"Wh-what… what are you talking about, Bell!"
Hestia shouted in shock, her voice echoing through the church like a thunderclap.
"Goddess-sama, I said I like older elves—preferably blond ones." Bell repeated deliberately, his tone teasing, almost like a prank.
"I heard you! Hmph... I've heard rumors about problems with potions lately. Did this elf feed you something strange?"
As a goddess, Hestia could tell at a glance that the boy's confession was completely sincere. That was exactly why she felt so agitated.
"Nope, I'm perfectly clear-headed," Bell replied calmly.
Hestia's twin ponytails drooped behind her like rabbit ears. "Bell, even if elves look pretty, some of them are secretly dozens—or even hundreds—of years old, you know?"
"Then by that logic, isn't Goddess-sama even older? I heard adventurers say gods have lived for hundreds of milli—"
Before he could finish, Hestia quickly clapped her hand over his mouth. "I—I get it! You don't need to say that out loud!"
The elf girl at the center of the conversation hadn't uttered a word. She didn't know what expression she should wear—or why she was just standing there watching.
The boy's declaration had brushed softly against her heart, briefly breaking her train of thought.
It was a natural reaction. Anyone would freeze if the person they'd been paying attention to suddenly made a "confession" directed at them.
But Ryuu couldn't forgive herself.
Her hesitation and the faint flutter in her heart felt like a betrayal of her friend's feelings. The guilt of that moral transgression weighed heavily on her, wrapping her in silence.
Hestia noticed her change in demeanor.
"What's with that face?" the goddess snapped, glaring at Ryuu. "Listen carefully—the details matter! Just like freshly fried potato balls are totally different from regular ones. A blonde, older elf—'blonde' is the key part!"
It sounded like Hestia was trying to convince herself, as she nitpicked at the logic.
She'd been in the Lower World for over a month and had never seen a blonde elf. From that perspective, Bell meeting his so-called ideal woman would be next to impossible.
Ryuu stood in silence for a moment.
She too wondered what expression she was making right now. Her thoughts were tangled—Syr's words and the boy's voice echoed alternately in her mind.
Though the embarrassment was slowly fading, Ryuu—ever perceptive—understood perfectly well: Bell had said those words just to spare her from further trouble.
That understanding filled her with gratitude, yet a small doubt gnawed at her. When she'd been standing so close to him earlier, had he perhaps noticed her golden hair?
In this world, hair dye was never perfect. A few stray golden strands, and the faintly tinted tips, were enough to give her away.
Cranel-san's powers of observation and reasoning were extraordinary. Had he really seen it?
Was that why he had deliberately mentioned "blonde"?
But if that were the case, then why hadn't Goddess Hestia questioned him?
Could it be that… she truly matched the image of his ideal woman?
No—she couldn't let herself think like that.
That sudden, unwarranted self-awareness clashed with her guilt toward Syr, pulling her thoughts into a muddy whirlpool.
Ryuu blinked and let out a quiet sigh.
Finally, she suppressed the surge of guilt and the jumble of emotions she felt toward the boy.
She brushed a stray golden strand away from her temple and spoke softly.
"R-right…" The elf girl, unusually flustered, bit her tongue. "I'm sorry. I still have work to do, so I'll be taking my leave."
Only when she heard her own voice did she realize how shaken she was. One thing was certain—she needed to leave, and fast.
"If you dare dye your hair blonde, I'll expose you!"
Hestia huffed, invoking her divine lie-detection as a threat.
"Ryuu-san, until next time," Bell said with a wry smile.
Ryuu remained silent, afraid that saying anything more would give away her secret about the dyed hair.
If that happened, she wouldn't have the courage to face her friend again.
She bowed politely to the goddess, cast one last glance at Bell—whose arm Hestia was now lightly pinching—and then, as if fleeing from something, the elf girl slipped away like the wind.
...
"She's already left, Goddess-sama," Bell said quietly.
"Hmph. Consider this your punishment." Hestia's tone was playfully mischievous as she poked and prodded at him.
"I think you went a bit too far earlier," Bell replied, dodging her hands and stepping neatly out of reach.
"Hmm..." Hestia couldn't argue back.
She'd skipped lunch entirely just so she could eat with him—only for some unknown elf to snatch that chance away.
The gap between expectation and reality had frustrated her enough to lash out impulsively at the elf girl.
"I... I get it now!" Hestia suddenly brightened. "You said that just to defend that girl, didn't you?"
"That's true," Bell admitted evenly, "but I meant every word I said."
"Honestly, you were supposed to lie and say you only said it to smooth things over," Hestia grumbled, puffing her cheeks.
"Aren't gods supposed to see through lies?"
"Sometimes lying a little makes girls like you more, you know."
"I'm a man who faces his heart honestly."
"Eh—"
...
The Hestia Familia was as warm and noisy as ever.
The goddess asked about the boy's injuries, chatting casually about the morning's events. Then, as she watched him, a thought struck her.
If there really was a golden-haired elf in Orario who was slowly falling for Bell... then wasn't the position of [The One] already taken?
Would that mean no one else even had a chance?
Hestia didn't let herself think too deeply about it. Bell was her one and only Familia member—if that day ever truly came, she would simply smile and watch over him.
"Alright, time to update your Status!" she said cheerfully.
"So soon?" Bell asked, puzzled.
It hadn't even been a full day since the last update.
"Compared to fighting small fry in the Dungeon, experiences like this morning's can make your growth skyrocket," Hestia explained patiently.
She'd learned much about Falna from her divine friend Takemikazuchi, having descended to the Lower World not long ago.
When one first receives a Falna, all ability scores begin at zero. For most people, reaching Level 2 from Level 1 takes several years.
But Bell Cranel was clearly an exception.
His ability growth was completely fueled by his Liaris Freese—accelerating like a snowball rolling downhill.
That abnormal rate of growth couldn't be described as mere genius. It was an anomaly even the gods couldn't predict.
In Hestia's knowledge, the only other thing in existence that could compare was the Abyss of the Dungeon itself.
The boy might one day become a hero.
But in the eyes of certain gods, he was an anomaly that should be snuffed out before he could rise.
Hestia looked down at the dramatic leap in his Status and quietly reaffirmed her resolve to attend the upcoming divine banquet.
——————————————
Bell Cranel
Lv.1
Strength: i60 → H156
Endurance: H145 → G260
Dexterity: i86 → H184
Agility: i74 → H163
Magic: i0
...
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