Looking at Hermes's smile that was not quite a smile, Ethan suddenly had the urge to smack him with the sole of his shoe.
All damn riddle-speakers deserved to die.
The kind of death where even their bodies had nowhere to be buried.
…
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