Chapter 1 - Housekeeping
Life is good in Orario after the defeat of Thanatos and the Black Dragon. A lot of construction is going on. To prevent monsters from escaping, a barrier wall with guard garrisons has already been built around the dungeon entrance. To honor the fallen heroes in the war, the area surrounding the new wall is being turned into a memorial. To replace the Babel's stores and luxury apartments, a tall building is under construction. All this activity has been extremely good for the local economy.
Behind the scenes, a lot of accommodations had to be made for what happened, particularly for the sake of the Hestia familia. Due to their contributions in the war, they were allowed to continue operating despite Hestia's return to heaven. Furthermore, the guild and the other familias are actively helping them:
1. Eina is now helping the familia run their finances.
2. With the money they earned for extreme valor in the war, they were able to pay up the huge debt owed to Heptaestus.
3. Takemikazuchi and Miach are substituting for Hestia in training, administrative and other supportive matters.
4. Freya is helping with transportation means, as each Hestia familia member is allowed to visit Hestia once every month for Falna updating.
5. Two familia members earned personal rewards for extraordinary contributions and personal sacrifices in the war. From Ourano's private stock of grimoires, Bell received Hati for absorbing magic attacks while Lili received firebolt so she can be like Bell.
6. The entire familia shockingly leveled up after the war. While that has become expected for Bell, it appears the other members benefited from having amazing luck.
However, a more sensitive matter is what will happen to Bell and Ais. While Thanatos and the Black Dragon have been defeated, new and powerful enemies may emerge and Revis/Enya are still not accounted for. Thus, it is important to maintain their strong synchronization and their joint magic use. Obviously, that means that Bell and Ais need to continue to fight together and spend a lot of time together. However, this is not practical if they are on different teams and belong to different familias with different schedules. Thus, Ais and Bell had to make a difficult decision.
At the end, Bell and Ais went to Loki to discuss a temporary transfer for Ais to join the Hestia familia. Loki was not surprised and expected as much. After much crying, Loki granted a 1-year temporary transfer. Loki did extract a serious price that greatly embarrassed Ais...