"Ah~~ seriously…"
"Why do I have to hide? Why do I have to run away?"
The Rabbit Boy, panting, leaned on his knees outside the First Graveyard, feeling frustrated.
He should have gone to thank them in person.
After all, it was a life-saving favor… so…
"Eh?"
Suddenly, he froze.
"Bell, since you're an adventurer, you're supposed to seek encounters in dungeons~"
A voice from his memory—his late grandfather, who had passed a year ago, came back to him unexpectedly.
"To save a cute, beautiful woman from a ferocious monster…"
"To be thanked, and gradually let a tender affection blossom…"
"That is the true essence of adventure!!!"
The boy snapped back to reality.
Then…
He shrank his neck and blushed.
And his face kept getting redder.
There was no doubt: the Twin Stars were heroes… admired by countless people today.
And he… a few weeks ago, when his life had hung by a thread, had indeed been saved by one of them.
This unfolding…
This overwhelming gratitude in his heart…
And the limitless admiration that blossomed from it…
"It's exactly like what my late grandfather said."
The Rabbit Boy's face lit up with excitement.
Though… weren't the roles reversed?
And the location wasn't exactly right either…
If someone else had been around, he might have thought that and laughed at himself.
But now, walking alone down a narrow alley, fists clenched instinctively, he became more and more excited with each passing thought.
The more he imagined it, the more he believed he was on the right track.
He thought: coming to Orario, becoming an adventurer—it was the right choice.
Here was a fateful encounter he had dreamed of since childhood…
So next…
"I have to become an adventurer."
The Rabbit Boy's eyes shone with determination.
"I have to… catch up to her."
Silently swearing to himself, he was full of drive.
"I'll go find a familia to join right away."
Having clearly set his goal, he thought this, completely unaware…
"Plop~"
Not far behind, a hawk landed calmly on a rooftop chimney, eyes fixed on the "prey" in its sight.
For Renjiro, it was easy to "follow" a normal person—or rather, observe from behind the scenes.
All he had to do was use his Primordial Human magic to manifest a bird with keen eyesight.
You ask if he used this trick to spy?
Of course not!
His patron goddess was Frigg/Freya, not Hermes or Zeus.
Anyway, ever since he had coincidentally encountered the Rabbit Boy at the First Graveyard, a hawk had been tracking him.
"Why do I get this weird feeling like I'm about to eat him?"
A hawk hunting a rabbit?
Meow meow meow?
"Whatever. I'm male, I like girls, and I'm not going to eat him."
Still, the key point: his goddess is Frigg/Freya, not Apollo.
So…
"Intercept or not, let's just watch this 'live broadcast'."
With that thought, Renjiro, now casually sitting in a tavern, began fully controlling the hawk created by his Primordial Human magic.
Then, he clearly saw…
The initially excited Rabbit Boy, trying to join a familia in Orario's Industrial District, being rejected again and again.
As the old saying goes: strike while the iron is hot, second attempt falters, third attempt fails.
After more than ten rejections by adventurers who looked down on him, it was inevitable—he began to doubt himself.
"I'm just an ordinary human… no wonder I'm less popular than magic-savvy elves or strong dwarves."
The boy felt dejected for a short while.
Then…
"No, no. I can't give up now."
"Didn't I just decide to catch up to her?"
"No matter what opportunity comes, I have to try."
Rubbing his face hard, he set off again.
He first encountered a canine girl of the Hermes familia, who was recruiting new members. After being teased, he failed her so-called "entrance test."
"Pfft~ If Hermes finds out about this mistake later, he'll probably be furious enough for Lulune to send him back to the heavens."
Lulune Louie, 18 years old, a dark-skinned, black-haired, golden-eyed canine girl, nicknamed Muddle, was now a Lv.3 "Second-Tier Adventurer."
Following her patron goddess Hermes' familia strategy, she had reported to the Guild that her Falna Level was only Lv.2.
Yes, she was the same cunning girl who had almost lost her life transporting the fallen spirit orb and narrowly escaped the female monster Riwis.
According to her, Bell was completely unsuitable for her familia. His patron goddess's personality was too carefree; only the "clever" could keep up.
By this neutral assessment, Lulune wasn't wrong.
But…
"Being scolded by my own members like this… Hermes would cry."
In a tavern, observing everything from behind the scenes, Renjiro was thoroughly entertained.
Seeing old trickster Hermes embarrassed brought him immense pleasure.
Then…
"Pfft~"
Renjiro, sipping juice, spewed it out all at once.
Because he saw the Rabbit Boy, after being rejected by Lulune, heading toward the Battlefield Plains.
At this moment, the goddess Hestia was resting in her base.
Had she seen the boy's pure soul, things might have gone differently for a certain blue-ribbon goddess…
But fate played its hand, and just then… Ottar appeared.
A warrior with a body and aura as steadfast as a steel tower, who, completely unaware, merely glanced at the Rabbit Boy walking by…
And scared him off instantly.
Another "sure to annoy the patron goddess" operation.
Honestly…
"This is way more fun than watching a poorly adapted anime~"
Renjiro was gradually adopting a "just for fun" mindset.
If he remembered correctly, the Rabbit Boy endured a full week of rejections in Orario before finally encountering the blue-ribbon goddess Hestia in a small alley—a meeting that would change his life forever.
It was because of this that when the title "World's Fastest Rabbit" spread, countless gods wailed, regretting ever having rejected the boy Bell Cranel.
Although Bell himself wasn't competitive, this development was undeniably a "today you ignore me, tomorrow I'll soar beyond your reach" kind of scenario.
"A form of training, I suppose."
Renjiro thought so.
Soon, the Rabbit Boy tried joining another familia.
This time, he ventured into the main crafting-oriented familia—the Goibniu Familia.
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
140+ advance chapters available on P@treon(.)com/Veltoria